The Fourth Betrayal

Everyone walks out onto the Maloja Dam. When they get about halfway across, Anderson explains that this game is worth $35,000 for the pot. They have to answer four questions. The answers to the questions will combine to form the four-digit combination to a locked treasure chest, which contains the prize money. Anderson reveals the twist: the four questions are printed on cards, which are attached to the side of the dam. A colored flag marks the location of each card. The four "hanging out" volunteers will rappel down the dam, and within a ten-minute time limit, read one question, figure out the answer, reach the bottom, and radio the answer back up to Al. The fourth person to rappel can answer as many questions as he or she wants. If Al gets two different answers to the same question, he has to decide which answer he trusts. Once Al gets the combination, he has to rappel (facing down) to the bottom of the dam and try to unlock the treasure chest. Al appears a bit anxious about rappelling face down. Bribs thinks it's awesome.

Bribs rappels first. He looks like he's done this before. He heads for a question underneath a blue flag and reads the card. Anderson helpfully voice-overs the question for us: "What is the number of players knocked into the water by Little Jane minus the number of players knocked into the water by Little John?" Good Lord, I would fail this quiz. I just watched that episode and I have no clue. Bribs rappels down to the bottom as we see a flashback of the Little Jane/Little John challenge. Bribs radios up to Al to give his answer for the blue question, which is four. Al confirms that he heard the answer correctly.

Heather goes , and tries to reach the question under the yellow flag. It's very far off to one side, and she's having trouble swinging over enough to read the question. She informs everyone that she's going to go for the red flag instead. Anderson reads the question: "What is the day of the month Bribs was born minus the day of the month Al was born?" There must be a rule that they have to answer the question without any outside help, because I would just ask those two when their birthdays are. Heather reaches the bottom, and then tells Al that the answer to the red question is nine.

Elavia prepares for her turn, and tells Al and Darwin that she's going to try for the green flag, but that if she misses it, she'll go for the yellow flag. At the bottom, Heather and Bribs discuss the fact that, from their current angle, they can see how far away the yellow flag is from the others, and how it looked so different from up top. Heather doubts that Elavia will be able to reach the yellow one. Elavia struggles to reach the green flag, and voice-overs that you're supposed to be able to walk on the wall, but she can't, because it's concave. She is now below the green flag and is apparently going for the yellow one. Al yells down that she should try to put the soles of her feet on the wall instead of her toes. Elavia swings closer and closer to the yellow card, and voice-overs that she only got a glimpse of it before she had to give up. Anderson voice-overs the question: "What is the number of players who swung from the bridge minus the number of players who hit the bull's-eye with arrows?" Elavia radios up to Al to say that the answer to the yellow question is two. She sounds really bitchy and upset when she says it. Heather asks Elavia if she really read it, or just guessed. Elavia says that she just guessed, because she couldn't see the card. In an interview, Bribs says that they really underestimated the rappelling game, because you couldn't tell the distance between the flags from the top of the dam.

Darwin goes last, so he is allowed to rappel to all four flags and recheck the answers of the players, but he still only gets ten minutes. Darwin reaches the green question, which is the only one that has not yet been answered. Anderson voice-overs the question: "What is the age of the second player executed minus the age of the first player executed?" At the bottom, Elavia doubts that Darwin will be able to reach all of the questions in ten minutes; Heather doesn't think that he'll be able to remember the answers, either. Darwin gets close to the yellow question (at least, closer than Elavia did) and Anderson yells down that Darwin has seven minutes left. Sometimes Anderson sounds like Mr. Burns. I wish he would say, "Eeeeexcellent," because then you would know what I mean. Darwin yells that his finger is caught in the rope. Darwin voice-overs some more details: his finger got caught in the binding, and he had to pull so hard to get it out that the rope went slack and he slid too far down the wall to read any more questions. Anderson voice-overs that Darwin's slip has cost him the chance to read all four questions. Darwin sits at the bottom and thinks over his answers. Anderson yells down that he has four minutes remaining. Darwin tries to remember the ages of the executed players, and then radios up to Al and says that the answer to the green question is two, and the answer to the yellow question is one. Anderson voice-overs that Al now has two different answers to the yellow question, and he has to decide which one he trusts more. Or remember back to seeing Elavia barely reach the yellow question and decide that she couldn't possibly have read it as fully as Darwin did.

