‘The Traitors’ 2×08 review: “Knives at Dawn”

Another Traitor bites the dust! Oh, how the momentum has changed during Season 2 of Peacock’s The Traitors. It was only a few rounds ago when we feared that the Faithfuls were setting themselves up for a catastrophic failure, but now they’ve put up a strong fight. Two Traitors have been sent out the door in heated banishments – both times filled with drama, accusations, and intrigue. “Knives at Dawn” was no exception; it was another thrilling episode that kept us wanting more fun from The Traitors.

For the first elimination of “Knives at Dawn”, it was sad Bergie got the chop. He was one of the few characters during Season 2 that grew and thrived the most in a new reality TV environment. Bergie became a more vocal, strategic-based player who developed strong connections with his fellow players and alliances. Even though he didn’t win The Traitors, he walked away with a great personal win. And the Traitors made a good move by getting rid of him. No one would ever assume that Bergie was a Traitor, and he was tightly connected to Peter’s alliance, so he needed to go.

But was it the best move? No. The Traitors should’ve eliminated Trishelle. From Peter’s alliance, Trishelle is a vocal player who isn’t shy about throwing out theories and working through strategies. She has a long history of reality TV, like The Real World and The Challenge, so she knows how to maneuver a game. While she could be deemed a little suspicious, she more confidently falls into the same group of “100% Faithful” and she would never be banished. The Traitors should’ve targeted her because of the value she brings to Peter’s alliance and her intuition of others. Plus, her recent betrayal from CT would’ve sparked some doubt in his direction to help shield the Traitors.

The return of the cabin challenge always delivers plenty of drama and smiles. Seriously, there is so much chaos from one cabin for us to enjoy! By simply adding falling bugs and water, four people immediately quit in sheer panic – that just shows how well-crafted this challenge can be. The cabin is all about mind over matter; if the players can brace through the fear, they’ll win money. And I loved how teamwork decisions made a big impact (e.g., someone needed to always press the light) because it forced the group to think about the different layers of the challenge. The Traitors should always bring this challenge back – it is a staple that has a high success rate for entertainment.

The only issue with the challenge came in the form of Dr. Will’s cameo. Why was he barely a cameo? It’s understandable that he probably didn’t have a lot of time to do another segment or something more. However, we’re talking about the most manipulative and deceptive villain in Big Brother history! If we can’t have him as a player, it would’ve been nice to have him more involved in another part. Keeping him outside the cabin as the surprise guest was too much of a tease for something we wished we could have.

“Knives at Dawn” presented a new layer to the complexity of The Traitors’ voting strategy. Trishelle and Peter’s intuition to go after Phaedra was right on the money; the evidence backed them up that she was a Traitor. However, the way they went about it was so wrong. Turning the tables on Phaedra shouldn’t come at the expense of “clearing” Parvati – she’s already a confirmed suspect. By expressing that Parvati was innocent in their eyes, it would only cause doubt from everyone else towards them when she did get revealed as a Traitor. We already saw the repercussions of their mistake the second Parvati got voted out. For instance, their ally Kevin doubted he could trust them, and everyone else wants to ally more with Phaedra now instead of listening to Peter ever again.

Peter and Trishelle should’ve gone about it in a mass confirmation approach. Their pitches to the group should’ve been framed as Parvati is 100% a Traitor AND that Phaedra is the top suspect as the second remaining Traitor based on Dan’s banishment. The group could vote out Phaedra now to confirm their suspicions and then go after Parvati in the following round to get an easy confirmation. The problem now is attention has diverted away from Phaedra, and Peter’s schemes have turned him into a selfish player the Faithfuls can’t trust. Trishelle can still turn this around, but Peter’s chances are slim. He might get banished simply because the Faithfuls can’t trust him anymore, which is a strategy Faithfuls use to trim numbers and messy players.

Parvati’s banishment was a long time coming. Even before Dan was exposed as a Traitor, her name had been floated around as a top suspect. She did an amazing job as a Traitor and gave the show plenty of entertaining scenes like her wanting to recruit Peter. However, she fell into the trap of embracing her villain archetype and being the “Black Widow” from Survivor. No amount of campaigning was going to help her with everyone believing her to be a Traitor – she needed the countervotes to stay. You could feel her accepting her fate during the roundtable; she didn’t give up, but she knew her survival was low.

I would’ve loved to have seen how Parvati could’ve played The Traitors as a Faithful – like in a world where she was a Faithful and the Traitors chose to recruit Janelle instead. Parvati would’ve had to fight against her manipulative gameplay to help the “good side” and prove her trustworthiness. On the other hand, Janelle would’ve had to go against her loyal gameplay to be more sinister and cutthroat. It’s an interesting duality for these longtime reality TV veterans. Ugh, a missed opportunity!

“Knives at Dawn” brought us plenty of cheers and fears in the world of The Traitors. We celebrated the Faithfuls capturing another Traitor, and an exciting challenge pushed the group to face the chaos of the cabin. However, a confusing gameplay move by some of the Faithfuls could spell disaster for them in the long term. This was a great episode that delivered the true essence of what it is to watch (and play) The Traitors.

The Traitors airs new episodes on Thursdays on Peacock.