The Traitors (UK) - General Discussion

[Meredith Quill]

Peacock has picked up the UK and Australian versions of hit psychological competition format The Traitors, with both iterations set to launch on the Comcast-owned platform Wednesday Feb 15th.

Quote

BBC Promotional Blurb.

Get them before they get you. 22 strangers, one castle, £120k - Claudia Winkleman hosts the ultimate reality game of trust and treachery. Let the mind games begin.

• With all the contestants arriving at the castle as “Faithfuls”, they will soon find out their fate in the game - whether they are playing as a “Faithful” or as a “Traitor. The role of the Faithfuls is to find the Traitors amongst the group and banish them all before the end of the game. Whilst the Traitors aim is to stay undetected and escape being banished.
• If the Faithfuls successfully banish all the Traitors before the end of the game, the remaining Faithfuls are the winners and walk away with the prize money. If, however, there are any Traitors remaining at the end of the game, the remaining Traitor(s) will win and take it all.
• In most episodes, the group gathers at the Round Table to discuss who they suspect of being a Traitor and have the opportunity to “banish” a contestant, eliminating them from the game. Will the Faithfuls successfully detect a Traitor amongst them or will the Traitors remain hidden? The contestant who receives the most votes is banished, leaving the Programme immediately but not before revealing to the rest of the group whether they are a Faithful or a Traitor.
• Most evenings, the Traitors meet in secret and have the opportunity to choose a Faithful they wish to “murder”, eliminating them from the game. The Traitors together must decide on one contestant they wish to murder and leave the game. The chosen Faithful will find out they have been murdered when they receive the “death warrant” – a letter from the Traitors - with the rest of the group discovering the identity of the ‘murdered’ contestant at breakfast the next morning.
• The total number of Traitors in the game at any time is never revealed to the Faithfuls but may change through banishment or recruitment. If a Traitor is banished before the end game, the Traitors may have the opportunity to recruit a Faithful to join them as a Traitor and if they agree, they become a Traitor from that moment on for the remainder of their time in the game.
• The Faithful and the Traitors must work together as a group in a series of challenges and tasks known as “Missions” for the chance to earn money towards the prize fund, with a total prize fund of up to £120,000 (one hundred and twenty thousand pounds) available to be won.

All 12 episodes are currently available on BBC iPlayer. 

[Meredith Quill]

Season 2 confirmed. Article contains spoilers for season 1.

[MicheleinPhilly]

I can't wait for people to see this! As it was my first exposure to the series, I'm a bit biased and think it was better than the U.S. version. 

Enjoy! 

[Meredith Quill]

6 minutes ago, MicheleinPhilly said:

I can't wait for people to see this! As it was my first exposure to the series, I'm a bit biased and think it was better than the U.S. version. 

Enjoy! 

While seeing a certain version first can create bias, it doesn't necessarily follow. I watched them in the following order: UK, Aussie, US, with my favourites, in order, being - Aussie, UK, US. 

[Wee S]

Finally! I've been waiting for this topic to pop up!

 

FYI I am 100% faithful. 100%.

[Meredith Quill]

1 hour ago, Wee S said:

Finally! I've been waiting for this topic to pop up!

 

FYI I am 100% faithful. 100%.

So am I... honest guv.

[QQQQ]

I finished US last week and UK this morning. Although the challenges and setting were almost identical, I thought the UK version was a lot more enjoyable. Off to Australia!

[ZeeEnnui]

When this first started I worried that I might be bored because the challenges were so similar to the U.S. version. As much as I enjoyed that one, I think the UK show ended up a more entertaining watch. This show was just so messy compared to the U.S. version. Putting reality stars into the other show added a layer of control and artifice that this show just didn't have so it could be raw, full of dramatic, kooky (looking at you, Maddie) and wildly terrible people instincts. Celebrities also tip the scales, because they understand how "reality" works, but when you put regular people into a game like this, it's more exciting to see what happens. Tom the magician losing his ever-loving "rabbit in a hat" mind when his secret girlfriend was targeted. Gold. Maddie as an addle-brained Columbo wannabe who couldn't connect a dot to save her life except when it came to Wilf. Hilarious. It's moments and contestants like this that made this show so incredibly entertaining. 

The ending was a chef's kiss for me. I LOATHED Wilf throughout the show. He was just so over-the-top and punchable. I could not understand how so few people didn't find him at all suspicious. I sprained a cornea rolling my eyes at Wilf's hyppocritcal justifications for why he had to sell his fellow traitors out. You were ruthless. Own it. It's a game. I hate when people try to be all noble about being a snake. I would not have been unhappy if Kieran had won, but I love that he was able to screw over Wilf in the end. 

I would 100% drink cocktails and wear killer sweaters with Claudia Winkelman and Alan Cumming. 

