Yahoo Lifestyle The Traitors Season 3 Premiere Recap: Which Reality TV Legends Were Chosen to Wear the Game’s Creepy Cloaks?
“Suspect everyone, trust no one,” Big Brother vet Britney Haynes says in the opening moments of The Traitors‘ highly anticipated Season 3 premiere. And as she barrels straight toward Alan Cumming’s stunning Scottish abode, BB queen Danielle Reyes is in another van sounding off on how Brit is perhaps the one former houseguest she doesn’t want to see at the compound. Well, this is gonna be awkward!
Welcome back for another season full of [Alan Cumming voice] deception, backstabbing and treachery! As the seriously stacked cast arrives to set (peek at the full line-up here), Danielle is already tearing up at her first sight of Britney. (For those who didn’t watch Big Brother Reindeer Games, Britney made a controversial decision mid-competition that led to Danielle’s rather early elimination.) Britney is quick to apologize, saying she knows she messed up. Danielle forgives, but tells us via interview that she won’t likely forget. Game on.
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THE GAME GETS TWISTED | At this point in our juicy recap, we must hit pause on the drama because it’s time for Alan’s grand entrance: “The game is afoot!” he announces as he arrives on (what else?) horseback. And just seconds after welcoming them to the highlands, it’s time for the game’s first twist. And it’s a BIGGIE.
After most of the host’s masked minions exit stage left, one remains. Alan beckons him or her forward and when the face shield is removed, it’s Survivor’s Boston Rob! But in order for him to join the game, someone has to step forward and shake Alan’s hand. That player must then immediately choose someone to eliminate, giving Danielle a golden opportunity to boot her former adversary Brit out of the game before it even begins! Although Survivor’s Carolyn is seriously tempted to swap Rob for Tony, time runs out and no one takes the deal. Sorry, Rob!
Once inside the castle, the players size up their competition before Alan calls them to the roundtable to make his official traitor selections. After asking the cast to put on their blindfolds, he circles the table and makes his picks: Danielle, Carolyn and Bob the Drag Queen are Season 3’s first three traitors! But there’s another twist! The game has changed. The players who make it to the final will no longer reveal whether they’re a traitor or faithful if/when they leave the Fire of Truth ceremony. The finalists must rely solely on their instincts, making the endgame that much harder for the poor Faithfuls this season.
Early suspicions land on Chrishelle, who Tom Sandoval observes weird body language from. Meanwhile, the Vanderpump villain tells two traitors to their faces (!!!) that he feels pretty confident they’re faithfuls. (Great start, Tom!) Dylan Efron then tells Chrishelle that Tom’s been spouting her name everywhere, which doesn’t surprise her since she’s friends with Tom’s ex, Ariana Madix. May the lingering effects of Scandoval never end!
CHALLENGE DRAMA | The players have 75 minutes to row a large boat out to pontoons to collect jugs of fuel and $40,000. After making it back to the start, whoever’s inside the ring of fire when it’s lit up will earn a shield, giving them protection from the night’s murder. But when the group gets to the first checkpoint, they must sacrifice two players in order to take the first bit of fuel and carry on. With time ticking, Robyn and Ayan begrudgingly agree to be left behind.
At the second raft, they must sacrifice two more players in order to take the first collection of gold. Dorinda and Dolores take one for the team. Bob the Drag Queen speaks up, saying they can’t continue to leave all the women behind. (Good on ya, Bob!) So to get more fuel, Bob steps off the boat and Danielle follows him. (And they don’t even know they’re both traitors yet!) Afterward, Bob Harper and Sam agree to be sacrificed. But then the group comes to a standstill. No one else will volunteer to be left behind at the final station, so they decide to head back to the start, abandoning the last $20,000 and banking just $20K to the prize pot. However, this means that only eight players will be available for murder… and that number goes down to six when you take Bob and Danielle out of the situation. So either Dolores, Dorinda, Sam, Bob Harper, Robyn or Ayan will be the first player murrr-dered.
The eight sacrificial lambs come back to the castle and they are pissed, especially after they learn that $20,000 was left behind. Tempers continue to flare as Dorinda vents, with Ivar rightfully calling out that one of them could very well be a traitor! The bells start to toll, sending the faithfuls off to their slumbers and the traitors to the turret. But who’s going to be the first one killed off? The answer to that question will be revealed in Episode 2 (which you can stream right now, along with Episode 3!).
But before Alan wraps up this sinister and snaky premiere, he has a late-night forest chat with… Boston Rob. (You didn’t think they’d send B.R. home so soon, did you?) Alan says that Rob will be joining the game after all… as a traitor. And that’s not all. He’ll be joining the game alongside two additional — and unannounced! — players the very next day. Surprise!
So what did you think of The Traitors’ devious premiere? Grade the episode below, then light up the comments!
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