The Circle - General Discussion

[AntFTW]

49 minutes ago, zenithwit said:

What happened to The Circle?  This season is #Trash.   How is it possible that after 8 episodes, we've only had one traditional blocking?  

Also, why would one of Kyle or Paul sacrifice themselves for the other?  There needs to be a better incentive - like if you "sacrifice" yourself, you get to come back as a catfish.

That twist may come. They usually don't find out until they're blocked.

I'm not finding the cast to be that enjoyable. There's not a lot of personality here.

[LakeGal]

I think they might get both guys to work together as a catfish if they both have to leave.  I suspected that was their twist when they wanted to boot a pair.  It is not really fair for one player to get booted just because they were paired with a disliked player.  They do not have enough catfish this season. 

[Cornhusker12]

Yeah this season is a big time dud. Makes me wonder if they intentionally held off on releasing season 6 until they had season 7 ready to roll asap haha

[xander874]

Agree this season is not so good and I'm only 2 episodes in. Each one feels like its 3 hours long and from what I'm reading here, it won't get better.

The cast is blah. There doesn't seem to be that diversity in them this season which I guess happens on long running shows like this - the applicants tend to be social media types and influencers and not average joes. They all are these type-A personalities who are constantly "playing" for the cameras. 

[AntFTW]

Ok, the highlight of this season so far is QT leaving the influencer chat and unilaterally making the decision of who to block. I'm at the beginning of episode 11 at the time I'm writing this but that was a boss move that needed recognition. That's mostly because I didn't know she could do that.

When they announced that the person rated #1 and their "ride or die" will be the influencers, I assumed they both had equal power and had to come to a collective decision.

Edited May 5 by AntFTW

[zenithwit]

Well this last batch of episodes was marginally better than the earlier ones mostly due to Jordan's messiness.  Though that might have been the most pathetic naughty and nice game ever.    Almost every naughty photo, I was like "wait, that isn't the nice one?"

I feel like Olivia is going to give Jordan the boot next week.  If she boots QT, I think this group will figure out that Olivia is the Super Secret Influencer and that would ruin her "nice" brand and might cause some (i.e. Myles) to downvote her in the ranking.  Plus I think Jordan would do his final rankings in reverse order (i.e. put who he thinks is going to win on the bottom) to bolster his own ranking.  So I'm not sure how much help he would be to Olivia.  

[LakeGal]

I am disappointed in this season.  They only had 2 catfish all season.  Paul went home early and we only have one left.  A lot of the fun of this show is watching the catfish try to hide their identity and what the reaction will be when they meet at the end.  This season I think the casting was off.  

Jordan is trying to shake things up.  I enjoy him just for that.  We need a few players that are not afraid to cause some chaos.  

I wonder if Olivia will boot QT.  She has mentioned that she can't beat her in the end.  

[QQQQ]

11 hours ago, zenithwit said:

Well this last batch of episodes was marginally better than the earlier ones mostly due to Jordan's messiness.  Though that might have been the most pathetic naughty and nice game ever.    Almost every naughty photo, I was like "wait, that isn't the nice one?"

100%. Between this and my not understanding the whole "you're my ride-or-die/bestie/friend to the end" pledges these people make after two virtual interactions, then their becoming hurt or apoplectic when betrayed the next day... this GenX'er feels very whatever.

[cpcathy]

I’m only paying half attention nut is Jordan a catfish or is he using an old photo? 
I think he’s right to go after Myles, the group is on track to let Myles win just because he’s staying under the radar.

[AntFTW]

2 minutes ago, cpcathy said:

I’m only paying half attention nut is Jordan a catfish or is he using an old photo? 

He's using old photos.

[AntFTW]

When everyone is thanking the super influencer, “Olivia” is the only one that didn’t thank the secret super influencer. That would have been a red flag for me, and Kyle noticed that also so good for him.

I feel like Myles would not have won even if he was a finalist. He was perceived as a popular player and I think people would strategically rated him low in their final ratings.

I felt like they kinda gave away who was going to win before they revealed it. The parts they showed us of players doing their ratings, I think, kinda gave it away.

They really gave us a no-frills finale. We haven’t seen Michelle Buteau all season, have we?

Edited May 8 by AntFTW

[LakeGal]

It kind of ended like I expected.  They were all happy to meet each other.  I did not hate or love any of the players.  I realized I would not care who won.  Most seasons I am cheering for some of them and hoping others would lose.  But this season it ended & I felt kind of blah about it.  