One moment that really rubbed me the wrong way, was the early episode when Aaron had a panic attack at the banishment ceremony. Sure, to some it seemed dramatic, but it struck me that Aaron seemed like he might suffer from anxiety and the voting was too much for him. I really disliked how nasty John was to him later. John seemed to have a chip on his shoulder about the past. No doubt as an older gay man, John has experienced his fair share of discrimination. Telling Imran that the comment about old people hurt his feelings was a moment where you saw that John had no problem standing up for himself, and being honest about his feelings. I loved that John wasn't afraid to call people out, and be honest about how a careless comment made him feel. That's why when John lashed out at Aaron for the panic attack, it felt so ugly. The impatience and lack of empathy was really jarring. In the end, I'm glad Aaron won some money. He seemed like a sweet, kind of awkward, puppy-like kind of guy who just wanted to help out his mum. 

Next up: Traitors: Australia!

Edited February 21, 2023 by ZeeEnnui

[BradandJanet]

I've watched, in order, USA, Australia, and I'm in the middle of UK. While Australia is still my favorite, I'm really enjoying the UK version now that I'm into it. As @ZeeEnnuisays, it's "messy" and that gives it depth. The UK contestants are well chosen, and having twelve episodes instead of ten gives space to show details that the US version doesn't. 

Overall, my real choices are Claudia in a jumper in the breakfast room, Alan in a kilt in the round table room, and Rodger in a tuxedo in the gambling room. They all do a great job. 

 

[Door County Cherry]

So I'm going to hold the unpopular opinion that I did not think that the UK version was all that superior to the US version for my tastes.  It felt closer to Big Brother than The Mole in that personalities played a major part of the watchability of the show whereas I prefer a bit more strategy.  Sure, the US had more practiced reality stars but I also felt like it had more strategy.  (And really, other than the Bravoleberties, the only difference between the Big Brother/Survivor participants and the first timers in the UK traitors is previous experience. They're all reality game show participants. )

I'll have more comparison, eventually, in the comparison thread in the Traitors USA forum.  But focusing on The Traitors UK.

I do like that Claudia got more invested in the contestants' success in the challenge as time went on. 

On 2/20/2023 at 11:29 PM, ZeeEnnui said:

Tom the magician losing his ever-loving "rabbit in a hat" mind when his secret girlfriend was targeted. Gold.

Oh goodness, I wanted to slap him.  Especially since the night before, the collective group went after Imran because they felt he didn't "defend himself" well enough when he was basically just doing scientific brain nerd speak that can come off incredibly condescending (which is frankly is). Then he acted positively affronted when the group turned its banishment fingers towards him even though he handed them a reason on a silver platter not to trust him or Alex. If your strategy is having a secret relationship, keep the secret.  "She's my girlfriend" isn't going to convince anyone that she's not a traitor. 

And why did Maddie confess to being an actress?  It's such a dumb thing to not share and then a dumb thing to share.  

On 2/20/2023 at 11:29 PM, ZeeEnnui said:

. I could not understand how so few people didn't find him at all suspicious.

He cried.  He almost got voted out during the same vote he chose to throw Alyssa to the wolves and then he cried.  And everyone at the table read those tears as authentic.  The problem is, they never questioned what authentic meant in the moment.  They all assumed it was tears of an innocent man scared that he almost got the boot.  None (that we were shown) considered that they could equally have been the tears of a man who just backstabbed an ally/fellow traitor to save his skin.  

OMG, the tears.  The tears!  I had heard the men were weepy this season but nothing quite prepared me. 

On 2/20/2023 at 11:29 PM, ZeeEnnui said:

I really disliked how nasty John was to him later.

Jon had already felt disrespected by him because of his incessant questions.  And Aaron might have anxiety or it could have been a dramatic reaction to being targeted.  He left the table and no one knew what was going on with him. But then, I felt a little biased against Aaron in the beginning because I thought it was interesting that when he had nothing to go on except gut, his first two suspects for being a traitor were two of the few people of color in the season.

ETA: One final thought.  I had heard that Kiernan threw his fellow traitor under the bus at the end and I didn't like that because I feel it defeats the spirit of the game.  In the end, it wasn't as obvious as I thought it was going to be.  But also, I absolutely felt for him.  And Wilf.  Kiernan was forced to join as a traitor.  I do not think that should be the case that late in the game.  And then he got backstabbed again.  

[snarts]

I watched the US version and just finished the UK. First, so many tears! Whatever happened to the stiff upper lip thing? Yet, they were so nice & polite while being banished versus the US sentiment of "fuck you, you're wrong. I hope you lose"

I can't help but feel like the game is slanted too much in favor of the Traitors. I don't like that they can recruit additional Traitors and I really didn't like they could (in essence) draft one so late in the game. Completely unfair to Kieran and I understood his frustration, especially since Wilf was such a snake. The Faithful should really thank him, they were doomed otherwise.

Meryl was so wrong every time. Hannah is a comedian? Aaron was the only one I was happy to see win.

