57.05-Charms and wits

The last time on the Smole, the contestants had to complete various tasks as part of their second mission. This resulted in a gain of 78/100 points, and thus 118/180 points in the pot. Theia could not survive the execution and was executed after Tina. Who will be next? Who is the Mole?

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John: "Theia was a character. She had her charms and wits and certainly added more colour to the house. The season will be duller without her, even if we couldn't always understand what she was trying to say."

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The contestants have been divided into two groups to complete two word ladders. Half of them start from the top while the other half starts from the bottom. At each rung, one contestant must stay behind. When the two groups meet, some of them can choose to swap groups. The first contestant to reach the end of the tower gets an exemption, only if the final word is correct. 5 points are earned per correct word, making this mission worth 120 points.

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Ximena: "The sun did this through the window."

Lydia: "The sun comes in through the window. The past tense will be 'came' which is only 4 letters."

Anita: "What does the other side say?"

John: "Cavalry manouvres or credit card expenses. The one after that is LA athlete or cell phone accessory. This side is the 7-letter ladder."

Lawrence: "Bills? Charges?"

John: "I think you're right. A cavalry charges and you will get charges for using a credit card. Which makes the next word CHARGER."

Lydia: "We figured this side out too. It's SHONE."

Lawrence: "Who's staying behind?"

John: "I'll do it. Everyone else is thinking of the exemption."

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Finn: "I'll just say what's on everyone's mind: the exemption. We can be the first group if we go straight down."

Aldrin: "But we need to decide on who we want to give the exemption to."

Finn: "That's what I hope to discuss."

Russell: "I'll stay behind first. You guys gave me an exemption in the first mission."

Finn: "Thanks bud. Who will stay behind next?"

Aria: "The last time something like this happened, we decided along the way. Maybe let's solve the puzzle first. What's sometimes a grocery clerk and 7 letters long, or served with mash?"

Finn: "You can do that when the rest of us are going down. We just need to decide on one of us. That's it."

Aldrin: "You really want this. Why do you deserve it?"

Finn: "About that...you see..."

Anthony: "I want the exemption too. I have never had an exemption in my life."

Aria: "Because you won't ever see one outside of the Smole."

Finn: "Okay, you know what? I'm going down. Russell already volunteered to stay behind first. You help us fill in these answers here, okay?"

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Lawrence: "To hire a boat or plane. RESERVATION? That's too many letters."

Anita: "Let's just scribble something down."

Lydia: "ET, PHONE home. This one is fairly simple. Do you need help over there?"

Anita: "No we're good. Let's not waste too much time."

Lydia: "What's your answer?"

Anita: "We don't know but we don't plan on dwelling on it. We're in a race."

Lydia: "What's the clue?"

Lawrence: "You can stay behind and see for yourself because we're just wasting time talking with ourselves."

Ximena: "I'll stay behind. I can try and help to figure out the 7-letter word."

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Anthony: "Financial executives?"

Aria: "Banker."

Aldrin: "That's 6 letters."

Aria: "Then bankers."

Anthony: "Aria, you are a genius!"

Aria: "Why thank you! I like to do those cryptic crossword puzzles and I find that adding an 's' works most of the time."

 

Finn: "Guys, guys. We don't have time for this. We need to be the first group down."

Aldrin: "You mean you want to be the first one down."

Anthony: "I want too!"

Aldrin: "Do you need it? You said you know who the Mole is."

Anthony: "Is that what an exemption is for?"

Aria: "Yes. It's for those who don't know who the Mole is."

Anthony: "Oh. Then okay, I stay."

Finn: "Nice, that's settled. Now let's hurry down."

Anthony: "Perhaps the most important thing in a relationship...love? Lovess?"

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Anthony: "I have never done word ladders before and now I know why. They are too much effort. You have to know the language very well and need to climb up and down ladders. This is a boring mission."

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Anita: "What do teeth do when they are cold? CLATTER."

Lawrence: "Not CHATTER? It also says idle talk."

Anita: "Oh, maybe you're right."

Lydia: "Likely to do something...the earlier one was PHONE...PRONE."

Lawrence: "The other group is here."

Finn: "Oh shit. We have to go down now."

Aldrin: "I'm switching over. You're clearly not going to give in."

Anita: "You're coming over? But that means we need to leave two behind."

Aldrin: "Finn is rushing to get to the bottom first. If I want the exemption I need to switch."

Lydia: "But you're giving him an easier time now. His group doesn't need to leave anyone behind."

Lawrence: "I have a plan."

Finn: "Quick, let's go down."

Lawrence: "Wait! I'm coming over to your group."

Finn: "Shit."

Lawrence: "A framework, often supporting a roof or bridge. That's a truss."

Finn: "Lawrence, here's the plan. We're going straight down. We agreed that I will go down to the end."

Aria: "No we didn't. You couldn't justify yourself. I'm the one who earned the most points so far. I'm most deserving of it."

Lawrence: "I'm still here."

