07x03 - Battle of the Influencers

[bunniefuu]

["Bizarre Love Triangle"
by New Order playing]

[Buteau] A new day
has dawned on The Circle, y'all.

And after last night, the VIP party guests
are having a slow morning.

[all] Good morning, Circle.

[Buteau] And the rest,
well, they're just in mourning.

This is the first time
I've never been invited to something,

and it wasn't that great.

♪ Every time I see you falling ♪

♪ I get down on my knees... ♪

Good morning, Samson.

I was able to get a bunch of new people

on Team K Fern.

I still need to see what's going on
in Andy and Savannah's head

and basically explain
why they didn't make it to the VIP party.

My man, Kevin, was
with two girls last night at a party,

and one of them was an OnlyFans model.

Come on.

And then he invited Gianna
to the party and not me,

and he knows
that Gianna probably hates me.

Kevin didn't pull through for us
when he disrupted the game.

I feel like Andy is
kind of sitting bottom-tier today.

Madelyn is definitely somebody that Andy
kinda needs to slide in there with.

Hopefully, she's eyeballing Andy
the same way Andy will be eyeballing her.

What a wild first night.

Super fun party, and then you left us
with a super ominous message.

Someone's getting blocked tonight.

I gotta bring it today.

I'm gonna talk to everyone,
get people to like me,

and I'm gonna play these games
much, much better.

Can't do any worse.

[song ends]

[Buteau] Don't be so down, Rachel.
You haven't done anything like,

I don't know,
flirted with Savannah, adopted her dog,

then ignored her.

Oh, hey, K Fern.

[Kevin] I am not going home today.

I cannot get blocked today.

Circle, invite Savannah to a private chat.

[TV dings]

"Kevin has invited you to a private chat"?

What could you possibly
have to say to me, Kevin?

Circle, open private chat with Kevin.

Circle, message,

"Good morning! Exclamation point,
exclamation point. Sun emoji."

"Hope all is still well
between me, you, and Samson

after the VIP party. Heart emoji."

"Sorry, I had to invite Gianna..."

"...because I knew she was sad
after almost getting blocked."

What? He's in the doghouse.

Samson's never even been in the doghouse,

and Kevin has officially made his way
in the doghouse.

I'm gonna make him think
Kevannah's still a thing,

but in my mind right now, it's not.

Message, "Morning, babe."

"Of course all is well between us."

"I was disappointed
that I didn't get to see

the life of the party off duty..."

"...but there's always next time."

"Heart-eye emoji. Party emoji."

She hit me with a "Morning, babe,"
for crying out loud.

Like, come on, I still got it.

Wow, I am so fake.

Fern, you did it again, man.
You made it out of this one.

[Savannah] So I'm gonna follow that up
with, message,

"I am curious to know how the party went."

Savannah's typing again?
She's double-texting already?

[Savannah] "Any super secret
VIP party alliances formed? Winky face."

"Don't forget about #WifeyAndSam."

"Sad face." Send message.

Oh, damsel in distress. I'm sad, oh.

I'm not mad at you.

I'm just a sad little girl
who's obsessed with her boyfriend.

[Kevin] Oh.

She wants to know about the #VIPSquad.

I don't want her feeling left out

or knowing that I started an alliance
without her,

so there's really
only one way out of this.

-[Buteau] To fess up.
-To lie.

[Buteau] Oh! So there were
two ways out of it.

Circle, message,

"The party would've been


"Kissy face emoji."

"No crazy, top-secret
VIP alliances were made."

"Could never..."

Change it to "neva," like N-E-V-A.

"...forget #WifeyAndSam."

Circle, send message.

Okay, that's good, but he said,
"No crazy top secret VIP alliances."

So that means, like, maybe one
that's just not crazy.

Oh, Kev,

Kev, you're walking
a very thin line right here, buddy.

Kevin is my number one right now,
and I do wanna let him know that,

so he'll also make me his number one.

So, Circle, message,

"That makes my heart warm."

"I'm so happy to have you

as my number one in The Circle."

"Heart emoji."

"#WereInThisTogether."

Yes! Yes! Yes!

We are so in this together, Savannah.
That's what I wanna hear, baby.

Whoo!

The Bible says to not stay angry,

so I am trying to be
a good Christian woman of God,

and I'm forgiving him. I'm not angry.

I'm just gonna keep one eye open

and be careful with what I trust him with.

Trust.

I feel like this bond
is growing stronger and stronger.

Kevin's back on top.

[Buteau] She just moved the Post-it
with Kevin's name on it.

That's some real Circle love.

Meanwhile, Rachel's doing her own version
of heavy lifting by hosting a group chat.

I need to make sure people want me here
and are willing to keep me here.

I gotta work this.
I'm gonna work the girls.

I need to reach out to Gianna,

get her to tell me everything
that happened at the party,

and then I gotta get Jadejha
on mine and Gianna's side.

And maybe we form the girl alliance.

Circle, start a chat
with Gianna and Jadejha.

[Jojo] I need a nail clipper.

You should've got the pedicure
before you left.

-[TV dings]
-[Jojo] Oh!

"Rachel has invited you
to a group chat." Rachel, baby!

My girl, I missed ya.

-Wow, I was waiting for this.
-She's probably shooketh right now.

She's gotta be sh1tting bricks, man.
She wasn't invited to the party.

She was rated sixth.

Why did Rachel invite me to a group chat?

I don't know how I feel about this.

Circle, take me to group chat with Rachel.

Message, "Good morning, Circle sisters!"

"Jadejha..."

"...I'm sure you want to know what happened
at that party last night just like me."

"So, Gianna, #SpillThePartyTea."

