Now that Netflix reality series The Mole is over, contestants have taken to the internet to explain their actions with the latest being Joi Schweitzer explaining the $25,000 bet. Given how the reality show is built on contestants lying to each other in order to win thousands of dollars, almost every scene left viewers with a handful of questions.
Now that the season has finished, there are still some questions left unanswered. Between questioning the manipulative editing, the unclear rules, and if there was another secret mole that wasn't revealed, Redditors need answers.
Why Was Only Dom Given The Chance To Re-Enter The Game?
Dom was the third contestant to get eliminated, which came as a surprise to many as he was such a charismatic player and a fan favorite. But he was given the option to return provided he successfully completed a challenge. Though he, unfortunately, didn't win the challenge, it's a wonder why he was offered the option to return when no other players were.
Frosty_freeze finds this particularly dubious, asking, "Why was Dom the only one given an opportunity to return to the game? Was it just because he seemed to be a strong character?" The challenge seemed like it had been planned from the beginning, and it could just be luck that the third-eliminated contestant happened to be so popular, but it undoubtedly raised a lot of suspicions.
Dom's Car Situation
When Dom was given the chance to re-enter the game, he had to answer questions about the team with their help, and it was up to them if they wanted to help him. Given that Dom would have had an advantage over the other players if he returned, knowing that who he based the quiz around wasn't the mole, the players obviously chose not to help.
However, Cuatrodemayo wonders why Dom didn't lie about the challenge. The Redditor suggests he could have "said something like 'If I succeed, 10k is added to your pot, and I will get to leave the game now with 5k, help me out?' Or did he have to outline the situation as it was presented to him?" Given that the whole show is based on lying, he probably could have done that, but Dom might not have thought about it. Either that or he didn't want to deceive anybody, as he was the most honest player in the game.
How Did Greg Get Eliminated?
Though it became pretty clear in the final couple of episodes that Kesi was the mole, she had both viewers and the contestants under her spell. Not only did players not think that she was the mole, but she was even voted as the most trustworthy player midway through the season. However, Greg suspected Kesi of being the mole the whole time.
MMPRNow wonders how Greg was eliminated, noting, "It simply doesn't add up. According to virtually every confessional we were shown, Greg had apparently pegged Kesi as the Mole since early on." As the quiz has contestants answer questions about who they think is the mole and the contestant with the least amount of correct answers gets eliminated, in theory, Greg should have had the most correct answers and stayed.
Were The Time Stamps Fake?
When it was aired in the 2000s, The Mole was way ahead of its time, but the Netflix reboot, unfortunately, succumbs to cheap editing tactics to get viewers' hearts racing, or so it seems. With every challenge that has a time limit, a time stamp appears on the screen informing audiences how much time is left, but Exquisite_bedlam calls into question how truthful that is.
Given that the players complete the challenges with just a couple of seconds on the clock every single time, the Redditor suggests, "I feel like this was an editing choice by production, but truthfully this made the show a little cheesy that it occurred on every mission. Anyone else notice this?"
Why Were The Contestants In The Same Age Range?
The original series that ran in the 2000s featured contestants whose ages ranged from early 20s to late 60s, and they all had just as much of an equal chance of winning, but that doesn't seem to be the case with the Netflix reboot. Horsenbuggy was the first to ask why all the contestants seem to be of a similar age. The Redditor asks, "Where were the old people? Where were the 'normal' people? Everyone on the show looked camera ready, like they were actors instead of real people."
The reason for the younger team could be that the challenges are way more physically demanding than they have ever been before, which is why this season has drawn so many comparisons to Survivor. But the lack of age diversity made it less exciting than the first couple of Anderson Cooper-hosted seasons.
Why Was The Pot So Small?
PennyLongStocking calls into question the shockingly low sum of money Will won at the end of the season. The Redditor comments, "I was actually kind of shocked at the difficulty of the challenges vs only $5-10k a pop. The max prize money was like $250k... people win that in one night on a game show. Did it seem low to anyone else?"
Though it could be argued that the contestants are in charge of how much money they earn and that both the mole and other players sabotage the pot every episode, the pot was still surprisingly low. It absolutely pales in comparison to previous seasons of the show. The amount won in the first season was $510,000, and in the second season it was $636,000, a life-changing sum of money. But Will went to all that effort just to win barely $100,000. Survivor has a $1 million prize, and while The Mole is so often compared to the reality show, the cash prizes are on two different ends of the spectrum.
Were There Rules To The Ice Block Challenge?
One of the more physically demanding challenges came at the back end of the series, as the final four contestants had to scour a snowy mountain for giant ice blocks concealing cash. Once they found all the blocks, they then had to carry them to the top of the mountain, which was no easy task.
But Yyc_mongrel wonders why the players didn't just smash the blocks and put the money in their pockets. The Redditor comments, "Was there a rule the contestants were given that barred them from breaking the ice blocks into smaller pieces, possibly even just removing the money entirely and putting it in their pockets instead of using the stupid sled?" No rule was mentioned, and there were plenty of trees and giant rocks that Will could have launched the blocks at, so it remains a mystery why he didn't.
Was Joi A Plant?
While Kesi was the mole, any viewer could have just as easily thought that Joi was, as she cost the team almost as much money as Kesi, and at one point, lost the team $25,000 in one go. Squiggles2187 asks if Joi was a plant by the producers, commenting, "It just makes absolutely zero sense that she was a regular player in the game. She had to be a plant put in by the producers to throw everyone off."
While it's unlikely, it would explain a lot. Throughout the season, Joi was convinced that Will was the mole, but he had almost singlehandedly won the team most of the pot. If Joi was genuinely answering the quiz questions based on Will being the mole, she would have been eliminated in the early stages, but she made it all the way to the finale.
Is The Mole All Fake?
Rojitas25 wonders if the show is fake and calls into question a task in the very first episode when the contestants have loaded a plane full of bags of cash. Will's secret mission is to toss one of the bags into the forest when everyone is asleep, and not one person wakes up or notices. The Redditor mentions, "I’m watching the first episode and I’m shocked that they didn’t sleep in shifts to guard the cargo."
The user adds that half of the contestants have acting credits on IMDb. Most reality shows are fake to some extent or are manipulated at the very least. Though it's unlikely that the contestants are hired actors, with the amount of footage that's shot, producers can create any kind of narrative they want.
Did Kesi Tell Joi She Was The Mole?
Kesi and Joi clearly formed a close bond and friendship on the show, and along with some suspicious actions in the season, that has led Itsdanky2 to ask if Kesi told Joi she was the mole. The Redditor asks, "Do you think Kesi told Joi on the sly that she was the mole, because she wanted her to win? However, Joi didn’t believe her which could explain why she went laser-focused on Will for no reason."
As Kesi was being compensated for being the mole and had strict guidelines to follow by the producers, it's unlikely that she would have told anybody. However, some things didn't add up, and Kesi couldn't have made it more obvious that she was the mole when she was tossing the ice blocks off the sled in front of Joi.