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Previously on The Mole: Charlie was reunited with his wife, Bernadette. Steven was reunited with his wife, Angie. Jennifer commented that her friend Jim has been spending a lot of time with Steven lately. Kathryn accused Steven of being The Mole. Kathryn and Steve had to sleep in the car, after making a pact that they would work together. Jennifer was executed, and Jim said that she was his friend.
Man, the credits just keep getting shorter, don't they? Anderson tells us that Jennifer went home "in the company of a trusted friend," and then there were five. In an interview, Steven says that he's been reduced to playing the game "at a level that is below my moral and ethical standards." Kathryn has been hanging out with Jim and Steve a lot in the last week, and she enjoys being friends with them as much as you can be friends "in the context of the game." Jim rubs the back of his head and looks like a big monkey while he claims that it's fun playing the mind games, and it's interesting "how people are so easily scammed and suckered in."
It's day twenty. After dinner, the players are sent to their rooms and told to stay there alone. A surprise bed check finds Kathryn and Steven in Jim's room. Anderson says that it's "a clear violation of the game's rules." Man, every show I recap has people breaking the rules tonight.
The morning, Anderson speaks to the assembled group. He tells them that rules were broken, and they'll be assessed a $20,000 penalty, making the pot $350,000. Wow, that was lenient. Ayanna was kicked off! Steven looks sad. Kathryn says that it's lonely in their hotel rooms, and after a while, she's willing to be fined just to have some "human contact." What exactly was going on in that hotel room, anyway? Charlie says something about "troublemakers" and "comeuppance."
Anderson tells us that "what none of the players know is that Jim and Steven have had a secret coalition ever since the third day of the game." They what? That is big news. Jim says that he "wouldn't characterize it as a conspiracy but more as a pooling of resources for mutual benefit." Steven explains that they "struck a deal" and "the last execution was a result of that." It was? How? I need more details here! I guess they can't tell us anything else, or we would know who The Mole is.
The group arrives at an old fort. Anderson explains that this test will be "a variation of the game Capture the Flag." He tells the group that at some point that night, the fort will be attacked by four aggressors. The team has to guard a water-filled bowl, which will be illuminated by two spotlights mounted on the roof. The aggressors can win in two ways: turn off both spotlights OR move the bowl of water out of the lights. The home team has to either keep the bowl illuminated from sundown to sunup OR they can shoot and hit all four of the aggressors. Shoot? With real guns? This is getting serious! Oh, Anderson explains that they get paint guns, but the aggressors will be unarmed. Anderson adds that there is a large white circle around the fort -- a perimeter -- beyond which they cannot move. The prize for this test is $60,000.
As the team moves out to strategize, Anderson voice-overs that it's critical for the players to work as a team, and decide who will guard each position, since one of the players cannot be trusted. Anderson demonstrates the use of the paint gun. He spends a lot of time demonstrating the safety feature, so that will probably be important later. The players take target practice. Kathryn looks uncomfortable with the gun. Steven and Jim try to give her some help, but she doesn't hit any of the targets. Charlie and Steve do a little better, which makes sense since they have training. Anderson lists off all the other things that the team gets to use, including night-vision viewers and tools. After showing off the booty, Anderson leaves them to form their strategy since sunset will be in just under two hours.
At the strategy meeting, Jim suggests sealing up one entrance. Charlie suggests just giving up one target entirely. I guess I didn't explain this above, but the spotlights are controlled by a power source on the ground. Since both spotlights have to be turned off for the aggressors to win, Charlie thinks that the team could give up one of the power sources and concentrate their resources on protecting the other power source and the bowl of water. Charlie explains that he wanted to "give up the battle to win the war." Jim thinks it's a contingency plan, and that they should defend as much as they can. Kathryn agrees with Charlie. In an interview, Charlie explains that he was voted down, and they came up with a consensus plan, but Charlie wasn't happy about it. Steven tells us that the final strategy was devised by Jim and Steven. Interesting. Steven gives the team some final instructions. He tells them not to chase the aggressors and to stay at their posts.
Montage of the team trying to use lumber and hay bales (hay bales?) to block off some of the entrances. Anderson explains that the power supplies are important and that the lines and the distribution box both have to be guarded, along with the glass bowl in the courtyard. The distribution boxes are set away from the fort itself, and then the lines run from the box to the spotlight, so they're long. I guess they aren't allowed to move the distribution boxes.
Part the Sixth
Kathryn, Jim, and Kate are in the courtyard. It looks like Jim is eating a sandwich, but I'm not sure what the rest of them are doing. Kathryn asks Jim if he feels comfortable with the positions. I hear that's what she asked Anderson last night in his hotel room. Bah dum bump. Jim wonders why she's asking that. Kathryn says that she'd like to see Steve and Charlie put together. Kathryn voice-overs that she wanted The Mole to be in a position where there were two people. Jim voice-overs that Kathryn is "the perfect Mole candidate so anything she tells me is suspect." We see a funny shot of Jim wrinkling his nose at Kathryn. Kathryn practices firing her gun. The players don their helmets and load their guns with paint pellets.
As the sun sets, a helicopter appears on the horizon, flying low over the water. It's so very Apocalypse Now, that I expect the Wagner to strike up any second. I have to admit, on first viewing, I was excited at this point. It's a good mission. The players scramble to their positions. The aggressors are standing on the landing rails of the helicopter, dressed all in black. The helicopter hovers close to the ground, and they jump off and run away. Anderson voice-overs that the aggressors set up camp "several hundred yards outside the perimeter." Anderson goes on to explain that the players only know that the attack will happen after sunset, so now they have to sit and wait. The sun sets and we go to commercial.
It's 10 PM. Anderson tells us the players' positions. Jim is guarding the power box in the front. Charlie is also in front, guarding the only door that's not barricaded. Steven is guarding the power box in back. Kate is operating the spotlight on the roof, and she's unarmed. I don't know if they didn't have enough guns, or if they didn't trust her with one. They don't explain. Kathryn is inside the courtyard, guarding the water bowl. Anderson calls her "the last line of defense" which sounds a little intimate. At 10:50 PM, Kathryn tells Steve over the radio that she bets ten bucks that the first attack doesn't come until after 2 AM. Steve takes the bet, saying that he thinks the first attack will come before then. We don't hear if this was part of an ongoing conversation, or just something Kathryn said out of the blue. After a shot of the orange full moon, and a few shots of the players sitting around. Anderson tells us that the aggressors are planning their attack, and they'll use distraction. Anderson also tells us that the aggressors know the players' strategy, information supplied by The Mole. Hmm. Could that be what Kathryn was talking about with the ten and two reference? We see a map of the fort. The aggressors' camp is off to the right of the fort, where there are no players. Remember -- Charlie and Jim are in front, Steven is in back, Kathryn is inside on the left with the glass bowl on the right, and Kate is on the roof in front. I guess they assumed that the aggressors would attack the front, since that's the only entrance. Anderson refers to "a secret line of communication" that The Mole uses to transmit information. Based on their positions, it seems like Kathryn and Steven are the only ones who could secretly transmit information -- all of the others are too close together to be talking unheard.