Wow. Wow.

-She put the ball in our court.
-She did.

Rachel just jumped right into it.

I mean, I am also wondering
what happened at the party.

I'm glad I didn't have to say that.

Well, obviously we're not gonna
put in the fact that Kevin said he...

-We're safe with him and vice versa.
-No. Of course not.

Message, "Good morning, beautiful ladies!"

-"Exclamation point."
-"Beautiful ladies"?

-Or, "Good morning, gorgeous girls."
-Yeah.

"Good morning, gorgeous girls."
In all capitals with two S's.

"In my opinion, it wasn't a VIP party
without the two of you."

"Heart emoji.
We got to welcome the new players,

and I spilled the tea
that I was blocked on night one."

"Laughing emoji."

Ha! Good for you.

No, that's good,

because now everyone else
at the party knows.

This is good.

-She asked us to spill the tea.
-[both] We spilled the tea.

Message, "Hey, hey, lovely ladies."

"Heart-eye emoji."

"How are y'all feeling
about the rest of the players so far?"

-That's a fair question.
-[Jadejha] Now that opens it up.

That tells me exactly how they're feeling
and if they already have any alliances.

Message, "TBH,
I don't have a great read on most..."

[Jojo] "...but I do feel like
Savannah gives off genuine vibes."

I think Rachel, honestly,
is being 100% honest,

because she hasn't had the chance
to get a good read off of everybody.

Yeah, exactly.

Message, "IMO,

one of us will win this whole thing."

[Jadejha] "Money bag emoji."

"Alliance?"

Ooh.

That was very straightforward.

Honestly, Rachel being a wildcard
does help my game,

because people wouldn't expect
me and Rachel to be in an alliance.

They wouldn't.

Message, "Jadejha and Rachel,

just so you know, you are safe with me..."

"...as long as I'm safe with you.
#GirlPower."

Okay, come on, Jadejha.

You want to be part of this.
You know you do. Look at us. Look at us.

Message, "I'm a girl's girl,
and I have y'all's back."

[Nicky] "#RootingForAllTheGirls."

Wow. Wow. So, okay,

it seems as if Jadejha is very,
very genuine and has our back.

Absolutely.

[Deb] Yes, Jadejha.

You are my girl!

Yes! This could be amazing.

I feel good though, like,
I now have two girls in my alliance,

and Darian and I have been flirting
like crazy,

so right now I feel like
I'm at the center of it all.

Message, "I got you girls to the end!
Two exclamation points."

"I'll see you two cuties
at the finish line. #..."

"...TripleThreat." Yes! See?

All right, see, that means
that Rachel and Gianna, we got each other.

[Deb] Message,

"Let the real game begin."

"Who runs The Circle?"

-"#Girls." I love that, Rachel.
-I love the Beyoncé reference.

I may have not been invited to the party,

but I just got all the girls on my side.

I feel really good.
I didn't even need to work out.

[Buteau] That's what I call
emotional cardio, honey.

And upstairs, Andy's doing
some working out of his own.

After seeing Madelyn
in the thirst trap game,

he's figured out she's his last option
for a Circle girlfriend. How romantic.

From what I'm observing,
there are some partnerships forming.

We've got Darian and Jadejha.

Kevin is either hooking up
with Gianna or Savannah.

Andy cannot be
the only single boy in The Circle,

so if there's gonna be any girl
to catch Andy's attention,

it's gotta be Madelyn
with the tattoos and the yoga.

Circle, take me
to a private chat with Madelyn.

[TV dings]

Andy has invited me to a private chat!
My heart rate is already up.

I knew that he liked me back.

Maybe he would be
a good person to ask for tea from.

Circle, take me to private chat with Andy.

All right. Circle, message,

"Hey, you... [giggling]... I'm glad
I'm not the only performer here."

"I don't wanna be
just another d-bag in your DMs,

but I had to tell you
that you're absolutely beautiful."

"Heart eyes." Send message.

Oh my gosh. I'm fully a dude now.

Andy.

I'm, like, confident by this one message
that he's not a catfish.

This is showing that he respects me
and that he's a gentleman,

and he's gonna take me to dinner first.

And he's gonna compliment the dress
I'm wearing before he takes it off.

Okay, we're being bold.
We're letting him know he's my exact type.

Okay, message,

"I've been waiting on you to message me.
Smiley face emoji, hands out."

[tittering]

"You could Google 'Madelyn's type,'
and your exact picture would come up."

[high-pitched] "#CircleHusband."

Oh okay, we went
from nothing to husband right away.

We're already married in her eyes.

This is great.

Oh my gosh, okay.
What do we say back to this?

All right. Message,
"Sorry it took so long."

[Madelyn] "Did you miss your plus-one
at the party last night?"

"Red heart emoji. Ring emoji."

I like the fact
that he's, like, asking me questions,

and it's not just, like, empty flirting.

Message,

"I had a lot of fun
at the party last night..."

"...but I was bummed when I found
you weren't going to be there." Aw.

Okay, she's not playing me. This is great.
This is great. This is great.

Let's... Let's call her by her name.

Message,

"Madelyn, comma,

my #CircleWife..."

"...I promise I got you moving forward."

"Red heart emoji."

[gasping]

This is literally the best message
I could have received.

Like, he's got my back.

Message,

"Let's make it to the top together."

"Red heart emoji."

"The other players can be
in our wedding. Clink."

"You have my word. #CircleHusbandForever."

[groaning]

I feel really hopeful about this.
Clearly, we have the hots for each other.

And you can't lie
to your Circle wife, Andy.

[Buteau] Oh yeah,
Andy's keeping it 100.

