‘The Traitors’ 2×04 review: “The Funeral”

A grim shadow has fallen over the manor this week on The Traitors. The Faithfuls are in serious need of a miracle; they can’t seem to find any luck in catching a Traitor. Even when it’s a given that someone isn’t a Traitor (*cough* Larsa *cough*), the group can’t put all the pieces together. “The Funeral” was an aptly named episode because it could be a sign to mourn any chances of the Faithfuls squeaking out a win. We’re only four episodes into the season, and it’s still very early for what’s to come, but the Traitors might be outmaneuvering the Faithfuls, whether intentionally or not.

Did anyone guess that Ekin-Su would be poisoned? She wasn’t high on my list. The top guesses would’ve been MJ or Bergie, especially since Ekin-Su was close friends with many of the Traitors. And the edit was slightly hinting that Parvati was going to choose an easy option since she couldn’t get any of her original targets. Ekin-Su might’ve been one of the players who could’ve easily slid her way to the final, or she would’ve been killed by the Traitors eventually. However, I didn’t see her winning The Traitors. As a TV character, it’ll be sad to lose her since she brought plenty of drama and great confessionals.

Luckily, Parvati’s last-minute decision to switch to Ekin-Su might’ve been the best decision that happened. No one suspected that she would’ve been poisoned. Her choice made no sense, and it didn’t point to any of the players remaining (the closest was Janelle and their beef from the graveyard game). Sure, the group lost any chance of winning $20,000, but the long-term benefits were so worth it. For instance, suspicions were flying everywhere and no one could pin down a vote, and new theories were thrown out about everyone. Ekin-Su’s blindside will either be the dawning of a new day or the nail in the coffin of Faithful’s chances. Or it could be the beginning of the end for the Traitors.

Case in point: Dan floated the idea of turning on Phaedra. “The Funeral” was a captivating episode because it exposed the tension and cracks in the Traitors’ alliance. During the season premiere rounds, Dan and Phaedra’s bond seemed tight; they wanted to ride to the end together (Parvati’s inclusion was another story). However, with Dan plotting to sacrifice Phaedra, and Parvati turning the group’s suspicions toward the Bravo clique, it presented an interesting storyline to come. This move will either buy Dan and Parvati more time in the competition or it will blow back in their faces.

It’s a risky move for them to betray Phaedra this early on. There are still plenty of people in the competition that anyone could be targeted next, both as a Faithful and as a Traitor. Phaedra is playing a great game by establishing her social bonds and playing under the radar. By turning the sights on Phaedra, it could clear other individuals of not being a Traitor. For example, would the show choose more than one Traitor to be from The Real Housewives franchise? The odds would be low. And it’s a dangerous move because Phaedra could easily turn against Parvati and Dan; just like what happened during the first season of The Traitors UK. The Traitors are playing with fire here!

And the landscape in front of them is more temperamental than ever. “The Funeral” presented an interesting concept of cliques forming at the manor. We saw this during the first season as the Bravo contestants tended to trust one another, except they were picked off very early into the competition. In this iteration, the division of the Bravo players (non-competitive) vs. the competitive gameplayers vs. the obvious Faithfuls set the stage for what could be a heated battleground to come. The most dangerous players are hiding away in the competitive group, but no one seems to want to cut their friends. Alliances are important to have, but they can sometimes stifle entertainment and gameplay.

When it came to the challenge, it was a visually appealing game with its funeral aesthetic. However, it felt like filler. How were the Faithfuls ever going to determine who was poisoned? They either needed more time to discuss who might’ve been poisoned, or there should’ve been some clues and hints to lead to the right decision. Plus, when it got to the final three options, the group was voting blindly with no evidence; it was a majority ruling that could’ve gone in any direction. The funeral game looked fun, but it didn’t have the stakes or tension that it tried to project.

On the other hand, the roundtable was full of tension and stakes. But with all the theories floated around, how could anyone logically lean to Larsa as a Traitor? Come on, there was no way. None. Even if she and Marcus (her boyfriend) agreed to play the game fairly, they still would never have turned on each other. Eliminating one another wouldn’t be good from a romantic standpoint, and it wouldn’t be good from a financial angle since they’d be losing a chance at the money. Larsa should’ve been cleared in everyone’s minds the second Marcus was killed overnight by the Traitors. It made no sense whatsoever that Larsa would be the Traitor. The Traitors is a fun game to watch (and most likely play), but it can be frustrating watching the Faithfuls shoot in the wrong direction.

“The Funeral” had all the elements of an enticing episode: the funeral procession, the eerie and dark tones, the theories, the rising tension, and the betrayals. However, it didn’t seem to land when it was combined. The week felt more like a filler episode; one that was connecting two big moments and guiding us to bigger drama later down the line. Now that we’ve made it past the poisoning and a strange banishment, let’s hope the rest of the weeks make the most of their screen time.  

The Traitors airs new episodes on Thursdays on Peacock.

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Images courtesy of Peacock