[MicheleinPhilly]

56 minutes ago, snarts said:

I don't like that they can recruit additional Traitors and I really didn't like they could (in essence) draft one so late in the game. Completely unfair to Kieran and I understood his frustration, especially since Wilf was such a snake. The Faithful should really thank him, they were doomed otherwise.

I hated this. I think there should be a "certain number of contestants left" limit to recruiting new Traitors. Matter of fact, I'd rather they just stop recruiting new ones outright. Unless all three Traitors get ousted early on, I see no need for it. 

I was actually disappointed that Meryl and Hannah won. Both of them were completely wrong about pretty much everything and everyone. 

[MicheleinPhilly]

On 2/27/2023 at 8:05 AM, snarts said:

I watched the US version and just finished the UK. First, so many tears! Whatever happened to the stiff upper lip thing? Yet, they were so nice & polite while being banished versus the US sentiment of "fuck you, you're wrong. I hope you lose"

The constant tears were a bit much but I will admit to laughing HARD when what's his name found out that his dream girl was taken. Like I laughed OUT LOUD for a long time. It was such a ridiculous display

[BradandJanet]

On 2/28/2023 at 11:04 AM, MicheleinPhilly said:

The constant tears were a bit much but I will admit to laughing HARD when what's his name found out that his dream girl was taken. Like I laughed OUT LOUD for a long time. It was such a ridiculous display

That was crying Aaron, I believe. He lost his dream girl but made his mum very happy. 

[meep.meep]

No, it was Matt, I think.  The dark haired sk8ter boi.

I just watched the ending and as soon as Kieran was banished, I hoped that Hannah would pick up on what he was trying to tell them.  And she did.

Much more satisfying ending than the US version.  I hope they keep celebrities out of all the subsequent seasons.  Except Ryan Lochte - he should come back every year.

[65mickey]

It was Matt not Aaron. I liked the way the ending worked out. Finally Hannah, Aaron and Meryl woke up just in the nick of time.

[Meredith Quill]

FYI -

Rise and Fall, a new format from the people behind The Traitors.

If you enjoyed The Traitors, this new show may be your cup of tea, I'm watching and think it's quite good so far.

[65mickey]

8 hours ago, Elio Kukui said:

Did Hannah at least admit to being wrong about Wilfred?  She more than anyone was convinced of his innocence and never wavered till near the end.

    She did at the very last night, when she saw Wif acting desperate and she said that he issued an ultimatum to her. I missed that.        She and Arron voted not to end the game at the finale so this caused a final vote.  Of course the tears flowed again. 

[30 Helens]

Watched US Traitors, then Australia, then this, and now I’m sad because I have no more traitorous countries to visit. This show is so much fun! And at least I saved the best for last. 

I loved this cast. So emotional, so messy, so over the top. From Matt’s obsession with Alyssa’s teeth to Aaron’s meltdown to Magician Tom’s inability to maintain an illusion… they never disappointed. I also found it funny when Wilf was voted best comedian (and exactly when was he funny? I never saw it) rather than Hannah, the cast’s actual comedian. That had to hurt.

I liked that the Faithful won, not because they deserved it (except maybe Aaron), but because it was so dramatic.. And they didn’t actually win it, Kieran handed it to them as a “gift”. They would have been total idiots not to catch that clue. I also wanted Andrea to win, or at least make it to the end. She seemed so sad that it was over. I also wanted Maddie to be there, to see her tenacity pay off.

Early on, I predicted Amanda would win, because she had an excellent poker face and was great at staying under the radar. Wilfred, on the other hand, had a terrible poker face. Yet somehow, nobody saw it. (Except for Maddie!)

I assumed Kieran would be Wilfred’s downfall, but that’s because I thought Kieran was a little more calculating, and would seize he opportunity to take out Wilf at the first opportunity. But he was actually fine with sharing, until he was backstabbed. I don’t blame him for being vengeful after that; he didn’t want to be a traitor in the first place. And I thank him for it, because Wilf’s meltdown was a joy to behold. 

I need some more countries to jump on this Traitors bandwagon. Come on, Canada!

[SourK]

I watched this on advice from people in the US threads. I do wish it weren't so similar to the US version, but I thought this one had better editing and -- importantly, at least to me -- better explanations of what the rules are. Like, I'm the kind of viewer who wants to hear someone say, "There's a safe word if you don't want to be buried alive."

I also really, really liked Claudia and how excited she got, and how she was openly cheering for them and screaming and jumping up and down.

Didn't like Wil as much, because I don't like it when people shank their own team for no reason. I honestly couldn't tell if he knew what he was doing or not, but it got to be funny that every couple of episodes, he'd say, "I was going to stay loyal to the traitors, but I think they're plotting against me, so I need to get them out." It bummed me out when he went after Amanda, because I really liked her, but it was also partly her fault for choosing him over Alyssa.

