Big Brother is a funny game sometimes.  After an eviction episode last night where the same nine people who began the night inside the house ended up inside the house, the balance of power noticeably shifted.  That's what happens when a formerly evicted and scorned house guest returns.  The Head of Household competition, which did not end by the time the episode was over, also featured a number of verbal deals which will, at the very least, greatly influence the events of the coming week.  Being the Big Brother spoiler afficianado I am, I know who won the Head of Household competition last night and, therefore, I've taken that into account with these power rankings. 

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#9 – Ryan

Ryan's worst nightmare came to pass.  The person who he surprised and put on the block during the Power of Veto ceremony, and was then evicted, returned to the house and promptly won the Head of Household.  After seeing James make deals with a number of the house guests, there is no doubt in my mind that he will target Ryan.  He's the favorite to go home next Wednesday. 

#8 – Matt

Matt's alliance is crumbling and should continue to do so this week.  No one trusts him, even though Natalie has, and probably always will, stay by his side.  The whole house will be gunning for him.

#7 – Sheila

Given James' comments in his eviction interview last night, he's well aware of what Sheila is doing in the game.  James may put her up on the block this week.  If not, she's still too much of a floater to make it to the end.

#6 – Natalie

I have to rank her this low just because of her ridiculous and desperate loyalty to Matt.  Maybe if she'd break away from him and realize that it's just not going to happen, Nat could do something in the house.  Until then, her upside is limited.

#5 – Adam

I think Adam might be a dark horse in this thing.  He gets along with everyone in the house, has never taken a big stand against anyone, and is at least mildly intelligent.  But, he's going to have to break into the two power couples first.

#4 – Chelsia

These top four are roughly the same at this point and, as far as I can tell, are still a strong alliance.  Chelsia has hitched her wagon to James, which could work out fine, but after watching her blow up at Ryan during last night's episode, I'm a little wary of her combustibility.

#3 – James

If he got evicted once, he could get evicted again.  Going from the evicted house guest to the Head of Household will put a target on his back, but his various deals will keep him safe for awhile.  One strike against him is, sadly, his unwillingness to back stab, lie and cheat.

#2 – Sharon

Sharon has some game, and though she and Josh will always be targeted, their alliance might be strong enough to survive. 

#1 - Joshuah

It's really hard to rank the house guests right now.  This four-pronged alliance is solid and they'll probably have ample numbers to inflict their will on the house after this week.  If, say, Matt wins the next Head of Household, though, look out.  In the best case scenario for Josh, Ryan leaves this week, followed by Matt.

-Oscar Dahl, BuddyTV Senior Writer
(Image Courtesy of BigBrotherCaps.com)