The show opens with Anderson explaining the rules. You know them. Ten players do "tests" for cash prizes that go into a pot. One player is The Mole, who tries to sabotage the whole thing. The one who correctly figures it out gets the pot. Each week, one player is eliminated via a quiz on facts about The Mole. Whoever knows the least leaves. Anderson claims that it's "a simple game -- be observant, expose The Mole, claim the money." But do they really want to expose The Mole? Don't they want to figure it out and then try to divert the others? I guess he means at the end. I'm not going to think about it anymore.
Also, for those of you who missed last week's recap, I want to quickly explain the Three Creamer Rule. The producers obviously include a lot of information to distract the viewers, and in that capacity will often make a big deal out of things that are not at all a big deal. My example was if someone said, "Jim usually only uses two creamers in his coffee, and this morning he used three. I think it means he's The Mole!" So, Three Creamer Rule means something that the producers try to make us think is significant, but clearly (at least in this recapper's opinion) isn't. ["Also known as the Red Herring." -- Wing Chun]
And on with the show. We get a recap of last week's events, but you can read the recap instead of rehashing it all here, if you missed it. The credits roll with a super-cheesy Bond-esque theme song while each player is introduced. Anderson sets the stage by saying that Manuel was the first victim, "and then there were nine."
Jim speaks directly to camera, saying, "Bless me camera, for I have sinned. It's been how many hours since my last confession?" In an interview, Jennifer says that Jim is her "buddy," but not because they are both gay. What? They are? Okay, then. Clearly, the producers did not want to introduce that tidbit into the first episode, probably for fear of turning off the more conservative viewers. And it doesn't really matter to the game, does it? I don't know why they put that at the top of the show, but there it is. In an interview, Kate says that she feels bad that she's not "bonding with the group." Because she's totally The Mole. You know it and I know it.
The group eats breakfast. Jennifer asks how many people think that Jim could be The Mole. She and Jim are the only ones to raise their hands, that we can see. Charlie says that he hasn't eliminated anyone at the table. In an interview, Afi says it's weird to be in a situation where "you can't trust a single person." Or a married person. Ba dum bump. Thanks, I'll be here all week. Don't forget to tip your waitress. Jennifer gets her hands on a video camera, and makes a little video introducing each player. She calls Afi "Alfie."
Maybe they were eating dinner, because suddenly it's 10:34 PM. The Mission: Impossible exact times are working my nerves. Just say it's 10:30 or something. The group is still in France. Anderson voice-overs that the group is "riding high" with their success. Except Manuel, of course. Who? Aw, how soon we forget our Paris-loving, height-fearing, well-dressed Mexican friend.
Cut to 2:30 AM when, as Anderson informs us, the "operatives go to work." They try to make it look like a night-vision camera, but really I think they just put a green filter on the camera lens, because it doesn't look quite right. Some people in ski masks sneak into the castle. They tell someone to open the door and he does immediately. It's Steven. He is "kidnapped," although he doesn't put up much of a fight, blindfolded and driven away in a van.
The group sits down to breakfast the morning at 8 AM. Jim sits down and states that he was woken up, but then changes his story and says that he got up to go to the bathroom. Well, which is it? He takes way too long to tell his story, which is essentially that he went to look out his peephole, and someone put a piece of tape over it just as he looked out, so he thinks something fishy is going on. I wonder if they are told not to leave their rooms at night? Because why wouldn't Jim have walked out into the hallway at that point to see what was up? I guess we'll never know. Kate, Afi, Wendi, Charlie, and Jim go to Steven's room and knock, but there's no answer. They decide to inform the group. Wendi is carrying a pad and pencil for some reason. I just like to give these little details in case they are important later.
The group gathers back at the breakfast table. A waiter walks in, and Jennifer immediately stands up, even though we didn't hear him say her name or anything, and she's almost furthest from the door. She takes a cell phone and an envelope from him. Anderson is on the phone. He is all serious. Lighten up, dude! He tells them that the test today is to find Steven. There is information in the envelope to help them find Anderson, which is the first part of the test. Anderson suggests that they hurry, because he thinks they'll find "Steven is rather, well, uncomfortable." What a fromage-filled performance from Mr. Cooper. He ends the call in a sunset-filled shot. Cut to Steven being led into a candle-filled room, put in leg shackles and fitted with an Iron Mask. Just like Leonardo DiCaprio!
