WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for The Circle Season 2, Episodes 5-8, now streaming on Netflix.
Netflix's The Circle is back for a second season, and while Season 1 likely taught the new contestants a thing or two about how to play the game this year, the Netflix reality series has thrown in a few new twists to the game. One of the most notable is The Inner Circle.
Introduced in Season 2, Episode 4, "Lines Are Drawn," after Savannah was chosen by then influencers Chloe and Emily, Savannah was given the opportunity to visit the player she believed deserved to win the most. This differed from last season where contestants simply visited whoever they wanted, regardless of how they thought they'd place in the game. She chose Courtney and proceeded to dish about the drama between her and the other women.
Initially, this was just giving Courtney insight on some of the players; however, there is a major bonus to Savannah choosing Courtney as the player she thinks will win The Circle. As her choice, Courtney is invited into The Inner Circle, a secluded room with access to several screens. The episode ends with audiences and Courtney confused about what this means, but Episode 5, "Snake in the Grass," finally gives the details about this prestigious position.
In The Inner Circle, Courtney gets to have an anonymous profile known as the Joker. With this profile, he is the first one to learn about the two new players, Khat and Mitchell, who will enter the game. Along with this, he is the first person to message them, with neither player knowing his true identity.
Because of his anonymous profile, Courtney pretends to be Emily without dropping her name. Based on what Savannah said, he reveals there is no unity between the women, specifically throwing Chloe and Terilisha under the bus. By doing this, Khat and Mitchell believe Courtney is actually Emily, so that part of his mission is a raging success.
Courtney gets one more advantage as Joker, and he can choose who one of the influencers is for this round of the competition. With the influencers having the ability to block players, whoever Courtney choses could save him and change everything, which it does. He selects River, and when it's time to rate the other players, Courtney comes out on top. Between the two of them, they choose Terilisha to leave.
The Joker is a ridiculously powerful advantage, as this bonus gives Courtney the ability to manipulate everything up until the elimination, and it has lasting impacts afterwards. Not only does it secure his safety and the safety of his allies for this round, but it also leads to distrust among the entire group.
Before being eliminated, Terilisha goes to Khat in hopes of learning who the Joker is, and Khat comes clean about what was said to her. This alone makes Terilisha think the Joker is Emily, not Courtney, and she warns Khat about Emily. Plus, on Terilisha's way out, she visits Chloe and warns her not to trust Emily because she believes she is the Joker. This is huge news for Chloe and could change everything since Chloe formerly believed Emily was one of her biggest allies.
After Terilisha's departure, the option to enter The Inner Circle is not offered to the player she chose to visit. This is a rare opportunity that gives the player in The Inner Circle immense power over the game, so if it comes back into play, things can take another major turn on the Netflix series.