January often feels about six weeks long, but it seems like just days ago that Claudia Winkleman reappeared on our screens on New Year’s Day, clad in her finest knitwear, to welcome 22 contestants to The Traitors’ Ardross Castle. And now, suddenly, the series is in its final week. With just eight contestants remaining – and the prize money well into five figures – there are only two players worth rooting for: the ones who are, and have always been, the Traitors.
It’s partially thanks to the nature of the game that the remaining Faithfuls are not the best, or most memorable, players. Don’t get me wrong, Roxy and Faraaz seem lovely, but they’re classic examples of Faithfuls who have bumbled through by never posing a real threat. Then there’s Jade, who is well deserving of a spa break after largely contributing to the game by unwillingly serving as the ideal decoy.
Meanwhile, Jack and Matthew were, until very recently, among the male players who were indistinguishable from each other, and the final Faithful left is James, whose erratic behaviour and shield-stealing antics have puzzled contestants and viewers alike.
Cast your eyes, then, to the Traitors. Under the cover of darkness, Stephen and Rachel have run a successful, if not always slick, operation. The Celtic pair vowed to stick together after fellow OG Traitor Hugo was banished, and they’ve since rolled with the many punches – the Secret Traitor reveal! Murder in plain sight! Harriet’s unravelling! – in an expert, if messy, fashion.
The Faithfuls have been more distrustful of each other than ever, and this distrust has been easily exploited by the Traitors, who have shown the utmost commitment to each other and, much to Matthew’s chagrin, turned down all chances to recruit anyone else.
It has seemed, on many occasions, that Stephen’s time in the castle was surely up. But like a cat with nine lives, the Scottish Traitor has always survived – usually thanks to someone else (ahem, Fiona and Harriet) accidentally creating the perfect distraction by causing drama or behaving suspiciously (or, as Harriet so memorably put it, setting the “CAT AMONG THE PIGEONS”).
Just as season one’s Maddy rumbled Traitor Wilf, the lovely Jessie correctly figured out Stephen’s true status early on with her “Library Five” theory, rightly suggesting that Ross was being framed for murdering Ben (remember him?).
Jessie also correctly clocked that a Traitor was most likely among the players caged after Rachel created a murder shortlist using the castle’s family tree portrait. Unfortunately, just like Maddy before her, Jessie never managed to convince enough Faithfuls of either theory. And in one of the boldest, most successful gameplays of the series so far, Stephen took matters into his own hands last week when he decided that his and Rachel’s next kill should be his flame-haired accuser.
The pair knew Jessie’s murder would leave the Faithfuls disheartened and on edge – and that it would put Stephen straight back in the spotlight. Having presumably practised his poker face in the 4×4 to the castle, Stephen expertly deployed an “I’m being framed” defence convincing enough that – to his own shock – he didn’t receive a single vote at the Round Table. At least for now, the risky play appears to have paid off, cementing Stephen as a Traitor who has proved he deserves the win.
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Before callously murdering Jessie, Stephen was an easy contestant to love. With his Anneka Rice-esque jumpsuit, penchant for a high-waisted trouser, and perfectly coiffed locks, he’s the most stylish of this year’s contestants – though an honourable mention must go to the Queen of Knitwear, Jade – and has spawned many memes thanks to his most adventurous looks. His inability to pull off a neutral poker face in most scenarios is equally entertaining.
Then there’s Rachel, a 42-year-old mum-of-three who is undeniably the puppetmaster of this year’s series. With her three months of FBI training – no one can accuse her of not taking the game seriously – she has been unflappable as she picks off the Faithfuls one by one. And those who cross her don’t last long.
Early on, Rachel found a castle BFF in Amanda, who felt so confident in her Irish pal that she confided in her about her police background. When the former detective was ousted, Rachel cunningly revealed Amanda’s past to the whole group, sparking a confrontation for the ages with Fiona, who spectacularly ruined her own game by turning on her fellow Traitor.
Having seen off her Welsh rival, Rachel once again proved herself to be invincible when she came under suspicion from secret barrister Harriet, whose explosive breakfast outburst made Fiona’s attack look positively cordial. In a fit of fury at the Round Table, Harriet threw herself under the bus to prove her theory to the rest of the Faithfuls – who have since completely ignored everything she said. Oops.
A pair of Traitors have never won the British version of the show, with the final episodes of each series typically seeing any who remain forced to turn on each other. But in Stephen and Rachel, it looks as though the show has finally found a duo who take their vow seriously. And with the Faithfuls having stumbled through so badly, who can claim that this year’s Traitors don’t deserve to steal the cash? I know who I’m rooting for.
