RECAP: “The Circle” (U.S.) Season 7 FINALE
And we have a winner for Netflix’s “The Circle” Season 7! I think this was a great season for the show, which has struggled in notable ways the preceding few. The early game included a slew of likable, memorable players that evoked the early season “golden period” of the show, and about mid-way through the play style shifted dramatically for a more aggressive, surprising game.
Need to catch up on the show? Missed my previous recaps? You can read them here: Previous “The Circle” Season 7 Recaps
Read on for my takes on the Final 6 players, listed in order of finish in the game. SPOILERS AHOY! Disagree with my takes? Drop yours in the comments!
ELIMINATED/6th Place: Jadejha (24, Houston, Texas)
Picking up from the Episode 12 cliffhanger, Jadejha was the final Blocking of the season, informed in person by Super Secret Influencer Madelyn. I was stunned by this. I thought for sure that Madelyn — who, for all her faults, is a savvy player with a strong strategic mind — would block one of the two obvious threats in the game, “Rachel” or “Gianna.” “Gianna” in particular had a massive target on her, having been voted in as an Influencer not one, not twice, but THREE TIMES. Obviously “Gianna” was running this game, and the fact that Madelyn chose not to take the shot when it was handed to her without strings is…really odd.
Instead she picked Jadejha, for…reasons? Their interaction wasn’t super clear regarding what Madelyn was thinking. She offered up some word salad about not knowing who to trust, and feeling like Jadejha was coming for her, which: you had just successfully kicked out her two closest allies. She’s supposed to NOT see you as an adversary? Bonkers mentality.
My issue is, because Madelyn had ousted Garret and Darian, Jadejha’s power in the game was essentially neutralized. She was not at the top of the alliances of literally anyone left — maybe “Tierra,” although it’s difficult to know where “Tierra” was truly aligned since she was such a floater. But bottom line, Jadejha was no longer a threat for the win. Nobody left was going to rate her first, possibly even second. Madelyn had already kneecapped her game pretty conclusively. This was a huge tactical error on Madelyn’s part.
As for Jadejha, she took it like a champ. No surprise there. I have really come to love Jadejha over the course of this season. She’s smart, she’s calm, she’s perceptive, she’s empathetic, and she has an amazing perspective on life. She is also, it must be said, absolutely gorgeous. I thought she played a very good game, and completed this season’s string of Blockings where the person eliminated did absolutely nothing wrong. The Influencer just wanted them out of the way for their own game. That’s a compliment, really. I can’t think of a single misstep made by Jadejha this entire game. Maybe being overly obvious about her budding relationship with Darian, but ALL of the players were open about their “couples.” That was the vibe of this group.
5th Place: “Tierra” (Catfish Player Antonio, 31, Nashville, Tennessee)
Absolutely no surprise here. If “Tierra” had placed any higher in the final rankings I would have been irritated. Antonio talked a lot about doing everything in his power to win, and playing hard, and…I guess? I never for a second thought “Tierra” had any real power or influence in this game. I thought she came in very hot halfway through, almost instantly alienating most of the other players with her big talk and hot takes. After that she seemed to bounce from loose alliance to loose alliance without ever having any real bond with anyone, from what the viewer could see. In terms of “Circle” finalists, “Tierra” may be one of the biggest nonentities we’ve ever had.
How much of a non-factor was “Tierra”? When the eliminated contestants came in to meet the finalists, Heather/“Andy” completely bypassed Antonio to engage with the other players. Like, totally ignored him. And the two DID overlap in the competition by a few episodes, I went back and checked. I feel like that tells you everything you need to know about how effective “Tierra” was in this game. Frankly my fear coming into the finale was that “Tierra” could majorly fuck with the final ratings as a wild card, handing the win to someone undeserving (cough Kevin cough).
4th Place: “Rachel” (Catfish Player Deb, 54, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
I was surprised by the 4th Place finish for “Rachel.” I thought for sure she would be Top 3 if she survived that last Blocking. After an absolutely disastrous first group of episodes, and that profile-switching Disruptor twist, “Rachel” settled into playing a genuinely good game. Her alliance with “Gianna” was rock solid — that never wavered the entire competition. She had secured the support of Kevin by ferreting out and then keeping mum on LifeguardGate, which should have at least gotten her a 3 spot from him. I think, once again, Madelyn swung the results here, ranking her low because she had decided that “Rachel” was gunning for her, even though the two of them were also in a alliance on and off for most of the series. (I would love to see the final rankings for each player.)
Regardless, I think Deb should be proud of the game she played. Early on I really thought she would be an early Blocking. She flopped hard in the mini-games, outing herself pretty obviously as a catfish. She got very spicy in the Circle Chats, drawing a LOT of aggro from numerous players. But she found her groove and by the end, she really WAS the HBIC (or at least, one of them). The way she walked into that reunion and struck a pose like it was the runway of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” was incredible. In addition to playing a strong game overall, Deb should also know that she is a wonderful reality TV character, and I would be delighted to see her on my screen again. Netflix, get this lady on another show!
