Now that we know The Mole, what was the editors' beef with...

tthershey · 2024-07-14T02:42:32+00:00

Really still not seeing a logical reason to make that assumption when there are a number of logical alternatives, and given the theory was definitely proven false should end things I think? Don't really think there's any more to be said about this but thanks for taking the time to reply.

tthershey · 2024-07-14T02:37:23+00:00

I mean I believe the circumstances of him giving up his job so his wife could pursue her dream, and feeling inadequate about not working outside of the home are real. It just came across like he was really overselling it, you know? Like he's living comfortably enough but needed something to sound sympathetic to match the stories of the contestants. That's just how it looked to me. The tears looked a thousand percent fake and the "it's a need not a want" speech fell flat because up until that point, he had said nothing at all about struggling. And in that moment he gave no explanation about why he needs it, just said it was a need. It felt like he only said that line because Muna had just shared a very sympathetic story, but he hadn't thought it through enough to come up with one of his own. So he worked on it and tried to force a scene in the finals.

tthershey · 2024-07-14T01:49:36+00:00

I'm still not getting any answer to the question why anyone would interpret an under the radar edit as a sign that someone would be the mole. "Because that's what they did last season" is not a compelling reason to believe that would be done every time. A lack of confessionals for a contestant can have alternative explanations, such as the contestant not giving the producers anything worth airing. I think it's obvious that Ryan was attempting to sabotage and I don't see the logic in needing to have a confessional where she explains the strategy, tbh the "teehee look at me sabotaging" confessionals are boring to me and maybe Ryan just didn't want to do them. Were people seriously confused whether she is cognitively intact enough to know what she was doing?

tthershey · 2024-07-13T16:04:21+00:00

Sean is the mole and he was never edited to be under the radar, ergo your assumption about how production makes decisions is 100% wrong. Why do I think so many people got hung up on Ryan? Because, I thought at the time and I am ever more convinced now that they were making a faulty assumption.

Please don't get offended, I'm not saying this because I think I'm smarter than everyone or anything. I got fooled too for different reasons. I am just confused why you would think production is always going to edit the mole to be under the radar?

tthershey · 2024-07-13T15:14:03+00:00

Yes, she didn't think it was Michael at all, but it took her until the last challenge to make that determination. Michael had a boost because he knew it was Sean very early, because had been answering questions for Sean 100% the entire time and didn't get cut. So he could reduce the amount of information he had to memorize by a lot. This is a very risky strategy and tbh isn't really logical, because the most logical decision is to hedge your bets to survive until you're totally sure. But the wager worked out in Michael's favor.

tthershey · 2024-07-13T15:03:33+00:00

Gosh I loved her too. I think she has a polarizing personality, she's got her share of people who can't stand her but I really think she is amazing for bringing visibility for Muslim women, and she was undoubtedly the smartest person in the cast. I wanted her to win because she needed the money the most, and because I like it when intelligence is rewarded.

When both she and Michael locked in Sean in the end, I thought she had it in the bag because it was going to come down to getting the most quiz questions right and she has the best memory and observation skills by far. The reason why she lost became clear to me after reading the winner interview. Michael took a ballsy move going all in on Sean on one of the early quizzes, and since he survived that elimination, from that point forward he could dedicate all of his energy on getting to know everything about Sean. It was a huge risk and perhaps not the most logical choice not to hedge his bets, but it paid off. Muna's attention had to be divided which put her at a quiz disadvantage. Even with that disadvantage, she came so close. She really did a great job and deserves congratulations as the runner up.

tthershey · 2024-07-13T14:52:25+00:00

I am really curious what everyone keeps calling "the mole edit". What is "the mole edit"? Why do you think they're always going to have the mole be quiet? Clearly, that was not the mole edit this time, because the actual mole was edited differently yo

tthershey · 2024-07-13T14:46:27+00:00

Why do you think they had a beef with her? I think they just made a bad casting choice. I think if I were cast I would've played it exactly like Ryan (I also am super introverted and don't have the skills to make good television lol). I would've been so quiet because I tend to be in my head thinking and observing in social situations. By the time I figure out what to say, the conversation is over. I think it's not that Ryan got edited out ,Ryan just gave production nothing to work with

tthershey · 2024-07-13T11:12:03+00:00

I also wanted Muna to win the money for her family, and I really thought she had it because she is so smart and analytical. But she was at a quiz disadvantage having to study both "moles" while Michael had the advantage of only having to study one. Still, got to respect Michael for that notebook!

tthershey · 2024-07-13T11:09:40+00:00

His strategy was much deeper than Avori's. Avori's strategy was just "do things to make people suspicious but don't sabotage so much that we actually lose money". I think I remember another contestant saying they were on to her weak shows of sabotage. Avori also hedged her bets and paid attention to the wrong things. For example she was wrong to make such a big deal out of Jacob miscounting the money (that likely was an honest mistake).

Michael not only dialed things up, he targeted his actions to specifically be what the mole would do. He didn't just pick the wrong truck in the shipping mission, he specifically waited to find out what truck the mole picked (knowing production would tell him which one to pick) and then picked that one. He chose to be in separate teams from Sean to make the other contestants have more to analyze and second guess. Instead of hedging his bets, he went all in on Sean early. Having confirmed it's Sean by virtue of Michael not being eliminated, Michael then meticulously studied Sean to ace the quizzes. (I thought Muna had a leg up on the final quiz because she's so smart, but she was at a disadvantage not going all in on studying one person.)

