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THE CIRCLE. Garret Caillouet in episode 2 of THE CIRCLE
Netflix

There’s a new feature on season 8 of The Circle and it’s about to shake things up real quick. Contestants are able to use Disruptor Mode — but what does that actually entail?

In case you don’t know how the reality competition show works, a number of contestants — who are a mix of real people, influencers, and catfishes—move into their own isolated apartments within The Circle building, where they can only communicate with other contestants via The Circle, a social media-like computer program that transcribes their messages into text. Season 6 introduced the use of an AI contestant named Max who wreaked havoc in the apartment and got the contestants to question what’s real and what’s not. Now, a new feature is making the contestants make decisions really quick.

Related: The Circle Apartment Is Also a Catfish—Here’s the Truth About Where the Show Is Filmed

What is The Disruptor in The Circle?

The Disruptor is exactly what you think it is. The feature is brought up at a random point in the game. Whoever accepts to use The Disruptor first gets a random advantage or disadvantage to their play.

It’s first used by Nicky and Jojo Scarlotta who are catfishing under the guise of “Gianna.” They’re in risk of elimination when the feature pops up on their screen and they’re saved from being eliminated this time around.

Though the second time The Disruptor is used, it doesn’t work in the players’ advantage. Madelyn Rusinyak and Debbie Schwartzberg Levy aka Rachel switch profiles— leaving both very vulnerable because both people had different objectives. Madelyn wanted to be her authentic self, and when she found out that she would have to play as a catfish, she said it would be a “terrible risk.” Meanwhile, Debbie didn’t know how to act like Rachel. Will the feature hinder their success at the $100,000 prize or will it end with these contestants being blocked?

The Circle is now streaming on Netflix.

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