Warning! The following contains spoilers from the Big Brother Season 25 finale. Read at your own risk!
Season 25 was the longest in Big Brother history, and while I realized weeks ago that a hundred days is too long for a season, I'm thrilled it ended the way it did. In fact, I was shocked I enjoyed this finale as much as I did considering my thoughts on the season overall, but for all that optimism, I'm still on the fence about the upcoming spinoff Big Brother: Reindeer Games.
The jury gathered on stage to crown the winner of Season 25, and now my hottest take about Jag Bains isn't that spicy anymore. He became the first Sikh winner of the CBS reality series and overwhelmingly the most dominant competitor in a single season. Jag was only part of the reason I loved this finale, however, and I'll drill down on that as well as my thoughts about Reindeer Games below.
The Season 25 Finale Was Surprisingly Positive, And I Loved It
Big Brother finales in recent years are treated as a reckoning of sorts. It's not uncommon for pre-jurors to arrive with confrontational questions to the formerly sequestered jurors and for Julie Chen Moonves to grill some Houseguests on their actions or behavior over the course of a season. Sometimes, all of that happens, and you get the super awkward finale that happened in Celebrity Big Brother Season 3.
Fortunately, Big Brother Season 25's finale was all about good vibes. Rather than dwell on the expulsion of Luke Valentine, it was mostly about revealing the unknown secrets of the game the jury had yet to learn. This included Jared and Cirie Fields revealing they are mother and son, which was a memorable on-stage moment I'll revisit for years to come. I almost feel like Jared's reveal to an oblivious Cirie that he told Blue Kim before leaving topped it, though, and made for another hilarious moment.
Everyone was happy when Jag was announced as the winner, and I'm even more shocked Houseguests were happy that Cameron Hardin won America's Favorite Houseguest. Maybe Mecole Hayes was right when she told CinemaBlend he was the "comeback kid" because I didn't have that one on my bingo card.
The overwhelming positivity of this finale elevated what I would call an otherwise middling season of Big Brother. I know not every finale can be like this one, but it was nice to close it out this time with a feeling of good vibes rather than bitterness and shock over some drama that ensued between Houseguests.
I'm Not Sure Big Brother: Reindeer Games Is Something I Want
Rumors have swirled for a while now online that Big Brother was plotting something for the winter season. Sure enough, Julie Chen Moonves confirmed a spinoff was coming, and it's going to be holiday-themed. Unfortunately, Big Brother: Reindeer Games seemingly only resembles the show in that it shares the same name. Nine Big Brother legends, including one person from Season 25, will compete in challenges against each other throughout six episodes for a chance at $100,000.
Each episode will feature three competitions, all of whom will help determine which legend goes home at the end of the episode. The finale will feature four Big Brother Houseguests, who will then battle it out for the cash prize at the end.
While there's a promise of Big Brother legends competing and appearances by other former players like Tiffany Mitchell, Derek Xiao, and Jordan Lloyd, this doesn't sound like Big Brother. In fact, it sounds like an entirely different game show that just happens to be marketed to Big Brother fans by utilizing its former competitors. If I can't watch Big Brother online and the live feeds with my Paramount+ subscription, I can't sit here and act like it's the same thing. Maybe it'll win me over when it officially premieres, but for now, I remain unmoved and unimpressed by the announcement.
Big Brother Season 25 is over, but fans can revisit it anytime on Paramount+. As for Reindeer Games, catch the two-hour premiere on CBS on Monday, December 11th at 8:00 p.m. ET. Here's hoping I end up loving the spinoff as much as I did the Season 25 finale, and this can evolve into a yearly tradition that fans of the series appreciate again and again.