[QQQQ]

The season was the equivalent of Real World London. Unremarkable in almost every way imaginable, soon to be forgotten.

[zenithwit]

Damn, this season was so bad that  Michelle didn't even bother to show up for the finale.  With her voiceover work, this whole season was probably less than a day's work for her.

Congrats to Olivia/Brandon!  I didn't think he would actually go for the strategic block but his logic that blocking Myles would lower QT's rating made sense.  And it looks like it lowered Kyle's rating too.  So it ended up being a pretty good move.

Loved Kyle's reaction when he met "Olivia".  

[30 Helens]

The best part of the season was the Olivia reveal. I know Kyle's wife loved that, because she is never going to worry about her husband meeting someone online. He will be forever wary from this experience. 

I thought Olivia should have blocked QT, because she seemed like the biggest threat to win. But I don't think it mattered. Myles was going to be downvoted in the end, just like QT was. I liked Myles throughout the season, but he came on a little too salty and dismissive at the end. Not even a "respect the game" for Olivia? Seems like he's only focused on his QT prize now, but sorry/not sorry I don't think she's all that focused on him.

I appreciated Jordan's anarchistic spirit, but his obsession with Myles was kind of annoying, and ultimately his undoing, I think. He didn't have time to capitalize on his moves, so should have focused his efforts on getting everyone to love him. This was an easily swayed group, so wouldn't have been that hard.

I was surprised to see them ushered into the finale room instead of the usual round table. And then kept waiting for Michelle to appear. I didn't think this was a terrible season, but it seems most people here did, and by the looks of it neither Michelle or Netflix deemed this cast a priority. Wonder what that means for the future of the show.

The AI experiment was a dud. If there is another season, I vote for all catfishes, but everyone thinks they're the only one.

[braziliangirl]

I really liked this season. A lot of people really playing or trying to play strategically and fighting til the end! 

I liked Max but thought they could've kept him a little longer,

 

 

[Ilovepie]

Late to the party because I prefer to watch the whole thing at once and then I forgot about it. Not the most exciting season - everyone was mostly playing as themselves, even Brandon was essentially playing as himself just with a different photo. I don't think anyone even cared if there was a catfish. I think this show needs a real reset. The people who come in later are at such a disadvantage that it's boring. I wish they would just start with all the people at the same time so everyone has an equal chance.

The most shocking thing all season was Olivia blocking Myles. I don't think it would have made a difference to "her" winning because she had alliances with basically everyone but was not viewed as a threat. Other than Jordan and QT none of them played very strategically. Lauren is one of the worst players ever and she still made the finals.

Where was Michelle at the finale? That seemed very low budget compared to the other seasons. 

[xander874]

Also late here as I was just not motivated to rush through this season as I have in the past. From the lack of discussion, I can assume the Circle has passed its moment. I thought this season was incredibly boring with mostly boring people doing nothing. Strategy was non-existent except for Jordan (sorry QT) and even his stuff felt out of place and forced.

It feels like Netflix is over it too. They couldn't be bothered to do a proper reunion show or fly Michelle Buteau out for it. And it got little to no buzz. Not sure if they are going to continue it but if so, they need to figure out some new ideas to spice it up. Cause...zzz...

[Meedis]

I'm not mad at "Olivia" for winning but overall it did seem like not the most exciting season.   I would've been interested in seeing if the AI could've lasted another round and whether it would be discovered or not, not to mention how AI would react to people accusing it of being AI.

The only other highlights were QT shutting down Jordan in the influencer chat.  Her decision made sense since the "secret influencer" had no real stakes.   Also loved "Olivia" blocking Myles.   The logic behind doing so made sense though I feel "Olivia" would've won even if she blocked QT.

Heh the finale was hilarious...and they apparently couldn't be bothered to bring in Michelle B to host it.    We'll see how the next season goes. 

[AntFTW]

19 minutes ago, Meedis said:

The only other highlights were QT shutting down Jordan in the influencer chat.  Her decision made sense since the "secret influencer" had no real stakes.

I thought the same. That was one of the highlights of the season for me. I didn't know she could do that because the rules as explained to us is that her partner also would be an infuencer so I thought they shared power.

I felt like that was the biggest power move of the season.

[AntFTW]

Season 7 premieres on September 11.

[LakeGal]

I watched the first set of episodes for the new season.  I don't really have anyone I love or hate yet.  It will be different making 2 of them trade places for a couple days.  

