The Traitors UK: Series 3 Episode 12 Breakdown
General Observations
The Traitors wraps up another series as Britain's best reality TV show in years. No other show can deliver this level of unscripted drama with contestants who feel like real people, properly representative of the country. This was another successful series final and the show has now delivered us three very different endings in as many series. The all-Faithful firepit vote was sad to watch, as the Faithfuls turned on each other, but it does feel like a fitting end for this series and the wider climate we find ourselves in. Alexander’s reaction to finding out they were all Faithfuls on Uncloaked was absolutely brilliant.
The seer twist was the big innovation of this final and dominated the entire episode. I thought it just about worked, but would need big changes if it was brought back. Similar to the parting gift from series 1, it made for some riveting TV but it did kind of ruin the actual game, making all the previous machinations irrelevant and making the entire finale revolve around a ‘he said she said,’ sabotaging Frankie and Charlotte’s game. If I was the producers, I’d feel very lucky and grateful that Charlotte was able to put on such a show and keep the episode interesting. If the seer was brought back in the future, I think using it as a midgame twist would make much more sense; instead of dominating the entire final, it would just shake up the game and give the Faithfuls some help while still leaving the Traitors in a position to win even if one of them is chosen. I’d also change it so that nobody knows who the seer is, giving them more agency over what they want to do with the information and making plays such as claiming you are the seer possible.
Best Moment
Charlotte’s one-on-one meetings with Francesca, both at the dinner where Francesca found out she was a Traitor, and in the kitchen the next day, felt almost Shakespearean to watch. Charlotte’s delightfully evil assertion that the evidence doesn’t leave the room, while Francesca was on the verge of tears was absolute gold. Francesca’s exhausted questioning of why she wants this so much, while Charlotte just smiled and drank her drink was also astoundingly good TV. This final episode truly belonged to their battle, with the delicious narrative of the two best friends having to turn against each other.
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The breakfast scene was also a standout moment as well, with Francesca’s eyes screaming danger, and her whispered ‘Traitor’ into Jake’s ear. It was genuinely like something out of a film. That’s two brilliant breakfasts in a row at the end of the series.
If I was a Traitor
Charlotte played the final to the absolute best of her ability and in fact deserves massive credit for making it as entertaining as it was. Many other people would’ve pretty much given up once the seer had revealed them as a Traitor, but Charlotte summoned up her best acting skills and chose to keep fighting for her life, turning into an almost campy Bond villain in the episode. She took it in her stride and was completely cold-blooded and ruthless in trying to win, making for some absolutely stunning TV in her private one-on-one moments with Francesca. I loved Wilf’s game in series 1 but compare his reaction to Kieran’s parting gift, where he lost control and ended up making everything worse, to Charlotte’s astonishing acting, especially with the way she could switch from crying her eyes out to trying to be cheery for the sake of the group to villainous laughing when alone with Francesca. She was doomed the minute she got chosen by Francesca (as was Francesca ironically) and I think she knew that but, as Claudia said, she was ‘faithful to the game.’ Yes, it ended in the same result as Wilf, but it was truly entertaining to watch her work and she saved the final from potentially being boring. She truly embodied being the spirit of being a Traitor to me, not only in this episode but in the entirety of her short but sweet time under the cloak!
If I was a Faithful
Although I was disappointed that Alexander and Francesca missed out on the money, ultimately Jake and Leanne did the right thing in banishing them. The lingering suspicions over Alexander ever since he came into the game sealed his fate, while Francesca was toast the minute she picked Charlotte to reveal her role, ensuring that both of them would be banished. Alexander also played the best game he could; he had to act on his suspicions of Leanne and if he was the only one to vote to end the game at the first firepit vote he would’ve been banished anyway. Some may point to the slip up he seemingly had at the round table, but Alexander was actually right in that argument, with Jake and Leanne misremembering what he said and Charlotte having to jump on it as a Traitor. That argument just proved that Jake and Leanne were always going to vote for him, rather than it giving them reason to.
The only Faithful who made the wrong moves in the final was Francesca. For some reason she chose to place all her bets on an alliance with Leanne, making overtures to her as a mother and hoping that Leanne would choose her over Jake in the final vote. This was never going to happen after the whole seer business as Leanne couldn’t be sure Charlotte wasn’t telling the truth. One person who did back Francesca completely was Alexander, who she had to vote to banish in order to try and get her alliance with Leanne. Instead, she should’ve realised that Alexander was her best shot of winning and sided with him in an attempt to vote the other three out. If she’d thought about it, she surely would’ve realised the chances of him being a Traitor were absolutely miniscule after his attempts to win her the seer in the hope she’d pick him. At the very least a Francesca-Alexander alliance could’ve locked the firepit votes at 2–2. If she’d been cleverer at revealing the Charlotte information, she even could’ve tried to get one of Jake or Leanne out during the last roundtable banishment, before revealing the information to the third Faithful before the firepit to get Charlotte out. Then, depending on how sure she was about the third Faithful, they could’ve won as a trio or her and Alexander could’ve voted them out and won as a duo.
