It’s A Wicked Game | Traitors 2026 | Thread 9 | Spoiler Free!

[CaveMum]

Link to previous thread: https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/telly_addicts/5476221-everybody-wants-to-rule-the-world-traitors-2026-thread-8-spoiler-free?page=1

Welcome to Thread 9 of Traitors 2026.

This thread runs at TV pace so do not read any further if you are not up to date with the live broadcast. Whilst most discussion will be on the current series, inevitably people will refer to previous series/players/winners so reader beware if you’ve not seen the 3 previous editions, or the celebrity version.

While we welcome posters discussing their theories and speculating on relationships/connections between players, please don’t post spoilers from elsewhere that may ruin things for those of us who like to see things unfold over the course of the series.

The story so far <spoiler warning if you haven’t seen the start of episode 9>

Traitors
Hugo
Rachel
Stephen
Fiona (Secret Traitor)

Murdered
Netty
Ben
Maz
Reece
Adam
Jessie

Banished
Judy (Faithful)
Hugo (Traitor)
Ross (Faithful)
Amanda (Faithful)
Fiona (Traitor)
Harriet (Faithful)
Sam (Faithful)

The floor is yours…

But how would that be fair?

True. I was thinking about this I suppose it’s never fair in that the traitors have a massive advantage from the beginning. Maybe the confirmed faithfuls get a fixed fee if it’s a faithful win rather than compete for the final prize fund?

Or maybe they get their fixed fee only if they correctly identify the remaining traitors in the final?

I‘m a bit bored this series. The traitors seem to have it too easy and there’s no excruciating ‘waiting to see how they can talk their way out of it’ moments. They all seem to have the memories of goldfish.

• they missed Stephen saying ‘last night’ instead of this morning once.
• they missed Stephen getting too many of the answers right on the box challenge.
• Fiona’s outbursts and Harriet’s outburst, just written off as both being unhinged, one maybe but both?!! And then no heat on Rachel when Harriet was a faithful. What did she gain?
• Why is Rachel still alive??
• Stephen was the most likely to be killed out of those in the cages especially after nearly everyone else who was in there has been made revealed to be faithfuls, they knew at least one traitor would have put themselves in.
• the faithful have focused on ‘weak players’ like Ellie, Jade and Matt, think from a producer’s prospective, would they make good TV? No. I’m hoping either Roxy or someone is secretly onto them, as to be honest it makes sense to not get traitors out until the end as they will just recruit. Last series, lots of the faithful said they were actually onto Minah for ages but it wasn’t shown in the edit. It must be like that. It’ll be so unsatisfactory no matter what happens. The faithful are thick! I’d like more twists, feel the format is stale
• actually do something with the secret connections, test their loyalties, create warmth
• banished aren’t actually banished. They stay in a secret room like on big brother one time and then can feed clues back or ‘appear’ to the faithful.
• ex girlfriend/ boyfriend reunion special
• all women series (Id watch this!)
• we have to do something about the race thing and the way black people, men in particular, are voted out first. Jade is seen as ‘cold’ Asian etc.
• More challenges where the shield vs money conundrum is centred more.
• cross country special so winners from UK, US, Aus all compete together. I think the cultural differences would be really interesting.
• more Claudia

Rachel is playing a great game, she deserves to win. I don’t think it’s an even match between the traitors / faithfuls so the game has gone a bit flat for me now. I think it’s better when it’s more finely balanced.

I haven’t warmed to Rachel, I also didn’t warm to Sam this year, or Harry in S2. I can’t really remember many other previous contestants.

I would respect Rachel as a colleague. I can imagine she is great at her job. I don’t think I would seek her company out at lunch time though, as extrovert, competitive and direct people are just not my cup of tea. She also seems very tactile, and I’m not a hugger. Same as I wouldn’t seek out my male CEO either (not because of the tactile thing, no idea on that front), or my friend’s husband at a party because of their similar personality type. I just prefer gentler company and take those kind of people into my confidence. I’m still pleasant or civil though. I’m sure lots of people don’t warm to me because I’m quiet. What Jade said at the last RT resonated with me.

I think it’s ok to say you do or don’t like certain personality types without it being misogyny. I think that’s just human, just looking for similar people.

Why has no faithful wondered why Rachel hasn’t been murdered? They seem to know the game so well. They know she’s popular and won’t be banished. They know those people tend to get murdered, especially when they are clearly very smart and influential in the group. Why has not one of them wondered why she’s still there???

@ShowDownTimei think they do know but it’s not featured as it would kill the concept. If all the clever, observant faithfuls are killed then you’ll just be left with traitors running rings around pretty dim faithfuls. Which is where we are.

Me too! Just hope the final isn't a damp squib.

