WIDM aftertalk: this is the answer to that one question

For nine weeks, there was one question that occupied all of us: who is the Mole? Almost every candidate tried to look suspicious, and it was quite a task to extract the good hints. Not to mention the tunnel vision that was always lurking. All uncertainty now truly comes to an end; the Mole has been unmasked. One last spoiler warning, it's time to discuss who had a double role all this time, and how this saboteur was chosen.

And the Mole is...

For the very last time, we return to the helipad in Phnom Penh. This is always the most exciting moment of the season. In a trip down memory lane, we see how Rik told everyone one by one that they were just regular candidates. Until he uttered those oh so important words: you are the Mole. To whom did he say this? It was... Stijn. He managed to keep the pot historically low without the rest of the group realizing it; except for one. Roos was the only one who had Stijn at the top of her suspect list; she is the winner and Maaike the losing finalist. Before we discover how Stijn managed to sabotage the tasks, we naturally want to know how he was chosen as the Mole. Despite Teun being the first eliminated, he seemed to have figured out how it all went down. It all started with the auditions, where the candidates chose the three traits for a perfect Mole: creative, social and ruthless. Once in Cambodia, they were allowed to divide the different characteristics among themselves. Stijn and Maaike received the three most important traits equally often, and still had a chance. The real decision came during the test with only the question ‘who is the Mole?’. Only Stijn was never chosen here and thus remained the best under the radar. He transformed from a pure candidate into the great saboteur.

The Mole in action

After Stijn had a moment to recover from the news, he was determined to go all out. His tactic was clear: become friends with everyone and win their trust; or as he put it himself: kill them with kindness, and fashion. Well, that worked. From moment one, Stijn was a daring Mole. A sly smile to the camera while the others just sat next to him became his signature move. Yet he also had some luck from time to time. Sam and Roos suggesting to sabotage tasks to appear suspicious or to hinder the rest, Stijn certainly didn't say no to that. The mole actions didn't always go flawlessly, literally. The blacklight paint from the break-in task turned out to be everywhere on the Mole's hands, an excuse to give the candidates some time to change before the karaoke night had to allow him to scrub his hands thoroughly. Although those poorly washed fingers nearly betrayed him afterward. The further into the game, the more Stijn got into his groove. At the abandoned airport, he managed to destroy the passports unnoticed, and in the haunted hotel, the mole money simply disappeared in the toilet. No matter how short the preparation time sometimes was, Stijn managed to make something out of every task and stay off many lists.

The hidden clues

As every year, there were many hidden clues to discover this season, of course well hidden again. Starting with: the episode titles. Together, they formed the eightfold path to enlightenment in Buddhism; and enlightenment is the highest state of holiness. Stijn's name comes from Augustijn, which means sanctified. A clear hint, right? You just have to know it. The letter S also played an important role. For instance, the Mole was in room 928 during his first briefing; add these numbers together and you get the number 19. What is the nineteenth letter of the alphabet? Exactly, the S. The tasks from episode four where ice creams were made and freeze-scene had to be completed referred back to his last name: de Vries. There were also clues discovered by the mole enthusiasts. The label L.Somsi on one of the suitcases at the airport indeed stood for S is Mole; although that hint could still go two ways thanks to Sophie. The enthusiasts who managed to trace the distorted voice back to Stijn with technical gadgets turned out to be lucky. Yes, he was ultimately the Mole, but the voice we heard was AI. The creators had of course predicted that fans would take this on. Some mole actions and hints were clearer, others not at all. In any case, as the youngest Mole ever with also the lowest pot, Stijn did an amazing job. That certainly deserves a round of applause. For now, our mole notebooks can go back in the cupboard; but fortunately not as long as usual. From September, we can search for a new saboteur again. I can't wait.