Natasha’s shoe-pernatural assist
Natasha first asks if the shoe is a woman’s shoe. When Mark replies that it is, Natasha asks if the shoe has heels. If Natasha asks further questions at that point about the shoe’s style, they are not shown.
Natasha then spreads her arms to indicate one quarter of the basement – coincidentally, the area where the correct shoe is – and asks if the shoe is in that area. When Mark confirms that it is, Natasha takes stock of what shoes are around.
She asks Mark if the shoe is a flip-flop, and then asks if the correct shoe has a special marking on it. She then asks about a particular pair of shoes before remembering that she has already eliminated flip-flops.
Soon afterwards, she actually picks up the correct pair of shoes, but then replaces them, seemingly having eliminated them from consideration. However, it appears that the shoe is upset with Natasha, as while she is asking Mark about another nearby pair of shoes, the correct shoe falls off of its spot on the window sill and onto the ground just behind her, seeming to demand her attention. Unfortunately, Natasha does not take the hint, and instead replaces the shoe in the window, while commenting on the basement’s “creepy vibe”.
Eventually, Natasha asks Mark about all of the shoes in the area (except, of course, for the correct pair) and has eliminated all of them. Frustrated, she asks if there are any hidden shoes in the area, before finally picking up the correct shoe and asking Mark if it is the correct one, overjoyed to have finally completed the task.
In the studio, Lasse asks Natasha – who holds many new age beliefs - if she consults her tarot cards every morning, and if they have given her any answers (presumably about upcoming tasks). Natasha explains that she had a strict religious upbringing (she was raised Mormon), but that when she stopped believing in those doctrines, she needed “somewhere else to disavow responsibility”, and had therefore turned to more spiritual beliefs, including tarot cards. Carsten takes mock offence, complaining to Lasse that the fact that one contestant is able to see into the future renders the competition aspect of the show unfair.
Lasse challenges Natasha to prove that she can see into the future (which she at no point has ever actually claimed to do!) by telling him how many questions Mark will say that she asked. Carsten demands that Natasha prove her powers, calling her “Heks” (‘Witch’), and thus coining the episode title [this is a nickname Natasha subsequently carries with her throughout the season, and she has even launched a line of merchandise based on it]. Despite not actually claiming to be able to definitively see the future, Natasha plays the game anyways, guessing that she had asked 128 questions (which she later revises to “87 or 128”).
Mark informs her that had she recognised the shoe the first time she picked it up, she would have finished in just 12 questions and won the task. As it is, however, Natasha finds the shoe after 46 questions, and earns second place.
(Written by Jenny R and proofread by Karl Craven)
(Illustrations collected by Jenny R and adjusted by David Fuller)