I think that went
exactly how I wanted it to go.

Circle husband forever.

[Buteau] Yeah, Circle husband forever,
until you meet.

And speaking of shocking surprises,
we got a blocking on the horizon tonight,

which means the players are doing
everything they can

to take their minds off of it,
whether it's exercising, eating,

or just appreciating
how awesome they are in the mirror.

Yeah.

But nah, bro.

Okay. That's it.

-You didn't get cut?
-Nah.

[Buteau] Oh, I had no idea
Jadejha could play the guitar.

[mimicking guitar sounds, plunking guitar]

[Buteau] Oh, that's 'cause she can't.
Got it.

[mimicking guitar sounds, plunking guitar]

[alarm blares]

-Oh my God.
-Whoa!

[all] "Kray Pop"?

Another game.

Yes! I'm ready, Circle.

Let's play.

Circle, open Kray Pop.

[Buteau] In Kray Pop,
players will be asked

a series of multiple-choice
pop culture questions.

[Madelyn] "Which celebrity
named their child..."

-I don't know how to pronounce that.
-X-A-X-E.

Zawa-exy?

Zay-oxy?

That's a child's name?

[Buteau] It's X Ash A-12. Duh.

"Elon Musk, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jared Leto."

Jared Leto?

He's the, like, Late Night host guy,
the funny dude.

This definitely looks
like a math equation.

And I had a dream last night
that I cheated on a math test.

If anybody's gonna name their child
what looks to be an equation,

I think it'd be the owner of Tesla,
PayPal, and SpaceX, and Twitter.

Exactly.

Elon Musk. This sound
like something Elon Musk would do.

Elon Musk! Everyone should know that one.

I'm a tech girlie.
Rachel better also know this one.

Rachel should be able to answer,
but Deb may not.

I gotta bring it to this game.
I can't mess this up.

[Buteau] Their answers will
then be revealed to the group.

[groaning]

Okay, Circle, let's see who did this.
I know I got it right.

[Buteau] Gold star for Garret.
Of course it was Elon Musk.

Rachel!

[Deb gasping]

-Wow, Rachel, that was...
-That was a weird answer.

Come on, you've gotta know
who Elon Musk is.

Like, unless you live under a rock,

I feel like
you had to have known it was Elon Musk.

[Darian] Dang, Rachel.

Oh, how does it feel to be by yourself?

That's not good.

I'm thinking my game is going very poorly.

My instinct, seeing that,
is that Rachel is way older.

All right, I can come back from this.
I can come back from this.

"Which of these athletes
have been in both the WWE

and the UFC?"

What?

The Rock is an actor, not an athlete.

Oh my God. This is a question
made just for Heather. Oh my God!

Rachel would know this
because her older brothers love WWE.

His name is Hulk. He's gotta have been
in both. He's probably strong AF.

We know the real answer's Brock Lesnar,
but for the sake of the game and to save...

To not raise speculation
into us being a guy

and knowing this answer,
we are gonna lock in The Rock.

-Lock in The Rock.
-Lock in The Rock.

We don't want
anybody thinking we're catfishing.

We just gonna go with The Rock. Okay?

-Circle, let's lock in Hulk Hogan.
-Hulk Hogan.

-Lock in Brock Lesnar.
-[all] Brock Lesnar.

If anybody's suspicious
of Andy not being a dude,

this'll lock it
in their minds that Andy is a dude.

[Buteau] Brock Lesnar is right, dude.

Looks like all the fellas
are right there with me.

Andy and Garret
are right there too, and Rachel.

Rachel?

[cheering] Look,
it's Rachel and all the guys.

How does Rachel know that?

Is Rachel, like,
a really old dude in real life?

Rachel is an old man.

[Buteau] Okay, do young people think
only old men watch sports?

Thank you, Jason,

for loving WWE.

My son Jason. [sighs]

She's sus.

[Heather] Oh no.

"Who of the following
was Madonna romantically linked to?"

"Mick Jagger, George Clooney, Sean Penn."

It may be everybody.

I don't know who George Clooney is.
I just recognize his name.

I think he has big feet.

[Deb] Okay, now this is a problem.
I know it's Sean Penn. They were married.

Does Rachel know it's Sean Penn?

Eeny, meeny, miny, moe,
catch a tiger by a toe...

These are the Mick Jagger moves.

...you are not it.

Sean Penn.

Sean Penn it is.

I can't let Rachel get this right.
Lock in Mick Jagger.

I feel like, as a girl,
they wouldn't know who Sean Penn is.

I think maybe Clooney or Mick Jagger.

I feel like not George Clooney.
Like, he was a president.

[Buteau] He's got no political experience,
so yeah, that could happen.

What?

Sean Penn?

Oh! It's Sean Penn. [laughing]

[screaming of joy]

Oh my God, we frickin' got it right!
Come on, Garret. Yeah!

Come on! I didn't even know that!

Oh my God.

Savannah, high five. Okay.

Good job, Garret. Good job, Savannah.

Do we think it's sus
that Andy got this wrong?

That definitely makes me question

a thing or two about Andy.

Rachel, maybe she's not old,
but she could very much still be a man.

"Which of these popular abbreviations

is a compliment?"

I... I don't know.

"NPC"? Dang, what is NPC?

Uh...

"No problem, cutie."

"Nice pants..."

[Buteau] IMHO, this ain't good, Rach.

-I don't know what "HBIC" is.
-Like you the "Head b*tch In Charge."

Sorry for calling you a b*tch,
but... you in charge.

"Head b*tch In Charge."

"TL;DR" means "too long, don't read."

NPC means non-playable character.
She said video game.

