The Mole: 7/21/08

Mark is feeling confident now that Alex is gone. Nicole is hopeful for her future. Their mission is at a winery. They divide into three smart players and two dumb.

Smart: Paul, Clay & Mark
Dumb: Craig & Nicole

The Mission is called Go Figure and they have to decipher clues that lead to places all over Mendoza, where they will find numbers that they have to enter into a computer back at the winery. They cannot write any numbers down. The dumb players don't get a break and have to remember 5 numbers. The smart team gets only 3 numbers to remember.

The questions are long and I am not going to attempt to write them all down. Craig and Nicole have a plan of him doing the math and her memorizing. Could work out.

On the smart team, Mark and Clay cannot agree on simple subtraction. Mark calculates that 1947-1492=455, and Clay somehow thinks it's 439. Clay claims to be a math genius, but my calculator says he is a moron.

Nicole and Craig seem to be getting their clues well, but Nicole thinks that Craig is trying to mess her up on purpose. Possible.

Paul had the map and the Smart team went the wrong way and by the time Mark asked locals for help, they were 9 blocks out of their way, with the clock ticking.

Nicole and Craig's last clue had them counting tiles in a mosaic and lamp posts with green tops. It's Craig's turn to think that Nicole is messing him up.

Unfortunately, Craig and Nicole got back to the winery with all their numbers but were not allowed to enter their numbers until the other team got there... luckily, they got there in time.

One of the Dumb team's answers was wrong, and one of them (They chose Nicole) had 20 minutes to run out and recalculate. The others think she is messing them up on purpose. Clay meanwhile has decided that there is a sequence to the numbers and they disregard Nicole's recalculation. It's a good thing, too, because Clay was right and Nicole was wrong. This only cements Clay's idea that he is a math genius. They earned $30,000. Mark sees nothing but opportunities for any of them to sabotage.

Mark and Clay and their coalition believe that the Mole is either Nicole or Craig, and Mark is very sure it is a woman. Clay told Mark that he voted all Nicole on the past quiz... then later, he went and told Nicole that he voted all Mark, and Nicole thinks that they have a bond because they are both black.

Before their next mission in Buenos Aries, Mr. Host Man had each person pick out the person they could trust most. Mark chose Clay. Paul chose Mark. Craig chose Clay. Clay chose Nicole and Mark looked pizzed. Nicole chose Mark "to even it out."

It's a friends and family challenge, called Ticket to Ride! Their loved ones are heading into railroad stations, and whether they get to hang out with them has to do with who they chose about trusting most.

Craig and Clay are up first. They have 3 minutes for Clay to ask Craig 30 questions regarding his girlfriend. At the end of the time, Clay has to remember 3/5 answers right, and if he does, Craig's girlfriend will get off the train and they will get $10,000. If they don't get through all the questions, the unanswered questions might also be asked. They got through all of them, but Craig didn't know all the answers. Clay balked at answering a couple of them, but ended up getting 3 right, and Brendi got to go see Craig.

It's time for Nicole to memorize answers about Clay's wife. Her memorization seemed pretty good, and it was good enough, because she got to get off the train, and that's another $10,000.

Mark gets to ask Nicole's questions now, and he is asking the questions really slowly. Luckily, it was enough, and Nicole's mom joins her.

Clay memorized Mark's questions, and this was nerve racking. I want Mark to get to see his wife. I am really happy when the doors open, and his pregnant wife gets off the train.

Paul is up next with Mark, and Paul skips a whole lot of questions, and is slow at answering others, and I am worried for him. He didn't know a lot of things about his wife. This is really going to be sad if they can't get off, because his sweet little daughter is there with his wife. I am so happy that they didn't have to break that little girl's heart.

Everyone seems over the moon to see their loved ones, except Nicole seems ready to leave the game, by throwing the quiz. We'll see if that happens.

They get their final meal with their families, and Nicole seems ready to throw it, toasting to herself as the latest victim, and does a heartfelt "last confessional"

It's Quiz Time!!

1. Is the Mole Male or Female?
2. During the Mission Go Figure, was the Mole wearing a hat?
3. During Go Figure, did the Mole return to the park to recalculate?
4. In Go Figure, which team did the Mole join?
5. In the Ticket to ride mission, who did the Mole pick as their trusted player?
6. How many people chose the Mole as their loved one?
7. Who was the Mole's loved one?
8. In what order did the Mole see their loved one?
9. During drinks before Ticket to Ride, where was the Mole sitting in relation to Mr. Host Man?
10. Who is the Mole?

There is a tie on the quiz, and Paul and Nicole are deemed safe, with Clay going home. Nicole's mom calls her Omarosa because she couldn't bring herself to throw the quiz. That was kind of funny.

I still think Nicole might be the Mole. Or Paul. They are my top picks right now. And you?