‘The Traitors’ Season 4 Episode 6 review: “Planning a Coup”

A slow death cuts the deepest, even when we prepare for it. We expected Ron’s days to be numbered on Peacock’s The Traitors Season 4 – there was too much suspicion and doubt on him. And even with every uncertainty, the players couldn’t turn away from the easy vote. “Planning a Coup” is the fateful day when the roundtable pays its price.

But thankfully, The Traitors Season 4 Episode 6 doesn’t turn this expected vote into a filler round. The gameplay delivers chaos and confusion, keeping us on our toes right until host Alan Cumming reveals the vote. It’s so deliciously intense!

Lisa comes to play.

The first big blindside comes from the failed murder. Did anyone accurately guess that the Faithfuls didn’t claim the shields? Or were we all shocked? Between players like Colton and Dorinda, the odds were high that someone would’ve grabbed a shield. Even the Traitors could’ve secretly slipped a shield into their pockets. But no, Colton lives to see another day. The Traitors know how to surprise us – you can never truly predict how the players (Faithful or Traitor) make moves.

Thankfully, Lisa learns from this failed murder to change up her game. Hiding in the shadows and playing a subdued strategy doesn’t fit into her reputation. Lisa Rinna is extroverted, direct, and playful; she isn’t afraid to stand her ground and push back.

And coming into a game like The Traitors, there’s a level of familiarity the others have with who she is. Her friends, Dorinda and Candiace from The Real Housewives franchise are even surprised by her change-up. Similar to Donna’s personality change, Lisa’s behavior is a suspicious flag in her direction.

Digging up the money.

Lisa comes out of her shell in The Traitors Season 4 Episode 6 and it’s great to see how she stands up against Colton in order to defend herself. She needs to play like this; Colton rallying a group and airing his suspicions will eventually get her banished. The Faithfuls expect her to be “Lisa from The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills”; any deviation from that persona screams suspicious. Her argument at the round table is an emotionally convincing story – she just needs to keep that going, especially if she kills Colton. A break in the momentum flashes too many red flags.

The horror mission continues the narrative of easy challenges for the players to complete. Don’t get me wrong, scary games are always the best on The Traitors. The players face eerie things in a darkened room, and there’s usually plenty of bugs and scares to terrify them. These missions drive plenty of tension and shake up their nerves, causing them to stumble. Who doesn’t enjoy the spookiness?

On the other hand, these missions are simple riddles for the group to solve together. Read the clues, figure out the answers, grab the money… rinse and repeat. It would’ve been interesting for Alan Cumming to tempt the players with more opportunities to grab shields.

For example, three players remain in the cabin after the six riddles are solved. Why not secretly offer them a temptation to sacrifice money from the pot? Or inflict a punishment on them for being the last ones left? Simple additions spice up the gameplay. Throwing in a little wrench allows missions to have greater stakes, which are needed long-term for drama.

Rallying the troops.

Johnny’s alliance feels reminiscent of the pool table strategy from The Traitors Season 2. Majority alliances constrict the game, but it dictates the flow of the roundtable vote. Sandra Diaz-Twine was right then, and Johnny has a fruitful idea now. Colton would have been banished had the group stuck to their schemes, but the element of surprise is gone now. The Traitors isn’t a game of delayed chess pieces; every round they miss making a vote, the closer they get to being murdered. Just look at The Traitors Season 3. The Traitors fell one by one, all because they didn’t kill one trusted Faithful (Dylan Efron).

The same goes for Colton’s explosive gameplay. He accuses every person he finds suspicious, both to his betterment and detriment. For every Donna he finds, he loses all the goodwill he has built for every Porsha or Tiffany. But as terribly messy as he plays, we can’t deny that he doesn’t take shots. He takes the opportunity, but he goes all in too aggressively. Colton’s fall from grace shows that there needs to be more perception rather than passion given. The group needs stronger evidence before banding together, or else they’ll keep banishing Faithfuls.

“Planning a Coup” is another perfect example of Colton’s manipulation tactics. Look beyond the answer of Lisa being a Traitor; unpack the similarities of his strategy before and during the roundtable. Colton willingly schemes to work with a Traitor, but once the opportunity presents itself, he still directs the vote on Lisa. He is the most vocal in the room, presents his evidence/opinion, and pushes the vote. We saw this as he led the vote on Tiffany, Michael, and now on Lisa. If Colton successfully banishes her, this only further cements the confirmation bias of his strategy, negatively hindering the rest of The Traitors Season 4 if he keeps playing this way.

A long-awaited vote.

As mentioned above, Ron’s time in the manor wasn’t going to be long. It’s baffling why the group fixates on his suspicion level, especially when his Porsha theory has legs. Let’s not forget her word slips painted a picture of her as a Traitor; Ron merely shared what she said. Anyone would’ve voted Porsha out – it just happened that he brought it to the roundtable.

Kudos to him for defending himself! No one at the roundtable has a perfect record, and it’s also true that the group forgives players like Colton and Eric for their missed accusations. So, why isn’t Ron given the same courtesy? Both his argument and his farewells prove his emotional sincerity; it’s clear to anyone listening that Ron is a Faithful. You can’t deny how defeated he sounds in his farewell speech. There is nothing that Ron could’ve done to avoid his banishment.

Hopefully, this banishment teaches quieter players like Tara and Natalie to speak up more about their hesitations. We nearly see Lisa banished; it’s an unexpected opportunity after her fellow Traitor Rob R. risks voting her out. Anything can happen at a roundtable; this chance falls into their lap only if they don’t take the easy vote. The Faithfuls need to be on the ball more.

Overall.

The Traitors Season 4 Episode 6 is an eventful round full of heightened emotions and startled screams. The players open their minds to strategizing and discussing their theories. New suspicions form under intense doubts, and the beginnings of shaky alliances come to the forefront. While an obvious Faithful is banished, emotions run high right up until the end, with a shift that no one sees coming. “Planning a Coup” is fire and tears in one.

The Traitors airs new episodes on Thursdays on Peacock.

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Images courtesy of Peacock.