Suvechha Sarkar
With Christine gone after the last Saving Ceremony, the tension in season 1 of Fox’s ‘The Snake‘ is at an all-time high. In episode 7, titled ‘Nowhere to Hide,’ the group of competitors is shrinking fast, but the paranoia continues to grow. The alliances begin to show cracks as suspicion among the players is trickling in. Each person is now inclined to watch their back as the game enters yet another brutal phase. As more eyes watch everyone’s moves, many strong contenders now face the threat of elimination.
A Scavenger Hunt Forces Players to Reveal Their Secrets and Loyalties
The episode begins as everyone returns from the Saving Ceremony to find another crate. It is from Christine, who has given John an advantage because she feels he knows how it feels to be an underdog in the house like her. While Kethryn asks others if she should’ve been upfront with Christine, the focus shifts to Jack and Maclaine. Jack notes that Kethryn’s words and actions before everyone don’t match because she says that Jordan was her number one since the first day. However, she made a pact with Jack, Brett, and Devonte and lied to them. Maclaine also agrees because she feels Kethryn hasn’t shown any action to prove her loyalty again. As Brett and Derek discuss John being a threat, the former observes that although he and the detective started as enemies, they respect each other and are going to be formidable teammates.
When the players go outside, the host, Jim Jefferies, surprises everyone by appearing from a huge crate. He explains that the day’s challenge, a Snake-killing Scavenger Hunt, is going to happen on the house property. He reveals a mongoose figurine and announces that a similar mongoose figure is hiding in or around the house. The first person to find the Mongoose must return to the host in the courtyard, and this competitor can eliminate any other player from becoming the Snake for the week. The last player to stand in the game is going to be the Snake. With that being said, he reads the first clue: “The hottest place in the house.” Amanda strategically decides not to find the figure because she doesn’t want to give up the information about who she trusts the least to become the Snake.
Brett finds it in the oven and brings it out only to eliminate John. Although it reveals that he is gunning for the politician, Jim discloses the twist: the advantage that John received from Christine is that he gets one block in this game. This means he is safe from being eliminated to become the Snake for the week, for only this time, because his advantage is now used. So, Brett decides to eliminate Amanda, which makes Kethryn happy because she feels the lawyer would’ve sent her home. For the second clue, they are shown an image of three sets of feet with an upward arrow. It leads Alyssa to the walkway, where she finds the figure, and John promptly asks her to give it to Brett. She does the same, and the game moves forward to the third clue: “Where the mongoose can reflect.” Maclaine finds it hidden in towels in front of the mirror and eliminates Kethryn, because she wants to take the “last big liar” out of the game.
As John is Crowned the Snake, the House Braces For Its Impact
Kethryn is surprised at Maclaine’s decision and notes that it is a calculated decision, and she now questions her position in her pact. She wonders if they are onto her and want her gone, or if they are still figuring it out. The fourth clue is a hand holding up weights, which Alyssa discovers once again in the courtyard where everyone works out, and she eliminates Jack. The fifth clue reads: “Truths reveal, secrets spill,” which sends Jordan to the confessional room, where she finds the Mongoose. She eliminates Maclaine in the courtyard, pushing forward the challenge to the sixth clue: “UTTOHB,” which spells “Hottub” when appropriately written. Alyssa quickly figures it out, leading her to the figure, which helps her eliminate Jordan. Alyssa makes this decision because Jordan is close with Kethryn, who she feels is the person playing everyone.
The seventh clue leads John directly to the Mongoose within the house, leading him to eliminate Derek. The game comes down to the final three: Frank, John, and Alyssa. John once again becomes the first person to find out the figure in the toilet, and he chooses to eliminate Alyssa. Jim then reveals the final clue: “In this competition, you will either sink or swim,” naturally leading Frank and John towards the pool. The former competitor observes that if he becomes the Snake, he has to make a strategic decision, but he has to figure out a way to accomplish it without having to do it directly. So, he lets John jump into the water and take the mongoose, letting him become the Snake. Once the result is announced, it worries Derek because the politician is intelligent enough to pick him out as a threat, but he hopes his other alliances are going to save him.
While Jack fears John because he is smart, the latter feels it’s his opportunity to flex his power as a power player in the game. The attention shifts to Alyssa and John in the Snake Pit, where she informs him that everyone, especially Jack and Brett, is nervous about him being the Snake. John immediately remarks that Jack is the most dangerous in terms of long-term wins because he plays on all sides. Although Alyssa mentions eliminating Kethryn first, she also adds that sending Derek, Jack, or Brett can be beneficial. Back in the house, Frank reveals to Alyssa and Jordan that he deliberately let John win so the politician can let his ego run and do the dirty work. Jordan, on the other hand, puts her faith in both of them, asking them to have her back.
John’s Secretive Interviews Spark Paranoia and Put a Target on His Back
Once the morning rolls in, the contestants receive a note from Jim: “Players, I know these past few weeks have tested you mentally, physically, and emotionally. Hearing is one thing, seeing it another.” This leads everyone’s minds back to when they heard each other’s opinions and the chaos it stirred up. Although all of them begin getting tense, once the screen is turned on, they are shocked to find messages from their family. While seeing a message from Jack’s family, Maclaine reveals that he has invited her to visit them in Austin, Texas. During the message from Frank’s parents, he opens up about how he got into beauty school because his mother battled cancer. While undergoing Chemotherapy, she lost her hair, which motivated him to make her feel beautiful. He even had a college scholarship, but let that go to pursue this path.
