The Mole

Last time on The Mole, deliciously evil host Jon Kelley chained the players together and forced them to participate in a dramatic trust exercise.  Mark was given a new journal to replace his flambéed original, but he simply couldn't learn to move on and love again.  For the second challenge, Craig was tasked with choosing vehicles for his teammates so they could go on a five mile journey to an Argentinian statue.  However, when he was offered an exemption if none of the players succeeded, he happily sabotaged them and forced his competitors to drop out.  At the end of the night, Kristen was executed for failing the quiz.

In this week's episode the six remaining players point fingers, jump off a bridge, run through a vineyard and bicker like crazy.

The episode starts off with Nicole reminding us that she's the last woman remaining in the competition.  Threatening to kill people in their sleep really pays off, I suppose.  The players meet Jon at a local vineyard, where he splits them into two groups: Runners and thinkers.  The mission, which is called "The Grapes of Cash," involves finding seven bottles of wine that are hidden around the vineyard.  $10,000 will be added to the pot for each bottle found.  The thinkers have to figure out multiple choice brain teasers, and they'll be given a set of coordinates depending on which answer they choose.  It's up to them to use a GPS system to guide the runners to the correct locations for the wine bottles, but if their answers are wrong they'll be sending their teammates on a wild goose chase.

Mark is designated the time keeper for the challenge.  He has to walk on a treadmill to keep the mission going, but the treadmill speeds up after each bottle is found.  If he were the mole, this would be the perfect opportunity for him to sabotage the other players.  As the thinkers figure out the brain teasers, Paul communicates to Alex and Clay to help them find the wine bottles.  Though Paul and Nicole bicker like crazy old biddies while figuring out every question, they still manage to lead the runners to all seven bottles.  $70,000 is added to the pot, bringing the total to $247,000.

Alex and Paul believe that Nicole is the mole, mainly because she failed to answer any questions correctly during the challenge.  Clay thinks that Mark could be the culprit.  After pondering who the saboteur is, the players travel to a bridge over the Mendoza river to learn about their next mission.  The challengers have to bungee jump off the bridge and drop a bag of tea onto a bullseye setup on the ground below.  The amount of cash they earn depends on where the bag lands.  There's also an exemption at stake.  Each player has to guess how much money the team will make, and whoever's closest without going over wins the free pass.

As the players jump off a tiny platform jutting from the bridge, I realize that I should never go on this show.  My fear of heights would leave me balled up in the fetal position and crying in a heap, which would probably make Jon happy.  One by one the teammates lunge from the bridge, but only Alex manages to get his bag on the target.  A whopping $4,000 is added to the pot.  Because every player went over in their estimations, no exemption is given out.

Nicole is worried that she'll have trouble with the quiz tonight.  The questions have been getting more specific, and she also hasn't been keeping anything in her journal.  During the weekly dinner with Jon, Clay and Mark try to get Alex drunk on wine so he'll fail at the quiz.  Somehow I don't think that strategy will work, but at least it's some sort of devious plan.

After the quiz, Jon gathers the players together and slowly goes over the results.  After telling numerous players that they're safe, he tells Alex that he's going home.  Wow, maybe that trick with the wine worked after all!

Next week on The Mole, the final five are teased with the notion of seeing their families.  Will someone crack under the emotional pressure?


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