Traitors '25 Starts 1/1/25 8pm

[Agent Sparrow]

I don’t think Traitors has jumped the shark yet but the things raised in this article are definitely an issue, yet it’s hard to see how they can be escaped without (impossibly) banning future contestants from watching the last show.

I think they should move on to creating actual clues for people to find - more of the murdering in plain sight and keeping anything like the picture around to be found afterwards. Otherwise it is just a popularity contest based on increasingly wild supposition, which will begin to get boring. Though the latter is the reality TV way so I’m not hopeful.

Human beings are capable of both being wonderfully cooperative and viciously selfish. One of the great things about Traitors S1 is how much the cooperation side came out*. Missions designed to bring out selfishness are a bit like eating dirty junk food - good in the moment but then leaving a bad taste in your mouth.

Damn it, I don’t want to go on the Traitors, I want to get on the team for planning it.





*E2A: though I do also recall that initial banishments and nominations were dodgy as fuck - a disabled woman who didn’t toast as she didn’t have a hand the side of the glass and men who were socially different

 

[May Kasahara]

Yeah, one of my favourite things about last year was how the missions always brought people together during the day - there was a real sense of shared motivation and teamwork, and everyone happily celebrating together at the end. Then you'd see them on the way back to the castle slowly coming down from that and realising they'd have to start looking for traitors among the group again. It was an interesting dynamic, and I do think it made people concentrate a bit more on looking for actual signs, as well as remembering that it's just a game and you're meant to have fun.

 

[Agent Sparrow]

One of my favourite missions from S3 was the wicker man one, because all (the faithfuls) were working together to escape murder and there was a dilemma for the traitors and an early chance for them to slip up. Whereas the boat one, which mixed that idea with the train idea, was a shit show.

 

[tommers]

If I was I there I'd just say Joe at every roundtable. No tactics, no reasons or theories. Just "Joe" until everybody voted for him.

 

[Numbers]

If I was I there I'd just say Joe at every roundtable. No tactics, no reasons or theories. Just "Joe" until everybody voted for him.

He’s annoying isn’t he.

 

[Agent Sparrow]

If I was I there I'd just say Joe at every roundtable. No tactics, no reasons or theories. Just "Joe" until everybody voted for him.

I am just waiting for someone to have the honesty to say “I don’t think you’re a traitor, I just don’t like you”

 

[ElizabethofYork]

He’s annoying isn’t he.

Very annoying. And he gets everything wrong.

 

[Lotte]

Yeah, one of my favourite things about last year was how the missions always brought people together during the day - there was a real sense of shared motivation and teamwork, and everyone happily celebrating together at the end. Then you'd see them on the way back to the castle slowly coming down from that and realising they'd have to start looking for traitors among the group again. It was an interesting dynamic, and I do think it made people concentrate a bit more on looking for actual signs, as well as remembering that it's just a game and you're meant to have fun.

We got a bit of that with the statues, when Jake opened up to Alexander about his cerebral palsy.

 

[ska invita]

Because it isn’t true, that’s why. The orders do get mixed up, but more importantly, the producers shoot shitloads of versions but only show us one.

From this afternoons grauniad:

Several problems here, though. For a start, it’s not true. Exceptions to the rule happen, with near-misses arriving early or Traitors arriving late. Ex-contestants have also debunked it, saying producers mix up the arrival order. They can also film multiple permutations or reshuffle it in the edit for dramatic effect. The magic of television, innit.

how can you reshoot everyone coming in for breakfast? you can see the table filling up and you can see the drama as they wait for the last person to arrive? You cant do all that and say, right everyone out, we're doing another take from the top with a different order of people coming in

 

[ska invita]

Catching up with the thread - LEANNE! Yes shes a bit of a nightmare but what I do respect is if anyone puts her name in their mouth and she hears about it she is on to them and upfront about it. Stamps out the embers before they turn into a fire. Could yet work for her and get her to the end.

Fun to imagine her "But why am i still here?" moaning is a cry of profound existential angst rather than self-centred ego mania.

 

[ska invita]

Shut up Leon, you picked up a card! You were hardly in a real death match.

Leon's breakdown was amazing to see... played out in real time. For some people that lying in a grave thing gets very profound it seems. He cracked at the card game tbh, the grave was just next level for him.

Traitors totally cracked the clique!

Alexander's problem is he sees the whole thing as a game - which it is. So when he had to spend 5 minutes on a boat/coffin when he came off he was all smiles and blah-zey attitude. Traitor behaviour!

Maybe the lying in a grave thing is profound....maybe we should all do it for an hour, like those flotation tanks.

 

[ska invita]

Respect to Fozia, she conducted herself with great dignity from start to finish. Shame shes gone over a stupid card game.

 

[Aaronf]

Maybe the lying in a grave thing is profound....maybe we should all do it for an hour, like those flotation tanks.

It would be interesting to try but I personally think I'd lose it after 1 nano second never mind 1 hour! Can't think of anything worse than lying in a coffin

 

[Augie March]

how can you reshoot everyone coming in for breakfast? you can see the table filling up and you can see the drama as they wait for the last person to arrive? You cant do all that and say, right everyone out, we're doing another take from the top with a different order of people coming in

Yeah I'd thought that too but then I suppose they could do some of the reshoots after the game has actually finished? I suspect they probably do a fair bit of that anyway to either add to the drama and narrative or just simply for techincal issues that might've happened.

 

[ska invita]

Yeah I'd thought that too but then I suppose they could do some of the reshoots after the game has actually finished? I suspect they probably do a fair bit of that anyway to either add to the drama and narrative or just simply for techincal issues that might've happened.

For sure there's bits shot out of sequence - like sat in the chair to camera exposition - but breakfast is a big set piece with lots of real emotions, people crying, consoling, whispering etc. You cant refilm and fake that.
I'd like some harder evidence!

The only thing I've found about it is " It takes ages to film the breakfast scenes, because people arrive in small batches and the camera crew have to film everyone hugging and crying and overthinking things. So the toast and pastries taste a bit stale and sad from sitting out for so long."

 

[Augie March]

I dunno but one bit of evidence is that it helps explain why Linda chewed the scenery (as well as the toast) each breakfast. Oh wait, that might've just been because she was a shit traitor...

I do think something has to be happening because the three who are up for murder coming in last every morning is just far too obvious once you see it. And they might all be a bit thick in there but there's no way if they're overthinking everything else that happens, they're not picking up on that. Especially if they've watched the show before.