The Traitors (CA) - General Discussion

[Meredith Quill]

Quote

Canada is producing two versions of the show; an English speaking one and a French speaking one. This topic is for the English speaking version - coming soon.

 

[LakeGal]

I saw an ad on TV saying it will debut on Monday, Oct. 2nd on CTV.  

[Lady Calypso]

So, the first episode was last night and it was a decent premiere. They dragged out the picking of the Traitors, which I personally really liked. It made the picking more tense by extending the segment, and interloping the confessionals from each person. 

The three Traitors aren't the worst choices. Kuzie's going to be a powerhouse as a Traitor and I suspect she'll be carrying her team. Melissa B is going to have a difficult time getting out of Banishment, since people already suspect her. Mike's not a bad choice for a Traitor, but I feel like he might get too cocky and comfortable in the coming episodes, which may make him a detriment. Maybe I'm wrong about Mike. 

I do not like the current choices for the Murdered. Kevin, Erika, Fierce AND Mai? I mean, the Traitors clearly picked the right people to put on the chopping block but I'm going to hate whichever one ends up getting murdered. 

The manor is decent, and the first challenge was certainly interesting enough.

I'm intrigued for how the Traitors do, because we got one already being called out as a Traitor, one who seems like he may slip up down the road, and a reality star who people may look to sooner rather than later.

[LakeGal]

I enjoyed it.  Melissa is not going to last long.  She is already getting called a Traitor by half the house.  She could not hide her emotions after she was picked.

Every country seems to pick a psychic for this show.  She was already crying.  I am not sure she will last long either.

I think Kevin is going to have a huge target on his back by the Traitors.  

I like streaming these kind of shows.  It is going to drive me crazy having to wait week to week for this show.  We didn't even get a murder in the first ep.  

[Lady Calypso]

So, I got the feeling a bit last week and this week actually confirmed the feelings I had: Mike's going to be a MAJOR issue for the Traitors soon. He seems to already be settling into his power role and if his confessionals have anything to go by, he's on the fast track to being the first Traitor banished, even before Mel B. He's showing how comfortable he is and his end segment with him doing the magic trick while talking about how he's essentially running things and how he's good at deception is a clear indicator that people are going to catch on really soon. If I had someone play a magic trick after a Banishment like that, I would have red flags up around them. 

Mike is looking to stand out, and oh boy is he going to stand out. It's great for Kuzie but it could go either way with Mel B, who already is in some trouble. She blended in more this episode, but once people have a Traitor on their minds like they did with Mel, I doubt the target is taken off. 

Shame about Erika being the first out. I was hoping she would stay longer and get a better edit here than she did on Survivor but alas, it wasn't meant to be.

The franchise really needs to create new challenges that aren't just moving them from one series to another. We've seen this buried alive challenge in all the other series with no variation on it. They need to give some originality because, although it's great for people who haven't watched the other series, it's not so fun for people who have seen this challenge played out before. That's what I loved about episode 1's challenge; it was a twist on the first challenge from the other series.

The Banishment segment was fine. It was clear they weren't swaying from Collin or Donna, but I'm glad both got called out equally. I didn't like Collin and how he spoke to the women, anyway (I disliked how he went to confront Donna and basically shushed her before Banishment) so I'm totally fine with him going. Donna's clearly very emotional but with her being in danger, hopefully that pushes her to play better than she has been.

I'm glad the newbies are doing a decent enough job against the reality stars. I really like Mary; she has some real potential to get super far if she can get in the Traitors' good graces. Fierce is great as well; I loved seeing her cause drama unintentionally and her owning it in her confessionals.

I'm not sure who they're going to banish. I think Travon is a smart idea because, as Kuzie said, he's never going to be seen as a Traitor. Dr. Nazalia is not someone they need to get rid of yet, and Mickey's good for at least a couple of more challenges (and I think he has potential to make himself look shady down the road; he seems like he could become paranoid). Travon seems nice but probably the best person to murder.

[LakeGal]

I love Karine's wardrobe.  I look forward to seeing what she is wearing in every scene.  

[Artsda]

These people are suck flock mentality based on no thinking other than Kevin. 

Fierce is really not entertaining, he's always wrong but acts like he's the best.  

 

[argrow]

I think this is a 'we know Fierce is not a traitor, but I'm just tired of them' vote, and I have no problem with it. I am sick of Fierce as it is, and is totally over him.