[AntFTW]

1 hour ago, LakeGal said:

I watched the first set of episodes for the new season.  I don't really have anyone I love or hate yet.  It will be different making 2 of them trade places for a couple days.  

I completely forgot they aired until I saw your post.

[AntFTW]

I find the season 7 cast more interesting (for now) than the season 6 cast.

Still no appearance by Michelle Buteau so far this season.

[AntFTW]

Once Darian and Kevin had their #StillBros chat, I knew right then he was picking Kevin to be an influencer. I literally asked myself “did Kevin just talk his way into being an influencer after just barely hanging on by a thread? He was just talking about blocking Darian and I bet Darian is about to pick him to be an influencer.”

[LakeGal]

I don't like they ended on a cliffhanger.  I wanted to know who was blocked before they continued to next week.

The boys got their way last time they were influencers with Kevin.  They do have their nerve to want their way again.  I have always thought it was a big advantage to anyone that gets to play the game with another person.  Everyone else is in their apartment alone.  It is a big help to have someone else you trust to bounce ideas off.  

[zenithwit]

So far this season had been a hugggggeeee improvement over last season.  I like how fluid and intertwined the alliances are.  And the fact that the players aren't afraid to get messy in the chats.

The twists have been pretty good too.  The swapping profiles disruption was really interesting.  It forced Madelyn and Rachel to really examine their strategies, be honest about how other players perceive them and figure out a path forward that worked for both of them.

Though the swapping profiles might be the only piece of good game play we'll see this season.  It's pretty astounding that we've seen two players (Kevin and Madelyn) either actively block or campaign against someone who would rank them number 1.  I think I understand Madelyn's motives for campaigning against Andy but I'm still not sure it was the right move for her (though she was smart not to mention anything when meeting real life "Andy").  Kevin was clearly bested by Gianna/the twins.

Speaking of Kevin vs Gianna/the twins, I'm curious how their second showdown will play out.  We know the twins can dig in their heels and it sounds like Kevin is willing to do as well this time. 

What's funny is the twins' proposal would be better for Kevin's game than his own proposal.  Why Darian didn't choose Jadejha as influencer is beyond comprehension to me.  Sure it would have been obvious that he was the disruptor but when you're neck is on the line, who cares?  It'll be fun to see Darian's face when he finds out his pick for influencer was actively trying to block him.

[AntFTW]

On 9/21/2024 at 1:05 PM, zenithwit said:

Though the swapping profiles might be the only piece of good game play we'll see this season.  It's pretty astounding that we've seen two players (Kevin and Madelyn) either actively block or campaign against someone who would rank them number 1. 

...which I don't get.

Kevin is really getting played in this game. He has so far been talked into wanting to block or actually blocking two people that are on his side.

On 9/21/2024 at 1:05 PM, zenithwit said:

Why Darian didn't choose Jadejha as influencer is beyond comprehension to me. Sure it would have been obvious that he was the disruptor but when you're neck is on the line, who cares?

This!!!!

The woman that he rates #1 every time is not chosen as an influencer, and I can't comprehend why. The fact that Darian had to check in with Kevin signal that he was unsure of where they stood. With Jadejha, he didn't question her loyalty at all. He didn't feel the need to check in with her.... and he doesn't choose her. I felt like I needed an explanation.

Darian's fighting for his life in the game. He's being thrown under the bus and he's the lowest rated player. Save your ass now, and deny it later.

On 9/21/2024 at 1:05 PM, zenithwit said:

It'll be fun to see Darian's face when he finds out his pick for influencer was actively trying to block him.

It would be! 😂

[LakeGal]

I am enjoying this season.  I think it might be because I don't have anyone I really dislike or love.  I don't care who wins influencer or gets booted.  I just enjoy watching how it all plays out.  Normally I really want certain people to be booted or to win the game.  This season I keep changing my mind on what I think of all of them.  

I wonder who Madelyn will boot.  Is she going to boot the person she really feels can win the game?  Is she going to boot someone she thinks will rate her low at the final?  I am not sure what she will do.  I think Kevin is probably safe.  Jadejha or Gianna might be in trouble.  

I don't think anyone believes Rachel is a real person anymore.  Several of them think she is a catfish but don't really care.  

[AntFTW]

I'm not surprised at who the winner is for S7. I was hoping for an upset but I didn't get one.

[LakeGal]

I liked that 3 catfish were still in the game when they ended it.  I like watching the players find out who they have really been talking with.  

Madelyn did boot Jadejha.  She was one of the people I thought she would boot.  

