Clay Cauley got a much-needed visit from his wife before flunking the subsequent quiz and getting to go home with her.

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The 32-year-old criminal litigation attorney from Philadelphia, PA became the eighth player executed from The Mole's fifth season during last night's broadcast of the ABC reality series.

"It's almost perfect timing.  My wife is here and I get to go home with my wife," said Clay after his ouster was revealed.  "I know a lot of these guys had emotions and wore them on their sleeves -- a lot of things get taken to heart.  But if they could just enjoy the moment..."

The Mole's seventh fifth-season episode began following the previous execution of Alex Jacobs, with a total of $251,000 currently in the pot.  Still in Mendoza, Argentina, the five remaining players then met host Jon Kelley for their next mission.

Titled "Go Figure," the players split themselves into 2 teams consisting of three "smart" players and two "dumb" players.  Nicole, a 32-year-old OBGYN doctor from Chicago, IL, and Craig, a 31-year-old graphic designer San Diego, CA, joined the "dumb" team; while Clay, Mark, a 42-year-old high school history teacher and soccer coach from Mukwonago, WI, and Paul, a 29-year-old machinist from Yonkers, NY, joined the "smart" team.

Each team would receive a set of clues that they would have to decipher the answer to.  The answers to the clues were spread out throughout the city and were all in the form of a number.  Once the answers were collected, the teams had to return to the starting point and enter them into a computer.  If all answers were correctly entered into the computer before time expired, $30,000 would be added to the pot.

The twist was that none of the numerical answers could be written down and instead had to be memorized.  In addition, Craig and Nicole would have to solve two more clues than the "smart" team.

"I picked the wrong side," opined Nicole, while Mark realized the mole had "more than enough opportunities to sabotage" the mission .

The challenge commenced with both teams solving their first few clues despite minor problems, including Clay and Mark differing on some simple math.  The "dumb" team eventually collected four of their five answers and returned to the start to solve their fifth and final clue, which was by far the most difficult and required the most math.

Meanwhile the "smart" team had gotten lost while looking for their final clue, which seemed to be Paul's fault since he was the one who had been serving as the navigator.

"Do I think this is suspicious?  Yes!" commented Mark on Paul's behavior.

"We've blown a lot of time," commented Clay.  "I don't think we're going to make it."

However the "smart" team eventually found their final clue, solved it and returned to the start with 13 minutes remaining.  The "dumb" team entered their five answers into the computer and the "smart" team entered their three.  However the "dumb" team's answer to the fifth and final clue was wrong.  Jon gave one member of the "dumb" team 20 minutes to try and correct the mistake.  They would only have one opportunity to change the answer.

Nicole embarked back out into the city to try and correctly solve the final clue.  As she did so, Clay realized that the numbers being entered into the computer followed a numerical pattern and he attempted to solve it by simply determining what the correct answer should be based on the other correct answers.

Nicole returned with little time to spare and said she and Craig had been one number off.  Clay, Mark and Paul discredited her input and Clay entered the number he felt was correct based on the other answers.  Clay's answers was right and $30,000 was added to the pot, bringing its total to $281,000.

"I can barely even explain how I figured it out," said Clay.

As the players enjoyed some down time, Mark and Clay discussed how they both suspected Nicole and Craig of possibly serving as The Mole's saboteur.  However Mark was pretty sure that "little clues" he had noticed about Nicole pointed in her direction, not Craig's.

"I take my coalition with Mark with a grain of salt," said Clay.  "I cannot trust him.  I hate to sound cold and callous, but he very well might be the mole, and I cannot be comfortable around that.  The relationship around that is what I like to call, 'mutual usery.'"

Unsure that he could completely trust Mark, Clay went and had a conversation with Nicole -- and both discussed Mark and Craig as the potential saboteurs.  As they bounced ideas off of each other, they kept coming back to Mark and how hard he had been playing the game.

"Nobody's that paranoid," said Clay about Mark and his meticulous note taking.

The five remaining players then traveled from Mendoza to Buenos Aires, where they met Jon for their next mission.