[Lady Calypso]

I think Kuzie/Mike might have made a mistake in not getting rid of Kevin or recruiting him sooner. He's such a dangerous player to keep in the game, and for what? Just because Kuzie is working with him? Eventually, he'll set his sights on Kuzie because, even with some bad reads, he's also had a lot of spot on reads. He's going to clock Kuzie eventually; they need to be keeping around the players who aren't good at their reads and get rid of the ones who are. 

The random majority on Fierce was weird, and especially with all of them claiming they "suddenly" changed their minds at the roundtable. I'm not so sure I buy that; either that, or these players are so poor at the game, they are showing that they can be easily influenced. That's both good AND bad for the Traitors, as well, as if any of their names gain a bit more traction at the roundtable, they could end up going, not based off of any refutable proof, but because someone's voices against them are louder.

Kevin did want to have a bad read so he could fly under the radar, but the fact that he was completely left out on the vote was really funny. He got what he wanted.

Mike's gonna get thrown under the bus soon; this is the second time his name has been mentioned, so I think Kuzie's right in that they need to recruit now. But if there's no murder as a result, will that mean that the Faithfuls will start thinking about why that is? Will they piece together that the Traitors either tried to kill someone who had the shield or will they think about potential recruitments? And I assume it's the former, so now their brains are going to be on who has the shield. 

I'm not even sure who Kuzie/Mike should recruit. I still partially think Kevin, but I also think Gurleen is slowly starting to emerge as a potential dark horse in the game. She's quiet, but her reads thus far have not been terrible. She's either a prime Murder or a prime Recruit Traitor. I think Kuzie/Mike should potentially look at someone like Leroy, as well, who seems very under the radar at the moment and someone who COULD end up being their adversary a little down the road.

[LakeGal]

I was happy we got a banishment this episode.  I did not like when they didn't show us the result last week.

I think several people just jumped on the opportunity to take out Fierce when they saw the chance.  They did not care if Fierce was a Traitor or not.  

I think Kuzie was wrong to take out Crystal last time.  If the Faithful are smart they will realize that someone on that one team that went to the Armory was a Traitor.  That Traitor got the shield and knew that Crystal was not safe.  For anyone on that team that knows they did not get the shield there are not a lot of other players to pick from.  I think Kuzie might have helped some of them guess her.  

I want them to recruit another Traitor.  I know Mike does not want to recruit because he just wants the least amount of Traitors so he can win more at the end.  Plus it is more interesting for us viewers if they pick another Traitor.  I like to see the new Traitor try to switch their play in the middle of the game.  I am hoping that knock at the door is Karine telling them they have to recruit.

[Lady Calypso]

6 minutes ago, LakeGal said:

I want them to recruit another Traitor.  I know Mike does not want to recruit because he just wants the least amount of Traitors so he can win more at the end. 

With Kuzie telling him flat out his name's been out there, and now being confronted TWICE during the Roundtable, he HAS to agree to recruit. He might not be long for the game, but having one more Traitor may POSSIBLY help deflect his name, as long as they choose the right person. Otherwise, he's going to be taken out and get no money, anyway.

[Artsda]

Smartest one just left and now there's only fools left. 

What did Domenic do?

[Mimi]

43 minutes ago, Artsda said:

Smartest one just left and now there's only fools left. 

What did Domenic do?

I have no idea?  Sad to see Kevin banished.

[deboraht]

I didn't realize there was a thread for this!

The more series of Traitors I watch, the less I'm enjoying it. The challenges being the same is bad enough, but there's not that much on the line to care about, anyway. How much money they win means nothing to me - just who wins it in the end. And the immunity is still so random that the outcome of the challenges is only slightly relevant. 

The Traitors are way too powerful - they're like superheroes without a weakness. There's not a whole lot for the Faithfuls to go on, so much of the time they end up grasping at straws and going for the last thing that caught their attention. Traitors don't have to do anything at all that might cause them to look suspicious. Even who they murder doesn't say a whole lot, because players question whether they were trying to frame somebody or if they plain wanted to murder them.

And because they don't have to actually Traitor-hunt, they have the luxury of following others' leads a little more. Even though that starts to look suspect as it did tonight, it's a lot easier to lay low early and establish a solid game plan.

