Season 1: Episode Talk

[DearEvette]

3 hours ago, snarts said:

Evaporated? Quentin was so wrong the entire game, he provided some inadvertent comic relief.

My husband, throughout the entire show, was always so tickled about how wrong Quentin was each time. He cracked on poor Quentin so much! I will give Quentin some credit, he was so convinced Kate was a traitor and he stuck to that conviction more often than not and voted her every chance he could.

But, I think Kate's out loud personality overshadows the fact that she was just as wrong as Quentin in her track record, tbh.  She was convinced it was Micheal and she let her personal dislike of Rachel convince her Rachel was a traitor.  The only vote she got correct was Christian and by then there were so few of them left and she was up against him, that she kinda had no choice. 

 

2 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

The challenges did pretty much nothing overall. They were basically filler since the challenge wins didn't mean anything for most of the game. They earned money, yes, but there was no punishment for a challenge that was lost, especially the team-based ones. Only the three episodes where the armory pass came into play, but even then, it didn't seem to matter much since the same person won the pass.

I understand that the non-reality stars, except for Christian, were boring as hell, but then they should have stuck to all reality stars if they couldn't find any engaging players.

Yeah, the challenge aspect was the weakest part of the game imo.  The only urgency to win the challenges was because without them you couldn't add any money to the pot.  Putting people on teams really added nothing because a team loss didn't really do anything to help suss out a traitor.  It is not in the traitor's best interest to sabotage a challenge, they are taking money out of their own pocket.  It just created resentment and frustration.  There was no need because paranoia was already there.

It would  have been better if, say, the members of the winning team were exempt from being murdered that night or if an opportunity to win a shield was always on the table from the start. 

Regards the casting, yes, this was also a weakness.  I think they lucked out with Cirie and Kate which gave the personality a show liked this needs.  And non-reality folks like Andie and even Christian and Quentin.  But overall the casting of the non-reality folks was rather bad.  For me, I didn't even know any of the reality people at all, except Ryan Lochte (and only because of him being an olympic swimmer and because of a super funny clip of a pair of morning show tv anchors absolutely losing their shit on air about how not bright he comes off) and I had only heard about Cirie through pop culture references.  But even without knowing any of the reality people, they had an assurance in front of the camera that spoke of some comfort/familiarity with the rhythms  of tv reality competitions that gave them the spark that none of the non-reality folks had and made them easier to take as canon fodder.

Even though I enjoyed the heck out of this, this did have the feel of something thrown together really quickly.  I had heard that the challenges were exactly the same ones the British one had.  So that adds to the 'thrown together' quality.  Maybe if they had taken more time and had a longer, more thorough casting process they might have found a more eclectic, charismatic group of non-reality folks.  Let;s face it, the reality stars of today started out as 'normals' themselves.  So it can be done.

[MicheleinPhilly]

8 minutes ago, DearEvette said:

Maybe if they had taken more time and had a longer, more thorough casting process they might have found a more eclectic, charismatic group of non-reality folks.  Let;s face it, the reality stars of today started out as 'normals' themselves.  So it can be done.

THIS. I found so many of them to be total non-entities. When Alan announced that Amanda had left the game we looked at each other and said simultaneously, "Who's Amanda?" 

The reality folks know what the producers and editors want to see and for the most part, deliver it which naturally gets them more air time. I also think the producers assumed that viewers would want to see more of them than the "nromals." Which was a mistake on their part, IMO.

With any cast this big, it's going to be hard to get a sense for people's personalities until the numbers really start dwindling but I think the British version managed this just fine without throwing has-beens into the mix. 

[Lady Calypso]

17 minutes ago, DearEvette said:

The only vote she got correct was Christian and by then there were so few of them left and she was up against him, that she kinda had no choice. 

It's the fact that she agreed with Brandi in episode one that Christian was a Traitor and then....forgot about it until the end. She went so hard on Michael and then her dislike of Rachel that it clouded her to her actual correct gut with Christian. Hell, she didn't even push any of Brandi's other suspicions, despite knowing about them. I guess because she gave up the moment Brandi was banished, but if she had pushed for any of the other names Brandi had mentioned, the names could have gotten some traction.

And that's why the Traitors had such an easy time. They easily hid behind the loud players because NOBODY suspected anyone flying under the radar. Even Christian and Cody were eventually caught BECAUSE they started being too loud. If they both sat back, they would have been just fine.

[curbcrusher]

I really enjoyed the show. I think this would have been better with either an all "normals" group, or an all "reality stars" group. I think mixing them up caused a number of the "normals" to be overshadowed, maybe intimidated.

In my opinion the "competitive"  reality stars played a better game that the "drama' reality stars. They seemed to understand that they needed to work the group, not bully their opinions onto the group.

