Last week on The Mole, the players were divided up based on their intelligence and forced to solve brain teasers to crack a numerical puzzle.  In case that wasn't brainy enough, host Jon Kelley later tested everyone's mental stamina by having players memorize facts about another person's family member.  After everyone had a shiny happy reunion with a loved one, Clay was executed for failing the mole quiz.  Only four players remain, one of whom will win the competition, and another who will be revealed as a deceiver.

Tonight, the finalists face off in a paintball competition to win the final exemption of the season.

Nicole thinks she's a bad ass.  I think Nicole is either crazy or the mole, and I'm hoping it's the former because it's so much more fun that way.  The teams are still in Buenos Aires as the episode begins.  They meet with Jon at an abandoned mill to learn about their next mission, which requires the help of two players who feel young at heart.  Paul and Craig volunteer.  After Paul teams up with Mark and Nicole with Craig, Jon informs them they'll be completing children's puzzles.  The twist?  One person has a video camera, and the other person is blindfolded and can only see what the camera picks up.  Also, the camera broadcasts things in reverse, so left is right and right is left.

Blindfolded Paul successfully places differently shaped blocks into a plastic box while Jon speaks to him like a child.  Craig does the same, and more cash is added to the pot.  The next task requires the blind teammates to kick a soccer ball into a goal, which is tough when you're seeing everything backwards.  Both teams fail and move on to the next challenge, which is to pour liquid into teacups without spilling anything.  Paul gets two out of three, while Craig only manages one.  There's a lot of mole-like behavior throughout.  Did Craig intentionally spill the tea?  Did Mark zoom in just to screw up Paul? Did Paul even try to kick the soccer balls correctly?  Who knows.

The next challenge is something you don't usually see a child attempt.  The blindfolded players have to walk across a plank that goes from the roof of one building to another, and also have to pick up a piece of chalk in the middle.  After grabbing the chalk, they have one minute to get to the other side and write "The Mole Was Here" on a chalkboard.  This would be even better if they weren't given safety wires, but reality television isn't quite that daring just yet.  $10,000 will be added to the pot for each player that doesn't fall to his death.

Paul goes first, and he manages to make it across with seconds to spare.  Craig is next, but his fear of heights and his slow steps cause him to fail.  As Nicole says afterwards, "Dawg, even if you are the mole, you didn't have to mole it up that bad!"  It's possible I kind of love Nicole.  I'm not sure.

The next day, the final four meet to compete for the final exemption of the game.  They're in a building with four cells, each of which have the words "Cell" and "Mole" written in them.  The players have to change one letter in "Cell" to create a new word, then continue that with the next word until they eventually end up with "Mole."  Afterwards, they get to go into a paintball course and fight it out for the exemption.  The first person in the course will have the paintball gun, and he/she has to attempt to shoot the other players, one of whom will have an exemption card.

Mark, Nicole and Craig finish up with the word puzzle fairly quickly, but Paul apparently doesn't know the English language and takes forever.  Mark finishes up first, so he's the man with the advantage.  Craig and Nicole team up with Paul since he has paintball experience, then rush the course together to take on their competitor.  Nicole and Craig get shot, but Paul makes it out alive.  Luckily for Mark, Craig was holding the exemption.

After the requisite awkward dinner with Jon, the players take the mole quiz.  Paul is eliminated from the competition, thus making my co-worker's assumption that he was the mole completely incorrect.  If only we had wagered some cash on it, I'd be rich!  I'm now completely certain Craig is the mole.

Next week, the players have to diffuse a bomb.  Somebody call Jack Bauer.


- Don Williams, BuddyTV Staff Writer
(Image courtesy of ABC)