Unan1mous, Episode 5: "I Don’t Believe Nothin’ Nobody Says"

I got some good responses to the question of “What is in the box Steve got as part of being outcast?” Most of the responses thought that it was a list of who voted for who (and who voted against him, more importantly), or a list of everyone’s worst secrets with the players’ names attached. Basically, the most evil and destructive option in any situation like this is always the truth, so I am convinced it will be some form of the above. Let’s find out.

When we last left you, Jamie had to leave for medical reasons, so the money amount was not changed by her exit. Adam was outcast. Alliances were forming, for all the good it will do – you have to control people quietly. It’s “vote for me,” not “vote for us until everyone else is gone.” Anyway, Steve was outcast and as a side effect, received a mystery box, the contents of which are supposed to shake the bunker to its core.

Steve thinks it may be money, but he doesn’t think so, considering the game. There is a sign inside that says, “As a consolation, you may join one other person to join you as an outcast.” Well, that was… disappointing.

Everyone at the table reacts, but they all try not to react so much so that Steve thinks that they’re worried. Adam says these people weren’t ready for it. They’re all thinking, “Please don’t let it be me.” Indeed, Tarah is shaking in her boots. Geek Overlord asks for Steve’s decision, which is kind of lame because if they REALLY wanted to ramp up the drama, they would have given him a couple hours.

Tarah is trying to look inconspicuous but instead looks like she just broke the cookie jar. Steve announces that he chooses Vanessa. The entire table is shocked and Jonathan has to hide his laughter. Adam, knowing who had a hand in getting him outcast, says, “Welcome to the outcast club. Hope you like the uniform.” Heh. You’ll recall that Adam “convinced” Steve that Vanessa sabotaged the winning vote (without actually SAYING anything – he said he knew and refused to comment when Steve guessed Vanessa).

Steve describes his reasoning – that Adam told him that he knew for a fact that Vanessa changed her vote (which she didn’t, remember, Jonathan did). He wanted Vanessa to know what it was like to be lied to and betrayed.

Geek Overlord reminds us that there are four eligible players left: Richard (the original outcast!), Tarah, Jameson, and Jonathan. They are asked to leave the inner circle.

Vanessa is “peeved” that Steve didn’t think more about his vote. Oh, he did. He just had bad information. She congratulates someone for a smooth move in removing a threat. Or revenge, right?

Steve says that the beauty of the game is that you have to vote to outcast someone, and then be nice to them to get their vote for the money. Tarah and Jameson don’t seem to be cottoning on to the fact that he’s talking about their promise to him earlier that they were all together. Whoops – apparently he’s blaming Vanessa for telling him that Tarah and Jameson were voting for someone else. I’m a little confused, but Steve is mad at Vanessa and doesn’t seem to be mad at Tarah and Jameson, so we’ll leave it there.

Steve goes to Richard, Adam, and Jonathan and asks them who they were told to vote for. Richard confirms that Tarah and Jameson told him to vote for Steve, but he voted for Vanessa. They’re afraid of him because he came so close to winning. Steve reacts with surprise at the mention of Tarah and Jameson’s name, and declares he should have seen it.

Next on Steve’s list is Tarah. He asks her that he knows about the outcast vote, and wants to know why. She hems and haws and he asks for confirmation. She stammers, “Vanessa…” and he cuts her off. He now thinks she was the snake the whole time, he can tell by her face that something is up. She says to us that is WAS part of her plan to outxast Steve. She’s a rotten liar, at least to Steve’s face. She’s saved from Steve’s interrogation by a call to gather at the dining room table.

Geek Overlord greets them and tells them that their failures have wasted almost a million dollars. Since voting for someone should be based on character, they will now hear from the people who know them best – their friends and family from the outside world. They will only hear about the four still remaining, of course.

Jameson’s partner Rob is first. He says Jameson does wonderful things for people, like giving his life savings to someone whose dog needed surgery. Jameson needs some of that karma to come back, like on My Name is Earl, the best show on TV. Jameson reacts to all this as you’d expect.

Richard’s father, I think, rambles a bit and talks about buying someone a house. He’s very hard to understand.

Tarah’s sister Shanna says she needs it because she’s totally broke. So get a job. Tarah bought a meal for some guy at a fast food place. If that’s the nicest story you can think of to say about someone, that’s pretty bad.