The Traitors Season 2 Premiere Recap: Who Were the Game’s First Four Victims — and Who Are the Traitors?

Welcome to Season 2 of Peacock’s most addicting reality competition series yet: The Traitors!

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Host Alan Cumming is back and he’s once again welcoming 21 money-hungry contestants to his castle for the ultimate game of treachery and deception. But this time, participants are comprised solely of reality TV veterans and other known names in sports and politics (review the full cast list here). Since this isn’t the first rodeo for many of them, the season takes off like a bat outta hell, proving that no one is safe and that the road to the end won’t be smooth for anyone — traitors and faithful, alike.

Just a reminder: The Traitors has moved to a weekly release schedule, so tune back in to TVLine on Fridays for additional recaps of the madness to come.

So who were the first players murdered and more importantly, who’s donning those creepy hooded robes? Let’s break down the season’s first three episodes.

Episode 1: Who Are the Traitors?

At the very top, our fashion-forward host explains the game to his newbies. The traitors must eliminate (“murder”) all of the faithful from the game, while the faithful must work to rid the traitors via banishment ceremonies (group votes). If the faithful can make it to the end, they will split the money in the prize pot. But if there’s just a single traitor in their midst, he or she will run away with the cash.

Complicating things even further is the fact that many of these players have played with each other before. CT, Bananas and Trishelle have all been on The Challenge, but CT notes that he and Trishelle weren’t on the best of terms last they spoke. Trishelle backs that up, saying that trust is earned and not given, and that she doesn’t trust CT one bit. (I smell fireworks…)

In another room, Survivor winners Sandra and Parvati reunite (Sandra defeated Parvati in the Final 3 of Heroes vs. Villains), and their meeting is frosty, at best. They loosely agree to help keep each other alive, but Sandra says she’ll “take care of [Parvati] once and for all” at the first sign of deception. “The Queen” (as this reality royal is nicknamed) is not one to be toyed with.

At the first roundtable meeting, Alan selects Dan and Phaedra as the first two traitors. But — and it’s a biggie — he tells the group that the traitors’ first line of duty will be to recruit one additional member to their ranks.

As a result of the first mission, which includes assembling floating puzzle pieces on a lake, the players bank their first $30,000 for the prize pot, while Janelle, CT and Deontay bag one shield each, which will protect them from the first murder.

Back at the house, Dan starts speculating on who could be his recruit. He’s played Big Brother with Janelle before and knows she’s a great competitor who isn’t afraid of taking out the trash. (Read our interview with Dan and Janelle here.) He also considers Parvati, who excels at pulling people close and slitting their throats at the last second. And then there’s Queen Sandra, who won Survivor twice. She’s a cutthroat player who’s devious as all hell.

When Dan and Phaedra finally meet in person, they’re not only tasked with the recruitment, but also must claim their first victim. They select their recruit and pass off a stamped letter to Alan for delivery.

Episode 2: The First Murder

Survivor fans are going to be happy with this one: The traitors’ chosen recruit is Parvati and she graciously accepts the offer.

But who are Dan and Phaedra going to murder? They know they want to cause mass confusion among the group, so they discuss their options. Kevin, Bananas, Peppermint? At breakfast the next morning, all is revealed: Johnny Bananas is donezo!

Meanwhile, Trishelle recaps an event from the night before where a simple joke made to Peppermint caused Trishelle to think she made an accidental discovery. Peppermint maintains that the only way she might murder someone is through her look, but she’s not a traitor. May the paranoia begin!

There’s also some hullabaloo about the British government guy’s breathing problems. Janelle recounts that when Alan was selecting traitors, she heard John gasp and/or breath heavily. He claimed to be asthmatic, but man! Breathing? Even breathing can put a target on your back? It’s a tough game, this one.

In the second mission, the players bank $16,000 by collecting scarecrows and answering questions about their fellow players. Dan snags a shield in order to pull off a double-bluff. Will it be enough to avert the faithfuls’ suspicions come the night’s roundtable?

Peppermint digs her grave a little deeper when she misspeaks while explaining the Trishelle beef. She accidentally refers to herself as a traitor, which raises the eyebrows of Deontay, Ekin-Su, Kevin, Shereé and Larsa. When the group finally sits down for its first banishment ceremony, Peppermint is on the defense, trying to explain her Freudian slip of sorts. With no other evidence to go on, the group banishes Peppermint, and is shocked when the Drag Race star reveals herself to be a faithful. Oops!

Episode 3: ‘It’s Black Widow Time’

Parvati meets with her cohorts for the first time and is floored to find Dan and Phaedra under the hoods. The trio debates on whether Janelle, Marcus or Deontay is the right one to off next. The group values Marcus’ opinion the most (as was revealed in the second mission), plus he also has a built-in alliance with his girlfriend Larsa. At breakfast the next day, it’s official: Marcus is the second faithful murdered.

Dan’s calm and collected gameplay starts to worry some of the faithful. Bergie, Trishelle and Ekin-Su feel that Dan’s reserved nature could be a red flag. Luckily, Parvati is in on that conversation and is later able to clue him in.

At the third mission, which sees players ransacking a cemetery for gold bars and shields, the group banks another $19,500. Three shield are won by Janelle, Peter and Tamra.

Back at the castle, the suspicion around Dan continues with MJ suggesting they put him in the hot seat to defend himself. Parvati is able to give him the heads up, so when it comes time for the roundtable, Dan is prepared with a defense. He tells the gang that it takes him a little while to open up, which he sees as an asset for the faithful.

Deontay shifts the target over to Maks. The boxer says Maks has changed since they first met, and after Marcus was murdered, Maks’ response seemed fake. But that’s not enough to sway Larsa, whose eyes are still pointed directly at Dan. Unfortunately for MJ and Larsa, their arguments are not enough to sway the majority, and Maks is banished from the game. Another win for the traitors!

It’s time for another murder, but this time around, the traitors must retrieve a hidden chalice out of the library and get one of the faithfuls to sip out it. They don’t know when the “slow acting poison” will go into effect, but this is how their third victim will be eliminated. Phaedra leaves the deadly task to Dan and Parvati, who decide that it has to be a woman this time. MJ? Shereé, maybe? But with time running out, Parvati starts to panic. Who takes that game-ending sip of wine? That answer will have to wait until next week.

So what do you think of The Traitors’ Season 2 thus far? Grade the first three episodes below, then light up the comments!

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