I found it funny that Cirie and Cody were complaining in the talking heads about how talkative Christian was, but it was Cody that got busted first by running his mouth.  I have to say, one thing I loved about Christian was how he showed up the Traitor meetings enthusiastic and ready to off the next faithful. Cody was crying in his beer about how he had to vote people off, and Cirie was just keeping her masterful poker face. Christians reactions in the big group were cringy, but I did love the Traitor meetings, he understood why he was there.

Cirie played the game masterfully.

I'm not sure I see a way to play this game as a faithful and win, as there seems nothing in the gameplay to reveal the traitors. It sort of comes down to trying to read everyone's mind and that's what seemed to happen here. X is acting different that I would so they must be a traitor.  That seems like a weak thing to make the banishment decisions on.

[tvfanatic13]

Having finished I will now go back and read this thread but frankly there are things that I would have commented on that I am have already forgotten. I think that if something drops all at once or virtually all at once there should be separate episode threads. But I am not going to change the world. 
Loved the show. Glad for Cirie. She really knew how to play this. Felt so bad for Andie. Still not sure why Arie dropped out. If they would have all continued on, I think they would have voted off Cirie. Kate got a lot further than I thought she would and after a while I think she really enjoyed it. Im sure after reading the thread I will have more to add. 

[30 Helens]

On 1/16/2023 at 12:35 PM, DearEvette said:

  Hide contents

Shout out to Fergus for being such a quiet, steady presence.  I love how he is like groundskeeper Willie, 

Or Mose!

Initially, I thought I was going to hate this show. It was so dumb, so cheesy… but the more I watched, the more it became just the right amount of dumb and the perfect level of cheesy, and I became obsessed. I watched with my husband on Peacock, 1-2 episodes per night, and we had the best time shouting at the screen and laughing at the over-the-top shenanigans.

Alan Cumming is awesome and should host everything. (I could listen to him purr “muhhhr-duhhhr” all night.) Kate is someone I would hate on any other show, but here she was a hoot. It was fun watching Cody realize he’s not the mastermind he thinks he is (too bad Derrick wasn’t there to tell him what to do). It was hilarious watching overly confident Christian shoot himself in the foot. I loved the whole thing, until…

On 1/19/2023 at 1:57 PM, leocadia said:

Everything was going the way I wanted, Cody was banished, Christian was banished, Cirie was poised to win--all things I had wanted all season long--and yet I felt so bad for Quentin and Andie.  I love Cirie and thought she played the game perfectly so I don't hold it against her, but the way it played out in the end was kind of a bummer for me.

My thoughts exactly. Where everything before this had been an exaggerated parody of a reality game show, suddenly there were two crushed people with real emotions and real tears, and that was not fun to watch. I guess I was expecting more of a Survivor reaction, where players either shrug it off with a “good for you, you got me”, or become total Bitter Betties (which can also be fun). Maybe in future seasons players will learn not to invest so much emotionally.

As for Arie, I thought he was so disgusted by the way Circe was choosing to play the end game, he decided to take the high road and just leave. But after reading through others’ analyses, I think it’s highly likely he was hoping to turn the tables, the only way he could. Either way, he left on his own terms, which is the best he could do at that point.

If any show needed a reunion show, it’s this one. I would have loved to hear Arie’s explanation for leaving, and the muhhr-duhhred/banished players’ takes on the Traitors’ gameplay. Also to know if Andie and Quentin really forgave Cirie (sniff).

I would love to watch the British version. Is it available to stream anywhere?

[Zaffy]

Cirie won so easily, nobody doubt her or even suspected her.
Even at the very end when the other two should at least think the possibility that she could be a traitor, they basically handed her the money.
Through the whole season she was treated like the Den Mother, in a game where you are supposed to trust no one.
And ok, let's say the "common people" without reality experience were out of their league, but apart from Brandi, none of the other reality people suspected Cirie. Even Kate who... kept that piece of paper and let it..slide of her skirt to be found.. I mean wth?
That's why I  believe that most of the players (if not all) were guided by the production and they were just playing roles.

I also think it was a mistake to make as traitors only ex-reality players.

p.s. The whole Michael banishment was ridiculous..
It was Christian who kept telling every 2mins to EVERYONE "we must banish Geraldine" but at the round table nobody seemed to remember this. I call this badly scripted...

Edited January 24, 2023 by Zaffy

[tvfanatic13]

23 hours ago, curbcrusher said:

I really enjoyed the show. I think this would have been better with either an all "normals" group, or an all "reality stars" group. I think mixing them up caused a number of the "normals" to be overshadowed, maybe intimidated.

In my opinion the "competitive"  reality stars played a better game that the "drama' reality stars. They seemed to understand that they needed to work the group, not bully their opinions onto the group.

