Whodunnit? Reaction + Handicap - Episode 7

For a little change of pace, I'm going to post this reaction ON TIME only a few hours after the original airing.  The puzzle was pretty neat in this episode, but one guest got it so hilariously wrong that there was NO OTHER OPTION for the next victim.  Really. 

Kam-Blondes dominated this episode.  It was really a matter of whether it was Ronnie or Melina was the next death almost from the start, but the deal was sealed when both Ronnie and Melina turned out to be hopelessly bad at word games.  Ronnie had a 5- or 10-minute head start and he was still at it by the time Kam found the clue!  Anyway, I liked the darkness trick at the beginning and thought that the word puzzle was acceptable.  The murder itself, however, was wonky.  Apparently Lindsey didn't find the bobby pin in Geno's room, neither Kam nor Ronnie saw the lever for the chandelier OR noticed the smeared blood indicating a dragged body.  Hell, the killer even gave an additional hint before the final consult, because apparently none of the investigators did super-good this round. 

Anyhow, the narrative of this killing was tricky: the killer left a message for Geno to steal Giles' cell phone by breaking into his room with a bobby pin.  I'm still not sure why the phone was relevant.  Geno got the message but didn't take the killer's unique lei with him to the party (so the red herring was only a red herring... by accident.).  The killer WANTED to shut off the lights, strangle Geno with his lei (which had invisi-glow paint on it), then drop the chandelier on him.  Instead, the killer shot him with a 9mm handgun with a silencer, then dragged Geno's body to the spot where the chandelier would land shortly.  So that's how it happened.  How did the survivors fare? 

EPISODE 6 - Party Crasher

Sheri (0)

Dontae (0)

Adrianna (0)
Don (0)
Ulysses (0+1)
Dana (0+1)
Sasha (0+1)
Geno (1+0)
Ronnie (2+0)

I thought Ronnie had a real chance when he found the night vision goggles first and guessed the location of the second hint so quickly.  But for all his skill in finding clues, Ronnie appears to be hopeless at word puzzles.  That flaw led to Kam finding the clue and Ronnie biting the dust.  But I have to say, Ronnie's theory involving a trained monkey setting off the chandelier was hysterical.  One of the best moments of the show so far.  Now he's been exploded out of a hot tub into a pool, and if I had to guess the method will turn out to be either some weird chemical explosion reaction or a red herring leading to another form of death.  Couldn't tell ya. 

Status: Dead
(Clues Found + Rounds Won)

Cris

Cris seems willing to work with Melina, since she probably trusts her more than either of her two teammates.  In any case, I think that Cris is a less-likely killer than Kam or Lindsey, since she's basically stuck to one team and has tried very little in the way of manipulating others.  When she tried to bring in Melina, I think it was a genuine idea on her part that got nixed by Kam, who's gonna be REAL mad when one or both of the blondes betrays him in the next two episodes.  Count on it. 

Clues Found: 2
Rounds Won: 1
Times Scared: 0
Chance of Killer: Medium
Chance of Winner: Medium

Kam

I'm starting to think that Kam's not the killer - he's just an arrogant control freak.  He is definitely good at this game (the investigation, deduction, and scavenging aspects alike), but when it comes to only 3 or 4 remaining players will anyone want to work with him?  I say no, but it'll probably come down to finding one last clue, and that makes Kam or Cris the likeliest candidates. 

Clues Found: 2
Rounds Won: 1
Times Scared: 1 
Chance of Killer: Medium
Chance of Winner: High

Lindsey

Lindsey is now the only player that's never been Scared, and has won two rounds by the strength of her test-taking skills.  The other players haven't forgotten the two-timing she attempted several episodes ago, and her evil laugh and comments on the remixed phone message have always had me suspicious.  Whenever people try to find clues where there is almost nothing, Kam seems to be the likeliest killer (he was reading a book about doppelgangers in one scene and he is the only person remaining tall enough to have completed the first murder), but my gut says Lindsey. 

Clues Found: 0
Rounds Won: 2
Times Scared: 0 
Chance of Killer: High
Chance of Winner: Medium

Melina

I'm more intrigued by Melina's appearance in the next episode teaser than I was by her performance in this one.  Did she find the clue, but needs help with the other investigation phases?  Is she trying a preemptive crazy ploy to last another round?  I'm sure she survived this episode because her explanation didn't involve trained monkeys, but there's still SOME chance that she could be the killer.  Right?  I guess I've been saying this since episode three or four, but I think she's the weakest player remaining.  We'll see what that interesting trailer means for Melina. 

Clues Found: 0
Rounds Won: 0
Times Scared: 1
Chance of Killer: Low
Chance of Winner: Low

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At least I won't have one of these hanging over my head this week.  I am WAY behind on reviews and gaming and TV AND movies in general right now.  Hopefully the next thing I post is my FF VI review.