Jennifer pulls out a clue -- another one of those "letters cut out of magazines"-type ransom notes. She reads it: "We have Steve. In order to win more money, meet Anderson at Monaco Heliport."
Anderson voice-overs something about Monaco, while we see a shot of him sipping espresso at an outdoor café. Anderson is kind of cracking me up with the deadpan business. At least, I hope it's a joke. The group shows up, and Anderson gives them the run-down, including the British pronunciation of "leisurely." Cooper, your Vanderbilt roots are showing! Anyway, he explains that Steve has been kidnapped and locked up, and shows them a tape of Steve telling them what happened. He drops clues like the fact that he was driven about forty-five minutes away, and he thinks they went through a toll gate or stoplight, and then he was put on a boat and brought to what he thinks is a castle. Anderson stops the tape while Steve is still talking. Interesting. I wonder what tidbit he was about to reveal. Anderson concludes that their test is to "find Steve and set him free," and if they do it in under two hours, they earn $50,000 for the pot. Anderson instructs them to break into three groups -- two who aren't afraid of heights, three who don't get seasick, and three who are good at directions. I would SO be in the good at directions group. I am a great navigator. Oh, this isn't about me.
After dividing up, the players get a thirty-second call to Steven. One of the guards answers the phone and holds it up to Steve's iron mask. On the other end, Jim quickly grabs the phone and asks Steve to describe his surroundings. After wasting about half the call with pleasantries, Steve tells them he can see "a terrace with a cannon, looking out over a large body of water, a bunch of sailboats. There's people milling around, looks like tourists. I see some mountains in the background, bunch of hotels." Jim tries to get the names of the hotels, but Anderson snatches the phone away because time is up. Anderson tells them to begin their search, and when they think they have a location, call him for further instructions. Everyone crowds around Jim to read the notes he has scribbled down. Since no one else could hear the phone, if Jim were The Mole, this would have been a great opportunity to sabotage the mission, although I guess they would have found out about it later. I could never be The Mole -- it requires too much thinking on your feet. I prefer leisurely rumination. As we go to commercial, Anderson wonders if the group can put their suspicions aside and work together. Can they?
Back from commercial, we see Steve sitting in his prison room while Anderson gives us a little history lesson: apparently this is the same prison where the real Man in the Iron Mask was held. Steve has a green flag to signal his teammates if they get close enough to see it. The team has a boat, a helicopter, and a van to use. Each vehicle contains clues and a walkie-talkie. They have a phone they can use to call Anderson or Steve, but each call to Steve costs them $5,000. And...go!
Jennifer and Henry are in the helicopter. Kate, Wendi, and Charlie are in the boat. Kathryn, Afi, and Jim are in the van. Afi uses the walkie-talkie to tell "Dragonfly" that they found maps in the van. I would not be able to resist making up cool code names like that, either. Afi is endearing. She's so dead. They pore over the maps, but I'm not sure what they're looking for. Bodies of water with mountains, I guess. Jennifer and Henry get way too excited about finding a key in the helicopter, and tell the van team about it. In the boat, Kate looks at a brochure, then quickly folds it up and says that they didn't find any clues, but they did find binoculars. Wendi thinks she sees a window like the one in Steve's video. Afi asks the helicopter if they've seen any cannons. Henry says they see stacks of cannonballs, so they "can only assume that cannonballs are nearby." Unless they're just decorative or something. Kathryn and Afi check out the map and decide it must be "the palace." Anderson explains that they are converging on "Port Antoine" in Monaco. Cut to a shot of Steve sitting in his prison with a bunch of candles on wrought-iron holders. It's like an S&M Pier One commercial.
