RECAP: “The Circle” (U.S.) Season 7, Episodes 5-8
We’re now halfway through “The Circle” Season 7, and I think it’s safe to say that we are SO back. This season is a HUGE improvement over the last few, and these players — and the twists — are really bringing it. Great characters, smart (and also some very stupid) gameplay, and TONS of drama.
The four episodes released on Netflix today can really be split into two groups. The first two episodes dealt with the fallout of the E4 Disruptor twist, with “Rachel” and Madelyn forced to switch profiles, and scrambling to stay in the game. Loved it. Smart game play, some surprising moves, and all in all terrific episodes. Episodes 7 and 8 took a darker turn, as not one but TWO players created a smear campaign against another player, based on absolutely nothing but lies. That’s…not great.
Me watching Episode 8:
Read on for my current power rankings of the “Circle” 7 players, listed from who I think is playing the worst game, to the best. Disagree with my takes? Drop yours in the comments!
Darian (29, Houston, Texas)
Well, I think Darian may be fucked. I thought he was playing a decent game in the first four episodes. He had an extremely tight No. 1 in Jadejha, with whom he may have found the first genuine “Circle” relationship because the two of them are genuinely adorable together. He had a good secondary alliance with the #BroCode (Andy, Kevin). He was hanging back but not making any enemies. A low-key game is a smart game, especially if you have reliable allies. Things turned quickly in the new batch of episodes, as the #BroCode alliance completely fell apart — largely due to external factors, but also because Kevin cannot be trusted — and Darian unwittingly found himself the target of what became a malicious smear campaign at the hands of Madelyn, and compounded by Kevin. Darian continued to enjoy strong support from Jadejha, “Gianna,” and Garret, which I thought would have balanced out the intense negativity being ginned up by Madelyn and Kevin. But Madelyn and Kevin got to work quickly pulling “Rachel” and new player Tierra into their corner, which left Darian in last place in the E7/E8 rankings. Darian — who had been desperate to use the Disruptor button when he WASN’T in danger, so I hoped he would use it once he was very clearly in danger — did in fact get that power, which was to hand select the second Influencer (“Gianna” was the first, as voted in the rankings). For a minute I assumed Darian was in the clear, because OBVIOUSLY he would pick Jadejha, who would absolutely have his back. And then…no. In a decision that I think will cost Darian this game, he decided to put his faith in former #BroCode alliance mate Kevin, with whom he thought he had resolidified a relationship, even though Kevin was openly lying to him the entire conversation. Big yikes. My assumption here is that Darian thought the calculus was, “Jadejha is already locked in, and I can use this Disruptor power to boost another alliance in Kevin.” From a long-game plan, that makes sense. But it’s the short game that is the issue here, because Kevin wants the very man who put him in a position of power out. I think it is very likely — almost certain, based on the previews for the next group of episodes — that Kevin will succeed in stonewalling the Blocking Ceremony until he gets Darian out. Which is just…shocking. If that happens, Darian will have willingly handed his executioner the ax. Astonishing television, truly.
“Tierra” (Catfish Player Antonio, 31, Nashville, Tennessee)
In the middle of these new episodes we were introduced to “Tierra,” our new player, another catfish. I’ll be perfectly honest: I’m not super engaged with Tierra. Latecomer players have a huge disadvantage in this game; you really have to be skilled to make up for all the bonding time you’ve missed, and to capitalize on the immense power you’re granted by coming in as a free agent midway through. I am not convinced “Tierra” has the ability to do either. Antonio seems heavily self-produced, which I am also not a huge fan of, and “Tierra” came in much too hard during the Wedding Party, immediately turning several players off (although she recovered well enough). Thus far “Tierra” seems mostly to be a number that Kevin and then Madelyn set about trying to lock down, although Jadejha also realized the opportunity and tried to cultivate that relationship. Jadejha even told Tierra that Kevin had broken alliances, which “Tierra” seemed to recognize as a red flag…but then seemingly doubled down with Kevin. Very strange, to be honest. The fact that “Tierra” was ranked 7th of 8 in the last ranking shows how minimal her newcomer bounce was.
Kevin (23, San Diego, California)
I’ll give Kevin some credit: he is playing hard. He is always thinking. He is dialed into this game and he really wants to win. It’s giving Papi Fuego from Season 6, except I actually find Kevin likable. The issue is, Kevin is playing too hard. He has alienated so many players in the Circle, and even if they have “forgiven” him (“Rachel,” “Gianna”) they obviously haven’t. They just haven’t had the chance to cut him out yet. Kevin was playing from the bottom at the beginning of Part 2, and I do think he did a good job regrouping and forming a new, strong alliance with Madelyn and then “Tierra.” The kid really does work fast. But he’s also gullible, and quickly swallowed Madelyn’s poison regarding Darian, turning on one of his initial allies for, again, basically no reason. There’s no doubt that it was smart game play for Kevin to lie to Darian when Darian reached out to solidify their standing — it obviously worked out brilliantly for Kevin, who got tremendous power out of it — but this will play terribly with viewers of the show. As will Kevin further lying in the Block Ceremony, telling “Gianna” that Darian was trying to get her out — which NEVER happened.
