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B+
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A-
Previously on The Mole: Steven and Jim had a "coalition," which wasn't a "conspiracy," but rather a "pooling of resources for mutual benefit." Somehow, this resulted in Jennifer's execution, but we still haven't been given the details on that one. Steven and Kathryn were found in Jim's room when they weren't supposed to be, and money was taken out of the pot as punishment. Charlie calls the three of them the "unholy trinity." Kathryn left her gun's safety on, and the team failed to defend their fortress. Kate blamed Charlie, and Charlie insulted her. Kate would be sad if she left and Charlie stayed. Kate got executed. Kim's hopes went down the drain, since she was sure that Kate was The Mole.
Man, the credits just keep getting shorter, don't they? It used to take me a while to fast forward through them, but now with only four players, they flash by, and I end up having to rewind because I miss the first few moments of the show. But enough about me.
Anderson tells us that there are only four players left, and all of them have "the brains and background" to win, or to be The Mole. In an interview, Charlie says that the remaining players are all much younger than he is, and in fact, they are younger than most of his children. Kathryn says that they are always saying goodbye to each other, because they don't know when they'll be leaving, and she jokes that Steven and Jim are sick of her saying goodbye. Then Steven says something interesting. I'm just going to quote it here, and allow you to draw your own conclusions: "Is it ethical, really, to be tricking these people? You know it's a game and it's not real, but how far do you take it?" Is he The Mole? Or is he just talking about his role in the second test tonight? Or is he just speaking hypothetically? I don't know. Jim wonders if Steven is tricking him, but says he can't deal with the "What if?" because he doesn't know. Well, he says it much more snarkily, but that's what he means.
As the credits roll, the remaining players walk across some sand. The on-screen text tells us that it's the twenty-third day, and that they're still in San Lucar, Spain. Anderson congratulates them on making it this far, and asks them to divide up into two groups of two. One group should be artistic, and one group has to be able to count to at least seven hundred fifty-one. Jim jokes that he's the "arty one," you know, because he's gay and all. Charlie wants to stay together with Steven, and they refuse to be arty. Jim says that he and Kathryn will be the "arty" ones. Kathryn wants to be in the counting group. Steve and Charlie both claim that they're not artistic. Jim tries to convince Kathryn that being a lawyer is creative. It is! Look at Ed Stevens! He's always creative. Anyway, after some standing around, Kathryn finally acquiesces, and she and Jim follow Anderson while Charlie and Steven stay put. Will this turn out to be like when Jennifer felt she was pressured into changing her mind? Even though she totally wasn't? Does this mean Kathryn will be the to go? Is this all part of Steven and Jim's evil plan? Keep reading.
As they walk away, Jim confesses to Kathryn that he's a "terrible artist," and Kathryn asks him frustratedly why he picked that group. Because it's part of his evil plan? Oh, he says that he's kidding. Charlie jokes that with fingers and toes, he and Steven can count to forty. It would have been funny if Steven had deadpanned that he has six toes on one foot, so it's really forty-one. I like to imagine little scenes sometimes. Sorry about that.
Steven and Charlie arrive at a field containing many, many sheep. Steven guesses that they have to herd sheep. Charlie starts trying to count them, but they're all running around, making it difficult. Damn those sheep. If this were Survivor, they'd be dead meat. Literally. We see a dog herding the sheep. In an interview, Jim says that maybe Steven knows that Charlie is The Mole, and he's playing Jim, or maybe Steve is The Mole, but hopefully, it's Steve and Jim against The Mole. Does that mean that Jim and Steve are convinced that Kathryn is The Mole? My brain hurts. I still think that Jim insisted on being with Kathryn because he's the official "tester" (like last week with the black book) who has been assigned to keep track of Kathryn, while Steve is assigned to mislead Charlie, since Charlie trusts him the most. Kathryn says that if The Mole is Charlie, "there goes the unholy trinity." Charlie explains that he calls those three "the unholy trinity because they are together quite often." Jim starts to ask Kathryn a question, but stops himself. Then he says that he was going to ask if she'd rather cut him or Steve. Kathryn laughs, but pointedly doesn't answer.
Anderson voice-overs that Charlie and Steven have to herd all of the sheep into the corral for $20,000, and they'll earn an additional $10,000 if they can count all the sheep. But first, three dogs are led over by a crew member, and Charlie and Jim get to pick one to help them. There's an English Sheepdog, a German Shepherd, and a mutt. Aw, they're cute. Anderson says that only one of the dogs is trained in sheep herding; the other two are useless. Well, they would make good pets! They're not useless! I would have totally picked the mutt because it looks like an Australian Shepherd (think Murray on Mad About You) crossed with a curly-haired lab. Charlie and Steven do pick the mutt, and Steve explains that they picked the mutt because Sheepdogs are not really used to herd sheep, and neither of them has seen a German Shepherd used for sheep herding. True -- German Shepherds seem to be used more for guarding or attacking. Unfortunately, they're wrong -- they should have picked the German Shepherd. Charlie claims that they'll teach the mutt to herd sheep. Steven hopes the dog will be his hero. They have an hour to finish their task.