They have an hour and a half left. Jim and Kathryn are on foot now, and find the cannonballs but no cannons. Kathryn suggests they "call Anderson and confirm that this is the place." Kathryn makes the call and asks if the location is supposed to be Port Antoine. Anderson says no, and then voice-overs that despite his answer, they still spend the money to call Steven and see if he can hear the helicopter. Jim calls and asks Steve if he can hear a helicopter. Clearly, he can barely hear the cell phone through that mask! Afi tells the people in the helicopter to buzz the palace. On the phone, Steve says that he "can't hear them because of the helicopter." Jim tries to ask more questions, but the phone call is cut off. I should mention here that some people on the forums thought Steve was placing one finger on his mask to try to make it look like he was thinking, but I think he was actually pushing the mask to one side so that he could better see out the eyehole. Jim says that Steve heard the helicopter. Afi suggests calling Anderson, but no one listens to her. They decide to go back to the palace they just left. Kathryn and Afi will go on foot, and Jim will drive the van up. Kathryn and Afi run up and call Steve's name. Now, they only have an hour left. They try to think of useful information to get from Steve, because Kathryn says "that helicopter thing didn't work." Afi disagrees, because they know he's "in the vicinity," but Kathryn says Steve could have been hearing a helicopter "back at the heliport." Since I don't know where they are, or where Steve is, in relation to the heliport, none of this conversation is particularly useful in determining if any of these people are trying to throw the others off track.
Henry walkie-talkies Afi and Kathryn, saying that they are going to land the helicopter. He wants the boat and the van to meet them at the heliport, and then they will all drive together to the palace. Afi and Kathryn are not happy with this idea. They inform Henry that Jim is not with them, and he has the van, plus they're not sure of the location yet. Jennifer snipes that "they should be in the car coming back to get us." Henry tells her that Jim isn't with them. What, she couldn't hear the walkie-talkie conversation? She's sitting less than a foot away from Henry. That whole conversation seemed very staged. Afi tells Henry that the helicopter needs to look for other locations. Henry says that he wants to, but Jennifer is "extremely sick," and "demanding to land the bird." Cut to slo-mo shots of Jennifer looking nauseated. Jennifer snarls that she's not demanding anything, and Henry should "strike that, right now." Wow, she's kind of a bitch. I mean, if she really is feeling sick, that's too bad, but she has a serious attitude problem. Jen claims she wants to get on the ground because that's what they need to do to finish the test, and again bitches that the van group should be coming to get them. Henry totally misunderstood what Afi said (or did he?) and says they "can't leave Jim." This is all interspersed with shots of Afi and Kathryn looking hot, waiting for Jim in the van. Jen wonders who they could lose Jim, as we see a shot of Jim driving the van. Jen smugly claims that her Mole suspicions are "coming correct." First of all, Three Creamer. We have no idea how long Kathryn and Afi have been waiting, and I have to assume that the road to the top of the castle is long, or they all would have gone together in the van. Second, shut up, Jennifer. She is bugging me.
After commercial, Anderson recaps that distrust and miscommunication are hurting the group. Then, the boat group takes "a second look at a discounted clue." Like it's on sale? Oh, he means they didn't pay any attention to it. Kate opens up the brochure that we are meant to think she discarded earlier. Except the shots of her holding the brochure are strikingly similar, as if the earlier shot were an extension of this one -- in other words, they inserted it earlier to make it LOOK like she was the one who discarded the brochure before the others saw it. I don't want that to be the case, because Kate is still my big suspect. I'm just saying. Anyway, the brochure is for a restaurant in Cannes. Wendi was apparently the one who figured out that the brochure was a clue. Kate tells everyone about the brochure via walkie-talkie, and the van team remembers that they have a restaurant in Cannes. The van team is reunited now, by the way. In case you were worried that Jim had taken off for a life traveling the French countryside in a mini-van. They only have forty minutes left. Afi tells the helicopter team to go to Cannes. Jen relays this information to the pilot, and she speaks French-accented English to do so, like that's going to help him understand. Snicker.
The teams race to Cannes, which Anderson informs us is thirty minutes away. Great, so they'll have ten minutes to do the rescue. Yeah, this one isn't going to work at all. Jen and Henry are all buddy-buddy now, despite the fact that she was screaming at him earlier. They muse that the clue in the boat wasn't discovered for a long time, and Jen thinks maybe The Mole is in the boat. Also, she wonders why Steve said he could hear the helicopter. I wonder if maybe his iron mask had anything to do with his inability to hear. I'm just saying.
