It’s finally time to crown the winner of Big Brother 18. After the longest season ever, Nicole, James or Paul will win the game. There’s the three parts of the Final HoH competition, the last eviction, the jury questions and the reveal. We’ll also get the results for America’s Favorite Houseguest and a mini-reunion with the entire cast.
Poll: Who Will Win BB18?>>>
BUT FIRST…this is the Big Brother 18 finale live blog!
The Final HoH, Part 1
The HGs compete on the three-apparatus endurance competition where they chase a laser pointer like a bunch of cats. The hardest part is a leaning wall where they must hold onto a curtain cord. Nicole slides off the wall but has to hold herself up by the rope. So do the others. Nicole falls after about an hour and 12 minutes and James falls right after.
Paul wins Part 1!
He’s happy and Nicole is worried about James falling as soon as she did. But she’s happy she gets to face him in part 2, because she thinks she can beat him. James tells us he didn’t throw it.
The Final HoH, Part 2
It’s a mental and physical game where they must race through a line and put three HG’s faces on a roller coaster to answer a question, hitting a button to take a picture at the right time to get them in it. The first to get three right in the fastest time wins.
Nicole gets the timing on the first photo wrong, but then adjusts and gets three correct in a row. James gets the first photo way off and the coaster isn’t even in the frame. He’s also wrong. In his next attempt the framing is right, but the answer is wrong, so he has to go again. He gets the next two right.
Nicole: 7:24
James: 19:06
Nicole wins Part 2!
It’s not even close, as expected. Paul wants to take Nicole to the Final 2 because she deserves it and he thinks he can beat anyone. Nicole is torn because she thinks Paul has played a better game and James is easier to beat because he hasn’t done anything.
The Jury Round Table with Dr. Will Kirby
As always, we get to find out what the jury is thinking before the vote. Corey shows up to tell them about Paul winning HoH and PoV to get him out. Natalie and Michelle rave about James’ social game. Bridgette and Zakiyah give him credit for flying under the radar, but Da’Vonne, Victor and Corey don’t respect his coasting.
Paulie thinks Paul was great and everyone thinks he’s the best liar and manipulator. He has a good social game and he could win competition. Corey claims he was a medium player and Victor leaps to his boy’s defense. Da’Vonne LOVES Paul the player, but hates Paul the person for rubbing people the wrong way. He’s obnoxious and mean. Natalie admits that she’s bitter against Paul, especially for using the c-word.
Michelle doesn’t know what Nicole’s biggest move. Da’Vonne thinks it was getting her out. Corey and Paulie give her credit for taking out all of her threats and making it far without going on the block. Michelle insists that taking her out was personal and not strategic, but it was. Michelle cries over Corey’s smile and him laughing at her. Bridgette faults Nicole for throwing girls under the bus and aligning with the boys. Da’Vonne builds the case for Nicole as the puppet master of the men.
The Final HoH, Part 3
It’s Paul vs. Nicole on the giant scale in the backyard. They will answer 8 questions based on statements made by the jurors.
Question 1: They’re both right!
Question 2: They’re both wrong!
Question 3: They’re both wrong!
Question 4: Paul is right!
Question 5: They’re both wrong!
Question 6: Paul is right!
Question 7: Nicole is right!
Question 8: They’re both right!
Paul wins the Final HoH!
Friendship!!! That means he won the last four competitions in a row that he played in! Now will he stick with Nicole or stab her in the back.
The Final Eviction
Paul has to choose whether to take Nicole or James to the Final 2. James is probably a guaranteed win and Nicole could go either way.
Paul votes to evict…James!
This is going to be interesting. Nicole vs. Paul? The two best players are going head-to-head.
James isn’t sure if Paul made the smart move. He admits he was trying to be sneaky, but Nicole must’ve told Paul that James asked her to take him. James claims he took advice from great players and didn’t want to win anything so his social game would be the focus.
The Final 2 Speeches and Jury Questions
Da’Vonne says she NEEDS Paul to stay in the house. Ooh, is she voting for him? Each HG will get three questions from the jury.
Question 1 for Paul: It’s about him being vulgar and not getting their respect. He claims he was just being himself and having fun.
Question 1 for Nicole: Her big move was getting Natalie to nominate Paul and Victor.
Question 2 for Paul: Corey claims Paul wasn’t a great strategist, but Paul says he was nominated six times and only got two votes.
Question 2 for Nicole: Was Nicole riding the guys’ coattails? She says she was the brains behind a lot of it. She adds that things went the way she wanted, so she sat back and let it happen.
Question 3 for Paul: He says it’s his first time and he worked his ass off, which is why he deserves to win over Nicole. He was always out front and didn’t hide.
Question 3 for Nicole: She deserves to win over Paul because she gave 1,000 percent and worked hard every day. She also claims everyone knew her game and being a vet was a disadvantage.
James’ Question for Paul: Paul explains that he made Final 2 deals with both him and Nicole to see who was the most honest. He explains that Nicole told him everything James said to her, but James didn’t do the same, so she was more loyal.
Paul’s Speech: He says he was a target from the start and got nominated six times. He was always a target but aligned with the right people at the right time. He also takes credit for finding the Paris Room and preventing anyone else from having the Round Trip Ticket. He lays EVERYTHING on the table about what he did, winning the most in-house competitions.
Nicole’s Speech: “Crap, that was good” is how she starts. She starts with the first two days of what she did, then jumps forward to after Paulie was evicted. Um, there are 56 days in the middle that she forgot. Everything she says is about doing things with Corey and using strategy. She gave it her all.
Damn, Paul CRUSHED HER in those final speeches. Now it’s time for the jurors to vote for the winner.
-Da’Vonne and Zakiyah love them both
-Paulie says they both played an excellent game
-Michelle is nice and the Final 2 are surprised
-Natalie says they both kicked a lot of butt
-Victor makes a joke about going back into the house
-Corey says Nicole is looking good
The Winner
We’re skipping right to the winner.
James voted for…Paul
Corey voted for…Nicole
Victor voted for…Paul
Natalie voted for…Nicole
Michelle voted for…Paul
Paulie voted for…Nicole
Bridgette voted for…Paul
Zakiyah voted for…Nicole
It’s tied, 4-4.
Da’Vonne voted for…Nicole
Nicole Franzel is the winner of Big Brother 18!
Wow, I’m kind of surprised. Paulie, Zakiyah and Da’Vonne ALL voted for Nicole. I really thought Paul had either Paulie or Da’Vonne.
Julie Chen crows about how, for the first time ever, a woman has defeated a man in the Final 2. Nicole did play a good game, but I thought Paul was just better throughout the whole season.
The Top 3 for America’s Favorite were Victor, Natalie and James.
Victor wins America’s Favorite Houseguest!
Good for him! At least I got something I wanted.
And that’s it for Big Brother 18. But don’t worry, Big Brother: Over the Top starts in one week, so go vote for Jason Roy or Jozea Flores to be on it!
(Image courtesy of CBS)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
John watches nearly every show on TV, but he specializes in sci-fi/fantasy like The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural and True Blood. However, he can also be found writing about everything from Survivor and Glee to One Tree Hill and Smallville.
