Ranking the final five from Netflix’s series The Circle

Now that the first season of Netflix’s series the circle has concluded, we have our own ranking of the hardworking final five.

Netflix delivered a smash reality series with their series The Circle (originally a U.K. series) that elevated the competitive side of reality television to another level. Netflix released the season in batches, and now the first season has wrapped and we received a deserving first official winner of the social media based series. While the placements felt appropriate given the events that transpired, there are a few that played their own unique, well-balanced game.

5. Chris

Chris played a very honest game, making the choice to play the game as himself. As someone who openly spoke about his experiences with discrimination, Chris was vocal about the importance of staying true to himself which ultimately resulted in his place within the top five but just short of winning the coveted title. He certainly played up his various social strengths, but his lack of strategy or absence in major decision-making kept him from being a true contender for the prize.

4. Sammie

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Sammie was definitely someone who surprised viewers in The Circle. As an original circle member, Sammie almost instantly seemed to put a target on herself after targeting the professional model Alana, whom she judged for her appearance and bubbly personality. She initially gave off potential villain vibes but transitioned into being a key player and fan-favorite in The Circle, who was either responsible for eliminations or safe for her close-knit ties to others. Sammie had the potential to play the game as a winner but began to fall short when up against so many dominant personalities.

3. Shubham

The UCLA grad Shubham entered The Circle with a different mindset than his peers, and was extremely vocal about his disdain for social media he dubbed “social medusa.” As time went on, and despite his claims otherwise, Shubham began to embrace the platform rejoicing in likes, cyber-connections, and the power of being an influencer. The four-time influencer made major moves to put himself in the best position possible, but his naive ways and focus on making friends removed him from being someone who we could genuinely root for in the end-game aspect of The Circle.

2. Rebecca aka Seaburn

Rebecca (Seaburn) was without a doubt the most underrated player that came out of The Circle’s first season. Entering as his girlfriend in both personality and visually, Rebecca faced obstacle after obstacle. Rebecca solidified consistency after ranking third place repeatedly, overcame the doubts of her friends, newcomers, and even made it to the end as a different personality.

The series was marketed as a competition, and though the approach wasn’t truthful, it was a tactic that proved a skilled Seaburn entered The Circle with winning in his crosshairs. The brilliance of Rebecca/Seaburn went widely unappreciated or noticed, but had others had a little more trust in the persona, she could have been a deserving winner.

1. Joey

From the first episode of The Circle, Joey proved himself as the lovable Jersey guy that you’d want to be friends with. Joey came in outspoken, with a seemingly masculine personality, and just someone who would typically be targeted quickly in a reality competition series. The advantage of The Circle was that Joey was able to craft his own narrative and build his own relationships, which made each and every person fall head over heels for the Italian-American winner.

Joey muted trolls about body shaming, embraced the differences between himself and his LGBTQ co-star Chris, and overall embodied an open-minded modern man who viewers could support. Joey was an excellent winner for the freshman Netflix series, so you could definitely say that the bar has been set pretty high for a potential second cast if (or when) the series continues with another installment.

The first season of The Circle is available to stream on Netflix now!