‘The Traitors’ 2×07 review: “Blood on Their Hands”

Has gaming strategy entered the world of The Traitors? The inclusion of more competition reality TV competitors might have sparked a new side of meta-gaming. “Blood on Their Hands” showcased how voting blocs and alliances can take a stranglehold on the game. And by how the Faithfuls choose to vote, it can possibly back the Traitors into a corner. It’s an interesting move that we haven’t seen before — at least not in the various international versions of The Traitors I have watched yet. It goes to show that anything is still possible when the power is only based on votes.

Before we get into Sandra’s plan, we need to discuss Peter’s decision. Did anyone guess that he would turn down the Traitors’ offer? I was shocked! A move like this is rarely done; even the first time it happened on The Traitors U.K. seemed like an implausibility. Declining the Traitors would no doubt seem like a death sentence by the next night, so for him to turn it down, Peter sealed his eventual death warrant. I would’ve taken the offer if I were him; playing as a Traitor is stressful, but it’s a lot of fun and it has a higher chance of winning the money. However, we can’t fault him for declining — he started as a Faithful and he wants to finish as a Faithful. It is his choice in the matter.

The growing war between Parvati and Peter has been an exciting one to watch. When two players are so confident about the other, it sheds away any uncertainty and they go full force against one another. You can feel it in their energies, let alone seeing it on Parvati’s face – she wants him dead and he wants her banished! However, even with their vendettas, they’re both playing it terribly to get the other out.

Hear me out: Parvati may have seized the opportunity from the “Leftovers” group to turn the tables on Peter, but her demeanor is still screaming Traitor. Phaedra had a strong argument that Parvati is coming across as cold and detached; she’s embracing too much of her “Black Widow” archetype. The Traitors is not Survivor — owning the villain role when you’re actually the villain only makes you more suspicious. Peter’s alliance all but confirmed that Parvati is their Traitor target, and when the Leftovers gain back the advantage voting-wise, they’re turning on Parvati first. She needs to focus on her social game, not her tactical game.

On the other hand, Peter fumbled the ball during the breakfast reveal. He inadvertently gave Parvati the advantage to gain ground and let the seeds of suspicion grow against him. The best move would’ve been for Peter to reveal to the group that the Traitors tried to recruit him and he declined. His honesty would’ve built more connections with those outside his alliance, and it would’ve reaffirmed the goodwill from his previous plans. Even if anyone suspected him of being a Traitor, the doubts from his revelation would pale compared to his history of helping the Faithfuls first. His decision to keep the information to only his group (Kevin, Bergie, John, and Trishelle) built more barriers and resentment instead.

Now for Sandra’s strategic plan, it’s a polarizing move that would work better in a Survivor-type game.  Her move to target two people from Peter’s alliance benefits her group in two ways: (1) it keeps the voting majority away from the other alliance, and (2) it keeps the probability of the Traitors being in the Leftovers group a much higher number. If the Traitors aren’t able to recruit new people with their banishments, then the Traitors will be forced to play along. If the same Traitors are stuck to the end, the Leftovers can easily target them in the final phase. With this strategy, keeping Parvati close to the end would be a sure-fire elimination. This move is all well and good IF the Traitors are in the Leftovers group AND no one else gets recruited.

The problem with this move is that it continues to carry the Traitors further into the game for a while. There’s no guaranteed rule that states the Traitors aren’t able to recruit someone new the next night. What if they recruit another player, like a CT or an MJ? What if the Traitors keep adding to their numbers after each banishment? Eventually, the end game will happen, and with 2-3 Traitors left in the mix, they’ll have the advantage and take over the voting power (there are usually five people at the end). Sandra’s play has potential and great wins in the short term, but it could easily spiral out of control and ruin them in the long term. She’s thinking more of getting herself to the end than winning.

The challenge during “Blood on Their Hands” was so much fun! In a similar fashion to The Traitors U.K. Season 2, this challenge was replicated with a few minor tweaks. It’s essentially a game of observations and trivia – if the players didn’t know the answer, they would never know. These games are essential for a show like The Traitors because it’s all based on luck and knowledge. The players don’t need to be physically strong to win, they just need to guess right. Plus, the clips of people getting hoisted in the nets or falling into the traps are so funny!

The seventh episode also introduced a new banishment twist in the form of the safety chain. (Safety fire? Chain of torches? You get the idea.) I loved this twist because it highlighted the importance of strong social bonds and strategic moves. The players had to think outside of their relationships to figure out who they wanted to save that would benefit their games. However, it also caused lots of messy drama because it exposed who people would save when it came down to it. As well as those who aren’t at the top of the list for anyone (poor MJ!).

For instance, it wasn’t surprising that Phaedra wouldn’t save Parvati. Why would she? Parvati is the top Traitor suspect; saving Parvati would only divert a target to Phaedra instead. Shereé saving Phaedra, on the other hand, was a touching moment. They have a long history on The Real Housewives of Atlanta, so it was a huge turning moment to see them bonded like this on The Traitors. And I felt so bad for Trishelle. She put a lot of trust in CT and thought of him as her closest ally. It was a bad move for him not to protect her. If Trishelle gets murdered by the Traitors, he’ll have lost a solid ally who wouldn’t have ever voted him out. John is an obvious Faithful, but others would protect him well before they would protect CT.

“Blood on Their Hands” delivered plenty of drama for an episode that didn’t have a banishment or a murder. The Traitors spotlighted other areas of the game proving that it could easily stand without them. We were treated to a juicy new twist, interesting gameplay, a solid lesson in social gaming, and the return of the Armory (now in strategy room format). This round was exciting from start to finish.

The Traitors airs new episodes on Thursdays on Peacock.

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Images courtesy of Peacock