S01.E06: Big Brother: Reindeer Games

[Guest]

Finale.

[MsMalin]

Really kinda too late to be excited now but yay Nicole, even though she wasn't my original choice to win. Her defeat of X was absolutely delicious and beat I g Taylor was the icing on the.cake.   She really was impressive and I can't believe I'm saying that!

[Lady Calypso]

So, what I didn't expect to ever happen actually happened: the women beat the men and got to be the final 2! Obviously, Reindeer Games is not even part of the regular show, but even thinking about it, the last time the Big Brother Universe had a female F2 was BB13. 12 years ago, 12 years to get a F2 with women in it.

Now, Nicole winning was not something I was jumping up and down for, but I'm not upset that she won. Maybe it is editing that helped a lot, maybe Nicole actually hasn't changed much from her previous appearances, but she's been extremely tolerable this spinoff, similar to how I remembered her from BB16 (when I really liked her). And I think her working with the women for the first time in her Big Brother career was a huge help.  I think this spinoff really gave her SOME redemption. Actually, same with nearly every other controversial player, besides Cameron. Josh and Frankie also redeemed themselves in a lot of ways.

Plus, it's hard to say that Nicole didn't earn her win. Not only did she get Taylor to take her to the F4, she destroyed Xavier in their match-up with a smart strategy, and she fought for her win against Taylor. 

That final challenge looked difficult. The first two parts seemed like Taylor was running away with it, but that final challenge with the stacking snowflakes really evened things out. It looked like both women were there for at least an hour. But it was well earned, and I think it did help that both women were there and not Frankie or Xavier. It made this spinoff extremely satisfying to watch. 

Xavier isn't as good at comps as he appears to be. He's barely scraped by to get to the finale. He's done well enough, and I think the first Showdown was his most impressive challenge in this game, but he's really struggled and almost lost several times before this. He's gotten lucky that he was always good ENOUGH to get through, but at least Nicole beat him. His strategy with the gears was absolutely terrible; why was he starting with gears placed randomly?

Frankie losing at what was actually a really easy comp was a surprise. The mental portion was probably one of the easiest I've seen in a bit. The only difficult part was aiming the balls at the target, but those targets were also fairly large. They could have upped the difficulty on that by making the mental portion more difficult and making the targets half as big as they were. Alas, Taylor won against him and it worked for me. 

The look on everyone's faces when they realized Taylor and Nicole beat Frankie and Xavier was priceless. I don't blame them for being shocked; Big Brother has been male-dominated when it came to comps. So to find out not just one but two women beat the comp beasts? Amazing reaction, just another plus to this show. Cody and Britney looked the most shocked. 

Overall, what a fun holiday event. The fact that the comps were equitable was the highlight of the series, and these comps absolutely have to be carried over to the regular show. Women on the regular show need a chance to be able to save themselves and not have to continue to rely on men and their social game to do so. I hope this is them testing the waters with new comps and that we'll see many of these comps in BB26, because this event has proved that the comps can be equitable and a woman can do well when given an actual chance.

[Ananayel]

I started this off skeptical, mostly watching because pickins are slim this time of year. But I ended up really enjoying it. No nasty meanness, no real misogyny, no racism, and (reasonably) fair comps, much better than in a normal season. I could even tolerate Frankie.

But the best part is that in a show with the likes of Xavier, Cody, Cameron, and Josh (along with a surprisingly focused and competent Frankie,) the F2 were women. I'd have preferred to see Britney there, but maybe since this was a short incarnation and she seemed to have surprised herself with how she did, she'll come back if there's another one. And I won't say that about most of the BB people! 

[iMonrey]

8 minutes ago, Ananayel said:

I started this off skeptical, mostly watching because pickins are slim this time of year. But I ended up really enjoying it. No nasty meanness, no real misogyny, no racism, and (reasonably) fair comps, much better than in a normal season. I could even tolerate Frankie.

That's where I land too (although I could only barely tolerate Frankie). I was happy with the finale. I would have been really disappointed if either Xavier or Taylor had won. Not because I don't like them, but because in Xavier's case I feel like he coasted to his win on the back of the Cookout and it was good to see him a bit humbled here.

Taylor's a different story. I think she came into her season expected to play the Pageant Princess character, but she ended up being so horribly bullied the fans rallied around her. She seems to have gotten over it though because it felt like she was playing Pageant Princess here again too, the character she always meant to play. It was kind of a turnoff.

It's also the fact that Nicole was such an underdog going up against Xavier and then Taylor so her win was so surprising it made it really satisfying. 

I wouldn't mind seeing some other "mini seasons" like this, but please - Big Brother - no more Frankie.

[MsMalin]

Really kinda too late to be excited now but yay Nicole, even though she wasn't my original choice to win. Her defeat of X was absolutely delicious and beating Taylor was the icing on the.cake.   She really was impressive and I can't believe I'm saying that!

[30 Helens]

52 minutes ago, Ananayel said:

No nasty meanness, no real misogyny, no racism, and (reasonably) fair comps, much better than in a normal season. I could even tolerate Frankie.

Editing + short season + living apart = much nicer contestants. If not for feeds, we’d probably like EVERYONE a lot more. 

The vibe here was a bit different, though. They all seemed to be there for the fun of it, and mutual support outweighed the usual cutthroat attitude. Taylor seemed the most overtly competitive, and that may be partly why she didn’t come across as well as some others. Or maybe we’re just so used to Underdog Taylor that Confident Taylor is too much dissonance.

As for X, he’s always been given too much credit by his fellow players. He LOOKS like a comp beast, so therefore he must be. That gives him a psychological edge. Nicole, on the other hand, constantly undermines her own abilities, leading people like X to forget she’s not actually a pushover. 