[groaning]

I just don't see
a popular abbreviation as a compliment

with a semicolon in the middle.

Circle, lock in "TL;DR" as my answer.

Dude, I don't know
what any of these stand for.

What would... I don't know.

-I'd love to lock in "HBIC," please.
-[Heather] "HBIC." Lock it in.

[Deb meekly] Circle,

lock in "NPC."

Man, I could look so dumb right here.

[Buteau] As Circle HBIC, duh,

it stands for Head b*tch In Charge.

[Garret] Excuse me?

Okay.

Madelyn, Kevin, and Rachel got this wrong?

Why am I the only one who picked TL;DR?

Kevin should definitely know
what an NPC is.

A non-player character, that's a guy term.

Yeah, maybe NPC was not the move.

Rachel not knowing that tracks with
how she answered the Elon Musk question.

Rachel is not young.

[Deb] I work with Gen Zers, millennials.

They don't compliment me.
This is the problem.

[Buteau] A Gen Xer
blaming their problems on Gen Z?

What a surprise.

[Heather] Aw! "Thank you for sharing
your pop culture knowledge."

You're welcome.

All eyeballs are on Rachel after this.

Rachel is not 26.

She's not.

I feel like it was weird

that Rachel knew the question
about the wrestler.

Like, that seems like
something a guy would know.

I feel terrible. I think I got this wrong.

Smelling a little fishy. [sniffing]

Catfishy. [sniffing]

[Buteau] That quiz
has inspired our players

to engage in
some of the more intellectual pursuits

our apartments have to offer.

Oh! Look at the chest.

Boom, boom, boom! Boom, boom!
Boom, boom! Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!

-[Heather] Ha!
-[Jadejha humming]

[exclaiming]

Boom! Oh! Ooh!
Boom, boom, boom, boom! Ooh!

I got the moves.

Yeah!

[Buteau] Okay, metal bro, playtime's over.

[alarm blares]

-"Alert!"
-Oh my God. "Alert."

Oh no! What could this be?

Here we go.

"Players, you must now rate each other."

We know where we stood last time,
so this is nerve-racking right now.

Rachel shouldn't be as low
if the connections I made are real.

I will be really upset
if I get last place.

"The top two players
will become influencers."

I've got a couple ideas who it might be.

The question is, do I help them get there,
or do I try and stop it from happening?

In an ideal world, I'm the influencer!
I just would like to have the power.

As new players, Garret
and Madelyn can rate but cannot be rated.

[sighs] Thank you, Circle.

[snickers] I'm safe. Losers.

Good thing we were in a group chat,
in the VIP party with...

Garret and Madelyn. I know, bro. I know.

Hopefully, their ratings
of Gianna skyrocket us up.

-I know.
-[Heather] Oh my gosh.

We don't have that many friends right now.

We also don't have that many enemies.

I would be okay
sitting at, like, third or fourth.

[all] Circle, take me to my ratings.

[suspenseful music playing]

Circle, let's lock in Andy
for first place.

He's my husband. He is number one.

I'd like to place Darian
in first position.

That man. I can't help it, okay?

I wanna be stronger than this,
but I am not.

For my first place ratings,
I'd like to place... Kevin.

-That's my number one bro right now.
-Lock in Savannah for first in my ratings.

My Circle bae.

I was able to amend things with her

after not inviting her
to the newcomer party.

I feel good about this first decision.

Circle, I'd like to place...

Gianna in my first position.

I feel really confident
we're rating each other first,

we have each other's back.

Kevin is Samson's Circle step daddy.

So, Circle, lock in Kevin
for my first position.

All right, so hopefully,
if he becomes an influencer,

if people rate him high enough,
he will not block me.

Let's lock in Rachel
as our second position.

Rachel might have
a hard time with the ratings

due to the way she answered things,
and she needs all the help she can get.

Gianna got blocked
on the first night. She needs an ally.

Circle, lock in Gianna
in my second position.

Circle, let's lock in Jadejha
as our third place.

She doesn't have a reason to dislike us.
Maybe I'd come in third or fourth for her.

Circle, lock in Darian
in my fourth position.

He just seems kind of like
a really fun stand-up guy.

We're gonna lock in Andy
as Gianna's fifth position.

Andy could've told us what we wanna hear,
so he feels like the target's off his back

because the person he blocked
is in the game.

Exactly.

Circle, lock in Gianna
for my sixth position.

I already tried to block her
when I was an influencer,

so I'm almost positive
she would do the same to me.

Circle, place Kevin in sixth position.

And you will eat
a bath salad tonight, maybe.

Circle, lock in Savannah for last place.

I wasn't super impressed.

I don't know if I can trust her.
Her pictures are heavily edited.

-Sorry, Savannah.
-Circle, lock in Andy in my last position.

I feel bad doing it,
but it's the only person

that I feel comfortable
putting in this position.

-Circle, submit my ratings.
-[all] Submit my ratings.

Oh! "Ratings complete." These ratings
get tougher the more you know people.

There's only one person
who has a reason to be pissed at Andy

and to rate Andy mega low,
and that's Gianna.

My girls have my back.
My girls have my back.

I've done what I can do,
and I just hope that I'm safe.

[Buteau] Now that the potentially
game-changing rating is finished,

it's time for Andy
to tackle something even more important,

telling his bros he hooked up.

I just hope
they can clear their calendars for it.

Looks like they're working on
some pretty important stuff.

Circle, let's invite Darian
and Kevin to a group chat.

[TV dings]

[Darian] Oh!

[Kevin] Andy! My bro!

Circle, take me to group chat with Andy.

[exclaiming] Hello, boys!

