[Jodie.]

So C5 finals don’t really seem like much of an event, they literally feel just like a mass eviction. However luvvys the BB18 final had an event-atmosphere around it, and I’ve read other people say that so it’s not just me

But idg what made it so special? I don’t even think it was because of the amazing result, the show itself was just FAB Maybe it was bc it was the first full crowd since like Week 2?

[MB.]

A good set of housemates, meaning that we weren't watching in a constant state of fear that somebody terrible would win

[Babayaro.]

Finals with 4/5 housemates are always much better than the usual 6 (I prefer 4 housemates). I think the fact that it was quite hard to call made it better than most, if not all Channel 5 finals too. The best since BB9, in my opinion.

[RileyH]

There was just a possibility that ANYONE could win which is the first time it's felt like that in ages, and I wouldn't have minded either of them winning

[Babayaro.]

BB3/BB7/BB9/BB13/BB18 all had amazing finals.


BB17 was alright too, but being a Jason fan, it was far too stressful lol.

[Epic.]

Originally Posted by MB.

A good set of housemates, meaning that we weren't watching in a constant state of fear that somebody terrible would win

This, although Tom somehow winning would still have been horrifying even if he was much less bad in the second half

[Ant.]

The 4 person final definitely contributed to it. yeah we had Andrew but he was just there for the ride, once he was gone we had the 4 potential winners. And once Tom was gone we had 3 left, so it felt like we lost half the housemates since we've become so adjust to 6 person finales since 2014 (well maybe even 2013? I think CBB12 had 6 people but CBB15 had a hiccup and had 5 people in the finale... but anywho).
6 people is too much and for a finale no matter how long the show - especially when 6th and 5th leaves together (the fact we slipped back to this in CBB20 ) just further supports the notion that it's a rushed, mass eviction.

I think it helps that the housemates were all varied, which Raph (of course ) mentioned. They had a late entrant, a citizen, an exile, and the People's Housemate in the final 4, and while that doesn't really seem relevant, late entrants, the divide between citizens and exiles, and Tom's status were the foundations of what this series was - I highly doubt Fight Night would've happened if Issy and Savannah didn't enter late, and the exile/citizen theme caused the mass divide which remained for pretty much the entire series, which was all thanks to Tom. Of course, the final 4 were varied in sexuality, gender, and race, which also felt really reflective of how diverse the cast was and in turn reflected how they called it "the United Kingdom of Big Brother"

Also, there were no cruisers in the finale, so it felt like a celebration of sorts? That they all contributed and made it far on their own merit, especially after they booted out half the housemates in a week?

I think the fact Metro (?) wrote an article as to why Issy should win did help contribute to the idea it was a big deal, or at least to me it did. It felt weird seeing an article as to why a BB housemate should win - which hasn't been done for years, apparently. This, and the fact Isabelle walked her win (despite, as Riley said, the fact the winner was still so unpredictable), just make the BB18 final stick out to me

And of course, the fact that all 4 would've been good winners is the biggest reason. Tom, to me and many others, would've been the worst winner out of the 4 remaining, but he'd still be an alright winner? And I really believe between the other 3, there was no 'better' winner (although I was rooting for Debs and Issy <3 )

[Jake.]

Originally Posted by MB.

A good set of housemates, meaning that we weren't watching in a constant state of fear that somebody terrible would win

.

This and the smaller amount of housemates meant it had far more of an “event” feel