23.05-Why is there a horse here?

Last time on the Smole, the final 7 went back to their childhood by playing a game of catching, with Blair reprising his role as the eagle and Ronald stepping up to be the mother hen. He succeeded in protecting all the chicks and thus earned 120/120, or 120/320 points, for the group pot as well as an exemption for himself. The tables turned against Ingrid and Blair as both of them were executed in the double execution ceremony, leaving 5. Will Ruby and Ulysses be able to maintain their position by making it to the finale or will the rest fight their way through?

 ***

Xavier: “Stupid toilet! Even an object doesn’t want to do its job!”

Xavier: “Why am I so hung up about everything? It’s like this at work too. My life revolves around work. I work for about 12 hours a day, every day except Sunday. It’s like my second home. I put in so much effort but the sense of gratification is lacking. I didn’t feel happiness when the group earned the max points for the second mission. I just felt relief. Like if I didn’t earn everything I would go kill myself and everyone. It’s like I’m not satisfied with life when I should be. I just don’t feel…happy.”

Ronald: “STOP!”

Ruby: “Aah!”

Ruby: “Oh, it’s you. That’s embarrassing. Why did you shout?”

Ronald: “You should never microwave food. That’s super unhealthy.”

Ruby: “I’m sure it won’t hurt once in a while.”

Ronald: “Suit yourself. I’m not going to eat that. I bet you poisoned it.”

Ruby: “Okay, that’s just being paranoid. Why would I poison it?”

Ronald: “I don’t know, to do your bidding because you’re the Mole?”

Ruby: “Please don’t be ridiculous, Ronald. Are you overwhelmed with grief at the loss of your wife?”

Ronald: “She’s not dead!”

Ruby: “I never said she was.”

Ronald: “Oh…I misinterpreted that.”

 

Judith: “I feel so pumped after my workout yesterday.”

Ruby: “I thought you said you won’t eat microwaved food?”

Xavier: “Who, me?”

Ruby: “No, Ronald.”

Ronald: “This isn’t microwaved food. I made this oatmeal myself. Any food that I didn’t prepare is bad food, so next time just let me cook.”

***

Ronald: “Why is there a horse here?”

Contestants’ next mission is worth 180 points. They would have to enter each of the 9 rooms and choose which object they think is the odd one out. For each object correctly identified, 20 points will be added.

***

Judith: “This is so exciting, to actually see what the next mission is!”

Ronald: “I know right? But that means we could screw up like those that did it the first time.”

Ruby: “Don’t worry. Ulysses and I have done this before. I’m sure he’ll be willing to help and avoid any potential pitfalls, which are aplenty here.”

Ulysses: “When I was the Mole, I tried to sneak out and tamper with the rooms. I also deliberately did not say that there was an obvious object that was different from the rest. I was caught so in the next room I tried to make up for it, flustered. Apparently that was my fatal mistake because Ingrid caught onto me from then. She’s no longer here though, so there goes one strong competitor. I realised that fat winners can only win once though. Strange. They must have some dumb once-only luck.”

 

Contestants enter the first room.

Ronald: “A room full of dressers? I don’t see the odd one out.”

Ulysses: “Don’t be afraid to explore and touch around. Ooh, they have clothes that fit in here!”

Xavier: “We may need to check the clothes then. Maybe those are the odd one out.”

Ruby: “Oh, this is so old, it creaks.”

Judith: “Alright, I see nothing wrong with the clothes. I think we’re going too deep. I feel that it’s this dresser because it’s red unlike the rest. What do you all think?”

Ronald: “That makes sense.”

Xavier: “Yes.”

Ulysses: “I agree.”

Ruby: “Then it’s settled.”

“You have chosen the dresser…”

“…unfortunately it is wrong. The odd one out is this dresser instead, because it has a mirror, whereas all the other wooden dressers don’t.”

Xavier: “This is pretty contentious.”

***

Ruby: “Okay, this is the next room. What’s wrong here?”

Ronald: “I’ll check the com.”

Ruby: “I’ll check the books.”

Xavier: “I’ll check these chess pieces. Stop wasting time, Ulysses.”

 

Ronald: “I don’t trust any of the final five. They are all suspicious in their own ways, even the non-suspicious ones. I know Ulysses can’t be the Mole because that’s who we chose during the first quiz and that cost Theresa, but still, you can’t be sure. Maybe I was faster. So I decided to re-check everything that they checked to make sure they weren’t hiding anything. It’s better to depend on yourself than to be fooled.”

Judith: “Okay, I don’t know how many strings a bass has, but I think it’s right.”

Ruby: “I think we’re losing focus. We’re supposed to find the odd one out, not if there are faults in the object.”

 

Ulysses: “AAH! My goodness, that was scary! I don’t want to die yet!”

Judith: “This looks like a skill room.”

Ruby: “Hmm, yes, you are right. The majority of the objects fit in with that theme. If so, then perhaps the computer is the odd one out!”

 

“The computer, you say?”

 

“No points yet. The real odd one out is the teddy bear by the corner, because this is the only object that isn’t education-related, or cannot be used to improve any skill.”

Ronald: “How did we all fail to see this thing by the corner?”

***

 

This is the next room.

 

Ruby: “Okay, there’s a bunch of paintings everywhere, including the floor.”

Judith: “I don’t know what is wrong here. It’s all pretty artsy.”

Ruby: “Dig deeper, Portia.”

