40.Bonus-Penalties and Bonuses

If you didn't have enough of the Smole, Season 40, we've got just the cure! This episode, we delve into why the Mole chose to give penalties to certain contestants and bonuses to others.

Quiz 1

-2: Iris

-1: Philo

+1: Benjamin

Shirley: "The +1 was easy for me. I would give it to my friend Ben. I know how it feels to be eliminated early so I wouldn't wish that upon him. Furthermore, being in a coalition, him staying will make me look better. As for the penalties, it was a difficult decision but I chose to give -1 to Philo because he's an ex-Mole and his personality makes it harder to read him because he'll be more reserved, so I don't know if he suspects me or not. The way Iris looked at me in the first mission tipped me off so I decided to award the -2 penalty to her."

Quiz 2

-2: Iris

-1: Angel

+1: Benjamin

Shirley: "Neither Philo nor Iris went home, which is interesting. I would have definitely expected Iris to leave because of the heavy penalty. Does this mean she suspects me already? That is not good. I have to continue giving her penalties. My reasoning for Ben is still the same but I decided to now give the -1 penalty to the other former Mole Angel. She's far more deceptive and cunning than Philo was and would thus be even harder to read, especially given her background."

Quiz 3

-2: Iris

-1: Lisette

+1: Damien

Shirley: "Both Ben and I are exempt so that's good. After much deliberation I decided to give Damien a bonus. I don't think he suspects me and he is also highly suspected from the previous mission, so it would be beneficial to keep a decoy Mole in the game. Iris is still here which is worrying. I must get her out. I get this weird feeling that Lisette is starting to suspect me. I don't want to take any risks."

Quiz 4

-2: Benjamin

-1: Iris

+1: Damien

Shirley: "I can't believe he would do that to me. I trusted him...sorry, I need to focus. Benjamin Brenner is receiving the -2 penalty no matter what. I don't want to see his face. That means Iris gets luckier with just a -1 penalty. I want to keep the highly suspected Damien in so he'll get a +1."

Quiz 5

-2: Benjamin

-1: Lisette

+1: Damien

Shirley: "When I wanted Iris gone she stayed. When I wanted Benjamin gone Iris left instead. What is wrong with this world. I'm still giving the heaviest penalty to Benjamin Brenner. I don't think Lisette is highly suspected and given that she's made it to the final 3 before I shouldn't underestimate her. She'll get the -1 penalty. Damien still gets the +1 I guess."

Quiz 6

-2: Damien

-1: Bonnie

+1: Carol

Shirley: "Damien put my name down for the bonus question. I was wrong about him. He's good at concealing his suspicions. Since it's confirmed that he suspects me I have to get rid of him. Bonnie is a detective and I've been stalling long enough, thinking that there's always another time to get her out. But time is running out. She'll take the -1 penalty while Damien takes the -2. Carol put Philo so she'll get a +1 since she doesn't suspect me. She wears her heart on her sleeve too so I can tell she trusts me."

Quiz 7

-2: Bonnie

-1: Damien

+1: Carol

Shirley: "I'm fixing my bonus point to Carol unless otherwise stated. I think I'll switch Damien and Bonnie around. I think I managed to shake Damien off with my actions in the mission but Bonnie is far more stubborn. I don't know who she suspects so it's more dangerous. She put me down in the previous mission and claimed Damien told her to, but what if I'm also her Mole which is why she obliged?"

Quiz 8

-1: Philo

+1: Carol

Shirley: "I can only give a -1 and +1 now and this is my final chance. I think Damien will be eliminated regardless because of what he did so I don't need to worry about him. That means my -1 penalty will go to the remaining man, Philo. It's surprising that he's still here and he's a man, so I want them all dead."