So when you get Traitors like Kuzie and Mike, I find it unpleasant to watch. If Kuzie's arrogant "Queen" persona were even slightly tongue-in-cheek, I wouldn't mind her. And Mike is definitely comfortable and pleased with himself. 

I want to keep enjoying the show but I really hope future series change it up a little. 

Now that I've got all that negativity off my chest... :P Rooting for the Gurleen and Mary pretty much and hoping that Kuzie gets taken down a peg or ten.

[Lady Calypso]

So, this episode just solidified that there are no great players for this season. They are all making some very crucial mistakes, even the Traitors. I was worried about Kuzie/Mike not recruiting earlier, and lo and behold, we're at a stage where they're both being looked at. 

Both of them got way too comfortable. They thought there was no need to recruit because they were in a good spot but that's always the risk, to wait and not have more numbers until more heat is on them. Now, they have to delay recruiting because of the Death Row twist (which, if they watched the prior series, they should have known it was going to be coming up) and one of them may end up going, as a result. 

I like Kuzie, but the way she hardcore deflected and manipulated Gurleen after Kevin's banishment was pretty obvious. I feel like people are gonna clock how defensive Kuzie got, and that should be enough to get her banished next (her or Mike). She showed way too much emotion at being called out, which smart players should clock as a Traitor reaction. 

But the Traitors are far from the only ones in a bad spot; the Faithfuls made a terrible move this episode with banishing Kevin. How in the world could they ever think that Kevin is a Traitor when he was the one leading the charge against Melissa B in the first couple of episodes? And Mai even pointed out that the Traitors had no time to recruit since then. So either they had to determine Kevin was a bad Traitor for selling out Melissa B in the first couple of days, or they blocked that part out when voting Kevin. It shows that the Faithfuls are not thinking, which means they're making spontaneous decisions based off of paranoia and that's why they keep getting it wrong. 

Like, Kevin was the ONLY one they could confirm as a Faithful. Unless the editing was completely wrong and someone else actually led the charge against Melissa, Kevin should have never been an option. It's why I said he would have been the perfect Recruit for the Traitors. 

They need different challenges; these ones are getting boring to watch and there's no stakes involved. Like, this episode had Kevin blatantly win the shield and everyone knew it because of the way it was set up. Why go to the Armory when everyone knows you have the shield?

So, Dom gets one confessional and then gets booted from the game for cheating. Great, bye guy who I don't remember.

At the moment, I'm only rooting for Mai and Gurleen. I'd root for Melissa A but she's gonna be Murdered next (why get rid of scapegoat Mary, after all?). Mickey and Leroy are in an interesting enough position as well where I think both of them are likely to get super far, even with Leroy's name as a potential Traitor.

[LakeGal]

I kept forgetting Dominic was on the show.  Finally he talks and accuses Kevin of being a Traitor.  Next Dominic is gone and the Faithfuls think Kevin is a Traitor.  Huh?  Did Dominic sneak in his phone and look up Kevin to find he is a sneaky mastermind?  The timing all seemed odd.  The only other thing I can think of is that Dominic was snooping and looking out his door to see if he could see the Traitors walking around after midnight and he got caught.  

I am starting to really dislike the Traitors on this season.  They are way too cocky.  I want them to both get caught and banished.  Obviously they are going to be forced to recruit soon.  I hope they pick someone I like and can get behind as a Traitor. 

I was happy that Leroy has realized that Kevin suspected Kuzie and Mike.  I want the pressure on them.  I want Leroy and Gurleen to figure out who the Traitors are. 

[Artsda]

These people are so stupid its not even entertaining to watch.  Kuzie can't keep her mouth shut go let anyone speak.  

[LakeGal]

Kuzie is someone I really dislike.  I do not understand how they do not see how she freaks out.  She becomes so defensive when she is questioned about anything. Why don't the others listen to Mai.

Donna is the worst psychic.  She is so totally off.  Plus her fashion choices are really odd.

This season has been hurt by the Traitors refusing to recruit.  That is something that is interesting for the viewers to watch.  

[Lady Calypso]

Kuzie's ego has definitely gotten the best of her. She's now actively attacking other players personally and putting herself in a spot that SHOULD make her look bad. She's real lucky these Faithfuls aren't listening to the right people, because she absolutely should have been the person Banished, not Mel A. Like, what? The Traitors murder Mary, who I thought was an easy scapegoat for them, and then they...banish Mel A? After Mai and Mel established that the Traitors are likely framing Faithfuls. 

