“I will never write your name down”
This promise, made by Rachel and Stephen, “set the cat amongst the pigeons” (or chickens if you’re Stephen) regarding the Traitors’ dynamic.
Season 4 of The Traitors UK introduced new exciting twists, the biggest of which was the addition of the ‘Secret Traitor’. They must create a shortlist of names for the other Traitors to murder, and they remain, as the name suggests, secret to both the Traitors and the viewers, allowing audiences to play along at home. Following Traitor Hugo’s banishment, the red-cloaked Traitor was revealed as Fiona, who proclaimed, “I was wonderful, wasn’t I?” Although Fiona’s excitement was short-lived after she unconvincingly claimed that Rachel lied about Amanda being a retired Senior Detective in the Metropolitan Police, leading to Fiona’s banishment from the round table.
Another addition was the Smoke and Mirrors challenge, enabling the Faithful to speak to the Traitors. However, Harriet and Matthew took two very different approaches. Whilst Harriet may have rattled Rachel in the confession booth, declaring that “we all know that the gig is up for Rachel”, and she “will have no compunction in going after her.” Harriet merely incited her own banishment, telling players to vote her out, arguably proving Rachel is a Traitor, yet this seemed to be overlooked. On the other hand, Matthew asked to be recruited, later stating in The Traitors: Uncloaked that, upon recruitment, he planned to reveal the current Traitors as potential recruits. Unfortunately, due to James obtaining the ceremonial dagger, giving him two votes, Matthew was banished from the castle before he had this opportunity.
The penultimate episode left the fates of Rachel and James to chance, resulting in James’ banishment. Unexpectedly, considering the amount of heat on Rachel, it was Jade who was subsequently banished, and the detrimental error by Jack and Faraaz not voting for the same person led to Faraaz’s banishment, securing the Traitors’ win. However, tensions were high at the final round table, with Stephen having the opportunity to betray Rachel and take the full prize pot of £95,570. Despite this, he remained loyal to their alliance, resulting in the first two Traitors’ joint victory.
Overall, this season saw the power of the faithful Traitors, marking a stark contrast to the gameplay seen in previous seasons, from Traitors such as Wilf (s1) and Harry (s2). As such, the use of the collective approach can be used just as effectively as the individual approach, potentially changing the gameplay of The Traitors forever.
