RECAP: “The Circle” (U.S.) Season 7, Episodes 9-12
They are not screwing around on “The Circle” Season 7. Everyone left in the game as of the penultimate episode is playing hard, and in it to win it. I appreciate that. I really do. In fact, they’re all playing so hard that I found myself getting irrationally angry over some of the stunts and shenanigans that happened in episodes 9-12, and I was grateful that the show reminded viewers (and players!) several times: This. Is. A. Game. Everyone involved knows it’s a game. And we need to keep that in mind as we consume and dissect these episodes. Thanks for the reminder, Circle!
While all six players left in the game are playing hard, they do not all have an equal chance to win. In fact, I think only a few of them have any real shot at the $100,000 prize at this point — but given how unpredictable almost all these rankings have been thus far, maybe I’m totally off about that.
Read on for my current power rankings of the “Circle” 7 players, listed from who I think has the LEAST shot to win, to the MOST likely winner. Disagree with my takes? Drop yours in the comments!
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“Tierra” (Catfish Player Antonio, 31, Nashville, Tennessee)
I don’t think “Tierra” has any chance to win the game. Late arrivals are typically at a disadvantage in “The Circle” — although they have won before, if they play the game well. I just don’t think “Tierra” is doing that. Does she have any actual allies in the house? Or are they all alliances out of convenience? That’s how it feels to me. “Tierra” has successfully positioned herself as a number to be worked with, but she hasn’t capitalized on that to make any real connections, from what we have been shown. In fact, numerous players have called out the fact that “Tierra” is messy and very likely a catfish — there is seemingly very little trust there. I appreciated that “Tierra” tried to reach out to Jadejha to attempt to bond over their surprisingly similar backgrounds, but it felt like too little, too late, and too convenient, and Jadejha seemed to feel that way, too. “Tierra” seemed to clue into Kevin being a backstabber and Madelyn being a shit-stirrer, but honestly, you would have to be literally headless to not pick up on that at this point. A “Tierra” win would be a deeply dissatisfying ending to an otherwise excellent season. To me, her only role here is potentially to fuck up the final ratings as a chaos agent. Which I think could absolutely happen.
Kevin (23, San Diego, California)
In the It’s Giving Awards, I believe Kevin was selected as “It’s Giving Lucky.” That’s apt, because Kevin is the luckiest player in this game, possibly for any season. Despite being trusted by pretty much only one person in the Circle (Madelyn), Kevin has now been an Influencer THREE out of FOUR TIMES. That is absolutely astonishing, especially given that in 2 of those times, he got rid of one of his own allies.
There is, however, an explanation for this. Kevin is not not being chosen to be an Influencer because he is liked; he is being kept in the game because he is, in “Survivor” parlance, a “goat.” He is unlikable and untrusted, and poses very little risk of winning the game if he makes it to the final. That’s a correct read on the situation. Madelyn has aligned with Kevin sincerely — game recognize game, I guess — and “Gianna” has aligned with Kevin solely for gameplay benefit. Other than that, every other person left in the Circle has written off Kevin and want to drag him to the end as a nonthreat.
The issue is that, so many of them were thinking along those lines — protecting their sacrifice to the finale — that a majority of them rated him highly in the fifth rankings, leading to him actually getting to play as Influencer AGAIN. This was an epically bad for Jadejha in particular, because it cost her a second close ally, and also further cemented the Kevin/“Gianna” alliance that will likely kill her game completely.
The irony of all of this is, Kevin thinks he’s playing a great game. He thinks he’s running the Circle. He thinks everyone is gunning for him — seriously, every time he’s eliminated someone it’s because they were “trying to get me out,” when in reality everyone is working to keep him IN because he’s such a non-threat. I don’t think Kevin has any shot in the final rankings. Madelyn will rate him high, the rest will rate him low. But if he were to somehow win, it would be shocking and lowkey hilarious. This would be all of these players getting played.
Jadejha (24, Houston, Texas)
A brutal group of episodes for Jadejha. I was correct that Jadejha’s No. 1, Darian, was the teased elimination in Episode 9 — editors who made that preview, you really removed any doubt as to who was going home based on the clips you selected — and that was a huge blow to her game. The tin-foil lining (not a silver lining, a tin-foil one) is that Darian did go to meet his Circle Wife upon elimination, and their connection is even more adorable in person than it was over chat. The way I HOWLED at Jadejha’s repeated screams over him — it was honestly one of the sweetest things I’ve ever seen on this show. No idea what has become of the two of them, but I hope they continued to see each other in the real world. SUCH an endearing couple.
