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Traitors

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The Traitors are the franchise's namesake and one of two factions contestants can compete under to win.

The Traitors are selected at the beginning of each game, although opportunities are typically offered to recruit a Faithful into their ranks should one of them be banished. The Traitors are naturally disadvantaged by their small numbers, but their biggest advantage is their anonymity and the ability to secretly "murder" one of the Faithfuls after each Round Table which helps dwindle the Faithfuls' numbers.

As Traitors, their objective in the game is diametrically opposed to that of the Faithfuls: Ensure that they remain until the end of the game without being Banished, allowing them to either outright win or exercise more agency in determining the winner(s).

Traitor Selection[]

NL1 Kees Boot Selected

Tijl Beckand taps Kees Boot on the shoulder to select him as a Traitor in De Verraders (Netherlands)/Season 1.

After a cast is first introduced to each other, they are then ushered to the Round Table, where the host announces that Traitors will be selected. In early seasons, this is specified as three Traitors. Later seasons have the host instead specifying that a range of two to five Traitors will be selected, although, in practice, all seasons thus far have begun with at least three Traitors.

The cast is then required to close their eyes - in some later seasons, everyone wears a blindfold/mask instead - while the host walks around the table multiple times, picking Traitors by touching them on their shoulder. In some seasons, the Traitors are allowed to exchange eye contact after selection to be aware of each others' identities, while in others, they will only know who the others are after entering the Traitors' Tower for the first time.

  • Note: In Forræder (Norway)/Season 1, Mads Hansen further confirmed with those selected if they agreed to be a Traitor. Sander Dale rejected the selection, and Jonas Lihaug was picked in his place instead.

Conclave[]

DV BE1 Conclave

Jamie-Lee Six, Loïc Van Impe and Walter Damen from De Verraders (Belgium)/Season 1 have a conclave to discuss their next steps as Traitors.

Every night, the Traitors will don their now-iconic cloaks and grab a lantern. They then proceed to have a meeting in what is colloquially known as Traitors' Tower, usually a small meeting space where they can discuss their next move - typically one of the following options.

Murder[]

Traitors will usually opt to Murder a Faithful of their choice and remove them from the game - provided their target does not possess a Shield. If their target does have a Shield, the Murder attempt is blocked and no one is eliminated as a result. A player who is Murdered is removed from the game immediately, without further interaction with other contestants.

Recruitment[]

When a Traitor has been banished at the Round Table, the remaining Traitors are offered an opportunity to Recruit (or Seduce in some versions) a Faithful and invite them to join the Traitors. Typically, Traitors can either recruit or murder as they wish. If traitors decide to recruit, no murder occurs regardless of whether the faithful accept or reject the offer. The following exceptions have taken place:

  • In The Traitors (UK)/Series 1, Alex Gray rejected the Traitors' offer, but no Murder took place that night. The Traitors were also later presented with an option where the Faithful of their choice must accept the Recruitment or be Murdered.

Chronologically, the latest Recruitment has taken place in any season is by the third-last episode.

Ultimatum[]

When there is only one traitor left in the game, they have the opportunity to give their chosen faithful an ultimatum. The chosen faithful is invited to a face-to-face meeting with the traitor. If the faithful does not accept to join the traitors, they are immediately murdered, but if they accept, both traitors go to the traitors' turret and the murder proceeds as normal.

On Trial[]

The On Trial twist (also known as Death Row or Death List) has been present in the American, Australian, British, Canadian, Dutch and Norwegian versions so far. The Traitors must select three (or more) contestants to put On Trial, and they will be the only people eligible to be Murdered the following night. If a contestant wins the Shield, it will protect them from Murder even if they are On Trial. If a contestant On Trial is Banished, there is no replacement and the Traitors will choose between the other two contestants.

A Traitor can be put On Trial even if they could not actually be Murdered; however, this runs the risk of Traitors being exposed if they are the only person left eligible for Murder, but still appear the following day. However, a variation on the twist used in the French version forces the Traitors to put one of themselves on trial, a mechanic which eventually proved fateful in the endgame.

Other Decisions[]

In The Traitors (Australia)/Season 1, there was one night where the Traitors had to pick 3 contestants to take part in a bonus Mission, and try to increase the prize fund.

In The Traitors (UK)/Series 2, there was one night when the Traitors had to condemn 4 contestants to the dungeon, those 4 contestants were the only ones eligible to be murdered the following night. While similar to being put on trial, Traitors could condemn themselves to the dungeon but Traitors couldn't be murdered.

Disqualification[]

The Traitors are allowed to use all forms of deception and manipulation, including suggestion, to advance through the game. However, there are two cardinal rules they are required to abide by:

  1. To never reveal to the Faithful that they are Traitors.
  2. To never expose (though they can suggest) the identity of fellow Traitors to the Faithfuls.

Violation of either of these rules typically leads to immediate disqualification as a result. Rule violations have occurred on a number of occasions.

