Heading into the season finale of “Big Brother Reindeer Games,” there were only four contestants left in the running for the $100,000 grand prize and that is Frankie Grande, Nicole Franzel-Arroyo, Taylor Hale, and Xavier Prather. The question on everyone’s mind was who would emerge victorious and save Christmas?
Well, the show came to an end and they crowned the ho-ho-houseguest. Read on in the Recap below to find out who won;
8:00 p.m. — “Previously on ‘BB Reindeer Games’!” In the fifth episode, Nicole won the Naughty and Nice Challenge and gained the ability to bench someone in the Jingle Bell Brawl; she chose Xavier. Taylor won the first Brawl by naming missing food ingredients, and she chose to bring Nicole with her to the Final 4. Frankie won the second Brawl by answering questions about the various lodge singers. That left Xavier and Britney to duke it out in Santa’s Showdown, where Britney was eliminated after faltering on the zip line. Now it’s time for the Reindeer Games to begin!
8:02 p.m. — The Final 4 enter the house in jumpsuits. Nicole wants to prove to her son that she can win anything she puts her mind to. Taylor brags that she never went to Santa’s Showdown because of her social game.
8:04 p.m. — Tiffany enters the lodge as Santa’s Elf. It’s time for the final Naughty and Nice Challenge of the winter. But first, Tiffany explains how there will be two semi-final showdowns in the upcoming Reindeer Games. The winner of this Naughty and Nice Challenge will earn an advantage in the first semi-finals. For this game, the players have to identify which painting has been replaced by a forgery.
8:06 p.m. — Xavier is excited because he has been studying the paintings throughout the week. He quickly notices how the Mona Lisa deer painting has been replaced by “Mona Vixen.” Wow, that was fast! Xavier’s power will let him make the brackets for the Reindeer Games tournament. Also, the player who he goes up against will have to start 30 seconds behind him.
8:08 p.m. — Xavier says this “couldn’t have come at a better time.” Nicole worries that her life is in Xavier’s hands and that he will disadvantage her. In Santa’s Office, Xavier and Taylor talk about setting up the bracket together. He wants them both to be the Final 2 at the end of the show. So who will Xavier choose to battle against?
8:12 p.m. — The ringing bells mean it’s time for Xavier to announce his decision. He has decided to go head-to-head against Nicole in the matchup, which means Taylor will face off against Frankie. Wow, I didn’t see that coming! Frankie jokes how there will “be a queen” in the finals one way or another. Nicole “didn’t want” this outcome, but she did beat Josh, so another “Christmas miracle” could be coming her way.
8:14 p.m. — The first semi-final match is a fast-paced game where Xavier and Nicole have to attach 28 gears to fix a broken nutcracker. Xavier starts first, while Nicole has to wait patiently for 30 seconds. Xavier calls the puzzle “nuts” and focuses on the bigger gears first. Nicole wants to pay attention to only her board and not worry about him at all. Nicole’s strategy is to frequently spin the gears to make sure they all still spin when she adds one. On the sidelines, Frankie notices that she makes a “big mistake” by having a single gear off on its own. She notices it later and fixes it. Xavier just has a few gears left before he wins the challenge. It’s a real nail-biter! Nicole jumps off of her stool and starts spinning the gears furiously, and her nutcracker works. She has officially advanced to the finals!
8:20 p.m. — “I was just like this chubby mom who didn’t work out before I came,” Nicole laughs. She can’t believe that she beat Xavier in a challenge, especially with a time disadvantage. Xavier says that he gave it “everything [he] had” and he delivers a heartfelt goodbye to his fellow players on his way out of the lodge.
8:25 p.m. — The Final 3 players celebrate making it to the end. Taylor has been “gunning” for Frankie to leave this entire time, so now it’s up to her to “pull it out.” In the second semi-final match, Taylor and Frankie must stop mischievous elves from causing mayhem at the North Pole. They must knock down the correct five elves, based on clues from a police bulletin, with their enormous slingshots. This challenge seems much harder than the first one, not gonna lie. Based on the clues, Taylor knows she has to remove elves 5, 9, and 13. Frankie takes it a step further and knows that elves 3, 5, 7 9, and 13 are the culprits.
8:29 p.m. — Taylor notices that Frankie is “pulling ahead” as he gets down to only one elf. Similarly, Taylor is also down to just one elf herself. Frankie fires and hits the wrong elf … and so all of them come back up. Taylor slings her shot and hits the correct elf. That means she has advanced to the finals! “This is so much of what I could have wanted,” Taylor proclaims. Frankie “can’t be heartbroken” because Taylor is so happy to have made it.
8:36 p.m. — All of the evicted houseguests gather with the three Santa’s Elves as Tiffany welcomes everyone to the Reindeer Games final. Out comes Santa Claus, and Cody and Josh are freaking out. Britney is not happy at all because Santa “created drama” in the lodge. They all learn that Xavier and Frankie have been eliminated in fourth and third place. Everyone is gobsmacked. “Holy snowballs,” exclaims Cameron. Outcomes Taylor and Nicole for their final challenge. Danielle is “glad” to see two ladies in the Final 2, but she’s personally pulling for Taylor.
8:40 p.m. — The goal of this final game is to recover three special items: magical mistletoe, ancient antlers, and sacred snowflake. The mistletoe can only be retrieved by building and climbing a nine-piece Christmas tree puzzle, and then jumping up into the air and grabbing it. Taylor is the first to succeed — in fact, she perseveres rather quickly. Nicole is farther behind but makes a tall jump to grab the mistletoe.
8:43 p.m. — The antlers are tucked away inside a three-section maze that spins around in parts. Taylor has a good head start over Nicole as we break for the commercial.
8:48 p.m. — And we’re back. Nicole enters the arena and starts trying to unscramble her antler puzzle. Both ladies are furiously spinning around the antlers and are equally having issues. Josh wants Nicole to win because she’s the one who took him out of the game. Taylor thinks “reverse-engineering” the maze and starting from the bottom is the best way to succeed. Taylor wins again!
8:50 p.m. — Taylor moves on to the third and final part, which is to stack dozens of snowflakes together until the sacred snowflake appears. Nicole is “feeling hopeless” as she watches the game slip away. As Taylor grabs her second bag of snowflakes, Nicole finishes the antler puzzle.
8:52 p.m. — Nicole quickly finishes her first bag of snowflakes and grabs her second, officially tying the competition. All of a sudden, Nicole has grabbed her third bag of snowflakes, putting her slightly ahead … until Taylor retrieves her third bag, too. Taylor thinks going wide is a better method than going high. We see a montage of both women losing their stacks of snowflakes over and over again. Xavier calls it “intense” and says it’s “anybody’s game.”
8:56 p.m. — Taylor notes that the challenge is “neck and neck” because both players keep losing their stacks of snowflakes. Nicole soon realizes that the “heavy snowflakes” from the third bag need to go in the middle of the stack. Nicole’s method works and she is able to grab her fourth bag, which includes lots of tiny snowflakes. And just like that, Nicole finishes her stack, grabs the sacred snowflake, and pushes the button, ending the Reindeer Games!
8:59 p.m. — “I saved Christmas!” Nicole proclaims. She will never doubt herself again, adding, “There’s no feeling like this in the entire world.” Taylor calls it “heartbreaking” that she came so close, but says Nicole is a “beast” and that she “earned this win.” Santa Claus thanks everyone for helping him on this “holly jolly journey.” The North Pole is at peace and Christmas has been saved. The cast sings “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” as Santa’s sleigh flies up into the air. That’s a wrap!
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