2.07 - The Seventh Betrayal

Once again we find ourselves back in Italy in pursuit of The Mole.

As usual, we begin by seeing several of the players in confessional. Bill comments on the game, saying that it has "so many levels of complexity" that he "can't get to the bottom of it". Elavia is more concerned with the other players, saying that it is "freaky" to be hanging out with the other players knowing that one of them is a "stinking liar" out to sabotage the game. Finally, Katie tells us that "I hate Executions. Executions just suck." and wishes that there was a way to play the game without Executions.

Al, Darwin, Dorothy and Elavia are in a van driving somewhere. Al is driving and listening as the other three discuss theories about the Mole. They try to decide if the Mole would have a lot of Exemptions or no Exemptions. Darwin, along with Bribs and Heather, has not yet received an Exemption while Dorothy and Elavia both have received two.

Darwin comments that they all spend two hours a day asking questions like that but the two women point out that most of them don't; only he does. Darwin laughs and agrees.

Anderson Cooper appears and tells us that the players are now in the town of Lucca, Italy and that after 22 days the pot now stands at $236,000.

Anderson is sitting at a table with a slight smirk on his face as the players file in for breakfast. The players discover that they have another gift from the Mole; at each player's place there is a small gnome with the note "I will break you. - The Mole." Bill observes that the gnomes are all different colors and have different facial expressions and the players carefully write down all of the information on the gnomes in their journals.

Anderson then says he needs the players to split up into two groups; three players who would rather watch Romancing the Stone and five players who would prefer to watch Gladiator. Bribs immediately announces that he loved Gladiator. Eventually, Bill, Elavia and Heather form the Romancing the Stone group and Al, Bribs, Darwin, Dorothy and Katie form the Gladiator group.

Bill, Elavia and Heather (all wearing identical shirts, for some reason) are met outside by Anderson. "I think you guys are going to have fun today." he tells them. Then, he pauses and adds "Actually, let me rephrase that. I think I'm going to have fun today."

He points to a pair of gnome statues nearby; one large and one small. He tells them that they will have to select one of the gnomes to carry through an obstacle course. (He also tells Heather she can touch the gnomes; a reference to her touching the bicycle in the previous episode.) They will have a total of 30 minutes to complete the course and each player will have to complete one leg. Heather volunteers to take the first leg, Bill the second and Elavia the third.

There is one catch, of course. They will have to grease up the gnome with lard, which will make it more difficult to carry. "Remember," Anderson tells them, "you can grease your own gnome but you can't grease your friends gnome." They will have to carry the greased gnome without dropping and breaking it. He also tells them that an Exemption will be made available at some point during the game.

The players decide to use the bigger of the two gnomes, which Anderson tells them is named "Rudy". He then tells them the course. Heather will start at some hay bales, climb up a ladder and then a stair to a statue of a lion. There, she will have to get someone to take a picture of her with the gnome and the lion. She will then take the gnome to Bill.

Bill will have to take the gnome to a nearby soccer field where he will have to kick a goal. He will then have to have his picture made with the goalie and the gnome. After that, he will carry the gnome by bicycle through an obstacle course until he reaches a stairway where he will give the gnome to Elavia.

Elavia will have to put the gnome into a stroller and carry it through town along a route marked with green arrows until she reaches the finish line. The players do not know how long this leg of the course is.

Bill thinks it will be tough to complete the course in 30 minutes and Heather agrees, saying it will be a long run. Anderson tells them "Time to grease your gnome."

(In an interview segment Heather tries to talk about how hard the game was but she is having trouble saying the word "slippery" for some reason and keeps laughing.)

Meanwhile, the other players have arrived outside the walls of Lucca. Anderson meets them there and tells them to select one of their number to be Caesar.

Katie immediately comments that Caesar wasn't trusted and Darwin corrects her, saying Brutus wasn't trusted. Al says that it sounds like Dorothy and everyone agrees to name her Caesar.

In an interview, Al comments that he doesn't trust Dorothy because she claims to have trouble with every physical challenge. Al says that he doesn't believe her because she is from New York and that you have to walk or run to get anywhere in New York.

Anderson tells the players that they will be taking the roles of gladiators who have to defend Caesar. If they are able to prevent several attacking gladiators from taking Caesar's crown, they will win 30 thousand for the pot.

