It feels like only yesterday that fans of Peacock’s reality competition boon The Traitors watched Donna Kelce slink through a darkened Ardross Castle as a Secret Traitor, witnessed campy Housewife-on-Housewife crime, and were left wondering how anyone could derail a roundtable as swiftly as Michael Rapaport. For four seasons, a celebrity cast of reality vets, Olympians, retired royalty, and Bravo fixtures gave us exactly the messy, status-jockeying spectacle we tuned in for. But after watching affable Love Island castoff-turned-Traitor Rob Rausch practically glide towards the winning $220,800 pot with minimal friction in season four, one thing was clear: While the game may have been afoot, it was also in dire need of some new energy.
And within the first five minutes of The Traitors: New Blood, the first all-civilian run of the franchise’s American incarnation, the swap already feels like a breath of fresh air. Instead of being strapped into an awkwardly stuffy Uber Black, we’re treated to whimsy in the form of a vintage train ride (a very familiar mode of transportation for fans of The Traitors U.K.), complete with an obligatory Hogwarts reference from our first arriving player, amped funeral director Joe Vanella.
As this season’s sleuths engage in fairly boilerplate small talk, their relative anonymity (and yes, that anonymity is “relative”: two contestants, Michael Foote and Morgan Cook, are popular content creators) proves itself a gift. No more preconceived alliances or stale reputations to hang assumptions on. Here, we’re properly fed immediate deception thanks to Kim Daily, a sharply suited litigator from Houston who notes that “people think lawyers are dishonest, manipulative, [and] deceitful”—a reputation she immediately earns by falsely introducing herself as a college basketball coach. Her strategy here is simple enough to follow and, to her credit, offers an interesting experiment upon arrival: Michael, also a lawyer, faces the same prejudgment but doesn’t really have the option to lie thanks to his publicized internet persona. Turns out the only thing potentially harder than having to maintain a fabricated personal history is having an extremely Google-able one.
Soon after, longtime fans are confronted with another change: groundskeeper Fergus, previously played by John Ritchie, has been replaced by a set of very familiar twin castle keepers, Harry Potter alumni James and Oliver Phelps. The switch isn’t entirely out of nowhere: In June, Ritchie confirmed that production decided to cut the beloved character from the series. The jury’s still out on whether the Phelps twins will have more to offer than the occasional mischievous glance.
Finally, the players arrive at the castle and are greeted by Emmy-winning host Alan Cumming, who emerges from billowing jade smoke, clad in a plaid cape and denim Highland regalia à la an exceedingly chill Sgt Pepper. We have never been more back.
As he greets the crowd with a standard overview, he drops a surprise in the form of actual incentive: For the first time, on top of a winning pot of up to $250,000, every banished Traitor will add an additional $15,000 to the coffer. The crowd’s reaction to the reveal really registers the distance between this and previous runs. The idea of a privileged Housewife with Bravo backing duking it out with a literal Lord over a comparably modest prize was always laughable, entertainment value be damned. Amongst everyday people this prize, as multiple contestants note, is a life-changing amount of money. Now, every decision holds real weight impacting people you can genuinely root for.
As the players settle, Alan susses out potential Traitors to occupy the turret via one-on-one fireside chats, appropriately supervised by fan favorite canine companion Lala. We get a brief glimpse into the psyches of some of the other castledwellers, including Arisa Thomas, a dog groomer from L.A. If you ever find yourself forgetting her profession, don’t worry, she’s equipped with more than enough dog metaphors to jog your memory. Her argument for why she’d make a good Traitor: “People see me as a Golden Retriever but really, I’m a naughty Chihuahua.” How can Alan refuse such a proposal?
Quite easily, apparently. We arrive at the roundtable selection and emerge with two new Traitors, Amped Joe and Tomica Adams, a charismatic pilot from Boston. That’s it, just two measly Traitors. Fear not, Alan has another twist up his cape and announces that the Traitors selection is not done. Thank goodness, because Joe, a self-admitted yapper, is so close to nervous-chatting his way into an early conviction. Tomica’s going to need some help.
We move onto the first mission, a traditionally showy production that ostensibly commands a healthy share of the season’s budget. A body of water, a wrecked ship, pyro for pyro’s sake, and a Captain’s chest as the ultimate target—truthfully, the mission itself hardly matters outside of the $50,000 in prize money fueling it. What’s important, however, are the three shields, which save vulnerable players from murder, up for grabs on a first come, first served basis. Eager business exec Victor Vollbrechthausen wastes zero time and immediately dives for the first shield within seconds of the starting horn blowing. Astrophysicist Abby Lee and construction manager Madeline Kostopulos claim the other two shields after at least feigning team unity for a little while. Victor barely cares that he’s positioned himself as the first target for banishment, he’s just thrilled to get at least one night of easy sleep.
