The Traitors Season 4, Episodes 1-3
"Let the Cards Fall As They Will" / "The Death Conga" / "Show Me Your Faces"
Host: Alan Cumming
Cast: Natalie Anderson, Yam Yam Arocho, Mark Ballas, Rob Cesternino, Stephen Colletti, Candiace Dillard Bassett, Ron Funches, Maura Higgins, Donna Kelce, Kristen Kish, Tara Lipinski, Dorinda Medley, Tiffany Mitchell, Eric Nam, Michael Rapaport, Rob Rausch, Lisa Rinna, Caroline Stanbury, Ian Terry, Colton Underwood, Johnny Weir, Porsha Williams, Monét X Change
It’s good to be back in the castle.
If the first three episodes of The Traitors showed us anything, it’s that this show works. That’s saying something when the episodes saw an all-time Big Brother winner, the best Survivor player to never win, and Taylor Swift’s mother-in-law all get eliminated.
The Traitors has a fairly tough task in introducing its roster of players, given there are 23 contestants. We get the gamers: players who have appeared on other strategic reality shows, such as Rob Cesterino, Tiffany Mitchell, Yam Yam Arocho, and Natalie Anderson. We have a plethora of Real Housewives, including Dorinda Medley (returning for her second season), Candiace Dillard Bassett, Lisa Rinna, and Porsha Williams. You have other players with a variety of reality TV experiences, such as Kristen Kish from Top Chef, Mark Ballas from Dancing With the Stars, and Monet X Change from RuPaul’s Drag Race. Finally, you have “the others.” Ron Funches and Michael Rapaport are both actors, while Donna Kelce is here because her sons are the Kelce brothers.
The show introduces a new twist (though it’s not new if you are watching The Traitors UK): the Secret Traitor. An extra traitor who will not know the identity of the other traitors (nor will they know them), and they’ll choose the shortlist of players up for murder. This person is told in plain sight by Alan, who lets the others try to guess who it is by their reactions when they see whether they are a Faithful or a Traitor. While I initially didn’t think this twist would work, I think it ultimately pays off. It adds a level of suspense as to whether any Faithful is actually a Faithful.
Now we get our usual selection of Traitors. Alan picks Candiace, Lisa, and Rob R. (from Love Island). Ultimately, two Housewives and a Love Island contestant seems odd, but it probably needed to happen. The show has relied heavily on someone with a link to Survivor or Big Brother in the turret, and that has become a pattern. So they needed to mix up that formula, and the only way to do it was to not have “gamers” as the enemy this season.
The next day, we get a challenge where players can earn shields. While I think the challenges have come a long way and occasionally cause some drama, I find them mostly pretty harmless. The real money is usually only in what outfit Alan is wearing. We get a tiny bit of drama later because the mechanism only earns money when the groups put someone up for elimination at night. Those players are Dorinda, Eric, Ian, Mark, Michael, Rob C., and Rob R.
When the Traitors (Candiace, Lisa and Rob R.) unite for the first time, it’s pretty fun. Two Housewives in the turret, along with a rather charming Rob, will be quite fun — at least until they start turning on each other. This is something Rob will likely need to pay attention to, as it’s more likely they’ll turn on him than each other. Alas, the Secret Traitor narrowed the list down to Eric, Rob R. (rude!), Mark and Ian. They choose to kill Ian. He’s too smart, even if he’s trying to play it off like he’s not.
At breakfast, Tiffany raises some eyebrows when she defends Ian’s behaviour. She says that nothing he did was fake and that he came on the show to challenge himself. While I don’t think this was a bad move by Tiffany out of context, knowing that there are no other gamers in the turret only puts a target on the rest of them to continue to be murdered by the Traitors.
In Episode 2, we get a bit of drama about who “should” and “should not” get shields, mostly stirred up by Michael. This is not the only drama involving the actor. He also gets called out for wanting to put Housewives up for elimination in the last challenge, but it turns out this was a bit of a sneaky move by Candiace to create some chaos. Either way, Michael isn’t making any friends. Ultimately, the players win some money while Yam Yam, Colton, and Caroline all earn shields.
Back at the house, Porsha makes some statements that are hard to recover from, using “I” and “we” language to talk about the Traitors. Knowing now that she was a Faithful, it seems like a genuine mix-up and I can’t help but feel like Ron narrowing in on her made sense. This draws some heat from Donna Kelce, who seems to lack the ability to connect with the other players. Ultimately, it’s a close vote, but with 10 against her, Porsha is eliminated. She reveals herself as a Faithful.
Meanwhile, the Traitors need to murder in plain sight. They need to do so by grabbing a set of tarot cards containing the shortlisted player and burn one of them. The card they burn will signify which player is killed. While Rob Cesternino smells a murder in plain sight is happening, he can’t smell his game going up in smoke as his card is burned. It’s quite a bummer to see Rob go so early, but he truly didn’t miss a beat in his return to TV. And if you have your finger on the pulse that much, the Traitors are going to snuff out your game.
The players are surprised by an early banishment the next morning. Colton is kicking himself for not pushing harder with Donna and is determined to make sure she is the next one banished, but another feud is beginning to coalesce at the roundtable: Yam Yam versus Michael.
The two believe each other to be Traitors, or at the very least, in Michael’s case, a poor Faithful. But ultimately, Donna’s reluctance to engage with the game isn’t read as being starstruck (as she tells the others), but as nervousness because she’s a Traitor. What a surprise when the latter turns out to be true, because Donna was the secret Traitor! A shame not to let her mix it up in the turret, but it was fun while it lasted. While it might be a win for the other Traitors that they voted her out, it was a nearly unanimous vote (Michael voted for Yam Yam), so there might not be much goodwill for Lisa, Rob, or Candiace, as they might otherwise get had they nailed a Traitor.
Episode 3 ends on a cliff hanger with four players up for elimination, and the murder will be done face-to-face.
The Traitors have to choose between eliminating Ron (who most likely won’t go because he has heat for defending Donna), Caroline, Kristen or Eric. Unfortunately, I think Kristen is gone here as in her speech to the Traitors (while blindfolded), she gives away too much evidence that she’s brilliant. The Traitors are eliminating the smartest players with game sense, and Kristen fits that bill.
Overall, there is so much about The Traitors to love. It’s casted perfectly, the vibes are immaculate, and the gameplay is fun (even if a bit wonky at times). While I was sad to see so many players I love get eliminated early (looking at you, Rob C.), I think The Traitors continues to prove why it’s a sensation with the first three episodes of Season 4.
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