I found it funny that Cirie and Cody were complaining in the talking heads about how talkative Christian was, but it was Cody that got busted first by running his mouth.  I have to say, one thing I loved about Christian was how he showed up the Traitor meetings enthusiastic and ready to off the next faithful. Cody was crying in his beer about how he had to vote people off, and Cirie was just keeping her masterful poker face. Christians reactions in the big group were cringy, but I did love the Traitor meetings, he understood why he was there.

Cirie played the game masterfully.

I'm not sure I see a way to play this game as a faithful and win, as there seems nothing in the gameplay to reveal the traitors. It sort of comes down to trying to read everyone's mind and that's what seemed to happen here. X is acting different that I would so they must be a traitor.  That seems like a weak thing to make the banishment decisions on.

Regarding the bolded, but at the end, there were 2 reality stars (who happened to be the traitors) and 2 regular people, so I don't think that the reality stars overshadowed the regulars at all. 

[Lady Calypso]

1 hour ago, tvfanatic13 said:

Regarding the bolded, but at the end, there were 2 reality stars (who happened to be the traitors) and 2 regular people, so I don't think that the reality stars overshadowed the regulars at all. 

To be fair, those two non-reality players were one of the very few who got actual screentime and only because they made it to the end. If either of them went earlier, I don't think they would have gotten screentime because, overall, their confessionals were also kind of boring.

The only others who got significant enough screentime were Michael and Christian, one because he was the focus of the first few episodes and the other because he was a Traitor.

Shelbe, Geraldine, Azra, Amanda, Bam, and even Anjelica got VERY little to do because we HAD to hear Kate complain about being there in 32 confessionals, or hear about Rachel bemoaning about Kate, or Cirie play circles around everyone else, or even Cody or Kyle "bro'ing" it out. 

I absolutely think the reality stars overshadowed the non-celebs. I know many of them left early, but their screentime was sacrificed for the louder personalities. And I think, to be fair, they cast really boring or bad non-celebs so there was only so much they could pull from people like Anjelica or Shelbe, but it was still quite noticeable where the editing went. 

[MicheleinPhilly]

13 hours ago, 30 Helens said:

I would love to watch the British version. Is it available to stream anywhere?

BBC iPlayer if you have a VPN. 

[Johannah]

I only saw the first 2 eps and after reading here, didn't bother to try to find the rest.

I do like Alan and he seems like he's having fun, but I'm tired of these reality 'stars' hopping from show to show.  They get so full of themselves.  Even Cirie, whom I liked on Survivor until she started believing her 'how wonderful you are' press.  Not as bad as others, but still...   I don't understand the popularity of 'influencers', either, so there's that.

I also found it frustrating that they thought that one girl was a traitor because she wouldn't share the map and seemed to be sabotaging things.  Why would a traitor do that?  They stand to win the same pot.  Would be different if the money not won by the faithful was put in a separate pot for whichever traitor won, if that happened.  Performance on challenges meant nothing.  I think there should have been separate 'pots' so they could use that to suss out the traitors.

Funny.  After watching, I was somewhat eager to hunt down the other episodes, now I don't really care.  If they had all the eps on that channel, I would have just scheduled my DVR to record them all.  Oh, well...

[Brn2bwild]

17 hours ago, Zaffy said:

Cirie won so easily, nobody doubt her or even suspected her.
Even at the very end when the other two should at least think the possibility that she could be a traitor, they basically handed her the money.
Through the whole season she was treated like the Den Mother, in a game where you are supposed to trust no one.
And ok, let's say the "common people" without reality experience were out of their league, but apart from Brandi, none of the other reality people suspected Cirie. Even Kate who... kept that piece of paper and let it..slide of her skirt to be found.. I mean wth?
That's why I  believe that most of the players (if not all) were guided by the production and they were just playing roles.

I also think it was a mistake to make as traitors only ex-reality players.

p.s. The whole Michael banishment was ridiculous..
It was Christian who kept telling every 2mins to EVERYONE "we must banish Geraldine" but at the round table nobody seemed to remember this. I call this badly scripted...

I definitely agree that a lot of these "OMG" moments were likely scripted.  Would Kate really be careless enough to let a piece of paper slip showing people she wants eliminated?  Would Christian be dumb enough (though he was kind of dumb) to just announce to everyone that he had been recruited to be a traitor, fueling suspicion of him where previously there had been none?  I call producer shenanigans. 

[BradandJanet]

13 hours ago, Brn2bwild said:

I definitely agree that a lot of these "OMG" moments were likely scripted.  Would Kate really be careless enough to let a piece of paper slip showing people she wants eliminated?  Would Christian be dumb enough (though he was kind of dumb) to just announce to everyone that he had been recruited to be a traitor, fueling suspicion of him where previously there had been none?  I call producer shenanigans. 

