The Mole - episode five...

The game is getting intense now - especially with another nice person going home.

This is the point where if I was there playing the game, I'd have to just pick the one player I think is The Mole and go for it on the tests.

All along, I've thought The Mole was either Paul or Nicole. Last night, I was starting to suspect Kristen and even Mark. But then Mark picked the key instead of the exemption in the first game and I eliminated him as a suspect. And Kristen of course is now gone.

There's absolutely no way Alex or Craig is The Mole. Clay - maybe. But I'm backing Nicole 100% now - she is The Mole! I'd be a mess if I was there playing though, because I still have a bad feeling about Paul. We'll see though.

If you've missed any or all the episodes up to this point, next week is a great time to catch up. Monday at 9pm will be a recap special of the first five episodes (with some new footage mixed in). Then episode six will air right after that in the regular timeslot at 10pm. Or you could always just watch all the full episodes online at abc.com - and yes, it's totally free.

On another note, I'm happy to report that Bill McDaniel's blog is now being updated!!! Check it out here.

And let's see what he thinks about this week's episode. I'm going to try not to change my opinion on who The Mole is after reading this...

Conflict. Too much for me. I really did not like the scene in the van between Paul and Clay. It was boring and not fun to watch for me. Paul continues to be irritating, but a good competitor. What was Clay doing? I feel that a good Mole disrupts the game when he (or she) can, and he did that. Was this molish behavior on Clay's part? Maybe, maybe. All in all, however, I would have preferred that entire exchange between the two of them be summarized in about 10 seconds. Why the ugliness?

I found little suspicious in the first game, "All for One." Mark certainly pushed things, continuing to harp on his lost journal...somehow seeming to hold the others at fault for that. No one other than Paul threatened to not take the key, and Paul was just being...well, Paul.

Now, why didn't Mark take the exemption? $25K? Geez, in our season we settled on feeling that an exemption was worth $50K. He could have taken the exemption and cost no one time in the cold. It was a freebee. I truly think most folks would have taken it. So, why didn't he? Well, if he is the Mole he does not need it. Or, he might really want to keep from alienating the others, and may feel that he knows who the mole is. It does make one wonder, however. So, it could have been a molish act to keep suspicion off himself. I still do not think he is the Mole, but as noted in earlier weeks, feel he has to stay on the radar.

Clay's observations that Mark was changing from the "voice of reason" to an "evil, malicious, doomsday Mark." A little strong there, I think. Again, was this molish talk? Maybe, maybe.

In the "Traveler's Game," Craig quite obviously went for the exemption. I don't blame him; I would have too. Could he be the Mole? Sure, but I don't think so. Mark led the rest of them to not attempt the 5.5 miles in 45 minutes in their costumes. Again, a smart move. 5.5 miles in 45 minutes is an 8 minute pace, a good hard pace for most recreational runners in good running attire. None of them was going to make it. Mark started the revolution against the game, and all the others chimed in and agreed, proving again that there are no dummies on the show. Was Mark's behavior molish? Possibly, but it was also the correct answer. I still have to keep him on the radar. I didn't like this game. Any game that the competitors can opt out of totally, as was done here, probably should not have been played.

Nicole again kept her head down and did no obvious sabotage; in fact, she has done none in about 3 episodes. Kristen I hated to see go. While I had held her in deep reserve as the Mole, this week had just about eliminated her totally from that role. A super competitor. I'll miss her, and frankly, most of these folks I will not miss when they leave. Alex? Continues to play the game and no apparent sabotage. I have eliminated him as the Mole, as I have Paul.

So, this week I continue to stick with Clay as my prime suspect. (Of course, he's a lawyer, and I always suspect lawyers of being sort of genetically primed sneaky folks anyway.) Mark is my second choice. Nicole is fading. Craig did a little to bring suspicion on himself, but I still do not think he is the Mole.

Bill
The Mole II