The Smole: 60.11-Fish out of water in water

Last time on the Smole, the contestants had to dive through wells in search of points and the newest shadow Preethi Darwin. 75/100 points were earned, with the pot now at 142/400 points. However, Kara was executed next. Will a shadow soon see an execution or will the original cast be wiped out?

Farncisca: "I suspected Kara. I don't think the producers would make the Mole a shadow, right? I can't imagine the Mole just giving up the opportunity of a lifetime and quitting. So that leaves Kearney, Trenton, Darleen and Maru. I don't think the first three are it, so that leaves Maru?"

Today's mission requires the contestants to paddle to the medal. They will paddle along the iconic Simuyan River. The straightest path is the fastest, but they can take detours at the marked locations to earn up to 40 points in total. In addition, they can earn another 60 points if the first three are as the Mole predicted.

The Mole predicted that the gold medallist and first to finish the race will be Trenton.

The Mole predicted the silver medallist will be Luis.

The Mole predicted the bronze medallist will be Darleen. If they finish in that exact order, 30,20 and 10 points are earned respectively. If any of the predicted medallists finish in the top three but not in the predicted order, that contestant earns 5 points for the pot. 100 points and exemptions can be won today.

Preethi: "Another water-based mission. Lucky me. Lewis must be fuming at home right now. He always preferred being in water."

Darleen: "The Mole is betting based on our fitness. The question is whether we put ourselves first or the group and points first."

Joining the race is the newest shadow: 22-year-old Nadia Cho, a stagehand from Midnight Hollow!

Nadia: "For those of you who are wondering what my relationship to Kara is - we don't have a relationship. I was dining in at her restaurant - shout out to her amazing goopy carbonara! I never had anything like it before - but yes, back to what I was saying. I choked on something. I took it out of my food and I saw a soggy card. I asked Kara about it and she said it was a giveaway. Whoever found that card would have the luxury of being her shadow. So here I am ready to rumble."

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"On your marks, get set..."

"Go!"

Trenton: "I want that exemption!"

Virginia: "You are not alone."

Nadia: "Yoohoo!"

Maru: "La la la, this is so relaxing."

Nadia: "You dirty cheat! You drove me into the edge of the bank!"

Virginia: "All is fair in love and war."

Darleen: "Are you actually paddling on land?"

Nadia: "Be surprised at what a Midnight Hollow Sim can do."

Nadia: "Rocks ahead!"

The contestants have split up. Are they going for the detour?

There is a second fork-off!

Luis: "I just need to pass this detour to get 5 points."

Luis: "Face it. I wasn't going to win that race or be close to the top three, so I might as well make up for it by going for the detour points. No one else was gonna do it."

Maru is in the lead currently, closely followed by Virginia.

But Kearney zips across as the gates to the bridge open with Francisca following his lead!

Trenton: "I was too far behind so I went for my backup plan. I rammed into Virginia and we both capsized. Sorry Virginia."

Virginia: "We are both of high society. Why did you do this?"

Trenton: "It was an accident."

Virginia: "I resent this."

The standing has changed. Preethi is now in the lead followed by Nadia.

Luis: "That's 20 points."

Preethi: "I am the mistress of the water here, not you! You will not beat me!"

Nadia: "We'll see about that after this race...what the?"

Nadia: "I may have damaged my boat by paddling on land. Suddenly my boat stalled...and then it began falling apart! I was so close to victory too! I blame Virginia for edging me to the bank."

It's the final stretch now and Preethi has taken the lead. But it's still anyone's game.

Miriam: "Sorry Darleen, but it looks like you're not gonna make it."

Darleen: "I'm not a quitter. I have to try."

Miriam: "Why not try going on a detour instead?"

Darleen: "You want us to go back?"

Miriam: "I'll go back and claim the detour points. I think there are more points to collect up in front."

Darleen: "Sounds like a plan. That's better than nothing."

Maru: "Mayday! I hit a fish! I'm so sorry fishy! I hope you're still alive."

Maru: "I feel so bad for hitting the fish. It suddenly jumped from nowhere! I was invading its home so it's my fault. At least fish aren't my favourite animal. I would be devastated if it was."

Luis: "This is so tiring."

Francisca: "You caught up."

Luis: "Excuse me. I'll make a detour...has it been one day already?"

Darleen: "There's someone going for a detour too."

Miriam: "And that's 20 points. Now I actually need to get back...maybe it was a mistake going so far back."

Preethi: "The finish line is right there."

Kearney: "I'm going to be the victor. I may not be well-trained in water but I will beat you on land!"

"Congratulations Preethi. You have won the race, so you get a gold medal!"

Preethi: "I told you nobody can beat the mistress of the water."

Preethi: "Inside my gold medal was a golden exemption. I will be exempted from the next quiz. On top of that, if I score the lowest in the next quiz, everyone will go through to the next episode."

"Congratulations Kearney. You have finished second, so you get a silver medal!"

Kearney: "Second is not good enough!"

Kearney: "I am disappointed with myself for not finishing first. Fortunately I still get a silver exemption, which is a normal exemption, but I can play it at any time I want. This experience has taught me that I am like a fish out of water in water. I need to train myself in this area when I return to Dragon Valley. No military-trained elf has ever mastered aqua-warfare before. I shall be the first!"

"Congratulations Maru. You have finished third, so you get a bronze exemption."

Maru: "Yay! What does a bronze exemption do?"

Maru: "Apparently a bronze exemption saves you in the event of a tie by reducing your time taken in the quiz. This is super duper useful. I could have been part of all the ties and narrowly missed execution!"