'The Circle' Season 5 Spoilers! Raven Sutton and Paris McTizic Talk Marvin Drama and Breaking Boundaries

The duo also gets into the overwhelming response from the deaf community from their appearance on the Netflix show.

Warning! The interview below contains spoilers for all of Netflix's The Circle season 5, which aired in December and January. Please do not continue if you do not wish to be spoiled on who was blocked in those episodes.

Raven Sutton came onto The Circle to not only make bonds, but also make history. As the first deaf contestant on the show, she wanted to show that people like her are more than just their deafness. And so, alongside her interpreter Paris McTizic, she made an immediate impression, becoming an influencer twice in a row. All of the power did draw some attention, particularly from a flirty Marvin Achi. Raven and Marvin's embers of a romance got doused when she discovered he was also talking up "Tamira" (AKA Tasia Lesley). Luckily, she was able to have the final word on their relationship, blocking him when she became influencer for a third time. And three proved to be a fitting number for her. After making it to the final table alongside tight allies Chaz Lowery and Sam Carmona, she ended up finishing right behind them in the ratings. But despite not winning the grand prize, Raven was proud of the game she played and the representation she provided.

Read on to hear Raven and Paris's thoughts on their time in the game. And check out Parade.com throughout The Circle season 5 with the various players and catfishes alike.

Related: The Circle Season 5: Everything You Need to Know 

Raven, how did you decide that The Circle would be the right show for you?
Raven Sutton: I was a huge fan of The Circle. I started watching back in January 2020. I remember it first airing, and I thought to myself, "I love this show, I could totally see myself involved in the game."

What made you decide to bring Paris specifically along for the ride as your interpreter?
Raven: So as a deaf person going into the game, I was always thinking about what that looked like. I knew I wanted to have an interpreter with me. But I didn't want the company to provide an interpreter for me, someone who I didn't know. And I was very careful about who I chose as my interpreter. I wanted to be able to play the game without having to think about the interpreter. Will they interpret for me correctly? Will they get all the cultural nuances that I have? And I didn't want that to be an added layer of stress.

Again, I wanted someone who I was comfortable with, someone who has interpreted for me in the past. And I thought Paris would be a great fit. We went to college together, we've been out together on the social scene. He knows me personally and professionally. Also, Paris is a fan of the show as well. So it was a perfect fit, a match made in heaven. It worked out perfectly.

Paris, from your perspective, what was it like to be asked to come onto the show?
Paris McTizic: As Raven said, I was an absolute fan of the show. And so when she asked me, it was a no-brainer. I was super, super excited to support her. She's my friend, like she said, who I know personally and professionally.

Let's begin with where things ended. Raven, what was your reaction when you found out you had finished in third place?
Raven: It's so funny you ask. When I was standing there at the finale and seeing the number three, before they even showed who the person was, I already felt like I knew my picture was going to come up. My intuition was telling me. And when they saw when I saw my face I was like, "Yeah, I knew it."

But really, the goal for me was just to be on the show. Because, again, I'm a huge fan. And I wanted to represent the deaf community. So while I was playing the game, I kept that in the back of my mind, I was like, "I want to make it to the end, I don't want to be blocked at all. It's my goal just to make it to the couch, to make it to the end." And so I met that goal. And seeing myself in third place wasn't easy. But I mean, I could have been fifth; I could have been fourth. But top three, listen, I'm happy about that. I'm totally happy with it.

Do you remember what your final ratings were?
Raven: I believe I rated Chaz first. Sam was second. Third was Tamira, and Jennifer was last.

Did you have any particular strategy with those ratings? Or was it just coming from the heart?
Raven: Listen, throughout the entire game, I played with my heart. I had to put myself out there. I wanted to make alliances, and I loved those alliances I made. And in the end, I knew those who were left were my competition for sure. But as even when I was ranking them, I knew that I had to remember the question it said on the screen: Who do you think deserves to win? And so that's how I ranked it. I wasn't being competitive at that point. Yes, of course, I want to win. But who would I be happy to see winning? And so I used that as my strategy, if you will.