The helicopter arrives in Cannes first. Anderson waits for them, leaning on a cannon on top of the castle. Steve hears the helicopter (I guess) and goes to the window and starts waving his flag. Jen spots the flag. Henry tells the others. Jen also spots Anderson standing on top of the building. Anderson calls Kathryn and tells the van team to hook up with the boat team and travel by boat to the castle. Each vehicle has a key. All three keys and all six people are needed to set Steve free. I'd like to point out also that the heliport is right to the castle where Steve is being held. Steve could very easily have been hearing a helicopter before. Or, he could have been lying.
With fifteen minutes left (and I'm not going to worry about the time inconsistencies, because whatever), all six are in the boat and headed for the castle to meet up with Jennifer and Henry, who are on the roof. Jennifer goes down to the dock to meet up with the others and lead them up. Before taking off, she asks Henry if he's cool with her going down there, and he says he is. Anderson tells Henry he has nine minutes. Henry says that Jennifer is "headed in the wrong direction," but doesn't make any effort to yell to her or otherwise stop her. Henry watches the boat pull up and tells the others, via walkie-talkie, to run up to the top where he's waiting. Jim makes it up first, and Henry tells him that they all need to be together. Do they all know that, or did Henry hold back that information until now? Interesting. They only have a minute and fifteen seconds left, and Jennifer's not back. Henry claims that if Jennifer doesn't make it back, then it's "totally sabotage." As time winds down, everyone starts yelling Jennifer's name.
A helpful graphic shows us that Jennifer went to the heliport, which is on the right side of the castle, except that the boat went to the boat dock, which is on the left side of the castle. Of course, Henry saw which way she went, and didn't tell her she was wrong. Henry takes off running, looking for Jennifer. Kate hunches over to "catch her breath." This is important later. Anderson announces that they hae thirty seconds left. Everyone keeps yelling Jen's name as Anderson counts down to zero. They lost. Henry starts bitching that Jennifer wouldn't take a headset. Everyone tells him to shut up about it, as they sit around dejectedly. Charlie claims that they are "filing it." Jim asks Henry why he let her leave. Kate points out that the castle isn't that big, and Jennifer must have heard the yelling and is trying to "deliberately avoid [them]."
Four minutes and twenty-three seconds later, Jen comes running around the corner. Jen appears to be out of breath, and claims that Henry told her to go wait at the heliport. She walks up to the door and says, "Come here!" but someone explains that it's over. Oh, whatever. Like she couldn't tell by the looks on their faces, and the fact that they were not at all excited to see her. She says, "Thanks, Henry." Clearly, she was standing just around the corner and plotting her excuse. I'm not saying that means she's The Mole -- she could just be trying to make people think she is, so that they do poorly on the quiz. Or she could be The Mole. See how devious the game is? Everyone throws the keys on the ground. Jennifer kicks the dirt dramatically. Charlie says that one of the helicopter people is lying. Henry asks Jennifer why she ran off the opposite way that they came up. Why didn't he tell her not to? Jennifer says sarcastically that it was a shortcut. Wow, she's a beeyotch! Jen keeps taking digs at Henry, saying that he sent her off without the radio, and probably never told the others to dock at the heliport. Jim starts to unlock the doors. Jen shrieks that she "ran her butt off," and asks the others if they got his phone calls. Jim has reached Steve, who asks if everyone would shut up and get him out. Hee! That's funny. Jen says that it's worth $50,000 to her to figure Henry out. Jen and Henry continue to bicker as we see a slo-mo shot of the iron mask rolling down the steps. Jim claims that it was "sheer stupidity" that "Henry and/or Jen decided to split up." Henry claims that Jen "bold-faced lied" about it. Afi says that she likes Jen's personality, but her "game plan" is annoying. Charlie points out that there are two different stories. In an interview, Jen cries a bit and says that this is "not like playing sports" and it's "mentally challenging," and she hopes she has learning something about herself. I took this interview a few ways. One, it could have been filmed after she got executed, because she's talking with finality, and about moving on to new things. Or, she could be The Mole, and talking about that.