The players then get to select the helmets they will be wearing. Katie tries on one and says that it hurts her nose and so trades with another player. Al is wearing a helmet and trying to look around. He asks if anyone can see while wearing their helmets.

Meanwhile, back at the gnomes, Heather is ready to begin. She takes off running at first then slows down, saying it is difficult to run the entire way. She gets to the lion statue and finds an American tourist and asks her to take her picture. "It's for a game." she explains. "And I'm being timed."

Picture taken, she starts towards where she is suppose to meet Bill. Anderson is riding along beside her on a bicycle.
"Sure is one greasy gnome you have." he tells her.
"Yes it is." she agrees, with the photo stuck in her mouth between her teeth.

Back at the Gladiator Game, Anderson is explaining the game to the players. (Odd editing. Obviously the games did not take place at the same time but Anderson seems to be in two places at once.) On the front of everyone's armor, under a lion's head, there is an egg containing red dye. If the egg gets broken then they are "killed" and out of the game.

Katie is nervous but looking forward to the game. "My chance to be like one of the guys." she says. While they are getting into their armor Bribs is discussing strategy. He suggests that all of them team up to take the first attacker out then form a circle around Caesar to prevent anyone else from getting to her.

Bribs is the last to get suited up and, as he does so, Anderson enters. Anderson tells him that the helmet he selected was the "Brutus helmet" and that by selecting it he has the chance for an Exemption. To win it, he will have to be the last surviving gladiator. Then, he will have to kill Caesar, take her crown and give it to Anderson. He is also told that he cannot discuss the Exemption with the other players.

Later, in an interview, Bribs comments that it is "increasingly difficult to pass up an Exemption."

Meanwhile, over at the Gnome Home Game, Heather is having trouble carrying the gnome. Bill sees her and thinks she is sweating, then realizes that it is melted grease which is running down her arms and legs. "She is really a pathetic looking thing." he comments.

Heather greases up the gnome again and gives it to Bill. He takes off for the soccer field.

There, he finds the goalie he is kicking against is a woman. Thinking it will be an easy goal he gives the ball an easy kick, only to find that the goalie is actually quite good. He starts kicking harder and eventually manages to bounce one into the goal. He immediately takes off for the bicycle.

He is about to start riding when Anderson reminds him that he was supposed to get a picture of him and the gnome with the goalie. He runs back to the field, gets a picture made, then runs back.

Meanwhile, Elavia is still sitting with the stroller, waiting for the gnome.

Bill starts to ride off while holding the gnome and Heather suggests he put it in the basket. He does so and starts off, weaving through the obstacle course.

He makes it through the first part of the course fine, Anderson running along beside him, but when he comes to a small ramp he tries to jump it and misses.

He circles around and tries the jump again, but this time he falls. The gnome falls out of the basket and the bicycle lands on it, breaking the gnome.

Bill looks annoyed and Anderson tells him that since the gnome broke they have lost the 30 thousand. Bill starts picking up the broken pieces of gnome and finds a piece labeled "Exemption" that had been hidden inside of it.

Anderson tells him that even though he didn't win the 30 thousand he did win an Exemption for breaking the gnome.
"I'll feel better in a couple of days." says Bill.
"Because of the grease?" asks Anderson.
"Because I broke the gnome." says Bill.

Bill is suspicious of the basket because it does not appear to have been well attached to the bicycle in the first place and Heather suggested that he put the gnome in the basket. Heather says that she knew the Exemption was inside of the gnome and wonders if Bill broke it on purpose. Elavia says that the players should concentrate on winning money for the pot now instead of getting Exemptions.

Anderson reminds them of the clue the Mole left them that morning and Heather points out that the gem was hidden the same way in the movie Romancing the Stone.

Bill and Heather, both covered in grease, decide that they feel sorry for Elavia since she didn't get to participate in the game and they hug her, getting grease on her in the process. "That's so gross." is all she says. They then decide they need to give Anderson a hug as well. "You're so nice." Bill tells him, rubbing grease onto him. "You really are."

Back to the Gladiator Game. Bribs is still considering his decision and worries that he is playing too honest for the game and that he needs to become somewhat ruthless. Meanwhile, everyone is in full armor and people with banners and horns appear. Blowing the horns, the players are led in a procession through town to the coliseum.

