34.16-It's just a part of life

In the previous episode,

Felix decided to make amends with Gladys, angering Janice...

Gladys: "What is it regarding, Mr. Kuchappe?"

Felix: "I just want to apologise for all the hostility and inconvenience I've been causing you lately."

Felix: "I realised that I was being stupid. I must have been mad."

Gladys: "I see...since you are so repentant, I shall forgive you. I care about the people and I understand how you feel. I can tell you deeply love your wife, so I can empathise."

Felix: "Thank you for being so gracious."

Janice: "Felix Kuchappe, just what do you think you are doing?"

Janice: "Are you bowing down to the slut?"

Felix: "I told you it's over. I'm washing my hands of this."

Janice: "Traitor."

Felix: "Say whatever you want. I'm just trying to protect me and my family, or what's left of it. I need to mend bridges with her."

Janice: "Pfft, what a coward. Should have known when you wore a yellow sweater."

Gladys: "Hmph, I told her she cannot win. I better leave them to it. I have more important matters to deal with."

Gabriel shared his motivation for wanting to win...

Janice: "I'll start the ball--"

Gabriel: "Oh, I'd like to go first. I want to win because of the money. I'm not from a well-to-do family. The money will help me."

Only to be patronised by Gladys...

Gladys: "Oh, another poor soul."

Gladys: "It's like they don't feed you or clothe you. I suppose that explains a lot."

Gladys: "Your inability to fund your education has manifested in such behaviour. I feel sorry for you, Mr. Ruen."

In a surprise turn of events, James snapped at Gladys...

Gladys: "But I am. Your reaction justifies it."

James: "I have heard enough."

Gladys: "Excuse me?"

James: "I know what it's like for Gabriel. There's no need to mock the less wealthy and be such a bigot."

Gabriel: "Do you know what you are saying or who you are talking to, Mr. Sol?"

James: "Yes and yes."

James: "I can understand what he's going through. I had a less-than-desirable childhood myself. But that pushed me and brought me here today."

James: "And I will do whatever it takes to make sure I don't slip back into poverty."

Contestants were saved by the bell with the mission...

"James, Janice was asked this question: Who said 'money makes the world go round'? James or Gladys? What would your answer be?"

James: "I don't recall ever saying that although it does sound like something I would say."

***

Gladys: "His mother is rather old, however, so logically speaking it would make sense for Mr. Kuchappe to save his mother first. After much deliberation, my answer is that he would save his mother."

***

Janice: "But let's see...Gabriel definitely sounds like the type to say yes."

Janice: "But is that what he would answer? Knowing him, he most probably forgot what he answered before joining the Smole."

***

"Felix, Gladys's question is: What would Janice say is a more powerful weapon: laws or a seed? What would your answer be?"

Felix: "Hmm...this is a very weird question."

***

Gabriel: "Oh, this is difficult. I never studied chemistry."

Gabriel: "There is no way James would know this. He's a lawyer, not a chemist."

Gabriel: "Or does he? Whatever. I shall just guess the first one."

Most failed...

Janice: "***."

Janice: "It's not fair. I'm wearing a skirt and heeled shoes for Christ's sake. A warning would have been nice."

***

Gabriel: "My answer is 2x^2 + 4e."

"Unfortunately, that is incorrect. The correct answer is 3x^2 + 8e^2."

***

"After appraisal, this painting is worth 2 Simoleons."

Gladys: "What? This is preposterous. This is painted by a minister in South Africa! It cannot be worth so little!"

But fortunately enough, James and Felix managed to earn 20 points each, adding 40/100 points to the pot to make it 190/900 points...

***

Felix: "Oh, I know this...um, How Far I'll Go. It's from Moana."

"Correct. You earn 20 points."

Felix: "At least we finally get something."

***

James: "It's a good thing I actually noticed that they kept spelling the word differently each time. The answer is 7."

"That is correct. 20 points have been earned."

Are things finally looking up for the group? Or will the Mole come down hard on them again in the next mission? And who will officially place fifth this season? Find out now on...

