‘Big Brother Reindeer Games’ episode 3 recap: Who was the 3rd person evicted? [LIVE BLOG]

Marcus James Dixon
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Following the back-to-back evictions of Cameron Hardin (BB25) and Cody Calafiore (BB16 & BB22) from “Big Brother Reindeer Games,” just seven contestants remained in the lodge. The ultimate champion of this Christmas-themed mini-season will take home a cool $100,000. So how did everything play out in Thursday’s third episode?

Below, read our minute-by-minute “Big Brother Reindeer Games” Season 1, Episode 3 recap/live blog to find out what happened Thursday, December 14 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT. Then be sure to sound off in the comment section about your favorite houseguests on CBS’s reality TV show, who annoys you the most and who you think will ultimately join the “Big Brother” winners list. Regular host Julie Chen Moonves is sitting out this show, and she’s replaced by fan-faves Jordan Lloyd, Derek Xiao and Tiffany Mitchell as “Santa’s Elves.”

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Here are the seven remaining players: Britney Godwin (BB12 & BB14), Danielle Reyes (BB3 & BB7), Frankie Grande (BB16), Josh Martinez (BB19), Nicole Franzel-Arroyo (BB16, BB18 & BB22), Taylor Hale (BB24) and Xavier Prather (BB23).

SEE‘Big Brother’: America’s Favorite Houseguest Winners (All Seasons)

8:00 p.m. — “Previously on ‘BB Reindeer Games’!” In the second episode, Cody won the Naughty and Nice Challenge and earned the ability to divide the players into teams: Cody, Frankie, Nicole and Xavier on one side, and Britney, Danielle, Josh and Taylor on the other. The latter team won the Jingle Bell Brawl and chose to make Nicole safe, sending the three guys to Santa’s Showdown. Xavier was the first to survive the challenge, followed by Frankie, which meant Cody was eliminated from the game. Who will be the third person evicted tonight? Let’s go!

8:04 p.m. — It’s Day 3 in the lodge and Josh says these games are “really heating up.” Taylor and Britney are whispering in the kitchen about creating a girls’ alliance. Taylor already has an alliance with Xavier and Josh, so she’s creating several paths to the end. Xavier and Danielle are in the living room talking about her group’s decision to save Nicole last night. Danielle explains that she wanted Xavier to be her “warrior” to go into Santa’s Showdown. Is he buying it?

8:06 p.m. — Nicole is noticing how Danielle is “always with” Xavier, which doesn’t bode well for her girls’ alliance. Britney agrees that Danielle is double-dealing, claiming, “We’re onto you.” The doorbell rings and Derek enters the lodge as the latest Santa’s Elf. Everyone seems to legitimately love him and his positive energy.

8:08 p.m. — The Naughty and Nice Challenge begins with a “Christmas crooner” entering the lodge and playing a version of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” on the white grand piano. The contestants have to figure out why his girlfriend dumped him, and the four-word answer is spelled out in Christmas cookies that are spread out around the lodge. The winner will get a two-minute head start in the next challenge.

8:15 p.m. — Josh wants “to take” this power. Britney believes the win would “curse” her, as she doesn’t want to disadvantage someone. “The color of the letters could help you,” Derek reveals while at the piano. That causes the players to start running around even quicker. The answer to the puzzle appears to be “You Are Too Clingy,” but no one has guessed it yet … hmm. What’s taking them so long?

8:18 p.m. — Finally! Taylor solves the riddle and phones up the crooner, and she wins the Naughty and Nice power by guessing “You Are Too Clingy.” Everyone congratulates Taylor on her win, but some of them are clearly hesitant because they aren’t yet clear what the disadvantage will be.

8:20 p.m. — Taylor’s #1 target (Cody) is gone, so now she’s setting her sights on Frankie. Everyone is giving their thoughts to Taylor on who she should punish. Xavier and Josh volunteer to be disadvantages. She’s considering that option because she doesn’t want to “draw the line in the sand” too early by going after Frankie.

8:22 p.m. — At the ceremony, Taylor decides to give the Naughty sock to … Josh! Josh pretends to be mad, but he’s actually okay with this decision because he volunteered for it. He’s hoping this game move doesn’t “bite” him “in the butt.” Famous last words?

8:27 p.m. — It’s Jingle Bell Brawl time. Each player has to put together broken pieces of gingerbread man cookies and, oh yeah, the pieces are super tiny, so they’ll have to use tweezers. Taylor gets a two-minute head start, while Josh’s completed puzzle board will be blocked for the first five minutes. Several of the players are “shaking like crazy” as they try to assemble the puzzle. When Josh removes the cover from his answer key, he realizes several pieces are in the wrong place so he has to redo those.

8:33 p.m. — Danielle says it’s the “worst” challenge of her entire reality existence, Josh declares that it’s “torture,” and Xavier calls it “infuriating.” Nicole decides to “stagger” the pieces and it helps her to go “faster and faster.” Frankie starts “dropping” the pieces instead of “placing” them, and that helps him out. Nicole starts celebrating, thinking she’d won, but it turns out she “put the eyes on wrong” so she’ll have to switch them. Now it’s a race between Josh and Frankie, only Josh loses an entire column. And then Frankie loses two columns. Nicole comes back around and wins — “For real” this time!