Finn: "We gave you the exemption in the first mission. It's your fault for not getting it."

Aria: "And we can't have everyone who switches over come and fight for it."

Lawrence: "Too bad."

Lydia: "Aren't you allergic to the sun? You shouldn't go to the top."

Anita: "A short while is fine."

Lydia: "Allergies are serious business. You shouldn't risk your health over this."

Anita: "But..."

Aldrin: "No buts. You should take care of yourself first."

Lawrence: "They're already going and I plan on too. We can stay here and nobody gets the exemption."

Finn: "Fuck! Fine, fine! I'll stay, okay? Are you happy now?"

Aria: "Let's go down Lawrence."

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Anthony: "Buzzo! Why are you back?"

Aldrin: "I switched sides."

Anthony: "Can I too?"

Aldrin: "But you agreed you wouldn't vie for the exemption."

Lydia: "This type of juice gets things moving. The previous word was PRONE. Hmm, I have no clue."

Lydia: "Noisy commotion. They said CHATTER earlier. I think this is CLATTER."

Anthony: "Can you come here and help me with mine?"

Aldrin: "Screw it. I'm going up while they're distracted."

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Lawrence: "We're going to have to decide who gets the exemption."

Aria: "Let's solve the puzzle first. Whoever solves theirs first goes. Quarrels petulantly? ARGUE, no...BICKERS? Ah, BICKERS!"

Lawrence: "Lock of woman's hair or former Ohio State football coach. Huh? Tressel is 7 letters."

Aria: "Hey, you're not done yet!"

Lawrence: "You pushed me!"

Aria: "Sorry!"

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Lawrence: "I didn't really care for the exemption. I just wanted to make life difficult for them. It's fun to see them squirm and get nervous over someone else trying to compete for it."

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John: "So you're the one to make it to the end."

Aria: "Yes. The rules say that the first to stay can't switch groups so I'm safe."

Aria: "I need to get the last word of at least one rung correct if I want that exemption. This can be a full court in basketball. I'm not too familiar with basketball. The other rung has two words: Bargains for a better price, and last name of a famous British novelist. I'm going to have to guess a 7-letter name that's close to BICKERS."

Aldrin: "What you find on a messy desktop...that's CLUTTER. But what's a group of grapes? Is it not just group? Let me take a look at the other side. Oh, don't be such a...PRUDE! I got it!"

Will Aria get to the end first?

Or will Aldrin reach first?

Will either of them have a last word right?

And will they even choose an exemption in the end?

Aria: "Congratulations, you are eligible for the exemption with your final word DICKENS. To receive it, you must sacrifice half the points in the 7-letter ladder. If this happens, the first contestant that chose to stay behind in the other group would also get an exemption. What? I don't know how many points we got on that rung but I feel it's our stronger one. And I don't know if I want John to get an exemption."

Aria: "I made my decision."

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Lydia: "What's the outcome?"

Aria: "I didn't take the exemption. I had to sacrifice half the points for it. We already did that two missions ago so I'm not going to do that again."

"We have taken a look at the word ladders. In total, 13/24 words were correct, so 65/120 points have been earned."

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Anita: "I wouldn't have done that. I really need the exemption. I can feel it in my bones. If she was going to sacrifice the exemption then she might as well let me have it."

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Aria's noble sacrifice has brought the pot to 183/300 points. Will she sacrifice herself in the next execution ceremony too?

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Results: 

Word Ladder #1

• SHONE (The sun did this through the window)
• PHONE ("ET, ___ home") 
• Answer given: PHONF
• PRONE (Likely to do something)
• PRUNE (This type of juice should get bowels moving)
• Answer given: PRONG
• PRUDE ("Oh, don't be such a ____") 

Word Ladder #2

• CRUST (Part of a pie)
• Answer given: None
• TRUST (Perhaps the most important thing to have in a relationship) 
• Answer given: LOVER
• TRUSS (Framework, often supporting roof or bridge) 
• TRESS (Lock of a woman's hair, or nickname for former Ohio State football coach)
• Answer given: None
• PRESS (This can be full court in basketball) 
• Answer given: None

Word Ladder #3

• CHARGES (Cavalry manouvres, or credit card expenses) 
• CHARGER (LA athlete, or cell phone accessory) 
• CHARTER (Hire a boat or plane)
• Answer given: BOOKING
• CHATTER (Idle talk, or what teeth do when cold)
• CLATTER (Noisy commotion)
• CLUTTER (What you find on a messy desktop)
• CLUSTER (Group of grapes) 
• Answer given: None

Word Ladder #4

• BAGGERS (Grocery clerks, at times)
• Answer given: None
• BANGERS (They're served with mash)
• Answer given: None
• BANKERS (Financial executives) 
• BACKERS (Supporters of cause/venture)
• BICKERS (Quarrels petulantly)
• DICKERS (Bargains for better price)
• Answer given: None
• DICKENS (Last name of a famous British novelist)