The Circle season 6 winner explains that shocking ending: 'I'm the silent killer'

Warning: This article contains spoilers for the The Circle season 6 finale.

Brandon Baker doesn't understand how he won The Circle season 6.

After playing all season based on pure emotions and kindness while catfishing as "Olivia," he thought he was for sure going to end up in third place at best — especially since he didn't decide his final ratings using any kind of strategy. "I put QT at No. 1, I put Kyle at No. 2, so it wasn't because of me," Brandon tells Entertainment Weekly with a laugh. "I thought I gave [the win] away. Honestly, it still doesn't feel real."

Seven months later, he's just relieved he can finally talk about winning ... even if he can't fully explain how he did it. "Do you know how hard it is to keep that a secret?!" Brandon adds. "And no one knows. My friends don't even know. I was very tight-lipped about it, but it was not without struggle."

Below, Brandon breaks down that shocking finale ending, his decision to secretly block his former "ride or die" Myles Reed, and more.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Congratulations on not only winning The Circle but also doing it as a catfish. Now that you know you can win, do you think you could have won playing as yourself?

BRANDON BAKER (A.K.A. OLIVIA): Oh, that's such a good question. Honestly, I don't know. I don't think I would've won as myself. I'm pretty confident in that answer, just because I think some of the things that happened between Kyle and I really solidified my win. That's the only reason, because watching now, I see Kyle fight for Olivia, and I needed that.

But you were essentially playing as yourself, just using different photos. Since playing as a catfish is more difficult, if you had played the same way with your real photos, I think you could have won.

You're probably right. For me, it's a self-confidence thing. I'm a very confident person, but also I'm my own worst critic. It was that little voice in the back of my head telling me, "No one's going to accept you for you." I was like, "Maybe this is the smarter thing."

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You also played this entire season purely by emotions while everyone else on the cast was trying to strategize their way to the win. It was shocking how it all turned out.

Yeah, everyone was playing so hard, and obviously, I was doing my own thing. When I saw them all attacking each other, I was like, "This is perfect for me, because now I can just ... " [Laughs] I was going to say, "slide in there," but Jesus. It was beneficial to me that they were all so [strategic], because I don't think you have to be that way to win the game. Clearly!

You avoided making any real enemies that way, too.

People were suspicious of Olivia, but they weren't like, "She's a threat." But what I was doing in the game, I saw myself as a threat. Me coming off as not a threat is making me a threat. You just can't see it 'til it's in your face. I'm like diabetes. I'm the silent killer.

Especially for your so-called "ride or die" Myles. He never saw you coming.

Oh, my gosh. I'd been after him the whole show, and then we had the ride-or-die thing happen, and we really did connect. But, when this super secret influencer came up, I was like, "If I keep him, QT's going to win. If I take him out, I stand a chance." And I know Jordan was trying to do his manipulation thing, but I was like, "Girl, I got this. I've already thought about this." In the back of my head, I was like, "Poor Cassie," so I already had him on my radar. This is my last chance at the prize.

I think people are going to be a little pissed off, but at the same time, it's a game. There was going to be one winner, and I wanted the winner to be me. I felt like I played fair. But it was so rough. I knew it was my only option, but I didn't feel good about it. I just took away his chance of winning, and he's been here from the start. But I wanted to also show that I pulled my weight.

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You took away his chance of winning by making yourself the winner. No one can argue with that fact.

Right? But oh, God, it still sucks. I thought he was going to hate me, but honestly, not even an ounce of hate from him ever.

What happened immediately after cameras stopped filming? Did you and Myles have a heart-to-heart about his blocking?

We wrapped the finale, and then we all get shuttled back to this hotel, and of course, we're all jacked up on adrenaline and champagne, so we can't go to bed. Then a lot of people went to bed, and it was me, Lauren, Myles, and Jordan, and we all stayed up till 4 a.m. and I had a 7 a.m. flight. We hung out all night, we got free beers from a wedding party. It was so random. But Myles instantly came up to me and was like, "Dude, honestly, no problems at all. If I were you, I would've done it too." Now we talk every day. He's seriously the sweetest guy. It blows me away because, in the show, I was like, "I can't stand you."

That group of four that hung out all night after the finale is not who I would have expected...

Right! Who would've thought, honestly? I was nervous to meet Jordan. I was like, "We're not going to click. He's too standoffish. This is never going to happen." But it was totally opposite, he was so excited to give me a hug and was like, "I just love you so much." I was like, "Wait, who are you? At the end of the show, I wanted to fight you. I only kept you here so you would vote me higher. I don't even like you." Now it's so funny. We're all pretty close now.

Did you ever consider blocking anyone else or did you always know it would be Myles?

I considered Myles and Jordan. I went back and forth on it for a minute. I never considered QT because, if I don't win, QT deserves to win. That girl worked her butt off. I felt like Myles deserved to be in the finale, and I didn't think Jordan really did because Myles had been there from the [beginning]. Even though Jordan played the game, I just felt like I owed it to Myles. But making the decision sucked.

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How did you feel about your chances of winning going into the finale?

I did not see an outcome that I won. I thought QT is going to win, but if she doesn't, then it's Kyle. Those were the only two outcomes I saw. When it showed QT in third place, I was in shock. And then, me and Kyle standing there, I was ready [for second place]. Because that's the only thing I planned.

What does the real "Olivia" think of how you played as her?

Her name is Claudia, and she loves it so much. We've had so much fun hanging out and talking about it. I think she's proud of the way I played as her, and I think she would've played the same way.

If you ever got the chance to play again, would you play as yourself this time around?

I think it would be really fun to play as me. That would be fun. There would have to be some kind of weird twist for me to be able to play as myself, same for any other winners. Unless it was an all-winner season and we all played ourselves. Or all winners as different catfish. Netflix, call me!

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.