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June 17, 2008

'The Mole': fruit, underwear and two exits

The producers and editors with The Mole surely know the meaning of building tension and throwing in a few good twists and turns.  

This week's episode was no exception. First, we started where we left off last week -- drama city. The contestants were all abuzz, discussing Nicole's death threat to Paul after the elimination. Nicole essentially said she was caught up in the competition. Paul didn't accept her explanation. (Paul later said in a confessional that he was going to milk it as much as he could so that he could throw the other contestants off their game.) 

 

Then, the group was split into two: the can't-trust group and the trust blindly group. Contestants from each were paired and had to ride a luge track. The front contestant was blindfolded, while the second contestant had to memorize fruits on signs while zooming down the course. The sighted contestant told the blindfolded contestant the correct order of the fruits. The blindfolded contestant then had to correctly pick out the fruit as it appeared on the course. Most teams did a good job. There were a few exceptions, highlighted by Nicole.

The contestants were suspicious of the controversial player for incorrectly telling Alex the order of the fruits. It cost the group $6,000. That wasn't the end of the money woes. Two teams, Victoria and Craig and Bobby and Clay, were disqualified for discussing the sequence of the fruits past the finish line, which was against the rules. (The mission was worth $70,000. The group earned $26,000.)

Following the challenge, distrust among the contestants was at a high. It was time to blow off some steam. The contestants were taken to a spa to get massages. Midway through, they were informed that they needed to complete a mission.

Host Jon Kelley had taken the contestants' clothes while they were receiving their massages, leaving them with only shoes and underwear. Kelley informed them that their challenge was to persuade people in Santiago, Chile, to give them dress clothes so that they could gain entry to a restaurant.

Craig, who is calorically challenged, lamented that no one in Santiago was his size, which drew laughs from the group.

Clay and Mark opted out of the challenge. As a result, they weren't allowed to eat dinner at the restaurant. (Suspicious.)

During the mission, Craig, Bobby and Nicole struggled to get clothes. So did Ali, Kristen and Victoria, who, together, looked like a Victoria's Secret ad. The trio was gawked at by construction workers and a busload of Catholic schoolboys. Alex, who speaks fluent Spanish, was able to persuade several people to give up some clothes. Paul met a New Yorker who gave him pants.

At the last minute, Bobby, Craig, and Nicole struck gold and stumbled upon the dry cleaners that was holding the entire group's clothes. The trio quickly got dressed, grabbed everyone's clothes and showed up to dinner as the heroes of the day. (Was it luck, or was it the Mole using his/her advantage?)

(ONE QUICK NOTE!) Was I the only one who noticed that Nicole said there was a note addressed to Alex at the dry cleaners? It was in passing, but it struck me as extremely odd. Why would there be an envelope addressed to Alex?

The group enjoyed dinner. As the meal started to wrap up, Paul started to heat up. First, he got into a tiff with Mark. Then he got into an argument with Bobby, then Craig and, finally, Nicole.

Next, it was time for the quiz; but there was a last-minute twist. Kelley announced that he was offering $20,000 for a contestant to drop out of the competition. No one took the bait. He then raised it to $30,000, which was enough for Ali, the 24-year-old model from St. Louis. 

"I miss home, and I miss my family," Ali said. "I think they are going to be happy with this."

The competition wasn't over. Kelley informed the group that since Ali did not score the worst on the quiz, the lowest-scoring contestant would be sent home. It was Bobby. Victoria and Craig were very upset, since both had formed bonds with him.

"I'm just happy to see two people gone," Paul said. "It makes me that much closer to that money." (He's a true villain! Or maybe he's one heck of a Mole?)

Posted by John-John Williams IV at 1:08 PM | | Comments (2)
Categories: The Mole
        

Comments

I thought they said that they noticed an envelope addressed to Alex and then saw the stack with envelopes for everyone.

Sometimes I wonder what people are thinking when they go on these shows. What patient of Nicole's would stick with her after seeing this?

Sarah,

That could be so. It just struck me as really odd that she specifically mentioned his name. It's also been very convenient that Alex is fluent in Spanish, and that Alex left his diary out for Bobby to see last week. Alex is sneaky....

In past years I have always been surprised to learn the Mole's identity. This year. I'm trying extra hard to pick up on any irregularities. I'm going to learn the Mole's identity before the season finale!!!!

And yes, I might have a little pause after watching Nicole on this show. I'll give her one thing, she's made for some interesting moments on the show.
I really dislike Paul. I wouldn't think twice about leaving him stranded on the side of the road....

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About Sarah Kelber
Sarah Kickler Kelber, an editor in the features department since 1999, got sucked into reality TV with the first episode of MTV's The Real World in 1992. Then came Survivor and American Idol, and suddenly, the genre was everywhere. She started blogging about it for The Baltimore Sun in January 2006 and has logged more hours watching and writing about such shows as Dancing With the Stars, Big Brother and, of course, Idol, than she'd like to admit.
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