By Eric Stein for RealityWanted.com

Wow, the Big Brother players have come out of the gates swingin' this season!  There is some serious overplaying going on.  In past seasons, any of several of them would be easy early marks due to their wild overplaying.  However, since so many of them are doing it, they can't all go home at once…hence we are going to be treated to some of these players making it much farther into the game.  Very interesting. 

Let's start with last week's eviction.  Customarily, the first week's votes are an absolute landslide, as nobody wants to rock the boat. Since the switch to the current format (Big Brother 2), the person evicted in week 1 has gone out by a grand vote total of 68 - 14.  That is 83% of all votes cast.  That is huge.  So to find a 5-5 split in the first week was pretty shocking.  I assure you, this divide will not last the entire game.  The first players who defect out of their current groups to reform a new alliance or sub-faction (think Dan, Memphis, Keesha, Renny, and Libra in week 4 last season) will be the ones to take control of the game.  The people most apt to do that are the people who find themselves on the bottom of their current totem poles.

The players and fans alike need to remind themselves that it's only week 2.  On season 9, Adam was an early outcast due to his constant fighting with Sheila.  On season 10, Dan was an early outcast because of his relationship with Brian.  On my season, the majority of the power players were in the backyard golfing during weeks 1 and 2.  Let me put this into perspective for you.  Since the HoH became a part of the game in season 2, there have been 23 people to serve as HoH in week one or two of the game (including season 9's power couple).  Of those 23 people, a grand total of 1 of them won the game (season 3's Lisa).  The conclusion here is obvious…being HoH in week 1 or 2 is bad.  This is unfortunate news for Jessie and Ronnie.

Now, on to Ronnie's HoH reign.  Congrats Ronnie, you are a couple of days away from completing one of the worst HoH reigns in BB history.  And anyone watching could have seen this coming a mile away.  How has he botched it?  Let us count the ways.  First, he tried to cast a "hinky" vote.  Speaking from personal experience as someone who was forced to cast such votes against his will…that is a very bad decision right off the get go.  Especially in week 1.  However, what's done is done…the hinky vote was cast.  So then why in the world would he put a spotlight on himself by winning HoH?  That forced him to choose sides.  Might I point out that due to the clique twist, Ronnie would have been safe with Michele as HoH as well.  That would have allowed him to fade into the background, remain safe, and compete again for next week's power.  Not smart.  So now he's HoH.  So why in the world would he lie about his vote, when his nominations are going to clearly expose what side he's on anyway?  Oh, not to mention that he was going to confess to it two days later.  Dumb dumb dumb.  Ronnie also didn't take notes when he was in Big Brother 101 class.  You are locked in a house, 24/7, with nothing to do.  Everyone is eventually going to talk to everyone else and compare notes.  There's a time to plant seeds of deception.  Week 2…when you are going after players that aren't even nominated, and you yourself aren't casting a vote this week…is not that time.  Ronnie also suffered from what I like to call "King Dustin" syndrome.  Much like when Dustin donned his cape and crown in Season 8 and went on a power trip bender, Ronnie has let the power fill his head to egomaniacal levels.  The man claimed that after he is done, people will be saying "Dr. Will, who?"  Actually, after he goes home before the jury, people will be saying Ronnie, who?  Other mistakes included repeatedly changing his target midweek, targeting players that were not a threat to him from the get go, receiving Legally Blonde the musical as his HoH CD, looking like a Teletubby, and generally being unable to contain himself.  There is an enormous difference between knowing how to play the game and being able to implement it properly yourself.  He got way too overexcited and his goose is cooked.  What if the twist is that he's actually an alien?  Or he's carrying Julie's baby?  Or he is Julie's baby?