Agree with all this and I guess it’s why with every series, more and more of them tell Claudia that they want to be a traitor. The surprising thing is that anyone says they don’t want to be one when the odds are so stacked against the faithful (of winning).

This wouldn’t work. Firstly they would be guaranteed to be in the final. Secondly you’d have to tell people so they couldn’t be banished/killed so likely they would just eliminate everyone else leaving only them in the final.

I am going to lose it if people start with the ‘why am I still here?’ ‘Who’s keeping me in’. You’re still here because the traitors forgot you existed.

But is it Wednesday yet?

Uncloaked is usually filmed live. (I’m not sure if it goes out live, but it’s on the day).

Everyone in the audience watches the final together and then they do the interviews with the final people and the winners.

Local to me an arts centre in town is doing a live viewing with a bar. Bring your own food and snacks!

The players have a very limited perspective - it's only at the RT and breakfast that they see everyone react and hear everyone's version, which may or may not be true (unless a player calls a 'meeting', like Rachel did) - on the tasks they are preoccupied. This is why the dinner party is a key part, despite Claudia saying 'relax and enjoy' it's an opportunity to see everyone in a social(ish) setting and note what they say and who thery react with.

We've seen less alliances in this series (I think friendships is the wrong term, all the players become closer the longer they stay in, but it's a mistake to think you are friends inside the game) - so there seems to have been less comparing of evidence, so the Faithful are missing things...

We, on the other hand, see all the key inteeractions (the producers want us to, of course) so we are more able to say that a Traitor is giving themselves away.

Am sure production put everyone through a battery of personality tests. And that forms part of who gets cast. I imagine they want each series to be different so this year may have decided to pick:

traitors who are team players who are more likely to be loyal to each other than in previous years and

some faithfuls who like to go it alone and are less likely to be team players and share info / theories, build alliances and work together.

The results is a weak faithful and a strong traitor team which is what we are seeing.

i once went on a work team building course. There was a task done in groups and my group of 5 had me (a confirmed team player from my personality tests) and 4 dominant people who liked to lead. Except I was designated to be group leader. Chaos ensued as they would not listen to me and we did poorly in the task compared to other groups.

I wonder if things would be different if Harriet had included her Traitor on Traitor theory when she was going through her evidence against Rachel? It was really the strongest argument she could have had. These people aren't playing the game blind and that has been a pattern in other series.

To be honest I’m not sure that would have convinced this lot, even although the idea must have occurred to some of them independently.
I can only hope some are playing the Rachel card close to their chest.
Wouldn’t it be a blinder if Roxy turns out to be the one that’s on to her and the producers have edited her interactions to make for a spectacular take down? 😂

That would be a blinder but I doubt it will happen, just like all the" Matthew is Rachel's brother" speculation.

I like the idea of a confirmed Faithful Leader, and that at certain points, a traitor could be murdered.

Perhaps it could be a Faithful prize, if they accomplish something exceptional in a mission. It could make the game more interesting, this series (4) seems to have lost its glow a little. The editing has been a little biased.

Still think that Rachel has played a brilliant game, she has remembered that it is just a game, and I hope that she will win.

Let’s see! Not long to go.

I think it would be super interesting if Jade won, she said from the start she never wanted to be a traitor. Her defensive game of mainly going after the one person who accuses her at the RT has seemed to work.

I'm just not sure it's logistically possible for the traitors to not win now.

It is quite funny that after watching 3 previous seasons they still labour under the delusion of "Oh I haven't been murdered, it must be because I'm BFFs with a traitor and they've kept me in to enjoy my company." Rather than "I haven't been murdered because I'm so thick I'm not considered any type of threat!"

Same with the people who insist on pretending that how good you are at the challenges has the slightest impact on how anyone votes/murders. I actually like the challenges but stop the pretense that they have any relevance to identifying traitors. I actually think people should bring them up more, as in

"Ross/James/other random guy, jumping in the chairs during the early mission and making the rest of the group push you through the woods, including people with disabilities or in their sixties is not only just a dick move but slowed the team down overall so could have risked how much money we got. Because I don't have a clue about who is a traitor I'm going to vote for you on the basis that that makes you a poor faithful."

I actually liked that Rachel was the only one who mentioned how much of a douche move that was!

I think Harriet’s rant against Rachel ultimately failed because she then started accusing other people who were all faithful. The only concrete fact Roxy for e.g., has is that she’s a faithful, and Harriet was wrong about that and also rude to her. Why would you believe her ranting about Rachel if you KNOW she’s wrong with one of guesses because it’s about you? The tv audience have more context and we know she’s got say, 1/3 of her rant correct. Roxy only knows for certain she’s got 1/3wrong.

So then there’s hope that the faithfuls are actually smart and are just waiting for the final to expose Rachel and Stephen??

What did Stephen Fry do?