An Epic Betrayal Makes For the Most Memorable Traitors Finale Yet
Spoilers below.
Lies. Treachery. Deceit. Since the onset of this season’s installment of The Traitors, viewers have been reminded not only of the show’s villainous values, but also of the prevalence of two clichés integral to the series: expect the unexpected—and trust no man. From the inclusion of a “secret Traitor” swaying gameplay to the early expulsion of nearly every Big Brother and Survivor alum (Rob Cesternino, we will avenge you!), it has been a winding road to the finale. All the while, our doe-eyed gaggle of Faithfuls have attempted—read: attempted—to sniff out the treacherous Traitors among them in what I have come to consider a series-long ode to the cultural impact of Real Housewives’ Lisa Rinna.
Allow us a brief interjection to reminisce on season 3 of The Traitors, in which a quartet of winning Faithfuls successfully navigated their way to an amicable four-way split of the prize pot. Choosing truth over treachery, last season’s foursome stood strong in their intent to banish all Traitors by season’s end. By contrast, as the final notes of season 4’s penultimate episode rang out, it was hard for me to believe that a success story quite like last season’s could be replicated by our current crop of misguided Faithfuls.
Perhaps it was due to Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir’s almost-there strategy to banish Rob from the castle during the most recent roundtable. Perhaps it was Natalie Anderson’s crusade to convince her fellow players that Candiace Dillard-Bassett’s “throwaway vote” might have signaled something more sinister to our remaining players. But every time the Faithfuls have appeared to circle a Traitor in an effort to cut their cord throughout the season’s final hours, an invisible force field has seemed to materialize—protecting our lone remaining original Traitor, Rob Rausch, from meaningful suspicion.
And while lies and deceit might earn you side-eyes in the real world, I have never seen more Etsy merch featuring a reality TV contestant’s face than I have for this season’s golden boy. (Nor have I ever been victim to such a deluge of TikTok fan edits). Having dominated the Traitors’s turret since episode 1, the dubious minx that lives within Rob had, up until the finale, deflected wary gazes with his signature smirk and a pair of veiny forearms. There is pretty privilege, and then there is Rob Rausch.
While clues as to Rob’s traitorous identity were scattered throughout the castle like breadcrumbs (see: Maura Higgins’s continued safety and Eric Nam’s increasing descent into silence), they all seemed buried beneath the prowess of Rob’s charming (yet progressively pronounced?) Southern accent.
Thus, my hopes were not high for my Faithful friends ahead of the season finale. The episode begins with Alan’s reveal that Mark is the Traitors’s chosen choice for murder. (A sad trombone for our musically inclined ballroom dancer!) As he descends into his coffin (“See you in hell!”), Maura verbalizes, “I was convinced it was me,” with no apparent plan to apply logic to this questioning. Rob and Eric, our remaining Traitorous duo, adorn convincingly disappointed faces as their dear friend meets his fiery demise.
The gaggle returns to the castle as a ring of fire blazes around Mark’s coffin. As they head inside, Maura questions: “I just don’t understand. How the hell am I still in this game?” This line of thinking does not cease during breakfast, either, as Maura again admits that she thought she’d be eliminated second. Could this be her wake-up call into seeing through the trickery? Unfortunately not. She reveals that her gut is telling her Rob is not a Traitor. “The majority of the guys I’ve dated have cheated on me,” she reflects. Ah.
Full of salmon and a hunger for Traitor hunting, the cast splits up. In one room, we have our sweet skating pair, Tara and Johnny. They lay their suspicions bare: The Traitors are “Rob and Eric,” Johnny predicts, “and they’re coming for us.” Applying the logic of math, he realizes that he and his other half are going to need one more number on their side to successfully vote out either of their suspects at the final roundtable. Their only hope is Maura—who is currently kumbaya-ing with our treacherous Traitors in a nifty newsboy hat.
After putting on her big-girl pants, Tara pulls Maura from Rob’s side for a private chat with the same fervor as a Love Island contestant seeking someone to recouple with by episode’s end. Holding Maura’s hand in hers, Tara pleads for Maura to see the light, confessing her inclinations that Eric is among the remaining Traitors. While Maura is willing to admit that Eric has been the quietest throughout the game, she “doesn’t want to think too much”; her “brain can’t handle much more!” Perhaps this is due to the weight of her impressively long wig, but this is not the time to turn the cogs off, Higgins!
While Maura does tell Tara not to worry, she never confirms her next move. Tara doesn’t have time to dig for further questions, because the contestants are then seen walking outside for their last challenge. The crew is dressed in all-black athleisure, in what is both a sporty and funeral-like presentation. Alan, of course, is dressed in a sparkly black-and-white striped suit and a mesh skirt. From behind his heavily detailed cat-eye eyeliner, he announces that two people “born for the high life” must volunteer to fly atop Ardross Castle’s rolling grounds in a helicopter. To no one’s surprise, Maura and Rob attach themselves at the hip (figuratively) and climb inside, in what feels reminiscent of a typical date on The Bachelor.
