The Circle: How Michelle Should’ve Played The Game Differently

Michelle Rider was the second The Circle season 3 contestant to be blocked, and playing the game differently could have brought her a win. The unexpected clone twist was ultimately Michelle from South Carolina’s downfall, as she became frazzled. She was unable to prove her identity to the rest of her fellow players. While Michelle played an honest game until the very end, she could have stayed in the game longer if she had used a different strategy.

This new season of The Circle is bigger than it was before, with fresh faces and huge personalities. The $100,000 grand prize is still awarded to the most popular influencer at the end, but season 3’s twist of cloning player profiles is unlike any other. Season 2 had Courtney Revolution impersonate “The Joker,” a player who could talk to other players anonymously and listen to their conversations. Jack Atkins and Lisa Delcampo, also from season 2, were blocked contestants but were able to make a comeback by playing under one catfish profile. Season 3 introduced viewers to cloning, where a player can impersonate another player’s profile. The other contestants could not tell the difference between the two Michelles, ultimately voting for the fake Michelle to be blocked.

The reality show The Circle features fun icebreaker games that help the cast to get to know each other better. How Michelle played the games made most of the contestants distrust her. If she had provided different answers and strategized better, she could have made it further in the game. One icebreaker asked the group to agree or disagree with the statement that it is fine to let a pet kiss them on the mouth. While the cast was split in half with this answer, Michelle said no. She should have said yes, as her answer led others to be suspicious of her since she had two dogs in her profile picture. This caused her to rank in 8th place.

Michelle Rider Was Hurt By Ava & Chanel Capra

Shortly after, Michelle’s profile was cloned by Ava and Chanel Capra so they could come back in the game after being the first ones blocked. Both “Michelles” had to give background stories about pictures from Michelle’s profile, to prove who was real. Michelle gave descriptive answers while the catfish Michelle gave vague answers. Michelle went wrong with that because she came off as trying too hard, as the cast liked the vague answers better. This lead everyone to unanimously vote to block the real Michelle.

When Michelle truthfully answered that she does not allow her dogs to kiss her on the mouth, it instantly put a target on her back. Her answer shattered everyone’s preconceived notion of her based on her profile picture. She was perceived as a nice Southern dog mom who lets her pooches kiss her on the mouth because she loves them so much. While The Circle season 3 star was truthful, she should have lied and answered yes to the statement, based on the impression that her profile picture gave. If she had a different profile picture and answered no, she would not have been under suspicion.

Michelle Should Have Visited Daniel Cusimano

When Michelle gave descriptive answers about her pictures against Chanel and Ava, the vague answers resonated with the cast more. Michelle’s real answers were too much and did not mean anything to the rest of the cast. That’s because they did not know her well. If she was just as vague, it would have been hard to tell who was honest or not. She probably could’ve convinced the cast she was real.

Even after Michelle was blocked, she still could’ve played the game differently. She should have visited Daniel Cusimano instead of Chanel and Ava. He would know they blocked the fake Michelle and could have made the game more interesting thanks to that knowledge. She also should have rapidly built a personal connection with someone so they would be on her side. The clone twist should have been later in the game too because it would’ve disrupted the alliances more successfully. The twist hurt Michelle’s performance, but if she had made different changes in her strategy, she could have gone far on The Circle.

The CircleSeason 3 releases new episodes Wednesdays on Netflix.

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