Can the Actual Mole on Netflix's 'The Mole' Be Eliminated? Here's How It Works

Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers from Season 2, Episodes 1-5 of The Mole.

If you've been looking for a new reality competition series with a simple, yet compelling concept, look no further than The Mole on Netflix.

So, what's at stake and how do you play? Twelve contestants are thrust into an assortment of physical challenges, each of them eager to claim victory and add money to a collective prize pot.

However, every contestant is well aware that there's a Mole in their midst. The Mole's sole goal is to sabotage the group to the best of their ability, acting as the unknown hurdle in each and every challenge.

So, we wondered — can the Mole actually be eliminated from The Mole? Here's what we know.

The answer? No! As it turns out, the Mole has immunity throughout the entirety of the competition. However, that privilege comes with one major caveat that balances out the Mole's seemingly invincible power.

The Mole may not be able to be eliminated, but the Mole also can't win the game. It's all about those checks and balances!

Another interesting twist? The amount of money that the contestants can potentially earn depends on how well they manage to thwart the Mole's sabotage efforts.

Think of it like this: The Mole aims to lower the cash prize pool for the actual contestants in any way they possibly can. One major moment from Season 2, Episode 5 of The Mole features the show's host Ari Shapiro telling the group that someone bid the entire prize pot on an exemption card, meaning the pot will once again be down to zero.

According to a report from The Reality Titbit, the financial stakes are quite high for the contestants — they can win up to $1 million, but only if they play their cards right against the Mole.

So, how do contestants get eliminated? After each challenge, contestants are given a multiple-choice quiz to see how much they can guess about the Mole, based on what occurred in the challenge. The contestant that scores the lowest is eliminated.

This elimination process continues until one player and the Mole are left standing. At that time, it's likely that the $1 million cash prize has decreased if the Mole has kept their sabotage game strong. However, the winner of The Mole gets to finally expose the titular producer-planted villain once and for all.

Netflix wisely kept the stakes high for viewers of The Mole as well — rather than releasing all of the episodes in the season, the streaming platform is staggering Season 2 out for three weeks.

So, we won't know the Mole's secret identity until July 12, 2024. Who do you think the Mole is? Episodes 6–8 of The Mole hit Netflix on Friday, July 5, so we'll at least be a bit closer to an answer! (Sadly, viewers aren't entitled to a cash prize themselves!)

Season 2 of The Mole is now streaming on Netflix.