"The Mole" recaplet (Ep. 3): Brought to you by the number 10

Luckily for Bobby, The Mole's gay player, last night's episode was free of physically demanding challenges to leave him coughing, clutching at his hips in pain or limping. Instead players took a luge ride and then had a spa day ... one that eventually sent them all wandering the streets of Chile in their underwear.

The first challenge sends the players down a luge, with one person blindfolded and the other barking orders. While they speed downhill, they pass by signs with pictures of fruit and, based on their teammate's descriptions, the blindfolded member must recall the fruit signs in order. Bobby goes first in the "Fruit of the Luge" challenge with Clay wearing the blindfold. Bobby makes a few mistakes (including describing a picture of an avocado as a pear) that raise Clay's suspicions, but Bobby's worst mistake comes when he breaks one of the rules of the challenge and keeps talking after they've passed the finish line. That gets their effort disqualified, earning no money for the prize pot.

In the extra scenes at the show's website, it is revealed early on that Bobby entered into a coalition with Mark, with each promising to form a side-coalition with another person. We finally see Bobby's coalition with Mark tonight, just in time to see Clay (Mark's side-collation) turn Mark against Bobby.

The next day, the contestants are treated to a spa day. However, after some time enjoying the pool, hot tub, sauna and massage facilities, they find out that their clothes have been snatched away by the producers for "dry cleaning" and aren't ready yet. Since the next treat planned is dinner at a restaurant with a strict dress code, they now have to walk around the city in their underwear and convince people to give them their clothes so that they can be suitably attired by dinnertime.

Bobby teams up with Nicole and the heavy set Craig, who hilariously notes he and the slender Bobby look "like a walking impersonation of the number ten." They find some success but the effort becomes entirely moot when Craig finds the laundromat where their clothes were taken. Arriving at the restaurant with everyone's clothes, they learn that the directions they were given to the restaurant also had a hidden clue to the location of the laundromat, where they could have just picked up their clothes.

Find out who went home and more after the break!

That little clue about the laundromat nicely illustrates the mind games the producers play on the cast throughout the competition. Clues are snuck into the game throughout, including hints to the Mole's identity that aren't revealed until the endgame when the cast is reunited and the Mole is revealed. Unfortunately, Bobby thinks he spotted such a clue during the "Fruit of the Luge" challenge when host Jon Kelley was munching on an apple. Bobby thought that pointed to Paul, who's from the Big Apple, New York. (Nicole displays a similar kind of thinking when she suspects Bobby as being the Mole because he has five letters in his name and the number five has been popping up pretty frequently. If you think that's crazy see what Mole fans think of the number eleven this season ... that's the kind of paranoia this game puts in your head.)

That mistake ends up costing Bobby the game as he has the lowest score on the quiz this week. While he caused a bit of drama in the first two episodes, seeing him leave reveals the friendships he's built. Victoria, who defended him against Paul last week, tears up, saying she came as close to trusting him as she'd trust anyone in this game while Craig also talks about how much he'll miss Bobby in the game.

On the bright side, at least Bobby's execution means that Paul likely isn't the Mole and won't be sticking around throughout the season.

Bobby isn't the only one to leave the game last night, however. Before the test results are revealed, Kelley offers a bribe to the players to walk away from the game, a bribe Ali eventually takes (eliminating another one of my major Mole suspects). At this point everyone feels safe, since the last time a bribe was offered there was no execution, and Bobby confidently states that he wouldn't have taken the bribe even if it were down to him and one other person. Knowing how reality TV editors love foolishly confident statements like that, once we found out someone wasn't going home voluntarily it was pretty clear it would be Bobby.

So. Bobby embarrassingly leaves The Mole with nothing when he had the chance to walk away with $30,000 (he even has to share a ride off-premises with Ali and her $30,000). In the extended interview at the show's site, he says he was less interested in the money than the chance for adventure and to try to find the Mole. What do you think: sincere sentiment or an attempt to maintain his ego? As a fan of the game, I'm also wondering if he's feeling haunted by thoughts of Dorothy, the season two winner who would have been eliminated the last time a player took a bribe to leave the game.

Now that the gay contestant is gone, our coverage is sadly pretty much over for the season. But we've created a new forum for the show so folks who still enjoy the mystery can keep discussing the rest of the game. Check it out!