Down at the bottom, Darwin explains how he arrived at his answer. Elavia pretty much admits that she got it wrong with a full-body whatever shrug. In an interview, Heather says that the most important element in the rappelling game was trust, because you had to take people's word for why they messed up or couldn't see the question. Actually, I'd say that the most important element in the rappelling game was the harnesses, but that's just me.

Anderson asks Al how much he trusts the players at the bottom of the dam. Al says that he hasn't seen the questions, so he kind of has to trust the answers he was given, since it's not like he has a better option. Anderson asks if Al is going to go with Darwin's answer to the yellow question. Al thinks that Darwin sounded more confident than Elavia did. Anderson asks whether Al trusts Darwin, like, what is this, the third degree all of a sudden? Poor Al is about to throw up because he has to rappel face-first down the dam in a minute and Anderson won't give him a second to breathe. Anderson announces that they are going to let Al hear the questions, so that he can decide the veracity of the answers he was given. So why have them rappel at all? This seems like a big cheat. Down at the bottom, Darwin wonders what in the hell is going on. Heather voice-overs that it was taking so long, they thought maybe Al was getting another exemption.

Anderson reads the questions to Al. For the blue question, Al decides that Bribs is wrong, and that the correct answer is zero. Anderson reads the yellow question, for which Al was given two answers. Al confirms that he's going with Darwin's answer. Al confirms that he's going to go with Darwin's answer for green and Heather's answer for red, so those two numbers won't change. Al gets hooked up to the harness to prepare for his face-first rappel down the dam. Al tells Anderson that they'll know he's ready when they hear him scream like a girl. Hee! Al was bugging me in the first few episodes, but he's kind of growing on me. Although every time I see him, I picture him in that flesh-colored corset he had to wear while running through the streets, and it creeps me out.

Al begins his descent to the bottom, so that he can try out his combination on the treasure chest. Heather -- who has suddenly become the narrator of the show -- voice-overs that they are all cringing because they know that Al is afraid, and they were all helpless. Al says to himself that he has an unbelievable view, and that if he dies now, it's not a bad final view. He also tells his wife he loves her. Al finally reaches the bottom and everyone cheers. I hope they gave him a piece of paper to write down the numbers, because I would have certainly forgotten them if they weren't superimposed in a graphic on the screen. Al dials up the numbers on the lock, and then pulls -- and the lock remains closed. Al swears a few times in disappointment. Anderson voice-overs that Heather's answer for red and Darwin's answer for green were incorrect. Interestingly, I note that those were the two numbers Al did not change at all. Anderson tells us that the correct answers were eight for red and one for green. Heather tells Darwin that she feels bad because Al was trying so hard. Darwin says that Heather was trying hard, too, and Heather says she feels dumb for getting the answer wrong. Darwin says he feels dumb, too. Al says that he was devastated. Al joins the others at the bottom, and they Monday morning quarterback the game. Al tells Bribs and Elavia that their answers were wrong and he corrected them. In an interview, Darwin says that Heather and Bribs hang out together a lot, so he figured that Heather would know Bribs's birthday and thus get her question right. Then again, Darwin points out, he didn't remember how old Bob was, and they were roommates.

The other players join the group at the bottom of the dam. Anderson tells them officially that they don't get any money for the pot from this game. Anderson says that it was a game of trust, and now they have questions about whom they can trust. The producers want to create doubt so much, but I really got the feeling that the wrong answers were just because people didn't know the necessary information about ages and birthdays, and it's not like they were allowed to consult their journals. Al is really ticked off at himself. Or is he just putting on a show to make it seem like he's ticked off? In an interview, Bill points out that Al had the opportunity to correct all of the answers, and he didn't. In an interview, Rob says that there is definitely suspicion toward Al.