On 2/21/2023 at 12:29 AM, ZeeEnnui said:

One moment that really rubbed me the wrong way, was the early episode when Aaron had a panic attack at the banishment ceremony. Sure, to some it seemed dramatic, but it struck me that Aaron seemed like he might suffer from anxiety and the voting was too much for him. I really disliked how nasty John was to him later. John seemed to have a chip on his shoulder about the past.

I agree. That was the moment I really disliked John. I was honestly just as surprised by it as Aaron -- I was like, "Wait, you're mad because he took an interest and asked you questions about your job?" I think John just likes to pick a fight.

Oh, and then John started crying at breakfast, so who's dramatic now?

On 2/27/2023 at 8:05 AM, snarts said:

I can't help but feel like the game is slanted too much in favor of the Traitors. I don't like that they can recruit additional Traitors and I really didn't like they could (in essence) draft one so late in the game. Completely unfair to Kieran and I understood his frustration, especially since Wilf was such a snake. The Faithful should really thank him, they were doomed otherwise.

I find it awkward when they recruit Traitors late, but I understand the problem production's trying to solve. They've already made all of the arrangements to shoot a certain number of episodes, and it wouldn't really work if all of the Traitors were gone before the end, because then there's no suspense for the audience.

I found it interesting when they pressured Kieran to join. I guess the choice you always have on a reality show is to either roll with the punches or quit the show but they sort of dressed it up as if it were a more special decision. I don't have a problem with that per se -- lots of shows shuffle teams at some point -- but it does create a situation where someone's jumping in pretty late, and on both UK and US it didn't work very well.

On 2/28/2023 at 11:04 AM, MicheleinPhilly said:

The constant tears were a bit much but I will admit to laughing HARD when what's his name found out that his dream girl was taken. Like I laughed OUT LOUD for a long time. It was such a ridiculous display

I thought that was really funny, too. I'm sorry to Matt (I think that's who it was) -- it was funny not just because he started crying but because EVERYBODY kept crying, and then it was just like, "Oh, now him, too. Him, too."

Plus, I love Maddy and how, whenever something emotionally intense was happening, she would just guilelessly say it out loud and then everyone would get mad at her. I loved it when she was like, "Meryl, you just said you knew all along, but you voted for [whoever it was]." And I loved it in this scene, when she tried to tell Matt she was sorry Alex had a boyfriend, and he was just like, "That's not why! That's not why!"

I do kind of wonder, though, if they purposely cast people who were kind of prone to bursting into tears or if this became a group dynamic where everyone was constantly covering their faces and sobbing about everything and, if you didn't do it too, you wouldn't fit in.

[LakeGal]

I watched this after seeing the US and Aus versions.  Interesting that I liked both the UK and Aus version better than the US one.  I think using the reality stars on the US one did not help it.  

There were a lot of similarities to the US version in this one.  But there was still enough changes that I enjoyed it. I liked Claudia as the host.  I do prefer the masks that the Aus version uses for the traitors.  But the meeting in the tower is better than the Aus spot.

I really disliked Wilford.  I was dreading him winning.  I loved the flip at the end.  Wilford needed to own his actions.  He not only lied to the other players but he was lying to us and the camera too.  That is what I disliked the most.  He kept trying to justify and act how it hurt him so much.  I did not believe that at all.  He was always the one that wanted to turn on the other traitors.  But he tried to convince us/himself that he only did it because they were going to turn on him.  Yet he was the one that always threw the others under the bus before they did it.  Both Alyssa and Amanda worked to save him when his name was mentioned.  But he gleefully put their names out to the others.  I was so happy he did not win a cent.  

Hannah annoyed me with how she would not turn on Wilford.  Even when he said he trusted Fay more than her she went right back to totally trusting him.  Kieran had to practically knock her over the head with the fact Wilford was a traitor.  Aaron even understood it before her. Meryl was so lost I was expecting her to vote for Maddie or someone else already banished when she had to make her final vote.  She always followed along and did not seem to ever play her own game.  I was happy that Aaron won money.  He was like that goofy puppy that you had to like him. 

I was happy Kieran gave those clues.  If Wilford was going to backstab all the others he deserved to feel what it felt like.  He could have just shared the money with another traitor.  He was selfish and it came back to bite him.

The crying.  OMG where did they find all these young men that cried over everything.  I do not think I have ever watched a reality show that had this much emotional crying.   

 

[sugarbaker design]

On 2/21/2023 at 12:29 AM, ZeeEnnui said:

That's why when John lashed out at Aaron for the panic attack, it felt so ugly. The impatience and lack of empathy was really jarring.

John said to Aaron something like 'you deserve an Oscar for that performance'.  John was a very bitter queen.  I wasn't sorry to see her go.

On 2/27/2023 at 9:06 AM, MicheleinPhilly said:

I was actually disappointed that Meryl and Hannah won. Both of them were completely wrong about pretty much everything and everyone. 

But at least Hannah voted to banish Wilf.  Meryl was entirely useless.

