The traitors
Valuation: *****
Ding dong, bad Wilf is dead! When the most devious, double-dealing, brain-twisting, devious, and ruthless game ever shown on television reached its climax, good finally prevailed.
Set in the fairytale setting of a Highland castle, with torches blazing around a pile of glittering gold doubloons, The Traitors (BBC1) ended happily ever after.
In the series, hosted by Claudia Winkleman, the Strictly star handpicked three “traitors” who secretly plotted to “murder” (push them out of the game) their comrades known as “Loyalties” without getting caught and banned themselves.
If the ‘traitors’ survived to the end they would win the entire prize of up to £120,000, but if all three were unmasked the remaining ‘faithful’ would share the money.
The Traitors: The most devious, double-dealing, mind-twisting, devious, ruthless game ever shown on television reached its climax, and good finally triumphed
Charity fundraiser Wilf, the villain who was everyone’s best buddy, overdid his hand just a little. Last month, when this addictive devilish format was launched, no one would have noticed. But with everyone’s paranoia set to the highest suspense, his slip was enough to alert the other players to his treachery. . . and his intrigues were exposed.
Even 28-year-old Wilf was thrilled despite losing the entire £101,050 prize pot at the time. The guilt of betraying a bunch of people he’d loved nagged at him.
‘I am free!’ he gasped as the others kicked him out of the game.
Stand-up comedian Hannah, 32, call center worker Meryl, 25, and real estate agent Aaron, 24, split the money. . . The rest of us must feel remorse for other players who have been unfairly evicted in the last four weeks.
Many were delightfully larger than life, like Maddy, a 29-year-old receptionist and supporting actress who once appeared on EastEnders as a homeless person and couldn’t shut up.
The traitors witness 22 people being taken to a castle in Scotland. You have a chance to win up to £120,000, but three of the participants are ‘traitors’.
There was poor, wimpy Matt, a 23-year-old BMX athlete who fell in love with fellow athlete Alex so much he practically left a crater in the ground. Little did he know that Alex, 26, was also an actress — or that another of the contestants, 24-year-old professional magician Tom, was her off-screen beau.
And what an awkward delight pink-haired Tom was as he boasted his stagecraft gave him mind-reading skills before blaming the wrong people with spectacular arrogance.
Quite simply: there hasn’t been such a good new entertainment format on television for 20 years. The last time TV wizards came up with something this fresh and addictive, social media hadn’t been invented yet.
At the turn of the millennium, two shows changed everything – Pop Idol and Big Brother. They set the pattern for everything to come.
The Traitors is the perfect show for another era, the age of fake news and cancellation.
Inevitably, it will require a little tweaking. The Daily Challenges, which had players racing around Scotland like cartoon characters in a PlayStation game, collecting tokens for the prize fund, were stretching.
Maybe the idea was to give the contestants a chance to prove themselves as team players – but the best part of these segments was always the drive home when the sneakiness started all over again.
Quite simply: there hasn’t been such a good new entertainment format on television for 20 years
The more the producers tried to make the challenges melodramatic – they even provided a helicopter and speedboat for the finale – the misplaced they seemed. In contrast, the daily breakfast was eye-catching. They had it all: scams, tears, budding romance, and croissants.
Each morning, the players would go to the buffet room one by one to find out which of their rivals had been “murdered” by the traitors overnight.
The other unmissable element was the round table, where players gathered to hurl accusations and lie through their teeth before deciding which of them was the most likely to be a two-faced cheater and banishing them.
Almost every time they got it wrong.
Here, Wilf played a dud, drawing attention away from himself, even if it meant informing his fellow traitors Alyssa and Amanda.
Wilf played a blinder, diverting attention away from himself, even if it meant informing his fellow traitors
In quiet moments he tried to justify his hypocrisy to himself. “Would I feel guilty if I played poker and won 100 grand?” he argued.
In the end, the guilt caught up with him. When Hannah, Meryl, and Aaron asked him to show why they should trust him, Wilf blurted out that if they denied him his winnings, he would never speak to any of them again.
The sound of pennies falling made an audible clink. Just for a moment, the mask of kind, lovable, sweet old Wilf slipped aside. . . to reveal his true colors. Why Wilf, what big teeth you have.
I can’t wait for the next series already. trust me i love it.