S01.E06: Mountain Mole

[jenrising]

Available 10/14

[Lady Calypso]

Oh good, Joi didn't take the exemption. I did laugh at her confessional about the team not trusting her anymore if she took the exemption. Joi, the team already doesn't trust you. It's too late to gain their trust. Also, Joi needed to do this because, even though I'm positive she isn't the Mole, getting to the end wouldn't have meant much if they got to the end with less than $5000 in the pot.

I was shocked to see Pranav go. He was still on my list of suspects, though more in the middle, but I also was genuinely enjoying to watch. Plus, he's one of the only smart players in the game who I was rooting for. He was probably my top pick to win, even.

Oh, a heights challenge AND a twist in that only three backpacks have cash. But wow, what a potentially dangerous challenge. I assume producers took all the necessary precautions and gave each player an extensive lesson on how to do this without dying, but still, it must be nervewracking.

I figured that immediately, William would not have the cash.

Will is very whiny when he can't be in the competition. His grumpy face when he was voted to not continue was priceless. I get he was thinking about a double bluff, but I also think that his ego wouldn't allow him to consider anything else. He just wanted to do the mission, plain and simple, it didn't matter if he had the money or not.

Smart to put the money in Joi's bag; testing Joi after she's lost them so much money was a good way to hold Joi accountable. In the Mole's perspective, the team would have to either put full trust in Joi or not. It was more of a test to the team, rather to Joi herself. If Casey's the Mole, putting money in her bag was smart. It could lessen the suspicion, and she could have been stalling enough to not make it. Plus, assuming the team would at least question on sending her as one of the smallest women was a gamble. And the money being in Kesi's bag and they left her behind at the start? Since Kesi specifically chose to stay behind, it's a good Mole move.

I'm still at Kesi, Jacob and Casey as the Mole. I think those are my three suspects. I think everyone else is clear for me. Although Avori insisting that Jacob is the Mole is either gearing her to a win, or surprising me in a Jacob elimination next. I did note Will talking about a quiet player and showing Casey didn't necessarily have him talking about Casey by not using her name, so that could definitely point toward her being the Mole in a sly way. He eventually did say that he thought Casey could be the Mole, but there was a lot of vague statements in his confessionals for a bit there. For that reason, she's rising a bit higher in my suspect list.

Sucks that they had to go from one very grueling mission to another. But this mission might be crucial to the Mole. They NEED this mission to fail because of how high the pot has gotten in just this one episode.

Sending Kesi first with the key shows trust with the team. It's bad if she's the Mole because she needs to go later, not first. Going first means she has to take the key and not the exemption, or else they'll suspect she's the Mole. And, surprisingly, she takes the exemption?!?! 

[Meedis]

1 hour ago, Lady Calypso said:

Sending Kesi first with the key shows trust with the team. It's bad if she's the Mole because she needs to go later, not first. Going first means she has to take the key and not the exemption, or else they'll suspect she's the Mole. And, surprisingly, she takes the exemption?!?! 

Or is it another fake out?   I can see her touching it, doing the should I or shouldn't I, and then put it back.   She can still be the Mole but she would psychologically put it in everyone else's head to take it.   I'll see on Monday...if I can hold out that long....*LOL*.

[SourK]

Ha ha ha -- this is what I love. Challenges where you have to double-guess everything, and someone being selfish. Good cliffhangers this season.

If I were the mole, I think I would put the money in my own bag. If I get left behind, we lose $10k and it's not my fault. If I get to go to the end, I won $10k for the team and you can't suspect me. Meanwhile I'd try to get the other two people left behind somewhere. However, I don't think any of the people with money in their bags were playing that angle, so...

8 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

I was shocked to see Pranav go. He was still on my list of suspects, though more in the middle, but I also was genuinely enjoying to watch. Plus, he's one of the only smart players in the game who I was rooting for. He was probably my top pick to win, even.

I liked the Parnav/Avori alliance a lot -- and Avori is one of my favs because she seems to have such a level-headed attitude about the game. I was sad to see them split up, especially if it's because she made him think she's the mole.

8 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

I'm still at Kesi, Jacob and Casey as the Mole. I think those are my three suspects. I think everyone else is clear for me. Although Avori insisting that Jacob is the Mole is either gearing her to a win, or surprising me in a Jacob elimination next.

Jacob and Kesi are the two that stand out to me, and I'm undecided about Casey. I think, this episode, they could have just been showing random footage of her taking appropriate breaks and talking to people, to make it seem like she was stalling on purpose. There's a lot of waiting around on shows like this while the cameras get moved, etc.

I don't think it's Joi, Avori, or Will. Greg, I'm also not sure about.

[Guest]

11 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

I was shocked to see Pranav go. He was still on my list of suspects, though more in the middle, but I also was genuinely enjoying to watch. Plus, he's one of the only smart players in the game who I was rooting for. He was probably my top pick to win, even.

I agree. I was the one I enjoyed watching the most so I was hoping he would make it to the end. 