[Lady Calypso]

So, I fell extremely behind and only got around to finishing this series this weekend. It's a shame, because it's currently the best series of The Traitors that I've seen. A great cast with some genuinely interesting drama and fun twists and turns made this a very solid series to watch. 

First off, Claudia as a host was fantastic. She wasn't too over the top, and I absolutely loved her getting MORE involved during the challenges as the series went on. By the end, she was basically a cheerleader for the players and almost an active participant as well. I kind of love how invested she got with these players throughout.

I actually thought the Traitors themselves were pretty good. I think they all explained why they were playing the games they were fairly well. I even didn't hate Wilf, besides being annoyed with him in the final episode. I do think he needed to own his game more and not make a big show out of lying to the Faithfuls at the end when Kieran turned on him, but I appreciate that he was so passionate about the game that he DID feel guilt when he turned on people. And I'm glad he was a good sport when Hannah/Aaron chose to banish him. I think Wilf's biggest obstacle was being blinded by his own selfishness to take the pot for himself. He was already an emotional player so him backstabbing people while feeling such big emotions caused him to completely fall apart by the end.

Amanda was such a great Traitor. Had Wilf not gotten paranoid about Amanda's intentions and turned on her so soon, they both could have gotten to the end and then decided to turn on each other. Alas, Wilf turned on her probably two rounds too early and caused his own demise. Had he not done that, he wouldn't have been forced to recruit Kieran, who was clearly not happy by being forced to be a Traitor and then turned on by Wilf.

I think the series needs to change the rules to the Blackmail portion of the Traitors' task. Once it gets down to a specific number of people and one Traitor left, give them the OPTION to blackmail or not. I think Wilf actually could have won if he was the solo Traitor at 7. Forcing him to still recruit and blackmail didn't help his game. I think the only person he could have forced to recruit that would have still allowed him the win would have been Meryl, who I don't think would have sold him out. I get the thought process from Wilf (the theory that it HAD to be a guy) but I think Kieran was too upset by the forced recruit to have NOT turned on him.

Alyssa was a solid Traitor as well, she just got unlucky with being a quieter personality (even though she got Nicky out for an unfortunate reason). I would have liked to see what Alyssa could have accomplished with more time, but I guess I get why Wilf turned on her, as well as Amanda. 

There were a lot of solid players this season as well. Aaron was very likeable and I'm glad he got the win at the end. I felt bad for him when John went in on him for basically being "too emotional". That's the reason why John went after him; Aaron dared to show emotion and John got, I guess, paranoid that the emotion was fake OR he just didn't like Aaron taking the game personally (even though that's exactly what John himself did the next morning at breakfast when he got placed on Trial). The way he spoke to Aaron was pretty gross. There's a difference between recognizing game stuff even in an emotional moment (like when Maddy was insistent that Aaron could STILL be a Traitor after the Imran banishment) and being downright cruel and unempathetic (how John behaved with Aaron). Like, men have emotions, John, just like you. Get over it. Let Aaron cry if he wants to. I get the paranoia, but John really seemed to hold a grudge toward Aaron showing any type of emotion toward anybody. 

Alex could have been a great player without her stupid ass boyfriend ruining both of their games. Although I didn't love her strategy of leading Matt on, I think Tom was a bit worse in ways, since he single handedly destroyed both of their games by spilling their secret without her permission. Although Alex turning down recruitment didn't help her game; she had a chance to recover before that. I would have loved to see Wilf, Amanda and Alex as Traitors. All three could have done some real damage in the game together. 

Amos was also a great player, just couldn't tone it down enough to be undetected by the Traitors. Andrea was a delight to watch and I'm very glad she lasted until nearly the end. It was really great to see all the diversity in this series. Seeing multiple older players and seeing many of them get super far is such a different vibe from a series like the US, who seems to be allergic to cast people over 50. 

Hannah had her ups and downs but I didn't really hate her. She made bad decisions, but she also had some ok reads and made the right choice at the end. I didn't love her winning, but I think she had some real potential and I did like her, overall. I also liked Maddy a lot; she had the right reads, just the complete wrong reasoning on Wilf. She obviously read Aaron and Meryl wrong so she wasn't perfect at figuring out the Traitors, but her insistence on Wilf the entire game was correct. Her issue was never being able to fully convince anyone. And I think her spilling her actress secret destroyed any chance of having anyone trust her word.

There were some great twists here. The Dinner Party was phenomenally fun AND a great strategic way to challenge both Faithfuls and Traitors alike. I actually would love to see the Dinner Party make appearances in other series, with some alterations on the party game. The one twist I wouldn't want to see again is the banishment five minutes into the game. I think that made it unfair to have two contestants temporarily leave the game and come back several days in, when others have made bonds but ALSO giving the two banished players less time. Although Claudia reiterated that one of them could still be a Traitor, I think it would have made it unfair, either way. At the very least, having them return several eliminations later made it unfair.