[Kevin] Ooh!

[Darian] Andy, Kevin, and Darian.

They probably think we're disappointed

that we weren't at the party,
which we are.

I know we missed out on something.

But we don't wanna come in
with any negative vibes.

Just be like, "Hey, how was it?"

"Tell me things." So, message,

"My dudes!"

"Hope you guys aren't too hungover
after last night's party. LOL."

"How are we feeling?"

I frickin' knew it.

I knew he was gonna bring up
the party last night, obviously so.

Darian's typing.

"Andy, I definitely was feeling it
after last night. Laughing emoji."

"I would've loved
for our favorite wingman to be there

and party it up with us!"

[groans] Why don't you just say,

"I would've loved
to have you at the VIP party

if Kevin would've invited you"?

Message,

"Andy, comma,

I wanted to let you know
I felt so confident in our friendship..."

[Heather] "...and I knew Gianna
was feeling down,

so I wanted to bring her spirits back up."

"#NoBadBlood."

That's valid. That's valid as hell.

Well played, Kevin.

Palms are frickin' sweating
seeing what Andy has to say about this.

[Heather] You felt so confident in
our friendship.

Yeah, well, in doing so,
you kinda made me feel like

you weren't confident,
and you didn't give a sh*t about us.

All right, so we have to kind of,
like, make him feel like we're not mad.

Message, "Yeah, dude, no worries at all!
Signature black heart emoji."

[Kevin] Yes! "Black heart emoji."

"Looks like you guys
may be groomsmen soon."

"Eye emoji. #WingManNoMore."

Andy. Madelyn?

Andy and Madelyn! No frickin' way!

Message, "That was quick.
I'll be bringing Jadejha as my plus-one."

[Heather] Duh. We all knew that.

Is everybody getting boo'ed up
in The Circle right now? What's going on?

Kevin, who's your girl?

If he says Savannah, that means
he's on Savannah and Gianna's good sides,

and that's a little scary for us.

Message, "Don't worry,
Savannah and I will be there too."

[Darian] Wow!

Him and Savannah?
But he didn't invite Savannah.

He invited Gianna.

Kevin's making moves.

Message,

"This is why I fought for you guys
to be here in the influencer chat."

"#TripleDate."

"And with Madelyn,
we had our first chat this morning,

and we'll probably have
matching tattoos by tomorrow."

"So tell me, what's the vibe with Rachel?"

"Question mark. Eye emojis."

Message,

"I haven't gotten anything from Rachel."

"Zipped-up silent quiet emoji."

Message,

"Weird that Rachel hasn't reached out
to any of us." Hmm.

"Some of her answers
in the quiz sure got my eyebrows raised."

"#LetsGoCatfishing."

We about to go catfishing.

"Great catching up. Love you guys."

"Rock hard." Oh!

There we go. See?

Bro, we...
We all on the same page right now.

Andy, I'm casting
my line out now, brother,

and I'm reeling in a big old catfish.

And would you look at that,
it could be Rachel.

We are locked in. That was good.

I'm glad that we have
our little triple date. This is cute!

[Buteau] The boys are going fishing,
and it's okay if one of them falls in,

'cause K Fern's pretending
to be a lifeguard.

And as evening descends,

Jadejha, not content
with conquering the classic guitar,

is now taking the art world by storm.

[Jadejha] Call me Picasso.

'Cause, baby, I am an artiste!

[Garret] I'm making
a little arugula cilantro salad,

soaked in lime juice,
with a little shredded parmesan.

Circle, I'm making some mac and cheese
if you want to come over.

Or if you wanna send somebody down,

like Andy.

[Buteau] Now after two ratings,
Rachel is finally getting down to tactics.

Jadejha had something going on
with Darian.

[alarm blares]

-[Deb] Oh no!
-[all] "Alert!"

I just started my flowchart!

This is it! This is it!

What's happening? Tell me, Circle.

[Buteau] She gonna, K Fern. Stop yelling.

"The ratings results are in." I mean,
I'd be scared if I were the other players.

I'm probably not as nervous as Rachel,
but I'm nervous!

I'm worried. I'm worried.

I just have PTSD 'cause the last time
the rating results were in, we were last.

I know.

[Darian] "The top two rated players
will become influencers."

It's about to go down.

If it's not me, please be Kevin.
Please be Kevin.

[Jadejha] "The influencers
must then choose

one player to block from The Circle."

[vocalizing]

I'm so glad that I came in when I did.

This is so sad.
Someone's actually going home tonight.

Ugh. Now here come the nerves.

I know. I know, bro. I know.

[Heather] Last place.

Andy, listen, I love your face,
but I don't wanna see it yet.

[ripping sound]

Rip the bandage off.

-Please not us.
-[Jojo exhales]

Jesus, please help me.

Who do we have, Circle?
I don't wanna be seventh.

[Kevin] Whoa! Whoa!

Really?

[shouting] Wow!

What?

No.

-No.
-Yo, that's big, bro.

-Oh my God, yes!
-That's big.

Why is Savannah in last place?

Savannah, what the hell did you do?
I had you at my number one spot.

Savannah just went from first to worst.

How did that happen?

This game is crazy!

[both] I'm shook.

[Savannah] Why don't people like me?

Clearly, not a lot of people
have got my back right now.

-Karma is a b*tch!
-b*tch!

Wait a minute! Tied for fifth?

I... I might need to sit for this.

I think I might need to sit.
I think this deserves a sitting.

Oh my God.

This is just like... the most stress
I've ever experienced in my entire life.

Well, at this point, I have no idea
what the heck's gonna happen.

[Heather] Oh!

That's me.