Travon and Donna have really bad gameplay. Travon was FINALLY on the right track and he STILL voted wrong! Donna trusts Traitors more than Faithfuls!

I don't even feel a tiny bit bad for Travon sobbing after the reveal. Boy, you voted Mel out. You have zero room to be this upset even after establishing that you thought it was Mike. This is on you.

Mike and Kuzie not recruiting earlier has set them up in a terrible position for the endgame. It's more tough NOW to recruit so I think murdering is almost their better option, but only because I don't think many Faithfuls would accept, and it would also just confirm to the Faithfuls that they're on the right track with Kuzie and/or Mike when nobody's murdered and there's no shield. 

Also, Kuzie/Mike should not look so thrilled whenever they join up to murder. They're in bad spots and they think they're in good spots. Granted, they keep getting away with it, but the Faithfuls WILL turn on them. I think Kuzie vs Mike may not work out, either. I assume Kuzie will win in a fight between the two of them throwing each other under the bus, but will it be enough to convince people she's not a Traitor? Maybe? These Faithfuls, except for a small handful, have been playing really badly. 

It's going to be a bad endgame, I can feel like. I think Kuzie will remain the last Traitor standing as she has more people ready to defend her vs Mike, but I have zero idea if she'll get to recruit and who she'll choose.

[Lady Calypso]

Also, I will say, who's the player who stated that they can't be splitting votes? Get out of here with the "vote with the house" mindset; it's the reason why none of you can vote out Traitors. FORCE a split vote. Force SOMETHING to happen. These Faithfuls need to stop being complacent with what the house agrees to. It's why they can't get Traitors out now.

[Lady Calypso]

Well, I will admit to have been fully wrong on who would win the Mike vs Kuzie war that was clearly incoming. Mike just struck first, and I think Kuzie's gameplay was TOO suspicious since everyone was on to her. I don't blame Mike for going all in on getting Kuzie out, but does it make him a good Traitor or does it make him a Traitor who was backed into a corner and had no choice?

Smart move from Mike to strike now, but he didn't make his position THAT much better since he's still the next target. I think he meant for this move to completely clear his name, but I don't think it did. Now he has to be VERY careful on who he decides to recruit. Picking the wrong person ends his game before F5. I still feel like Mike can't get to the end, but he certainly is playing hard so maybe he can. 

I will speak on the Faithfuls. It took them a long time, but they're FINALLY figuring it out. I won't give them too much credit due to their poor gameplay before now, but at least they've finally gotten on the right track. I think it speaks to how poor Kuzie and Mike have done in terms of their Murders. They kept picking the loud people to get rid of so now they have nowhere to hide with the quieter players. They NEEDED a couple of those loud players to stay and hide behind. But now they have sloppy players finally figuring it out because all the more suspicious people have gone home.. 

I didn't like the Feast twist. I mean, it felt like a loaded choice between Banishment and Murder. Even with their piss poor record in challenges, of course nobody would dare to vote to Murder. I feel like there was really only one right answer for both sides, but it ultimately screwed the Traitors even more. They had no chance here, even with Mike turning on Kuzie.

Surprisingly, Kuzie IS taken out because she was TOO loyal to Mike. The fact that she didn't strike first and even was pushing Mickey while Mike was pushing her was a huge surprise. I don't think we'll see Kuzie be that loyal in future reality shows she appears in, that's for sure. I get why Kuzie left and it really was her own undoing, and good for Mike for recognizing when he needed to strike, but damn, that betrayal. 

I don't think I want Mike to win, though. This was his only good move thus far but I wouldn't say it was necessarily a brilliant move just due to the sloppiness of his game before this. He knew he was a target since his name was constantly being brought up, so he went for Kuzie to take some heat off him. But I guess the next episode will tell if it REALLY works for him or if his name is still on the chopping block. And, like I said earlier, Mike has only one chance to recruit the right person to get to the end. I personally think Mike needs to recruit Gurleen or Leroy, but I don't think Mike wiggles his way to a win. I think, had he been the first person to ever bring up Kuzie, he MIGHT have a case to stick around. But because others had brought it up publicly before, I don't see this getting him the win. And with the Faithfuls finally growing a brain, can Mike deflect?

