36.20-Duty called

Another season will come to a close soon. With a grand total of 630/1200 points in the pot, either Sylvester Roscoe, Bryan Seacrest or Paris Virginia will walk home with that amount. Which one of them will it be? And who is the Mole? All will be revealed in a short while.

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As the final comes closer, some choose to look good...

...some "revel" in the trauma of horrific pasts...

...and some study.

Sylvester: "I'm proud of being able to resist the temptation in the last mission. I saw a lot of necklaces, keychains and other small accessories in the rubble but I didn't take any of them. It wasn't because they were old or used or worthless; some of them can sell for quite a bit. I think it was because I knew duty called and that a life was at stake. I hope this is the first step to becoming a better policeman."

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Paris: "Ze pancakes are a little overcooked. And it is too fruity."

Sylvester: "You were the one who added all those grapes in, remember?"

Paris: "I...oh, yes, I did."

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"We welcome everyone to the finale ceremony of the Smole, Season 36. Let us invite our defeated contestants back onto the show one more time, starting with Theresa Meyers!"

Theresa: "Hello everyone. I took leave for this special occasion, showing how important I think this is."

"Next, let us welcome Yves Kalin!"

Yves: "I left way too early."

"After him is James King!"

James: "It's raining outside. Good thing I wore this hard hat."

"And after that is Sharon Vahassaberdeleon!"

Sharon: "Like my new makeover? I decided to go crazy and wear something different."

"Following her is the one who took her place, Violet Flowerina!"

Violet: "I cannot believe I am wrong. AND WHERE ARE THE AFRICAN VIOLETS?"

"A warm round of applause for Song Wu!"

Song: "Thank you. It feels great to return."

Colt: "Hurry up. It's raining outside."

"Over here we have Colt Fogey!"

Colt: "Hello everyone. Let's get down to business."

"A warm welcome to Ainsley Ruth Del Rino!"

Ainsley: "I think I could've done better."

"Last but not least, let us say hello again to Stephanie Ball!"

Stephanie: "Hello..."

"Our finalists are on their way here."

"And speak of the devil. Ladies and gentlemen, our final three!"

"Please take a seat."

"Every season we start off with sabotages but this season, we've done things a little differently."

Yves: "How so?"

"This season, our finalists haven't taken the quiz yet."

James: "What? Then how do we know who the winner is? Or the Mole?"

"They'll be taking the quiz right in front of all of you."

"20 questions about the identity of the Mole. Whoever knows the most will be the winner this season."

"For the Mole, it's one last act."

Q1: Is the Mole male or female?

A: Male

B: Female

Q2: How old is the Mole?

A: 25

B: 34

C: 35

Q3: What is the Mole's occupation?

A: Policeman

B: TV show host

C: Unemployed

Q4: What is the Mole's favourite type of music?

A: French
B: Electronica
C: Indie

Q5: What is the Mole's lifetime wish?

A: Become an International Super Spy
B: Golden Tongue, Golden Fingers
C: Living in the Lap of Luxury

Q6: Which room does the Mole sleep in?

A: Red room

B: Yellow room

Q7: In Mission 1, what was the Mole's assigned astrological sign?

A: Gemini

B: Libra

C: Aquarius

Q8:  In Mission 2, what was the colour of the car the Mole drove?

A: Blue

B: Pink

C: Hot pink

Q9: In Mission 3, what was the Mole's role?

A: Athlete with good memory

B: Someone with an eye for detail

C: Someone who is precise

Q10: In Mission 4, who did the Mole eliminate?

A: Colt Fogey

B: Ainsley Ruth Del Rino

C: Nobody

Q11: In Mission 5, how long did the Mole sit before receiving an electric shock?

A: 24 minutes
B: 1h 15 minutes
C: 1h 30 minutes

Q12: In Mission 6, which treadmill did the Mole run on?

A: Centre

B: Side

C: The Mole did not run on a treadmill

Q13: In Mission 7, who eliminated the Mole?

