The Traitors (WARNING: Potential spoilers!)

[Matt N]

Warning: This thread may contain Traitors spoilers. I will try my hardest to put things in spoiler tags, but if you haven’t watched it yet and intend to, turn back now if you don’t want it spoiled!
Is anybody else watching this series of The Traitors?

I am, and I’m absolutely loving it! I’ve never watched the “normal” series before, but me and my mum watched and really enjoyed the celebrity version a few months ago and thoroughly enjoyed it, so we decided to give the regular series a whirl. If anything, I think it’s better than the celebrity version! I somewhat predicted this prior to watching, but I can already sense that the gloves come off somewhat compared to the celebrity version when a) they don’t know each other and therefore have preconceived notions and relationships and b) they’re competing for £100,000 for themselves rather than £100,000 for charity (whether it should or not, I definitely think this will affect how people play). There’s none of the “Oh, I think the world of you, darling…” that there was in the celebrity version; they’re a lot more blunt and tense with each other! I also can’t get over how much the civilians hide about each other… I never would have expected so many people to hide things about themselves!

I’m also really enjoying the new twist of the Secret Traitor. Not knowing the identity of who is effectively the orchestrator of everything that the Traitors do definitely adds an interesting new aspect, and it is fun to come up with theories! Who have we on TS got our eyes on as the Secret Traitor? My personal thoughts are as follows:

Spoiler

• I had my eyes on Judy initially, but my mum thought she was too obvious and that hunch obviously got stymied after tonight’s episode.
• I think it could be Fiona, as I noticed she seemed to smirk a lot after the round table and seems like the sort of person who no one would suspect to be a traitor (similarly to Alan Carr in the celebrity version).
• However, I also wonder if it could be Amanda or another person in an “analytical” profession. I think the producers would probably have picked someone who is likely to be good in the role and know how to evade detection, and I think that some of these people with career histories of needing to study body language and psychology would probably be good at this.

So, I’d love to know; are there any other Traitors watchers on TS? What are your thoughts on the series so far, and the new twist of the Secret Traitor? Who do you think it could be?

 

[Alix]

I am watching. I've watched all UK series plus the Australian series. Didn't get on with the American series. The addition of the secret traitor is a good one I think.

Spoiler

I am also suspicious of Fiona as a potential secret traitor. I think she's playing the "dotty old dear" role whilst actually being quite astute

 

[WillPS]

Watch the previous seasons! The best ones in my opinion have been US Season 3, UK Series 2 and NZ series 2, but they're all worth a watch (even if Australia Season 2 is a total car crash).

 

[Skyscraper]

Is anybody else watching this series of The Traitors?

I am, and I’m absolutely loving it! I’ve never watched the “normal” series before, but me and my mum watched and really enjoyed the celebrity version a few months ago and thoroughly enjoyed it, so we decided to give the regular series a whirl. If anything, I think it’s better than the celebrity version! I somewhat predicted this prior to watching, but I can already sense that the gloves come off somewhat compared to the celebrity version when a) they don’t know each other and therefore have preconceived notions and relationships and b) they’re competing for £100,000 for themselves rather than £100,000 for charity (whether it should or not, I definitely think this will affect how people play). There’s none of the “Oh, I think the world of you, darling…” that there was in the celebrity version; they’re a lot more blunt and tense with each other! I also can’t get over how much the civilians hide about each other… I never would have expected so many people to hide things about themselves!

I’m also really enjoying the new twist of the Secret Traitor. Not knowing the identity of who is effectively the orchestrator of everything that the Traitors do definitely adds an interesting new aspect, and it is fun to come up with theories! Who have we on TS got our eyes on as the Secret Traitor? My personal thoughts are as follows:

Spoiler

• I had my eyes on Judy initially, but my mum thought she was too obvious and that hunch obviously got stymied after tonight’s episode.
• I think it could be Fiona, as I noticed she seemed to smirk a lot after the round table and seems like the sort of person who no one would suspect to be a traitor (similarly to Alan Carr in the celebrity version).
• However, I also wonder if it could be Amanda or another person in an “analytical” profession. I think the producers would probably have picked someone who is likely to be good in the role and know how to evade detection, and I think that some of these people with career histories of needing to study body language and psychology would probably be good at this.

So, I’d love to know; are there any other Traitors watchers on TS? What are your thoughts on the series so far, and the new twist of the Secret Traitor? Who do you think it could be?

Self-confessed traitors superfan here (I even have official merch!)! I'm loving the new series already, and the secret traitor is a delicious twist. I highly recommend giving the other civilian series a watch (plus the international series), although I think this one could top them all.

In terms of who the Secret Traitor could be... Part of me thinks Amanda, but another part thinks she might be a bit too obvious, given she's a retired police detective. I guess we'll have to keep watching and see what happens!

Edit: This is the official store if anyone is interested; https://thetraitorsshop.com/

 

[MrCoaster]

I am staying RIGHT out of this thread...

..I am terrible with avoiding spoilers!