The locals watch them as they pass and Al comments that he was trying to keep his game face on while inside he was thinking "This is great!". They arrive at the coliseum and realize that they have a live audience. (It looks like there is an outdoor cafe in the coliseum.) Al says that he can't wait to play.

The opposing gladiators then arrive, all wearing black robes and carrying black shields. All but one who is wearing mail and a horned helmet. "He's so tough" says Al, "he doesn't even need a shield."

Darwin is trying to decide if everyone should be aggressive and attack or hold back and protect their egg when Anderson kicks things off with "Let the games begin!"

The two sides attack and Al is quickly eliminated; he gets bashed by one of the opponents and crushes his own egg with his own shield. Someone yells that he is out and he lies down.

Bribs falls back and protects Dorothy while Darwin and Katie press the attack. Darwin bashes one of the gladiators and crushes his egg, sending him down. Bribs manages to get another who gets too close to Dorothy.

Katie presses her opponent and manages to smash his egg. She takes a moment from the fight to yell in excitement. "Yeah! I got one! Whoo!"

Katie and Darwin team up to get their next opponent then Bribs joins them and all three gang up on the gladiator with the horned helmet. He quickly goes down and the players have won. "Holy schnikes!" yells Katie as the onlookers applaud.

Katie calls for "Aloysious" and Al gets up. Anderson tells them that they have won 30 thousand for the pot.

Darwin comments that they made the right decision in keeping Katie since she took out one of the gladiators on her own. Katie simply says it was the biggest natural high she ever had in her life.

Anderson then asks Bribs to tell them about the Exemption. He tells of the offer and says that he told himself he would not play the game if he had to backstab someone to get ahead. Anderson points out that he wouldn't technically have been backstabbing anyone; it would have been more of a forward slash. Everyone congratulates Bribs, who wants to keep playing.

Later, Al points out that an Exemption is a free pass to the next round. Katie says it makes you wonder a little bit if maybe someone who doesn't take an Exemption doesn't need one because they are the Mole and Darwin says that it may be better to not take the Exemption than to have everyone pissed at you.

That evening, at dinner, Anderson tells them that they now have 266 thousand in the pot. He then starts asking everyone how they met their significant others. Heather says she saw him at a party she was attending with someone else. Bill says he met his wife when she was climbing the stairs in front of him in a bikini. Katie says the people who are her significant others don't know it because they don't know she exists.

Dorothy says she met her boyfriend when he was staying at her house and comments that the first thing she did was ask him to play Scrabble with her. Someone asks her what would have happened if he had only used three letter words and she responds with "It's not how long your words are; its all about placement." Everyone laughs at this and Darwin yells out "Triple word score!"

That evening we are told the players have a room to themselves for the first time. We see Al sneaking down the hall and listening at doors.

Heather is playing solitaire and says that it reminds them that this is an individual game, not a team game. Elavia says that it feels good to have her own space. Bribs comments that he got to live out one of his boyhood fantasies that day and that even if he got eliminated at the next Execution then he would have no regrets.

The next day, everyone arrives for another meal and finds a dollar bill sitting at everyone place. Anderson tells them that "the Mole is feeling generous tonight" and says that he has another game for them. He asks them to rank their fellow players again, much like they did in the previous episode, this time using the dollar bills they have to make their list.

The players draw up their lists and Anderson meets briefly with them. Katie's least favorite player is Bill but she says that she doesn't trust Elavia. Elavia likes Dorothy but doesn't like Katie. Dorothy, in return, likes Elavia. (They did form a Coalition last episode.)

Bill is suspicious of Elavia, saying "she's either playing the game in a superlative fashion or she's not playing a game at all". Al is suspicious of Dorothy because of her supposed lack of athletic ability. He also says that Katie is a "fun gal" but that she can be a "little irritating".

At another meal, we see that Katie probably finds Al a little irritating as well. It seems that Katie has a phobia about jelly; just looking at it makes her nauseous. Al is giving her a hard time about it and the other players are having a laugh at her expense. She is a bit annoyed and asks Al if he is afraid of anything and he says he isn't afraid of jelly but that peanut butter does bother him "just a bit".

Al seems to be about to drop the topic, saying he was just curious, when suddenly he asks her "How about jellyfish?" Everyone cracks up and even Anderson looks like he is about to choke on whatever he was eating. Al comments that he "brought the house down" with that one.