I'm next to Rachel?!

-[Nicky] Andy and Rachel.
-[Jojo] Andy and Rachel. Oh my God.

Okay, I didn't move,
meaning I'm getting nowhere.

So both of the influencers
from last time are near the bottom.

Crazy how things can change like...

that in The Circle.

The two b*stards
who blocked us are at the bottom.

-How's it feel?
-Yeah. You don't like it.

[Savannah] This is not good.

Kevin, you better save me.

[Jadejha] Me!

[screaming]

[Buteau] What in the low-budget
Mariah Carey was that?

Oh wow. Okay, Queen Jadejha.

Whoa.

That means I'm in the top three right now.

This needs to be Gianna.

So it's me, Darian, and Gianna.

The three people from the VIP.

-I'll take it. I'll take that. Yeah, 100%.
-I'll take that over the frickin' bottom.

Okay. I'm in third.
I'm cool with it! [grunts]

-Darian. We're an influencer! Yeah! Yeah!
-We're an influencer! Holy sh*t!

-Yeah! Yeah!
-Bro! Bro.

[Heather] No!

Gianna is a frickin' influencer.

[Garret] I mean, third is good.

Third is sitting pretty.
That is the top of the middle.

[Jadejha] Gianna is an alliance of mine.

Kevin is an alliance of Darian's.

I'm good!

Come on, Kevin. Be first at least.

Be first at least
so you can pick me to stay.

-First and second position.
-Come on, baby. Come on, baby.

[Kevin exclaiming]

Let's go!

-Let's go, bro. All day.
-Second, baby. Second all day. All day.

-All day, baby.
-That's even better than first.

-I like that. We can go up.
-Exactly.

Kevin is first!

That is such good news.

-Numero uno, K Fern!
-Kevin's an influencer.

I would hope that he'd fight
for Andy the way that we fought for him.

I don't get it.

How are you number one, Kevin?

Kevin threw a really awesome VIP party.
I'm not shocked he's in first.

♪ I'm number one, I'm number one ♪

Gianna is an influencer.
That's all I care about.

[Nicky] If he tries to g*n for Rachel,
we gotta explain that...

-We gotta protect her.
-Yeah.

I'd go to w*r for her
over Andy and Savannah all day every day.

Yeah. I'll literally go to w*r
for everybody except Andy and Savannah.

A hundred percent.

[Nicky] Where's those checks, baby?
Give me those checks, baby.

And we didn't have to pay
$15 a month for it. We earned that sh*t.

I'll take that sh*t.
This ain't no Twitter Blue.

And they got their blue checks.
Boom, boom, I love that.

I have no clue if Gianna
and Rachel have been chitchatting.

They could be besties.

If that's the case,

I think I can reason with Gianna,

-and point out that... "Alert" again?!
-[alarm blares]

[Darian] "Alert"?

[all] "Alert!"

[Savannah] No!

[both] "It's now time for the influencers
to decide which player to block."

Block it. Roll it.

Now this is about to shake up everybody.

[blowing raspberries]

Damn, Circle, you move fast.

Gianna, I'm gonna send
my good vibes to you.

"Gianna and Kevin must go
to the Hangout to make their decision."

-Hope the seat's warm after I left it.
-Let's make our mark.

-It's time to stir up the pot. Let's go.
-Let's take a walk.

[Buteau] Influencers Gianna and K Fern
are headed to the Hangout

to decide who to block,

and this time, there's no twist.

Someone will be going home,
so take it seriously, Gianna.

-[Jojo] Look at this sh*t.
-[Nicky vocalizes]

-This is what I'm talking about right now.
-Wow.

So this is how the influencers live.

Cheers to Gianna being an influencer
after she was blocked from the game.

-And rated last on night one.
-Exactly.

Salud, Circle.

[Kevin exhales]

We need to figure out
where Kevin's head's at.

See who he's gunning for.

-Target number one, Savannah.
-Savannah.

The girl who blocked us on night one
and had two nights to try to reconcile it.

She didn't think
it was important to message.

Yes, exactly.

Numero uno for my blockings is Rachel.

After inviting Gianna to the VIP party,
I think she owes me.

Not only that,
but as influencer number one,

I frickin' earned that right.

I get to steer this ship.
Are you kidding me?

[all] Circle, open the influencer chat.

-[Jojo] That feels fantastic.
-[Nicky] That feels great.

That feels so frickin' good.

Message, "Gianna!"

"Huge congrats on becoming an influencer."

"#LookAtUsNow! Exclamation point."

"Popping bottles emoji."

"Cheers, clink of the glass emoji,

and celebrate emoji
with the little party hat."

[Jojo] "#LookAtUsNow!" Ah!

Love the energy, pal. Message,

"Kevin!" Capitals. "Exclamation point."

Give us three exclamation points
added to that one.

"Thank you for helping me get here,
cutie. Kissy face emoji."

"The top feels
a lot better than the bottom."

Send message.

[Kevin] "Cutie."

"Kissy face emoji."

First of all, Gianna, you're welcome.

-We definitely could be his girl.
-A hundred percent.

-It sounds weird saying that as two guys...
-Metaphorically.

Yeah. Metaphorically,
for The Circle purposes.

Let's first talk about Darian.

Circle, message,

"Darian has been one of my guys

from the start."

He also is a fellow member
of the #VIPSquad."

"In my mind, he's gotta stay."

-I honestly love that.
-Me too.

Message, "Couldn't agree more."

-"I love Darian."
-Make "love" capital, please.

"He absolutely has to stay." Yes!

Whew!

Message, "Jadejha
and I have gotten along great..."

-"Comma."
-Yeah.