Yes, and I'm going to call foul on the horror and tears some players exhibited when one of them said, "It's just a game." 

None of them would have been at a castle in Scotland with a bunch of strangers running around in the mud, dealing with rats, eating some badly catered meals, and having everything but bathroom visits filmed if they weren't in a contest to win a chunk of money. While production might have wanted viewers to see the experience as emotional bonding, that perspective didn't work for me. I did enjoy the show, however. 

Cirie played the game and played it well. While she may have liked some of the people in the group, she wasn't there to make friends. If any of these people were, they had joined the wrong tour of Scotland. 

[Meredith Quill]

1 hour ago, BradandJanet said:

dealing with rats

The other contestants weren't that bad.

1 hour ago, BradandJanet said:

eating some badly catered meals

Actual BTS footage

[Irlandesa]

20 hours ago, Brn2bwild said:

Would Kate really be careless enough to let a piece of paper slip showing people she wants eliminated? 

That confused me.  Did she do it?  Did someone try to frame her?  I do wish we knew more about that.

 

20 hours ago, Brn2bwild said:

Would Christian be dumb enough (though he was kind of dumb) to just announce to everyone that he had been recruited to be a traitor, fueling suspicion of him where previously there had been none?  I call producer shenanigans.

I believe him to be that dumb.  He was always talking too much and rambling. I suspect the producer shenanigans came when casting him and selecting him as a traitor. But speaking off-the-cuff to try to throw suspicion off of himself and without much strategical thinking?  I totally believe that.

[ruffy666]

On 1/24/2023 at 10:02 PM, Brn2bwild said:

Would Christian be dumb enough (though he was kind of dumb) to just announce to everyone that he had been recruited to be a traitor, fueling suspicion of him where previously there had been none?  I call producer shenanigans. 

After they showed that clip of him in a room alone wearing a cape and trying on antlers... yes, yes I think he would be dumb enough :)

[jackjill89]

I liked this show overall until the last 15 minutes. Alan was such a fun host. Some of the cast was completely annoying (like Christian, Rachel and her outfits) and some were endearing (Andie). I didn't like Cirie at first, grew to like her and then hated that she won. While I know she played the game brilliantly, I couldn't believe how she swore trust and truthfulness to people and then blindsided them in the end. I understand that there is deceitfulness inherent in a show like this and I enjoyed the strategizing up to that last day or so. To look people in the eye and swear your allegiance to them and then screw them in the end -- it takes a certain kind of person to be that cutthroat. I doubt I'll watch a second season because the players will be more savvy and it will be even more cutthroat. 

Now I know why I don't watch Big Brother and haven't watched Survivor in more than 15 years  -- I don't like to see people being rotten to each other. 

[sugarbaker design]

On 1/25/2023 at 1:02 AM, Brn2bwild said:

Would Christian be dumb enough (though he was kind of dumb) to just announce to everyone that he had been recruited to be a traitor, fueling suspicion of him where previously there had been none? 

 

On 1/25/2023 at 9:51 PM, Irlandesa said:

I believe him to be that dumb. 

I definitely believe him to be that dumb, and I also believe he craved to be the center of attention.

[MicheleinPhilly]

3 minutes ago, sugarbaker design said:

I definitely believe him to be that dumb, and I also believe he craved to be the center of attention.

THIS. He drew way too much attention to himself with his inability to STFU. When he introduced himself as a veteran, I was confident he would be able to blend in and observe the dynamics without drawing too much attention to himself. He did the exact opposite. 

[LadyChatts]

https://deadline.com/2023/02/the-traitors-renewed-season-2-peacock-plus-season-1-reunion-hosted-andy-cohen-1235247773/amp/
 

The show has been renewed for season 2 and there will be a season 1 reunion hosted by Andy Cohen on Feb. 28th.

[DearEvette]

Oooh, a reunion!  I am so curious to hear what everyone has to say after the fact.

[MicheleinPhilly]

UGH! Why does it have to be Andy Cohen??? NBC Universal couldn't find anyone else? 😣

[meep.meep]

Probably because Jeff Probst refused.

[peachmangosteen]

I hope they release season 2 weekly. 

[Irlandesa]

4 hours ago, MicheleinPhilly said:

UGH! Why does it have to be Andy Cohen??? NBC Universal couldn't find anyone else? 😣

Probably because of all of the Bravoleberties.  I wonder if it'll be on watch what happens live.

[tvfanatic13]

3 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

I hope they release season 2 weekly. 

Me too! But if not, I hope that they will run each episode thread separately here so that we can post without being spoiled. 

[Katie W]

On 2/2/2023 at 4:45 PM, peachmangosteen said:

I hope they release season 2 weekly. 

