The Final Betrayal

Previously on The Mole: A lot of stuff happened. Seriously, they showed clips going back to the first episode, and if you haven't seen it, I can't describe the whole thing to you now. Plus, they go over a lot of these individual clips with a little explanation later in the episode.

Anderson welcomes us to the final episode. It's been "many months" since Dorothy, Bill, and Heather took the final quiz, and now the results have been tabulated. Heh. That made it sound like it took many months to tabulate the results to a twenty-question quiz taken by three people. That is multiple choice. Couldn't they just fill out bubble sheets? Anyway, the three remaining contestants are sitting behind three locked doors in what look like little confessional booths. Not the Real World kind; the Catholic kind. Anderson promises to show us who is the winner, and who is The Mole, as well as how The Mole sabotaged various games and the clues from each episode. And all of the players from this season will be reunited.

After a quick bio for each of the three remaining contestants, Anderson asks us to watch a clip package showing suspicious moments from the three remaining players. First up is Bill. He refused to wear a diaper. He dropped and broke the greasy gnome, and got an exemption. He gave up early while treading water. Dorothy also had some suspicious moments. She refused to bungee-jump and didn't get to see her mother. She ate the last piece of cake and got an exemption. She threw up while running to count some steps. Heather failed miserably at picking out people's relatives. She refused to spend the night in a room with a giant python.

Anderson welcomes back the executed players. He explains that Bill, Heather, and Dorothy are waiting behind the locked doors nearby, and asks each of the executed players who they think is the winner, and who is The Mole. They respond in the order they were executed.

• Bob: Dorothy wins and Bill is The Mole.
• Ali: Dorothy wins and Heather is The Mole.
• Lisa: Heather wins and Dorothy is The Mole.
• Patrick: Bill wins and Dorothy is The Mole.
• Rob: Dorothy wins and Bill is The Mole.
• Myra: Heather wins and Dorothy is The Mole.
• Elavia: Dorothy wins and Heather is The Mole.
• Katie: Dorothy wins and Heather is The Mole.
• Darwin: Heather wins and Dorothy is The Mole.
• Bribs: Heather wins and Elavia's The Mole. [big laugh]. Bill's The Mole.
• Al: Bill wins and Heather is The Mole.

Anderson comments that their guesses are all over the place, and then says some filler-type stuff, like, could they waste more time trying to draw out the suspense? Rather than filibuster like this, I wish they would spend a minute with each executed contestant and find out what they've been up to since they left the show. Then again, I think this episode was filmed quite some time ago, so maybe they did and the information was so out of date that they couldn't use it.

Anderson filibusters some more before revealing that he has three keys, and he's going to give one to each contestant. Only the winner's key will open his or her door. Anderson slides the keys through some slots in the door and tells the contestants to try to open their doors. After much door rattling and key twisting, Dorothy walks out. Everyone cheers and some of them -- mostly the people who thought she was The Mole -- look shocked. Dorothy smiles more than I knew was possible. Heather and Bill are still stuck in their booths. Anderson asks Dorothy if she's surprised, and Dorothy says that she is totally shocked.

Anderson says that now it's time to find out who is The Mole. He has another key, which will open The Mole's door. He hands it to Dorothy and tells her to give the key to The Mole, so clearly Dorothy knows who it is. Anderson commands, "Mole, open your door." A door swings open andBill walks out. The crowd goes wild. Wild! They are screaming and yelling and clapping. Al yells out, "Bastard!" and Darwin says that he wants a piece of Bill. Everyone laughs and laughs. Except Heather, who I think they forgot about, and when they do finally show her, she's wiping tears from her face. Anderson finally tells Bill to let Heather out. Heather comes out, hugs Dorothy, and says she was pretty sure that Dorothy was going to win. Anderson tells us that it was actually Heather who figured out that Bill was The Mole, and told Dorothy, which may have cost Heather the game; we'll get more details on that after the commercial. They cut to Katie going, "Wow." I think the producers really missed having Katie on the show, because they could always cut to her for a reaction shot. Who else are they going to cut to? Dorothy the stone-face? More on Dorothy's stone face in a minute, by the way.