Al and Bribs share a room. Bribs asks Al if he was rooming with Patrick before. Al says that he was, but now Bill is rooming with Patrick. Bribs adds that Bill said, "I swear to God, if he does anything. If he does anything to piss me off, it's over." Al laughs and laughs. I love shit-talking! More of it, please!

At breakfast, Katie reads the text of the telegram (which she has copied into her journal) to Anderson. Katie explains that she thinks "la talpa" means "the mole," since the Spanish word for mole is similar to talpa. Anderson is wearing an ill-advised purple tight short-sleeved button-down shirt. What part of it is ill-advised? Definitely the purple part, and probably the tight part. If it were a little baggier, it might not be so bad, but as it is, he looks like a high-school Math teacher who fell into a puddle of wine just before breakfast.

Anderson announces that it's time for another game, and that the players will have to meet him at the Villa Trento. As the players walk out to their bus, Anderson voice-overs that the players don't know it, but they will be facing another task first. Some young Italian hussy wanders up to the bus and asks the players to help her. She's actually clasping her hands together as if begging them for help, which is so fake that I can't believe the players weren't immediately tipped off to the ruse. Then again, those Italians like to gesture with their hands a lot. Right, Wing? Katie voice-overs that two Italian women came up and asked for help in changing their tire. In an interview, Myra says that there was a lot of "turmoil in the van" because all of the guys were trying to rush out and help the pretty ladies. Patrick appears to be the first out of the van, followed closely by Darwin. Patrick chats up the pretty lady. Rob is suddenly with them. Most of the female contestants stayed in the bus, as did Bribs. But then, suddenly, Bribs is with the tire-changing gang, explaining that the hussies think there is a nail in their tire. Bill actually lifts up the car, like Superman, so that Darwin can get the jack in or something. Maybe things are different in Italy, but I never had to lift up a car with my bare hands to change a tire. Katie points out that Bill just lifted up the car, and suddenly Katie has a green cast on her wrist. What the? Okay, it was explained on the official site that Katie slipped and hurt her wrist at the spa, but they could have explained that on the actual show, because it really distracted me. In an interview, Al says that Bill dented the car when he lifted it up, and Bill himself points out the dent. Heather voice-overs that she doesn't know why it took all six guys to change the tire. Patrick voice-overs that they got to change their tire (what a treat!), and they got a hug and a kiss from the hussies. In an interview, Heather says, "Patrick's very sexual in nature." And then I went hysterically deaf and had to rely on closed captioning for the rest of the show, because that is so gross. Anyway, according to the captioning, Heather says that Patrick is always making sexual innuendoes, and it makes people uncomfortable. In other words, Patrick is a big perv. I'm actually surprised, because I didn't think Patrick liked girls that way. Then again, maybe he doesn't, and his sex talk is him overcompensating. Or maybe I'm overthinking it.

Back on the bus, Myra asks if anyone got the hussies' names. Patrick says that the girl with black hair was Manuela and the blonde was Katia. Rob insists that it is the other way around, and Rob is right, according to my tape. Heather asks who cannot change a flat tire, and she is the only one who raises her hand. In an interview, Heather says that she could probably change a tire if she had to, but "that's what AAA is for." Heh. Katie says that if they find any "hot guys without pants that need help fastening them" they should pull over. So wait. If these fictional guys don't have any pants, what do they need help fastening exactly? I don't think I want to know. Bribs thinks it's a little fishy that there were "two obscenely hot women" who needed their tire changed. Okay, "obscenely hot"? Hardly. Did you see how tight their pants were? It gave the phrase "read my lips" a whole new meaning.

