Episode 3

Hey Mole bloggers,

Before I jump into this week's episode, wanted to drop a few impressions of S. America, specifically Santiago.  It's the capital of Chile and definitely has a big city feel:  picturesque views, lots of energy, lots of traffic and on many days, a fair amount of smog.  Yeah, kind of reminded me of  Los Angeles.  People in Santiago also enjoy sharing the good vibrations.  Translation:  lots of PDA on the streets.

Speaking of sharing the love and good vibrations...didn't take long to figure out Nicole and Paul wouldn't be hugging it out anytime soon.  Funny thing is, it goes in waves.  Sometimes they're like the brother and sister who can't help but fight all the time.  Other times, they were actually cordial ... ok, cordial w/ an underlying tension.   Paul admitted to me he found it odd that Nicole was actually civil to players when the cameras were off, but her inner diva dominated whenever the cameras were rolling.  That clearly irritated him because he didn't believe she was for real.

I will tell you there were a few dinners where I wanted to make sure I kept all the knives and forks off the table.  At times, it made sense for the game.  Other times, I had to step in and chill them out.  Oddly enough, both players were constantly emphasizing, "It's just a game", "part of their game plan" and "I'm here to win, nothing personal."  But in spite of all that talk, the truth was you could tell it really DID bother both Nicole and Paul at times.  Which ultimately led to a few infamous quotes from the self proclaimed Dr. Diva:

1)   "I’ll kill you in your sleep."
2)   "I won’t leave any DNA."
3)   "You’ll wake up dead." 

Okaaaaaaay.    Sometimes, it felt like a game of "Snaps" or "Yo Mamma."  The only question that really mattered -- would it help either of them win the game or was one of them actually The Mole? 

Back to our missions.  "Fruit of the Luge" not only had a nice ring to it, but this adventure also revealed much Moley activity.   $24,000 painful dollars were lost from the pot and the players were bummed ... big time. 

"Dress Code" was an adventure.  And not just the various physiques on display.  I quickly found out our group was even more diverse than I could have imagined.  It's become a running joke that whenever I walk into a room, all the players would say in unison, "Ahhhh, bleep, here’s Jon.  What's next?  What’s the twist?"  I could sense the little obscenities were wrapped w/ love and from the heart ... most of the time, anyway.  I did take pleasure in giving them spa day to relax and unwind.   Even more therapeutic?  Hijacking their wardrobes.

Interesting how Clay and Mark both bowed out.  The players needed to seriously jump start their cash flow, but apparently neither Clay nor Mark could put a price tag on their pride.  Both were already on camera in their shorts, topless in front of the entire nation.  Both had explanations tied to dignity and embarrassment.   Hell, the way Mark’s robe flew off immediately after I explained what was up, I thought he might be laying groundwork for a layout in Playgirl.  Very strange indeed...

From what I read on this site, you guys have some serious theories on our Mole's identity.  From clothes, to clues, to actions and lack thereof, I’ve been blown away by your meticulous and detailed quest for the game's "Moley Grail."  I wish you well. 

One of my favorite conspiracy theories thus far -- while it had little to do w/ the game, was clever, unique and very imaginative.   Here on the ABC message board, somebody went deep, passing along the following nugget.  Went something like this:  "I think on the final episode, Jon Kelley will reach up and rip off his face -- ala Mission Impossible III, revealing all along, he was actually Anderson Cooper!"

Love it.  Keep it coming. We're just getting warmed up...