Kriti Mehrotra
As a reality competition series we can only describe as a blend of justified lies, deception, and paranoia, Netflix’s ‘The Mole’ truly lives up to the reputation around its original ABC production. After all, there is a ruthless saboteur amid the 12 contestants as they undertake a variety of challenges in an attempt to add money into the final prize pot — but that’s actually the whole point. So now, since the first five episodes of this rebooted extravaganza have landed on our screens, let’s delve into whether the undeniably suspicious Joi could really be the traitor or not, shall we?
Unveiling Joi’s True Motives
If we’re being honest, Joi inadvertently put a target on her back the moment she stepped foot into the game owing to the simple fact her comfort, as well as her confidence, was through the roof. Then her taking a high-risk leading position without yielding any rewards, all the while making it evident it’ll be impossible to tell when she’s bluffing or double-bluffing, didn’t help her case either. That’s because she’s a Commercial Airline Pilot by profession, yet she failed to navigate her small team to the right spot for the success of their very first mission despite having a map in hand.
Joi obviously didn’t have a clear defense for this, and her actions throughout the second challenge — the Boggo Road Gaol jailbreak in Brisbane — also raised more questions than answers. Did she genuinely not see the key right outside Kesi’s door? Did she do her best to search her own cell for clues? And did she work as quickly as possible in the last few moments to get free? It’s all open-ended, but there was definitely a sense of distrust around her, only for it to briefly be cast aside when she seemed to care about money more than anything else during mission #3.
However, with Joi choosing to be a part of the diving team instead of the flying squad — her unquestionable strength — for the Great Barrier Reef treasure hunt, things began to waver again. It subsequently did look like she was doing her best in the water, yet the feeling didn’t last for long since the challenge was a bust, and she soon took out $25,000 from the total $28,500 prize pot. Joi actually made this exorbitant bid to ensure she got the elimination exemption simply because she felt completely unprepared for it before casually claiming the money could be re-earned.
It’s thus imperative to note that Joi was never a part of any individual team that won significant capital for the pot, which remained consistent through the fifth and sixth challenges as well. The latter honestly could’ve been a chance for her to redeem herself as it required navigational skills, but she failed to deliver once again (alongside Jacob Hacker) in every sense of the term. Then, of course, there’s the fact she admitted she’s greedy for another elimination exemption and would do anything for it, even hinder the group from adding $15,000 to their dwindled pot.
Therefore, with the way her confidence has gone from sky-high to down-low and her sheer disregard for the prize fund, either Joi is a great actress or the game indeed took its heavy toll on her. And we, for one, believe it’s the former, especially since she not only never showed an ounce of fear during the missions but also soon managed to bluff her way to the possible $15,000/exemption. In other words, owing to Joi’s unwavering focus at each turn, it’s highly likely she is the mole.
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