[Ed. note: This post contains spoilers for season 2 of the U.S. version of The Traitors through episode 5.]
The Traitors season 2 has been a enjoyment of each single facet besides one: Dan Gheesling, a Huge Brother legend who seems like he’s about to be outplayed by Pilot Pete from The Bachelor.
The Traitors is a homicide thriller whodunit recreation much like Werewolf, Mafia, and Amongst Us, the place a secret group of gamers, referred to as “Traitors,” select somebody to “homicide” each episode. Alongside the best way, the Traitors should evade the suspicions of the “Faithfuls,” who vote to banish a participant from the sport each spherical. The purpose is to solely banish Traitors, since if a single Traitor makes it to the finale, they stroll away with all the grand prize, which has a possible pot of $250,000.
Like in Huge Brother (and even, truthfully, Housewives), social gameplay and manipulation is vital to surviving. That is why I used to be thrilled when Dan and former Actual Housewife of Atlanta Phaedra Parks have been the primary two Traitors recruited, earlier than they have been joined by Survivor’s feared Black Widow, Parvati Shallow. Aside from Phaedra — who I knew would thrive on this cutthroat, dishonest setting — Dan was the one I used to be most excited to see run absolute circles across the different gamers. But for 5 episodes straight, his technique appears to be “go lady, give us nothing,” regardless of the ballooning goal on his again.
This can be a shock for Huge Brother followers, who credit score Dan with delivering one of the best second within the CBS present’s historical past: Dan’s funeral. In season 14, Dan discovered himself up for elimination alongside his ride-or-die ally, Danielle Murphree. He got here up with an outlandish, multi-step plan to remain that concerned staging a faux funeral for himself. In the course of the “funeral,” he introduced a number of houseguests to tears together with his form parting phrases — and blindsided Danielle when he went after her for betraying him. The factor is, Danielle had been nothing however loyal to Dan; this was all a part of his grasp plan to maintain them each secure. When a weeping Danielle later requested Dan if he might at the very least give her a heads up subsequent time he deliberate on publicly “humiliating” her, Dan mentioned with a cheeky grin on his face, “No, as a result of then you definitely wouldn’t cry.”
It was vicious, genius, merciless, beautiful — in brief, good actuality TV. This was the Dan I anticipated to see on The Traitors — not somebody who sat again and refused to throw suspicion on potential Traitors, however somebody who makes daring strikes and makes use of his closest allies as gasoline for his personal success and security. And if Dan has any probability of surviving The Traitors another week — or incomes again my respect — he wants to attach together with his internal Judas once more.
Within the fifth episode, a number of Faithfuls actually beg Dan to share a reputation or concept — something to indicate that he’s enjoying the sport with them — and but he declines, claiming that he has a suspect in thoughts however he’s ready till he’s 100% positive they’re a Traitor to shoot his shot. This ongoing try and hold a low profile backfires so terribly that going into the banishment roundtable, Dan is the title on most everybody’s lips. He barely skates by the elimination (surviving solely by serving to throw his Huge Brother buddy Janelle below the bus) and ends the night by promising to lastly title a reputation the subsequent day. However even doing this is likely to be too little, too late to avoid wasting his pores and skin except he’s prepared to take some critically drastic measures.
Earlier than the latest banishment, Peter lied to his high Traitor suspects — Dan, Parvati, and The Problem’s CT — claiming he and Janelle had shields to guard them from being murdered. Parvati clocks this because the entice it’s straight away, however Dan reductions Peter’s potential to strategize. As an alternative, he stays adamant about murdering Love Island’s Bergie, who has been brazenly gunning for Dan and is without doubt one of the two gamers who really possesses a defend.
Dan was already dealing with an uphill battle in convincing gamers he’s a Devoted subsequent week, and if he actually does fall into Peter’s entice and carries out a failed homicide try on Bergie (which it actually looks like he’ll), issues will look exponentially worse for him. One of the simplest ways Dan can save himself at this level is to provide the Faithfuls a suspect with plain proof towards them — proof the Faithfuls can’t deny as a result of it’s true. What I’m saying is, he must throw Parvati or Phaedra to the wolves.
Picture: Peacock
Spinning up a concept as to why a single participant has been behind the string of (considerably incomprehensible) murders is rather a lot more durable whenever you’re working purely from fiction. However, as Dan as soon as mentioned, one of the best ways to wrap up a lie is to encompass it with reality, and one of the best ways to persuade the Faithfuls somebody is a Traitor is to accuse somebody who really is.
In final week’s episode, Dan and Parvati mentioned the potential of sacrificing Phaedra in the event that they wanted to throw individuals off their scent. And Parvati already forged suspicion on the Housewives after Love Island’s Ekin-Su was murdered, prompting an iconic fight in the turret between the three Traitors. At this level, accusing Phaedra of being a Traitor on the subsequent roundtable looks like Dan’s subsequent play to solidify his survival. (Although Parvati would possible make a more sensible choice.)
I’m not even 100% positive this technique would work, nor am I positive I’d even need it to. However truthfully, if it meant seeing the Dan I do know from Huge Brother again in all his ruthless glory, I’d be past myself with glee. And even when he does go down, at the very least he’d go down swinging and never sitting on the sidelines. It’s what his legacy deserves.
