HOLLYWOOD—It is very rare that I binge watch a TV series, it has to be something that hooks me and doesn’t let go. The U.S. version of “The Traitors” hooked me and I binge-watched the entire season in a single day, and it was juicy and fascinating to watch. Well, a year later we have a new season with some of the best contestants in reality competition TV and some are just reality TV faces.
The new season which is airing exclusively on Peacock, I must admit I am very happy that I have the streaming service because if I did not I would absolutely be purchasing this to watch who I consider to be three of the best reality competition TV contestants of all time: Dan Gheesling “Big Brother 10” and “Big Brother 14,” Sandra Diaz-Twine “Survivor: Pearl Islands,” “Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains,” “Survivor: Game Changers” and “Survivor: Winners at War,” and Parvati Shallow “Survivor: Cook Islands,” “Survivor: Micronesia,” “Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains” and “Survivor: Winners at War” all competing against one another.
I really hate that Peacock forces viewers to wait week after week to see a new episode, but I do love the anticipation that the audience is forced to endure. I mean the first three episodes which dropped on January 12 were fantastic. I watched all three episodes without any interruption, and I was giddy to see what would happen next. The fervor was fantastic and yes, we have some immediate standouts and then of course there are some duds as with any reality competition series.
I get that Peacock is the network behind the series, but that doesn’t mean you have to utilize everyone from your shows, ESPECIALLY when they’re not entertaining TV. Ekin-Su and Bergie from the “Love Island” series could have stayed at home. You know who else was irrelevant for three entire episodes, Sheree Whitfield from “The Real Housewives of Atlanta.” I loved the tension between Sandra and Parvati from “Survivor.” The women don’t trust one another, and it was apparent they have their eyes wide open to strike, which is just fun TV. However, it was Alan Cumming who delivered as host. The guy is funny, charismatic and knows how to entertain the audience. He’s just the perfect host for this series.
As people mingled, the game kicked into gear when Alan selected his traitors. I was very eager to find out who would be chosen, and I was not disappointed. Hello, Dan is a traitor! The guy is one of the best if not the best BB player ever and when his wicked side comes out it is amazing to witness. His partner in crime is Phaedra Parks from “The Real Housewives of Atlanta.” Phaedra is a TV standout; I’m still salty about her role in that wicked lie against former co-star and bestie Kandie Burruss that resulted in Parks being fired from the show.
She is showing here why she is such a TV treat as she schooled CT from “The Challenge” on the players in the game. She is totally under the radar and no one suspects her yet. So Dan and Phaedra had to commit their first murder, while also choosing who to recruit as the third traitor amongst the group. The first murder stunned everyone at breakfast, and I admit, I like the tension here, but it could be sped up a bit more. Johnny ‘Bananas’ was out people, and the reaction was a shocker for most.
With that said, the third recruit I was hoping either Sandra or Parvati and it was PARVATI who was chosen. Dan noted he might regret it, I think both him and Phaedra will because Parvati thrives in her element of deception and manipulation. The first challenge saw the big twist come into play as the ‘Shield’ is now in play during each of the challenges, and not just one shield, as we saw three in the first challenge won by Janelle, CT and Deontay. The Shield protects you from being murdered at night, but I don’t think it protects you from being banished by the group or perhaps I could be wrong. I have to look into that to be honest.
I was eager for the first banishment because it was theatrical as the dynamic between Trishelle and Peppermint culminated over a bad joke that Trishelle did and the mob mentality was evident. I felt for Peppermint, who should have gone for Trishelle’s jugular if I’m being honest. If there are characters I’m not enjoying at the moment they are: Trishelle, Ekin-Su and Larsa. They seem like whiners and I’m ready for some of these titans of TV to place these ladies in their rightful place, let’s say via Janelle, Sandra, Parvati, Phaedra and a few others.
Peppermint was the first banishment, and people were shocked when she revealed she was a Faithful that led to the Traitors considering several candidates to murder, but it was ultimately Marcus Jordan, Larsa’s boyfriend who got the boot. Oh, it was absolutely the best decision to make that a duo, you want to eliminate one, but I think I would have taken out Larsa over Marcus.
The second challenge was a bit of nothingness, as Dan went for a Shield as he realized he might be a threat within the house for being too quiet, which spilled over to the most epic roundtable up to this point. Yes, the third roundtable had theatrics galore. Maksim from “Dancing with the Stars” placed a huge target on his back with his odd antics. He would walk into rooms, and then walk out raising suspicions on him with plenty of people. Just have the conversation Maks, that is the strategy of the game. He was called out for this by Deontay and CT, and the tiff between these guys was fun, but Maks wasn’t the only one in the hot seat as he deflected and pointed to the drama involving Ekin-Su and Janelle. Janelle went for that Shield in the last challenge, and Ekin didn’t like that she didn’t get the safety, noting Janelle pushed her. Girl, stop with the lying because Janelle is NOT one you want to mess around with. The ladies traded barbs and this is the Janelle I love; she speaks her mind and makes no apologies.
However, the big fun of the episode was Dan being in the hot seat as Larsa “Real Housewives of Miami” and MJ from “Shahs of Sunset” landed on Dan as a potential traitor. They are indeed right, as Parvati got early intel after a conversation she heard between Trishelle and Bergie. We’ve seen plenty of guys booted from the competition, and if there is a time to make a big move taking out Trishelle, Ekin-Su or MJ is a big move because people won’t expect Trishelle or Ekin-Su to get the boot and it would alleviate tension between MJ, Dan and Larsa.
Oh, we’re not done as the twist was committing a murder via a chalice and ‘poison’ with Sheree, MJ and Bergie all being potential targets. Parvati was taking on the mission, but it proved quite daunting. Who is murdered? We’ll find out on Thursday when the new episode drops on Peacock at 9 p.m. EST. Just for those not in the know, two spoilers, a face from the first season is returning in Kate Chastain from “Below Deck.”
I loved Kate in season one, she was not afraid to speak her mind and I can guarantee she will do the same this time around and deliver entertaining TV. Now if only we could find a way to bring Rachel Reilly back into the mix? Maybe, there is to be a secret player entering the game, not sure if that is Kate or someone else? Dr. Will Kirby from “Big Brother 2” and “Big Brother: All-Stars” will make a guest appearance as well. What’s his role? We shall soon find out. New episodes of “The Traitors” season 2 premiere Thursdays at 9 p.m. EST on Peacock.