Permit me a little analysis while there's a commercial break. Does that whole sequence mean that Jen is The Mole? It might. But here's why I think it doesn't. First of all, it's way too obvious for this early in the game. Second, I don't think that either she or Henry is lying -- I think it was just miscommunication. Also, it could be that Jen did deliberately sabotage the test, but she was doing it to make people think she is The Mole, as I mentioned above. Because it's just way too obvious for me. I hope this show is subtler. Plus, you know, I want it to be Kate.
After that failure, Anderson tells us that "the team then drove five hours to the town of Crest," which is pronounced Kray. They slept on the floor of a castle. As morning arrives on Day Seven, Jim voice-overs that the nature of the game precludes trusting anyone. Yeah, we got that. Anderson shows up and tells them to break up into three groups: three leaders, three followers, and three people with a good eye. What's with the breaking themselves up into groups thing? What is this, gym class? , they're going to get in a line and count off. They break up. The leaders and followers are going to the destination, but the Good Eyes group have a test.
Anderson leads the Good Eyes group, consisting of Kathryn, Kate, and Henry, up to the roof. What is it with this show and rooftops? There are two watches. One is a real Cartier, and one is fake. They can use any resources in the town to determine which is which, but they can't take the watches with them. They have two hours. The watch they determine to be fake will be destroyed. If they're right, they win $20,000. If they're wrong, they have to pay for the watch -- $20,000 out of the pot. They have a map and a phone card to help them with the test. Kate points out that expensive watches have "sweeping second hands," which one watch does have. Also, they discuss the materials the watches are made from -- one looks like gold, but the other could be silver or platinum, and platinum would be more expensive. They write down some numbers from the watches, and take that information to a jeweler in town. Kate tells Kathryn to note the time it takes to get there, and "double it for going back," presumably since it will be all uphill. When they get to the first jeweler, Anderson is sitting outside. Alas, no one speaks English there. They take off to find another jeweler, while Anderson stands nearby, chomping on a baguette. No one at the second jeweler speaks English either. They exit to find Anderson leaning against the wall, eating his baguette. He comments to Kathryn, "Kind of makes you wish you'd studied French, doesn't it?" She gives him a big smile. Hmm, I think there's a little something between those two!
The group finds some random people on the street who claim to speak English, but it turns out the guy doesn't understand what they are talking about and can't really interpret for them. They approach another group of people, and one of the guys agrees to help. They explain the test to him and go to a jeweler. The jeweler doesn't have any Cartiers, but he says he saw one in town. Except he won't tell them where it is, because of "professional courtesy." They finally find a guy who has some Cartier catalogs, but it's unclear whether he helps them or not.
The rest of the players are at some château. Charlie decides to try to get a look into the crew's production vans, but he gets busted. He opens the door, and the cameraman says, "I wouldn't get in there if I were you." He immediately slams it shut and claims that he knew the cameraman was there, and he's "waiting for someone." Whatever. It was pretty funny. Totally busted.
The Good Eyes Group only has thirty-eight minutes left. Anderson voice-overs that Kate and Henry are ready to make their choice, but "Kathryn insists on calling another store." Three Creamer. In her profile on the official site, Kathryn claims to be a perfectionist, and frankly if $20,000 were on the line, and we had lost the mission, I would probably want to verify as well. And they have almost forty minutes. Unfortunately, Kathryn can't find anyone who speaks English. Anderson creepily stares into the phone booth. Kathryn wants to call someone else, because she thinks that they can make it back in half an hour. Kate claims that she can't. They take off. Kathryn wants to make another call. Kate says she can't "get there that fast." They have to stop a few times and let Kate get her breath. Finally, they make it to the top where Anderson is waiting. Kathryn familiarly reaches for his wrist and starts undoing one of the watches. I'm telling you, there's something there. They end up choosing the silver watch as the fake one. Both watches are mounted on targets, and a marksman will shoot the fake one. If they're right, and it's fake, green paint will fly out. Otherwise, red paint will fly out. Kathryn voice-overs that she felt "very inadequate" during this test. Henry jokes that they didn't need to destroy the watch. The marksman shoots, and there's green paint. They win $20,000 for the pot. The Good Eyes Group meets back up with the rest of the players, and informs them of their win.