But the dark days were not over for Jadejha, as the next elimination robbed her of her No. 2, Garret, with his boot in Episode 10. This functionally cratered Jadejha’s game. While she has tenuous relationships with “Rachel” and “Gianna” — although the latter spiked her two biggest alliances, so…not really — she had very loose ties to “Tierra,” Madelyn, and Kevin. Jadejha is smart, and knew she needed to scramble to put something together at the 11th hour, which meant finding what lifelines she could, and also creating a new target for everyone to focus on: “Gianna,” who is without question running this game.
I appreciated the game here, and I think Jadejha is playing her hand as well as she possibly could at this point. But given what she has left, I think her chances of winning are pretty low. I don’t see Madelyn or Kevin rating her high in the final rankings. “Tierra” and “Rachel” might, especially given how little trust they have in the two previously mentioned players. I honestly don’t know where “Gianna” puts her at this point. I think there’s a shot Jadejha could pull out a victory at this point, and it would be an AMAZING come-from-behind victory. But my instinct tells me that she’s pretty stuck in the middle of the pack at this point. Which is precisely where Madelyn, Kevin, and “Gianna” wanted her.
Madelyn (25, Franklin, Georgia)
What an arc for Madelyn, my goodness. When she first came in I considered her a nonentity. In Part 2 she impressed the hell out of me with some savvy gameplay during the “Rachel” profile switch. Then she lost me with that heinous Darian smear campaign — which was so convincing even SHE started to believe her own lies — and intense defensiveness at other players daring to call her out for her shitty behavior. And now that she’s playing from the bottom again, I kind of live for her whole “let’s set the world on fire” mentality.
I flop back and forth on this player each episode. What I’ve come down to is that she’s a very good game player — I think the BEST in this game honestly, certainly the best shit stirrer and manipulator — and overall a pretty messy person. I get it, it’s a game! Her own mother said in the video message, “Do whatever you have to do to win; apologize later.” Real nice, mom. If you needed to sum up 21st Century Americans in a sentence, it would be literally that statement. And they wouldn’t even mean the “apologize later” bit. There will be no apology. Not a sincere one, at least.
But you have to hand it to Madelyn. After all the scheming, the lying, the manipulating, I think she has a better-than-average chance at winning this game. She and Kevin are very tight, and are likely to rank each other first in the final rankings. She is in a good place with “Rachel” thanks to leveraging their swap experience; I suspect “Rachel” will rank her No. 2 after “Gianna.” Jadejha probably will not rank her super low (Kevin will almost certainly be her lowest). I can even see “Gianna” ranking Madelyn 3.
How well is Madelyn doing right now? She was voted the Super Secret Influencer at the end of E12, and she alone will decide the final elimination of the game, which she has to do in person. Madelyn is very smart, and I think she must know that the biggest threat to her game is “Gianna,” who has been driving this car for most of the season, even while Kevin takes most of the brunt of the backlash. She could choose to axe Jadejha, but I think she knows that they’ve already ousted most of her strong supporters. She could boot “Rachel,” but as of right now, it seems like “Rachel” is poised to rate her highly.
I think there is an actual path for Madelyn to win this game, which given that she has more or less directed at least half of the Blockings, is…astonishing. It’s a real testament to her Lady MacBeth gameplay. Even if Madelyn doesn’t win, you can bet your ass she will show up on some Netflix reality spinoff. She is perfect for this world.
“Rachel” (Catfish Player Deb, 54, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
Speaking of terrific arcs, ladies and gentlemen, “Rachel.” I thought “Rachel” was going to be an early to mid-season boot based on her flailing in the Circle games, losing her cool in Circle chats, and then that mid-season profile swap with Madelyn. But just like “Circle” 6’s winner, Brandon/“Olivia,” Deb/“Rachel” has grown tremendously in this game, and is playing a much more strategic and assured game as we enter the home stretch. I think she actually has a shot to win this, especially if Madelyn blocks “Gianna” as I fear she is going to do.
