‘The Anonymous’ Recap: ‘Plot Twist!’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THE ANONYMOUS -- "Plot Twist!" Episode 107 -- Pictured: (l-r) Dillian Frelow, Marcel Cunningham, Victoria Vesce, Andy King -- (Photo by: Rico Torres/USA Network)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 107 of ‘The Anonymous’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.

There comes a point with new television shows, where everything comes together narratively, and that is quite the special moment. Because when that happens, the show takes on new life and it has a comfortable vibe that only excites an audience further. Thanks to the fact that the show knows what it is about and what it can accomplish. But normally, this is something that is applied to narrative and fiction themed television shows, since they take time to establish plots and flesh out their characters. But believe it or not, this moment can be present in reality television as well, especially when the show is indeed a newborn of sorts, and for proof… look no further than this week’s episode of The Anonymous on USA Network.

For ‘Plot Twist!’ finally saw everything come together in this show. For now, viable strategies came into play and the intrepid folks vying to earn the title of The Anonymous finally have a sound understanding of what to do with the chat and how to use it to their advantage. All of which was put on display in this tale, after of course, some ugly business was tended to. Since we were left wondering last week if the seasoned Reality TV veteran, Xavier, was going to go home, or if Dillian and his bubbly personality was going to be removed from our screens and well, it turned out that Xavier was The Anonymous’ choice to be sent packing, who happened to be Lilly this week, and once Xavier said his goodbyes, we were plunged into a transformative episode.

One where DANI wasted little time in letting the contestants know, that once their breakfast and morning routine was out of the way, the very next day, it was time to head into the chat and get down to Anonymous business and that’s where we saw everything come together. Because in essence, everyone is comfortable now and everyone understands that this is a game designed to make others uncomfortable through Anonymous mode and where they can use the chat to direct others toward targets. All of which spoke to Xavier’s legacy, since he put forth a fair chunk of these concepts into the game and well… they were executed to a tee here. Which brought about one intense chat, wherein Marcel might have exposed himself again, and where others began to disappear from the conversation because of how well they were using these strategies. 

All of which made it seem that strategy was going to be the focus of this episode, and that the smooth nature of that strategy would once again lock down a target for removal, which varied, surprisingly. Since some were pondering upon Jack’s future while others were eager to look at sending Marcel home or break up the power couple that is Victopher. But since this show is also all about surprise, we saw another element come forth that will also be the norm. For DANI threw everyone for a loop before they could really settle in on who to go after, courtesy of a reformed Face-Off Challenge. One where there would be no show and tell regarding whether someone was ‘At Risk’ or ‘Safe’. They would simply choose their box and go handle the test, and the Anonymous would make their choice, with a twist. In that, if The Anonymous chose a player to go home that had a ‘Safe’ box, they would be immune and there would be no elimination.
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Which meant, the audience and the contestants went into elimination with no knowledge of who was safe, but slowly but surely, we came to learn who did indeed have the magic safety box, and for the first time… we knew exactly who was on the chopping block. It turns out, it was Marcel, and we learned this early… to offer up a different kind of cliffhanger. Because we don’t know if he was safe or not and we won’t know… until next week. Which was a stunning end to a stunning episode, one that at first glance, does not appear to be anything more than chaos and no real sense of cohesion but it is there. Because everyone was indeed comfortable and eager to deploy strategies that ruffled features and confused and shattered anonymity, and it is becoming the norm now to be surprised by DANI. Which means this show has now established that strategy and surprise, and a need to overcome the twist will be the formula and the norm for this show, and now it will be interesting to see how the contestants thrive within that as this season continues along. Until next time.

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