A: Paris Virginia

B: The Mole was not eliminated

Q14: In Mission 8, which of the following descriptions was exclusive to the Mole?

A: Have access to a spreadsheet involving the points earned per mission

B: Have a lamp with a blacklight mode

C: Be a boss

Q15: In Mission 9, which of the following best describes the Mole's attitude towards the feud between Bryan Seacrest and Stephanie Ball?

A: Annoyed; wants them to put aside their differences for the mission

B: Apathetic; prefers not to get involved

C: Neither of the above

Q16: In Mission 10, which car was the Mole in?

A: Black

B: White

C: Lemon

Q17: In Mission 10, after climbing the first flight of stairs, did the Mole take the stairs on the left or right?

A: Left

B: Right

C: Neither; the Mole needed to be saved

Q18: In Mission 10, in what order did the Mole get singed?

A: 1st

B: 2nd

C: 3rd

Q19: When leaving and climbing down the entrance stairs in Mission 10, who was to the left of the Mole?

A: Sylvester Roscoe

B: Bryan Seacrest

C: Nobody

Q20: Who is the Mole?

A: Paris Virginia

B: Bryan Seacrest

C: Sylvester Roscoe

Paris: "Sylvester guessed his horoscope in ze very first mishon. It was a huge risk. And he was one of ze last ones to pick a spot, letting everyone else guess first so zat he will not be blamed for being forced to take ze last horoscope."

Sylvester: "Paris was the first to press the button in the car. She didn't seem to really care that much or have a dilemma on whether to get safety or earn points."

Bryan: "We entrusted the most important role to Sylvester in Mission 3 but he failed us. He was way off in stopping the clock, wasting all our efforts."

Paris: "Sylvester betrayed his team in ze fourth mishon. He took out Ainsley. And he conveniently 'forgot' which team he was on at different times."

Bryan: "In Mission 5, Paris received two electric shocks and was the only one to cost us a penalty."

Sylvester: "Me, Bryan and Ainsley had to run on a treadmill to supply light in one mission. What I don't get is why Bryan chose to take a shower halfway, knowing that he had to run again later and would get smelly and dirty again."

Bryan: "In Mission 7, Sylvester betrayed his team with no apparent benefit. Was it a case of misunderstanding how to get an exemption or was there another reason?"

Paris: "In ze eif mishon, Bryan found out Sylvester was taking points from the pot but did not stop him. In fact he tried to hide it and allowed ze points to continue to drop."

Sylvester: "Bryan led his fake feud with Stephanie get in the way of the penultimate mission. And what did he get out of that? Nothing."

Bryan: "Paris could have shifted the crates away in Mission 10 but instead waited for us to arrive before doing so."

"The contestants have finished taking the quiz."

"While we're waiting for the results, this season we've interviewed some fans of the Smole on who they thought this season's Mole is. Please sit back and enjoy."

Wallace: "Paris is so bland and boring. It's like not enough attention is being shone onto her. That's why I think Paris is the Mole."

Taurus: "Paris has got to be the Mole. I was the stylist when she dressed up as Marilyn Monroe. She didn't want my help and didn't add Marilyn's beauty mark on herself. It's iconic! How could she not know the Monroe has a mole?"

Scott: "Sylvester has sabotaged so much that he's got to be the Mole. When he's in charge, the mission fails. And remember the name of Season 30's Mole? It's got to be a clue."

Kristen: "I think Bryan is the Mole. I've just got a feeling."

Ericka: "Remember that time Bryan was ungentlemanly to Song in the hieroglyph mission, causing her to lose breath underwater and cause the group to restart? Or when he covered for Sylvester's embezzlement? Bryan's no good character, I tell you. Look at the way he used Song. And he's always nudging everyone else to sabotage. His subtlety is perfect as the Mole. Despicable Mole."

"We've also put up an online survey for our international viewers to participate in. Half the world thinks that Bryan is the Mole whereas Sylvester is least likely to be the Mole in the eyes of the public."

