It’s the final episode before Wednesday’s big finale, where either Derek, Azah, or Xavier will be walking away with a $750,000 check. The final HOH competitions began this evening, with the rest of it on Finale night.
Despite it not being a live episode, Julie Chen Moonves hosted the show, foreshadowing the upcoming finale. Each finalist laid out their case to the viewers as to why they deserve to win the game.
Xavier went first, and described how he laid low as a physical threat, but kept a very strong social game, by being in alliances like the Slaughterhouse, Royal Flush, and of course, The Cookout. He also talked about throwing most competitions, because he knew that it was better to rely on his social game. He then talked about how he pulled Kyland’s strings to eliminate Tiffany, as well as Derek’s strings to eliminate Kyland. He then said that he targeted Brent in his first HOH reign, because with Brent being a strong threat (and not likeable by the whole cast), he could build a genuine trust level with everyone. He definitely has done the most work out of everybody in this final three (Tiffany did more, but I digress), and he has a strong case to win it all.
Azah was second, and she said that although she wanted to be a competition beast when she started the game, she discovered that she wasn’t even a competition beast. She had to completely readjust her game to make it all about personal relationships. Not just a general social game, but real connections that will last outside of the house. Those connections have not made anyone want to go after her, because of how good a person she is. Once The Cookout made it to the final six, she knew that she had to give some proper allegiances, like lying to Hannah during the Double Eviction about not targeting her. She knew that Hannah was a bigger threat to her chances of getting to the end, which is why she went for that target. She believes that it’s because of those connections, along with her ability to win competitions when she needed to, could get her the win.
And then there’s Derek. Oh, Derek is in for a rude awakening when he gets out of this house. He has not won a single competition all season long, and yet thinks that he’s been pulling the strings along the way. He said he has the best social game in BB history, which he certainly does not. He said he formed strong bonds with whoever was the HOH that week.
Then he said the biggest lie that I couldn’t help but laugh at: Derek said that HE created The Cookout. It’s utterly false, as it was Tiffany that formed the alliance, and Derek has been carried by that alliance this whole way through. I’m looking forward to when Derek sees how the jury will react to this whole situation. By the way, vote Tiffany for America’s Favorite Player.
Julie then introduced the first part of the final HOH competition, which is played in three parts. All players are allowed to play, with the winner of part one advancing to part three, and the other two competing in part two later on.
The first part of the final HOH competition has historically been an endurance challenge, and that was the case again tonight. The final three were balancing on big bouncy boats that shook left, right, up, and down, and they had to hold on for dear life. All this while freezing cold water, and fake fish were thrown at them.
Xavier had an interesting strategy of properly adjusting his body weight to the opposite side that the boat was leaning so that he was not too thrown off balance. From the beginning, Azah found a very comfortable position and was solid like a rock. Derek, however, well, let’s just say he was the first one to fall off. I do have to give him credit, he stayed on longer than I thought.
With the competition being between Azah and Xavier, it felt like it could’ve gone on for days, because they were both solid as rocks. However, Azah made a slight adjustment to her position, which was what knocked her off the boat, and Xavier won part one of the final HOH competition. Azah and Derek will face off in part two on Wednesday.
After the competition was over, Derek and Xavier solidified that they are going to be the final two, and that Derek wants to win the competition so that it doesn’t matter who wins part three. Later on, Azah and Derek also solidified their final two, mentally gearing up to take the shot at Xavier if need be.
Wednesday is Finale Night! Everyone’s reuniting, and of the winner will be crowned!
Who will win Big Brother 23? SPOILERS AHEAD!
Part Two of the HOH competition already happened, which Azah won, and will go up against Xavier live during the finale. This also means that Derek has gone through the whole season without winning a single competition.
The most interesting part of the finale will be that final HOH competition, because Xavier and Azah are playing for third place. It’s astounding that a player as bad as Derek will be sitting in the final two, as well as at least getting the second place prize.
That said, either Xavier or Azah is winning the game. They’re only going to sit next to Derek because they know that the jury does not respect him as a player.
Xavier vs. Derek: Xavier wins 8-1 (Kyland being the one)
Azah vs. Derek: Azah wins 7-2 (Xavier and Kyland being the two)
Xavier vs. Azah: Xavier wins 8-1 (Britini being the one)
I don’t see that last scenario happening in the slightest, because both Azah and Xavier understand that sitting next to each other might lose them the game. They are fully aware that Derek has the smallest chance of winning, and unless the jury got bitter, they’re going to vote for the strongest overall game.
Only a few short days before the finale. It’s gearing up to be an exciting conclusion to one of the best seasons in years.