Before they depart, Alan hands the Islanders a mysterious chest, with instructions that “they will need it later.” The rest of the brigade heads to the loch, where Tara asks Eric to be frank: “Do you trust Maura?” He responds: “I don’t know anything about her.”
Meanwhile, from the confines of their cozy ‘copter, Maura tries to talk strategy with Rob: “I actually believe we need to go for Eric…I think that he thinks that we’re stupid enough to not think he’s a Traitor, but he is.” In a flirty left turn, she then claims that she could “use a hot bath right now.” Rob responds: “I can get you something hot.” Perhaps the real victory wasn’t in the prize pot, but in the sexual tensions ignited along the way.
Regarding the task at hand, the land-bound crew must race downriver in a decidedly unfabulous dinghy, where various pontoons bear chests of their own. These chests are sealed with a question about the departed contestants (ex. “Who was sat opposite the murdered player at the Black Banquet?”). While the paddling players must relay those questions to the helicopter-confined Islanders, Maura and Rob must respond—and attach a float bearing the dollar amount they’d like to bet on their answer to a card bearing the correct contestant’s face. If answered correctly, the players will add the amount listed on the float to the prize pot.
As they work in unison to answer each question, Alan announces that either Rob or Maura must jump into the loch (!) from their skyward perch and seal the chest with one of their face-bearing cards. It’s a truly nauseating demand…one which our burly Traitorous king immediately volunteers for. When Maura swoons, we all swoon, as Rob jumps into the loch in a very Fear Factor-esque manner. Seconds later, he emerges, swimming to shore with lots of sex appeal. He seals the chest in a heart-racing buzzer-beater, adding an additional $40,000 to the prize pot. As usual, our gullible gang of Faithfuls plus Eric jump and applaud for their favorite manipulative man.
However, their excitement wanes as they head back to the castle—after all, strategic decisions must be made, and Traitors must be exiled! The Islanders are seated in one car, as the skaters and Eric are seated in another. Rob and Maura, fresh off their sky-high adventure, are feeling hopeful. “Unless something crazy happens,” Rob says to his Faithful sidekick, “we are gonna win.”
Upon their return to the castle, resident besties Johnny and Tara have a touch-base. They solidify their belief that Rob and Eric are the Traitors and seal their path forward with a sweet embrace. Tara then pulls Maura for another chat. She is more desperate than a Love Island bombshell with no other connections! Tara confirms she wants to “follow her gut on Eric.” They confirm that they won’t vote for each other, but Maura’s next move forward feels vague. “I don’t like lying,” she admits in her confessional, “but when we’re this far in the game, I have no choice.”
Once seated back on her regular steed beside our beloved Traitors, Maura then makes a believable case to Eric that she has full trust in him and wants to end the game by his side. This perks up the beautifully tanned ears of Rob, who has been fed the same sentiments by Maura all game long. Could her allegiance to Rob be a farce, too?
Our gang then heads into the roundtable. Based on our purview, it is cemented that Johnny and Tara will vote for Eric, and Rob and Eric will vote for Johnny. Ultimately, the fate of the game rests on Maura’s shoulders, as she is given more choices than an uncoupled Islander in Casa Amor.
As the roundtable opens into conversation, Eric applies pathos in an effort to appeal to his fellow game players: He feels that, now that Kristen and Mark have been murdered, he is but a lone floating rock in a sea of close alliances. He then admits that he thinks Johnny is a Traitor. Johnny admits that he thinks Eric is a Traitor. Tara chimes in with her agreement with Johnny and also admits that she has loved playing this game with Maura. Maura “dittos,” then falls silent.
Speaking to Johnny and Tara in an effort to direct Maura’s suspicions toward them, Rob then metaphorically dons one of Alan’s many feathered hats: “Wouldn’t it be interesting if Alan had picked one of you, and you had to keep this big secret from one of your best friends?” If Alan ever needs a break from hosting, perhaps we let Rob sub in?
We break for voting, and Maura is poised to make a game-changing decision: either vote with Rob for Johnny or vote for Eric in alignment with our skating duo. She holds all the power to go against her closest alliance and do something so monumental… Will she do it? Unfortunately, she will not. In an outcome no one is surprised about, Eric votes for Johnny, Johnny votes for Eric, Rob votes for Johnny, Tara votes for Eric, and Maura votes for…Johnny. It’s like watching a friend go back to their toxic ex.
Unfortunately, this means Johnny is banished from the castle—and since it is the last roundtable, he is not able to reveal his identity to the cast before leaving. But he is allowed to hug Tara, who is now swimming alone in a sea of deceit. In Johnny’s last confessional, he cements his belief that Rob and Eric are the Traitors. Oh, to have had him only twenty minutes longer!
Afterwards, Rob and Maura hold a meeting where Rob talks game: “We need to go for Tara.” Maura agrees but makes him promise that they eliminate Eric right after. Afterwards, Eric strategizes with his fellow Traitor—he wants to eliminate Tara and split the money with Rob. Rob shares a similar sentiment of allyship with Eric: “We got it.” As the two Traitors are patting each other’s backs, Tara is pleading with Maura for the third time this episode to consider both Eric and Rob as potential Traitors. Maura reflects.
