Kriti Mehrotra
With Peacock’s ‘The Traitors’ arguably being the most ruthless reality competition series owing to the way it is built on deception, strategy, and treachery, we get an original that’s simply gripping. It revolves around lovable yet sly celebrities as they face a series of challenges for a prize pot of up to $250,000, all the while also remaining on guard in fear of being murdered by the non-Faithfuls. Season 4 of the production is thus no different, especially since the Traitors have been able to largely control the game up until this moment, even with Secret Traitor Donna Kelce’s banishment.
The Traitors Have Been Playing a Smart, Subtle Game
From the moment Candiace Bassett, Lisa Rinna, and Rob Rausch realized the three of them were selected as the Traitors during the first Round Table of the season, they were perfectly in sync. They had no idea who the previously selected fourth secret one was, but they didn’t mind the mystery nearly as much as they minded the lack of control over the shortlist of possible murder victims. Nevertheless, they immensely enjoyed the power they did have, especially as they always got to decide which Faithful actually got killed in the dead of night — they had the final say from the list.
Since the Secret Traitor had no idea who the three other treacherous ones were either, it did unfortunately result in them naming Rob as a potential target following the first challenge. Obviously, he didn’t die that night, but he, Candiace, and Lisa did remove former ‘Big Brother’ winner Ian Terry from the picture purely owing to how strategic he was as a player. The trio didn’t have to do much during the first banishment because some phrases turned “evidence” resulted in ‘The Real Housewives of Atlanta’ star Porsha Williams having to say goodbye.
Later came Murder in Plain Sight, with the stipulation that the Secret Traitor would soon be revealed to the other Traitors if they succeeded before the end of the night, and they did. With how detail-oriented and instinctive the shortlisted Rob Cesternino from ‘Survivor: The Amazon’ was, they had to murder him as a threat as early as possible. Little did traitor Rob and Lisa know that he had already clocked that maybe an event like this was happening, so they definitely dodged a bullet — Candiace knew. However, their efforts didn’t yield the results they had hoped for as Donna Kelce was banished the following afternoon, forcing her to admit she was a Traitor.
With Threats Being Targeted, The Next Victim Could Be Kristen Kish
While the group had no idea they had caught the Secret Traitor with their unanimous voting, Candiace, Lisa, and Rob knew, which only made them stronger, as it changed nothing for them as a team. The ensuing challenge only reiterated it further, with the five potential victims being Lisa herself, actor/comedian Ron Funches, musician Eric Nam, ‘The Real Housewives of Dubai’ star Caroline Stanbury, and ‘Top Chef: Seattle’ winner Kristen Kish. In their discussion, the trio confidently asserted that the situation was hilariously “pathetic” because they could murder any of the 4 Faithfuls — which they have to do in person — and no one would point the finger at them.
That’s because while Ron was already a target since his claims resulted in Porsha’s banishment, Eric was genuinely adored by all, and no one suspected Caroline or Kristen of anything either. The Traitors were sure that whoever they chose to kill that fateful night would not make any sense to others because they would not be able to catch onto any sort of pattern or strategy at all. They hence made their decision before walking into the forest to murder their victim face-to-face, only to hear a likely final statement from all the tree-tied Faithfuls prior to executing their order.
While episode 3 concluded on this cliffhanger, we believe Candiace, Lisa, and Rob will not go for any low-hanging fruit and will have a clear reason behind their pick. In other words, given they have targeted strong players until now, as well as their noticing how Kristen is very observant and has been able to blend well with others while maintaining her own opinions, they likely kill her. After all, from what we can tell, Ron would be an easy removal, whereas Eric’s murder wouldn’t make sense. Plus, if the Traitors wanted the latter gone, they could have killed him the first night they had any real power, since he had made the shortlist then, too. As for Caroline, it’s possible that both Candiace and Lisa have a soft spot for her as fellow cast members of the Housewives franchise.
Read More: The Traitors Season 3: Where Are They Now?
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