The Traitors: it’s Rachel v Fiona. Let battle commence...

At one point while watching The Traitors last night, my boyfriend went to get a drink and told me not to bother pausing the TV as he was getting bored with all the talking, talking, talking… 

Little did he know that in two minutes, all hell would break loose. (But first, a reminder: if you haven’t watched Thursday night’s episode of the show, then stop reading now, or forever hold your peace.) 

Following Amanda’s banishment at the roundtable, Rachel decided to tell everyone what her friend had told her: Amanda used to be a detective and was highly skilled at reading body language and interrogation (we’ll skip over the fact that all Amanda’s theories and accusations were wrong). While most of the contestants were shocked, Fiona was incensed! Furious. She accused Rachel of making it all up, and declared that if it were true, Amanda would have surely have told her because she has family who work for the police (I’m not too sure of the logic here, but let’s just go with it). It all went off! 

Fiona and Rachel (both traitors, of course, and ostensibly on the same side) had a private argument before picking it up again in the kitchen for all to see. The show ended with the pair coming face-to-face in the turret. 

“The castle’s descended into craziness,” said Stephen, who has, somehow, yet again avoided banishment, despite turning red and looking utterly terrified every time he’s under fire. He’s presumably delighted by this turn of events. I, meanwhile, was giddy with excitement at 9.05pm, and had to pace around my flat for a bit to lower my adrenaline. 

Excitement at the unexpected gameplay aside, I think Fiona has made a mistake in getting her teeth out so publicly – as has Rachel. I can’t see any benefit in telling people something she was told in confidence by Amanda. Once a player is gone, they’re gone – something both Roxy and Ellie, whose mum and boyfriend, respectively, are well aware of.

I think Fiona has made a dangerous enemy in Rachel. We already know she takes the game very seriously, and that stink eye she gave Fiona in the turret last night would have me on the first train out of Scotland. Until now, Fiona has had no heat on her; she has brilliantly played on how people underestimate, to quote Gregg Wallace (for hopefully the first and last time), “women of a certain age”.  Although I agree with Fiona that Rachel isn’t much of a team player and hasn’t been defending Stephen. 

Until the (excellent) revelation that she was a secret traitor, Fiona had all the power, and clearly, she didn’t like someone else knowing something she didn’t. Fiona last night had the energy of a matriarch of a big crime conglomerate in a prestige police procedural whose son has been threatened by a pesky (recently banished) inspector, and now wants revenge. And revenge can be deadly. 

As author and podcast host Richard Osman often says, and I like to parrot, the key to winning The Traitors isn’t to get traitors out, it’s to stay in and avoid suspicion. And that gameplan should go for the traitors, too. Be one of the gang, be friendly and offer some interesting insights, but being seen to lead the charge or drawing attention to yourself in such a dramatic way can only lead one way… 

So what will happen tonight then? Clearly, both women will be out to get each other at the roundtable and will divide the castle into camps to campaign for their banishment. Reece, meanwhile, must be breathing a short sigh of relief that he might get a night of respite.

Images: BBC