"...as the days go on..."

"...I feel we have more in common!"
Something like that.

-That's perfect.
-One exclamation point, please.

[Jojo] "How do you feel? Question mark."

Send message.

[sighs] Interesting you say that, Gianna.

Obviously we're not mentioning
that we solidified an alliance with her.

-But let's see where Kevin stands.
-[Jojo] Yeah.

[Kevin] Message,

"I know her and my bro Darian

have something special."

"#LetsKeepHerHere."

[Jojo] "Jadejha, you're safe."

Okay, so now it's between
Rachel, Andy, and Savannah.

We gotta talk about Grandpa Andy.

Andy almost got rid of Gianna
at the first ratings,

but he was looking out for me
at the first blockings as well.

Circle, message,

"Andy and I have a strong connection

since the start,

but there's still
a couple question marks surrounding him."

"#WhatAreYourThoughts."

-[Jojo] I like that a lot.
-[Nicky] I like that.

Even though I do have
question marks surrounding Andy,

I don't wanna see him go

because that would mess things up

with the bro squad
I have going with him and Darian.

Hopefully, she's leaning more
towards the side of "let's keep him."

Message,

"Andy obviously blocked me on night one."

[Nicky] "Crying face emoji."

[Jojo] "However, he did reach out
to apologize and explain himself."

"#OnTheFence."

It's the truth.
Everything we've been saying is the truth.

[Kevin] Okay. She also
has questions about Andy,

so her and I are really
on the same page when it comes to Andy.

The meaning behind this was
taking Kevin's answer, dissecting it.

He's still a little weary
about him as we are.

Message, "Savannah, on the other hand,

didn't even have the decency
to reach out and explain herself."

-Yeah, I love that.
-"#ThumbsDown."

Yeah. Send message.

[Kevin] "#ThumbsDown."

Savannah, why didn't you explain yourself
like Andy did?

Oh sh**t. She's my Circle wifey,
for crying out loud.

Message,

"Savannah and I built a strong connection

and ended up forming an alliance."

"#JusticeForSavannah."

-I think it might have to be Andy.
-Might have to be Andy.

-I just did not expect him... I know.
-To love Savannah like that.

Yeah, us willing to make the compromise
to keep Savannah in the game

means Rachel's staying in the game.
Simple as that.

Message,

"So that leaves us with Rachel."

[Nicky] "I have formed a connection
with everybody so far except for Rachel."

"Plus, she's been giving me
hella #SusVibes."

-[Jojo] Hmm.
-All right, Kevin, well Rachel's staying.

Message, "Agree to disagree."

"Rachel is my hometown girl,
and she's going nowhere."

[Kevin] "#LetsCompromise."

[sighing]

So what if she's from your hometown?

Who cares? She could be cappin'.

So, clearly, Kevin loves Savannah,

and, clearly, we love Rachel,
and we have an alliance.

So that leaves the middleman
who might get blocked. Andy.

The fact that we were willing
to compromise,

you should recognize that, Kevin,
and you should really...

-Appreciate that.
-Appreciate that.

Don't show all your cards, pal.
You're showing too many cards to us.

You don't show that ace. Never show it.

You see that? My ace is up my sleeve.
Your ace is on your forehead.

[Kevin] Message,

"What would this compromise look like?"

"Question mark."

Hmm. Message,

"Rachel and Savannah staying

and Andy getting blocked."

-"#ItsTheOnly..."
-[Kevin] "...OnlyWay."

What?

No shot.

That's why, Kevin,
you take it one step at a time.

Don't try to message and build an alliance
with everybody on day three.

Exactly, bro. He's shot.
You're shot for that one, Kev.

If I block Andy,

that is going to ruin
my entire bro alliance.

There's no shot that's gonna happen.

Blocking Andy would make Darian pissed.

I'm a bag chaser at the end of the day.
I'm trying to chase 100 bands.

It... it's not personal.

It's just business.

Circle, message,

"Gianna, I've proved my loyalty to you

by inviting you
to the exclusive VIP party."

"Andy is staying." All caps on "staying."

We don't owe you anything
'cause you invited us to the party.

You chose to do that,
and it's not just your decision.

We're not losing our strongest alliance
because you said so.

-It's not gonna happen.
-[Kevin] I'm sorry, Gianna.

I'm not leaving this chair
until I convince you

that Rachel has gotta go.

[Buteau] K Fern, I hope
you didn't drink a lot of water today.

You're gonna be here for a while.

With the influencers at a standoff,

the newbies, safe from blocking,
are just passing the time.

And the at-risk players are in limbo.

You know what'll ease their worries?
A nice chat.

-[TV dings]
-[Darian] Ooh.

-"The at ri..." Oh snap.
-[Heather groaning]

[all] "The at risk chat is now open."

"At risk"? Now why you gotta call me that?

Is this like the losers' club?

Nobody probably feel like joking
about nothing right now.

I really need to get information
about why Kevin is so popular.

I'd love to know
what I'm missing. Message,

"TBH I love Gianna
and totally get her high rating,

but my vibes are off about Kevin."

"What am I missing? Question mark,
question mark, question mark."

Send message.
Hands are washed, ready to go.

I'm being honest,
and I hope people appreciate that.

Damn. What you mean?

I got good vibes with Kevin, so...

I don't like that.

Kevin is my man,
so I'm just gonna ignore that.

She doesn't sugarcoat nothing.
I respect it.

But, honey, that just tells me
you're not really playing with your head,

because Kevin rating high is very obvious.

Circle, message,

"Honestly, Kevin rating high
isn't that crazy

because he did host the welcome party."

Send message.