Anderson recaps that Heather is the game's last victim, Dorothy is the winner and Bill is The Mole. Anderson asks for some reactions from the executed contestants. Patrick says that he's ending the game the same way that he began -- clueless. Katie (who looks fabulous, by the way) says she was sure that, even though they had a coalition, Heather was The Mole. Anderson says that Bribs picked Bill as The Mole on the third quiz, and wonders what changed his mind. Bribs answers, "In a word, Darwin." Everyone laughs and Anderson asks why Bribs trusted a lawyer. Bribs says that he actually answered the quiz questions as if Bill were The Mole on the second quiz, but Darwin said that he didn't answer any questions for Bill being The Mole on the first quiz and then wasn't executed, so they figured Bill must not be The Mole. Or everyone else was as clueless as they were. Anderson calls Darwin a "brainiac" and points out that he eliminated Bill from his suspect list early on. Darwin says that he felt like you had to eliminate at least three people early on in order not to spread your answers too thin, and since he only answered maybe one question for Bill on the first quiz, and he took a long time taking it, he figured that he would be executed if Bill were The Mole. I just realized that Darwin and I are the same age. He seems so much older than I am, and I mean that in a good way. He's more sophisticated. Then again, I like burp and fart jokes, so pretty much everyone is more sophisticated than I am.

Anderson reveals that the night Al was executed, he split his vote between Bill and someone else. Al says he also suspected Dorothy, because he thought a lot of things pointed to both of them. Al says that he and Bill had a good relationship, so he figured Bill was just making a lot of mistakes and not purposely sabotaging the games.

Anderson reminds Dorothy that Heather figured out first that Bill was The Mole, and then formed a coalition with Dorothy and gave her that information. If Heather hadn't done that, she might have won the game. Anderson introduces a clip package to explain this. Heather and Katie formed a coalition, and started listing their suspects. They suspected Dorothy and Bill, but Elavia was their top pick. Since Heather and Katie kept making it through the executions, they figured they were right, until Elavia took the bribe and left the game. Katie and Heather then focused their suspicions on Dorothy, so they tied for the lowest score on the quiz. Katie was eleven seconds slower, so she was executed, and Heather crossed Dorothy off her list and focused her attentions on Bill. Heather was sure that Dorothy wasn't The Mole, so she formed a coalition with her. Anderson tells us that up until that moment, Dorothy had suspected Heather of being The Mole. Heather wanted to share information and deflect suspicion from Bill. Heather told Bribs that she was The Mole, and managed to confuse him enough that he split his vote between her and Dorothy and was executed. Dorothy said that she owes Heather for steering her away from Bribs. Al still suspected Bill, but Heather and Dorothy managed to shake his confidence enough to split his vote, and he was executed. Heather managed to get two women in the final round, but now she was facing an opponent who was well prepared. Heather was physically and emotionally exhausted, but Dorothy was focused, thanks to Heather. In an interview, Heather says that she's scared Dorothy will beat her, and she doesn't know why she allied with Dorothy, since she could have gotten where she is on her own. Heather's breakdowns and lack of confidence led to her decline. Anderson says that Heather distinguished herself by playing with "integrity, intelligence, and heart." We see Heather turning down exemptions and joking around with the other players, and the clip package ends.

Anderson asks Heather if she realized that she gave Dorothy The Mole. Heather says that she totally lost focus and confidence, and felt like there was no way to win the game without a coalition. She figured everyone knew that Bill was The Mole, and that it was just a matter of who had the most information. Anderson reveals that Dorothy only beat Heather by one question, and Heather says she knew it. I wish they would tell us which question it was. I don't know why I want to know that. I guess it would just be interesting.

