[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 side besides one: Dan Gheesling, a Massive Brother legend who seems to be like he’s about to be outplayed by Pilot Pete from The Bachelor.
The Traitors is a homicide thriller whodunit recreation related to Werewolf, Mafia, and Amongst Us, the place a secret group of gamers, often called “Traitors,” select somebody to “murder” each episode. Alongside the way in which, 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 your complete grand prize, which has a possible pot of $250,000.
Like in Massive Brother (and even, truthfully, Housewives), social gameplay and manipulation is essential to surviving. This is the reason I used to be thrilled when Dan and former Actual Housewife of Atlanta Phaedra Parks had been the primary two Traitors recruited, earlier than they had 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 girl, give us nothing,” regardless of the ballooning goal on his back.
It is a shock for Massive 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 keep that concerned staging a faux funeral for himself. Through the “funeral,” he introduced a number of houseguests to tears along 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 hold them each protected. When a weeping Danielle later requested Dan if he may at the least give her a heads up subsequent time he deliberate on publicly “humiliating” her, Dan stated with a cheeky grin on his face, “No, because then you wouldn’t cry.”
It was vicious, genius, merciless, beautiful — in brief, excellent actuality TV. This was the Dan I anticipated to see on The Traitors — not somebody who sat back and refused to throw suspicion on potential Traitors, however somebody who makes daring strikes and makes use of his closest allies as gas for his personal success and security. And if Dan has any probability of surviving The Traitors one extra week — or incomes back my respect — he wants to join along with his interior Judas once more.
Within the fifth episode, a number of Faithfuls actually beg Dan to share a reputation or concept — something to present that he’s taking part in the sport with them — and but he declines, claiming that he has a suspect in thoughts however he’s ready till he’s 100% certain they’re a Traitor to shoot his shot. This ongoing try to 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 Massive Brother buddy Janelle underneath the bus) and ends the night by promising to lastly title a reputation the subsequent day. However even doing this may be too little, too late to save his pores and skin until he’s prepared to take some severely drastic measures.
Earlier than the latest banishment, Peter lied to his prime Traitor suspects — Dan, Parvati, and The Problem’s CT — claiming he and Janelle had shields to shield them from being murdered. Parvati clocks this because the lure it’s immediately, however Dan reductions Peter’s capability to strategize. As a substitute, he stays adamant about murdering Love Island’s Bergie, who has been brazenly gunning for Dan and is one of the 2 gamers who really possesses a defend.
Dan was already going through an uphill battle in convincing gamers he’s a Devoted subsequent week, and if he actually does fall into Peter’s lure and carries out a failed homicide try on Bergie (which it actually looks as if he’ll), issues will look exponentially worse for him. The greatest approach Dan can save himself at this level is to give 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 wants to 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 lots tougher while you’re working purely from fiction. However, as Dan once said, the easiest way to wrap up a lie is to encompass it with reality, and the easiest way to persuade the Faithfuls somebody is a Traitor is to accuse somebody who really is.
In last week’s episode, Dan and Parvati mentioned the opportunity 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 as if Dan’s subsequent play to solidify his survival. (Although Parvati would doubtless make a more sensible choice.)
I’m not even 100% certain this technique would work, nor am I certain I’d even need it to. However truthfully, if it meant seeing the Dan I do know from Massive Brother back in all his ruthless glory, I’d be past myself with glee. And even when he does go down, at the least he’d go down swinging and never sitting on the sidelines. It’s what his legacy deserves.