It's dinnertime. Anderson tells us that "despite constant paranoia, cautious friendships are developing." In an interview, Wendi says that she has recently bonded with Afi, because they like to be silly and sing songs. Cut to the two of them at dinner singing a song called "Is You The Mole?" to the tune of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. I'm guessing they get unlimited wine with dinner. Wendi claims that she doesn't trust anybody.
After dinner, the other two groups (Leaders and Followers) are driven to "an empty stretch of road in the middle of the night." Anderson tells them to divide up into two-person teams, with each team having one Leader and one Follower. I'm sick of the forming teams thing already. The test is that each Follower will run through a cornfield maze while the Leader guides them using an overhead view of the maze. There are two guards in the maze trying to stop the Follower. Each Follower who makes it to an exit without getting stopped by a guard earns $20,000 for the pot. There is a three-minute time limit.
Charlie will run the maze first, with Steven giving him instructions. Charlie puts a camera on his head (like the ones in MTV's Fear). Charlie starts out, and we see the overhead shot. It looks just like Pac-Man! At one point, Steve tells Charlie to make a right where he can't. Three Creamer, I think. The guards get closer and closer to Charlie, and everything goes slo-mo as they catch him.
Wendi is up , and Afi will be giving her instructions. Wendi runs while trying to hold the camera on her head. Suddenly, she yells out that she can't hear Afi. Hey, yell a little louder -- I don't think the guards heard you. Wendi looks very upset that she can't hear Afi. But is she, really? Then things work out, and she starts following directions again, but the guards catch her anyway. Afi says that she thinks that "The Mole was at play in the cornfield."
Jennifer is the last one to run the maze, and Jim will be her Leader. It's interesting to watch as he leads her, but boring as hell to recap. At one point, Jim yells at her to turn around, and she doesn't. Is it because she's The Mole, or she wants them to think she is, or her equipment was faulty? We'll never know. Let's just say -- she doesn't make it. Anderson reminds us that the group has screwed up two out of three tests.
It's dinner the night, I guess. Anderson proposes a toast to the person who will be executed . It's time to set up suspicions. Kathryn thinks it was fishy that Steve claimed to hear the helicopter. Wendi is concerned that Kate didn't bring up the brochure earlier when they were in the boat. Steve also suspects Kate, the "friendly, neighborhood grandmother." Henry wonders why Steve was the one selected to be kidnapped, and also says that Jennifer might have pretended to be The Mole to throw the others off track and thus make it more likely that she'll get a higher score on the quiz. That Henry is crafty. Kathryn thinks that Kate's "huffing and puffing...seemed a little staged." Steven thinks that Kathryn is suspicious because of her intelligence. Charlie says that he and Steve both have "a law-enforcement background" and that he is starting to "rely and trust" on him. Steve says that it might be "professional courtesy," but Charlie has been sharing information with him. Afi says that Henry wants people to think he's The Mole, but she's not buying what he's selling.
Everyone files in to find out who has been executed. Anderson asks for volunteers to go first. Henry, Jennifer, and Wendi all volunteer. Henry gets the green. Jennifer does as well. Steven is up , and also gets the green, although the music becomes very sinister. Kathryn looks nervous, but she gets the green too. Afi...gets the red. She's out. Everyone looks sad.
It's time for the Montage of the Red Screen. Wendi says that the person she felt closest to has left. Kate says the group will miss Afi's energy. Jennifer says that Afi "made it the best that she could," and there wasn't "a day Afi wasn't doing something silly or fun." Wendi says that Afi helped her relax and enjoy the game. Jim didn't think it would be her, and he'll miss her. Anderson sees Afi off as the music is all sad.
The disclaimer scene this week says that "due to technical difficulties, time was added to one test and an additional trial was allowed, but now shown in another test. None of these elements affected the outcome." So interesting! Did they let Wendi retry when her earpiece "failed"? Because that would make a big difference in a lot of people's suspicions.
week: the group has to do bullfighting, it looks like. Kathryn says, "Absolutely no way." Charlie gets drunk and says, "Kate is a [bleep]." Ooh! Jim says it was "downright mean." I can't wait!