'The Circle' Season 5: Subham Goel's plan backfires, OG player sent home after Savage Question Round

The influencers decided to oust Subham 'Sasha' Goel as her presence in the group forced everyone to tread carefully
Shubham Goel in 'The Circle' Season 5 episode 8 (Netflix)
Shubham Goel in 'The Circle' Season 5 episode 8 (Netflix)

MANCHESTER, UK: Netflix released four new episodes of 'The Circle' Season 5 on Tuesday, January 4. This week, the Circle group welcomed a new contestant who had been a member of the fraternity when the series originally aired in 2020 but was forced to leave due to a startling change of circumstances.

Shubham Goel returned to 'The Circle' in Season 5, episode 5 after becoming the show's first runner-up in Season 1. Shubham played the game as a 23-year-old single blogger called Sasha in the current season, but was eliminated in episode 8 by influencers Tom Houghton and Chaz Lawery. The influencers made the decision for the sake of the group's well-being after Sasha's nasty answer in the "savage question" round delivered a shock. They thought that having her in the group forced everyone to tread carefully, so they decided to "block" her.

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Sasha (Shubham) joined the game alongside another catfish named Tamira, also known as Tasia in real life. Following their appearance on the show, they both took part in a story-telling and show-and-tell game. At the presentation, they were also urged to establish an alliance through their displays. Tamira opted to speak with Bruno, while Sasha chose to speak with Chaz. Bruno and Sasha had a great connection, and the former later opted to support her in a voting challenge, as did Jennifer. However, as Sasha lost the voting round, one of her supporters had to be removed.

Sasha sent Bruno home despite their deep affinity and "brotherly" affection. Following Bruno's elimination, Sasha gathered all of 'The Circle's latecomers (5 in all) and urged them to vote off the OG participants if any of them became influencers. This backfired, as the contestants discovered after the quiz round that Sasha was a catfish. Tamira referred to this as an ambush, but Jennifer was in favor of the group's formation. Marvin stated that Sasha gave off catfish feelings, and Sam was likewise skeptical that she was a real girl. The influencers thought that Sasha had been in numerous bad situations throughout her stay on the program, but they eventually opted to evict her.

Shubham Goel in 'The Circle' Season 5 episode 8 (Netflix)
Shubham Goel in 'The Circle' Season 5 episode 8 (Netflix)

Why was Shubham Goel blocked on 'The Circle' Season 5, Episode 8?

Shubham was unable to persuade people that he was Sasha, so he organized a "revolution" of newbies on the program to topple the existing participants. This surprised other contestants, including Tasia Lesley alias Tamira and Tom, who saw it as an ambush and declined to participate. In episode 4, Sasha also elected to block another player, Billie-Jean Blackett (nicknamed Bruno), despite having a close "brotherly" bond with him. Sasha was given an "anonymous" question in a "savage question" challenge, about why she was playing the game as a shy lady when she was "a man with a plan." Everyone agreed with the assertion, but Sasha chose to reply angrily, declaring that she only needed to get rid of Bruno and that she was, in fact, a girl. Sasha's defensive response was the last nail in the coffin that confirmed she was a catfish. She was ousted by influencers Tom and Chaz after ranking seventh in popularity.

Shubham Goel in 'The Circle' Season 5 episode 8 (Netflix)
Shubham Goel in 'The Circle' Season 5 episode 8 (Netflix)

The first eight episodes of Season 5 of 'The Circle' are now available on Netflix. Episodes 9 through 12 will be released on the platform on Wednesday, January 11, with the finale following on January 18 at 3 am ET.

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