11 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

Will is very whiny when he can't be in the competition. His grumpy face when he was voted to not continue was priceless. I get he was thinking about a double bluff, but I also think that his ego wouldn't allow him to consider anything else. He just wanted to do the mission, plain and simple, it didn't matter if he had the money or not.

This definitely didn’t show the best side of Will. I’ve been feeling like he or Avori are getting the winner’s edit. 

11 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

I'm still at Kesi, Jacob and Casey as the Mole. I think those are my three suspects. I think everyone else is clear for me.

Same. If it’s not one of those three I would be really surprised. They’ve each had very subtle sabotage moments. 

[Irlandesa]

I thought this was dangerous given how little sleep they had but the scenery was gorgeous. 

I had Pranav as a potential winner.   He's one of the smartest players and I'll miss him.

[LakeGal]

I had expected Joi would cut the wires.  She had made enough enemies that she had to do it.  Now is it like Will thought and a mole move to look good after taking $25 thousand by replacing $15 thousand. Or was it the mole still being responsible for $10 thousand down?  Who knows?

I went into this with my top 2 suspects being Jacob and Kesi.  Pranav was the one I suspected least.  In fact I was telling LakeGuy that Pranav would probably go home just because I would learn nothing since he wasn't my suspect.  And of course that is what happened.

Kesi offered to stay behind and she had money in her backpack.  Jacob insisted on going and he did not have money.  Both things the mole would do.  That challenge didn't help me.  Casey looked like she was stalling.  But Jacob was right back there with her chatting.  Casey actually seemed more scared than moley.  

Does everyone forget Jacob is a firefighter?  In challenges they often refer to William or Avori as being athletic in the challenges.  But nobody picks Jacob The Firefighter as a threat.  He has that innocent simple act down good.  I am really starting to think Jacob is playing an act.

Jacob's talking heads make me so suspicious of him.  He always words things in a way that you can take them 2 ways.  I feel like he is the mole and playing with us.  But then I can't quite get past Kesi as the mole either.  They really are my 2 suspects.

[Meedis]

5 hours ago, LakeGal said:

I had expected Joi would cut the wires.  She had made enough enemies that she had to do it.  Now is it like Will thought and a mole move to look good after taking $25 thousand by replacing $15 thousand. Or was it the mole still being responsible for $10 thousand down?  Who knows?

I went into this with my top 2 suspects being Jacob and Kesi.  Pranav was the one I suspected least.  In fact I was telling LakeGuy that Pranav would probably go home just because I would learn nothing since he wasn't my suspect.  And of course that is what happened.

Kesi offered to stay behind and she had money in her backpack.  Jacob insisted on going and he did not have money.  Both things the mole would do.  That challenge didn't help me.  Casey looked like she was stalling.  But Jacob was right back there with her chatting.  Casey actually seemed more scared than moley.  

Does everyone forget Jacob is a firefighter?  In challenges they often refer to William or Avori as being athletic in the challenges.  But nobody picks Jacob The Firefighter as a threat.  He has that innocent simple act down good.  I am really starting to think Jacob is playing an act.

Jacob's talking heads make me so suspicious of him.  He always words things in a way that you can take them 2 ways.  I feel like he is the mole and playing with us.  But then I can't quite get past Kesi as the mole either.  They really are my 2 suspects.

Yes I would be shocked at this point if it wasn't one of those two.    Greg would be interesting but he annoys me...*LOL*.

[PurpleTentacle]

William: "Could Joi be the Mole? Yeah, I mean she gave away 25k. She failed from the beginning. But now all of a sudden she has been doing nothing but winning."

I have to believe that this confessional was taken from a later point in the game, because at this point Joi won exactly one thing.

-

Now, just after I switched my vote to Jacob, they are leaning a bit hard into him being the Mole. I'm wondering if it could be Avori. Her whole "oh I'm just trying to draw suspicion towards me"-schtick would be the perfect cover for the Mole.

On the other hand Jacob did do quite a lot of molish things last episode. Maybe they are trying to double bluff us. He also was with Casey when she admired the view. I could see him being like "look isn't it beautiful", to stall her.

-

I'm not loving these challanges where the mole can sabotage beforehand by chosing who got the backpack and who didn't. I think that part should be random. The Mole should then be told who had the backpacks with money, so they can manipulate the other players. I just think the Mole doing things where players can not possibly see it is cheating.

-

So did I get the chain challange right? Everybody would eventually have the opportunity to grab the exemption and lose the team all the money? Yeah in that case you are better off just grabbing it, if you are the first one, because somebody will eventually. That money is never going to land in the pot, either way.

I think that's unfair design. Was it always that way and I just forgot, or is that new to this version of the game? Because that really isn't fun. Kinda seems like production is more interested in keeping the price pot low than providing an interesting game.

Edited October 16, 2022 by PurpleTentacle

[PurpleTentacle]

On 10/14/2022 at 3:08 PM, Lady Calypso said:

I'm still at Kesi, Jacob and Casey as the Mole.

