After the finale of season two of The Traitors last Friday evening, viewers yet again saw how far some will go for the life-changing pot of gold.
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In case you aren’t a loyal viewer back for the second instalment, here’s a quick rundown of the game that has everyone talking. 22 strangers enter a castle in the Scottish Highlands, with a chance to win over £120,000. They’re divided into two groups: ‘Faithfuls’ and ‘Traitors’. The Traitors, chosen by Claudia Winkleman herself, are tasked with secretly ‘murdering’ off other players from the game each night, meanwhile, the Faithfuls aim to disrupt their reign of terror by sniffing out potential traitors and banishing them from the castle.
The Traitors is a gripping game of deception, as no one truly knows if those closest to them are fellow Faithfuls or Traitors. To build up the prize pot of cash, players take part in daily challenges and the Faithfuls and Traitors are fuelled by the same goal: get the money for the team and find the shields to save yourself from imminent murder.
After a trailblazing first season, The Traitors returned to our screens this January with 22 contestants; ranging from army engineers to clairvoyants. Full of tension, twists and backstabbing; we were sure in for a treat! In the first episode, viewers were introduced to the 22 players and heard their pleas to Claudia to become Traitors, with her ultimately selecting her three Traitors. The original Traitor trio were Event’s Coordinator Ash (45), Business Manager Paul (36) and British Army Engineer Harry (22). On the first traitor meeting in the turret, they decided not to murder but to seduce a new traitor, Veterinary Nurse Miles (36), who was hesitant at first but accepted.
Paul and Harry proved to be successful Traitors as popular group favourites and calculated Traitors, they had everyone deceived. Whereas, Ash seemed to raise suspicions early on with her shifty behaviour and traitor-like actions. Miles cracked under the pressure and was arguably the least influential Traitor. Further in the series, after both Ash and Miles had been banished, Paul and Harry decided to recruit Andrew to use as a scapegoat due to rising suspicions of Paul being cultivated by Jaz.
The Poisoned Chalice
However, the Traitors didn’t have the simple job of choosing who to murder or recruit; Claudia never said it would be an easy role. In episode seven, she gives the Traitors the challenge of murdering a player in plain sight. Compared with other Traitors, Miles didn’t seem to thrive in his expected role as a duplicitous and scheming Traitor and, in arguably one of the most tense scenes in the season as a whole, viewers saw him attempt to discreetly give a Faithful the poison chalice. By murdering in plain sight, the show was able to create a new layer of drama and suspense to the ritualised nightly ‘murder’. This ultimately led to the slow death of one of the most instrumental and favourite Faithfuls, Diane.
New Challenges
The daily challenges were a chance for players to escape the search and scrutiny of traitors and work together as a team. These challenges included escaping a cabin through tunnels, searching scarecrows, completing puzzles, and graverobbing.
Although some of the challenges seemed to echo the previous season, the challenge leading up to Diane’s funeral and the finale was much more mysterious and compelling than others. All of the players also kept their eyes open for the much-desired shields to avoid murder. However, when traitor Harry found a shield, he furthered his agenda by recruiting Andrew and acting as though his shield protected him from murder — another incredibly smart move.
In the final challenge, the five final contestants took a helicopter ride and were tasked with the challenge of raising the mainsail of a ship. But to find the flags to add to the prize money the players had to search around the lock. By abseiling, swimming and searching through rock pools, the team was able to add £20,000 in the last seconds of the challenge.
The Final Roundtable
The last roundtable of the series provided the perfect blend of tension, suspense and plot twists with the last four players (including two traitors) being able to choose when the game ends. With all four finalists deciding to banish again due to suspicions of Andrew, he was voted to be banished by the other players, including fellow traitor Harry, who threw all other traitors under the bus to save himself. After this, both Harry and Mollie voted to end the game, but Jaz voted to banish again, due to his growing suspicions of Harry. Things couldn’t have been more intense.
As we were right on the edge of our seats, viewers saw Mollie begin to write Harry’s name to banish him. Ultimately, she sides with her closest friend and it wouldn’t be a stretch to say the entire country was in shock. This simple decision led to the banishment of another brilliant Faithful (with seven banished in total) Jaz, and Harry ending the game as a victorious traitor. Safe to say there were tears and frustration on Mollie’s end, as she experienced betrayal by the one she trusted most and the prize pot slipped out of reach.
The Winner
In a whirlwind of a finale, the original and ultimate traitor Harry prevailed in the end and won £95,150 for himself and his family. It could be argued that without forward thinking Harry a Traitor would have never won, much like the previous season when the Faithfuls prevailed.
Harry is a deserving winner as he played the game best by thinking ahead, brilliantly acting the role of a Faithful, and tricking everyone from the very start with his cool and collected demeanour. Might this be a lesson to all future Faithfuls? Or is another Traitor preparing for battle? It looks like we’ll find out next year.
Words by Emily Trupia
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