The Mole season 2 episode 1 finished on a cliffhanger as the contestants waited to find out who was being eliminated; Neesh, Jen, or Deanna. Fortunately, episode 2 has the answers. Unfortunately, for outspoken Jen, her time in The Mole is over and she’s the first in the competition to go.
After Jen’s departure, the rest of the contestants insist that whoever took the advantage in the elimination quiz, which viewers know is Muna, should speak up. But, she chooses not to.
Instead, the 11 remaining contestants head to Tioman Island for their next mission. Two boats full of contestants discuss their suspicions on the way. Tony continues to throw confusion to his fellow players saying, “If they suspect it’s me, the more likely they are to answer questions wrong and the more likely they are to go home." And Andy takes the opportunity to raise his suspicions about the potential sabotage from his sniper team during the first mission.
Treasure island
Ari greets the contestants on Tioman Island to tell them that their next mission will be a treasure hunt. They must find the map in an abandoned shack that will help them find two hidden clues. One, the location of a sunken ship. Two, a supply dump. If they can find the clues, they’ll find the spot where the treasure is buried. To get the treasure off the island though, they must build a raft to float out to a buoy and set off a flare. In The Mole, nothing is simple. Complete the mission and it’s $15,000 for the prize pot.
A two-hour timer starts and they set out as a team. Neesh decides to take charge again, like he did in the first mission. While Neesh nominates Deanna, Sean, and Andy as the older members of the group to build the raft, Muna nominates herself to join even though she says, “I have never built a raft a day in my life.”
Neesh, Q, and Tony head for the supply dump at Smashing Rock. Tony expresses his suspicions of Neesh and wants to keep an eye on him. The remaining four; Ryan, Mike, Melissa, and Hannah head to the shipwreck.
Unfortunately, the supply team gets lost, the raft team aren’t sure how big they should build their raft, and the shipwreck crew, after finally finding the ship, aren’t sure they can dive deep enough to get to it.
There’s some hope when Q figures out the route to the supply dump, but the players can’t find the clue, sorting instead through tins of sardines and fruit. Back at the shipwreck, it appears Mike is the only one who can reach the box they need, but he keeps dropping it, which makes Ryan ask, “did he drop it on purpose?” as he throws it further down onto the sea bed. And, at the raft, Andy ties knot after knot, quickly running out of rope. With so many mishaps, it’s hard to know who could be the Mole saboteur.
The supply team finally spots the clue hanging above them and grabs it. Mike finally gets the emergency kit he dropped and retrieves their half of the clue. Back on land, they put the clues together to make, “To find the treasure, fold under pressure.” Using the original map, they locate the treasure on the beach underneath a hanging cross of sticks.
After digging up two heavy treasure chests, the team successfully gets both secured on the raft and the raft stays afloat until a barrel comes unstuck from the bottom of the raft throwing the whole mission into jeopardy. Andy worries that this is sabotage and that Tony pushed it out. The others worry Andy didn't tie the knots well. But, still, they manage to make it to the buoy with all members of the team getting onboard and shooting the flare for a successful mission. $45,000 in the prize pot.
Following the mission, the talk continues around suspicions. Muna raises her concerns about Andy’s knots failing, while Andy doesn’t understand how the barrels came out from under the raft. But, the conversation doesn’t last long as Ari makes another appearance to tell the players that they’ll all be taking part in another elimination quiz. Adding, “Or perhaps one of you won’t,” pulling out an exemption card from his pocket.
The exemption twist
The exemption card from Ari allows the player who holds it to automatically pass on to the next round. While it sounds too good to be true, it is. To win the exemption card, you have to be the last player remaining in the room. But, while the players wait to see who that last person will be, the prize pot decreases.
Melissa is the first to leave with the suggestion that because they put Neesh in a vulnerable position in the first mission he should get the exemption saying, “I don’t know what else to do, because there’s nothing that’s keeping the Mole from just sitting there and running the clock down.”
After Melissa’s suggestion though, Hannah says she doesn’t feel comfortable letting Neesh have it. So, Tony proposes an ultimatum and says he’s willing to let the money run down to zero. To this, Deanna leaves. With no one else moving, Tony says, “So, we’re all in agreement that we’re going to have zero dollars and no exemption?” Adding, he doesn’t even care about the money, he just wants to win. Q gets irate, yelling, “You come on this show to win money! Not to lose money!”
To this, Neesh and Q leave. Hannah agrees with Tony that no one should get it, but if it ends up just her and Tony, he’ll give it to her. Andy and Sean leave, followed by Mike, Muna, then Ryan. As predicted, Tony and Hannah remain. Hannah says, “I get everything I want when I flirt.” And the episode finishes with Hannah winking at the camera and saying, “I’ve never had a guy say no to me.”
