THE MOLE - A very clever fake out?

And now only four remain.

Another one bit the dust this week on The Mole, and now there are only three players left… and one traitor.

The missions this week tested the players’ mathematical skills, memory, and emotional fortitude.  The first mission, “Go Figure” sent two teams of players on a hunt around Mendoza, Argentina to gather numbers that would be entered into a computer before the clock ran out.  They had to say, count the number of green lamps in a public square and add the number of tiles in a mural to that sum – something like that.  The catch was, they couldn’t write anything down and had to remember the numbers.  I would utterly fail at this mission; I can barely remember my social security number.

The second mission was even more difficult, in its own way.  Each player has been separated from their family and loved ones for about a month, with absolutely no contact.  That seems a little mean, doesn’t it?  They can’t even call home?  The Mole producers flew the five players’ loved ones down to Buenos Aires and had them wait on subway trains.  The players could reunite with their significant others, but only if they succeeded at the mission.

The five players picked Clay and Mark as the most trustworthy among the group, even though Mark is totally The Mole… I think.  The two guys gave the others a 30 question quiz about their loved ones – stuff like, “What’s her astrological sign?”  Clay and Mark had to remember the answers and then in turn had to answer three out of five questions posed by host Jon Kelley.  If they failed, no reunion.

I was praying that The Mole had a heart and wouldn’t sabotage this mission.  Sure, 50K was on the line, and it’s The Mole’s job to keep the total prize pot as small as possible, but surely The Mole wouldn’t keep the families apart?  That would be just plain mean.

Fortunately, The Mole had mercy and everyone was happy.  It would have been pretty cold to keep Paul away from his wife and two-year old daughter or Mark away from his soul mate. 

Anyway, things worked out for everyone, but after the mission Nicole was talking to her mom in the hotel room and decided that she would “self-execute” and remove herself from the game.  She was just worn down by the “toxic” environment and wanted to leave on her own terms. 

But when the time came and Nicole took the test, she couldn’t do it – she had to stay in the game.  Clay ended up going home with his wife, the latest victim of The Mole.

So what do you think?  Was Nicole’s decision to self-execute just a ruse to throw off everyone at home?  Was she such a good Mole that she would deceive her own mother?  Or did the events of this week’s show prove that she is really not The Mole?

--Dave Campbell