The contestants prepare for their final banishments, but not before having individual conversations with Alan. While Eric shares his hope that “perhaps a nice guy can win in the end,” Tara confides that winning “would be a personal victory” that she’d dedicate to “her boy” Johnny. Rob claims that his motivations center more closely around his family: He wants the money to help out his loved ones, and to support his future family one day. Meanwhile, Maura wants to do it for her mammy: “She’s always telling me I can do it!”
As the contestants gather around the “fire of truth,” Alan reminds us of the rules and regulations ahead. Each player is given a chest that holds two pouches: One reads “end game,” and one reads “banish again.” If a player believes that only Faithfuls remain standing around the fire pit, they are asked to throw the “end game” pouch into the fire, which will create a green flame. If they believe there are lingering Traitors in their midst, they are asked to throw in the “banish again” pouch, which will ignite the blaze in red. The game will end only when all players agree, or when there are only two players remaining. As Alan begins the game and asks players to “open your chests and make your decision,” this command rings even truer for Maura: Will she go with her head and listen to Tara’s evidence against her closest alliance, or will she go with her heart and vote with Rob?
Well, she throws in red, signaling that she’d like to “banish”—as do all of the remaining contestants. Tara then reveals that she thinks the remaining Traitor is Eric, while making her final verbal plea for Maura’s trust. They all pick up their slates and write down who they’d like to banish. Eric votes for Tara, Tara votes for Eric, and Rob votes for Tara. (“I love you, sweetheart, but I trust these two,” he says.)
After a brief cliffhanger to commercial, we return to the unsurprising news that—drumroll, please—Maura votes with Rob, who chooses to banish Tara. I’m not mad, Maura, I’m just disappointed. Despite the outcome, Tara remains jovial in her last confessional: “I did the very best I could in that room, and to me, that is priceless.” At the end of the day, what are $220,800 and bragging rights worth to an Olympic gold medalist?
We cut back to our treacherous Traitors and our lone Faithful, who is completely beguiled, having placed her trust in the wrong man. The remaining trio again throw in their pouches: While Eric votes to “end game,” Maura votes to “banish again,” spitting red fire into the Inverness air. “I think Eric thought he had us all fooled,” she proudly confesses, still believing her right-hand man is a Faithful, like her. Rob votes to banish again, too, saying that he “made a pinky promise” of allyship to Maura—one he intends to keep.
As I use up my last remaining strength to telepathically convince Eric to pick Maura up and shake her upside down by the ankles, the remaining players write down the names of the player they wish to banish from the game. Eric votes for Rob; Rob votes for Eric. The theme for this episode is me crossing my fingers in hopes that Maura might flip against Rob. But nay—she, too, votes for Eric, and thus disappears our K-Pop king.
Once Eric is gone, there is no more voting to be done. Rob smirks; Maura wears an expression that signals she’s either about to cry or throw up. Alan announces that, if both Islanders are Faithfuls, they will share the prize pot—but if either is a Traitor, that player will “take it all.”
“Sorry…” Maura begins, in an attempt to fake out Rob. “I’m a Faithful!” She giggles. Things seem to get real for Rob in this moment, as he rubs his face and lays bare in the mess of his own trickery. He confesses: “I am, and always have been…a Traitor.” Well, this is awkward.
Gobsmacked, Maura’s hands are on her knees. “Oh my god, I’m so stupid…You pinky promised!” she shouts in anger. Suddenly, 2019’s Love Island-era Maura is resurrected: “You’re a piece of work…You embarrassed me.” Rob tries to interject, but she demands he stop talking. “You’re never gonna get a girlfriend after this! You are such a good liar.” She then departs, an official loser.
It is then just Alan and Rob. “You’ve played an incredible game, Rob!” Alan congratulates. In his signature overalls, Rob grapples with the hurt he has caused Maura through his deceit: “I won, but I also betrayed the person that I was closest to in the game.” Alan reminds Rob that the game is called The Traitors as he walks Rob outside and up to an enormous pile of gold. In celebration, our sole winner puts a massive gold coin in his mouth, Olympic medal-style.
“How does it feel?” Alan asks. “Satisfying,” our sultry prince responds. On a more solemn note, Alan asks Rob: “How long do you think it will take Maura to come around?” Rob does not think forgiveness from Maura is on the horizon. (In an effort to repair their bond, he shouts “Sorry, Maura!” in the castle’s general direction.)
Cut to Rob’s final confessional, where he pats himself on the back: “People just see me as a dumb, hot person…but I beat everyone!” Alan speaks for us all when he calls Rob an “epic player” and “truly one of the greatest Traitors.” He then proposes a toast, while Rob confirms his life’s next move: to find a woman who hasn’t watched too much TV with whom he can build a quiet farm life. Here’s hoping his $220,800 in winnings helps plant the first seeds of that future.