The Smole

***

Gladys: "It's a relief to finally be earning something again. This pot just looks so pathetic right now. But I am quite offended by the fact that the art appraiser did not know how to appreciate art. But as a politician, I know I should not be riled up by such petty matters. I could always mobilise the police force to help me investigate. I am fairly certain he is a fraud. And if the police can't help, there's always another option. The perks of being a popular politician..."

Felix: "Isn't that James? What is he doing outside when it's raining?"

Felix: "This is so atypical of him. I better go check if he is alright."

Felix: "James, are you alright?"

Felix: "James?"

James: "Sigh."

Felix: "It's okay if you don't want to talk. I'll just sit here and keep you company."

James: "What was it like when you lost your wife?"

Felix: "Pardon?"

James: "Never mind. Forget I ever asked."

James: "I'm fine. Just go."

Felix: "No. You need company right now. We're not close but I don't mind sitting here silently, or being your listening ear."

James: "...How did it feel? When you lost your wife?"

Felix: "Miserable. It was like I was alone in this world, abandoned by everyone. Even God abandoned me. The whole world had turned on me. I was drowning in my own tears every single day. You saw how I was still grieving when I joined."

James: "What about now?"

Felix: "“Now? I learned that it’s just a part of life, an interim process. Time heals all wounds. It’ll hurt at first, but eventually the pain will subside and disappear. You learn to get over it, whether you want to or not."

Felix: "Why the question?"

James: "No reason."

James: "I...it's just...I...the hospital called me."

James: "So in time to come, I'll forget about this."

James: "Do you hear that?"

Felix: "...Uhh...not really..."

James: "Exactly."

James: “I’m free. Since young I thought she was such a nag, always bothering me. She just refused to understand that I wanted to be left alone. But still, she was the one who raised me.”

James: “When he walked out and she ran off with another man, she was the one who took me in.” 

 James: “She didn’t have to. She was just a neighbour I barely knew.”

James: “But she was so annoying. Always asking me if I’d eaten or if I’d done my homework." 

James: "I wanted to get away from her. Live on my own. And now I did it. I’m now a successful lawyer raking in hordes of money."

James: "But now…”

James: “But now, I want to hear her nag at me." 

James: "I want her to ask me how my day went. I want her to remind me to eat breakfast.”

James: “You said it would fade. Can you tell me why, why I feel so much pain right now?" 

James: "It hurts." 

James: "It hurts so much to even breathe."

James: "Just what am I afraid of?"

Felix: "I think you should tell her how you really feel."

Felix: "Leave no regrets."

James: "But how? I'm stuck here, miles away from her."

Felix: "I'm sure you can phone her at least. Or write a letter. Production will surely allow that."

Felix: "Don't let your pride get in the way. Go. Just do it. Leave no regrets."

James: "I don't know..."

Felix: "I'll give you some privacy if you need it but I know that deep down, you know what to do."

James: "Can you not tell anyone about this?"

Felix: "I won't."

James: "Thanks."

Janice: "Gabriel, tell me honestly something."

Janice: "Are you faking your stupidity?"

Gabriel: "What?"

Janice: "Don't play dumb with me. You know what I mean. In the mission you actually knew a bit of maths. And sometimes you are quite sharp-witted."

Gabriel: "Okay, I admit."

Gabriel: "I did decide to play dumb a bit and act blur."

Gabriel: "That way I can get everyone's trust."

Gabriel: "And nobody will think much of me or notice me."

Gabriel: "And if I screwed up at least I wouldn't be blamed for it or accused of being the Mole because of it."

Janice: "I can't believe you went messing with my head like that. I'm borderline impressed."

Gabriel: "Yeah, well you still found out. And I got inspiration from Darren. I think he really is quite...blur, for lack of words."