Ronald: “Alright, must not leave any stone unturned. This is quite the colourful painting.”

Ulysses: “I really have no idea here.”

Ruby: “Do you guys think it’s this? I don’t know why, I just have a feeling.”

Ulysses: “Not really.”

Xavier: “Hmm…this is alright.”

Ronald: “I just bet that they’re all going to sabotage and choose the wrong painting here because it’s so easy.”

Ruby: “Okay, how about that sunflower painting over there? It’s the largest.”

Judith: “But you said to dig deeper.”

Xavier: “That’s all we got right now. There really is nothing much wrong with this place.”

“The sunflower painting…is correct! It is the only painting that is large, ignoring frames. At last, 20 points have been earned.”

***

This is the fourth room.

Xavier: “I’m going to check the stereo out.”

Ronald: “I’ll have to read all the books myself. If only I’m a speed reader.”

Ulysses: “Everything in this room is black. So drab.”

 

Ruby: “Indeed.”

Ronald: “Oh, you guys turned on the TV? I’ll see if there’s anything like clues that could help.”

Judith: “There’s really no need to. Just finish your book.”

Ronald: “I can’t! I don’t trust you all….to get the job done right.”

Judith: “As if you would.”

Ulysses: “Guys, let us stop fighting. We already got 2 rooms wrong. We should focus.”

Judith: “Yes, but we’ll be very inefficient if all of us focus on the TV. It’s so big! Why would we need four to look at one TV? At most 2 is enough.”

Judith: “Now shush! I’m thinking that perhaps this is odd because it produces audio.”

Ronald: “So does the stereo.”

Judith: “Oh, right.”

Xavier: “This is hard.”

Ronald: “Wait, weren’t all the doors previously white? I think this is a big hint.”

Ruby: “You’re right. It’s our only shot.”

“The door…is correct! It’s the odd one out because it’s the only object that’s not supposed to be black.”

***

Ronald: “Okay, this looks like an outdoorsy room.”

Ronald: “The bench is quite hard.”

Xavier: “That gnome there is very fishy.”

Judith: “There’s a gnome here too.”

Ruby: “Is that a barrel?”

Ulysses: “No, it’s a nightstand. I’ve seen those before.”

Ronald: “Nightstands? Aren’t they indoor objects?”

Xavier: “Take that you stupid pink plastic! Wait, what am I doing? Why am I distracted? This is not tolerable! Xavier, I’m fired!”

Ulysses: “Chill.”

Xavier: “Stop being so relaxed and help! You haven’t been of much help yet!”

Ronald: “Actually I think he has. The room is clearly based on the outdoors. With that, we pick the nightstand!”

Xavier: “We?”

“The nightstand is indeed correct since it is the only object that won’t be found in the outdoors! 60 points so far.”

***

The sixth room.

Ruby: “No hidden objects whatsoever.”

Ulysses: “Another recliner? Is this a clue?”

Ronald: “Our final answer will be that chair beside Portia.”

Ruby: “Ronald, you need to stop taking matters into your own hands. We’re a team. We should discuss.”

Ronald: “Yes, but we’re a team devoid of trust. The Mole is among us. How can I trust any of you? And besides, don’t you think it makes sense? We can nap on any of these except that one-seater.”

Ruby: “Yes, but—“

Ronald: “Then it’s settled.”

“The chair…is indeed the odd one out. 80 points have been earned so far. Good job.”

***

Xavier: “Okay, a path leading to a bookcase…”

Xavier: “This must be a dead giveaway, right?”

Judith: “Is it really that simple?”

Ronald: “Let’s see if any of these drinks don’t follow the rest.”

Ruby: “Past experiences tell me that bookcases don’t need to be read.”

 

Xavier: “Ulysses, could you please help out? I don’t think you’ve done anything constructive as of yet.”

Ulysses: “What do you mean? I have!”

Xavier: “Okay, share your input for this room.”

Ulysses: “I think…the rug we’re stepping on? This is much harder than last season.”

Ronald: “I think it’s the bar. You can only drink from there.”

Xavier: “See? Ronald has been helping so much.”

“The bar…”

“…is wrong! The actual answer is the table, because it’s the only non-long object.”

***

The next room.

Judith: “Could it be this round table?”

Xavier: “Is it too obvious, though?”

Judith: “Some things just hide under your noses.”

Ronald: “I was thinking the same thing.”

 

Ruby: “At least there’s some discussion going on. I agree.”

Ulysses: “Perhaps we should take a closer look first.”

Xavier: “No, no, it’s settled.”

Xavier: “I feel that Ulysses has not been helping in this mission. I think that is quite suspicious, because he has helped in previous missions, even last season when he was the Mole. I think that is a clue.”

“You chose this round table...”

“…but failed to notice the other round tables in this room, therefore it is wrong. The actual answer is this coffee table as it is shorter than the rest. You guys aren’t doing so well now.”

***

The last room. Only three objects. Simple enough, right?

Ruby: “Our last room, guys! We can do this!”

Ulysses: “I think maybe it’s that round rug.”

Xavier: “I think so too.”

Ronald: “Me three. They’ve got to have something about shapes and roundness.”

“Is this round rug correct?”

“Unfortunately not. The correct answer is this rug because of its odd shape. Only 80/180 points have been earned, totalling the pot to 200/500 points. Go home and take the quiz.”

Ruby: “We couldn’t get any of the top rooms correct? Nevermind. It was a good try.”