So, in my opinion, either a recruited Traitor will win or the Faithfuls will. But since I was wrong about Mike leaving before Kuzie, I could very well be wrong about Mike's chances of winning. I mean, of the players left, there aren't any standout Faithfuls. There's definitely a way where Mike could deflect to someone like Mickey or even Gurleen. Maybe Mike's best move is keeping Donna and Travon close, and getting rid of Mickey, Leroy and Gurleen. Recruit one to frame them. It would work on Travon and Donna if he pushes the narrative of quieter players being potential Traitors. 

This Canadian version, thus far, hasn't been very good. The editing is terrible. the gameplay has mostly been really bad on both sides (the gameplay getting better NOW doesn't make these players suddenly great at the game) and the challenges have been boring or useless. Karine's wardrobe has certainly made her stand out as a host.

[deboraht]

Looking back at all the versions of this show, I can't really pinpoint many faithfuls who have had great gameplay, and I think it's mostly because it's practically impossible to detect traitors and have the time to build a convincing argument without getting murdered or banished first. 

Traitors just have to be able to avoid initial suspicion and then go along with "the house". It's only really the end game that gets interesting. I agree with @Lady Calypso that Kuzie and Mike left too many quiet people which left them without any shields. Neither of them have played particularly well (despite what Kuzie thinks) but I'm just thinking that in all the versions of the show, only one traitor stood out to me as particularly good at the game (spoiler tag below)

Spoiler

As much as I couldn't stand him, Sam from AUS2 was incredibly good at making faithfuls doubt themselves - how many people did he get banished because he pointed their accusations back at them the moment they spoke against him? And everybody at the table would instantly change their minds and vote for that person.

I really like the premise of the game, but I think it needs to be re-worked a little to keep it fresh  and counter the need for produced twists like the dinner party choice and the upcoming blackmail. Maybe make it a little more Mole-ish where the traitors need to sabotage.

I have no idea what to predict given the forced recruitment with such low numbers. I hope Gurleen is a winner in the end.

[LakeGal]

I was so happy that Kuzie was banished.  I found her so arrogant and condescending.  She still was trying to say she was the best Traitor ever.  But she didn't even outlast Mike.  I was waiting for the show to bring out the hook to get Kuzie out of there.  Even after she announced she was a Traitor she did not leave.  She stood there with her arms folded watching everything like she was not going to leave.  Everyone else announced what they were and left.  She really did think she was the star of the show.  

Mike is not as good at this game as he thinks he is.  He is just lucky he is playing with people that are not very perceptive.  I was so disappointed with Gurleen.  Mike sat and talked to her and slipped up twice and she never noticed.  He kept saying things about how Gurleen and the others should be worried about Kuzie.  He mentioned that they should worry about being murdered.  He did not say "us" like he was a faithful.  He kept referring to Gurleen and the others being in danger.  Why was Gurleen not noticing this phrasing and wondering why Mike was not in danger?  He talked like a Traitor would talk.  Why was Mike telling Gurleen she was in danger but not including himself in that danger?

Mike's biggest decision is going to be who he picks as a Traitor.  He really screwed up his game by refusing to recruit earlier.  Now he is forced to.  i am not sure anyone he recruits can help him.  They do not have to quit suspecting him just because they become a traitor.  He went after Kuzie.  Whoever he recruits will know he will have no problem turning on them too.  Of course he could pick the dumbest player and they will go along with him or give themselves away by acting strange.  I think there are still a few idiots left in the game.  

[Artsda]

Kuzie was the most rude, attacking and annoying person ever good riddance.   Travon didn't vote for her so why was he carrying on so excited?  He's still an idiot. 

Edited November 26, 2023 by Artsda

[SourK]

I agree that it's boring to watch people do the same challenges over and over again, but the one thing I like about this season is that most people don't seem to be on the "Traitors are the scum of the earth" train -- they mostly seem to remember they're playing a game.

Even as Kuzie and Mike have slowly been turning on each other, they've kind of done it respectfully? IDK.

I liked Kuzie -- IMO, it seemed like she sometimes played up her villainy to give a more entertaining interview, but she didn't seem mean-spirited about it. I do kind of wonder if she and Mike just... forgot that they were targeting the shield team? Because that one seemed like a pretty big mistake.

I think part of the problem with this show is that the only real game play happens in the debate about who to banish -- in which case, the play is the same as Werewolf -- you're observing how people participate in that debate and trying to make inferences about their goals without tipping your hand so much that you get murdered.