Violet: "Interesting. Now I think Sylvester is the Mole actually. You can't just ignore his sabotages just because it's blatant and it doesn't fit your idea of a perfect Mole."

Song: "I agree that Sylvester is likely to be the Mole."

Colt: "If the world says Bryan's the Mole, then Bryan's damn well the Mole."

Stephanie: "I don't think it works that way...but personally I see some truth in everyone's statements. I did not suspect Bryan so he has the highest odds of being the Mole."

James: "This is too much for my brain. I think it's Sylvester."

Sharon: "I think it's Bryan, but let's just wait and see."

"On that note, let us now reveal our winner this season. As you can see, the room in front of you is unlit. By each table are two candles. If they light up, that contestant is the winner this season."

"And the winner..."

"...of the Smole, Season 36..."

"...is none other than..."

"...Sylvester Roscoe!"

Sylvester: "Wait, what? I won?"

Sylvester: "I can't believe it. I won!"

"You better believe it. Sylvester, you get to keep the 630 points in the pot, or 63000 Simoleons!"

Paris: "Good game, Sylvester."

Bryan: "Oh..."

Bryan: "I didn't win. But I'm happy for you, Sylvester."

"Let us welcome our winner out with a round of applause!"

Yves: "Clap clap clap."

James: "He won? So he ain't the Mole?"

Sharon: "Afraid not."

Ainsley: "I think he's the most suited for this game so it's not a big surprise that he won."

James: "Yay! Clap clap clap!"

Yves: "Did you just say 'clap' out loud?"

James: "You did too."

Yves: "Shh. You heard wrongly."

Sylvester: "It's been an exhilarating time with all of you here. I came here to win and I did. I have something to bring back to show everyone now. But as cliche as it sounds, towards the end I learned that winning wasn't the most important thing for me. My guilty pleasure's out of the bag, so that's gonna cause some problems but instead of sweeping it under the rug and letting it fester I should have dealt with the problem head on. I'm going to donate some of the money to Kleptos Anonymous, and the rest...hopefully it's enough to keep the itch at bay for quite a while."

"Congrtatulations on a terrific win, Sylvester."

Violet: "So who's the Mole? I couldn't care less for the winner. I'm came here for the Mole."

Ainsley: "I'm switching my predictions. Paris is the Mole."

Song: "Welp. Violet, we're wrong yet again. But I guess that's why we're sitting here."

Colt: "Can you keep it down? Damn youngsters nowadays."

"Two more finalists still sit behind the screen. May we invite the runner-up out."

Bryan: "I guess that's my cue."

"Let us welcome out our runner-up Bryan Seacrest!"

Sharon: "Oh, you're not the Mole? I was wrong yet again."

James: "Yay we're both wrong."

Yves: "My 'twin' didn't make it either. So sad."

Colt: "You mean Paris really is the Mole?"

Colt: "Damn it, Paris. Why didn't I just stick with you?"

Bryan: "First off, I'd like to say good job to Sylvester. I think he's definitely a deserving winner because I'm sure he found the Mole before I did. I thought the Mole was Stephanie going into the finale and when she left it was then I became sure of Paris. It's been an interesting ride for sure. Maybe not the most pleasant but definitely a very enriching one. There are some things I'd like to say personally to each and every one of you here, but I'll do that later. I don't want to take up too much screen time. After all, the limelight belongs to the winner and the Mole."

"Eloquently put. There is one lonely lady sitting opposite us. Let us invite her out now, shall we?"

"Ladies and gentlemen, the Mole of Season 36, Paris Virginia!"

Paris: "Ze truth has finally come to light. I was happy to be ze Mole because zat meant I would stay to ze end and win some money of my own. I do not appreciate ze many sacrifices I had to make in ze missions nor ze cloze I lost in ze process but I hope ze money is enough to make up for it."

