I LOVE The Mole...

Whew. The elimination of Alex has me quite relieved. I didn't see any Mole behavior in his gameplay, but the "alleged clues" pointed to him as a strong suspect. Guess all of those clues were just a coincidence this time! The exact type of clues that were given in the previous four seasons are bogus this year? Very Mole-y, producers, very Mole-y indeed.

I still have a feeling my original pick - Mark - could very well be The Mole. I have to stick with my gut pick until he is eliminated... BUT after watching last night's review of the season so far, which featured some unseen footage, Mark is looking cleverly Mole-y.

Neck and neck with Mark on my imaginary scale of suspicion is Paul. There are so many reasons to suspect Paul, who was my husband's original pick. My favorite "hmmm...." moment last night was when everyone was going through and saying "I am not the Mole." Paul said, "If you haven't been paying attention, I am not the Mole." So...does that mean if I HAVE been paying attention, he IS the Mole? Besides that, the Mole journal on abc.com, which could be completely bogus, points right to him...Of course, the Mole does lie, so anything is possible.

My third suspect would be Craig. I don't see as much to support Craig as Mole, but it's definitely a possibility.

Then Clay. Smart and low-key. I can't say he's NOT the Mole, but I don't feel super-strongly about it.

Then Nicole. I still say the Mole won't be a woman this time. And also, I feel like she's given some expressions/reactions that indicate she's not the Mole.

The Mole is driving me crazy...

The best part of the show The Mole is finding clues and trying to figure out who The Mole is BEFORE it's revealed at the end of the game. In the past, I've always picked a player out of thin air, declared them The Mole, and hoped for the best. It was a complete fluke that I was right season 2. But this time, I'm actually trying to figure it out. It's insane because you can speculate all day long, not knowing what's a clue and what's not. I know a few people who watch, so maybe they will appreciate my crazy speculation...

Official clues from abc.com:

Clue 1:
E_E_E_

Clue 2:
ABCBB
ACCBCA

Clue 3:
s666 - LIAr

Clue 4:
EFG
PQR
ZOO

Clue 5:
2 3 4
7 1 5


The first clue, I assume, is ELEVEN. 11 seems to be an important number. But how? Clues 2 and 3 I have yet to figure out. And Clue 4, I have figured out, but have no idea what it means...or if I'm right...


Suspicion of each contestant:

ALEX

• The host once commented that something would be "music to the mole's ears", Alex is a musician
• The first mission was based on ALEXander Selkirk
• During dinner the host said something about "last supper", assuming the host is in the Jesus position, Alex was sitting in the Judas position
• During one execution, it was mentioned that the designer of the execution site was ALEXander Eiffel
• Speculated suspicious activity - Alex left his journal behind in a fellow contestant's room. The Mole has no need for a journal, so if Alex IS the mole, he could have filled his journal with false info in hopes that someone would read it and be thrown off track.
• Why Alex might NOT be The Mole - No significant or blatant instances of keeping money from the group pot...Though that might be another reason TO suspect him. See how crazy this stuff is?!?

CLAY

• Was wearing the #11 jersey in a challenge
• One mission involved pigs made out of CLAY
• Speculated suspicious activity - Refused to participate in a mission that would require him to walk around town in his underwear and beg for clothes from the locals. This kept money from the group pot.
• Speculated suspicious activity - In a mission, carried fewer gold bricks than he probably could have - could be an attempt to keep money from the pot.

CRAIG

• 11th person introduced on the premiere of The Mole
• Alexander Selkirk's original name was SelCRAIG
• Speculated suspicious activity - broke the rules in one mission by talking after crossing the finish line when players were specifically told not to. This resulted in disqualification, keeping money from the pot.

KRISTEN - executed 6/30

• K is the 11th letter of the alphabet
• Why Kristen might NOT be The Mole - 3 of the previous seasons have had a female Mole. Would they do it again?
• Why Kirsten might NOT be The Mole - Kristen seems to be making money for the pot, not keeping money out of it.

