The Traitors Season 1 Reunion Is a Boringly Polite Victory Lap
Uniting Survivor fans, Big Brother heads, and Bravoholics alike, The Traitors U.S. became an overnight sensation when it premiered on Peacock at the end of January. (Literally overnight, because all the episodes dropped at once instead of week-to-week, for some annoying reason!) Now, the smash-hit competition show is back for an hour-long reunion to rehash everyone’s (mostly Cirie’s) lies and backstabbing. The usually contentious occasion, however, feels more like an opportunity for the competitors and host Andy Cohen to relish in the shocking success of the show—Kate Chastain’s internet icon status—rather than a proper showdown.
The thing is, The Traitors, at least the American version, doesn’t breed the type of drama that needs to be rehashed a month later, as it’s an extremely focused and insular game. There’s hardly any time for romance between competitors. As much as players may despise each other, no one is flipping tables or throwing wine glasses. Maybe if Bravo stars Brandi Glanville and Reza Farahan stayed in the game a little longer, we would’ve gotten some of these antics. But for the most part, the cast is seemingly composed of mature adults focused on winning money, even if some of them came off a little daft in the process.
Speaking of Glanville and Farahan, neither Bravolebs were present at the reunion for reasons that were not expanded upon by Cohen. One can speculate that Peacock didn’t feel comfortable hosting Glanville following a reported sexual misconduct incident during the filming of Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip Season 4 that got her sent home. Regardless, her combative presence wouldn’t have been enough to spice up this mostly friction-less reunion—the most revelatory part of which was that assigned Traitor Christian de la Torre still doesn’t know how to spell the name “Geraldine.”
So what actually goes down during this extremely polite get-together? The hour begins with a cold open featuring America’s best-dressed game show host, Alan Cumming. The Scottish actor sports a red plaid tuxedo with yellow, leather evening gloves (not his best look), while giving Cohen a few pointers on how to handle this group of eccentric but well-mannered adults. It certainly would’ve been a more adventurous choice to have Cummings host the reunion given his sharp takes on the competitors and their respective strategies. While Cohen is obviously more experienced in this arena, his disposition is a little too cheerful and not nearly as shady as he typically is.
That said, the entire reunion feels like the first installment of a three-part Bravo reunion, where everyone updates viewers on their lives and rehashes the lighter aspects of the season. We learn that Quentin Jiles and Andie Vanacore have had children since filming. Chastain is visibly pregnant. The show’s most useless player, Ryan Lochte, also informs us that his wife is pregnant. We also learn in rather embarrassing fashion that Christian is dating fellow competitor Geraldine Moreno. Despite viewers mocking the cast for slaughtering the spelling of Moreno’s name during voting, de la Torre still managed to get it wrong when quizzed by Cohen. (Run, Geraldine!)
Meatier parts of the conversation revolve around Survivor alum and Traitors victor Cirie Fields, whose deception skills and unearned trust amongst the group should be studied by Harvard. Fields, dressed in a gorgeous Barbie-pink gown, was seated right next to Cohen—the spot where Real Housewives famously get grilled. And yet, the competitors are pretty polite when interrogating the champion about her serpentine moves throughout the game. Fields’ rejoinder each time, of course, is that she simply played the role she was assigned. Cohen even rhetorically asks the group if she technically did anything wrong. (The consensus was no).
The most intriguing part of the reunion involves Fields, Jiles, Vanacore and former Bachelor star Arie Luyendyk Jr., who were the remaining four contestants during the finale. Somewhat controversially, Fields told Luyendyk that she would split the cash prize of $250,000 with him once they got to the end. By the finale, though, Fields decided that Luyendyk hadn’t earned the money, given that he was selected to be a Traitor late in the game. When Cummings asked Fields if she would vote one person out in the finale, she said yes, knowing Jiles and Vanacore would choose Luyendyk over her. The ex-Bachelor tearfully forfeited before he could be voted out.
Luyendyk’s early exit left some viewers confused. But the racecar driver stated that he knew what was coming and even tried to clue Vanacore and Jiles in on Fields’ Traitor status by giving verbal cues. Of course, the trio were so close-knit throughout the season that the possibility of Fields being a Traitor frustratingly never crossed their minds.
Likewise, Vanacore and Jiles get an opportunity to call out Fields for being what they considered emotionally manipulative. The two are specifically irritated that Fields bonded with them over their children and made it seem that she cared about their financial futures throughout the game. Vanacore also implies that they made a pact, similar to “The Cookout” on Big Brother, that they get each other to the end as the show’s Black competitors. Fields maintains that she genuinely cared about both contestants but was also forced to play a selfish game. The reunion ends with Fields and a tearful Vanacore making up with an emotional hug.
Even with Fields at the center of the reunion, the real star feels like Chastain, who got her own montage for being… Kate Chastain, seemingly. (I don’t watch Below Deck, sorry!) Unfortunately, we don’t get to see her and Big Brother alum Rachel Reilly hilariously go back-and-forth insulting each other’s whimsical attire like they did during the season.
Meanwhile, Summer House star Kyle Cooke, who played an impressively smart game despite being eliminated early, oddly says about two words. Lochte simply smiles and nods for an entire hour. Additionally, we’re reminded that there was a dude named “Bam” on the show.
Overall, this reunion was a cute test run for future seasons. Maybe it’ll work for a messier, less mature crew—hopefully with more Bravo people. This first season, however, should’ve ended with the truly jaw-dropping and devastating finale. But thanks for the effort, Peacock!
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