Maybe this is me helping Rachel out.
She said what is she missing.

Like, he hosted the welcome party.
That's what you're missing.

And the reason you're missing it
is because you're old,

and you're not really Rachel,
but that's okay.

We're gonna pretend
like I don't know that yet.

Exactly. Common sense.

Duh.

I thought there was a reason
he might've been up there,

but I still wanna know is anyone else
getting a weird feeling about him?

[Darian] They don't have to know
that we like this.

But also, you know,
I'm sticking up for my boy.

All right, Circle, message,
"Kevin is good vibes."

"Last night we had a great time."

"He also invited Gianna
to uplift her spirits

after the last blocking."

"#StandUpGuy."

Circle, send message.

He is a stand-up guy.

Yeah, everyone kinda understands
why Kevin's up there, except for Rachel.

Kevin's like, "Oh, Gianna, I felt so bad
you got blocked, so I invited you."

I mean, it's a popularity contest,
but it's a game. Play the game.

[Buteau] Which is also
a popularity contest, girl.

[Deb] See? I think it's the wisdom of age.

You realize you only have
a little bit of time to get answers.

You gotta work fast.

Message, "Darian,

do you think that Gianna's invite
was just game strategy? Thinking emoji."

"#WeNeedToKnow."

-"#PlayersGottaPlay"?
-"#PlayersGottaPlay."

First of all, girl, don't call my man out
like that. Why you put him on the spot?

You know what? Message... I'm done!

Message, "#YesImThatBitch."

Send message!

Whoa!

Oh, Rachel.

This might not be good for her
if she gets to stay.

I like this feistiness.
Okay, Circle, message,

"Okay, then. #HBIC.
That's actually a really good question

because, in The Circle,
you never really know."

"#QuestionsThatNeedAnswers."

"Shoutout to Rachel for finally showing
some personality though."

Circle, send message.

Did she know what the 'HBIC" was today?

Head... "HBIC." Head b*tch In Charge!
Head b*tch In Charge!

I love a man who knows how to clap back.

You know what? I think being the bad b*tch

is working in my favor.

I think Darian likes to see
a little fire coming out of Rachel.

So, boom. Okay, Rachel, come on with it.

I don't wanna argue with Rachel,
but I do like people calling her out.

I think everyone likes Kevin.

Message, "Wow."

"Well, I think Kevin is very genuine,
and I low-key have a little crush on him."

"Heartbreak emoji."

"I hope he makes
the right decision tonight."

"#GiveLoveAChance."

Oh, Savannah, Savannah,
you're so innocent.

I think having a crush on Kevin, no.

[Darian] I feel like everyone is
Team Kevin right now.

I wanna defend Kevin, but I don't want
to necessarily come to his rescue

because I don't know if he's saving me
with what he's doing right now.

I've got to show some sort of emotion,
and if everyone's kind of anti-Rachel,

I wanna hop on that train.

So message,

"Darian calling it like he sees it.
[clapping] Savannah and I both know

what Kevin and Gianna
have to do tonight is not easy."

"They're probably just as nervous
as we are in here." Send it.

Oh God.

-[grunts] That's my boy.
-Andy, way to go.

[sighs]

[Darian] I'll ride with you, Andy.

Let's go.

The bros are coming through.

Ugh! Message,
"The Circle is not for the weak."

Send message!

Oh my God! [laughing]

Rachel, what the hell?

"I'm that b*tch."

And now you all know it. So come at me.

I think
she's setting herself up for failure

because you're making all these people,
like, not want your fire if you stay here.

I thought you were a babysitter at first.

You were giving me major
babysitter vibes two days ago and now...

you're giving me, like,
"I don't give a f*ck, b*tch" vibes.

[Buteau] Okay. Let's step away
from this simmering hotbed of tension.

My right eye has a heartbeat.

Influencers, we've got two minutes left.
Y'all have a decision, right?

All right, it sounds like
we've come to a conclusion.

Our decision is made,
and our decision is final.

[Kevin sighing]

[alarm blares]

-[Darian] Whoa!
-[Deb] Oh my God!

[all] "Alert!"

"The influencers have made
their decision."

This is it. This is...
This is where someone leaves.

Kevin, you better have saved me.

[Heather] I'm not feeling great.

I'm so scared
that Kevin didn't pull through for us.

I'm so scared that Gianna went in there
just g*ns a-blazing against Andy

and just was coming for revenge,
and I'm scared that she got it.

I mean, I'm ready.

I am happy with the game I have played.

It better be Rachel. Swear to God.
It better be Rachel.

Take me to Circle Chat.

[whimpers] Oh, I'm gonna be sick.

[tense music playing]

I'm sweating now way more as an influencer
than as I was in the apartment.

Circle, open Circle Chat.

There everybody is.

None of them knows
the craziness that's about to ensue.

I need Sam to get closer.
I really need you right now.

Bring it. Let's go.

Circle, message...

Oh! Kevin's typing!

-Please, Kevin.
-Just continue to look out for your boy.

"We had to make the toughest decision,

-and it feels awful."
-[Jojo exhales]

I'm thinking Gianna tried to talk him
into blocking Andy or Savannah.

That's what I have to hope.

The reason we decided on this person

is because, unfortunately,

both Gianna and I
had to come to a compromise.

If it was a compromise,

that means that one of them
had to give up an alliance.

-See, that's what I was afraid of.
-"The player we have decided to block is..."

-Please don't be me.
-God.

-It's friggin' me, isn't it?
-[Deb] I'm not okay.

Circle...

[Heather] Don't friggin' do it.

Send message.

[gasps]

Damn!

[gasping]

[theme music playing]

[theme music ends]