Big Brother 18 – Week 9 Power Rankings

Last night was a live eviction episode of Big Brother 18. Read on to see who won HoH and where the Houseguests stand for the week.

Last night was a live eviction episode of Big Brother 18. By a unanimous vote, Paulie was evicted from the Big Brother house. After the live feeds came back on early this morning, Natalie won the HoH competition. And earlier this afternoon, Michelle won this week’s America’s Care Package. But before I get to my predictions of the upcoming week, let me discuss the events of the previous week that led to Paulie’s eviction.

Paulie: Paulie was running the house all season long. He called the shots on whom should be evicted week after week, and it seemed like these Houseguests were more than willing to hand him the $500,000. Natalie was the only one to see he was running the house, but last week Bridgette and Michelle finally realized this too. The three of them got James, Paul, and Victor to open their eyes and realize that Paulie needed to be taken out. After Victor won the HoH competition, this new majority alliance agreed that Paulie needed to go. Paulie campaigned hard to stay, but his fate was sealed after he lost the Veto competition. Maybe his deals he offered would have been accepted if he didn’t treat the other Houesguests (especially the women) so horribly. However, Paulie does have a chance to return to the game next week if he wins the competition against the other jurors.

ALLIANCES

There are three tight duos left in the game: Victor and Paul, Natalie and James, and Nicole and Corey. Michelle is the only one not part of a duo. Last week it was agreed that after Paulie was evicted, Corey and Nicole should be the next two taken out. Well….it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen anymore. After conversations with Nicole and Corey, Natalie and James do not trust Paul and want him out next. Natalie and James formed a new Final 4 alliance with Nicole and Corey too. Michelle seemed to want to stick to the plan of targeting Corey and Nicole. However, Natalie and Michelle have already spoken privately after Michelle received her care package, and she seems to be on board with targeting Paul this week too.

Taking out Paul isn’t a bad move. He probably has the best chance at winning the game right now, and Victor and Paul are a stronger duo than Nicole and Corey. However, unbeknownst to the Houseguests, a juror will be returning to the game next week, which will backfire on Natalie’s, James’s, and Michelle’s games if either Paulie or Paul return. If Paulie returns, Nicole and Corey will team up with him again and likely leave Natalie and James out to dry. If Paul returns, he’ll want vengeance against Natalie and James, allowing Nicole and Corey to skate by once again. If Natalie follows through with this plan to take out Paul, she better hope Bridgette or Da’Vonne returns to the game.

Now onto the Power Rankings. Here are where the Houseguests stand in the house this upcoming week with Natalie and Michelle as the two Heads of Household.

WEEK 9 POWER RANKINGS

1. NATALIE – She is one of the current HoHs and will be making a nomination this week. She seems determined to take a shot at Paul this week, but there is a lot that can go wrong with this plan. The safer move for her would be to just target Nicole and Corey so she still has Victor and Paul on her side. Victor and Paul have even said they want to take Natalie with them to the Final 3, and Paul has even hinted that he wants to sit next to Natalie in a Final 2 scenario since he’s unsure he can beat Victor in the end. However, Natalie is not afraid to make big moves in the game, and there is merit in her wanting Paul out of the game. However, this is a dangerous move due to a juror returning to the game next week. This could either be the move that sets her up well to make it to the end or a costly move that will get her sent to jury within the next couple of weeks.

2. MICHELLE – After receiving this week’s America’ Care Package, Michelle is the Co-HoH. She will be making a nomination too. Before she talked about nominations with Natalie, Michelle wanted Nicole and Corey on the block. However, Natalie seems to have convinced her that Paul should be the target this week. There’s always the chance that Victor and Paul can get Michelle to change her mind before the nomination ceremony, but Michelle told Natalie she trusts Natalie more. Michelle is in a unique position since she’s not part of any tight duos. This could either make her an easy target for next week or she could fly under the radar as the three duos go after one another.

3. JAMES – James is Natalie’s closest ally, so he won’t be going on the block this week. However, he’ll likely be in danger soon. This plan to target Paul could fall apart, especially if Paul is the returning juror and either Paul or Victor wins the next HoH. Even though Natalie is the HoH making the move, they still may see James as the bigger competition threat between the two and take him out instead. Time will tell whether Natalie made the right move targeting Paul a week earlier than necessary, but it’s a risky move for her and James regardless.

4. NICOLE – It looks like Nicole and her boyfriend might survive another week inside the Big Brother house. They were the clear targets going into this week, but seemed to have been given a reprieve after a change in plans were put in order. Nicole has promised loyalty to Natalie and James if she and Corey stay off the block this week. After Natalie makes this move to target Paul, Nicole and Corey could likely sneak on by a couple of weeks if Victor and Paul are able to take a shot at Natalie and James as payback.

5. COREY – Corey getting evicted this week isn’t completely out of the question. If either Paul or Victor wins the Power of Veto, then Corey would most likely be the replacement nominee. However, the votes seem to be in place to keep him safe this week. He should be thankful that Natalie wants to go after the stronger duo, because he was next on the chopping block after Paulie. However, there are still lots of different scenarios that can happen, especially with two HoHs. Who knows? Maybe Michelle will change her mind or Paul could win the Veto? But at this very moment, he’s not a target for this week.

6. VICTOR – Victor was in a really good position last week. He finally got his revenge against Paulie, and he was in a majority alliance that agreed to target Nicole and Corey next. Unfortunately for him, Natalie wants to make a big move and sees that Paul is a dangerous player to leave in the game. Natalie is determined to take Paul out this week, but Victor will likely be the one evicted if Paul wins the Power of Veto. After the nominations are made this week, Victor will definitely fight for that Veto and he has the best competition record of the remaining Houseguests.

7. PAUL – Paul was in a great position in the game too. He has managed to maneuver his way through the game quite nicely and has never been on anyone’s radar as an immediate target. His closest ally is Victor, who is a great shield to have since Victor is a competition beast. However, Natalie has caught onto his game and sees that he is a big threat. If Paul does not have the Veto used on him this week, he will likely be the one walking out the door. Nonetheless, he will get a chance to return in Thursday’s competition against the other jurors.

So those are my thoughts on the house dynamics this week. Thanks for reading and feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below.