While several of the players are wary of “Rachel” — many if not most of them are pretty convinced she’s a catfish, although really, who cares at this point? — I don’t think anyone outright dislikes her, or resents her game. She has no real blood on her hands, having not been part of any eliminations. She has two strong allies in “Gianna” and Madelyn, who would likely rate her in the finale. Tierra and Jadejha are unlikely to place her at the bottom of their rankings, as there are much bigger threats at the table. I honestly think she could pull this off. That is, unless Madelyn blocks her instead of “Gianna.” Which is possible. I think it’s unlikely, but…it could happen.
The last thing I’ll say about Deb/“Rachel” is that she has been a delight to watch this season. Even when she was losing it in a Circle Chat, or getting suckered into an alliance with liars, she seemed authentically herself (yes, even playing someone else) and made for great TV. I loved her moment with Kevin over the lifeguard stuff — iconic scene, and played to perfection by Deb — and that meeting with Garret was AMAZING. It started off SO tense — he was PISSED at first with her being a catfish — and then it very quickly mutated to the sweetest, most heart-wrenching in-person exchange we’ve had this season at least, possibly Top 5 for “The Circle” overall. It made me feel for both of those people in a very real way, and want BOTH of them to succeed, in this game and in life.
“Gianna” (Catfish Players JoJo and Nicky, 24, Staten Island, New York)
Assuming that “Gianna” survives the Madelyn Influencer blocking — and that’s a HUGE assumption — I think “Gianna” wins “The Circle” 7. And it would be so deserved. JoJo and Nicky are A-tier reality-TV contestants, constantly giving us great sound bites and surprisingly sharp strategic moves. When you consider they were almost Blocked in the very beginning, that’s astonishing. (BTW where did the Disruptor button go? It’s annoying when this show introduces a great twist and then forgets it entirely halfway through the season.)
I don’t think “Gianna” has made any strategic missteps since they pushed that button. It’s been smart calls over and over, the smartest arguably being agreeing to an uneasy alliance with Kevin, leveraging his connections to ensure an easy path to the finale over one or more players who are largely disliked by the rest of the competition. A “Gianna” win would feel incredibly deserved…which is probably why we won’t get it. It’s almost TOO obvious, and if there’s one major flaw in “Gianna” and their game, it’s being such a huge, obvious threat for so much of the game. Being an Influencer three times in a row — and each time earning it, not being handed it like Kevin was twice — is basically advertising that you are the player to beat. And I think that’s going to ultimately bite them in the ass.
But, like Madelyn, I fully expect we’ll see at least the single twin on some Netflix spinoff or another.
ELIMINATED: Darian (29, Houston, Texas)
Darian selecting Kevin as his chosen Influencer in Episode 8 will go down as one of the all-time great boner moves of “The Circle.” As I said in the last blog, it’s understandable: Darian was playing chess, trying to firm up his shaky alliance with Kevin. But Kevin isn’t even playing checkers; he’s just charging at things like a bull. He is so gullible that he will believe whatever bit of info is fed to him —and believe that he is, somehow, incredibly popular in this game despite everyone coming for him constantly! It’s a real shame for Darian, but at least he got to meet Jadejha through all of this, so perhaps that was the real prize all along.
ELIMINATED: Garret (30, Los Angeles, California)
This was a tough watch. I think Garret was playing a pretty good game once he got past his initial over-eagerness in joining the Circle. He made good connections with several of the players, including Jadejha and “Rachel.” His plan to play the middle was a smart one. His issue, like Darian, was not realizing that everyone else was thinking about the finale starting with the middle of the season, which led to ratings that made no logical sense. You could feel Garret’s frustration coming through the TV screen, and I felt for him. That whole last ranking to his Blocking must have been miserable for him.
I especially felt for him in his meeting with “Rachel”/Deb. When he broke down and confessed that he had been living in Dubai for months, and felt incredibly isolated — it all clicked. Between that and his sheltered/closeted earlier life, the intense “Pick Me” energy upon entering the game made perfect sense. I came to really love Garret. He’s a gorgeous man and seems like a total sweetheart, and I hope he is in a much better headspace now. And he can be relieved to know that, like every other person eliminated in this game thus far, he honestly didn’t do anything wrong. He wasn’t booted because he wasn’t liked. He was booted to screw up someone else’s game. That’s the honest truth of it.
What do you think of this season overall? Who do you think wins “The Circle” Season 7? Drop your thoughts in the comments.