‘The Mole’ Season 2 Stars Answer Burning Questions About That Finale
[Warning: The following post contains MAJOR spoilers about The Mole Season 2’s finale.]
The Mole has been exposed, and no one’s happier about it than he is. The final stretch of Netflix’s addictive reality competition series has reached the streamer, and fans finally found out both who won The Mole Season 2 and who was trying to sabotage the players all season long.
As it turns out, the player who was secretly working against everyone was Sean, the former police officer-turned-stay-at-home dad who flew under the radar of some but was rightly identified by co-stars Muna and the season’s winner Michael.
TV Insider caught up with all of the Top 5 contestants — Sean, Michael, Muna, Hannah, and Deanna — to chat about how Sean pulled it off and what we didn’t see.
Sean, I want to start with you. What was it like for you to not only keep your identity a secret and as the Mole, but also to do those confessionals in character?
Sean: Yeah, it’s stressful. It’s like a double lie. You’re lying to everybody on set. You’re lying to everybody in the game. Nobody knows that I’m the Mole except for the executive producer. So you’re legitimately trying to play the game at all times. So I got into character, I’d try to stick with it the best I could. And just remember that whenever I was not alone, I had to keep the act going. But it was exhausting as hell. It really was.
Michael, what did your dad say when you called?
Michael: Well, first of all, he did not pick up. So we had to call my stepmom, and he didn’t believe me at first because he was like, “He did not just win.” I was like, “No, I won.” And he was just so proud of me — started to tear up, and that was nice to see. He’s been my biggest supporter since I can remember, and knowing that I made him proud — and he doesn’t tear up often — it was a great experience, something I’ll always remember having with him.
Muna, you figured out Sean was the Mole in your final vote. When did you figure that out, and how?
Muna: Yes, so I had Sean on my suspect list in the very beginning, and it was a lot of different reasons why. I mean, I was with Sean a lot throughout that first day, and seeing him in the slingshot mission and then seeing him after dinner, just how nervous he was. Logically speaking, he should have been the first one out. He should have been the first one out, and it just felt different. However, moving forward, you see me in the second mission joining the raft team. I started to just join teams where I felt like it would be the best logical place for the Mole to be at, and Sean just happened to be at each and every one of those places. And so you see me go to the theater and watch Sean’s video, and after that, I started to vote for him fully all the way to the end.
Hannah, your reunion with Tony was cute. What’s the status of you guys?
Hannah: So after the show, we actually did try and make things work off-camera. Obviously, as the show ended, we all got our normal lives. We went to New York together, but we just are both so busy, and so we just didn’t want to ruin the friendship the bond that we have is so special, and it goes so past a showmance. So we decided to be friends and we hang out and keep in touch.
Sean: And I can vouch for that.
Hannah: We were hanging out together…
Sean: And it was beautiful. The friendship is very genuine.
Deanna, you conquered one of your fears this season with the cave diving. What was it like for you to relive that when the show came out?
Deanna: You know, it’s so funny. I thought that I would be re-traumatized watching it, but — and I kind of giggled watching it — it really was super scary when I was doing it. It was so scary, and when I emerged from those caves, I was a completely different woman. And I mean, to my core, I am a totally different person than I was before the show. So rewatching it was just a reminder of how I was and how I am now. It’s pretty great.
Now that you know Sean was a Mole, and you’ve gotten to know the true him, how has it been for you guys to create a friendship? Did you have to start over?
Michael: I mean, for the record, yes, he was lying to us, and he was the Mole, but he was always himself. Everyone fell in love with who Sean was. Even though he was sabotaging the whole game, we still loved Sean for who he was. I appreciate his character and like he’s such a true friend to have.
Sean: Thanks, man.
Micheal: You did a great job as the Mole.
Muna: Yeah, that’s the reason why Sean was an excellent Mole. He was just so lovable. There wasn’t one person on this cast who didn’t like Sean. And so, I mean, after the game was done, that doesn’t leave. Because at the end of day, like Michael was saying, who he was at the core was his advantage as the Mole, and that still stayed on.
Deanna: Yeah, he was very disarming with his personality. He was so funny and fun to be around that him being the Mole, it was like, “Okay, no big deal moving on. It was a great person.”
Lastly, what was your favorite challenge and why?
Michael: Personally, I love Tioman Island. I’ve only seen clear water like that once prior. So being able to swim and see the fish and the coral and a sunken ship, that was an awesome experience. And I got to spend it with three other people, that was a great, great time for me.
Deanna: It was the caves, for obvious reasons. It helped me more than five years of therapy ever did, instantly.
Sean: All of them were great, were dope. Don’t get me wrong. The production value and the thought that was put into each one was great. For me, it was the last one. Like I said, it was done for me. At that point, I can now be free of this game. So the minute that we crossed the last set of mines, and it was over, I was like, “Okay, thank God. It’s over.” In a good way, though. Not like bitter, like bittersweet. Like, “It’s done, I can go back to being myself and actually be their friends and not ruin their lives anymore.” You know what I’m saying?
Deanna: Thanks for that.
Sean: You’re welcome.
Muna: Oh, for me, it would have to be the caves, similar to what Deanna was saying. It was just, you were fully immersed into that experience. Nothing else mattered. But also I really like the heist mission. I actually planned before for how to sabotage this mission and look suspicious, but man, I was having so much fun just kind of figuring it out — I’m a big escape room girly. So it was just a great time.
Deanna: It was a lot of fun. The challenges were really fun.
Hannah: I loved the treasure hunt. I don’t know if it was the actual mission or just because that’s the first time we all really, really bonded on Tioman and started to talk to each other. And then I really loved the mission where Deanna got kidnapped… It was real. They really got kidnapped, and we were really stressed out about it. You can see we were really stressed out trying to find Deanna.
Deanna: And I’m screaming, like “Help!”
Michael: We also ran almost eight miles that day in that beat so we were exhausted.
Deanna: And it was like a tin shed. It was hot as hell in there, so I was legit panicked.
The Mole, Seasons 1-2, Streaming now, Netflix