Overall, huge fan of this first season of the UK version. I just feel bad that I didn't get around to the series earlier. I think I love that these players were so passionate about the game and no matter the good or bad gameplay, the point is that they all CARED about the game enough to get fully invested. So we got to see a lot of passionate Roundtables and game talk throughout the season and got to see these players fight to stay. 

Now, onto the AUS version!

[MicheleinPhilly]

While fans were desperately hoping the second season of The Traitors might land at the end of 2023, the BBC confirmed on 5th December that we can expect the new season in January.

In a press release, they shared, "The Traitors will launch on Wednesday 3rd January 9pm on BBC One, and episodes 2 and 3 will be available on iPlayer immediately after. Going forward the show will air Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights."

No word on when those in the U.S. can watch it, but if we're not going to have separate episode threads, perhaps we can have a UK pace thread and a U.S. pace thread to avoid spoilers? @SilverStormm

[Meredith Quill]

On 12/14/2023 at 6:46 PM, MicheleinPhilly said:

While fans were desperately hoping the second season of The Traitors might land at the end of 2023, the BBC confirmed on 5th December that we can expect the new season in January.

In a press release, they shared, "The Traitors will launch on Wednesday 3rd January 9pm on BBC One, and episodes 2 and 3 will be available on iPlayer immediately after. Going forward the show will air Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights."

No word on when those in the U.S. can watch it, but if we're not going to have separate episode threads, perhaps we can have a UK pace thread and a U.S. pace thread to avoid spoilers? @SilverStormm

After Wed 20th, this problem will resolve itself - stay tuned.

[waving feather]

Is anyone watching the second season?

Putting below behind spoiler tags in case some people haven't caught up.

Spoiler

I was impressed by how well Miles defended himself when in the firing line. He was calm and collected and did his best, even if it didn't quite work. He should not have volunteered to give the poison chalice.

I hope Harry oust Paul first, rather  than the other way round because Paul is too smug. Except for a few of the guys, I'm surprised people were not more suspicious of him. The way he spoke to Jaz that one time, threatening him not to bring up his name again. Do not like.

 

[MicheleinPhilly]

I am! I am! And I've been DYING for someone to pipe up on this board so I could talk about it. Will also spoiler tag...

Spoiler

I was actually thinking that Miles had done enough at the roundtable to flip the script and oust Paul. Or maybe that was just wishful thinking on my part. While I enjoyed Paul at the beginning, he has just gotten WAY too cocky for my liking. If a traitor is winning, I hope that Harry takes it all. 

I found that challenge to be disturbing and creepy AF. If I was Ross, I probably would have had a panic attack. I definitely would have if I was in a coffin. 

@waving feather Have you been watching the Uncloaked show after each episode? I'm loving that. 

 

[waving feather]

Thoughts on episode 8 spoiler tagged below. It was really good. I appreciate this cast more than season 1. Season 1 cast were all unnecessary weepy, and I don't mean getting emotional but consistently bursting into tears.

Spoiler

@MicheleinPhilly I loved that creepy challenge in ep 7. Usually I skip through the challenges but I was glued to that one. What an ingenious idea by the producers. They are killing it this season. I haven't seen the Uncloaked show but intrigued now, thanks!

I'm so glad they finally got Paul out. Harry's poker face is unreal. He never gives anything away. He's playing such a good game but that may also be his downhall, being too perfect and always on the right side of things. I am rooting for him, though.

I'm worried about Andrew. He has been so jumpy and spooked ever since he became a traitor. Hope he doesn't ruin the game for Harry. Harry doesn't seem like he would turn on Andrew just for the sake of it. Only if he sees Andrew as a threat, like what happened with Paul. I wish it was Miles and Harry still left in the game.

 

Edited January 19 by waving feather

[SourK]

I'm watching, too. Maybe we should start a thread for the second season. It seems like we can just do that, now? IDK. It feels sacrilegious or something.

For now:

Spoiler

I'm enjoying this season so far because the gameplay has been a little bit different -- but I think the traitors are going too hard on eliminating each other. It's distracting them from everything else.

I found the dungeon thing interesting, because it made me ask myself, "What would the right play be, for the Traitors?" And I think the answer is, either you don't put any Traitors in the dungeon, or you only put Paul -- never Ash, for the exact reason we saw: it looks too much like you put someone suspicious in the dungeon to redeem themselves.

I also found the poison thing interesting, because it forced them to act out in the open, where they could leave clues for the other players.

I thought making the possibly-poisoned players get in a coffin while their teammates threw flowers at them was hilarious -- purely because it was so dystopian. I had a moment where I was like, "This is what we've come to, is it? Some weird, goth Bachelor ceremony where you chuck a flower at the person who you think will be buried alive?"

Imagine how much the season one cast would have cried.

