I am obsessed with The Traitors. The second UK series of Traitors was some of the most compelling television I have ever seen, and when the clock struck midnight and New Yearâs Day rolled around, I wasnât thinking about a New Yearâs kiss. All I was thinking about was the beginning of the third series of Traitors. More than seven million people tuned in to watch the series three final, making it the most-watched episode in the showâs history. This yearâs series offered up some of the most tactical game-playing (Charlotteâs betrayal of Minah and Freddie cannot go unmentioned) and producers clearly tried to address criticisms of the all-male Traitor team of Series Two, beginning Series Three with the âsisterhoodâ of Traitors.Â
However, even with changes to try and keep Series Three fresh and exciting, I had a lot less fun watching Traitors this year. First and foremost, the contestants seemed much more prone to arguments than in the previous two series. Itâs interesting to see how as each season comes out, contestants all have more understanding of how people have previously played the game, often basing their behaviours or accusations off personalities who have appeared in the earlier series. Every contestant who began Series Three wanted to be a Traitor. Still, as the series progressed it seemed they forgot this, seeming genuinely angry when they suspected someone as a Traitor, despite it being the central premise of the show.
A particularly hard-to-watch moment was seeing Kas suspected and banished by his fellow Faithful. Basing accusations off of absurdities like the twinkle in his eye or his profession as a doctor, as soon as the Faithful decided they didnât trust Kas, they began to exclude him from the group. In a particularly sad moment, we saw him having to leave a room and eat his lunch alone while the rest of the contestants discussed theories with each other. At Kasâ final roundtable, when Fozia had returned to the game mid-season, she called out how unnecessarily personal the accusations towards him had become. As a viewer, I donât remember the mistrust and accusations in the show ever having felt so personal before; it was particularly upsetting to watch, with none of the Faithful seeming to remember that it is just a game.
Similarly, when Freddie made his âcliqueâ comment, the reaction he received felt more comparable to an episode of Love Island or Big Brother than to any earlier series of Traitors. Freddie was criticised by Livi, Leanne, Tyler, Jake and Leon and was given no chance to defend himself as they argued with him, using this as more evidence of his traitorous behaviour. I was so surprised that Freddie survived in the game as long as he did when he was picked apart so often by the Faithful. In moments like this, I wondered if the producers intentionally selected contestants this year who they thought would be more confrontational to produce more conflict. Reality television does need these kinds of characters – it would be boring without them, and drama is what viewers tune in for. But because Freddie was right, it was a clique ganging up on a single individual, it felt like watching bitchy drama unfold in high school, making for a painful watch.
Some viewers have noted that one of the key flaws with Traitors is that, in Richard Osmanâs words, âthere is absolutely no reason why you would vote off the stupid people.â To be a clever contestant is to be seen as a threat to the Traitors or as a great potential Traitor to the Faithful. Helen Coffey suggested that distrust of intelligence on Traitors reflects a wider issue among the British public of âan inherent suspicion towards, and rejection of intellect, especially when it comes to those in charge.â Yin, the first contestant to be murdered, had a PhD in communication. Alexander, former diplomat and fan-favourite, came across in the edit as poorly liked by his fellow Faithful, with Leanne calling him âpatronisingâ when he spoke with a level-headed, diplomatic approach at the roundtable. Both Freddie and Kas were told that their intelligence would have made them great Traitors. I would argue that an element of racial bias also made the distrust towards Freddie and Kas even worse, with other contestants particularly threatened by them as intelligent men of colour.Â
Accusations on Traitors are always based on bias and assumptions, but how these accusations were levelled felt crueller this year, and emphasised a cultural shift towards anti-intellectualism. In 2016, Michael Gove claimed that âpeople in this country have had enough of experts.â While his comment left many people with a huge sense of dread, there seems to be a depressing sense of truth to it. As modern politics seems to shift towards populism, so-called âcommon senseâ appeals much more than complicated facts given to us by âexpertsâ. If Traitors offers up a cross-section of contemporary British society, no wonder intelligent contestants donât last long.
As more series of The Traitors are released, contestants become more familiar with how to play the game, and in turn, producers will look for new ways to keep the show dramatic; but this drama does not need to come as a result of contestants picking on each other and having the show devolve into bitchiness and bullying. Ultimately, Traitors has in-built format issues, meaning there will always be complications as each series develops. However, these format issues donât take away from how compelling it is to watch the group dynamics play out and evolve throughout the season. What most importantly needs to be considered for the showâs future is whether viewers actually enjoy watching the contestants fight and fall out, and instead think of ways to keep the game new and exciting without jeopardising the contestantsâ wellbeing.