“A new dawn breaks over my castle,” says Alan Cumming to introduce “Planning A Coup,” the halfway point of this polarizing fourth season. And a new dawn it happily is—the Rapaport Era is behind us, blessedly, though Lisa Rinna and her fellow Traitors are cursing the exit of that loudmouth distraction. And after some dark, discouraging weeks of Faithful-on-Faithful hostility, the Peacock competition is also finally tapping back into what so often makes The Traitors peak reality entertainment: when those titular turncoats start twisting the knife on each other. It was only a matter of time before the kumbaya camaraderie between Rinna, Candiace Dillard Bassett, and Rob Rausch turned cutthroat, and I’ve got to hand it to the castle’s resident overalls-lover for bringing some much-needed drama to the turret.
But I’m getting ahead of myself: First, we need to see if any of the Faithfuls claim that dangling shield to save themselves at the risk of sabotaging the group. Alas, the majority rules, with the entire remaining cast showing up to breakfast the next morning. Left with displaced murder energy, the Traitors quickly strategize that they’ll follow the herd and get Ron Funches out at the next roundtable before murdering Colton Underwood, who’s had his sights set on Rinna and is trying to rope in anyone who will listen against the Real Housewife.
Rob isn’t a fan of the group’s plans to target Ron. He’s sparked up an oddball friendship with the comedian over the past few episodes and doesn’t want to see him banished from the castle grounds. Helpfully, he’s pulled into a large alliance by Johnny Weir, who does the numbers and realizes the Faithfuls just need a majority of eight players to swing any vote, with “ringleader” Colton on the top of their banishment wishlist.
That strategizing is put on pause for the recurring haunted-cabin mission, in which the players have to decipher clues—spelled out Ouija board-style across the table or splashed onto the walls in fake blood—before rushing over to a corresponding grave for $3,000 a pop. Though there’s a tempting two shields at one burial site, the group collectively decides to forgo individual protection in favor of prize money—well, almost collectively, with Yam Yam Arocho putting up a bit of a fight and earning some suspicious side-eye from Maura Higgins in the process. Not only does the cast now have an extra $15,000 in the prize pool but “we can murder whoever we want!” Rob cheers. “They’re giving us a Faithful buffet.”
The banishment plan is split between Ron and Colton, a development that the latter is acutely aware of, so he makes a big swing: “Instead of trying to banish a Traitor, I’m gonna try to hold one hostage.” And that double-crosser is none other than Lisa Rinna, who Underwood pointedly assures he’ll protect at the roundtable moving forward if she protects him in the turret. He’s right on the money, but Lisa does some A-plus Lifetime acting and asserts that he’s barking up the wrong Traitor.
At the roundtable that evening, things are eerily quiet until Ron prompts them to get the inevitable over with. He knows that he’s a major target, though he rightfully points out that Colton has gotten things wrong in that very room more often than he has: “Because we don’t like Michael, we don’t count it; but because we love Porsha [Williams], we’re still on me. I don’t feel that’s fair.” (For his part, Colton acknowledges that he’s been playing the game “recklessly and boldly,” sure, but he’s not “playing it as a Traitor.”)
Ron starts individually saying his goodbyes, a sweet but savvy move as it gets Natalie Anderson, Tara Lipinski, and Mark Ballas all believing that he’s maybe a Faithful after all. With the spotlight now shifting back toward Colton, Underwood desperately throws another name to the wolves: Rinna. “You don’t go against a Housewife,” he theorizes about her first-night vote for Porsha, but it’s also a potent warning for his own gameplay.
It’ll no doubt be a harsh lesson for Rob to learn, too. During the roundtable, as votes start stacking up between Colton, Ron, and Lisa, Rob makes the shocking move of voting against Rinna. But with only one vote left, and Mark ultimately sending the ever-faithful Ron packing, Rob’s big backstab doesn’t end in a Traitor-on-Traitor death and he’ll be left to feel the fires of Rinna’s rage. “That was a huge risk. One vote?!” Candiace says of Rob’s betrayal. “Watching him stab Lisa in the front like he did, I don’t trust him.” And Rob knows it: “This is about to be baaaad for Robby Bobby.”
At least Rinna’s wrath seems equally split between him and Colton. And the Traitors have to put that internal disloyalty temporarily to the wayside as Alan tasks them with yet another in-plain-sight murder, this time held at a grand banquet in the castle hall that evening in front of the rest of the Faithfuls. Festooned with a cursed amulette, Lisa will have to single out one Faithful to touch the shiny bauble and thus mark them for murder.But who will she choose?
Stray observations
- • For entertainment value, I appreciate Rob being so bold to go against Rinna. But from a gameplay perspective, it admittedly was a big misstep, and I very much feel Candiace for chucking food at him in frustration.
- • Speaking of, both Johnny Weir and Kristen Kish clocked that surprisingly conspicuous kitchen meeting between the three Traitors. I’d be very surprised if that doesn’t come up next ep.
- • A love triangle between Rob Rausch, Maura Higgins, and Dorinda Medley? I’m seated.
- • Alan Cumming’s fashion inspirations this week: Tilda Swinton, Julius Caesar, Fran Drescher, and the Seinfeld puffy shirt. Incredible stuff, as usual.
- • Smoked salmon mentions: two.
Christina Izzo is a contributor to The A.V. Club.
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