 

[MicheleinPhilly]

Episode 9 spoilers:

Spoiler

So when is Jaz planning on revealing his thoughts on the traitors' identity? At the reunion??? He did this with Paul too - suspected him very early on, made 1 or 2 comments at the roundtable then zipped his lips, voted for someone else. He could win the whole thing if he wasn't such a numpty. 

Thankfully Andrew seems to have calmed down considerably after his first disastrous day as a traitor. 

I don't know how I feel about them recruiting Ross. He's such a non-entity. I am mildly curious to see if and how he "exacts revenge" for Diane's murder. I just don't think he's a savvy enough player to pull it off. We'll see, I guess. 

 

[waving feather]

Also episode 9 spoilers:

Spoiler

The problem with Jaz is although his instincts are good, he doesn't have any close friend/ally in there who will back him. They don't really respect him, so all his opinions are being dismissed. He knows that if he'd come for the more popular people, he would be targeted immediately. And he's not good at the roundtable debate like Miles was. I do hope he would get the chance to play harder because the game is coming to an end.

Andrew seems to be settling into his traitor role now. He's in the best position right now because everyone thinks he's harmless. I think he should be safe from banishment unless the other traitors turn on him. I am not confident in Ross' ability to avenge Diane but I hope he proves me wrong.

 

[SourK]

This season has made me think a lot more about the strategy in the game, beyond the surface level of traitors vs faithfuls. Because the game takes place over a set number of rounds, and the traitors keep getting replenished during those rounds, and the contestants get a bigger prize if they have fewer teammates standing at the end -- there's also a traitors vs traitors and faithfuls vs faithfuls element.

If you're a faithful and you think you know who the traitors are, I'm genuinely unsure of whether it's in your interest to vote them out -- knowing that a) they will be replaced by someone who you might NOT know is a traitor, and b) you have to eliminate the other faithfuls anyway in order to get the prize. (Also, you could end up being forced to be a traitor, and it could mess up your game.)

If you genuinely think you've clocked the traitors, the smarter strategy might be to keep that to yourself and focus on trying to not get murdered/banished before the final rounds.

Not that I think anyone's doing that. Just, the traitors this season are not subtle, and people are starting to clock them -- so it just makes me think, "What's the optimal thing to do with that information, if you're faithful?"

[waving feather]

15 hours ago, SourK said:

If you genuinely think you've clocked the traitors, the smarter strategy might be to keep that to yourself and focus on trying to not get murdered/banished before the final rounds.

I totally agree with this.

1) at some point in the game, the number of traitors should not be allowed to be replenished. Or only replenish if there's one traitor left. Else, the ratio of traitors to faithful is so skewed that there is virtually no chance for the faithful to win.

2) if you are a faithful and you have clocked who is the traitor, try to pander to them so they think you can be easily manipulated and won't rally the troops to banish you. And if that fails, have beef with only the traitor, so they will be less likely to murder you (for fear of being found out). And only banish the traitor(s) by final 5 or just before final 5. Because by then everyone is more open-minded to banish even the popular players, whereas early on, people just banish other people who rub them the wrong way. But of course with everything, humans are unpredictable, so one can only execute their best strategy and hope it works out.

This makes me think perhaps

Spoiler

Andrew

has the right strategy afterall. I don't know if he's doing it intentionally or not but since he's going along with whatever the "head" traitor wants, they will be less likely to turn on him. 

Edited January 21 by waving feather

[MicheleinPhilly]

I've always had mixed feelings on traitor recruitment. I think it adds an interesting element to the game, but I do wish they would cut it off at a certain number of contestants left in the game.

Also, spoilers for episode 9:

Spoiler

I don't know how foolproof Harry's "revealing the shield at breakfast" strategy is going to be. Doesn't Claudia always tell them that the traitors had the opportunity to recruit? Do the contestants know that if someone is recruited there is automatically no murder? I just don't think it's going to be the surefire "get the target off my back" strategy he seems to think it will be. 

 

[waving feather]

@MicheleinPhilly

Spoiler

I think it was silly of Harry to share with a couple of them that he had the shield the night before and if I recall correctly, he was also insinuating that if there is no one killed, the traitors may have targeted him and miss. It is silly because he's spelling it all out for them. It is less suspicious to go to breakfast acting like he knows nothing and then let the others put the pieces together. If this is the only instance that he's spelling out strategy it might not be so obvious but he spelled out strategy too when banishing Paul. He needs to act blur sometimes and there's no need to be the smartest person in the room all the time.

ETA: also by giving the traitors a cut-off time for recruitment, it gives them more of a dilemma and a sense of urgency whether to recruit or not. Now they are so relaxed about it. Let the traitors have the power that they already have but there should be more challenges for them throughout the game. The poison chalice was a good example! And this is borrowing from Survivor but give them a side mission during the regular mission with everyone and if they don't complete it, they can't murder for the night. I don't know if that would drag out the show but it will give the faithfuls more chance to catch suspicious behavior during the missions.

