The Traitors #8

[ButtonDownTheHutches]

I find the psychology of this game fascinating. I’d love to hear a professional’s take on it. They all know it’s a game, what the game involves and what they signed up for but the emotions with the levels of trust and the feelings of betrayal seem so real.

I’m fascinated by the psychological aspect too.

It literally only dawned on me a few days ago that the tasks aren’t just part of the show as a means to collate the prize fund, they’re designed to make them all bond/work as a team so that the trust issue becomes even harder to disentangle and it messes with their heads even more

 

[Jelly Bean]

Jasmine and Zach came across so well on Uncloaked.

I find the psychology of this game fascinating. I’d love to hear a professional’s take on it. They all know it’s a game, what the game involves and what they signed up for but the emotions with the levels of trust and the feelings of betrayal seem so real.

It will be interesting to see how a third series progresses when those players will have seen various tactics play out. Jaz has shown traitors they shouldn’t just believe the quiet players are coasting and are of no threat. The only thing that saved Harry at that final hurdle was Mollie’s crush on him. Any other player and I think he would have lost.

Mollie's crush was spotted and nurtured by Harry. He fought to keep her in as he knew it would benefit him at some point. The fact she kept him in wasn't just by chance.
This is where he differed from Paul who was all about the theatrics and being an 'iconic' player. Harry had the bigger picture from the off and put in the hard unsexy groundwork of building up trust and forging alliances.
I don't get why anyone would hate him for that tbh - it was a game. Yes he used people but that was what he was selected to do. I also don't care if he spends the money on shite, or if he is secretly rich, because I just wanted to be entertained and I think he played a blinder.

 

[ot55]

Yeah it makes me laugh how angry the faithfuls get about the traitors taking the money. Especially when they say ‘if you’re a traitor I’m never talking to you again’. Like I know it’s not nice being lied to, but it’s a game and someone has to be chosen as the traitors

 

[CrackingOwlSanctuary]

I wanted Jaz to win but Harry deserved to win, people said Jaz moved too late but I don't think he did: look at Harry's reaction when Jaz voiced suspicions of him. If Jaz had tipped his hand to his suspicions of the traitors earlier he's have been murdered quickly. It's quite possible Jaz was unaware of all the mushy whispering we saw on TV between Mollie and Harry and didn't realise how under his spell she was until it was too late.

 

[ButtonDownTheHutches]

Harry had the bigger picture from the off and put in the hard unsexy groundwork of building up trust and forging alliances.
I don't get why anyone would hate him for that tbh - it was a game. Yes he used people but that was what he was selected to do. I also don't care if he spends the money on shite, or if he is secretly rich, because I just wanted to be entertained and I think he played a blinder.

I’m finding it very odd that so many people are seemingly horrified that, on a game show where all of the contestants sign up to lie and manipulate their way to the prize fund, somebody who did exactly that, and did so in an almost seamless manner, is being lambasted as a disgrace who shouldn’t have won

It’s called ‘The Traitors’. Betrayal and deception are literally the entire premise of the show.

 

[ChastityDingle]

I think Harry deserved to win.
He played the game from the start and played it well.

It made for great tv, seeing Mollie start to write his name. Also, in her defence, he did take in a lot of people.
I think he was the one who surprised the recruited traitors the most when they saw that he was one. And the banished when they got the reveal, also.

I have to watch series one soon. I'm hooked.

 

[CrackingOwlSanctuary]

I wish that at the end when Andrew voted for Harry that Jaz took that moment to vote Harry too. Because it would have been a hell of a lot easier to convince Molly on the next round that Andrew was a traitor.

Mollie already suspected Andrew was a traitor, I don't think she would have stopped supporting Harry if she felt he was being ganged up on when she thought ine of those was a traitor and felt sure Harry was a faithful.

 

[Tofino]

Mollie's crush was spotted and nurtured by Harry. He fought to keep her in as he knew it would benefit him at some point. The fact she kept him in wasn't just by chance.
This is where he differed from Paul who was all about the theatrics and being an 'iconic' player. Harry had the bigger picture from the off and put in the hard unsexy groundwork of building up trust and forging alliances.
I don't get why anyone would hate him for that tbh - it was a game. Yes he used people but that was what he was selected to do. I also don't care if he spends the money on shite, or if he is secretly rich, because I just wanted to be entertained and I think he played a blinder.

Harry couldn’t control the extent of her crush though. He just got lucky there. He could use her trust and loyalty to his advantage like any other player but I honestly think if she wasn’t blinded by her crush on him, she would have not taken the risk on him when Jaz forced another banishment.

No hate here, just my take on what I observed!

 

[Missy92]

I just wonder why did she not think about the fact that if Jaz was a traitor there’s no way he would have voted to banish again and not end the game?! Did she not even register I wonder? Or was she so blinded by Harry she didn’t even think of any other options?! Either way it was amazing tv, best thing I’ve watched in years!! The suspense was amazing.

 

[Jelly Bean]

I’m finding it very odd that so many people are seemingly horrified that, on a game show where all of the contestants sign up to lie and manipulate their way to the prize fund, somebody who did exactly that, and did so in an almost seamless manner, is being lambasted as a disgrace who shouldn’t have won

It’s called ‘The Traitors’. Betrayal and deception are literally the entire premise of the show.

Exactly! And this is why I sometimes think knowing too much about the 'cast' (as they keep being called) is unhelpful for the viewer. It clouds your judgement about if they 'deserve' to win or not. It makes it about morality which this show really is not
I just want to watch people who play the game well. It doesn't matter if I like them or not. That is irrelevant.