"Paris, you've been a wonderful Mole. Few could catch hold of you. You take the rest of the pot, which is 570 points, or 57000 Simoleons, but you have been suspected a total of 12 times this season, so you get to walk away with 55800 Simoleons. That's still a fair bit of money. As for Sylvester, you officially win 64200 Simoleons."

"I'm sure all of you must be curious to see Paris's journey as the Mole. Here it is.

"Paris was a conservative Mole who wasn't particularly scheming or deceptive but still managed to slip by with points out of the pot nonetheless. In the first mission, she knew what her zodiac sign was and the clues needed to derive that. That is why she seemed to know exactly where to search.

Paris: "At first I was wondering why ze ticket wrote ze 21st of June when today wasn't ze 21st of June. Eet was a clue, I thought. Den I fleepped through some of ze pamphlets on ze table and saw somedzeeng about how ze French never have zeir horoscope changed. Another clue! I know I am a Gemini, so I was so proud of figuring zat out."

She jumped to her spot immediately and stood there for the rest of the mission, not helping anyone else. This was something Bryan noticed, which caused him to suspect her right at the start, but only for a brief moment. She believed that the others would fail without her, but luck got in her way.

In the second mission, Sylvester hit the nail on the head when he postulated that the Mole was given more time to hit the button. The choice was simple for Paris, who knew right from the start what she was going to do. She knew that there were others like her who would press, so she wasn't too worried about being the odd one out.

"Paris pressed first."

Paris: "Yes!"

The third mission was a favourite of Paris's, so she didn't try and mess up there. (she did forget to include a mole on her Marilyn Monroe getup but the hairdo and dress was more than enough to be recognised.) Instead, she decided to not get spotted instead so that she could blame the public instead. And how did she do that? By going to various (read: one or two) doorsteps, knowing that it was a weekday.

Paris: "Ding dong!"

Paris: "Nobody is home. Such a shame."

Even if she stumbled upon a household with residents inside by accident, it didn't matter too much to her because she was confident in Sylvester's incompetence.

Paris decided that she wanted to look like she was hungry for an exemption in the next mission, playing very aggressively. Her other motive for playing so doggedly was to eliminate as many other players as possible and thus prevent points from being added.

Paris: "There are a few things I want to talk about. Firstly, when Paris gets into it, she really gets into it. I'm surprised she had such tenacity and grit. I suppose that when she sets her mind on something, she won't stop at anything to get it..."

In Mission 5, Paris knew exactly what she wanted to do: get a shock or preferably two. That is exactly what she did, resulting in a penalty. Unfortunately this made some look at her more carefully.

Paris: "I need to move a bit...aie!"

Paris: "Fine. I cannot even make myself more comfortable."

Each subsequent shock will increase in intensity, meaning that the voltage administer will increase each time to a maximum safe voltage.

Paris: "AIE!"

Paris: "It iz like a pin prick."

Paris: "It iz not fair. I am ze first one. I zid not know we could not talk to ourselves."

She lasted 24 minutes without getting a shock. She did not receive any more electric shocks for the rest of the hour.

Paris decided not to sabotage in the next mission although she personally did not find a lot of points. In the mission following that, she was aware of who the spies were on each team. That is why she kept sticking closely to Bryan--to tempt him to eliminate her. It failed but her backup plan of tenacious playing helped her eliminate a few contestants.

Bryan: "Why are you sticking so close to me?"

Paris: "Because we are a team."

Paris was not aware of what she had to do in the eighth mission, just like the rest of the final five. But what she did know was how to get herself removed from the mission. If she wasn't there, then she couldn't earn points.

Paris: "Stephanie. Can you help me?"

Stephanie: "Um, sure..."

"Paris is fired."

Paris: "What? What did I do?"

Paris was equally clueless about the fake feud between Stephanie and Bryan in the penultimate mission. She just knew she couldn't let the team solve the riddle, so she tried to capitalise on that by stalling for time by addressing the elephant in the room.

Paris: "I zink you two need to settle your problems before we can move on."

Bryan: "She thinks she's so great and better than us."