 

[Matt N]

I am staying RIGHT out of this thread...

..I am terrible with avoiding spoilers!

Don’t worry… I will put spoiler tags on anything overly sensitive I discuss!

Or perhaps I could put a warning in the title?

 

[Matt N]

On a different subject; how does anyone think tonight’s episode might pan out?

Spoiler

I think Roxy might gang up on Sam after the banishment of Judy. She was already suspicious of him, and seems as though she might want revenge for her mother being banished.

I honestly haven’t been this gripped by a reality TV show in ages! I wouldn’t have said I was much of a reality show person, but this is brilliant; I can’t wait for tonight’s episode!

 

[Burbs]

I have watched every UK series so far including the celebrity version late last year, which I found to be a breath of fresh air seeing everyone actually being quite nice to each other for once. It’s good to get stuck back in with a civilian series though to allow for a bit more drama [insert Pam from Gavin and Stacey meme here], however I find some aspects are becoming a bit tedious.

For example, players getting really upset and angry after the first person they banish turns out to be a faithful - statistically they’re extremely likely to be and they have so very little to go off. Chill out guys! Every year there seems to be speculation online that every player knows someone else in the game, and this has cropped up again this year. There was the early reveal of Nettie and Ross knowing each other and being coy about exactly how (although Nettie mentioned on Uncloaked that they really are just old friends) as well as Roxy and Judy being mother and daughter. This theory is enhanced with the family tree artwork in the castle that’s been featured a few times. I’m looking forward to seeing what other secrets are going to be revealed!

As for the secret traitor, it’s an interesting concept but as viewers we are completely at the mercy of the editors when it comes to who we think it might be. It’s not doing much for me personally as we have even less to go off than the players themselves, but it’s certainly making the round table banishments more exciting!

 

[Squiggs]

I agree that, with the secret traitor, we're at the mercy of the editors, who are clearly pushing the narrative towards Fiona and Amanda, both of whom would be perfectly capable of it. And to be honest, I did think that there was quite an interesting conversation between Amanda and Stephen that would make a lot more sense if Amanda was the secret traitor.

But that said, in order to make good TV, the editors must be giving the secret traitor some decent air time, which basically rules out about a third of the cast, who basically haven't featured in any significant way yet. It does make me wonder if it might actually be Ross, given how much screentime he has had so far, which would also make the whole Netty situation a lot more interesting if he was the one that has orchestrated her departure as an almighty double bluff.

My other suspicion is Ellie, who doesn't seem to be saying a lot, but they keep cutting to her for reaction shots - in particular there was one last night during a group conversation with Ben, which made me a bit sus when he later turned up on the shortlist, despite not really having done anything of interest so far.

But then with Ellie, I am also wondering if all the reaction shots are actually because she is in a pre-existing relationship with Ross, hence when she kept getting reactions shots during Netty-gate. The 'introductory' conversation between Ellie and Ross on the train was so incredibly stilted, it entirely came across like two people who were pretending not to know one another - there was definitely something odd going on there.

Those are my working theories so far.

 

[WillPS]

For example, players getting really upset and angry after the first person they banish turns out to be a faithful - statistically they’re extremely likely to be and they have so very little to go off. Chill out guys!

Totally agree with this. It's present in every version I've watched to some extent too...

The daft thing is an early/R1 Traitor lynch arguably shifts the likelihood of a win towards the Traitors and away from the Faithful, as they then have more levers available to them. It certainly doesn't make an ultimate Faithful victory more likely.

One of the biggest flaws with the format is that there is a tacit implication in the manner the programme is presented that it's a group who must work together working against a group of thieves among who mayor may or may not work as a team, but that isn't the case and there is no way at all for the vast majority of Faithful to win; even if they somehow get a Traitor out every single roundtable!

In hidden identity games (which The Traitors essentially takes all its ideas from) quickly identifying the bad guys usually ensures an early victory for the goodies; but that doesn't work in a programme which must produce 15 episodes from a single game.

Also the challenges are pretty meaningless aside from an opportunity to discuss theories in groups decided by the production team.

 

[Matt N]

Tonight’s episode was an interesting one… wow!

Spoiler

I have to say, I was surprised that the Traitors murdered Ben… given his last words the previous day were “if any of you are traitors, I’ll be murdered in the morning”, I feel like that was a mistake on their part that has automatically stoked suspicion around anyone who was privy to that conversation (which included Stephen). Jessie and others were already onto this logic, so I think this was a misfire. Reece or Maz might have stoked less suspicion.

That very over-acted rant from Hugo at the breakfast table also sealed his fate, I feel. As soon as he started that rant about Ben’s murder, I had a feeling he’d drawn too much attention to himself and was done for. That level of over-acting is bound to draw suspicion, and it’s one of those things that had me figuratively banging my head against a brick wall!

Ahead of the Secret Traitor reveal on Wednesday, I’m all-but convinced that it’s Fiona, particularly after some comments she made tonight in the confessionals about “not underestimating her” or something along those lines.