Later, Al says that he thinks Katie exaggerates things in order to attract attention to herself. He also says that she gets on his nerves but admits that he has been a thorn in her side as well.

Heather comments that she is in a Coalition with Katie and that they are trying to get the other players to suspect them.

The sun sets, and it is time for the Execution Quiz.

During the quiz, Elavia comments that the quizzes are getting harder. Katie is suspicious of Elavia while Elavia is suspicious of Heather and Bill because of their actions in the Gnome Home game. Katie adds that Bill was adamant about being in the second leg of the relay.

Dorothy finds it suspicious that Heather knew there was an Exemption in the gnome but didn't go for it, especially since she has commented several times that she wanted an Exemption. Darwin is suspicious of Al since he went out so quickly in the Gladiator game. Al just says that he is suspicious of Elavia.

The players then meet Anderson outside of a stone building. The head of Rudy the gnome is on a pole. Anderson tells them that this site was used for executions in the fifteenth century and that it would be the site of their Execution tonight.

But first, he wanted to tell them the results of their player rankings and says that this time he will tell everyone how they ranked. He tells us that Bill's least favorite player was Elavia, Dorothy's least favorite was Al, Elavia's was Katie, Al's was Dorothy, Bribs' was Elavia, both Katie and Darwin's was Bill and Heather's was Elavia. He said that he was most interested in who the overall least favorite player was and that it was Elavia. He asks her to come up with him and says that the Mole is prepared to offer her a bribe.

He shows her a briefcase containing 49,992 dollars. He tosses the dollars the players used to prepare their lists into it, bringing the total to 50 thousand. He then tells her he will give her the money if she voluntarily walks out of the game. At this announcement, there is an audible gasp from Heather and an "Oh my God!" from Darwin.

Elavia suddenly looks uncomfortable. "Whoa!" she says. She asks Anderson if the money is coming from the group pot and he says no. She then says that she came into the game for the experience, not the money, and that she hates quitting. She asks the other players what they think.

Katie gives another "Oh my God" and Darwin tells her "That's guaranteed cash, Elavia."

Elavia thinks about it for another moment or two then announces that she will take the money. Anderson closes the briefcase and hands it to her. She waves to the other players, thanks them for not liking her, and follows Anderson out. The other players stare after her in stunned surprise. Al comments that his number one choice for being the Mole had just walked out of the game.

"That blew my mind." says Bribs.
"Yeah" agrees Heather. "I thought she would stay. Unbelievable."
"Elavia and the Mole just left." says Darwin.
"That really threw me for a loop." adds Katie

Dorothy says that it was fun to watch all of the players pick their jaws up off the floor and that Elavia was most everyone's prime suspect. Bill agrees that she was at the top of just about everyone's list.

Outside, Elavia tells Anderson that she thought that all of the players who thought she was the Mole had already been Executed and that she didn't know how much longer she would last. She thanks him and he tells her the next time he was in New York she could take him out for lunch with her 50 thousand. Then, she gets into the car and is driven away.

Anderson returns to the others and starts to give his pre-Execution speech to the even more stunned players. He suddenly breaks off with a "Just kidding!" The players groan in relief while Anderson does a brief dance while sing-songing "I love this game!"

He tells them that since Elavia left there would be no Execution and they would not find out how they did on the quiz. He adds that they probably now have a lot to think about and that it was now a whole new game. Still stunned, the players leave.

Later, we see Dorothy, upset. "Elavia! Why did you do it?" she yells. "You had the upper hand!" She says that all of the other "suckers" thought that she was the Mole and they could have picked them off one by one. Apparently Elavia was wrong and not everyone who thought she was the Mole had been Executed.

The most popular candidate for the Mole is gone. The real Mole is still there.

Heather claims to know there is an Exemption inside of the gnome but doesn't say anything or take it for herself during the Gnome Home Game

Bill has trouble kicking the soccer goal and then forgets to get his picture made with the goalie in the Gnome Home Game.

Heather suggests putting the gnome in the bicycle basket, which was apparently not well attached.

Bill drops the gnome and lets the bicycle land on it, breaking it and winning an Exemption but losing the Gnome Home Game

Bribs is given the opportunity to win an Exemption and turns it down.

Al is eliminated very quickly in the Gladiator Game.

Katie is afraid of jelly.

Be seeing you...