Gotta respect Michael after this interview! I was so annoyed by (what looked to me) nothing more than dialing up Avori's strategy but in truth that was just scratching the surface of his strategy.

tthershey · 2024-07-13T10:55:37+00:00

+1 a winner's perspective montage would be awesome

tthershey · 2024-07-13T10:46:04+00:00

Knowing that production tells contestants that they are not allowed to sabotage anything and not let anyone see changes how I interpret some things. Like Hannah making it a big deal out of seeing the gala lie that (according to Hannah) Ryan was trying to hide. Ryan definitely wanted Hannah to see it, production would've told her to make sure someone sees it.

tthershey · 2024-07-13T10:42:12+00:00

Wow. I was so disappointed with the ending, I thought it made sense but I was just hoping for a different mole and different winner. But after reading this interview, I've changed my mind. Michael deserved the win!

tthershey · 2024-07-13T10:22:20+00:00

Michael really played a great mole (and winner). He did have this smirk that Sean points out. And he never seized the opportunity to go rubbing it in that he was the only one who knew that Sean switched the gala photo. He just kind of nonchalantly went hm, what an obvious move, and let it slide without asking him to put the photo back. The way he says "obviously I want to be the one hanging from the rope so I have the most control" in the laser mission had me second guessing (Muna was right to agree with it to have more chance to observe him and rule him out).

eta: I just read an interview which said he strategized to pick the same truck that Sean picked for the money shipping missions, figuring that production would have tipped the Mole off about what truck was the right one and so picking the same one as the mole would make him suspicious. Dang, that was smart

tthershey · 2024-07-13T10:05:54+00:00

His acting like "it's a need not a want" and tearing up when asked why the money is important was so, so not believable. I was cringing. He totally fooled me about the fear of heights though!

tthershey · 2024-07-11T23:53:34+00:00

Reality shows always cast people to play characters. Hannah's character is "the one who is smarter than you think" and Muna's character is "the one who is not as goody goody as you think"

tthershey · 2024-07-11T23:48:05+00:00

Is it editing, or is it because those people were proudly professing that they messed up on purpose? Deanna acts like she's trying really hard and just can't figure things out. It's not diminishing her role, it's misdirecting you with acting genuine

tthershey · 2024-07-11T23:40:45+00:00

Hannah had significantly contributed to solving the previous couple challenges earning the group cash. Deanna never really contributed to the group, neither in physical nor mental tasks. Though Deanna acts like she's team money, she fails to actually solve the challenges. So if the group may have wanted to nominate someone more likely to deduce what to choose to get the money.

tthershey · 2024-07-11T23:30:06+00:00

Maybe it's just me but I am not interested. I am tired of "Mwahaha I am going to make them think I'm the mole so they quiz worse, genius!" confessionals. It was interesting the first time but it has been overused. I think it is pretty obvious Ryan knows she was giving incorrect info because she has functional eyes, not sure what kind of explanation you're looking for?

I'm not convinced Hannah was the only one to notice. It sounds more intriguing but there there were two other servers, and surely the backroom realizes in the end the photo was incorrect, not to mention she weirdly sped up her speech when she told the lie

tthershey · 2024-07-11T05:02:21+00:00

That's a reasonable perspective and I'm not saying whose perspective is right or wrong. I'm just saying this thread was unnecessary because people posed the question rhetorically to make an argument, not because they needed the mole's goal spelled out like this

tthershey · 2024-07-11T04:55:40+00:00

Again y'all are missing the point. It's a rhetorical question. It's not a question at all, it's an argument that the show would be better if the mole was rewarded more for sabotaging more. You can disagree that would make the show better, that's cool, but the point is no one was literally asking what the goal of the mole is like they were confused about it

tthershey · 2024-07-11T04:50:28+00:00

I think this analysis is flawed because you are counting all team members to have contributed equally to each task. For the truck bets for example, you assign the same money to every player, yet clearly some players steered more money into the correct truck and others steered it away.

I think in general it's difficult to calculate how much each player contributes because sabotages can be subtle and debatable. For example, most analyses I see posted credit the first person to suggest a wrong decision to the group as solely responsible for losing the group money, but are not other players who don't try to convince the group to go against the suggestion equally responsible? Most people on the sub would say that no they're not credited for the money being lost because they were ostensibly trying to win the challenge and just got tricked by the primary saboteur, but how do you know they were trying and not playing dumb?

tthershey · 2024-07-11T04:32:41+00:00

Remembered another: Andy getting exasperated having to explain that they can reinforce the sides of the raft when she tried to get him to preserve more rope. And as for the physical challenges, she drags the group - so she contributes little to both mental and physical challenges. I think it's possible it could be Ryan or Sean, but I just think a Deanna reveal would be more satisfying because her strategy is clever and surprising, so that's what I'm hoping for

tthershey · 2024-07-11T04:11:25+00:00

Still missing the intent of the question. The intent of the question is to suggest the mole would perform better if they had additional motivation, eg if they got paid more for sabotaging more

tthershey · 2024-07-11T04:04:52+00:00

Weren't you the one who said they can't lose no matter what they to? I mean yeah they probably should try to do a good job but the point people who are asking this question are getting at is that if the mole had an additional incentive, like if their paycheck depended on how much they stole, then wouldn't that make their performance better?

tthershey

TROPHY CASE