Now we get to find out how Dorothy won. Anderson says that one thing you can say about Dorothy is that she's smart, and she played to win. We look at the Dumb vs. Smart game, where Dorothy solved most of the puzzles and earned herself an exemption. But that also made her teammates suspect her. Dorothy also used her intelligence when she solved the combination on the lock to get the car into the greenhouse. Everyone started suspecting Dorothy because of her smarts, but Anderson tells us that what she had in brains, she definitely lacked in brawn. We see Dorothy falling off the bike, throwing up every time she had to run somewhere, and unable to see during the log game. After a montage of players expressing doubts due to Dorothy's complete lack of coordination, Anderson tells us that people also suspected Dorothy due to "her Mole-like persona." Darwin actually gave Dorothy the idea to adopt that persona when he told her that she'd make a great Mole because nothing extra comes out of her mouth. From that point on, Dorothy kept her emotions under wraps, especially when she wasn't allowed to spend time with her mother. Dorothy says that it was hard to keep her emotions stuffed inside. Anderson voice-overs that Ali, Patrick, Katie, and Bribs all suspected Dorothy and were executed. In the most shocking revelation, we find out that the night that Elavia took the bribe, Dorothy would have been executed. So Elavia taking the bribe kept her in the game. Dorothy single-handedly added $75,000 to the pot, gained three exemptions, and "her intelligence and ability to stay calm and focused gave her the winning edge." Man, after that build-up, I feel like Dorothy should run for President or something.

Anderson asks Dorothy if she's really that klutzy. Dorothy says that she is, and that she trips just walking across the street. Dorothy says she hasn't owned a bike since the sixth grade, and that the bike she had to ride in the game was set up for a much taller person. Dorothy says that her strategy was to sabotage some games, but that she didn't have to do that intentionally, because of her natural clumsiness. Dorothy adds that Darwin gave her the idea to act suspect in social situations, and not give out information. Anderson asks Dorothy if she has anything to say to Heather. Dorothy says that she feels really bad, and Heather tells Dorothy that she deserves it. Anderson asks if luck had anything to do with her victory, and Dorothy concedes that luck had a lot to do with it, starting with the exemption she got from eating the cake with blueberries. Anderson congratulates Dorothy.

Anderson says that while Heather and Dorothy's coalition proved fruitful, many of the others did not, and there is one player that Anderson calls "the King of Coalitions" -- Darwin. They have a clip package to illustrate that. Darwin's first coalition was with Bill, because he decided that Bill wasn't The Mole. Darwin went on to convince his partners that Bill wasn't The Mole. Darwin's second coalition was with Bob. Darwin said that they could get four or five people all to take the test with the same answers, and be assured that they wouldn't have the worst score. In a confessional, Bob says that Darwin said that Bill is a little dry, slow, and boring. And then Bob was executed. The players all laugh and squeal over that one. Darwin denies saying that. Darwin's third coalition was with Lisa, and then Lisa was executed. Anderson says that Darwin seemed to learn nothing from the fact that each of his coalition partners, except Bill, was executed. Darwin's fourth coalition was with Bribs, and his fifth was with Al. Man, I can't get enough of that footage of Darwin and Al in bed like an old married couple, arguing. In an interview, Darwin said that Bill was really trying to make people think he was The Mole, but Darwin has already eliminated him from suspicion. And then Darwin was executed. Bribs said that he made some good educational guesses, and then he was executed. In an interview, Al says that he reads people fairly well, but that he could be wrong, and someone at home is probably saying that Al is dumb and Bill is The Mole. And then Al was executed. Heh. That one always cracks me up. It's, like, the one time Al made me laugh. Well, that and the "Paul is dead" thing.

The players laugh and laugh and Al feels really dumb. Anderson asks Darwin why he was so high on coalitions. Darwin says that he wanted information, and he figured the more pairs of eyes he had, the better. Darwin laughs and says he was obviously way off. Heather points out that Darwin lasted a long time, though. Bill points out that Darwin said that he was slow, dumb, and not honorable, and maybe they need to talk later. Everyone laughs. Anderson points out that Al is the one who is a good judge of people. I love it when Anderson snarks on Al.