I think they will. There was A LOT of feedback where people were asking for this. People wanted to be able to talk about it but it was limited cause everyone was on a different episode. Having more people talk about in on social media would really help the streaming service. 

[meep.meep]

On 1/14/2023 at 6:25 PM, DearEvette said:

 

Oh Ryan Lochte.  Bless His Heart.  He so sweet and dumb.  All he wants to do is find a hidden door.  What will that accomplish Ryan? What? Except maybe you getting lost in a secret passage way.

 

In Ryan Lochte's defense (word I never thought that I would write or say), it turns out there actually is a hidden door!

[Pj3422]

Loved, loved, loved this show! I’m eager to see how Cirie’s gameplay will affect future seasons. (Remember the first season of Survivor, when the concept of an alliance was groundbreaking?) Of course, Cirie will probably be the first person voted off if she ever goes on another reality show. 

Quentin had me howling - how could one person be so consistently wrong? 

One quibble: the exterior shot of the castle at night. The moon never changed phases. 

[PrincessPurrsALot]

On 1/21/2023 at 10:55 PM, ZeeEnnui said:

I mean, Andie and Quentin only have themselves to blame here. Cirie may be a great actress (give her a Daytime Emmy), but I have watched too many mysteries in my life, so if someone is like, "I love you, always remember that" I will immediately be suspicious of their motives. You're just about to get Fredoed, so grab that baggy of red light to throw on the fire.  Like, I will never understand people that don't get that at the end of the day this is just a game. This isn't summer camp. This is a reality TV show. Please, spare me the sob story. Life changing amount of money? Not really after taxes. Like why is everyone braiding friendship bracelets?

I think they were so excited to be at the end and had drunk so much Cirie kool-aid that they stopped really analyzing what was happening.  I was somewhat hoping that Andie would figure it out and throw the red smoke bag.  I was happy for Cirie's win because she really did play the game exceptionally well, but my heart broke for Andie.  Quentin was always wrong, so, while I generally liked him, I didn't feel as bad for him. 

On 2/5/2023 at 10:14 AM, meep.meep said:

In Ryan Lochte's defense (word I never thought that I would write or say), it turns out there actually is a hidden door!

When they showed the hidden door, I imagine Ryan at home watching, jumping up and down, and screaming, "I knew it! I knew there had to be a hidden door!"

I went into this liking Alan Cummings,  Now I absolutely fluv him.  His enjoyment of his role came through.  I LOL'd when he tossed the photo of the first person murrrrrrrderrrrrred. His outfits were wonderful (shout out to wardrobe!).  Now I want to spend time in a Scottish castle with him, sipping scotch and making Shakespearean puns. 

[LadyChatts]

According to Sharon Tharp on Twitter, The Traitors UK and Australia will be available starting tomorrow (2/15) on Peacock.

Edited February 14, 2023 by LadyChatts

[ketchuplover]

I am faithful to this show 😁

[Hanahope]

I just started watching and will read more as I get further.

one thing that occurs to me, if all the traitors are banished, the remaining faithful split the pot?  That’s what Alan said.  So wouldn’t it be smart for the faithful to widdle down each other so when they figure out the traitors and banish them, there are fewer left to split the pot.

Edited February 24, 2023 by Hanahope

[Hanahope]

Up through episode 8.

Ah man, Ryan was right about the hidden passageway from the bookcase and he missed it!  Arie has major shield luck, hahahah, omg.  

Christian saying the traitors recruited him, lol, dude, wtf are you doing????

OMG, the worst escape room evah!!!!!

Geeze Kate, why did you even agree to come if you were going to be such a sourpuss and don't care about the money?

Gotta hand it to Rachel, she's a helluva competitor and gets it done.  she could never be a traitor because she is an emotional player and it would be too easy to tell that she was never getting murdered, she doesn't have a good poker face.  anyone who watched her on BB would know that.  but i laugh how much she is wrong about Kate.  

i get that the contestants get a vacation in a nice castle, do the non-winners get any other compensation?  i would think at least some of the celebs would want a per diam or something.

 

 

 

 

 

[Kingdom]

****Spoiler alert****

 

Loved this show up until the finale. So disappointing and 2 things I still don't understand. 

1. Only 2 traitors had been banished at this point.  How in the world did Andie and Quentin not realize there was at least 1 traitor left and both voted to end the game even with 4 people left?  Am I missing something?

2. Arie just quitting at the end.  I like the guy but if you're going to just quit then don't join the show, someone else who's actually willing to fight for the prize at the end can have your spot.  That joke of a finale really ruined the entire show for me honestly, as much as the winner deserved it ... Not like that!!