MARK

• In the first episodes, there was a German theme. Mark's heritage seems to be German.
• 11th to jump in the first challenge.
• Is a soccer coach, soccer teams have 11 players (that one is out there, I know...)
• His picture on the abc official site is the only one with a waterfall in the background.
• In one episode, the contestants walk up on the host eating an apple...for no apparent reason. This has to be a clue. Mark is a teacher. Could be a teacher/apple connection.
• Speculated suspicious activity - After a spa treatment, Mark had no problem dropping his robe and standing in his underwear in front of the other players. But a few minutes later, when they were given a task requiring them to walk around town in their undies, he refused to participate, costing the group pot money.
• Why Mark might NOT be The Mole - Has had a couple emotional outbursts - 1 about wanting to win money so his wife wouldn't have to work 2 jobs anymore, and 1 about having his journal destroyed - The Mole doesn't need a journal, so unless he was just putting on a show, there would be no reason to be so attached to the journal...of course, I guess The Mole COULD use his journal to make notes on how he's throwing people off track...oh my head is spinning...

NICOLE

• Speculated suspicious activity - In the luge challenge, she told her blindfolded partner wrong information, causing them to screw up the entire challenge.
• Speculated suspicious activity - Has admitted that she is purposely trying to get people to suspect her. But she's trying so hard and over-acting SO much that they will certainly think that she's just trying to get them to supsect her. Would the mole purposely act overly molely as to NOT be suspected?
• Why Nicole might NOT be The Mole - see above
• Why Nicole might NOT be The Mole - 3 out of 5 seasons have had a female Mole. Seems like it would be time for a male Mole.

PAUL

• 11th player alphabetically (out of all original players)
• Paul is 29. 2+9 = 11
• In one episode, the host was eating an apple. Paul is from New York - "the big apple".
• There have been oddly placed references to pisco sours, which use lemon juice. In one episode, Paul was mugging for the camera with a lemon in hand.
• Why Paul might NOT be The Mole - He's a bit loud and obnoxious, drawing a lot of attention to himself. Not standard Mole behavior...

On the abc site, they have the Mole's Journal featuring various things from challenges as well as comments from The Mole. Not sure if this contains actual clues or if it's just a prop for the sake of entertainment. If it IS meant to give clues, it certainly narrows down the suspects a bit more...I'll keep an eye on that.

My supect from the beginning - Mark

My husband's suspect from the beginning - Paul

Gotta love The Mole!

FOUND!

My cousin found video of our favorite episode of The Mole (season 2):

'>

'>

'>

'>

FAVORITE REALITY SHOW #2...

I LOVE this show.

Basic premise: A group of civilians participate in various challenges to accumulate money to go into a group pot. But one of them is The Mole - a double agent who must secretly sabatoge missions to keep money OUT of the group pot.

But The Mole can't be caught. Their sabatoge must go undetected.

At the end of each episode, the contestants take a quiz in which they must not only guess The Mole's identity, but also know details of The Mole's role in every event. And the quiz is timed. So, not only do you need to know who The Mole is, but you have to pay attention to what they do, where they sit, what they wear, what they eat. The person with the lowest score on the quiz is eliminated. If multiple people have the same low score, the person with the slowest time is out.

The viewers, like the contestants, have no idea who The Mole is. So it's fun to play along!

Who did something suspicious?

If I was The Mole, how would I sabatoge this mission?

And, I'm not sure if they're doing it this season, but in previous seasons there were "clues" to the Mole's identity given within the episode or during the opening sequence. Those are fun to look for and speculate about!

There have been 5 seasons of The Mole so far, though 2 of them were "celebrity" editions. Not quite as good as "real people" seasons.

How it all began...

Season 1, Episode 1:

Season 1 Playlist - the ENTIRE season!!!!!!!

My favorite was season 2. I correctly predicted The Mole after only 2 episodes. Honestly, I had nothing to back it up. It was just a hunch. That's how I roll.

The Mole is finally back on ABC (Monday nights after The Bachelorette!) and so far, it's really good. There are some interesting characters on there for sure. I declared a Mole five minutes into episode 1 and I'm pretty certain I'm wrong, but I can't wait to find out!

This is a great show - if you've never watched it, you should definitely give it a try. It's far more interesting and intelligent than a lot of shows out there!

The Mole qualifies as a competition-based reality show. Shows in this category involve very challenges, both mental and physical, that result in someone winning a monetary prize.

Other competition-based show I've watched:

Survivor - I watched the first 4 seasons and then All-Stars. I think everyone knows what this show's all about. No need to explain.

The Amazing Race - I only watched one full season. It's a good show. Very exciting. I even printed out an application for it once! Never filled it out, though. But it would be a fun show to do.

And, my #1 Favorite Reality Show - but you'll have to wait 'til my next blog for that one!