Anderson introduces a clip package to show us how Bill sabotaged various games. Anderson voice-overs that The Mole can't sabotage every game, but Bill was always looking for efforts to undermine the team's efforts. In the first episode, the producers suspected that Bill would be selected as a leader, and Bill went out of his way to pick people he thought were unsuitable for each game, like Rob and the bicycle. Darwin actually suggested Rob for the bicycle game, and Bill heartily agreed and wanted to bet the largest amount of money on that one. Bill then chose Al for the pulse game because he knew Al had an upset stomach, which would make his pulse higher than normal. It does? Anderson voice-overs that Bill's logic was sound, but the players came through anyway.

In the second episode, Bill refused to wear a diaper. Bill says that Elavia took over and also balked at wearing it, as did Dorothy. Bill pointed out that they would have lots of future opportunities to earn money, and they decided to pass without Bill having to do a lot of convincing. Later, Bribs and Ali stopped in at a bar and the other players sent Bill to find them. Bribs and Ali said they would have had more beer if they had money, and Bill had money, so they went back. Bill kept them there for thirty minutes, knowing that the people waiting were furious. Bill also suggested that Ali pretend to have an exemption, which she did. Since he thought the game was over, Darwin took off his bunny ears and got a fine. Bill said that, on the train, "a guy in a girdle and a corset, a guy in a bunny costume, and a guy in a pink slip" were arguing about whether they should have stopped for beer. Bill says he just sat back and laughed. Anderson voice-overs that the players lost $22,000, and Bill managed to sabotage without looking suspect, even to the people who had taken part in his scheme.

In the fifth episode, Bill dropped out of treading water after only eight minutes. Bill says that he purposely used his arms vigorously underwater to fatigue himself. Everyone was suspicious, but they thought Bill was pretending to be The Mole.

In the sixth episode, Bill used subtle sabotage to cast suspicion on others. Bill says that they were specifically told they could only eat pizza that day, and he saw Darwin looking at the ice cream case. Bill always carried money, so he bought Darwin and himself some ice cream. Darwin even told everyone that Bill lent him the money to buy it, and Bribs said Bill was good about lending money. Yeah, lending money if it means the group will lose money. How dumb are they feeling right now? Bill says he didn't cost the group major money that day, but managed to get them a fine of $10,000.

In the seventh episode, Bill had been told to drop the gnome purposely and break it. He did a pretty good job of faking it. I would have believed it was an accident.

In the ninth episode, Bill was told to slow down the assembly-line game. Bill got them to focus attention on taking apart the car so they wouldn't notice the lock on the door, and he kept their attention away from the odometer, which held the combination to the lock. Dorothy figured out the combination, so his sabotage wasn't successful. In that all-night tetherball game, Bill was told to be the third person to volunteer to leave. After two people left, Bill laid down and started doing back exercises, and almost missed the ball several times because he was sleepy. When Anderson returned, everyone suggested that Bill be the to go. Bill ended the game, losing the money. Well, actually Darwin lost them the money, but I don't want to ruin the case that they're building here.

In the tenth episode, Bill was part of the buy and sell game. Bill laughs and says that the game sucked, and that they couldn't have succeeded no matter what, so he didn't have to do much in the way of sabotage.

In the final episode, Bill's final and most blatant sabotage was intentionally answering questions wrong in order to lose the game. At that point, I guess Heather and Dorothy already knew he was The Mole, so he didn't have to try to be subtle. Bill concludes that it was tough, but that he really enjoyed it. Being The Mole was one of the hardest things he's ever done, but also the most fun.

