The Anonymous Season 1 Finale Recap: The Final Face-Off

Marcel Cunningham, Nina Twine, Christopher Shulstad in the finale of The Anonymous
Photo Credit: Rico Torres/USA Network via Getty Images

We did it, folks! We’ve made it to the finish line of Season 1 of The Anonymous. After ten eliminations, two handle refreshes, one showmance, and a countless number of lies, a winner has finally been crowned. The rest of the players? They walked away with absolutely nothing. Here’s how things shook out on The Anonymous, Season 1, Episode 12, “Welcome to the Finale.”

What happened in The Anonymous Season 1, Episode 12?

The Anonymous logo
Photo Credit: USA Network

DANI declared a winner of The Anonymous, and one player walked away with the jackpot, but first, the final five players battled it out for safety and made a last-ditch effort to add money to the prize pot. By the end, DANI pushed the players into one last Face-Off to determine who would walk away with the cash.

Lilly’s last stand

Lilly Jenkins on The Anonymous
Photo Credit: Rico Torres/USA Network

Before the finale really kicked off, we had some unfinished business from Episode 11. Last week, the players put Andy, Lilly, and Victoria on the chopping block. At the top of the episode, DANI shared the news that The Anonymous chose to eliminate Lilly.

In a flashback, it’s revealed that Marcel won the power to eliminate. Better late than never, right? He justified his decision pretty easily because, for the last few weeks, he’s incorrectly suspected Lilly had been masterminding the eliminations.

Of course, we all know that wasn’t the case. The only real thing Lilly masterminded was her confusing run as Robot. When she revealed that was one of her secret handles, she got a big round of applause from the remaining players.

On her way out the door, Lilly told the cameras that she suspected Christopher was behind her elimination. She said, “Unless you’re a single woman or a beefcake of a man, you have no value to him I hope he doesn’t win.” Yikes! It looks like the #ChristopherIsCancelled party continues.

One last chance at safety

The final players of Season 1 of The Anonymous standing around the dial
Photo Credit: Rico Torres/USA Network

After Lilly’s elimination, DANI told the players there was still one more challenge. They’d have one more shot at earning safety, putting money in the prize pot, and winning the power of The Anonymous.

For this week’s challenge, DANI challenged the players to a twisted game of Connect Four, where she shot a bunch of colorful balls in the air. Most of the balls were useless. They had to catch silver balls to make connections on their game board. Each silver ball earned $25, and the person with the most connections would win safety.

Of course, there was also a twist. Catching a red ball and placing it in another player’s board would block their connection and earn $50. DANI can’t help but make these games as shady as possible.

The game seemed hard enough as it was, and then DANI said, “Difficulty level increased.” All of a sudden, she started spraying them with paint and confetti. Chaos. At least they didn’t have to do math this time.

Ultimately, Christopher wound up getting the most connections. He won safety from elimination, and thus, earned a spot in the final Face-Off, and they managed to get their prize pot up to a cool $80,000, just a little shy of the original $100,000 grand they were promised.

The final Anonymous Mode

Marcel Cunnigham in the Anonymous Season 1 finale
Photo Credit: Rico Torres/USA Network

DANI explained that there would only be space for four players in the final Face-Off, which meant the final Anonymous would be extra-powerful this time around. It also meant that everyone got extra feisty in the chat. Then, DANI made it even more scarier with another little announcement.

“After this chat, there will be no vote,” DANI warned. “Instead, you’ll go straight to the test after which one player will be eliminated. No goodbyes!”

With no nominations this week, the final chat quickly devolved into pure messiness. Everyone started throwing each other under the bus. Should Andy go home because he flopped in the challenges? Or, maybe it’s time to finally target Victoria since Christopher had a guaranteed spot in the Face-Off?

As the accusations filled the chat, they all tried their hardest to keep their identities a secret, but it’s not so easy when there are only five players.

Marcel’s last-minute winning streak

Marcel Cunningham in the finale of The Anonymous
Photo Credit: Rico Torres/USA Network

After the vote, Marcel was declared the final Anonymous of the season. He’s on a winning streak this week, and it’s the best time for that to happen. As the final Anonymous, he got to determine who would move forward into the final Face-Off.

After Marcel made his decision, they dramatically teased who he chose by bringing them out of their hideouts one by one. Slowly but surely, we learned that Marcel chose to kick out Victoria, and she cried in the hideout because she wouldn’t get to say goodbye. 

“DANI, just let me leave. I can’t do this,” she tearfully said from her hideout.

With that, this showmance officially came to an end, but we can’t help but wonder if they’re still talking. It’s just another reason why this show needs a reunion.

Who won Season 1 of The Anonymous?

Nina Twine for The Anonymous
Photo Credit: Rico Torres/USA Network

In the end, Nina was revealed to be the winner of Season 1 of The Anonymous. She managed to get her hands on the winning box, but it didn’t come easily. Here’s how things shook out in the final Face-Off.

Just like the previous Face-Off challenges, DANI had the players position themselves around the colorful boxes. Three of them had “LOSE” written on the inside, and one box had the lucky “WIN.” That meant this could literally go in any direction.

For the first time on the show, DANI made The Anonymous reveal their identity to the group, and she said they would get an extra special perk in the Face-Off. Marcel raised his hand, and we learned he would get to select the order they would play the game. That should have been a game-changer.

Nina said she wanted to go third, and Marcel obliged. He decided the order would go Christopher, Andy, and Nina, and then he’d go last.

This Face-Off was tense, and we finally understood why they made us suffer through this challenge multiple times this season. It was all building up to this. We’re not ashamed to say it was worth it.

The drama started with Christopher, who originally said he had a losing box but changed his answer a few minutes later. Andy grabbed a blue box and said it was a loser. Meanwhile, Christopher was swaying around and being extra, as if he had something to hide.

Nina went up to the table and said, “I think we need to start a different discussion so I’m going to steal a box.” She wound up taking Andy’s blue box. Andy went up for the gold box and claimed it was the winning one, leaving Marcel completely confused.

“All my time here comes down to this, in this moment. Everything I’ve learned every clue I picked up,” Marcel soliloquized. “This is it.”

He decided to pick a new box, the silver one. He said he was going with his gut. Then, one by one, DANI had them open their boxes.

Andy opened his box: LOSE. Chris opened his, and it said the same thing. All of that being extra was just for fun. He joked, “I just had to have fun with it, baby!”

It all came down to Marcel or Nina. They opened their boxes at the same time, and boom! Nina had the winning box and won the grand prize of around $80,000.

“I am the very first winner of The Anonymous!” Nina triumphantly declared in a confessional. “I know my mom is going to be so proud, but she better watch out cuz I‘m coming for that crown.”

Congrats to Nina, but in the true spirit of The Anonymous, it was DANI who had the last word on Season 1.

DANI teased, “The game is now complete. New players required.”

Season 1 of The Anonymous is streaming on Peacock.

TELL US – WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE ANONYMOUS SEASON 1, EPISODE 12? WERE YOU SURPRISED TO SEE NINA TAKE HOME THE WIN? DO YOU WANT A SEASON 2 OF THE ANONYMOUS?

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