Recap: The Traitors US Season 2 Finale!
Spoilers ahead! Obviously!
Well, we’ve made it. After 10 long weeks of watching TV “the old-fashioned way,” we have finally come to the season 2 finale of The Traitors US. How are we feeling? Satisfied? Elated? Annoyed?
If you’ve been following my thoughts on this season (first of all, thank you,) you probably know I wasn’t initially thrilled at the outcome. It’s awkward to watch more experienced game players throw someone to the curb at the final minute. Did I think MJ was the best player of all time? No. Do I think Trishelle and CT are trash for throwing her under the bus, fully knowing she was a faithful? Yes. Is that how the game works? Sure. But more on that in a second.
Part of what made the Traitors’ first season so good was Cirie’s win. I watched the season knowing she was going to win, but that didn’t spoil how vindicating it felt to watch her take the money. She deserved it, not only because she played a great game as a Traitor, but because she’s a reality TV legend who had always come up short.
And yet, she did have to screw over Andi to win. Fellow Traitor Arie bowed out, in a move that I really respect. (And I do have a top comment on one of his Instagram posts telling him to not make creepy jokes about his daughter. Anyway!) The end of The Traitors always feels yucky, so you just hope that the yuck is overshadowed by one of your favorite reality TV stars winning. So…good for The Challenge fans? Big Brother fans? What show do CT and Trishelle hail from, anyway…?
Top of the Episode
I’ll share some quick thoughts on the meat of the episode, because this is a recap after all. I do wish that in the choice between Sheree and Trishelle, Kate had murdered Trishelle, but I get her reasoning. Sad to see Sheree on the day that most people believe she realized she was in a game. Sheree was on point about Kate, too! I honestly thought Sheree would be the first person murdered, so I’m impressed she made it as far as she did.
Kate and Sandra are both suspected to be a Traitor. People used a lot of Sandra’s experience as a gamer against her…where was this reasoning when taking about CT or Trishelle? Whatever.
The Mission
Before the mission begins, the players have a total of $158,100 to win. Yikes! I do wish NBC would give this show a higher budget. The team ends up rounding things up to $208,000 by running around, pulling up lobster traps, and abseiling down to a boat to hoist a sail in 60 minutes. Once again, I have my complaints about timing. There is no way that the abseiling along took less than 30 minutes with training and strapping everyone in.
(If you don’t know what abseiling is, it’s essentially just making your way down a cliff face. I tell you this because I did not know what abseiling was when I signed up to do it in Vietnam. My friend and I only joined the tour because a hot British guy recommended it. We did not sh*t and pee and throw up like the players kept talking about doing, but it was pretty scary.)
The most interesting scene during the mission is the car ride back to the castle, where Kate and CT discuss whether or not Kate is a Traitor. It’s slightly flirty and I get why CT decided to turn on Sandra instead. I would listen to anything Kate told me to do, on a boat or otherwise.
The Round Table
If there’s one thing I love to see, it’s Sandra getting aggravated. Although CT kicks off the roundtable and puts some heat on Kate, it’s hotter around Sandra. You can feel her frustration knowing they were so close to voting an actual Traitor out, and she’s heartbroken when everyone votes for her in the final Roundtable. She’s not a Traitor, Sheree was murdered the night before, so it’s obvious that there’s still one Traitor left, right?
The Fire
Alan gathers the final four players around a fire to show off his bedazzled Snuggie. He asks everyone to state whether they think a Traitor is still in their midst, which, duh. Only Kate believes that they got all the Traitors out, cementing her departure from the game. Everyone votes her.
So they win, right? The Faithfuls win? Trishelle, CT, and MJ split the $200K and run off into the sunset?
No.
Trishelle and CT decide to vote out one more person. MJ votes Trishelle, CT votes MJ, and Trishelle votes…CT? Why? For what reason? God, I wish MJ had found a way to convince CT against voting Trishelle the second time, but she doesn’t do anything. For that, and for her lack of real gameplay throughout the season, I get why people say that MJ didn’t deserve the money at the end.
But the ending didn’t feel satisfying to me. I don’t know Trishelle and CT that well. My first impression of Trishelle was her targeting Peppermint, and nothing she did throughout the season redeemed her. CT was fine, and I’m glad he stuck to his alliance through every vote. I hate to say I wish it had been just him or all three finalists, but that’s how I feel.
Final Thoughts?
Overall, this was a great season of TV. My highlights:
Everything Phaedra said
Dan’s banishment
The Selling Sunset music
Alan Cumming’s commitment to fashion
Seeing Peppermint in the reunion
Recapping the whole season without missing an episode!
What were your highlights? Final thoughts? Thanks for reading along!