But then we spend half of the episode watching them do a prize challenge that literally has nothing to do with the game. (And I die a little inside each time one of them says, "A traitor would try to sabotage the challenge!" -- it's such a common misunderstanding that it points to how this is a problem with the game.)

[deboraht]

This doesn't really make sense to me. Mickey is "blackmailed" (ie, forced) to be a Traitor. But before he can do anything traitorish, he gets banished for being a traitor. And everybody celebrates, but it just seems weird to me because they essentially just banished a faithful.

I thought Mike was super suspicious during the round table. It could totally be the edit, but he just came across completely smug and overconfident. But only Trevon seems to be on to him? 

I'm wishing they'd either incorporate some Mole-like sabotage or better yet, drop the challenges and go all out Werewolf. But add some of the other characters in the mix so it isn't so heavily weighted in the werewolves'/traitors' favour and to make games more interesting and diverse. 

 

[Taeolas]

The Faithful may suspect it, but they don't know that Mickey was a new Traitor; for all they know they got one of the older ones. Hell they don't even know when Mickey was recruited. 

I almost get the feeling Mike picked Mickey as a sacrificial lamb and that he always intended to through Mickey under the bus ultimately.  Mickey's attitude and palystyle in general just doesn't fit a traitor mentality so he probably wasn't long as one either way. 

[Lady Calypso]

On 11/29/2023 at 12:48 PM, Taeolas said:

Hell they don't even know when Mickey was recruited. 

The thing is is that they know that he would have just been recruited. These batch of Faithfuls at least know the pattern of the game. They know that there was a murder every night except for the two nights where there were twists involved and not really a chance to recruit. They know either someone was recruited the previous night or nobody was recruited (since there wasn't supposed to be a murder, anyway so they know nobody turned it down; also, I'm gonna say, if Mickey had turned it down, he would have been murdered and then the Faithfuls would know for sure there was an attempted blackmail since nobody was supposed to be murdered that night). But they all seemed certain there was a recruitment/blackmail and there were two Traitors before Mickey was banished. All of them talked about it at breakfast.

The good thing IS the awareness of game mechanics from the Faithfuls, so as badly as they've played, they're figuring out some stuff. Hence why these versions need to switch up the endgame; if Faithfuls from other versions are predicting the endgame, it's too repetitive. 

I think Mike royally messed up. No, not by recruiting Mickey; in all sense of the word, he's a perfect scapegoat because he's too nice to hint at Mike as the Traitor or throw him under the bus. No, Mike screwed up by getting him banished IMMEDIATELY after blackmailing him. Mike needed a shield for the endgame. He needed someone to throw under the bus at F4. But because Mike got too damn cocky and assumes he's some Traitor God, he's now all but confirmed to lose at F4. He may be able to convince Donna and Travon to get rid of Leroy, but then Mike has nobody to hide behind, since everyone will find out Leroy's Faithful and they are aware there's one more Traitor. The only way Mike could have won was keep Mickey around, banish Leroy or Gurleen this time, then banish the other at F5, and then banish Mickey at F4, leaving him, Donna and Travon and then use Travon voting 100% the wrong way each time as a way to make him doubt himself. 

The only other option was get Donna to banish Gurleen, Leroy and Travon with him, which might have worked, maybe? Donna seemed regretful to have voted Mike, but he's in a damn near impossible situation to win. It's just that banishing Mickey before F5 might have killed any small chance at winning. 

The challenge was fun to watch, but EXTREMELY easy, as it turns out (or Leroy was just that good at picking the right poster). 

I want Mike to lose and, more importantly, Gurleen to win. She's clearly the smartest Faithful; she's been on to Mike, but been playing it carefully. But now that Mike can't murder, she doesn't need to be afraid of him striking and she can really hammer the Mike needs to be banished point home. But I do think it's likely Leroy goes at F5. There seemed to be a lot of foreshadowing, but we'll have to see if I'm right on that in the finale. My thoughts:

1. Leroy is banished at F5 because Donna/Mike decide to vote Leroy, Leroy/Gurleen vote Donna, and Travon is the swing vote (or Travon's the other vote, forcing him to vote Leroy to save his own ass. 