Stephanie: "He's just rude and mean. He has issues with other people's personal preferences. Don't you think that is ludicrous, Paris?"

Paris: "Do not drag me into zis."

However, to cover herself, Paris also took one of the clues at the carpark away and kept it until time was running out before revealing it to everyone else.

Paris: "Oh, I have found it stuck on ze car plate! Zere is ze number 3. And I see a map inside."

The final mission was a difficult one for Paris to sabotage but her strategy going in was to try and not get noticed. She also decided to be the damsel in distress, patiently awaiting the two knights' arrival before she tried to shift the crates out of the way to create a clear path to escape. However, terror soon got the better of her.

Bryan: "Ooh! Hot hot hot! Sylvester! Come help!"

Sylvester: "I'm coming!"

Paris: "I'll help."

"Paris didn't have a brilliant mind but she knew when to delegate her responsibilities as the Mole to others while sabotaging herself from a safe distance."

Colt: "What a coward. She should have taken bigger risks."

Ainsley: "I can sort of see where she's coming from. She didn't want to risk her identity being exposed."

"So we've seen how Paris behaved in the mission but for those looking in other areas for answers, where could they find them?

"The first clue is in Episode 2. Question 8 of the quiz asked about dates of horoscopes. If you used a '-+-+-+' format to the numbers, you would be able to get 25 as the result. This happens to be Paris's age.

Q8: Which of the dates below matches the Mole's assigned horoscope in Mission 1?

A: 25 January -

B: 28 February +

C: 3 April -

D: 15 May  +

E: 30 May -

F: 14 July +

G: 1 August -

H: 4 September +

I: 16 October -

J: 11 November +

K: 25 November -

L: 3 December =

25

We also have Paris Virginia, 25, unemployed.

"There were 25 objects that could be used in Mission 4.

There are five of each objects: frisbee, soccer ball, baseball, football and water balloon (added halfway through).

"In addition, the frisbees were pink, a nod to the colour of the car Paris drove in Mission 2.

Mission 4

Mission 2

"In Episode 11, there were a few paintings of French villages. Paris is from France.

To the right of Ainsley is one.

On the wall to Sylvester's right is yet another one.

"In Mission 8, there was a doll of Napoleon Bonaparte in the boss's office. Napoleon was a French military and political leader who is most famous for being part of the French Revolution. This, again, is a clue to Paris's homeland.

On the left is the doll.

"Paris worked hard not to show this clue in Episode 17. The answer to the riddle was a phone number: 00 33 1 40 00 00 00. This is a number in Paris. 

"The playlist on the stereo in the house is actually full of Paris's favourite songs. However, for those who did not know that, in Episode 18 there were two songs that gave a clue. The first song was Take Me Home, Country Roads. The chorus mentions West Virginia. Virginia is Paris's last name. The second song is Numa Numa, which has a line that talks about Picasso. Picasso is an abstract artist who spent most of his adult life in France. The English version of this song also focuses heavily on Picasso so it doesn't matter which version you thought it was.

Stephanie: "Is that Take Me Home, Country Roads? Can...can I join?"

Sylvester: "Sure. Come closer."

Sylvester: "Or I'll just go to you. That works. Let's dance together."

Stephanie: "But...but this is not a song for dancing."

Sylvester: "Then I'll skip to the next song. Numa Numa is more of a dance song."

These are the clues."

"We have come to the end of yet another season. I hope everyone has had a fulfilling Season 36."

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• Red means executed, black means not in game, green means exempt, orange means 1 correction earned, blue means eliminated forcefully, yellow means nominated for execution. Underlined means player scored the lowest.
• Bryan was nominated for execution in Quiz 8.
• I randomised the list of nominees for execution each time and Stephanie was never one of them until the end.
• None of the exempted players were nominated for that quiz.
• Bryan only put Paris in the first and last quiz.
• I forgot to underline Stephanie's score in Quiz 6.
• Other than the first quiz, Colt was nominated for every quiz.