The Traitors US S02 E01-08
I'm watching the second season of The Traitors US, which historically has not been my favourite of the international versions. I've written about the egregious casting decisions of Season 1 before, and while I enjoy the unique story arc of each game, the American production does often end up feeling like a bad tribute act of the UK show.
That being said, Season 2 has fixed some of its prior mistakes. All players are just about equally famous, which feels much better than a hybrid cast. Botox is everywhere (though I still think the Housewives have a distinct advantage there), and there's less of a focus on random interpersonal drama. Everyone seems to get on with each other and understand the game a little better this time. But what's truly different about this second instalment of The Traitors US is that the gameplay is so chaotic! Spoilers below.
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| Ekin-Su's most magical TV moment |
There have been quite a few pleasant surprises in this season. I didn't expect Pete from The Bachelor to be such a clever strategist or, frankly, to be so tight with former MP John Bercow. I didn't expect the boxer guy to crumble under pressure and be "replaced" with series antihero Kate Chastain. I loved how masterfully Parvati gave her poisoned chalice to Ekin-Su, in a moment of girlish affection that I rewatched several times.
"I believe in aliens. I have conspiracy theories. I love cartoons. I, you know, can twist my arm all the way back. I'm very quirky, very weird, but I'm also very relatable, and people love that about me." — Ekin-Su
God, she's right. I love her so much.
But this game is moving so fast and so unpredictably that it feels like the production team is scrambling for control. I can't even tell how many episodes we have left!
The challenges are the same as in UK Season 2, but they're played completely out of order, like tricks pulled out of a magician's hat in reaction to oohs and aahs from the audience. The poisoned chalice turns up in the third episode—that's 3 episodes earlier than under Claudia Winkleman's watch, where the funeral scene acted as a deliciously dramatic midpoint. A recruitment is turned down threatening to force a stalemate in E06, so the roundtable is cancelled, and the cast is hauled away to the forest to play a haphazard "game" of tiki torch tag (which is really a device to reduce the pool of potential murder victims). That's never happened before. Now Kate is being recruited as a traitor, which means she's actually going to the dungeon? With Phaedra?! What is going on?!?!
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| Phaedra discovers British breakfast food |
All in all, I'm enjoying the chaos, but there's a lot of unnecessary artifice in S02 when (imo) the most exciting moments in The Traitors come from basic social interactions. The concept is almost perfect as it is, and small mechanical tweaks—like the introduction of a shield or dagger—go a long way. The rules keep getting bent to shape the course of the season, when all I want is to see players navigate the traditional murder-banishment cycle using good old social strategy skills. My theory is that producers don't know how many renewals they've got ahead of them, so they're injecting as many twists as they can to demonstrate the formula's potential. Perhaps the nightmare finale and ensuing cancellation of The Traitors Australia is looming over their heads.
The numbers, however, suggest there's nothing to worry about: Season 2 had the biggest debut for any original reality series on Peacock, with a 75% increase in viewership over its first season. So maybe we should trust the process and let the chips fall where they may.
The newest season of De Verraders is also shaking things up with its first civilian cast (and a handful of players hiding out in a barn, for some reason). The first episode dropped on Videoland this week, so I'll be sharing my impressions here soon!
