Warning: SPOILERS for Netflix’s The Circle
Netflix has dropped the final four episodes of The Circle, and there is a winner no one could have predicted. There were plety of fan predictions when the show first aired as to who would win, but few included Joey Sasso.
Sasso has been on the series since the first episode. He came in loud and brash and was instantly being flagged on social media as many people's least favorite player. Even fans who liked him pointed out that his over the top nature might prove to be too much after a while. He fared a little better with his castmates, who weren't impacted by his mannerisms or the volume of his voice because, of course, the only communication in The Circle is text. So, while he didn't start out at the bottom, he also didn't start out at the top. As the players started ranking each other, Joey found himself firmly seated in the middle - not a bad place to be, but also not the person you'd be expecting to win. Most fans didn't imagine him lasting till the end, let alone winning.
Fast forward to week 2, when the second set of four episodes was released by Netflix. Not only did those episodes see Joey move to the top of the ratings and end up in a coveted and powerful influencer position, but they also showed fans were changing their minds about the Rochester native. Fans took to social media with a complete change of heart, posting their shock at their own newfound love of the Joey. The things that fans found annoying in episode 1 - like his excessive use of "bro" - became endearing. It was definitely a case of not judging a book by its cover. While it was initially easy to assume that his flirty nature and machismo were going to lead to inappropriate messages, his attention focusing on female players, and displays of toxic masculinity, viewers couldn't have been more wrong.
What fans got instead was a guy who didn't cross the line into being overtly sexual in his flirty messages; he even spoke up when he thought other male players had. It turns out he didn't even know what the eggplant emoji was used for. He spent more time developing a heartwarming bromance with a brainy post-grad student than he did with the women. Even when he did have a romantic connection, he chose to save the friends he'd been loyal to in the game, which ultimately led to his romantic connection going home. When she came to see him, he asked permission to give her a kiss. He reached out to Sean, a contestant, who had come clean that the thin pictures she was using weren't of her, and helped put her at ease, telling her that he connected to the person, not the photos. By the time the finale came around, he had become a fan favorite. Players he had a direct hand in blocking were rooting for him to win, and they got their wish when he was revealed as the winner of Season 1.
The Circle has clearly been a hit for Netflix. This first season of the series ended in a way that many fans were happy with. It was satisfying to see the remaining original players bond and have each other's backs leading up to the final. The friendship/alliance between Joey and Shubham was genuine and fun to watch until the end, and whether fans were rooting for Joey to win or someone else, it was nice - in a game focused on not being able to trust anything - to see someone real win without having to try to be anyone else.