Everyone aggressively listens to a story
The story for the first round is as follows: “The weather was stormy and ominous. But even more ominous would be the fate of the five heroes who got lost in the mansion. This fate was coming closer, and suddenly knocked on the door. The one who knocked was a person who was known by the name of Referee.” The keyword in this passage is ‘nimellä’ (‘name of’), and everyone scrambles to sit down. Joonas and Eero get their own chairs, and Pirjo sits on Eero’s lap, losing out on the battle for that chair. Pamela and Ellu also fight over another chair, with neither seeming to notice the spare empty chair right next to them, so a screaming Pirjo darts across the stage to occupy it herself. Pilvi rules that Pamela had sat in the chair first, and so Ellu is eliminated, earning last place.
In the second round, the contestants are told to sit when they hear a word that starts with ‘P’ and ends with ‘S’. Jaakko continues reading: “One of our heroes seemed to have inexplicably disappeared. In other words, she was gone. This did not stop the guests at the mansion.” This reading ends early, as both Joonas and Pirjo incorrectly sit down when Jaakko reads the word ‘poissa’ (‘gone’). Jaakko asks which of them was the first to sit down when they were not supposed to, and everyone agrees that it was Joonas. When Joonas and Pirjo both argue that Jaakko had read the word ‘pois’ (‘away’), Pilvi confirms that the word had been ‘poissa’. Pirjo then complains that Jaakko had “swallowed the ending letters”, and Pamela agrees with her. Despite Eero having initially also claimed that Jaakko had said ‘pois’, he subsequently sucks up to him by saying that he thought Jaakko was speaking clearly enough. However, Pamela tells Jaakko to read louder for the next round (which he does). Joonas is eliminated, earning fourth place.
In the third round, then contestants are told to sit when they hear a word that has ‘kai’ in it. Jaakko continues reading, presumably having skipped the portion of text that contained the actual unheard keyword from the previous round. As he does, Pamela becomes increasingly anxious about losing the game, becoming much more hesitant to move, and she and Eero start shoving at each other to move around the chairs. Jaakko’s passage reads: “Referee stood in the hallway with a timer and an envelope in hand. Although it was raining outside, for some reason, Referee was completely dry. ‘You may open the envelope,’ she stated, and reached out her hand, as if measuring their innermost selves. Referee looked each of them in the eye, one by one.” The keyword in this passage was ‘jokaista’ (‘each of them’). Pirjo quickly claims an empty chair, and Eero slides into the remaining chair just as Pamela is starting to sit in it, causing Pamela to sit on his lap (or, as she puts it, “that oaf wedged himself under me”), eliminating her from the game and earning her third place.
A new rule is apparently not given for the final round of the game, so it is not known whether the contestants were merely told to listen out for the final command read by Jaakko. During the reading, Pirjo and Eero circle the chair, while keeping their eyes locked on one another. Jaakko finishes the story: “It was as if time had stopped. Of the ones left, all were quiet. Without even realising it, one of our heroes reached out their hand, and grasped the envelope. The paper was burning in their fingers as they opened the envelope and eyed the ink, whose command stirred them. It read: ‘Sit down!’.” Eero and Pirjo both lunge for the chair at this command, with Eero sitting down just before Pirjo can. Pirjo therefore earns second place, and Eero wins the task, collapsing to the floor in exhausted victory.
After the task is completed, Jaakko sarcastically compliments the contestants on their ability to play the game “in such a restrained manner”. When he asks if it had been difficult to simultaneously listen for a word while walking, Eero replies that it had been helpful that Pirjo had more often than not yelled out the correct word as soon as she recognised it.
(Written by Jenny R and proofread by Karl Craven)
(Illustrations collected by Jenny R and adjusted by Karl Craven)