In an interview, Myra says that just as they thought they were almost to their destination, another lady came up to them at a gas station and asked for assistance. Darwin speaks to her and finds out that she has a flat tire. Darwin, Bill, and Al get right to work changing the tire while the others stand around and watch. The old lady thanks them. In an interview, Al says that they told her that they drive around Europe and help ladies with flat tires, but they realized that it was too much of a coincidence and that something fishy was going on. On the bus, Darwin comments that it was funny that the woman approached them instead of the gas-station attendants, who might actually know something about cars.

The players finally reach the Villa Trento. Anderson welcomes them and explains that because they helped both groups of women, they have earned an extra $30,000 toward the pot. Do you get the feeling that the producers were worrying that these fuck-ups weren't going to have any money at all by the end, so they fabricated this game to make things interesting, at least? Because who wouldn't stop and help? Come on. The players are psyched. Anderson explains that there was a hint in the telegram; the last line of the telegram said, "Are you ready for another helping? Stop." If they had only stopped and helped the hussies in the first group, they would have lost money from the pot. In an interview, Heather says that the females would have never let the males get away with just helping the hussies anyway. That whole test is so gross to me. I would like to think that there are guys out there who would actually be more likely to help the old lady, who might actually need the help since she might be physically unable to change a tire, than the hussies, who are young and fit.

Anderson tells the six people who didn't rappel in the mission to divide themselves into two groups: three people who are "smart" and three people who are "dumb." One thing that has been bugging me this season (compared to last season) is that there aren't enough missions where everyone competes together; I'm thinking specifically of last season's mission that involved guarding a fortress. Then again, that didn't happen until the sixth episode last season, so maybe they will have more games like that once the numbers dwindle. Rob immediately chooses Bill for the smart team, and then adds Dorothy and himself. Well, that's a bit egotistical. Rob asks everyone if that's okay. Katie is offended. In an interview, Katie says that she just hasn't "had an opportunity to pull out [her] smart card yet." There's a card? I'm so upset that no one issued me a card. Anderson tells the smart group to stay outside, and the dumb group (consisting of Katie, Myra, and Patrick) goes inside with Anderson, who is still wearing that unfortunate shirt.

Anderson tells Katie, Myra, and Patrick that he knows they aren't happy about being labeled dumb, but they might turn out to be the smartest of all. Ooh, another bad thing about Anderson's shirt -- it's way too tight in the armpits and it's all bunched up. I know I'm kind of obsessed with his shirt, but it's so rare that he makes such a sartorial blunder, and thus this one sticks out. Anderson explains that the dumb team will have the chance to get an exemption. There are eleven brain-teasers on the wall. They have to select five brain-teasers for the smart group to try to solve. If the smart group solves even one brain-teaser, the dumb group gets no exemptions. For each brain-teaser solved, $10,000 will be added to the pot. If the smart group gets all five brain-teasers correct, not only is $50,000 added to the pot, but each member of the smart group gets an exemption. Anderson gives the dumb group fifteen minutes to pick out their brain-teasers. As soon as time starts, Katie quickly urges the others to go for the exemptions. Myra asks if they all feel okay about betraying the team like that, and Katie says that she does. Patrick points out that if the smart group solves even one, no exemptions will be given to the dumb group. Katie thinks that they win either way, because even if they don't get exemptions, they get money for the pot. Patrick says, "But if we're going to lose the exemptions, do we want money?" He lost me. I don't know what he's talking about. Katie points out that The Mole might be in the smart group and already know the answer to all of the brain-teasers. Patrick is convinced, and agrees to go for the exemptions. Myra keeps talking, and Katie points out that they need to get going. They check out the various brain-teasers posted on the walls. They regroup, and Katie admits that she can't figure any of them out.

The smart group (Bill, Dorothy, and Rob) join Anderson, who explains the rules, including how exemptions are earned. Anderson further explains that they will get two tries to answer each brain-teaser, and then an overdubbed Anderson explains that if the first answer is incorrect, they will have one minute to come up with the correct answer. They get thirty minutes to solve all five brain-teasers. The smart group heads inside to check out the brain-teasers. The dumb group observes on a television placed outside the villa.

