By Beth Nugent, Third Year, Film and Television
Warning faithfuls, this review includes spoilers!
It’s a new year, which means a new season of The Traitors. Returning for its fourth season on New Year's Day, The Traitors released the first episode with a twist. Not only was there 3 traitors amongst the 22 cast members, but there was a secret traitor. One, we didn’t even know who…
At first glance, it’s thrilling that we, too, get to play along with the faithful while they attempt to figure out the traitor, but it became obvious by the end of the first episode that the BBC should stick to what works. The fundamental flaw with the secret traitor is that the fun of The Traitors is the fact that the audience is all-knowing. When someone is being accused of being a traitor when we know they are a faithful, it has you screaming at your screen, begging these people to see sense. It differentiates us from the cast members and allows us to be involved in a way the cast aren’t.
This time round, we couldn’t have that same passion, because we didn’t know. And let's just say, if I got picked to be a traitor and found out that my job was essentially obsolete, I’d be pretty miffed. But that’s old news, and the secret traitor already seems like a distant memory.
The cast members this season are an extremely interesting group, possibly the best yet. Starting with the deceased or banished faithfuls. Amanda and Harriet were exceptional, from Amanda’s deathbed confession, which triggered Fiona’s crash out (more on that later), to Harriet's “TO SET THE CAT AMONGST THE PIGEONS ROXY” at breakfast, they really brought the consistent drama. We must mourn Jesse as well, because that girl was the smartest of the entire cast, she clocked Stephen within days, and she died an unceremonious death.
Nine episodes deep, it’s fair to say that Claudia made the right choice for traitors this season. Rachel has grown on me massively; she is smart, plays the game well, and makes an interesting watch. The other half of the dynamic duo, Stephen, is a wonder. With the amount of evidence proving he is a traitor, it is truly unbelievable that he’s gotten this far and made so many firm allies along the way. Even if he gets voted off soon, at least he gave us an abundance of memes that will live on in history.
Now for those traitors who are cold in their grave. Hugo was unimpressive and deserved to be voted out, but who filled his place was the interesting one. Fiona. The little old lady whose only mission was to bring down the traitors from the inside. The secret traitor title must’ve gotten to her head early on, and that is the only explanation for her power-hungry outburst. I will admit her jealousy-driven declaration of Rachel’s traitorous ways was golden television, and pair that with Stephen's blushing cheeks? Incredible. But it was time for Fiona to leave. I’m always partial to the original traitors, and I felt protective of the duo that she was trying to tear apart.
Of course, another standout moment was the crime writer Harriet’s day of self-destruction. From the moment she revealed herself to be a novelist,I knew her time on the programme would solely be for promoting her new book, which is coming out at the end of February. It was clear she needed a stand-out Gotcha! moment to cement herself in the viewer's mind, to hopefully drive up her book sales. For whatever reason, she was in the castle Harriet was certainly entertaining.
Even though unscripted dramas are trying to portray reality, there are still hours of footage from the castle that get cut. The producers focus on specific characters, while others fade into the background. As always, some people wander the halls of the castle whom I could not pick out of a lineup if I tried.
Lottie Merchant
What has Jack done this entire season? Faraaz has had a few moments of screentime but has really contributed nothing. Similarly, Adam was just kind of there. The boring faithfuls always end up in the last episodes questioning, ‘Why am I still here?’, thinking they are close to a traitor, but in reality, everyone just forgot they were there. It’s a fatal design flaw of The Traitors format that the boring characters make it to the final.
With three more episodes to go until the final, there are plenty more chances for twists and turns, and we’ll get to see if the popular ‘everyone’s related theory’ is actually true or just wild fan speculation. But what we do know is that The Traitors will always provide an exciting journey, no matter who wins, and I can’t wait to watch.
Featured Image: Instagram @bbc/bbciplayer
Who are you placing your bets on to win The Traitors finale?