Although part of me would love it to be Harriet… with how she went from saying hardly anything in the previous episode to having basically orchestrated the banishment of Hugo and gained a lot of respect from the Faithfuls, I think it would be an absolute blinder of a twist, and brilliant play on her part, if she turned out to be the Secret Traitor!

 

[WillPS]

t'was OK. Suspect the production intended the super traitor business to go a fair bit longer, but the reveal was all set up to follow on from first Traitor banishment.

The round table was pretty good but I suspect this'll be one which is now over diagnosed and part-baked rationale for future banishments for anyone who said anything.

 

[Skyscraper]

t'was OK. Suspect the production intended the super traitor business to go a fair bit longer, but the reveal was all set up to follow on from first Traitor banishment.

Yeah part of me is a bit disappointed that the Secret Traitor twist only lasted three episodes, it just feels a little too soon. I'm sure the producers have many more devious twists up their sleeves though!

 

[tayspru]

So the handwriting was a dead giveaway at the round table

Spoiler

I’ll eat my hat if it isn’t Roxy, her writing of “James” was nearly identical to the writing on the shortlist, especially the way “mes” join up

 

[Matt N]

So the handwriting was a dead giveaway at the round table

Spoiler

I’ll eat my hat if it isn’t Roxy, her writing of “James” was identical to the writing on the shortlist

I wondered if the handwriting might be done by a crew member, or at very least forged, because with people being handwriting analysers (they were doing it on Uncloaked last night, and I’ve seen lots of people doing it online too), it’s bound to be something that folks will eventually pick up on.

The other way I’ve noticed people trying to deduce it is by looking at the height/build of the person in the red cloak, which I wonder about similarly… to me, it seems like the sort of thing they could easily get a crew member to film to hide this so that folks couldn’t pick up on it too easily.

I wonder if I’m overthinking it…

 

[WillPS]

So the handwriting was a dead giveaway at the round table

Spoiler

I’ll eat my hat if it isn’t Roxy, her writing of “James” was nearly identical to the writing on the shortlist, especially the way “mes” join up

There are similarities but the J is completely different. Suspect the note to the green coats wasn't actually scribed by the red.

 

[Alix]

I reckon the hand writing and the secret traitor are done by crew. The secret traitor especially seems to be broader across the shoulders in some angles than others - eg broad walking away from the camera and less so walking towards. So my money is on that being filmed using crew members then just slotted in.

If they haven't done that I'd be disappointed - I'm already disappointed they're giving away the identity so soon into the programme.

 

[Skyscraper]

I reckon the hand writing and the secret traitor are done by crew. The secret traitor especially seems to be broader across the shoulders in some angles than others - eg broad walking away from the camera and less so walking towards. So my money is on that being filmed using crew members then just slotted in.

If they haven't done that I'd be disappointed - I'm already disappointed they're giving away the identity so soon into the programme.

Was reading an article earlier, and it pointed out that during one of her confessionals in last night's episode, Ellie mentioned "secret traitor". With the faithful having no idea of the twist, surely it must be her?

 

[Islander]

So glad that hopefully this secret traitor nonsense is over now (though... knowing the programme's history, I'll wait until Wednesday to be sure of that).

Hated the idea. The entire draw of this program for me is knowing all the facts, and then watching how humans behave towards one another. Hopefully the producers knew this as well, and so planned (to at least some extent) to make it a short-lived twist, to silence all the online bleaters who have spent the past couple of years crying "ohh, the viewers shouldn't know who the traitors are either!". Yeh... no, thoroughly disagree.

Glad to see the back of the banished person last night, but moving forward the sooner we can get rid of James the better.

 

[Matt N]

I’m in two minds about the Secret Traitor.

I’ve really enjoyed the twist for these first couple of episodes, and I have enjoyed guessing and being “part of the game myself”, if you like, but I can see what @Islander is saying as well (it is fascinating being a fly on the wall when you have all the facts and those you are watching don’t)!

Fun as it is, I also think the concept has quite a short shelf life in the context of the program’s duration. With how changing the murder shortlist names would probably have gradually whittled down the options anyway, the idea only really makes sense for the earlier episodes. Once a few people have gone and a few more options have emerged in the murder shortlist, the secrecy becomes a bit pointless as the options for who it could be grow increasingly limited.

Spoiler

I’m imagining that they always intended for the Secret Traitor to be phased out when the first Traitor was eliminated or at some point before the end… but I don’t think they bargained on Hugo being banished by the end of week 1! He has become the quickest Traitor to be banished ever, apparently…

I also think Rachel and Stephen are increasingly vulnerable after the business around the family tree painting. People were already suspecting Stephen, and Rachel asking Reece to go away while her and Stephen “discussed” something feels like it couldn’t be a more obvious sign of Traitors plotting! If the fed fingerprints on the family tree painting are seen, Reece will surely link it back to them… they’d better hope that the Secret Traitor murders Reece out of the fingerprinted people!