18.05-Conspiracy

Last time on the Smole, the 13 contestants had to work together to try and win a match. No points were earned, but the winners Colette, Nathaniel, Fern, Craig, Vivian and Bryan won exemptions, as well as Ernest for sitting out. The pot now has 100/260 points and Cole was found to leave next, which he took in his stride. Who will be next?

Ernest: “Want a drink, Mr. Gulf?”

Craig: “No need to. You seemed to be so willing to volunteer to forfeit the mission, conveniently earning an exemption. You absented yourself pretty much the whole of that day. I don’t even remember seeing you!”

Ernest: “For sitting out, the producers brought me away until the end of the day, when the mission would definitely be over. I’m being sincere in offering you a drink here, Mr. Gulf.”

***

 

Colette: “Another mission! This mission, we will play chess and all be knights. We will move in a randomized order in an L-shape on the chessboard. Any space we moved from will become red and unusable. Any contestant that finds themselves trapped would be eliminated. The sole survivor earns an exemption and the question. If less than half the board is red, 100 points will be earned, all or none.”

This is the randomized order:

1. Roy
2. Fern
3. Colette
4. Nathaniel
5. Hillary
6. Ernest
7. Natalie
8. Veronica
9. Craig
10. Bryan
11. Vivian
12. Melody

 

This is the first round. So far, so good.

***

Uh-oh, looks like Melody is out!

Natalie: “What a dumb move! Melody must be up to something. Willingly moving yourself to the corner is a big no-no! It must be a sabotage. Nathaniel also played a risky game by constantly moving to the edges, but he had his own strategy, evident through his gameplay.”

The current board. Seems like everyone agreed to meet in the middle.

***

Vivian is out!

So is Fern!

Who will be the next to be eliminated?

***

Roy is eliminated!

Colette: “I was trapped. Looks like I didn’t make the smartest moves this time round. But hopefully I managed to drag some others down with me.”

 

Ernest is eliminated!

Followed by Natalie!

Bryan is out!

Colette is eliminated!

Only 4 remain! Who will be the ultimate winner of the exemption and the question?

Hillary is eliminated! Down to three!

Hillary: “It’s a conspiracy! They give me false hope then suddenly get rid of me! I can’t trust anyone here…must push my policy through the Party to protect myself and my interests.”

 

Veronica is eliminated! Only Craig and Nathaniel remain!

And Craig is out! That means Nathaniel is the winner of this mission! Clearly more than half the board is stained red so 0 points have been earned. The pot now stands at 100/360 points.

Craig: “It’s all Veronica’s fault! I could have dragged it out longer and then Nathaniel would have been eliminated! I could have won! But she intercepted my move by moving to my only viable spot! I could have won! Grr…I know who not to have on my next movie. This goth’d be too demanding anyway.”