When it got down to the final 2 I think I wanted Kevin to win over the twins.  I still have this problem with thinking that they had a big advantage getting to play together.  Also they would have been out the first week if not for that new "disrupter" this season.  

Edited October 3 by LakeGal

[Mindthinkr]

I liked what the twins hoped to do if they won the prize money. They wanted to pay off their parent’s mortgage and take a family trip to Italy to see relatives they hadn’t met. They mentioned that for years they’d seen other people take the trips there and that they never could afford to. None of what they wanted to do with it seemed selfish. 

[AntFTW]

3 hours ago, LakeGal said:

When it got down to the final 2 I think I wanted Kevin to win over the twins.

Same, just for the surprise of it.

Once the twins got past their would-be blocking, they were on top of the game almost all of the time and because of that I expected the twins to win. I also expected people to be more strategic on the ratings because they knew "Gianna" was well-liked by nearly everyone. I had some expectation that they would intentionally tank "Gianna's" ratings at the end but it doesn't seem like they did.

Edited October 3 by AntFTW

[Ilovepie]

This season was such an improvement - these people were all so cutthroat and there were so many double crosses in alliances it was interesting to see who would end up on top or bottom in the rankings - the fact that Gianna almost was eliminated first and then came back and won was crazy! And that snake Kevin being able to manipulate people into making alliances with him even though nobody openly liked him - nuts! And Madelyn - I'm with Jadejha - save your crocodile tears. That girl played a dirty but brilliant game. Props to all three players, maybe the best ever in the game that is the circle.

I loved the swap - couldn't have happened to two more different players. And the fact that they each actually improved the other's standings in the ratings was awesome. 

My only knock is that there needed to be more ratings and blockings. There weren't too many influencer chats, and they were all Gianna and Kevin! And it's annoying that Tierra made it to the final five, only because she was so new and not a threat. Darian or Jadejha deserved it more. I still think it would be better to start with all players and just eliminated one at a time.

[AntFTW]

11 minutes ago, Ilovepie said:

My only knock is that there needed to be more ratings and blockings.

Yeah, I agree here. I noticed that as well. I noticed it last season as well. I'm thinking to myself "We're deep into the season. I'm watching the [8th, 9th, 10th, X amount] episode and there's only been 1 or 2 blockings."

Also, not many new people entered the game this season. Just about everyone entered in the 1st and 2nd episode.

[AntFTW]

[30 Helens]

Darian and Jadejha are cute, but damn. Did they forget and think they were on Love is Blind? But even on that show, people take a minute to think about it.

Rachel was so loud and exuberant, I loved her. I want more like her, people who are comfortable in their own skin, having a good time and don't care who knows it.

Lots of mouths saying "it's fine" and "good gameplay" in Madelyn's direction, but the eyes told a different story. I don't think many of them will be following her on Instagram.

I like that the twins won. The fact that they dug themselves up from the bottom to the top and stayed there despite being a big target, and no one ever even questioned if they might be a catfish, showed what a great game they played. I don't think it even matters that there were two of them, duos have played before and not nearly as well. And I like that they wanted to take their mom to Italy. Sweet.

As an aside, every time one the more gravelly-voiced twin spoke, all I could hear was "Miss Vaaanjie... Miss Vaaaanjie...". Lol. Love Miss Vanjie, loved them.

Overall, a really fun season. I binged it over 3 nights after it ended, really the only way to watch this show IMO. Just say no to cliffhangers.

 

[Ilovepie]

On 10/8/2024 at 1:48 AM, 30 Helens said:

The fact that they dug themselves up from the bottom to the top and stayed there despite being a big target, and no one ever even questioned if they might be a catfish, showed what a great game they played.

Unlike the first couple seasons, it seems like people don't really care if players are catfish, especially if it's one of their allies. More people seem to be justifying it by saying "I think they might be a catfish, but as long as they're an ally and ranking me high I don't care who they are", as opposed to the older seasons where everyone was like "it's a catfish! They are liars!"

[AntFTW]

The twins were lucky there were no discussions of menstruation. That tripped up someone that was catfishing as a woman a few seasons ago. 😂

[Meedis]

I found Season 7 way more interesting as well.    And I loved the connection that Darian and Jadeja made.    Cool to see their relationship is still going strong.   

I'm not mad at the twins winning but agree with @AntFTW that it was lucky no discussions were shared about women issues as no doubt that would've messed them up.

I wonder if the show is saving money by not having Michelle Buteau appear on the show other than by voice.