Anderson leads Kathryn and Jim into an art gallery. Does anyone else find it telling that Anderson went with the group that Kathryn was in? I'm just saying. It's filled with conceptual art, like a noose arranged in the shape a question mark. Their test will be to create a piece of art to be displayed in the gallery. An art critic will visit, and try to pick out their piece. If the critic picks the wrong one, they get $20,000. As they walk to the studio, Anderson asks if either of them have ever created art before. Kathryn says she hasn't done so for a critic, and Jim says critics are "a bunch of phony-baloneys anyway." Phony-baloneys is a funny thing to say.
Back at El Rancho Sheepero, Steven comes up with a strategy, which is basically to be "slow and cautious, and not try to run and spook them in a thousand different directions." Steven and the dog start leading the sheep. Charlie starts running, of course, and spooks them. Steven voice-overs that he's frustrated because he and Charlie are trying to do different things. Some random guy walks over and Charlie gets a stick from him, and starts yelling out "Heche!" No, not like Anne Heche. It's pronounced "Hee-chay." Apparently, that random guy told him it's some magic sheep herding word. Steven voice-overs that he had no idea what Charlie was doing. Charlie yells it about twenty more times while running after the sheep.
Jim and Kathryn, meanwhile, are trying to create something using a bunch of items strewn around the studio. They start out with a wooden box, and Jim says, "Box is a trap. Box is hidden. Box is box." Anderson totally cracks me up by deadpanning, "I think it was Jim who said, 'Box is box.'" He's really having fun with this. Jim throws a plastic tube to the box, claps his hands, and says, "Genius."
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Charlie yells "Heche!" about a hundred more times. It's really annoying. The sheep seem to be just going wherever they want. The footage is sped up to make it funnier.
Kathryn and Jim work on their art some more. Kathryn puts a boxing glove halfway out of the box, and then another one, attached by a piece of rope, on the ground. Anderson notes that it "speaks of desperation." Jim says, "Exactly! The clawing." Anderson says, "No, it was actually more of your desperation." They laugh. Anderson observes that the boxing gloves say "Charlie" on them, and wonders if that means The Mole is Charlie.
Jim and Kathryn decide to create a few pieces, and then pick the best one. Their piece involves sawing one leg off a chair, and then replacing the leg with a mask, and some books. Anderson says that he's heard that Picasso found many of his materials in "a city dump." Jim asks if that's true, and Anderson smiles and shrugs, "So I've heard." He is getting a lot of entertainment out of this one. Kathryn interprets their latest work as "using your identity and learning and balance." Okay, that's a bit of a stretch.
Back to the sheep herding. Charlie thinks they should find the leader and "grab him by the ears and pull him." Oh, that's a good idea. PETA would be all over that one. Charlie voice-overs that they were trying to identify the sheep with bells, because they were the leaders. Unfortunately, that split the group. Steven points out that there are four sheep with bells. Charlie yells "Heche!" a few thousand more times. Steven groans in frustration.
Jim and Kathryn study their latest work -- a jump rope, some dumbbells, and two oranges. Jim likes this one the least so far. Me too. Anderson reminds them that they only need one piece for the exhibition. Kathryn says that they want to have options. Anderson "commends" them for "building an oeuvre." Seriously, this is the most fun he has had thus far. God bless him. Kathryn gets Jim to work on some pages of a book under some shattered glass. It actually looks pretty cool, to my completely untrained eye. They finish putting pages underneath the glass and add a sledgehammer, leaning on top. Oh, no. Overkill. Leave the hammer out, and it's perfect. Kathryn likes the box with the boxing gloves better. Oh, dear.
Charlie and Steven are still herding sheep. I know it sounds really boring, but the editors manage to make it entertaining. Charlie keeps yelling "Heche," but this time Steven manages to get some of the sheep into the corral and they shut the gate. Charlie decides to go after the stragglers with the "Heche bit," and manages to get them all in. Steven celebrates as Charlie yells at him to "close them gates." He does, and they turn to counting.
Jim and Kathryn are still deciding on their art piece. Kathryn thinks "less is more." They are focusing on the box now. They have put a piece of costume jewelry just out of reach of the boxing glove, as if the glove is reaching for it. Jim doesn't want the jewels in there. Kathryn thinks there should be "something being reached for," and she likes that it's "crappy, broken material goods." I see where she's going, but I think you should let the viewer decide what is being reached for. I can't believe I'm analyzing their art. All the other works in the gallery were very simple and stark -- this will make theirs stick out. Jim doesn't think the jewels fit. Kathryn likes the contrast. Jim decides to go with Kathryn. In an interview, Jim explains that he let Kathryn have her say. Jim proclaims, "Genius!" and hugs Kathryn.
The background music is "Mary Had A Little Lamb," while Jim and Charlie try to count. Charlie asks the random guy how many sheep there are, but the random guy claims he doesn't understand English. Charlie doesn't think they should let them out to count them (I guess they were considering letting some out to make the counting easier?). Steven agrees, since they only have twenty-five minutes. But wouldn't you at least try? I mean, what else are they going to do to kill twenty-five minutes? I don't think they get penalized for guessing, so it would be nice to have an educated guess. Charlie thinks "a bird in the hand, or a sheep in the corral, is worth two in the bush." Charlie and Steven shake hands and walk off, as we see the words "The Mole" burned in the grass. Interesting.