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puddin:
Episode 4
This episode, we were staying in a small town called Uspallata, Argentina.  It was tiny and quaint.  In fact, portions of the film "Seven Years in Tibet" were filmed there and it seems to have made quite an impact.  Small towns are like people in that regard.  Sometimes when they meet celebrities, they just can't stop talking about it.  What people/towns don’t realize, is that it's much cooler to feign indifference: yeah, Brad Pitt stayed here.  So what?  Better yet ... who is he?

Behind the scenes, all of the chatter was about our hotel.  It was very reminiscent of "The Shining" and had a "Dirty Dancing" meets "dictator's private retreat" vibe.   Rumors swirled about mysterious creatures dangling from shower ceilings and strange welts discovered by morning light.  You'd hear a creaky playground set in the distance and see a limping dog dragging her teats on the dirt road.  I mean, it was real.  Not to mention freezing cold.

Midas Rush was a tough one.  I'm a runner and the altitude really made an impact.  It's almost like you're having an asthma attack -- for some reason, you just can't get enough fresh air into your lungs.   I did the "Race to the Summit" run and to me, this was about 3x as hard.  When they wheeled off Craig, I was worried for the big guy.  At least, he finished the mission before succumbing to the elements. 

Victoria was fun to watch this episode.  At "Midas Rush," it was a bit strange when she didn't even fight Clay for the exemption.  That was very red flag for me.  But what seemed very Mole-ish, ended up being nothing more than apathy.   I also enjoyed Victoria's comment about Nicole during "Who Said That."  There's no question it rankled Nicole.   Later, Nicole mentioned off camera that Victoria’s "fame" dig was a typical put-down from one woman to another ... and didn't go unnoticed.   Nicole knew what was up.  Uh-oh.  I just hoped that wasn't code for someone dying in their sleep.

Naturally, I kept my eye on them.  They seemed to get along, but in that forced "we're acting so nice to each other we couldn't POSSIBLY hate each other!" way.  It's too bad Victoria went home, because I was really looking forward to seeing their passive aggression kick in to high gear.

At "Burn Journal Burn," Mark was livid.  No question.  There was even some tension between Mark and Jon for a few minutes!  It was all in the heat of the moment, but it was a fascinating dynamic to observe.  On any reality show, there's no doubt that the host interacts with the players in different ways.  But just like the secret inside jokes between a Jimmy Kimmel and his guest going to commercial, it's interesting to get a sneak peek.  Thankfully, by the next day, Mark had made his peace with the mission (and with Jon).  It's probably better that way since you never know what tricks Jon has up his sleeve...

As an amateur pyrotechnician (I earnestly pursued the craft as an adolescent), watching the set up for the journal burning was fun.  They had all sorts of gels, liquids, foams and powders that they put to use in setting up that blaze trail.  What you didn't see was that once the fire reached the table, of course, the books didn't catch right away.  We had to break for a minute to throw more fuel on the pile.  After that, it worked like a charm.

Long story short, the Andes were stark, harsh and gorgeous.   A perfect backdrop for an international espionage thriller.  And if you thought this week was tough, the next mission pushes the cast right up to their breaking point.

Stay tuned...

puddin:
Episode 5
The Andes were brutal.  Without steaming heads, snow or frosted breath, it's
hard to convey the temperature ... but it was really, really cold.  Needless
to say, we were all really invested in the "All for One" outcome.  If the
players hit a impasse and chose to stay all night, most of us would've had
to stay as well.  It's amazing how freezing temps and chains can help
facilitate compromise.

Then, of course, we had the infamous lemon incident.  Wow.  Let me say that
Clay absolutely deconstructed Paul in that van.  No question.  I used to
practice law and Clay's method was the direct consequence of his training.   
Just like soldiers, lawyers are trained to take someone's arguments, find
flaws and dismantle them.  Clay zeroed right in on Paul's insecurities and
exploited them, i.e. his lack of higher education.  Paul responded in kind
with claims of hypocrisy and questions about Clay's moral character.  And
things just went from there...

For me, this fight was one of the high points of the game.  Ultimately, The
Mole is about getting inside someone else's head.  It's a chess match and
these were two fierce competitors tussling over mental supremacy.  Once Clay
threw the lemon, however, I'd say he lost some cool points.  Of course, Paul
had thrown money at him first so I suppose they were even...

When we finally arrived in Mendoza, it was a sight for sore eyes.  Wine,
sunshine, breezy linen, casinos and tree-lined cobblestone streets.  Known
as the Napa valley of South America, Mendoza's reputation is truly
well-deserved.  If you happen to be in the area – you MUST check out Francis
Mallman's 1884 (ranked #7 in the world’s top ten restaurants).  It was
amazing.

After the lemonhead fracas, when "Travelers" rolled around, the players were
still pretty testy.  We'd gone from sub-Arctic conditions to resplendent sun
and 90 degree temperatures.  Throw in some scuba gear, a donkey and a llama
suit and things were bound to get heated.

At least the tension lead to one of my favorite quotes of the game so far:

"I'm not going to be an ass in an ass."  Nice!

Congratulations, Paul.  You’re now officially neck and neck with Bobby's
"You Suck at Life" in my Quote of the Season contest.

As far as the players' revolt, there was something poetic about it happening
at the foot of the Cerro de la Gloria ... since it's a monument celebrating
independence from the Spanish Empire.   Either way, it was exciting to see
the players completely flip the script.  It just goes to show you that you
never know what to expect in this game.  From flying lemons to revolutions,
things can change in an instant.  Even kind-hearted Craig got caught up in
the fever when he transformed into a ruthless "transpo captain" during
Travelers.  Maybe he was just channeling the spirit of the tyrannical
Spanish conquistadors...

Clearly, the stakes were getting much higher.  There was almost a palpable
sense of panic amongst the players.  Everyone was desperately looking for an
edge, of any kind, over the others.  Craig was gunning for the exemption.   
Paul and Clay were trying to get each other kicked out of the van (if not
the show!).  Even Kristen thought she'd try a novel strategy: going straight
down the line for one person on the quiz instead of playing the odds.

Oops.  Her decision to go all in obviously was a bust.  So that leaves us
with Nicole as the last woman standing.  Interesting.  Verrry interesting...

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