Recap: The Traitors US 2 Finale – “It’s a dead giveaway.” + Season Wrap-Up

Recap: The Traitors US 2, Episode 11 – “One Final Hurdle” + Season Wrap-Up

We’ve made it! We’ve gotten through this season of The Traitors! Congratulations to us! And I guess congratulations to CT and Trishelle too. Lol

It’s an okay ending I guess. I take most comfort in the fact that I know there’s many fans probably seething that it is CT and Trishelle winning the season over their Bravo faves. Or perhaps they also hate the season and think that CT and Trishelle are the perfect winners to it. lol Who knows?

At the start of the episode, I thought that the perfect end would be to have Sandra, CT and Trishelle win as Faithfuls. To make that happen, Joggers… I mean, She by Sheree had to be murdered and the three of them would first banish Kate and then betray MJ. But of course they would end up not following the very simple plan. I was suspicious of the episode runtime. And once I saw that there was still plenty of time left, I knew things wouldn’t be so simple.

I guess that would’ve made the finale even more boring and predictable. But then again, CT and Trishelle ruining the perfect plan is pretty predictable itself. Sad for Sandra. But I guess NBCU made sure they wouldn’t have another Survivor alum winning The Traitors.

I almost felt sorry for MJ. But she’s made some big mistakes too, so it was actually quite funny that she was kind of oblivious and not understanding of the situation she was in at the end. Lol

I was surprised by the red flames for maybe a few seconds, then I thought, yup, CT and Trishelle were going to keep the money for themselves. Which is fine because that’s the name of the game, after all.

I will say, after they banished Sandra, I thought it was part of NBCU making sure the Bravo ladies would take home the win. But it appears the endgame was always to have CT and Trishelle be the last ones standing. Looking back, it makes sense. For one thing, it gives Team MTV the win after Team CBS won last year. But also, CT and Trishelle’s relationship was one of the bigger plot threads of the season.

Which brings me to what will be my biggest criticism of this season. And that is how much the outside relationships have dictated the outcomes all season. And especially now in the finale.

Arguably, outside relationships are what has ruined Big Brother as well. But here on The Traitors, we see default alliances and people using their previous knowledge to affect who they trust or who they are suspicious of. It kind of defeats the purpose of the show. Instead of using in-game clues and investigating and snooping and observations, all you have to do is know who these people are outside of Scotland. And that’s no fun at all.

Unfortunately, NBCU is dead set on having only reality TV “stars” as contestants. And while I agree it needs to be ONLY reality TV stars in the cast or ONLY civilians, I think I would like to see a civilian-only season first and see how that works. I know some might suggest I check out other Traitors series from around the world. But in talking specifically about The Traitors US, its biggest weakness will always be how casting affects gameplay if they continue like this. Yes, they are able to get some of the biggest names in reality TV history. But does it make for good TV? Maybe not.

The reunion… oh boy, what a bore, tbh. And then a repeat of last season’s petty bitterness. Like, seriously. Get over it. It’s a game. Don’t be upset if you were outplayed.

But the reunion continued to try and hype up this dynamic as if it was a good thing. I mean, Andy Cohen being involved in any way is probably a discussion all on its own.

But the way he raved about how people stuck to their CBS, MTV or Bravo family. And then them specifically choosing a question asking why the Survivor and Big Brother people weren’t voted out first. Like, No! That’s absolutely horrible. And it’s really what’s dragged this season down. Pre-show prejudices and network loyalty is not the way to go.

Also, now that I remember. What the hell was up with Andy Cohen saying “I love your glow up” to Sandra. Like, what did he think she looked like before that she needed a glow up? I felt that was unnecessarily shady. Though I guess typical for Andy Cohen.

Anyway, the biggest draw for The Traitors these two seasons has been the format itself. The dramatic flair and the simple premise are good enough to carry the rest of the series’ shortcomings. Casting on paper has been excellent. But in execution? Not so much. And NBCU really needs to think long and hard about what they really want to do with The Traitors.

Do they really want to put on a fun, exciting and dramatic competition? Or do they merely want to promote their other NBCU properties, specifically their Bravo and Peacock reality shows? When actual competitors who are playing the game get vilified and others who have no idea what’s going on just float on by, then that’s a problem.

We’ll just have to wait and see if they fix that next season. I won’t hold my breath.