Edited January 21 by waving feather

[MicheleinPhilly]

Wasn't it also the case in season 1 that if someone was approached to be a traitor and they didn't accept, they would automatically be murdered? 

[waving feather]

9 hours ago, MicheleinPhilly said:

Wasn't it also the case in season 1 that if someone was approached to be a traitor and they didn't accept, they would automatically be murdered? 

When it got closer to the end, yes. He wasn't pleased and actually caused the downfall of the other traitor, lol.

[MicheleinPhilly]

Spoiler

Everyone's faces when Ross revealed that Diane is his mum. 🤣🤣🤣

Spoiler for episode 10. 

Edited January 25 by MicheleinPhilly
More detail

[BradandJanet]

It's impossible to use this forum because it isn't divided into episodes. I've watched four episodes, and I'm afraid to open any of the spoilers. Would posters be willing to put an episode number on a post that contains a spoiler for that episode? 

[MicheleinPhilly]

44 minutes ago, BradandJanet said:

It's impossible to use this forum because it isn't divided into episodes. I've watched four episodes, and I'm afraid to open any of the spoilers. Would posters be willing to put an episode number on a post that contains a spoiler for that episode? 

Sorry about that. I've fixed my last post. I think the 2 or 3 of us posting are watching in "real time" so I would recommend not clicking on any of the spoilers if you've only watched 4 as I think that's about the time we started posting. 

[BradandJanet]

6 minutes ago, MicheleinPhilly said:

Sorry about that. I've fixed my last post. I think the 2 or 3 of us posting are watching in "real time" so I would recommend not clicking on any of the spoilers if you've only watched 4 as I think that's about the time we started posting. 

Thank you! I'm enjoying this show and have already been a bit spoiled from  another site. The US version is dropping weekly, so it's not a problem there. 

[MicheleinPhilly]

The US version only dropping weekly is one of the many reasons why I prefer the UK version! I need my fix! 

[gorgy]

I think the main issue of why replenishing traitors is necessary is they do have a certain number of episodes to fill, so if all the traitors are found around episode 9 or 10, well that's the show. 

[MicheleinPhilly]

Spoilers for episode 11:

Spoiler

I need Jaz to be banished because at this point, he's just annoying me. If he ends up sharing the pot with other faithfuls, I'm going to be supremely pissed off. When are you planning on revealing your investigatory prowess? On your death bed? 🙄 At this point I'll be happy with any winner but him.

 

[Wee S]

Spoilers for episode 11

Spoiler

@MicheleinPhillyI have to disagree with you there. Jaz to win! He's been spot on about the traitors, however it's taken people a while to believe him (he was onto Paul from basically day 1). Keeping quiet has got him to the final because if he had been louder, they would have binned him off a few tries ago - Zack and Evie shut him down on the idea of Harry just after Paul left, calling his idea crazy. So him keeping quiet has been his best route, but super boring for us.

 

[MicheleinPhilly]

 

Spoiler

@Wee S I know, I know. He just annoys me as a viewer. I think his inability to form a deep relationship with even one other player has severely hindered him. And while I get that his style of game play is what has likely gotten him this far, I just get annoyed with people who don't seem to take any chances or assert themselves at all. 

But I guess the same can be said for Mollie and the other blonde (Charlie? Evie? I can't seem to keep her name in my head.) 

 

[Wee S]

Spoiler

@MicheleinPhillyI think Jaz finds it hard to trust people after finding out his dad having a whole second, secret family.

 

Anyway, I am seated and rooting for Jazatha Christie!

 

[SourK]

Spoilers for season 2 finale.

Spoiler

The ending of these things always feels bad, no matter what, but I think both I and the contestants were braced for it better this time. Mollie was a super good sport, considering.

I find it annoying that Harry's shield trick worked as well as it did, but he played the best of any of the traitors, so I'm not mad that he won. Was kind of hoping Jaz would pull it off at the last minute, though.

I think the curse of Jaz is that he held himself at a distance from everyone, which let him see things more clearly and make sound judgments a lot of the time, but then he also couldn't persuade anyone to agree with him.

Anyway, I enjoyed this season and I'm curious to see how the gameplay evolves as we start seeing more contestants who have already watched the show and been able to think about strategies.

[MicheleinPhilly]

Season 2 finale spoilers:

Spoiler

That was the outcome I've been rooting for pretty much from the start, but I was gutted for Mollie. The utter heartbreak on her face when she realized how cunningly she got played. I'm glad she seems to have swept any hard feelings under the rug if the reunion is any indication. 

Speaking of the reunion, when Jaz admitted that he didn't know who Agatha Christie was... 🙄 In Harry's words: "Oh my days!" I'm glad he didn't win a single cent just for that alone.

 

 

[sadtvjunkie]

 

Spoiler

 Molly forgot it was a game that people were trying to win. She let her feelings take control and believed they were her friends when they were her opponents. I'm not sorry she lost. Keep your eyes on the prize!