2. Mike decides to get cocky and try to get Travon banished. Now, there was some potential hinting that Mike could go before Travon (with him being confident that he'll just get Travon out, which makes me think he may not get the chance) so I think Mike makes the error to not end the game and pushes too hard for Travon, causing Gurleen to come out against Mike. Either they banish Mike here and end the game, or they banish Travon and then Gurleen forces another vote and convinces Donna to vote Mike out at F3.

Either way, I think Mike loses, Leroy and potentially Travon are banished, and Gurleen/Donna win.

[Mimi]

How many more episodes are left?

[SourK]

I've been reading guides about Werewolf strategy to try to figure out how you would identify the Traitor in this situation, and it's interesting because, once you know to look for it, you can see that Mike's making what is apparently a classic Werewolf mistake: when he's talking to other people, he's clearly trying to get the numbers to vote someone out, but he doesn't seem to care too much who it is. (Whereas, if you're a Faithful, you don't just want to vote for someone who's not you -- you want to vote for the Traitor, specifically.)

I don't know if he's getting sloppier because it's the end or I just notice it more because I'm studying, but it's interesting to see.

[Lady Calypso]

What a frustrating and disappointing ending, but the whole season was disappointing so I guess I shouldn't be so surprised.

It's frustrating to see Gurleen doubt herself and completely throw away the chance to win. I get it; paranoia runs high in that house and thinking you could be played by your closest ally is tough to look past. But she was SO on point until that Leroy vote. My heart dropped when I saw she wrote his name down. That's gonna be a tough thing to get past for the both of them, I'm sure. Up until then, Gurleen really was playing a great Faithful game. She should have trusted her gut, really.

Mike winning is kind of two minds for me. Objectively, he did a good job, even with the mistakes he made as a Traitor. He cast doubt on people, he gained trust with others and, hey, he tricked the one person who was likely going to vote him out at the end. He won as an original Traitor, which is no small feat. 

Subjectively, he's not a Traitor I have liked so him winning is like someone deflated a balloon all throughout the fire pit segment. At least he didn't start cheering or jumping up and down when he saw Gurleen's face, so that's a plus. 

The foreshadowing from last episode was not what I thought it would be so they got me there.

I did really enjoy F5's banishment not revealing their role. That's such a neat twist. 

I ended up skipping most of the mission; it didn't really matter.

Overall, the season really wasn't that good. It was filled with bad editing, weird banishments and probably one of the least satisfying wins for me. 

[Artsda]

Wow Gurleen messed up so badly. She was so stupid. They all seemed to know it wasn't Travon and they voted for him anyways.  That's the theme of the season going with the pack with no mentality of their own.

Gurleen should feel terrible for her choices, for betraying Leroy. 

While I didn't want Mike to win, he earned it. So kudos to him.  

[deboraht]

Mike was messy, but he won, so good on him. I didn't particularly like him, so it's completely unsatisfying, but even worse was Gurleen's bizarre decision. But I guess it's easy to play from my couch...

I didn't like the F5 non-reveal. I think it cheated Trevon of the sliver of enjoyment he'd get from being banished as a faithful, and it stacked the odds even more in Mike's favour. 

I also didn't watch much of the mission, and I agree with Lady Calypso that it wasn't a very good season.

But of course I'll watch UK and US second seasons. Hopefully they change things up a bit!

[SourK]

Well, I was surprised. I thought for sure we were headed into an anti-climactic ending where Leroy and Gurleen eliminated the other players and Mike and split the prize two ways, but Gurleen surprised me.

I feel for her. She went against her instincts and over-thought what she should do, and it's hard to feel like you failed yourself that way. I also get that Leroy's upset that they lost, but it's not really fair to try to shame her for making a bad play. It's not like she deliberately screwed him over -- she made what she thought was the correct move and the consequence of choosing wrong was just as bad for her.

18 hours ago, deboraht said:

I didn't like the F5 non-reveal. I think it cheated Trevon of the sliver of enjoyment he'd get from being banished as a faithful, and it stacked the odds even more in Mike's favour.

Same. It seemed like the contestants had a pretty good idea that there had to be one Traitor left, so I get why revealing who they banished would actually be giving them a lot of information... but then why reveal who they've banished during the fire segment? Why not just say, "No reveals from here until the end?"

The contestants also use their circle moment as a chance to say goodbye and have closure, and it feels kind of mean to me not to let Trevon have that.

[aussieinsydney]

Gurleen! Gurl! Geez. 🙄