I understand the strategy in actively trying to break up the last remaining “couple” in the house, but this kind of blatant lying…viewers are not going to take kindly to that kind of gameplay, and they should not. It’s also quite stupid. Let’s assume Kevin gets his way here, and Darian is Blocked, and he takes the credit/blame for it in the Circle Chat. ALL THREE eliminations thus far will have been Kevin’s Day 1 allies, and he personally will have eliminated 2 out of 3 of them. Why would ANYONE work with Kevin after this? He is completely untrustworthy, and you cannot win “The Circle” if nobody trusts you. There’s no way Jadejha, “Gianna,” or Garret would work with Kevin after this, and “Rachel” already dislikes the guy. He can’t win just being aligned with Madelyn (who has also alienated a good chunk of the Circle) and “Tierra,” who nobody really cares about. Right now he’s a dead man playing.
Madelyn (25, Franklin, Georgia)
Big yikes. At the end of Episode 6 I might have actually ranked Madelyn as my top player. I thought she handled the Disruptor profile switch BRILLIANTLY. I thought that scenario was going to screw her in particular, because her fate was tied to an absolutely toxic (at that point) player. But she really worked her ass off and made some great moves, laundering “Rachel”’s reputation, building new alliances, and launching the shocking but ultimately smart campaign to Block “Andy,” her No. 1. This was genuinely brilliant on her part. She knew that she — as “Rachel” — was in big danger of going on home in the next Blocking, which would end her game; if “Rachel” survived but Madelyn (being played by “Rachel”) didn’t, Madelyn would be stuck playing “Rachel” and unable to tell anyone. And by having her “husband” “Andy” still in the game, she couldn’t use her greatest natural asset: flirting. And she had already started playing that card with Kevin, who was only happy to be the object of her interest.
So Madelyn launched a tremendously successful effort to oust “Andy,” getting not only “Rachel” but also “Gianna” and others on board with booting him. When “Andy” came to visit, you could see that Madelyn felt genuinely sorry that her actions — which she did not admit to Heather/“Andy” — really weighed on her. I liked Madelyn so much in that moment, and I respected her gameplay tremendously.
…Until the following morning. In Circle Chat, Madelyn owned up to being the person that “Andy” visited and then decided to stir up the pot by floating that “Andy” told her that there were untrustworthy people in the game. (“Andy” thought he’d been betrayed by “Gianna,” when in fact it was the person he was sitting right next to.) Madelyn refused to name any names at first, until she ultimately pointed suspicion toward Darian. I’m going to give Madelyn the benefit of the doubt here and assume that this was pure strategy, making a target out of the most vulnerable member of the last remaining “couple” alliance. I don’t even think she intended for this to become what it did. But it snowballed very quickly, egged on by “Rachel” — who becomes unhinged in these group chats and posts aggro messages that leave me gasping — and suddenly half the Circle seems to think that Darian backstabbed “Andy.” Which never happened.
And then it got worse, because Madelyn doubled down on this lie, feeding it directly to Kevin, and then in a group chat with “Rachel” and “Tierra.” It was astonishing watching the righteous indignation no Madelyn’s face as she was shocked and appalled that Darian and his surrogates would stand up for him and call her out, when she was making it all up. Have y’all read Miller’s The Crucible? Because this is how we get The Crucible. If nothing else, this season is a great microcosm on how effective disinformation campaigns can be, and how quickly they can spread based on absolutely nothing. Keep that in mind this election season.
Madelyn is already feeling the repercussions from this shit stirring. She plummeted from 1st Place in the E6 rankings to 6th of 8 in the E8 rankings. She has pissed off Jadejha, “Gianna,” and Garret. I still believe “Tierra” is a total nonentity in this game. She seems to enjoy being a chaos agent, and that’s great for her, but it won’t win this game. And that’s a shame, because I thought she was playing brilliantly for a moment then. But I think she got drunk on power and is now self sabotaging like crazy. I don’t see how this works out for her in the long game.