  • In Les Traîtres (Belgium)/Season 1, Xavier Bozzetti revealed he was a Traitor at the Round Table after an emotional Banishment. He was removed from the game after leaving the Round Table.
  • In De Verraders (Belgium)/Season 1, Loïc Van Impe revealed he was a Traitor at a Round Table to spite fellow Traitor Jamie-Lee Six. He was also removed from the game after the Banishment, although he still got to vote.
  • In Nasledniki i Samozvantsy/Season 1, David Manukyan revealed he was a Traitor, offering to Recruit a Faithful and convert them in a bid to avoid Banishment. However, he was not given a penalty for this action.
  • In the same season, Aiza-Liluna Ai revealed the identities of the other Traitors to the Faithfuls. As she was already Banished, the show's production decided to reset the game and re-select Traitors instead - the only season this has happened so far.
  • In The Traitors. Zdrajcy/Season 1 (Poland), Monika Kosowska reveals during the Round Table discussion that she is a Traitor. The voting process remained unchanged. During the voting she voted for herself which resulted in her being the first participant to receive 100% of the votes at the Round Table.

Win Condition[]

Due to the evolving game format, several different win conditions have arisen for the Traitors to win, depending on the specific season's endgame.

Prisoners' Dilemma[]

The earliest seasons involved a prisoner's dilemma. De Verraders (Netherlands)/Season 1 and a few other early editions allowed a Traitor who survived to the final three an option to select a Faithful. The two would then decide if they would Share or Betray:

  • If both contestants picked Share, they would divide the prize fund evenly.
  • If one contestant picked Share while the other picked Betray, the contestant who picked Betray gets all of the prize fund.
  • If both contestants picked Betray, the third contestant in the final three left out of the prisoners' dilemma would receive all the prize fund instead.

Later editions of the show that kept the prisoners' dilemma format required at least two Traitors to make the final three; otherwise, a lone Traitor would be sidelined and watch the two Faithfuls decide instead.

Traitor's Dilemma[]

Seasons like The Traitors (Australia)/Season 2 involved a scenario where the Final Three were all Traitors, they were given a choice to either Share or Steal:

The Share option would result in

  • If all Traitors choose the Share option, all remaining Traitors would get an equal split of the pot.
  • If any other Traitor chooses the Steal option, anyone who chooses Share does not win any share of the pot.

The Steal option would result in

  • If one Traitor chooses the Steal option, the Traitor would win the entire pot while the remaining Traitors get nothing.
  • If two Traitors choose the Steal option, the Traitors would even split the pot while the Share Traitor gets nothing.
  • If all three Traitors choose the Steal option, no Traitor would win any share of the prize.

Survive the Endgame[]

Subsequent editions of the game involved a scenario where after the final mandated Round Table, the remaining contestants had a choice to Banish Again or End the Game. If at least one contestant chose Banish Again, the group would vote to Banish another fellow contestant, after which they were presented with the options again (and could theoretically do so until the final two or three, depending on the season). If everyone chose End Game, any Traitor(s) that remained would take all of the prize funds, dividing it among themselves if necessary.

Strategy[]

While the Traitors are disadvantaged by their small numbers, their power lies in having more knowledge than anyone else in the game, as well as the ability to eliminate almost anyone they desire (with exceptions).

Most successful Traitor games involve a strong social game with Faithful contestants, ensuring allies who would defend them and not vote for them at Round Tables. Other typical Traitor strategies include targeting contestants who would otherwise not be Banished (such as under-the-radar players and those recognised by everyone else as clearly Faithful), and keeping in suspicious or controversial Faithful that would be targeted by others.

While Traitors typically work as a team to eliminate as many Faithfuls as possible, they must often consider voting for or even actively targeting fellow Traitors who are in danger of Banishment. At the same time, doing so too early or too forcefully frequently leads to dysfunction and distrust among the Traitors. In newer endgames where any remaining Traitor can claim all of the prize fund for themselves, Traitors are further incentivised to betray each other and be the last Traitor standing.

Recruitment is perceived as a potentially risky strategy, depending on the specific Faithfuls the Traitors decide to Recruit. It can either reinforce the Traitors' strength by introducing a close cooperative ally who was previously Faithful or cause a destabilising effect as the new Traitor might not be inclined to cooperate with the others.

List of Traitors[]

A list of all contestants who have ever participated as Traitors can be found here.

Trivia[]

Franchise[]

  • The Traitors (Australia)/Season 1 is the first season of the show to feature four instead of three original Traitors. Likewise, Forræder (Norway)/Season 2 is the first season of the show to feature just two original Traitors
  • Forræder (Denmark)/Season 1 is the first season to:
    • feature multiple Forced Recruitments;
    • and to have Traitors Banished at the first two Round Tables.
  • Nasledniki i Samozvantsy/Season 1 contains the most Traitors in a single season, with eight original and Recruited Traitors. However, this is due to the game being reset midway through, and Traitors being re-selected.
  • De Verraders (Netherlands)/Halloween Season 2 is the first season to have all the Original Traitors be the first Banished.
  • The Traitors NZ/Season 2 hold the distinction for the most number of contestants playing as Traitors in a continuous season, with a total of seven original and Recruited Traitors. It also holds the record for most Recruitments in one season - four - and became the first season where the recruited Traitors outnumbered the original Traitors.
  • Petolliset/Season 2 became the first season where all the original Traitors are of the same gender - male in this case.
    • It currently has the most skewed gender ratio for Traitors internationally - with 100% of all Traitors (both Original and Recruited) being men.
  • Subsequently, Die Verräter/Halloween-Special is the first season where all the Original Traitors were female.

Contestant[]

References[]

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