We Have A Winner: Big Brother 23 Season Finale Recap
Another season of Big Brother is in the books! After 85 days inside the house, Xavier is the winner of Big Brother 23. Since Day 1, we saw "The Cookout" alliance form with six of the houseguests. And once we reached the Final Six, their task was officially deemed a success. I think it's safe to say that this is what this season is going to be remembered as: the dominance of "The Cookout" alliance and the fact that it guaranteed the fist ever black winner of Big Brother.
That accomplishment set by Xavier, Derek F, Azah, Kyland, Hannah, and Tiffany was awesome. There is no doubt about that. But unfortunately, the last few seasons of Big Brother have lacked the overall drama and blindsides that we have seen in the past. As a viewer, there is NOTHING like a blindside. Sure, it stinks for the evicted houseguest, but from a television perspective, it is a great viewing experience. Let's bring up some numbers from this season's evictions:
11-2 vote
11-1 vote
11-0 vote
10-0 vote
7-2 vote
7-1 vote
5-2 vote
5-1 vote
4-1 vote
3-1 vote
3-0 vote
2-0 vote
1-0 vote
That's 11 TOTAL votes on the wrong side of the eviction for the entire season. And when you account for the "rogue" votes thrown out, it makes that true number even smaller. Hopefully we return to the form of blindsides and intense gameplay in future seasons.
As for this season's winner, Xavier was very, very deserving of the $750,000 grand prize. Three HOH victories, three veto wins, and being nominated five out of the final six weeks is an insane resume. But the most impressive part? He was never truly the target as the game came down the stretch. Xavier was always on the right side of the vote, always had a chance to win competitions, and knew what everyone else in the house was thinking. I don't think we will see another All-Stars season after last year's mess, but if we do, he absolutely deserves the chance to run it back in the future.
Another thing that surprised me about last night's finale was after Azah was evicted, she confirmed to Julie that had she won the final HOH competition, she still would have taken Xavier to the Final Two. Uhhhh, what? I understand it from the personal side, but in terms of winning the game, this would have been up there with Cody bringing Derrick to the Final Two levels of a bad game move. With Xavier winning the final HOH, he kept things in his own control and correctly made the right choice to bring Derek F. to the Final Two. To no surprise, he won the game in a unanimous 9-0 vote.
And with that, another season of Big Brother coverage is in the books. As I mentioned above, hopefully next season provides more entertaining television. I know that Celebrity Big Brother is returning this winter, too, but I'll be honest, that is going to be tough to balance in the thick of college basketball season (subscribe to the Barstool Bench Mob!).
The potential is there for this show. Thank you to everyone who has read these blogs all season long and we'll see you next summer!