Ronnie was not the only one who saw their stock plummeting this week.  Joining him down the week 2 shitter are Laura and Chima.  Laura pulled the always stupid move of shouting at the HoH immediately prior to their nominations.  Why would you do that?  Interestingly enough, Laura and Ronnie are the two biggest students of the game in the house, and yet they have made some of the most standards mistakes you can make in the house.  As I'm sure we would all agree, Chima's speech was outright astonishing.  Somehow, she managed to make an accused bigot/misogynist look good in comparison to herself. It struck me as a speech you'd give if you were going home, not something you'd do to endear yourself to the other players if you are staying.  Let's not forget her behavior at the Have/Have Not competition and her general demeanor in the house this week.  I have noticed that her mouth is getting exponentially bigger based on how secure she feels in the house.  As soon as she felt safe, she unleashed a tirade that hasn't stopped since.  She is very difficult to like. 

While no worse than last week, Lydia and Natalie have continued their vicious behavior, which means their chances in the grander scheme of things remain dim.  Lydia, in particular, is a nasty, manipulative player.  I am standing by my comparison of her gameplay to that of BB8's Amber.  She prays on people's emotions, plays the victim, and thrives on drama.  She should induce fear in her fellow houseguests while she's there…she'll do damage - but ultimately, she'll also do irreparable damage to herself as well.  Oh, and she was a terrible PoV host.  I'm still not sold on Kevin either.  You could see his true colors during his live eviction vote.  He's lying low for now, but an explosion will come and when it does, he will sink himself. 

Don't look now, but your boy Jessie is on the rise.  Is it possible that we may be seeing newly refined gameplay from our returning player?  Jessie "Young Gunz" Godderz - the voice of reason.  It has a nice ring to it.  Look no further than last night's blowup in which the house attacked Ronnie.  The entire house was taking Ronnie to task in a major way, while Jessie and Natalie were calmly cooking in the background completely out of the action.  Why is this so important?  Last year, during the Keesha birthday blowout, there were two players that stayed out of the action entirely…Dan and Memphis.  They sat quietly on the couch and watched their odds in the game go up by the second, as the rest of them ate each other alive.  Did you ever see Sharon in an argument?  Zach?  Nope, because they were smart to stay out of conflict…especially conflict that wasn't theirs.  Also, last year, Jessie was his alliance's attack dog.  He was the one that they'd sic on the other team.  Well this year, he's pulling the strings and he has three attack dogs of his own, in the form of Natalie, Lydia, and Ronnie (and often times Russell).  Is he going to win?  No.  But his chances of reaching the jury and doing some legitimate damage are looking much better than originally anticipated.  It is amazing that he has been in the house for 6 weeks between the past 2 seasons and this was the very first time he was neither HoH nor nominated.  Nice work, Jessie.

Russell, aka Ruscle the Luv Muscle, is proving to be a very interesting player.  On the one hand, he is apt to blow up at any time, came out of the gates way too strong, and seems to be on everybody's hit list.  On the other hand, he was amongst the first people to say, "Hey, why are we being so nasty to each other?" and start mingling extensively with "the other side of the house."  As I often have pointed out, BB contestants seem to suffer from social identity theory.  Basically they identify and behave as part of a group, and in turn, take on a mob mentality in vilifying their targets.  It's easier to go after someone you "hate."  Wouldn't it be nice to see a BB player say, "Hey listen, I actually really like you personally, I just think this move is in my best interest in the game."  Can Russell overcome the pettiness and orchestrate a change in philosophy?  Nah, he can't, haha.  But it'd be nice if he did.  Unfortunately, he's still being uber aggressive and using intimidation.  That will not work in the end.  However, I do find him to be rather original and distinct to the game, so it's unique watching him play if nothing else.

Jeff and Jordan have been pretty damn funny so far.  They are bringing much of the levity to the house.  Not being able to tell time is pretty much fantastic.  They seem as if they are well on their way to showmance land, but truthfully I don't see that affecting their game too much.  The more they play dumb, the better their chances are of still being in the house when it matters.  All in all, they are riding an adequate middle ground for now, with the potential to do something if the cards fall their way.  However, I'm still sticking with Casey and Michele as my top players to date.  They are both astute and slowly but surely building up their relationships.  Being on good terms with your fellow HGs is a major strategy and a successful one.  You don't need to spend all day and night campaigning to be playing the game well.  In fact, that rarely if ever, equates to playing well.  The art of subtlety is not nearly as appreciated as it should be in the BB game.  Until proven otherwise, I maintain that they are the savviest players to this point.

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