 

 

Edited February 27, 2023 by Kingdom

[Hanahope]

yeah, the finale was a bit off, i don't really like how it ended with the final 'vote' thing.  i get why Cirie did what she did, but Andie and Quinton had to know she was a traitor, how else would she know Arie was one.  And i guess Arie 'bowed' out because he knew he'd be voted out (Cirie had Andie and Quinton in her corner) and didn't want to poison them against Cirie?  he wanted her to have the money, maybe he knew how much she needed it?

i hope that Andie and Quinton got some sort of consolation prize for 2nd place.

honestly, i still can't believe they all believed Cirie was a faithful.  please, of course Alan (and/or TPTB) chose her to be one.  she's perfect in the role.  so was Cody, until he lost Ryan.  

Alan was the star of the show.

[peachmangosteen]

22 hours ago, Hanahope said:

And i guess Arie 'bowed' out because he knew he'd be voted out (Cirie had Andie and Quinton in her corner) and didn't want to poison them against Cirie?  he wanted her to have the money, maybe he knew how much she needed it?

No, he was pissed at what Cirie did and was trying to hint to Quinton and Andie that she was a traitor so they could get rid of her and get the money.

[Stats Queen]

On 3/1/2023 at 9:15 AM, peachmangosteen said:

No, he was pissed at what Cirie did and was trying to hint to Quinton and Andie that she was a traitor so they could get rid of her and get the money.

I agree and I don’t blame him but Quinton and Andre were so stuck in the friends vs. a game. It was so stupid of them, it’s their own fault.

[SourK]

Just binged this all at once. It's basically Werewolf with gameshow elements, and I like Werewolf and gameshow elements, so I had fun.

The two things I found most interesting were:

1. The way that everybody knew that any one of them could have been chosen as Traitor, and that the Traitors weren't chosen until the first episode, but then many of them started to talk about the Traitors as if they were bad people who were betraying the group because of a character flaw and not because Alan touched their shoulders.
2. The way that many people got fixated on somebody they didn't like, and wanted to believe that that person was bad and therefore a Traitor -- and how they were so confident about that, based on nothing but vibes.

In the end, I was most excited to see Cirie play, so I was happy she was a Traitor, and I think she played well -- but I have mixed feelings about how personal and nasty it got sometimes when they all ganged up on somebody for banishment.

On 1/16/2023 at 12:52 PM, Irlandesa said:

Some feel like Arie knew Cirie was telling the truth about needing the money and bowed out.  I think he just realized his time was up.  He came to the finale with his fellow traitor and two people who were her strong allies. 

I don't think Arie really had a winning argument once Cirie threw the red smoke.  Cirie never accused him of being a traitor in her speech. (By the way, I really appreciate how this version didn't have a traitor outright targeting another traitor unless the faithfuls started the push.) If he accused Cirie of being a traitor, he'd have to explain why she, as a traitor, threw the red smoke if she assumed the rest were faithfuls.  At the end, if there's only one traitor and three faithfuls, the traitor wouldn't have a motive to eliminate a faithful because they win the whole thing.  A traitor only would need an elimination if they didn't want to share the pot with their fellow traitor.

I agree that there wasn't any way for him to get suspicion off himself at that point, but he could have tried to take her down with him out of spite, which is honestly what I would have done. IMO, he was being extremely polite by just taking himself out of it and letting the game play out as it would.

On 1/23/2023 at 10:05 AM, Lady Calypso said:

The challenges did pretty much nothing overall. They were basically filler since the challenge wins didn't mean anything for most of the game. They earned money, yes, but there was no punishment for a challenge that was lost, especially the team-based ones.

I agree that the challenges didn't add anything. Some were fun to watch, but they had nothing to do with the main task, which was figuring out who's a Traitor. At least on The Mole, the Mole is motivated to sabotage the group, and you're gathering intel during the challenge. On this show, no one had a motivation to do anything differently during the challenge, and the challenge didn't show you anything about who they were.

On 1/23/2023 at 10:05 AM, Lady Calypso said:

I also did not like another traitor being recruited near the end. There was no need for that; it just made it impossible for the Faithfuls to win. I know they need to have a contingency in case all the traitors go out early, but Cirie and Christian didn't need a third traitor. They were doing just fine and it evened things out with the Faithfuls by having Cody go when he did. The Faithfuls already sucked at that stage. The Traitors didn't need a solidified win by having Arie join them. The Traitors had the win locked down by episode three.

I 100% agree. They need a Traitor in the game until the end, and I get that, but Cirie would have made it without throwing Arie in the mix. I think doing that just confused things.

On 1/24/2023 at 2:02 AM, 30 Helens said:

My thoughts exactly. Where everything before this had been an exaggerated parody of a reality game show, suddenly there were two crushed people with real emotions and real tears, and that was not fun to watch. I guess I was expecting more of a Survivor reaction, where players either shrug it off with a “good for you, you got me”, or become total Bitter Betties (which can also be fun). Maybe in future seasons players will learn not to invest so much emotionally.

