Mauri has an awkward date

Mauri treats the task more like a date than most of the other contestants. He starts by clinking glasses with Merja, and the two then sip some of their champagne.

Mauri and Merja both agree that the champagne is good, so Mauri leans under the table to shake hands, but Merja takes several seconds (and some prompting from Mauri) to realise that he’s counting their enjoyment of the champagne as a commonality.

Mauri keeps his eyes locked onto Merja at all times (as dictated by the task), and Merja admits that she also tends to stare at people, so the two shake hands. Mauri shares that he has been told by the Swedish influencer and singer Biana Ingrosso (also the daughter of season 5 guest contestant Pernilla Wahlgren) that his gaze is “creepy”. Merja simply responds that “Bianca is not Merja”, and says that while she doesn’t find his gaze ‘creepy’, she does think that the fact that his eyes bulge out can be “confusing”. Her comment seems to throw Mauri, and the two sit and eat in silence for a while.

Mauri then asks if Merja has ever seen the Swedish comedian, magician, and musician Carl-Einar Häckner perform live, and Merja says that she has not, and nor does she want to.

Realising that Merja is a Finnish name (Merja is actually Finnish), Mauri asks if she can say “Is there any hot food?” in Finnish, as it is one of the few Finnish phrases he knows. Merja responds in Finnish, and the two shake hands on their final commonality, before their time runs out.

Babben believes that Mauri and Merja’s most remarkable commonality is the ability to ask for hot food in Finnish, and so she awards him third place.

(Written by Jenny R and proofread by Karl Craven)

(Illustrations collected by Jenny R and adjusted by Karl Craven)