 

[ChastityDingle]

Exactly! And this is why I sometimes think knowing too much about the 'cast' (as they keep being called) is unhelpful for the viewer. It clouds your judgement about if they 'deserve' to win or not. It makes it about morality which this show really is not
I just want to watch people who play the game well. It doesn't matter if I like them or not. That is irrelevant.

I agree.
And tbh, there was nobody I disliked anyway. Ross irritated me a bit, but that was all. Confession - watching Uncloaked, I realised I had completely forgotten some of them.

I enjoyed Andrew because he came across as so honest that the traitor part was difficult for him. But he settled into it and did the best that he could. Harry was a great pick, as a traitor, and a deserving winner.

I laughed when Claudia said she wanted Diane as one of the traitors. I think we probably said that on previous threads here. It would have been interesting, I think.

Great tv, can't wait to watch another series now.

 

[ot55]

It clouds your judgement about if they 'deserve' to win or not. It makes it about morality which this show really is not
I just want to watch people who play the game well. It doesn't matter if I like them or not. That is irrelevant.

I agree! I hate it when these shows turn into the pity olympics for who deserves the money.

This game is just based on luck really. Mollie only made it to the final because she’s Harry’s ally. Evie laid low and sheeped a lot. It’s not like the people who make it to the final are the strongest players or have worked the hardest. If anything, the good ones get murdered early.

 

[Jelly Bean]

I just wonder why did she not think about the fact that if Jaz was a traitor there’s no way he would have voted to banish again and not end the game?! Did she not even register I wonder? Or was she so blinded by Harry she didn’t even think of any other options?! Either way it was amazing tv, best thing I’ve watched in years!! The suspense was amazing.

I don't think Mollie thought either Jaz or Harry were traitors. Otherwise she wouldn't have thrown green in the firepit.
Jaz wanted another banishment because he (rightly) thought Harry was a traitor.
Mollie thought he was wrong. And sided with Harry as she trusted him.
But just because she voted for Jaz didn't mean she thought he was a traitor - she just had to vote for some one at that point.

 

[Boring Monday]

I just wonder why did she not think about the fact that if Jaz was a traitor there’s no way he would have voted to banish again and not end the game?! Did she not even register I wonder? Or was she so blinded by Harry she didn’t even think of any other options?! Either way it was amazing tv, best thing I’ve watched in years!! The suspense was amazing.

Because when you are there in that environment it messes with your head. She was convinced all 3 were faithful and I think the red smoke completely flummoxed her. So, from her point of view, could there still be a traitor left … or even 2 … with one trying to oust the other for all the money or was it a faithful gambling on getting a bigger share of the pot. I think in the end that was what she went for and voted to keep the one she was better friends with. i don’t think it was that she wanted to vote for Jaz at all, just that she was being forced to vote for someone and it obviously didn't come easy to her.

 

[notmebeingnosey]

Just seen on a TikTok there that Harry’s slightly famous gf cheated on him with George Baggs (annoying brother from gogglebox fame).

Any info on this?

 

[Jelly Bean]

Because when you are there in that environment it messes with your head. She was convinced all 3 were faithful and I think the red smoke completely flummoxed her. So, from her point of view, could there still be a traitor left … or even 2 … with one trying to oust the other for all the money or was it a faithful gambling on getting a bigger share of the pot. I think in the end that was what she went for and voted to keep the one she was better friends with. i don’t think it was that she wanted to vote for Jaz at all, just that she was being forced to vote for someone and it obviously didn't come easy to her.

Yes Mollie threw green into the firepit so she thought the final three were Faithfuls.
Jaz throwing in red didn't automatically mean 'oh my god he wants another banishment so he can't be a traitor' but that he thought Harry was a traitor. And she didn't believe that.
So she had to vote for who she believed she was sharing the money with. As she she believed they were all faithful.

 

[2ofeach]

Crying

@StephenTJackson was this all you

 

[takingthemickmick]

Molly definitely looked quite nervous and embarrassed on Uncloaked. I think watching it back and seeing the way Harry spoke about her at times must feel a bit humiliating.

I wanted a traitor to win as it would've made future finals boring and predictable if the faithfuls won again. Harry played a brilliant game as well, he was strategic, planned ahead, and used Mollie's crush to his advantage. Like him or not, he played the game and that's the whole point. Molly was dim right up to the end, she coasted through on her stupidity and didn't to deserve to win, much like Meryl last year.

I'd love them to tweak the format so that the stupid ones don't all end up in the final, but I'm not sure how that could be done.

 

[wordzalad]

If I were Molly that would haunt me for the rest of my days . Silly girl- she’s very very young so I hope she does not get too much hate

 

[Ensay]

Some more thoughts I've been ruminating on...

It's a pity Jaz didn't vote for Harry in the first bit of the final round table. Then it would have been 2 votes for Harry and 2 votes for Andrew, with a possibility to bring Mollie around when they had another discussion. If the votes had still been the same, then it's decided "by chance" so there was a 50/50 chance Harry would have gone.

Also, I know it's a game, but I think -- at times -- Harry overstepped the mark a little bit. Several times he effectively said: "Mollie will believe anything I say, I've got her wrapped around my finger, she's a useful idiot". And I think when Mollie watched it all back, that coupled with how it ended, must have made her feel pretty shit.

It's easy for us to say it's just a game as viewers, but when you live and breathe it as a contestant it probably feels a bit more than that. Arguably it's not Harry's fault. Maybe Mollie wasn't really suitable for the game and that should have been highlighted by the producers in the many pre interviews they do with potential contestants.