I came into this season fully expecting a hate watch, and I’m very surprised and pleased to say I really enjoyed it. Maybe Big Brother should be structured like this, too. No feeds, no living together, no pots and pans. Just a long season of equitable comps that leads to a deserving winner.

[retired watcher]

I really loved this show. The perfect light and fun show for this season. 

[Gemma Violet]

I want to echo what many here have said.  I thoroughly enjoyed this show and I hope it comes back.  No fussing and fighting, comps that are not geared towards comp beasts, and the sets--oh my gosh, the Christmasy sets (and costumes)!  Whoever did all that work deserves an award. 

And an amazing thing happened--I didn't hate Frankie in this show.  He was palatable and tolerable.  Will wonders never cease?!

Yeah, I'd love to see regular BB incorporate these things into the regular show, but you know it won't happen.  But I hope, at least, we get a couple of these shortened games per year.  Maybe they could do one for Valentine's Day, or Mardi Gras or Halloween. 

By the way, I read somewhere that the first episode of Reindeer Games got a third of the ratings of an episode of BB.  If that's true, that's about one million viewers.  So maybe it won't come back.  Does anyone have confirmation on the ratings? 

Edited December 23, 2023 by Gemma Violet

[Shrek]

1 hour ago, 30 Helens said:

. Maybe Big Brother should be structured like this, too. No feeds, no living together, no pots and pans. Just a long season of equitable comps that leads to a deserving winner.

I get what you're saying but then it would just be another game show & not Big Brother as the whole point of the original concept was people being together in a house for however long while all the time being watched by big brother.

[Jobiska]

I too was surprised about enjoying this unironically.

As all their DRs were obviously scripted (at least to make sure they delivered the puns), I don't feel that Taylor was insufferably smug, just that she delivered what TPTB wanted quite well.  I mean, of course she agreed to the flavor of the lines, but hey.  I was also basically won over to Frankie mainly by how he delivered his DRs--he would give the awful pun and then make an expression that was a perfect combination of "I can't believe I said that" and "Yeah I said it, whaddaya want to make of it?" and "I'm fabulous, so I can't be unfabbed no matter what pun I make!"  Like, he knows it's ridiculous and BB is so often ridiculous but he doesn't mind, he will give it his all.  And I thought it was sweet when he said that he minded losing less bc Taylor was so happy.

And then Nicole saying how beautiful Taylor was and that she amazingly performed with her perfect hair down...that was also endearing! 

Cody looking down @ Frankie when he came over to hug him was also actually kind of touching--he looked really sad for him!  And he yelled out for Santa so enthusiastically!

All those cookies everywhere on set though and nobody eating them--glad Santa grabbed one in the final scene, heh.  

 

[Thalia]

I can't help but believe that I caused the forums to breakdown a few days ago.   After all, I did say that I no longer wanted hated Frankie and in fact wanted him to win.  For something like that, I was expecting Hell to freeze over; shutting the forums down was nothing.  

Reindeer Games really was fun.  The only thing I would change going forward is to eliminate having a player from the most recent season play.  Cameron really had no chance against the others, and it eliminated any suspense in the first episode.  I guess he could have won either the third challenge and moved forward, but as Britney noted, he was exhausted.

There are still some glitches here and I can't seem to quote @iMonrey, but I agree 100% with your comments about Taylor.  They showed a brief clip of her playing pool with the guys in season 24, while wearing a Va Va Va Voom red swimsuit.  At the time I thought she was an idiot, playing into the hatred the other women in the house were exhibiting toward her.  But maybe her plan all along had been to play the pageant diva.  I certainly didn't like her as well in RG.    

Edited December 24, 2023 by Thalia

[choclatechip45]

I really enjoyed this and would be fine with another season. Most shocking I didn't hate that Nicole won. 

[oftentimes]

haha, I did.

[Nashville]

From what little I actually got to see of the show, it was - excepting the appearances of FmfG and Josh - somewhat better than what I expected.  The only significantly irritating components I observed were the slightly overbearing preponderances of:

1. FAR too many expository DRs.  Is it really necessary for every comp to be accompanied by a TH from every contestant stating - in succession - how (a) this is The Single Most Important Competition Of The Season™ , and (b) it is absolutely essential that THEY must win?  Really?
2. On a related note: did the individual player contracts stipulate cash bonuses for each time they could insert the phrase “Reindeer Games” into their THs?  Seriously, y’all; anybody watching already knows the name of the show.  The constant repetitions got a little tiresome.
3. The overblown histrionics every time a player was eliminated - sobbing cries, wails of despair, etc. - were more than a little hard to take.  I kept getting reminded of one of the classic lines from Uncle Buck: “We’re going home, we’re not dying.”

Other than those points, though, I thought the show exceeded expectations; not a particularly high bar to clear, to be sure, but still….

[iMonrey]

10 hours ago, Nashville said:

FAR too many expository DRs.  Is it really necessary for every comp to be accompanied by a TH from every contestant stating - in succession - how (a) this is The Single Most Important Competition Of The Season™ , and (b) it is absolutely essential that THEY must win?  Really?

This has been the established formula of the show proper since its inception. It feels rather lazy to me, like a paint by the numbers job the editors do every week. I can sort of understand why they have such a formulaic edit when they are putting the episodes together in real time, but surely they had enough extra time whenever this was filmed not to rely on such a lazy formula. 

[watch2much]

I'm the outlier.  didn't really enjoy the show but I was very happy with Nicole win.  she's always been under rated and it was good to see her beat everyone.  maybe it's that new mother instinct.