Titled "Ticket to Ride" and with a possible $50,000 that could be added to the pot, each player was asked to choose the other player they trusted the most.  Mark chose Clay, Paul chose Mark, Craig chose Clay, who chose Nicole, who chose Mark.  Jon then revealed that each player's loved ones were on a train on their way to the station where the mission as being held.

Each player and the person they identified as trusting the most would participate together.  The trusted player would have three minutes to ask the other player 30 questions about their loved one, and the trusted player would have to remember the answers. 

Jon would then ask the trusted player five of the 30 questions, and if they answered three of the five correctly, $10,000 would be added to the pot and the other player's loved one would be released from the train.

Clay asked Craig questions first, and while Clay thought Craig was answering a bit too slow for his liking, Clay was able to correctly answer a majority of the questions asked by Jon.  Craig's girlfriend Brendi was released and $10,000 was added to the pot.  Nicole then asked Clay the questions, and he was impressed with how quickly she moved.

"She was like a machine," said Clay of Nicole's ability.

Nicole correctly answered a majority of her questions, releasing Clay's wife Kim and adding another $10,000 to the pot.  Mark then asked Nicole questions, and she immediately complained that he was moving to slow.

"I'm like, 'Mark, hurry up!'" she opined.

However it didn't matter as Mark correctly answered the majority, freeing Nicole's mom Ledora and adding another $10,000 to the pot.  Clay then had his second go at asking questions when he was paired with Mark, who was eager to see his pregnant wife Brenda.

"Not seeing my wife is not an option," said Mark.  "I need to see her."

He would get that chance as Clay correctly answered the majority of questions, releasing Brenda and adding $10,000 to the pot.  Paul was the last player to go, with Mark asking him the questions.  Paul didn't have an answer for several of the questions Mark asked and moved awfully slow, which was surprising considering how eager he was to see his wife Tori and their daughter Alexa.

"These [train] doors better open because it's going to be a bad world for everyone involved if the doors don't open," he said.

The doors did open, reuniting Paul with his wife and daughter.  A total of $50,000 was added to the pot, which was now stood at $331,000.

The next day the players got to spend time with their loved ones, and Nicole immediately began complaining to her mom about how she was "tired."  In addition, Nicole opined about being "isolated" and an "outsider in the worst way" since she was the only remaining female.  Nicole specifically singled out Paul as being a burden, and her mom said if she's not happy than she should quit.

"I'm at the point where I want to remove myself from this situation entirely," said Nicole, who quickly added she's not a quitter. 

However Ledora used the rational that The Mole isn't Nicole's job, so she wouldn't technically be quitting if she decided to step away.

"My plan is to self-execute, throw the quiz, and walk away hand-in-hand with my mom," said Nicole.  "Everyone except for one will go home, and I've decided for me that day will be today.  When it's time to go then it's time to go."

The five remaining players and their loved ones all shared a meal together before The Mole's seventh fifth-season quiz took place -- with each of the players answering 10 questions about the mole. The player who scored the lowest on the quiz would be executed and would be required to leave the game immediately.

"I think I'm sharp and intelligent, but I'll tell you straight-up, everybody that I voted for as the mole has went home," said Clay.  "My strategy had probably better change, but I'm a stubborn, obstinate guy.  So my strategy's not going to change."

The 10 questions on the seventh quiz were is the mole male or female; was the mole wearing a hat during the "Go Figure" mission; did the mole return to the park to recalculate one of the answers during "Go Figure;" which team was the mole a part of during "Go Figure;" who did the mole pick as their most trusted player during "Ticket to Ride;" how many people chose the mole as their most trusted player; who was the mole's loved one during "Ticket to Ride;" in what order did the mole see their loved one; where was the mole sitting from right to left at drinks before "Ticket to Ride;" and who is the mole.

For the third time this season, Jon informed the players that two players had tied -- meaning the player with the slowest time on the quiz would be executed. He then revealed Paul and Nicole were safe before ousting Clay.

"You couldn't do it?" whispered Ledora to Nicole after the results were revealed.

"As soon as I sat in front of that computer, I knew I couldn't do it," answered Nicole.

"Omarosa," replied Ledora, a reference to reality retread Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth.

The Mole's next fifth-season episode will air Monday, July 28 at 10PM ET/PT on ABC.
About The Author: Christopher Rocchio

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