Ranking ‘The Circle’ Season 2 Cast By Who Is Most Likely To Actually Win

Now that the world knows how The Circle works, Season 2 of the Netflix reality show has come back more calculated and drama-filled than ever.

Really, if there were one word that could describe how The Circle contestants are playing this season it would be strategy. There’s more catfishing than ever, focus on gameplay trumps building genuine friendships, and backstabbing is rife.

In Season 2 it’s clear: Everyone’s out to win and they will do so at any cost. It’s definitely a stark change from the friendly vibe we saw in Season 1, where being a good, genuine person is what got you closer to the $100,000 prize money.

Unfortunately for those playing in Season 2, it’s actually this over-strategising and overthinking that’s leading to their downfall. So, considering everyone on The Circle reckons they’re walking away with the prize money, we decided to rank the current cast by who is actually most likely to win:

*spoilers for the first 12 episodes of The Circle Season 2 ahead*

12. Bryant

Poor sweet, silly Bryant. Even though Bryant was first eliminated, the breathing coach would have never made it into the end of the competition with the strategy he was running with.

The issue with Bryant was that he had no game. He was too focused on just being a good person with good morals and good hair, which is great in the real world — just not so much on a show where all anyone else is thinking about is how to win $100,000.

Bryant was just too likeable, too kind, too pure. For example, sharing that he had given a friend $10,000 to help them get off the streets was a bad secret to reveal and instantly put a target on his back. Perhaps if Bryant had auditioned for Season 1 instead of 2, he might have gotten further in the game but his pure soul and lack of any real alliances led to his early, but deserved, first episode elimination.

Current status: Eliminated

11. Savannah

If Savannah didn’t go so hard at the very start, she might’ve been ok. Hell, she might’ve won the whole damn thing. After all, she was an influencer in the first-ever rankings.

Savannah’s problem was that she panicked when her plans were threatened, and as a result ended up sabotaging herself. If Savannah was actually playing with her head, she would’ve kept the #GirlGang alliance strong for the first voting to guarantee at least three other people in the game would have her back. Instead, Savannah decided to go against the girls and save Trevor after one measly conversation with him.

Going into the house with a solid 250,000 Instagram following herself, my inkling is that Savannah felt a little bit threatened when Chloe, someone more well-known than her, entered the game. This sudden hatred for Chloe leading to Savannah abandoning her alliance, paired with the ridiculous argument with Terilisha, was ultimately what sealed her fate.

Current status: Eliminated

10. Terilisha

In the Savannah vs Terilisha game, Terilisha came out on top. However, just because she won the battle didn’t mean she won the war thanks to Savannah’s alliance with Courtney.

Despite Savannah being eliminated in Episode 4 after all the drama around who was responsible for the first elimination (spoiler alert: they both were), Terilisha was still the one who was voted below Savannah in seventh place.

Really, the only thing that saved Terilisha was her alliance with the girls in the game, which is something Savannah proved she didn’t care about in the first episode. But beyond Chloe, Emily, and maybe River, Terilisha didn’t really have strong bonds with anyone else which is how she landed in last place to begin with.

This is because instead of focusing on her long-term strategy, Terlisiha got fixated on unnecessary petty drama way too early in the game. While Bryant might not have been who Terilisha wanted to send home, Terilisha didn’t need to throw Savannah under the bus considering it was ultimately a joint decision.

Without the draining drama, Terlisiha likely would have gone far. Sadly, her determination to create problems out of nothing sent her packing right after rival Savannah due to the power Courtney gained with the Inner Circle.

Current status: Eliminated

9. Lisa (Lance Bass)

It’s no surprise Lisa was booted because she was a bad catfish, and an even worse player.

First of all the decision to even go into The Circle as Lance Bass, to meet a group of people who barely know who the NSYNC singer is, was a real choice. The next poor move was making a “joke” about Lance needing $100,000 to start up an NSYNC reunion tour without a single “JK”, emoji, or any follow-up clarification, when bandmate Justin Timberlake is literally worth $250 million dollars.

Much like Terilisha, I would have a lot of questions over why a literal pop star would need $100,000 if not for a charitable donation — and if I were on The Circle, I would vote them out in a heartbeat if they gave such a terrible reason.

But what really sealed Lisa’s fate was newcomer Khat’s super-sleuthing. Khat’s fake question about a very specific jacket and performance, paired with Lisa’s inability to style a wig during the Glammequin challenge, was enough proof for the contestants that Lance was not who he said he was.

Current status: Eliminated

8. Jack (Emily)

Like Lisa, the Glammequin Challenge spelled the end for Jack — but he wasn’t doing too crash hot anyway.

The already existing suspicions over whether Emily was actually a rosé-loving “basic college girl” went into overdrive when Jack presented his horrifically painted mannequin head. With 90 percent of the contestants convinced a man was behind Emily’s profile, the grave only got deeper when “Emily” shared that her favourite makeup brands were Laniege, Maybelline and “Collection Co” during the ‘Don’t @ Me’ anonymous question game.

Honestly though, even without the whole make up debacle, people in the game were already becoming suspect on whether Emily was who she said she was especially as too much of Jack’s personality was coming out in Emily’s conversations.

