The debate about Taylor Hale’s abilities should be over after ‘Big Brother: Reindeer Games.’

The more unique winners of Big Brother typically get flack from some fans. It’s hard to argue with a winner who has the most competition wins under their belt, or a winner who has the most social influence on the game. Taylor Hale was influential in Big Brother 24, but not through leading an alliance. The Leftovers alliance formed around her after houseguests noticed her mistreatment. Taylor became the first Black woman to win the game, and the first person to win the season, and America’s Favorite Player.

Taylor is back for Big Brother: Reindeer Games with other legends of the CBS show. She got to play a very different game with her new competitors. The entertainment reporter managed to prove her social prowess a second time and set a new record for the spin-off. If there is any question about her win being a fluke, then it should now be settled.

Taylor Hale is the Only Player to Avoid Santa’s Showdown in ‘Big Brother Reindeer Games’

In every episode, the houseguests compete in a “Naughty or Nice” challenge for an advantage in the Jingle Bell Brawl and/or giving a disadvantage to someone else. Everyone then competes in the more physical Jingle Bell Brawl. The winner chooses who goes into Santa’s Showdown where the loser is eliminated from the game. This cycle keeps going until there are only four houseguests left. The finale will show them competing in a tournament called the Reindeer Games.

Episode 5 showed Taylor, Britney Haynes, Nicole Franzel, and Frankie Grande competing in the Jingle Bell Brawl. Nicole gave Xavier the disadvantage of not participating in the challenge. The competitors tasted different eggnog and had to name the mystery ingredient. Taylor won, which meant she would compete in the Reindeer Games. She also had the added power of picking one player to join her, and she chose Nicole. Taylor is the only cast member this season to never play in Santa’s Showdown.

This is a huge accomplishment and shows that she managed to lower her threat level to other houseguests. There was always a bigger threat they wanted to eliminate instead. Taylor started the season saying she wanted to use Xavier as her weapon to take out the other challenge threats. She fulfilled that vision and Xavier went into Santa’s Showdown four out of five times; eliminating Cameron Hardin, Cody Calafiore, and Britney. Episode 4 revealed her excellent position in Santa’s Lodge. She was aligned with everyone and, for the first time, had to show her cards by picking either Xavier or Nicole for Santa’s Showdown. She chose Nicole.

Her Santa’s Showdown record is almost the opposite of her time in Big Brother 24, when she was on the block six times and in danger of going home. Taylor wasn’t known as a competition beast in that season either. She won Head of Household (HoH) twice and didn’t win any vetoes. But what she does have in common in both seasons is important timing. The pageant queen won HoH in week 11, which secured her spot in the finale. Her win in episode 5 gave her the same finalist placement.

Taylor Wins Over the ‘Big Brother’ Fans

Lastly, the quality of Taylor’s social game was debated after her Big Brother 24 win. After all, she didn’t talk herself out of going on the block six times. However, the season started with Taylor at the biggest disadvantage, with the whole house turning on her. She handled that high-pressure situation well enough to stay and turn her luck around. This is hard since there is a saying in Big Brother that “pawns go home.”

Her finale speech was an excellent display of her social strategy as she went through all the hurdles she overcame to reach the end. The speech is one of the best in Big Brother history and, unsurprisingly, got her the win. She also put in the work on jurors by bettering her relationships before their evictions and even gifting them with clothes that they wore in the final episode. As if that wasn’t enough, Taylor’s social prowess won over the fans, and she was the first to win America’s Favorite Player too.

Taylor has already replicated so many of her accomplishments in the Christmas special. But will she win again? Nicole, Xavier, and Frankie are her competitors, and it’s too close to call. The spin-off series doesn’t have a jury for Taylor to win over. The Reindeer Games is a tournament and everyone has won at least one competition, so it could be a fair fight. No matter what happens, Big Brother: Reindeer Games allowed Taylor to show her first win wasn’t a stroke of luck.

The finale of Big Brother Reindeer Games will air on Thursday, December 21, 2023, on CBS. Past seasons of Big Brother can be streamed on Paramount+.