Going back to the beginning of the game, what was your reaction to becoming an influencer twice in a row so early on?
Raven: The first day, I was in total shock. I mean, I knew I made a good impression with the players. But I didn't realize how much of an impression I made with the chat. So the first day, it was super shocking. I was like, "Y'all like me?! Okay, alright, I'm with it." The second time, I was like, "Okay, wait a minute. What's going on?" 

Again, I was a Circle fan. When you watch prior seasons, those who rank first are not always ranked first again throughout the rest of the show. And so I expected myself to rank maybe a little bit lower the second time. But to be an influencer twice in a row! I was like, "Okay, I don't want the target on my back now. I'm gaining too much popularity at this point. Hold on." But I felt all the love, and I was super excited about it.

To that point, we saw people say during the season that you, Chaz, and Sam were the biggest threats in the game. Were you aware of this perception as you were playing?
Raven: So I knew in the game that I had some people who may see me as a target or the threat. But the problem was that every time we got into the chat, everyone was being so positive, so nice, and friendly with each other. I knew to myself, "Once there's an anonymous game that comes up, that's when everyone's true colors will show and they'll really tell me how they really feel." So I knew there was some fake love happening in the game. But I decided to not let that stress me out.

Well speaking of true colors, let's get to the Marvin of it all. Walk me through building up your relationship with him, and then finding out that he was also flirting with Tamira alongside you?
Listen, I love Marvin. I think he's a great person. Obviously, you see in the first few episodes that we became close. I was super loyal. And I made an alliance with him. It was me, him, and Chaz. And everyone knew that we were flirting with each other, that we had the hots for each other. So I was like, "Alright, cool. We're close. We have an alliance. My people are all doing good. We're doing great in the game. Let's get it."

And then I knew once someone else came into the game, I was like, "You know what? It's fine. Keep cool and stay loyal. It's okay that he's going on a date with Tamira. I don't care, they flirt, whatever." But then again, I was thinking to myself, "So I saved you. I was showing all the other players that I'm loyal, and if I ever needed the favor you would have been loyal to me." But then Tamira comes in. And we had the group chat with me, her, and Sam. And I was like, "Okay, that's cool. That's how you want to play it." So it's clear he's not loyal. And then, when the savage question came up, and he had a chance to redeem himself, he couldn't. He was like, "Oh, I'm still looking for a queen." And I'm like, "What? As soon as somebody comes into the game, you're quick to change it up on me?" I was really disappointed.

In the last moments of the finale, we saw you tell Marvin that he could make it up to you after the show. Was he able to do so?
Raven: (Pause.) What I will say is he's done a lot to gain my forgiveness.

(Laughs.) We'll leave it at that. Paris, what was it like to go through all this from your perspective? As Raven said earlier, you want to remain objective as an interpreter. But it must have been tough watching someone you care about clearly go through a lot of hurt.
Paris: Yeah, it was tough. You can see a snippet on the show where I say to Raven, "I'm so sorry. I hate that it's happening for you." And right, as an interpreter, you have to be professional. But we're also human. And so I wanted to know that I do see her, I do support her, and I feel her. So it was hard. As her bestie, you want to go on the screen and punch him out, but you can't. And so I kept it cool.

Raven, you were the first deaf contestant on The Circle, and also enter the rarified air of deaf reality TV contestants in general. What has the reception been like both inside and out of the deaf community?
Raven: The deaf community is so excited. They were so happy to see not only a deaf woman, not only a Black woman, a Black deaf woman being represented on TV. It's really hard to see deaf people in general; very few make it to the big screen. But Black and deaf. I mean, it was a double whammy. They received me so well. Everyone got their family and friends to watch the show. They had their own watch parties and celebrated in their own way.

That, to me, was so thrilling. I mean, I think this opens doors for other people with disabilities. Folks in wheelchairs have even reached out to me to say thank you and they show love that I'm representing the disabled community. It's really heartwarming. And I feel like I represented my community well, for sure.

Next, read our interview with The Circle season 5 winner Sam Carmona.