Even though Big Brother 17 is winding to a close, it's never too late for surprises. The three-part final HoH is a high-stakes situation, as tension builds during the days between competitions. Vanessa won the first part of the HoH competition, which meant she would automatically move on to part three. Then Steve won part two of the final HoH, beating Liz to come out on top and progress to part three. Now, it seems like the third part of the HoH competition could decide who wins $500,000 next week. Vanessa or Steve will decide the final two, and determine whether or not they win Big Brother.
There's no way to determine which final two deal will be honored, as it seems that everyone in the house currently has one with each other. Steve and Vanessa will be able to choose between honoring their seperate deals with Liz, or honoring their deal with each other. In BB16, Cody made a $450,000 mistake by keeping his deal with Derrick and bringing him to the final two, and ended up losing when he would've won by taking Victoria. Will someone make the same mistake this season, or are these players in it to win it?
Steve is BB17's Cody, or so he says. However, it doesn't make sense that this superfan would place his trust in the untrustworthy Vanessa and bring her to the final two. Steve believes that Vanessa has a good chance of winning BB17 because of how many people she has had a hand in sending home, as well as how many times she has saved herself despite being a huge target. Steve has proven in the past that he is willing to go back on something he agreed to if it benefits his game, and if he decides to bring Liz instead of Vanessa, it would be a legendary move.
Vanessa could probably beat Steve if she took him to final two. However, she could easily beat Liz if she took her to the finale. Vanessa has referred to herself as a "straight shooter" all season, but her blindsides and manipulations haven't been very honest actions. If she doesn't take Steve, she may risk creating some bitter jury members who don't want to give their vote to someone that they perceive to be dishonest. Either way, Vanessa is in a pretty great situation no matter who she takes to final two.
The person who will likely benefit the most from this situation may actually be Liz. Although she has lost the final HoH, both of the houseguests see her as someone worth taking to final two. While it's unlikely that anyone aside from Austin and Julia will be voting for Liz to take home the grand prize, she is still guaranteed $50,000 if she makes it to second place.
Vanessa and Steve have been two of the most interesting characters on this season of Big Brother. The frantic, emotional manipulator (who is already worth millions) against the awkward, nerdy, musical engineering student who wants to work for Disney one day. These kinds of stories make for emotionally charged competitions, which make for great television, which helps make Big Brother such a great show.
For more on this season of Big Brother, check out Bustle's podcast The Diary Room.
Image: Sonja Flemming/CBS
