Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for ‘The Circle’ Season 6.
Partially due to a change in location,The CircleSeason 6 has a smaller cast, which only granted one and a half sets of new players into the game. With established relationships dominating the game, the two new players,Autumn NielsenandJordan Staff, came in with little chance of winning. Autumn played a passive game that caused her to be an easy scapegoat. Jordan came in with guns blazing, and onceQuori-Tyler Bullockrefused any chance of a shock block, Jordan’s game was fried. He tried to play an aggressive offensive game by trying to blow up the main alliance, but no one seemed keen to shake things up.Without a series of new faces in the game to break up the monotony and throw off the complacency,The Circle 6has been a game of numbers from the start.If you didn’t align with Q-T,Myles Reed, orKyle Fuller, you had no chance of playing. Despite having interesting players with engaging reasons to play,The Circle 6has only found excitement in its two short-lived twists. At this point, whoever wins did very little to deserve it.
Through other twists and turns,The Circleplays into the power of communication and relationships. For Season 6,The Circlemoved its permanent filming locationto Atlanta, Georgia. While there’s no certainty whether the new production was altered due to its transcontinental move, this season has lacked the spark the previous seasons had. Variety is the spice of life, butThe Circle 6has been bogged down by stagnancy.
The Circle
Participants enter a unique competition where they communicate only through a social media platform, isolated from each other. They must choose to either present their true selves or create a persona, as they vie to be voted the most popular by their peers and win a substantial cash prize.
‘The Circle’ Season 6 Has Been a Big Game of Revenge
The Circle 6introduced its first eccentric group of individuals in Episode 1. To start, there were five regular players;Cassie Saylor, Kyle Fuller,Lauren LaChant, Myles Reed, andSteffi Hill. Then there were two catfish,Brandon Bakerplaying as his friend Olivia, andCaress Alonplaying as his famous rapper brotherPaul Russell. Following the initial ratings, Olivia aka Brandon and Lauren were deemed the influencers and, rather than blocking a player,were given the chance to invite two players into the game.
Olivia aka Brandon selected Quori-Tyler Bullock, while Lauren went withMax aka the AI Bot, and the first twist of the game.With the main group of players officially settled in, alliances began to form, and the entire game was set. Quite literally. With Kyle having a stronghold on the game and Myles developing an emotional bond with Quori-Tyler, they immediately formed a trio that has dominated the entire game;Tres Fuego was officially running the house.In a game of popularity, having numbers on your side can set the stage for victory. Steffi suffered the wrath of the majority when she tried to question certain bonds. But her astrology knowledge backfired as the players believed she was the rogue AI. Even when Autumn and Jordan were introduced into the game, it was an uphill battle for them to even poke a hole into the action already established. But once Jordan tried, he turned into enemy number one.
Whilethe Ride or Die twistthrew a wrench into certain players' plans, it ultimately became the downfall of Jordan, who is playing as his old self, Big J. Jordan was very aware of the dynamics of the house. With his Ride or Die being Q-T, she alerted him to how it was being run. This corroborated his dislike of Myles. He was ready to make a big move on the man who he perceived to be running the game. When it was revealed in the next ratings that only one person would be the influencer and the secret influencer would be their Ride or Die, Jordan knew this was his only moment to make a big move. Q-T won the honor of gaining the blue check mark, which meant Jordan had his chance to try to sway Q-T toward eliminating one of her alliance members. But she would not budge, and thus, ended their chat, deciding to make the decision of whom to block on her own. As previously agreed upon by the Tres Fuego alliance,they had their minds set on blocking Autumn. And that they did.
Jordan tried to call them all out in a group chat and through a game. Sadly, it fell on deaf ears. Even Olivia aka Brandon and Lauren, who is very much on the outskirts, agreed that perhaps Jordan took it a tad too far. Which truly, makes zero sense from a game perspective. He made it evidently clear that if anyone aside from Tres Fuego wanted to win the $100,000 at the end, they needed to break them apart. Of course, they did not take that well, so they sought revenge on the player they knew as Big J. They conspired to ensure that Jordan would be rated at the bottom next to get him out. Just like they did to Autumn.
Jordan’s perspective on the game was right on point. He knew that should he be blocked, someone from Tres Fuego would win as the numbers were on their side. Ultimately, it would fall to Lauren andOlivia aka Brandonto determine the best of three evils. In the final regular season ratings, it was revealed that there would be one super influencer who would determine which of the six remaining players would be blocked. Olivia aka Brandon shockingly won the honor. The cliffhanger left us without a final decision, but it seemed clear that Big J would be out next. And from a viewer’s perspective, it’s just plain boring. This season,if you try to rock the boat, it’s basically signing your death sentence.
‘The Circle’ Cast Breaks Down That Wild A.I. Twist [Interview]
’The Circle’s first influencers, Lauren LaChant and Brandon Baker spoke to Collider about A.I. bots and fake profiles in Season 6.
Being a New Player on ‘The Circle’ Is Near Impossible
In the history of the American edition ofThe Circle,only one mid-season addition has ever won. That player was Season 3’sJames Andre Jefferson. In a way, he was an anomaly. As long as there is no shock block,Jordan will be out nextand the final five will all be Episode 1 entries to the game. While there is a bit of an asterisk when it comes to Quori-Tyler as she didn’t enter with the initial group, she did come just moments later. In previous seasons, there would be multiple new entries that helped to shake up the monotony and break up the dynamics. Part of why it works is it reflects reality. But most players who do not enter on day one know they have an uphill battle of making a difference that’ll help them win in the end.
This season, Quori-Tyler wooed Myles from the jump. She solidified her status as a key player in the game. When the next pair of entries were welcomed intoThe Circleduring Episode 6, they were almost forced to stick to the status quo. Without another late game player or players, there was never an opportunity to form a newbie alliance to tackle the majority. As individuals, Quori-Tyler, Myles, and Kyle seem like lovely people. As Tres Fuego,they’ve introduced a dark cloud upon the game.
Olivia aka Brandon has been mixed up in an emotional game, namely when he bonded with Kyle over the loss of their fathers. Lauren became a non-factor when she lost Steffi and then became a lost cause when she threw Autumn under the bus when they were Ride or Dies. At this point, knowing that Myles,Kyle, and Quori-Tyler will rank each other high in the final ratings,the winner will be determined by Olivia aka Brandon and Lauren. When everyone’s true identities are revealed, it’s likely little will change aside from the complete shock of Brandon being a gay, balding Cabbage Patch Kid — his words! But this is reality television, anything can happen!
After three blocks of episodes,The Circlesadly fell flat. Surely there have been exciting moments in the game when it came to the games, but other than that,it’s been nothing but predictable. The casting team did an extraordinary job selecting unique individuals, butthe show did a disservice by bailing on the AI twist almost immediatelyand not shaking up the game with more players. With little hope of salvaging this season, let’s hope Season 7 learned from its predecessor’s mistakes.
The CircleSeason 6 final episode streams Wednesday on Netflix in the U.S.