Janice: "To think all this time we were fooled. I mean, I'm sure I'm not the only one, right? Every time something goes wrong with Gabriel we always just think 'it's Gabriel', but it turns out that he's been bluffing the whole time. I still don't believe that he's smart but he's definitely not as dumb as hemade himself out to be. There's just so much we don't know about Gabriel. And that's actually pretty dangerous."

***

Contestants are deliberating how to split the points.

***

Time for the quiz.

Q1: Is the Mole male or female?

A: Male

B: Female

Q2: What is the Mole's favourite music genre?

A: Classical

B: Pop

C: Hip hop

D: Soul

E: Custom

Q3: What did the Mole eat before Mission 8?

A: Waffles

B: Autumn salad

Q4: What was the Mole's question in Mission 8?

A:Who said "money makes the world go round"? James or Gladys?  

B: Your mother and wife are drowning. You only have time to save one. Who do you save?

C: What did you say when you were first asked whether you wanted to be the Mole prior to joining?

D: What would Janice say is a more powerful weapon: laws or a seed? 

E: What is the atomic mass of caesium in unified relative atomic units: 132.9u or 161.7u?

Q5: Did the Mole sit on the two-seater or three seater before Mission 8?

A: 2-seater

B: 3-seater

Q6: In Mission 8, did the Mole answer his/her own question correctly?

A: Yes

B: No

Q7: Whose question did the Mole later have to answer in Mission 8?

A: Gladys Delmeer-Gomez

B: James Christian Sol

C: Felix Kuchappe

D: Janice Ilien

E: Gabriel Ruen

Q8: In Mission 8, did the Mole answer the same or differently from the contestant whose question the Mole also later answered?

A: Same

B: Different

Q9: In Mission 8, which car was the Mole in?

A: Blue

B: Yellow

Q10: Who is the Mole?

A: Gabriel Ruen

B: Felix Kuchappe

C: James Christian Sol

D: Gladys Delmeer-Gomez

E: Janice Ilien

***

"You have made it far but tonight the road ends for one of you. Who will it be?"

Felix: "Hey, um...are you okay?"

James: "Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

James: "Don't give me that face. I'm fine. See? I'm smiling."

Felix: "It's just..."

James: "Don't think I'm any different or we've gotten any closer because of that incident."

"Felix is also safe. That leaves Gabriel and Janice. The last one safe is..."

"Janice Ilien."

"Gabriel Ruen, unfortunately you have been the next to be executed. Please pack your bags and leave."

Gabriel: "Boo."

Gabriel: "I can't believe I'm out. I was having so much fun here. I split my quiz 50-50 between two suspects. Was I completely off? Or is it that everyone else knows who the Mole is already?"

Gabriel: "Whatever it is, I'm glad to have been here and do some cool stuff. Bye guys and good luck! I'm actually pro-Mole so I wanna see the Mole win by a landslide."

"Thank you for joining the Smole, Gabriel. We hope to see you soon."

Gladys: "It is such a shame. His naviety was refreshing and he was a very sociable and passionate character."

Janice: "I think the word you're looking for is 'annoying'. But he's smarter than he appeared so I give that to him for outlasting so many other contenders."

James: "Gabriel was a prick but it does feel weird just losing him like that and seeing him leave. I don't know why I'm hit harder than usual."

Felix: "It's probably because of recent events. He will be missed, especially since we're so close to each other now...kind of."

***

The extroverted Gabriel Ruen was no match for the rest and thus had to leave. With him, 11 points had been lost, meaning to say that there are only 145 points left to split among the final four. Will the contestants go all out on their suspect or continue to play it safe?

***

Gladys

Gladys

James

Felix: 1

Janice: 100

Gabriel: 55

James

Gladys: 86

James

Felix

Janice: 70

Gabriel

Felix

Gladys: 80

James

Felix

Janice: 76

Gabriel

Janice

Gladys

James

Felix

Janice: 156

Gabriel

Gabriel

Gladys: 78

James

Felix

Janice: 78

Gabriel

Overall

Gladys: 49

James: 0

Felix: 0

Janice: 96

Gabriel: 11