That reaction, and the reaction some people had when they were getting bullied off the show made me feel like maybe it's not awesome that we psychologically torture people for entertainment, you know?

It's easy to say that people should keep perspective and remember it's a gameshow, but I also know that, once you're in it, and you're not sleeping, and it's all you think about, and the other contestants are the only people you see, it starts to feel like a really big deal.

I don't think it's Cirie's fault for playing the game as designed, and I also don't think she was unnecessarily mean about it from what we saw. But, production is choosing these people and creating these situations -- so they're taking people who are emotionally vulnerable and open, and being like, "What if everyone betrayed you?! What if we let you think you won and then you didn't?!"

Like, some people are more seasoned, and they get that it's a game that involves lying and good for them -- but other people probably shouldn't be playing, and it's not 100% on them when they get hurt. People behind the scenes are making choices about how much to twist the knife.

On 1/24/2023 at 4:37 PM, Johann said:

I also found it frustrating that they thought that one girl was a traitor because she wouldn't share the map and seemed to be sabotaging things.  Why would a traitor do that?  They stand to win the same pot.  Would be different if the money not won by the faithful was put in a separate pot for whichever traitor won, if that happened.  Performance on challenges meant nothing.  I think there should have been separate 'pots' so they could use that to suss out the traitors.

I found that confusing/annoying, too. And I noticed that, in the second episode, Alan verbally clarified for everyone that no one has a motivation to sabotage on purpose & everyone wants to succeed at the challenge.

But then that goes back to the issue where there's no point to the challenges.

On 2/27/2023 at 5:51 PM, Kingdom said:

1. Only 2 traitors had been banished at this point.  How in the world did Andie and Quentin not realize there was at least 1 traitor left and both voted to end the game even with 4 people left?  Am I missing something?

I was confused about this too and, as ever on this type of show, I wish we had more knowledge about what the contestants were told and what they understood the rules to be. Because I'm not sure whether they knew they'd started with three Traitors or not.

[30 Helens]

2 hours ago, SourK said:

I wish we had more knowledge about what the contestants were told and what they understood the rules to be. Because I'm not sure whether they knew they'd started with three Traitors or not.

In the UK version, they didn’t know how many Traitors there were. They knew there had to be at least two and assumed probably three, but it was pretty clear they hadn’t been told.

If you haven’t seen it already, I highly recommend Traitors UK. I found it much more entertaining than the US version. And while they had the same weird Faithfuls Good/Traitors Bad fixation, there were no broken hearts, which was a plus. As much as I enjoyed T:US, it was actually my least favorite, after 1) UK and 2) Australia. Although I wish Alan Cumming had hosted all three. He’s the best.

[OutOfTheQuestion]

On 1/23/2023 at 2:04 PM, curbcrusher said:

I'm not sure I see a way to play this game as a faithful and win, as there seems nothing in the gameplay to reveal the traitors. It sort of comes down to trying to read everyone's mind and that's what seemed to happen here. X is acting different that I would so they must be a traitor.  That seems like a weak thing to make the banishment decisions on.

In theory this should've been the easiest season to figure out a traitor due to the presence of celebrity contestants. If it's me as part of a 20-person cast, my assumption would've been four traitors --- two "celebs" and two new people.  Plus I absolutely would've suspected that at least one of the Big Brother and Survivor people would be traitor, so Cirie and Cody would've been on my radar from the first minute.

Of course, sharing these theories with fellow players or at the round table would've also gotten me murdered very quickly. 😁

[blixie]

Quote

Quentin was so wrong the entire game, he provided some inadvertent comic relief.

And the man is a political analyst, truly embarrassing performance, the shit he must of got at work. 

Overall I think the game aspect of this needs a lot of work as many have said it's so overwhelming tilted toward the Traitors, they should not be allowed to take out two faithfuls a week, though the producers must think this is the best way to tip their Traitors hand, in reality it took until the Kyle ep (which was six or seven eps in) where he blows up Cody and even then they had to vote Kyle out to finally sus it out as a group. The only people in the faithful who had anything on the ball was Kyle/Brandie and maybe Arie/Stephanie. Kate was fun as suffering spoiler, but she gave up after Brandi left so I don't think you can evaluate how good she would be if she were actually invested. I think they should have an all normal/regular person cast or all reality villains but it for sure seems unfair to have mixture.

Having said that if any show was made for BB Vanessa Russo to come back to reality tv for this is it and I love her and want to see make the traitors in like five seconds flat. Or really any pro poker would be great. 

Edited April 30, 2023 by blixie

[me-i am me]

How did the faithfuls not hear the traitors leave their rooms at night to go to their secret meetings?

