Note: There are spoilers in this article! If you haven't watched the show or are in the process, then come back here when you are done!
Netflix original series are always hit or miss with me. When I first saw "The Circle" being advertised, it was a big miss and I skipped over it. I didn't want to watch a group of people who compete in another reality game show for cash prizes. Still, it kept popping up, so I figured it was a sign that I needed to watch the show. By the end of episode one, I was hooked.
It starts out with eight people coming into their apartments, creating their profiles, and then getting to know each other before "blocking" one player from the game. For the most part, some blocks were predictable, but others had me shook. The way a player gets blocked is based on their ratings, so I decided to rate all of the contestants just like I would if I was on the show, starting with my lowest ratings.
13. Antonio
I didn't like him from the very start. He played the game well, but he lasted longer than I thought he would if I'm being honest. I'm sure Antonio would have went all the way, but when he attacked someone (I think Mercedeze/Karyn) it went downhill for him.
12. Sammie
Sammie was honest about herself, but I felt like she began to slip into catty mode at some points in the show. When everyone had to say who their biggest competition was, I think Sammie didn't have to attack Sean for not being real. At the end of the day, Sean's message was more inspirational than something to be used against her.
11. Alana
She was the first one out, so nobody got the chance to know who she was or what she was about. If Antonio and Sammie weren't my least favorite players, Alana would be my lowest rating.
10. Karyn (aka Mercedeze)
She was revealed to be the first catfish. I think the main reason she was blocked was that she lashed out and that could have contributed to her time being cut short on the show; however, she had an important message, too. She said that if she was herself in the photos, nobody would really talk to her or take a liking to her like they did with the fake photo. It says a lot about how society views a lot of people based on their standards of beauty and that needs to change.
9. Bill
Bill had the right idea with his reasoning for coming to "The Circle." He wanted to be authentic and build real relationships. He felt that only communicating through a screen made it difficult and that a lot of fake love was being thrown. He would've placed higher, but his final message is the reason he's here at #9.
8. Miranda
Miranda was the first "new player" and she was a genuine soul from the start, like most of the OG players (sorry, Seaburn). She got eliminated and went to see Joey, which I didn't expect at all. I'm rooting for her and Joey to actually begin a relationship; they'd be so cute.
7. Seaburn (aka Rebecca)
Seaburn helped bring awareness to how toxic masculinity can be. In the finale, he said something along the lines of, "Females can be emotional, but why can't a man." This message should shed some light on how females can wear their emotional side on social media and be ridiculed for it. Rebecca was "emotional" and "whiny" to some of the other players. If he was himself, he wouldn't have gotten the same responses.
6. Alex (aka Adam)
I knew that Alex wasn't going to be himself in the show. He ironically got blocked the same night Bill did when Alex was basically groveling on the floor to not be eliminated. He was another ray of sunshine, but we didn't get to see much from his persona, Adam, so we didn't get to hear about him or see him participate.
5. Chris
Chris placed 4th in the show, but he deserved to be at least third. He was always the person that people could go to and feel comfortable with and made sure that his space was judgment free.
4. Ed (and his mom, Tammy)
They were hilarious. Ed came in at the end, so we didn't get much time to see what kind of person he was like we did the others. If he had more time, I think he (and Tammy) would have avoided being blocked.
3. Shubam
Shooby was for sure a favorite! Throughout the entire show, I just wanted to give him a hug for being so adorable and considerate for everyone. He played the game very smart and he deserved to be at the top with his brother, Joey.
2. Sean
Sean won me over from the start. She said that many people wouldn't care for her based on her looks, so that's why she used a friend's pictures instead. But, near the end of her time on the show, Sean came clean about who she was. She did what a lot of people who use social media for (aka, hiding) wouldn't and I commend her for that. She didn't deserve to leave when she did and I wish she would've made it to the top 5.
1. Joey
Joey won the entire show and he deserved his win! He was real from the start and was very funny, but caring about everyone, especially those who came into the game with him. His bromance with Shubam won my heart because if Joey hadn't won, I was totally rooting for Shubam.
"The Circle" had a lot of holes and things that I would have changed. Namely allowing the new players more time to show everyone who they were (or weren't) before having eliminations.
I'm not going to lie, when Bill & Ed appeared, I was automatically like, "Oh, he's cute!" I wanted to immediately search them on Instagram and follow them, but then I realized the real purpose of this game (and no, it wasn't to win money). The true message behind the show was to not judge a book by its cover and that when it comes to social media, being yourself is all that should matter.
The fact that people feel the need to have to hide behind some photos because they're ashamed of who they are should not be normal and we need to fix that.