Liz was eliminated. Picture from abc.com.
The second episode was definitely more entertaining than the first, and it made a return to typical “Mole” form. The only problem? The game got a whole lot more confusing.
The first game was Race to the Summit, and two players were supposed to be chosen for an uphill battle, while the others would engage in a soccer game with some professional kiddies. The thing I noticed was that Craig and Liz were the only ones arguing against the endurance athletes Mark and Kristen being chosen. Liz obviously had no clue about the challenge; this was emphasized by her failure to acquire exemption at the second challenge and her later ouster. But why did Craig believe he should be going up the hill? That’s just silly- and very suspicious.
The soccer game was just a hot mess. Nicole was a pathetic goalie, but no one was expecting her to rock at anything other than whining and doing her makeup. Craig accidentally scored on Bobby when trying to get the ball from a kid; that’s another cause for suspicion on Craig’s part, although Bobby always seems to be at the center of trouble every time. He claimed to play soccer back in school, but then the boy made of toothpicks wheezed and walked throughout the game. Hot-headed Paul was coughing up on the grass, and Alex, who also claimed to have soccer experience, was dreadful on a goal kick. Blond model Ali came in to save the day with a goal.
Alex and Victoria seemed to get separated from the group on the way back, causing them to lose valuable time. Alex acted very shifty as he tried to get them to not take a shortcut as pointed out by Bobby. Meanwhile, Mark psychotically pushed up the hill in an attempt to gain exemption and lose $35,000. Kristen took a low-key approach, and didn’t say very much until they were approached with the opportunity of taking a taxi to the top at the expense of some money. Kristen appeared to be tempted, but Mark aggressively expressed that nothing was going to stop him from reaching the top on his own. And with that they moved on and got their exemptions.
That night Victoria tried to get the team to unite so the mole would have a harder time breaking them down. Then came When Pigs Fly. Liz and Paul were chosen as the catchers, which I thought was a weird idea. Why would Paul choose a non-athletic role when he is clearly an athletic guy? The highlight of the entire episode was Kristen pushing Bobby around in a cart. Kristen’s determination has led me to believe she is not the mole. Alex helped a lot by speaking Spanish, but he was a controlling freak who lost a lot of piggies with his inaccurate tosses. Mark and Ali got lost and wasted a lot of time. Paul broke a pig to get exemption, but I believe it was genuine curiosity that made him do it. Craig stepped in to help with the sling, and he did a very good job. It was weird though how Mark wanted the pigs to be sent off as quickly as possible; it’s better to aim well than fire off tons of misses.
And then Alex left his journal behind on purpose; in it he called Nicole the mole. Bobby and Craig picked it up and looked at it, but nothing came from it. Bobby thought it was an honest mistake on Alex’s behalf.
In the quiz segment, Ali believed that Alex was the mole. Mark blamed the lack of direction on Ali. Alex thought Nicole was the mole. Nicole thought Bobby could be the mole. In the end, all of the above stayed, and poor Liz went home. Her determination during the first challenge in this episode was admirable and heartwarming.
Potential moles: Mark, Craig, Paul, Alex (I’m leaning towards Craig)
For the full episode and a sneak peak of next week’s episode (they walk through the streets in their underwear!), click here.
For a detailed technical summary, click here.