3rd Place: Madelyn (25, Franklin, Georgia)
When “Tierra” ranked Madelyn second in the final rankings, I braced for a Madelyn win. I knew that Kevin would rate her first. I feared “Rachel” would also rate her high, incorrectly assuming they were still in an alliance. So I was delighted with a third-place finish for Madelyn, because if she had won, it would have left a sour taste in my mouth.
To be clear: Madelyn played a HELL of a game. I think she is one of the two definitive players of this season (the other being “Gianna”), and in truth, Madelyn basically ran this show for the bulk of the episodes. Aside from Savannah, she orchestrated almost every single Blocking in one way or another. That IS impressive. She is undeniably smart, and she is cunning. (It’s part of why I was so surprised that she wasted that final elimination by letting “Gianna” skate free.)
The problem is, Madelyn played a dirty game — and I don’t just mean her admitted aversion to soap. Madelyn lied. A lot. Like, complete fabrications that specifically disparaged the character of other players and made them targets. That is not really in the spirit of “The Circle” — at least, it hasn’t been historically. I think Madelyn’s play style may have a profound impact on future seasons of “The Circle,” and I’m not sure I’m cool with that. What I like about “The Circle” is that it’s the kinder, gentler reality TV competition. We have any number of games in which lying and backstabbing are plentiful, even necessary. The best moments of this show have to do with genuine bonds between people — or rather, personas — and I’m concerned that Madelyn running the board through outright lies, and getting REAL close to the win, will swing that in the future.
I thought it was very interesting the way the reunited players reacted to Madelyn announcing that she 1) blatantly lied about Darian, and 2) lied to “Andy” to his/her face about how he ranked them. The “Gianna” twins looked genuinely stunned, and Darian was not at all cool with it — nor should he be. This white woman portrayed a black man as some kind of scheming villain. And then she played the victim when people pushed back on her lies! The optics of that are awful. And of course, Madelyn justified it with the well-worn, three-step plan of all reality-TV villains: 1) “It’s just a game! We do what we need to win!”; 2) “I’m a person and I have feelings!”; 3) crying. Yawn.
But I’ll give this to Madelyn, she added a new wrinkle to the justifications: “Yes, I lied. But you all have brains.”
“You were dumb enough to believe my lies.” The audacity. The caucasity of that statement. That is some S-Tier bullshit right there.
Ultimately, congrats to Madelyn, I guess, for making Top 3. She is an excellent reality TV character, and I fully expect Netflix to book her for future gigs. She is exceptional in that arena. But as a person? Not for me, thanks.
Runner-Up: Kevin (23, San Diego, California)
And then we have legend in his own mind, KFern. Kevin went into this finale thinking he was some kind of mastermind, when in truth, he was dragged to the finish line because he was no real threat at all. It’s true that Kevin was an Influencer three times. The first time, he ostensibly earned it. The second time, he was placed there by the person he chose to eliminate (which he didn’t even figure out until Darian told him in the reunion), and the third time was a result of collective pity-fuck votes. Seriously. People were rating him highly solely to make sure he made to the end, because everyone else knew they could beat him.
Kevin made numerous references to being a strategist this episode, and even “Gianna” complimented him on teaching them how to think strategically. I guess, but when two of the three eliminations you presided over resulted in your closest allies going home, you cannot in good conscience consider yourself a brilliant tactician. More proof: Kevin ranked “Tierra” in last position in the final rankings. “Tierra” was never a threat to the win. A real strategist would have put the obvious threats — “Gianna” or “Rachel” — on the bottom. Had he done that, he may have, bizarrely, won the game.
But Kevin ended up runner-up. I’m certain he’ll take this as a badge of honor. From my position, I don’t see any reality in which he could have actually taken the prize. He just had way too many faux pas to be taken seriously.
For instance, a shiny black shirt with a BROWN BELT?! Possibly the most offensive thing he did all season.
WINNER: “Gianna” (Catfish Players JoJo and Nicky, 24, Staten Island, New York)
Coming into this episode I was convinced that “Gianna” would be blocked by Super Secret Influencer Madelyn. Why would you NOT? “Gianna” had been in charge of this game since the early-middle of the season, and while Madelyn may have been directing most of the Blockings (primarily via hatchet man Kevin), “Gianna” successfully leveraged those Blockings to build relationships with the opposite alliance, and somehow managed to keep most of the blood off their hands. That is very savvy gameplay, and the twins should be very impressed with themselves.
The twins were so skilled at playing this game that nobody seemed to suspect they were a catfish. That’s remarkable. At this point in the series, being a catfish is not really a hindrance — nobody cares if you are who you say you are, so long as you are a reliable collaborator and trustworthy in the game. “Gianna” was all of those things, and also very skilled at keeping up the illusion. It was good strategy on behalf of the twins to play a younger woman, instead of their brash, loud, cocky Staten Island selves. I think they were right, that if they had come in as JoJo and Nicky, people would have preconceived notions about them. I surely did. As soon as they showed up I thought they were loud, annoying, and too much.
I was wrong. Actually, no: that is an accurate read of the two of them. But I grew to look past that, because they were such smart players and, beyond that, deeply likable people. Whoever cast the twins should get a raise. I liked most of the players this season, or at least respected the intensity with which they played the game. For “Gianna,” it was both. They were the correct winners of this season, and I’m so happy for them.
What do you think of this season overall? Drop your thoughts in the comments.