[Thalia]

On 8/3/2023 at 1:20 AM, me-i am me said:

How did the faithfuls not hear the traitors leave their rooms at night to go to their secret meetings?

I kept wondering if every bedroom in the castle had a private bath.  Because I can easily imagine getting up in the middle of the night and bumping into someone wearing a hooded cloak.  

[Door County Cherry]

On 8/3/2023 at 1:20 AM, me-i am me said:

How did the faithfuls not hear the traitors leave their rooms at night to go to their secret meetings?

 

2 hours ago, Thalia said:

I kept wondering if every bedroom in the castle had a private bath.  Because I can easily imagine getting up in the middle of the night and bumping into someone wearing a hooded cloak.  

They didn't spend the night at the castle. They spent their nights in separate hotel rooms. They didn't show this in the US version but in the UK version, filmed at the same location, they'd show them coming and going for the day if I remember correctly.

[Thalia]

Thank you @Door County Cherry, because it was really bugging me.  But man, part of the reason I would have wanted to do the show would be to stay in a beautiful, Scottish castle and dream of Jamie Fraser

[Vikitty]

First time watching this series -- I picked it up because I'm a HUGE Survivor junkie and so I'm always wanting to see what alumni are doing. I've been spoiled on the winner but so far I am loving the twists and turns. Just finishing the end of Episode 8 and

Spoiler

Rachel's banishment was heartbreaking.

 

[paramitch]

I just binged this, and I thoroughly enjoyed it, even if some of the logistics made no sense. The team challenges, for instance, are stupid because unlike "The Mole," everyone's goals are still the same, whether Faithful or Traitor. I feel like it would make more sense for there to be a reason for the Traitors to want to sabotage some of the teams, when for now there isn't one (yet people were still using those moments as indicators that people were Traitors).

I did love Alan Cumming (whom I already adore beyond the telling), and I loved all the constant Shakespearean puns and witticisms. He was having so much fun with this!

Meanwhile, while I absolutely cannot stand Rachel after her childish whiny presence on "The Amazing Race," I did find her occasionally funny here, and I loved her final banishment table because she was so visibly telling the truth and gobsmacked at how gullible everyone was. I also thought Kate was hilarious even though I dislike her. I got a kick out of what an absolute doofus Christian was (his jaw-dropping "announcement" about being recruited had me laughing out loud). 

I wish we had seen more of the regular, non-reality folks -- poor Amanda and several others were virtually invisible, and I really was disappointed Shelbe wasn't given more airtime either.

Even though it's just the way human psychology works, I did get very tired of the predictable "Traitors are evil!" POV from several players, and for that reason I found Andie and their constant weeping and moralizing really tiresome. They were a terrible fit for the show and utterly incapable of even basic "gameplay." While I felt sorry they were so tortured by the emotional aspects of the game, I was very uncomfortable by the end because they were so intensely, visibly vulnerable and unable to stop adding a moral aspect to the game that simply wasn't necessary. The entire reason Andie was kept around was that they were so transparent and biddable -- they were obviously Faithful and just as obviously able to be led anywhere the Traitor(s) wanted them to be. Yet they deluded themselves that somehow they made it to the end as some kind of reward for moral goodness, and just -- yikes.

So in the end when Cirie blindsided Andie and Quentin, I did feel sorry for them, but I mostly felt irritation that (as we found out at the reunion) Andie went off and sobbed for ten minutes without speaking. (It's a GAME. Maybe next time don't go on a reality show where the entire PREMISE is to lie and deceive?! Or to be lied to and deceived?)

I thoroughly enjoyed the reunion, although there weren't many surprises. A lot of time was given to whether Cirie was morally wrong or somehow evil for what she did, and I thought she defended herself intelligently and well, basically saying, "I came to play a game. I was a Traitor from day one. So I did the best job at being a Traitor I could. Just like anyone else would have." Andie's POV was basically that any kindness on a personal level, any shared confidence was unfair because it made them think there was real friendship there, etc. and it was "unfair" to use those relationships (even if 100% formed DURING THE GAME) to win.

Most of the other contestants were absolutely fine with Cirie's play and just appreciated the experience, but by the end of the reunion, Andie, of course, still kept making it personal and talking about how hurt they were and how devastating Cirie's behavior was. Cirie (to her credit) acknowledged the emotional aspect but again just defended her gameplay and finally Andie allowed a hug and let her off the hook (eyeroll).

I just have no patience for Andie's weepy weeps about "You betrayed me!" when Cirie's calm response is -- of course -- "Yes, I did. That's the game."

I was thrilled for Cirie, enjoyed the game, I just hope season 2 tweaks some of the logistics a bit, and does away with the reality stars.