“Rachel” (Catfish Player Deb, 54, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
I thought “Rachel” was well and truly screwed when last we saw her in Episode 4, but that Disruptor swap was the best thing that could have happened to her game. Playing as Madelyn forced “Rachel” to slow her roll, and to stop acting like a crazy person, as she had started to in the Circle Chats. She also started to see some of the players she had written off in a whole new light, and got some alliance info that I think was quite helpful to her game. I also think it helps that the “Circle” games — which were a huge weakness for her in the first part — have moved away from outing catfish. “Rachel” is thriving in the game right now, in no small part to Madelyn’s time running her profile. Coming in second in the E8 rankings is a real coup for her. Deb is also, it must be said, a WONDERFUL reality TV character. Watching her stress over how to flirt with “Andy” was gold, and I find so much of what she does to charming and authentically silly. Deb is super likable, when she’s not lighting people up in the “Circle” Chats. And that’s her great weakness: I think she gets so wrapped up in this stuff she loses her head, and just starts going for the jugular. $5 says Deb has had some scorching social media comment feuds in her time. I’m chagrined that she seems to be all in on the Madelyn/Kevin/“Tierra” alliance. I get that she and Madelyn implicitly trust each other at this point, and Madelyn is driving the ship right now. But she’s getting hoodwinked far, far too easily. A bummer.
Garret (30, Los Angeles, California)
A good few episodes for Garret. I feel like he has calmed down a bit and has created some solid bonds with a few of the players, especially Jadejha. LOVED the chat they had about their body issues and Jadejha’s family history — really moving stuff. He seems much more locked in with Jadejha and “Gianna,” and by extension Darian. He has very little aggro right now, as proven by his No. 3 placement in the E8 rankings. The concern is that several players don’t seem to really “know” Garret, including “Gianna,” who has emerged as a real power player in this game. I think Garret playing to the middle is very smart, especially right now with the big guns taking shots at one another. I did think the GOAT painting of him was particularly mean spirited, and whoever did that should be ashamed of themselves. I think it Madelyn. She has real mean-girl tendencies. That was completely unnecessary, and cruel for the sake of being cruel. Gross.
Jadejha (24, Houston, Texas)
Jadejha continues to play a brilliant game. She has done such a good job building AUTHENTIC alliances with multiple members of this cast. Obviously her No. 1 in Darian, and I thought her reaction to the Wedding Party non-drama drama was cute and handled well by everyone. I appreciated her outreach to Madelyn in an attempt to defuse a situation that was getting out of hand (and which, let’s face it, could very likely cost her Darian in this game). She has good bonds with “Gianna” and “Rachel,” if she wants to work with them. She humanized herself to the viewers, sharing her difficult upbringing and period living in a group home. She’s giving exactly what needs to be given right now. If Darian gets Blocked next episode, I expect that Jadejha will come out hard in defense of him, and Kevin (and Madelyn) should be concerned — I don’t see Jadejha letting that drop. If there’s any criticism I can give, it was making her relationship with Darian so public, as that’s the main reason Madelyn and Kevin want him out. But then they were ALL doing that, this season in particular. Almost all of the original S7 members were booed up by Episode 2. But it looks right now that the first three eliminations will have taken out a member of those couples, so…beware future “Circle” players.
“Gianna” (Catfish Players JoJo and Nicky, 24, Staten Island, New York)
GREAT episodes for “Gianna.” The twins are A+ casting, a hoot to watch and with very sharp strategic instincts. What I find fascinating is, they are not playing a safe game at ALL. They’ve been spicy in the “Circle” chat, they’ve used the Disruptor button — hell, they were supposed to be Blocked Night 1 and by Episode 8 they’re now at the top of the rankings. You genuinely love to see it. I thought the results of the Marry/Fuck/Kill game were quite telling, as most of the Circle Fam wanted to make out with “Gianna.” The twins are playing really well right now, and while they have enemies — Kevin for sure, probably Madelyn at this point — they have far more support. I do think the “Rachel” situation is going to come to a head in the near future, as they are completely unaligned with their No. 1 ally. It’s fascinating. I also appreciate the twins giving Kevin a hard time in the E8 Blocking. While I do think ultimately they will fold, and Darian will get Blocked — it IS the smarter strategic move to remove one half of the last power couple — I don’t see how that blows back on them. And TBH I think the twins may be smart enough to even capitalize on it. Darian was never one of their alliances! Darian was only connected to a member of their alliance. But Kevin would have been chopping ANOTHER of his supposed allies.
ELIMINATED: “Andy” (Catfish Player Heather, 26, Nashville, Tennessee)
Another bummer elimination — although honestly I don’t know who else I would have wanted to see go, everyone is playing this season, literally everyone. Heather did NOTHING wrong. Heather was screwed by the Disruptor twist, for sure. I do think Madelyn would have flipped on “Andy” eventually, because she is smart enough to know that in order to get more guys in her alliance, she needed to be a free agent, not part of a couple. I don’t think Heather had any reason to suspect that her No. 1 ally would not only betray her, but lead a shockingly effective torpedo campaign against her. Who could have seen that coming? I felt awful for Heather, when she broke down about feeling unloved and unworthy. Heather, you seem AWESOME. You are SO smart, so funny, so kind — I think you’re incredible, and this was 100 percent not on you. You were playing the game, but someone else was playing YOU. I wish her only the best!
What do you think of this season overall? Drop your thoughts in the comments.