Of those three I only have Jacob on my list.

16 hours ago, LakeGal said:

Does everyone forget Jacob is a firefighter? 

But is he? He doesn't seem that physical. Trained yes, but more like he lifts weights and not like he actually has a physical job. So maybe he's an actor?

Also with all his tartan style shirts does he maybe try to act a bit too much "midwestern"? I get that on these types of shows contestants are usually going for a look, but isn't it a bit much? Also how would he even have been cast? I don't think a nation wide casting call went out for this during Covid, would it?

Edited October 16, 2022 by PurpleTentacle

[SourK]

8 hours ago, PurpleTentacle said:

So did I get the chain challange right? Everybody would eventually have the opportunity to grab the exemption and lose the team all the money? Yeah in that case you are better off just grabbing it, if you are the first one, because somebody will eventually. That money is never going to land in the pot, either way.

I guess that's true, if we assume that the Mole will grab the exemption even if they're the last person -- then the best possible outcome is that you don't get the money but none of the players gets an exemption and no one sleeps on the floor. I think it depends how much you value not making people sleep on the floor.

[PurpleTentacle]

43 minutes ago, SourK said:

I guess that's true, if we assume that the Mole will grab the exemption even if they're the last person -- then the best possible outcome is that you don't get the money but none of the players gets an exemption and no one sleeps on the floor. I think it depends how much you value not making people sleep on the floor.

Not only the Mole, also all the other people there. There were way too many left to plausibly believe that nobody would take the exemption.

People not sleeping on the floor is no incentive at all. What are they going to do? This isn't Survivor or Big Brother. They can't vote you out.

That's why I think this was bad design and quite a few other tasks were as well. They would have worked great in Survivor or BB, where the social aspect is huge, but in the Mole a task like this is just crap and a foregone conclusion.

I hope if there is another season they learn from this and boot out all these stupid tasks where one person making one decision loses all of the money. Not only does it make things way too easy for the mole, it's also just not interesting in general.

[Hanahope]

Heh helps the kesi thoughts.  
 

but Jacob kept insisting he go on the mountain, and the 2 weakest to go with him.

will is not the mole.  I think avori is right.

[nb360]

I just started watching this. I suspect that Joi or Jacob is the mole.

[aradia22]

I was sad to see Pranav go. I love competence. Also, what is this team of dummies going to do with one of the smarter players eliminated? 

They were hoping to sleep in? You mean the girls sleep in a full face of makeup? Shut up, Netflix.

$30,000. lol, production must be worried about how little money is in the pot.

2 hour climb? I hate it. But watching from home, I'm enjoying how many different Australian terrains they're showing off. 

I believe Will's frustration. I really don't think he's the Mole. I think he's a super athletic guy suffering through the incompetence of his teammates. 

It looked VERY windy. I'm curious about the safety teams they had on hand for the repelling. I'm also surprised they did the final task. It would bad enough as a zipline and they let them pull themselves across? Bananas.

tbh, I had no idea who had money in their bags. It's impossible to know if production wants to keep the pot small or wants to make up for the players' incompetence and make the pot attractive enough for potential future contestants to sign up for future seasons. HILARIOUS that the Mole had no faith in Joi. Adding Casey, it seems like the Mole chose the weaker players. Also, Kesi volunteered herself to stay behind. SUSPICIOUS! If she's the Mole, she's playing the game way too hard. They need to make all the money they can.

I do not remember so many exemptions on the original show. Mole or not, Kesi dooming them to sleep in the freezing warehouse was SO MEAN.

[aradia22]

Quote

Jacob and Kesi are the two that stand out to me, and I'm undecided about Casey. I think, this episode, they could have just been showing random footage of her taking appropriate breaks and talking to people, to make it seem like she was stalling on purpose. There's a lot of waiting around on shows like this while the cameras get moved, etc.

The producers will always be the most suspicious to me. Frankenbites would be so easy on this show. 

[blackwing]

5 hours ago, aradia22 said:

I believe Will's frustration. I really don't think he's the Mole. I think he's a super athletic guy suffering through the incompetence of his teammates. 

tbh, I had no idea who had money in their bags. It's impossible to know if production wants to keep the pot small or wants to make up for the players' incompetence and make the pot attractive enough for potential future contestants to sign up for future seasons. HILARIOUS that the Mole had no faith in Joi. Adding Casey, it seems like the Mole chose the weaker players. Also, Kesi volunteered herself to stay behind. SUSPICIOUS! If she's the Mole, she's playing the game way too hard. They need to make all the money they can.

I don't think Will is the Mole only because he seems to be trying really hard to win money, and he gets SO ANGRY when they don't.  It was utterly ridiculous for Will to insist on being the one to complete the climb to the end.  The Mole would absolutely think that the most physical guy would be picked to make it to the end, so of course the Mole wouldn't put money in his bag.  The Mole would put the money in the three weakest and most likely to drop out or not be able to make it.