Anderson congratulates Bill for a job well done and everyone applauds. Anderson asks what was the hardest thing about being The Mole. Bill says that being in the Navy, he was used to being part of a team to solve a problem, but in this case, he had to work against the team. Bill says that it was also difficult to be so duplicitous, and try to be normal but also do subtle things. Anderson asks if Bill ever slipped up and revealed his identity. Bill says that he and Heather were discussing how there was always a quiz question about where The Mole sat. Bill started to say that he always sits in the same spot because he's The Mole, and then realized what he was about to say and changed it to, "so that at least I'll know where I am." Everyone laughs. Anderson asks about switching journals. Lisa laughs that she got The Mole's journal and didn't do anything with it. Bill says that his journal was blank the day before they switched, and that he had to spend all night writing in it, so he just wrote a letter to his wife. Lisa said that the letter said nothing to indicate that he was The Mole. Bill says he was paranoid the first night, because he felt he didn't have anything in common with anyone, and I guess that would make it obvious that he was The Mole.

Now it's time for the hidden clues. Or in some cases, "clues." In the first episode, all of the nighttime skies had no stars except for one shot. In that one, the sky was digitally enhanced to include the constellation Pisces, Bill's sign. In the second episode, just before the execution, there are two shots of zodiac signs, one of which was Pisces. In the third episode, The Mole's journal that they found contained something saying that Bob should have spent less time "schmoozing the ladies," because he might have avoided execution if he had. The conclusion you were supposed to draw was that The Mole is male, so Bob should have spent more time thinking about the men than the women. I totally didn't understand that, but someone on the forums explained it.

The fourth episode was the infamous telegram, with the numbers at the bottom that spelled out "The Mole is Bill." Yeah, that's the "clue" that kind of ruined the show for me. In the fifth episode, Anderson said something about William Shakespeare being a scoundrel, and William (or Bill) was The Mole. In the sixth episode, Anderson handed the players bottles of Mole wine while eating an apple. The apple is the offical symbol of the state of Washington, Bill's home. In the seventh episode, the players had to write names on a dollar bill. Bill. Get it? In the eighth episode, Heather describes that she had a dream that there was a picture of Bill on the ceiling while she took the quiz, meaning that he was The Mole. Anderson explains that they only showed one picture on the wall during the quiz, and it was a ship. Bill was in the Navy, so that pointed to him. The ship clue appeared only one day before Heather's dream.

In the ninth episode, the clue was in the scrambled letters that appear during the opening credits. Some letters spelled out "Admiral." In the tenth episode, the dude dropped a Shakespeare book on the table, so again with the William/Bill thing. In the eleventh episode, there were three successive shots of ships, again pointing to the Navy. They also ate McDonald's food, which Anderson called "Mickey D's." Bill's last name is McDaniel. In the final episode, the title sequence scrambled letters spelled out "Bill is The Mole."

Before I complain about the clues, I want to give props to the people on our forums, who uncovered nearly all of those (and more that weren't mentioned on the show, but definitely pointed to Bill.) Let me say a few things about these clues. Some of them were decent. The constellation, the apple, the ship pictures. I can live with those. But in my mind, a clue is something that hints at the solution to a puzzle. If someone said, "I got you the best birthday present!" and you said, "Give me a clue!," they shouldn't reply, "It's a shirt!" That's not a clue. So I think the telegram, and all of the scrambled-letter clues, are totally bogus. Especially since the telegram clue came so early on -- it really ruined the show for me, knowing that. And I don't think it was all that hard to figure out. My first thought when the camera focused on the numbers at the bottom of the telegram was, "I bet those numbers are a clue." And I'm not that smart. So what do I think would have been better? First, I think the clues should have been successive, so that each one builds on information from the last. That way you could have a clue that wouldn't be too obvious on its own, but combined with all of the other ones, it makes sense. A great example of this (albeit fairly elaborate) is what they did on Alias last season. Even if the clue scheme weren't quite that detailed, that would be a step in the right direction. In my opinion.

Anderson concludes by congratulating Bill and Dorothy, as well as all of the other players. They all hug and laugh. Aw, I'll miss some of these people. If anyone from ABC is reading this, please bring this show back summer! What else do you have to show? Millionaire's gone. The ratings weren't that bad considering it was up against American Idol. Come on! Okay, I'll stop begging. But if you need help figuring out clues for season, give me a call.