8:36 p.m. — Nicole has to choose one person to enter Santa’s Showdown, and if they win the timed event, they will have to pick someone else to compete, only that player will have less time. Will Nicole send a friend or a foe first? Xavier worries that Nicole will choose him because they don’t yet have a good relationship.

8:42 p.m. — Nicole doesn’t want to put Frankie into the showdown, but he thinks maybe he should go first to have the most time. Ultimately they want Xavier to go home tonight, so that’s in the back of Nicole’s mind. Britney is willing to go in first, depending on what the challenge is. Taylor and Danielle think Xavier will be named first.

8:44 p.m. — Derek invites the players to Santa’s Showdown, where a human-sized snow globe, aka a hamster wheel maze, awaits. Each person that goes next will have one minute less than the person before them. Nicole doesn’t want to “make an enemy,” so she knows Britney and Frankie are her best options. She chooses Frankie.

8:51 p.m. — Frankie’s timer starts at 5 minutes and 30 seconds. He jumps into the snow globe and starts maneuvering the ball around the maze. Inside the lodge, Danielle, Xavier and Taylor are talking about who might go in next if Frankie wins. Frankie says the puzzle is “so close” to his eye-line that it’s “kind of impossible” for him to figure out.

8:54 p.m. — Josh and Britney make a promise to not put each other in if either of them wins. Uh-oh, is this foreshadowing for later? If so, that means Frankie will survive the challenge. And sure enough, he completes it with 3 minutes and 11 seconds remaining on the clock. Now Frankie has to choose his replacement.

8:56 p.m. — “This is the most f***ed-up Christmas party I have ever been to,” declares Taylor. Everyone remaining is “shaking” in the lodge. Frankie decides to talk to Nicole about what the plan should be. Frankie wants to put in Xavier, but Nicole thinks Britney should go in while there’s enough time left. Britney suggests Danielle and calls it “absolute mental warfare.” Frankie officially announces that Xavier is his choice to go into the hamster wheel second.

9:02 p.m. — Xavier isn’t sure whether Frankie is targeting him or befriending him by picking him second. Xavier tries to remind himself not to panic, but he is starting to “run out of time.” Inside the kitchen, Britney and Josh are talking again. She’s “mad” at herself for not going first when she had that option. Outside, Xavier survives with just 14 seconds on the clock — close one! This marks his third consecutive showdown that he’s won.

9:06 p.m. — Frankie is worried that whoever goes third will be eliminated since Xavier’s game was such a nail-biter. Xavier tells Danielle that he wants to send Britney. Britney begs and pleads not to be sent, saying it’s a “death sentence” if she goes. Nicole asks for a “favor” that Britney won’t be put up. Xavier decides to send Britney to Santa’s Showdown and she freaks out. “My head is in the guillotine right now,” she complains.

9:13 p.m. — Britney walks outside and she feels “completely doomed” because she’s “small” and the snow globe is “enormous.” The challenge begins and she notices it’s immediately more difficult than she thought because of the turning and flipping. Danielle and Nicole hug each other in the bathroom. Taylor and Josh celebrate Britney’s likely eviction in the living room. Amazingly, Britney is able to complete the challenge with 1 minute and 18 seconds left. Britney drops to the ground and starts saying, “Oh my God,” over and over again. She dedicates her win to her girls. “I’m crying in a candy cane forest,” she laughs. “I hate all of them! They sent me to my death.”

9:18 p.m. — Everyone congratulates Britney as she is “bursting with joy … but I have aged 15 years,” she declares. The next person will only get two and a half minutes, which isn’t long at all. Her only three choices are Josh, Taylor and Danielle. Taylor volunteers to go up. But when Xavier tells Britney that he put her out there because he’s trying to keep Danielle safe, it essentially makes Britney’s decision for her. Danielle is “pissed” and “scared” as she goes outside.

9:23 p.m. — “Britney should be very afraid” if Danielle wins, she claims. She pushes the button and starts the challenge. She can’t get the snow globe to even move because she’s not taking big enough steps. Inside the lodge, Taylor proclaims, “Reindeer Games is worse than Big Brother.” Back outside, Danielle is “getting something going” but the timer is ticking down. Her ball reaches the inner sanctum, but ultimately she doesn’t persevere. Danielle is eliminated.

9:26 p.m. — Taylor breaks down because Danielle influenced her to join “Big Brother” in the first place. “It is what it is,” Danielle declares. Britney cries that she was put in this position in the first place, calling Danielle a “legend.” Xavier thinks he “failed” because he didn’t keep her safe. Danielle calls herself a “dusty girl” and that she didn’t do too bad for someone that’s been out of the game for so long. She opens her goodbye present and it’s a $5,000 prize. Danielle calls her experience “memorable” as the houseguests shout out that she’s a “legend.”

9:28 p.m. — The Final 6 collectively chant, “Worst day ever!” as they celebrate the end of an intense day. Who will go home next Monday night? Stay tuned.

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