The first brain-teaser involves a 3D depiction of a stack of cubes, and asks for the total gallons needed to cover all exposed surfaces, if each side requires two gallons of paint. If I were handier, I would try to replicate the puzzle for you so that you can play along at home, but I'm not that handy. Bill intently studies that puzzle. Outside, Anderson reminds Katie that, a few nights earlier, she was saying that she wouldn't go for an exemption if it meant going against the team. Katie says that her strategy has changed, and that she needs to work for herself now. She adds that she'll be happy if the smart team gets some questions right. Patrick asks Katie who she thinks The Mole is. Katie says that she doesn't know, and that she's not going to tell him. Patrick says that he thought she was dumb enough to tell him. I think he was referring to her being on the dumb team, but the joke fell flat and Katie "jokes" that she would be dumb enough to punch him in the face. Heh.

Inside, Bill heaves a big sigh as he checks out the puzzle. Anderson reads it to us: "Bob went out to buy some fishing equipment. He spent half of what he had, plus $5, at the first store. At the second, he spent half of what was left, plus $4, and at the third store, he spent half of the remainder plus $3. He then had $5 left to put aside for bait. How much money did he start with?" Rob, Bill, and Dorothy all try to solve the puzzle. Bill talks his solution out loud, which would so annoy me if I were trying to do math. I know the solution involves algebra, but I just tried to do it on paper and ended up with an answer of zero. There's a reason I was an English major. In an interview, Bill says that the puzzles were quite difficult.

Anderson voice-overs the puzzle, which is one of those sequential things involving geometric shapes. Rob checks it out and chooses an answer, which Bill accepts.

The brain-teaser involves a pie divided into four sections. Each section has letters in it. You have to pick one letter than can be inserted into each section in order to form a word with the letters already in the section. Got that? The letters in the first section are P, A, R, and E. The letters in the second section are P, A, T, and E. The letters in the third section are G, A, and P. The letters in the fourth section are P, U, R, and E. This is the only brain-teaser that I solved, by the way. That makes me think it's pretty easy, and I'm surprised that the dumb group picked it, although maybe they were trying to have a mix of puzzles requiring different skills, like one that required math, one that required logic, one that required spatial reasoning, etc. I would think that a better strategy would be to choose puzzles that all required the same kinds of skills. That way it's an all or nothing proposition. Either no one on the smart team has that skill set, and the dumb team gets exemptions, or someone does have that skill set, and lots of money gets added to the pot. In an interview, Rob says that Bill is "the numbers and math guy," Dorothy is "the word person," and he has a little bit of each.

Just to ratchet up the tension, Anderson takes a minute to remind them that if they get this last puzzle correct, they will add $50,000 to the pot and each of them will get an exemption, and thus cannot be executed this week. Outside, Katie puts her head down and exclaims, "Farts. I don't want to watch this." "Farts"? Anderson asks them for their answer to the final puzzle -- the one with all the letters that needs to be unscrambled. Dorothy answers, "Uh, stressful minute?" That's not a word. That's two words. Anderson tells them that it's incorrect, and gives them one minute to find a new answer. Outside, Katie tells the others that Dorothy bought the Scrabble dictionary, but she only got through the A's. I don't know how that's really relevant, but whatever. Inside, the players frantically try to unscramble the word. In an interview, Bill says that they were hung up on variants of the word "stressful." Dorothy tries to sound it out, and she comes up with "mistrustfulness." Anderson announces that time is up, and Bill quickly tells Dorothy to go with her answer. She gives it, and Anderson says that "mistrustfulness" is correct. Dorothy laughs. Rob seems stunned. Bill tells Dorothy that she is amazing. See, I can buy Dorothy pulling that word out of nowhere, but I don't buy her pulling the solution to the first puzzle out of nowhere. Maybe that's because I would need a pen, paper, compass, calculator, and a new brain to figure out the first puzzle. The dumb team enters the villa and congratulates the smart team. They won $50,000, which brings the total pot to $171,000. Bill rehashes the puzzles with everyone. In an interview, Bill says that Dorothy was a star. Myra tells Dorothy it was amazing how she pulled that off. In an interview, Myra says that it was "very suspicious" that Dorothy solved two puzzles out of nowhere, and both on the second answer. Word, Myra. In an interview, Katie also thinks that Dorothy's answers were "a little suspect." Anderson suggests that they go rejoin their teammates at dinner.