When Brett hears the message from John’s parents, he promptly notes that it felt quite scripted. On the other hand, Derek grows emotional on seeing his wife and daughter, revealing that his daughter’s first birthday is coming up. He can hear his wife singing for his daughter and considers it his motivation. One by one, messages from each one’s family lift spirits among the contestants. The focus shifts to the dining room, where John says before everyone that he wants to meet each of them for three minutes. He wants to get a clear view of certain things and promises to keep everything they share with him a secret. One by one, he asks everyone who they want to save or eliminate. While Jordan intends to save Kethryn and eliminate Jack. On the other hand, Brett wants to save Jack and eliminate Kethryn.
However, Jack feels that John is acting smart and adds that he is not an idiot to trust the politician. Similarly, Kethryn notes a difference between understanding the group and bringing terror to people. Hence, the tension in the house for the day is not about who is saying whose name but rather how John is handling everything. When Maclaine says to John that she wants to save Jack and eliminate Kethryn, he adds that if anyone uses this information as leverage, he will make their life difficult. In his confessional, Derek reveals that he is happy that the politician is putting a target on his own back because of how he is handling everything. John then calls Jordan and Kethryn to let them know that, after speaking to everyone, they are going to be in the Snake Pit tonight.
John’s Calculated Move Backfires, Leading to Rising Tension in the House
After the revelation, Kethryn quickly tells John it is the stupidest decision he can make. Furthermore, she points out how Jordan saved him in the last ceremony. Jordan expresses that she trusted him by saving him and asks if Frank and Alyssa are okay with his decision. When John tells her that they agree with him, it leaves her feeling “stupid.” She is now questioning everything because her strategy of being a friendly person is isolating her in the game. She goes near the pool with seething anger, where everyone else discusses John’s moves. When Jordan and Kethryn ask who said their name, Maclaine admits that she told John about the latter. When Kethryn says that she is surprised, it leaves Maclaine feeling she is being thrown under the bus because it is a unanimous decision made by the players.
Jordan and Kethryn are disappointed in Frank and Alyssa because they have always had their back. For now, Jordan feels that she can only trust Kethryn. The latter thinks the Snake chain is unpredictable, and John can’t control everything. Meanwhile, Jack tells Brett and Derek that the Snake has just stirred the pot by taking Jordan on his side and separating her from Frank and Alyssa. In his confessional, John divulges that there is an option to pick someone other than Kethryn and blindside another player. He feels that she is playing a cutthroat game, and they can partner and help him by making a deal like a politician. As everyone nervously prepares for the night’s Saving Ceremony, John is reluctant to make any decision before standing next to Jim. On the other hand, Kethryn now hates John and wants a dramatic move or a God to save her.
Kethryn is Eventually Eliminated After the Cobra Cane Reshapes the Ceremony
The Saving Ceremony begins with just 10 contestants left, and John takes his place beside Jim. The Snake saves Alyssa, noting how she shares his belief in the power of positivity. She, in turn, saves Frank, who decides to pick Amanda. Frank and Alyssa’s decisions disappoint Kethryn because she hoped they would save her, since she always saves them. Frank remarks that even though he had to hold the dagger towards his good friend, Jordan, they are going to try their best to remain amicable. The chain moves forward as Amanda saves Derek, who then selects Brett. That is when Jim announces a twist: the crate with the snakeheads sticking out of it near them will change the game. This sparks hope in Kethryn’s mind as the host explains that it is called the Cobra Cane, and whoever picks the longest cane is going to be safe in the ceremony automatically.
Jordan is the first one to pick her cane, followed by Maclaine, Jack, and Kethryn, who all choose the ones shorter than Jordan’s. Hence, she is the one who is safe from the Snake Pit, putting the other three back in. While Kethryn wants to get loyalty back from John like she and Jordan showed for him, Brett is now in a tough spot. Jack asked the Boxer to pick Maclaine over him, but he knows that John doesn’t like Jack. So, Brett takes the calculated risk and saves Jack, leaving Maclaine and Kethryn in the bottom two. John sees Maclaine in the Snake Pit as an opportunity to eliminate Jack’s numbers in the game. Meanwhile, Kethryn pleads that if he saves her, she and Jordan are going to have his back because he doesn’t have many in the house. The politician loves being the Snake and has this level of decision-making power.
However, John feels there is no way to eliminate people without spilling blood. He states that Maclaine and Kethryn have been kind to him and expresses his gratitude before eventually saving Maclaine. However, Kethryn’s elimination makes Jordan really upset because she always had her back, and hence, she is now gunning for John. In her exit interview, Kethryn notes that everything she did in the game wasn’t personal. She aimed to play the “dumb, sweet, innocent girl” and made mistakes. However, she has no regrets about how she played the game. She thinks every player should start playing the game and backstabbing their friends. Meanwhile, John agrees that tonight changes how the players perceive him, but he doesn’t care how many lash out at him. While Jack thinks he has to ditch relationships and make tough decisions at this point, Amanda feels that Kethryn’s elimination is good for her gameplay since she wanted the lawyer out of the game.
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