*Spoiler Warning*
If you haven’t watched The Traitors finale yet, do not read on! And if you haven’t even started the series, what are you doing?
It would be a mistake to see The Traitors as the latest empty reality TV show. The Traitors is refreshing; it tells us a lot about society and group dynamics with a lot of diversity in gender, ethnicity, age, and disability among the contestants. I love how the show stars real people, unlike Love Island, which is entertaining, but feels extremely scripted and lifeless. There is something about watching beautiful people in bikinis every night that makes you feel a little bit worse about yourself. The Traitors weirdly gives you faith in humanity, despite the constant lying and plotting, and it feels wholesome because it is always framed as a game.
As well as its broader sociological dimension, what makes The Traitors such delicious entertainment is the format. By the time the finale comes around, viewers are invested in the very familiar structure of each episode. The breakfast, the outdoor task, and the round table at night make a layout that mimics our own daily life routine. With the challenges, the team seems to forget about the traitors, and there is a strong sense of togetherness. Many of the contestants had been through a lot, which adds an emotional and personal dimension to the series. This is also where you learn about the essence of the contestants’ personalities as they reveal their individual backstories throughout the series. For instance, we didn’t learn until very late into the series that the traitor, once-faithful Andrew, had been in a life-threatening car accident that had left him with physical and mental scars. But alongside the jeopardy and the psychology, the show is also just pure escapism on these long winter nights. Claudia Winkleman’s cheeky and seductive presenting style is gold dust. In the finale, she brought the combination of camp and comfort when Harry (spoiler-alert) took the crown.
The traitors, particularly Harry, played a superb game, but why weren’t there any female traitors apart from Ash? I’m sorry, but someone like Jasmine or Diane would have smashed it; or even an underdog like Evie. I loved Claudia’s banter-like criticism “Another man? It’s like the olden days.” Why is it that men recruit other men? Is it possible that they subconsciously thought the women wouldn’t be able to do it? It would be interesting to see a series with just female traitors. After all, if you watched season one you know that Amanda was an amazing traitor! It definitely felt like a male-dominated series. But at least it shows that the series isn’t rigged, since the producers clearly didn’t have a say in who they recruited as a traitor. Otherwise, we would have probably seen more women in the traitors turret. I suppose it’s a reflection on society as a whole, and that makes it an even more fascinating watch.
The finale left us all on the edge of our seats. From the suspenseful editing style to the swooping shots of the Scottish Highlands. I particularly loved the song choices. ‘The Hanging Tree’ from The Hunger Games was playing as the five went for their final round table. And when Harry won the season, the powerful song ‘Outro’ by M83 was playing. It was the perfect ending to a brilliant series.
Harry was an amazing traitor and I honestly think he deserved to win. All that game-playing and slyness was impressive. When he got the shield and only told a few people, not only did it make him seem like a faithful because the traitors clearly tried to kill him, but it also turned everyone against Ross as he revealed he was someone Harry supposedly didn’t tell. Double Jeopardy. I loved how no one questioned his story, and he had them all in a trance. I believe Harry couldn’t haven’t done it without Molly though. He had used her unknowingly as his human shield. From season one and now season two, we have learnt that a traitor can’t get far without a faithful with a blind loyalty and misplaced trust in them. Hannah with Wilfred, and now Molly with Harry. Molly and Harry’s dynamic is very interesting since Molly put all her trust into him, to the point of rubbing his name out right at the end because she couldn’t bring herself to betray their friendship, yet the whole time he was betraying her. Harry could compartmentalise his feelings from the game. From being in the army, he had learned to separate emotions from the task at hand, whereas Molly was emotionally invested in her close friendships, forgetting the context of how those friendships were formed in the first place. She let her emotions get in the way of her judgment. Andrew and Jaz were sending a clear message that Harry was a traitor, but she couldn’t see what was right in front of her. As Claudia said in The Traitors: Uncloaked, Molly represents all of us who put too much trust in people as we want to see the good side of them.
Jaz was outstanding, the best faithful of all time in my opinion. His theories were ignored by everyone, even though he was right about both Paul and Harry. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him, shouting “Listen to Jaz!” at the TV. But he planned it superbly, and he knew that if he was too vocal about his suspicions he would be murdered or banished, as the group were so loyal to Paul up to a point and Harry all the way through. If he approached it more like Zach where he said his theories in front of everyone with full confidence, maybe he would have influenced the group more. But his plans got him to the finale, and all it would have taken was Molly getting on board with him. She was almost convinced by Jaz, but her bond with Harry was just too strong. There is a poignancy to Jaz’s story, when he revealed his family background, and that he was betrayed by his own father. Could that explain why he seemed unable to trust anyone properly throughout the season, and was such a good detector of lies? I just love the name he’s been given on Twitter: ‘Jazatha Christie’.
At least Jaz lasted longer than Andrew – an interesting character, quite vulnerable but with an inner strength. Andrew appeared to never really trust his fellow traitors the whole way through. He knew they would eventually “throw him under the bus” (one of this seasons’ catch phrases), which Harry finally did. Ultimately, in the battle between the last two traitors, there was only going to be one winner.
Edited by: Sonja Stojiljković