Myra announces to the group that they got $50,000 added to the pot. Everyone applauds. Myra says that the bad news might also be good news, depending on who you are. Patrick announces that three exemptions were given out. Myra and Patrick point to Bill, Rob, and Dorothy to indicate who got the exemptions. In an interview, Al says that it'll be tough, because his odds just went from one-in-ten to one-in-seven. Darwin says that the smart group did a great job, but he's definitely upset that there are three exemptions. Patrick asks who hasn't had an exemption yet, and Heather raises her hand. In an interview, Heather says that she was not part of the exemption process again, and that it's frustrating and feels unfair. There are others who haven't had exemptions, so I'm not sure why they focused solely on Heather. I guess they're trying to make you think she might be executed. Al asks who has had more than one exemption. Dorothy sheepishly raises her hand.

Anderson announces that they had a good day, earning a total of $80,000, and that there will be an execution the day. And again, Dorothy, Bill, and Rob have all earned exemptions. After Anderson finishes speaking, an ominous gong goes off on the soundtrack and the camera pans up to the ceiling, which features what looks like an angel. Maybe carrying a sword? It's hard to tell. Then, thunder clouds roll across the sky.

The ominous thunder clouds are still rolling through, and now the rain has started. Anderson voice-overs that it's time for the execution quiz. Heather voice-overs that Elavia made her suspicious during the rappelling game, because she should have gone for the yellow flag, but she zipped right past it to go to the green flag. Bribs voice-overs that he suspects Heather a bit, because she knows his birthday, and yet she got the question about that wrong during the rappelling game. Katie voice-overs that she finds it both interesting and suspect that Dorothy figured out the answers to the puzzles at the last second. Hee! Darwin moves his lips when he reads.

The players assemble to find out which one of them will be executed. Anderson says that there has been a lot of discussion about Patrick removing pages from Katie's journal. It's a violation of the rules, and thus $5000 will be removed from the pot as a penalty. The players' lack of reactions to this news confirms my suspicions that they were informed of this earlier. Anderson reminds them that Dorothy, Bill, and Rob have exemptions and can't be executed. Anderson sits down at his computer and starts typing in names. First up is Elavia, who gets the green screen. One time, I want them to have the executed person's name be first, just to fuck with us. up is Bribs, who also gets the green. Heather gets the green screen and looks relieved. Myra also gets green, and barely smiles. Darwin seems very, very relieved at the appearance of the green screen. When Katie gets the green screen, she rubs her hand over her face in relief. Seriously, if Katie is The Mole, she deserves an Academy Award. Patrick's name comes up, and the Bass Note of Impending Doom sounds, so no one is really surprised when the screen is red. Anderson escorts Patrick out, and as soon as he leaves the room, the others let out a nervous chuckle.

Outside, Anderson asks Patrick if he's surprised, and Patrick says he's disappointed, but not surprised. Instead of the "We're So Sad that Patrick's Gone" montage, we get the "He Was a Jerk Who Deserved To Go" montage. Heather says that she knew his execution was coming by how Patrick played the game. Al says that it was only a matter of time, because Patrick wouldn't get the information he needed from the others. Darwin says that he thinks Patrick had narrowed his Mole choice down to two people, and that if he had narrowed it down to one, he wouldn't have needed any information from the rest of them anyway. Katie says she feels sad that Patrick left on a negative note, because there were a lot of positives about the experience. We see a very short montage of those positive experiences, which involves the image that will forever be burned into my brain: Patrick running around in a Speedo. Anderson helps Patrick into the car, and Patrick takes off. Goodbye Patrick with your ambiguous sexuality and your creepy vibe!