For example, Jack’s decision to throw in very specific sports information while talking to “Trevor” wasn’t believable. And even though Jack tried to justify it with the backstory of Emily’s family just really being into sports, the cover, like Jack’s entire gameplay, just wasn’t very good.

Current status: Eliminated

7. Khat

Khat is one smart cookie and if she entered the game at the start without interference from The Joker, she probably would’ve won.

Despite Khat being right about basically everything in the game, she sadly just wasn’t as powerful as River and Courtney’s annoying little alliance. And even though Courtney was actually the one who called Chloe untrustworthy and fake as The Joker, he somehow convinced our Essex babe that Khat was the enemy. 

As expected, the loyalty between the original players (in particular, within the Cardashian alliance) meant that Khat had absolutely no chance of surviving a blocking when Chloe and Trevor became influencers. 

Current status: Eliminated

6. Mitchell

If Chloe played with her head instead of her naive heart, Mitchell would’ve made it to the finals and The Trifecta would’ve secured Chloe a guaranteed win. 

Sadly, Mitchell’s relaxed attitude meant that he didn’t bother making any real connections when it actually mattered. And while The Trifecta’s plan was smart, both Khat and Mitchell should’ve worked together to reveal The Joker’s identity earlier to gain Chloe’s trust. 

What happened instead was all of Mitchell’s last-minute attempts at building relationships felt disingenuous and ultimately made Chloe side with The Cardashians instead — flipping the entire game on its head. 

Current status: Eliminated

5. Deleesa (Trevor)

If The Circle came down to a public vote — or even a past contestant vote as seen in programs like Survivor — Trevor would probably take out the win. 

But now that Courtney, River, Chloe and golden oldie John make up the rest of the competing finalists, Trevor has absolutely no chance at winning the $100,000. No one even really cares that Deleesa basically revealed herself through her suspiciously good Glammequin challenge-winning make up job anymore. None of it matters because Trevor just doesn’t have the numbers needed to become the final influencer. 

If Deleesa really wanted to secure her game, she should’ve blocked River when she had the chance to instead of booting out Khat. Unfortunately “Trevor’s” blind loyalty to Chloe clouded the decision. 

Current status: Still In The Game

4. Courtney

While Courtney may have the numbers, he is definitely not the most-liked of the remaining people in The Circle. 

Courtney’s Circle journey has been a real rollercoaster after jumping from Joker, to influencer, to bottom of the ranks as people began to notice how fake and calculated he is. In fact, Courtney has very quickly emerged as the true villain of The Circle, with his focus on avenging Savannah overshadowing his own game. 

But I have to give credit where credit is due: Courtney’s baffling plan worked. He brought who he needed for his game to the end, but his demise will be not eliminating Chloe, his biggest threat, along the way. 

Current status: Still In The Game

3. John (Lisa/Lance and Emily/Jack)

Jack and Lisa perfecting the happy, loving grandpa role together after failing at being catfish themselves is pretty iconic. 

Being non-offensive and not revealing too much brought John all the way to the end, but there’s no chance our full-time psychic and part-time Santa will win. My prediction is that players are likely going to rank John in spots #3 and #4 in the final rankings. 

At the end of the day, John just entered the game way too late to be able to convince people he was worthy of the win. But thankfully John’s presence did give us many iconic screenshots of Jack and Lisa’s extremely awkward time together. 

Current status: Still In The Game

2. Lee (River)

As The Circle’s most obvious catfish, I don’t know how Lee is still in the competition or how he was even well-liked enough to earn the super influencer title in the penultimate ranking.

With his “Circle Bestie” Courtney still in the mix along with Cardashian alliance member Chloe, River is set to end up with a pretty good ranking in the final round — especially as John is also a fan of our “heartbroken” 20-something who just wants to fill the world with rainbow hearts. His only real hater left in the game is Trevor, who, sadly, now has no one on his side. 

But Lee’s biggest mistake will be not using the anonymity of super influencer to secure his win. The best move Lee could’ve made for his game was to get rid of Chloe while he could as Courtney would never hit #1. But Lee is clearly valuing friendship over that new pool he wants. 

Current status: Still In The Game

1. Chloe

Is no one playing with their heads this season? Chloe is, and has always been, Season 2’s biggest threat. 

Everyone loves Chloe. She is constantly at the top of the rankings if she isn’t the top influencer, and her decisions have had the biggest impacts on the competition as the player everyone has needed on their side. Just think about it: Chloe blocking Khat and siding with River and Courtney changed the entire course of the game. 

Plus, of the remaining contestants, she is still the most generally well-liked of the bunch. If the players continue to follow the baffling “strategy” they’ve been running with all season, Chloe will probably be the top influencer and take home $100,000 — and she deserves to. 

As others were busy bickering over who lied to who, or who was pretending to be who, Chloe just casually skated through the competition with bubble baths and banter. As the queen should.

Current status: Still In The Game

The finale of ‘The Circle’ drops on May 5. You can stream the current episodes on Netflix now.

---

Michelle Rennex is a senior writer at Junkee. She tweets at @michellerennex