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'The Circle' Season 4: Nathan gains popularity on social media for all the unpopular reasons

Nathan (Alex Brizard) is becoming increasingly famous among fans of 'The Circle,' but for all the wrong reasons

'The Circle,' Netflix's popular reality show, has returned for a new season, with a packed cast of contestants striving to be the most likable figure on the show's exclusive social media channel. This time, the contestants in the Circle's isolated residences all have some type of social media expertise, ranging from content creators with millions of followers to a known figure from previous seasons of the show. Alex Brizard, or should we call him Nathan for the rest of the piece, is one of the many players competing for the $150,000 prize money. Nathan, who joined the show in the middle of the season, has received a lot of attention on social media.

The 28-year-old is the season's catfish schemer, and he, like the others on the show, has extensive experience in social media. The Scottsdale commercial banker and self-described "Reality TV Fanboy turned Reality TV Player" spends his spare time live-streaming Pokémon games on Twitch and co-hosting the podcast 'Two Dudes Watch Cartoons'. He's taking on the role of Nathan, a non-threatening 22-year-old frat guy.

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It takes a lot of effort to be a catfish. When a player chooses to enter The Circle as someone else, they pick stress unlike any other stress experienced by anyone competing as their regular self. Even though 'The Circle' is not a show concerning hunting catfish, and there are no incentives for eliminating catfish, nor are there any punishments if a catfish makes it to the finals, so many decisions are predicated on whether someone is who they claim to be.

As they must be always vigilant to ensure that their true identity is not disclosed, they must occasionally resort to drastic tactics. We've spotted five catfish profiles since the start of Season 4. Nathan, who first appeared on the show in episode 3, has always presented himself as a master strategist (remember his #strategicAF shirt?). His number one tactic to save his identification as a catfish has been to put someone else under the bus and depict them as the catfish. This technique included everything from sowing doubts in the other contestants' minds to perplexing Alyssa with a lie during the "anonymous" game. Nathan's continual attempt to deceive his fellow contestants (even if it's simply for the benefit of the game) has irked show viewers. One frustrated viewer wrote on social media: "nathan on the circle makes me want to commit homicide he is so irritating with his little irritating voice saying he’s the smartest one there and being like ME AND MY FRATERNITY BROTHERS LOVE TO DRINK ALCOHOL shut up!"

Many fans have taken to Twitter to express their displeasure with this particular contestant. A fan of the show tweeted: "The person playing Nathan might be the single worst strategic contestant to ever be cast on any single competition show ever. #TheCircle"

One of the fans mentioned how karma worked out for him after he almost got trapped in the "anonymous" game. In Episode 8, the Circle (the game) is subjected to a CYBER ATTACK that jeopardizes all the contestants' data. Okay, so the CYBER ATTACK is just a pretext for everybody to ask dodgy questions anonymously. This is similar to Lana's "malfunction" in 'Too Hot to Handle' Season 3, however, no one in 'The Circle' believes the game has been compromised. Nevertheless, the "breach" allows each player to go through another player's photo albums and make one photo public, along with an anonymous question. Catfish charges are leveled at "Carol;" Bru and Yu-Ling both avoid answering a question about whom they trust the most, and Frank is dubbed "Mr. Nice Guy" – everything is going swimmingly until Alex gets involved. He selects a photo from Alyssa's gallery depicting her on a trip to Europe and then asks Alyssa, anonymously, why she lied about never having visited worldwide. Alyssa, an obsessive note-taker, instantly shuts off this line of questioning, knowing what she's said to everybody in the Circle and knowing she's never said that. It's a tense time until Alex receives what he just offered.

Bru shares a photo of baby Nathan holding golf clubs with the cast. Anonymously, Bru asks Nathan, a "lifelong golfer," a basic question that even a golf novice could answer: "How many shots under par do you need for an eagle?" This might turn into another Collection Co. situation, and if Alex responds incorrectly, he'll be out of the game. And he's well aware of it. Alex, as a brilliant strategist, understands the importance of committing to an answer. Any response that isn't decisive will set up catfish alarms. “My family loves to golf, we live near a lot of golf courses," he says. "I wish I was better, but I usually end up drinking too much. [laughing crying emoji] An eagle is two shots under par.” It is not just the correct response, but also the ideal answer. It covers everything. Furthermore, it discloses something personal about Nathan, conforms to his frat bro cover story, and provides an accurate answer to the question.

Even while viewers enjoyed this segment, they couldn't get over Nathan's attempt to throw Alyssa under the bus. One Twitter user wrote: "Nathan lying about Alyssa in hopes of catching her off guard and making her panic .. just to turn around and be caught off guard and panic #TheCircleNetflix #TheCircle"

One fan even went as far as to compare him to Justin Timberlake: "Nathan is the discount Justin Timberfake. #TheCircle #TheCircleNetflix"

Season 4 of 'The Circle' is now available on Netflix with all-new episodes.