As we near the end of episode one, we not only get the first Traitor meet-up in the turret (it’s always satisfying when they devolve into incredulous squeals, and Joe and Tomica deliver), we get more information regarding their late-arriving colleague. Tomica and Joe will have to choose two “accomplices,” who will have 24 hours to prove they’re the most qualified for the final Traitor role through multiple tests. The one chosen gets a spot in the turret, the other will receive an ill-fated rejection in the form of a murder notice.
Through the gift of a season premiere double feature, we aren’t left to wonder who the accomplices are for long. Through a ceremonial cloak-and-mask reveal we learn that the Traitors have selected MLB analyst Xavier Scruggs and marketing manager Katie Fites. Their reasoning, we later learn: Xavier has the ability to strategize and Katie, the youngest player, can feed intel from the more cliquish contestants in her age bracket. Their first dramatic task is to carry out the first murder by stranding the first, coffin-bound victim down the river, backed by a tortured rendition of Justin Timberlake’s “Cry Me A River” (which this writer is embarrassed to admit she doesn’t totally hate).
The first breakfast reveals the castle’s first casualty: Kim, previously hiding her courtroom roots in order to dodge suspicion, couldn’t escape the bloodied axes of the Traitors, who immediately dubbed her too-smart-to-continue. The players barely have time to mourn before Alan swoops in, spikes Kim’s photo with more-than-necessary force, and announces they need to guzzle their coffee and prepare for their first roundtable, which will kick off after breakfast. It’s part of this season’s apparent format change and shorter episode runtimes, meaning that each episode doesn’t guarantee both a mission and a roundtable like previous iterations. So far, the leaner delivery makes it easier to remain engaged all the way through.
The players break off to have whispered discussions. Madeline and Victor sit down with realtor Kriste Lewis as they briefly eulogize Kim in a moment that determines the direction of the roundtable. As they express pity over Kim’s early demise, sweet Madeline says of the murder, “I’d feel like shit picking Kim,” ordinary if-it-were-me sympathy that Kriste, ever vigilant, instantly reclassifies as a Traitor’s slipped, wildly unprompted confession. Despite this season’s new direction, it’s nice to see the new blood carry on the tradition of ignoring perfectly human speech patterns, which conspiratorial whispering further complicates, and concepts like the benefit of the doubt for the first debate. Kriste found a very weak bit of straw, but she’s grasping onto it for dear life.
At the roundtable, Victor is instantly put on trial for his crimes of survival during the first mission. He’s also asked to defend his profuse sweating during the Traitors selection roundtable, which prompts his hilariously whiny defense, “I’M A SWEATY BOOOOY!” It’s enough to inspire actual pity for a man who was just fighting to live and perspire another day.
The heat then transfers to Madeline courtesy of Kriste, who drops the miswired bomb from their earlier discussion and claims that Madeline said “I feel bad picking Kim.” Madeline and Victor deny that she ever confessed such a Traitor-ous thing (and she didn’t), which only further entrenches them in enemy territory. The castle votes and the sentiment is mostly split between them, but the final tally lands on Madeline, who keeps her parting words simple before exiting the castle: “Kriste is a liar. I never said that. I am a Faithful.” Eat that, Kriste!
The episode’s final moments circle back to accomplices Xavier and Katie, who must stealthily recover a murder warrant tucked away in a copy of Crime And Punishment. The first to deliver the warrant to the Traitors gets to join them, the other is axed for good. Who gets the ultimate upper hand? The credits roll before we find out.
Who do you hope joins Tomica and Joe in the turret? We don’t really get to see them work together long enough to determine who will be a better fit, but Katie has more potential to offer a truly differentiated perspective. Still, Xavier has a competitive spirit and enough sports metaphors for everyone. It’s a real toss-up, and we have 10 more episodes to see how this plays out.
Stray observations
- • Morgan’s reason for wanting to be a Faithful: “I pretty much came out of the womb an anxious person. I just don’t think perpetual lying needs to be added on top for me.” Relatable, unfortunately.
- • Abby L. and Madeline also have to fiercely defend their plays to secure shields, and I will never burn out on players having to explain to an angry mob why they might want to protect themselves in a murderous castle. Of course, said angry mob never outlines what the proper etiquette for shield acquisition actually is.
- • Arisa does a weird human lie detector bit with Victor post-roundtable and labels him a “bad Chihuahua,” no relation to her own “naughty Chihuahua.”
- • Madeline’s unfair ouster is a shame, but the lukewarm showmance between her and Victor that production tried to dangle like a dried-out carrot goes with her… and that’s fine, really.
Keep scrolling for more great stories.