A new season of The Traitors U.S. has begun with a brand new addition to the show, leaving fans wishing there was a larger payoff.
The competition show follows a group of people divided into Faithful and Traitors, all vying for a cash prize. Traitors have the goal to eliminate the Faithful by murdering them one by one and nab the prize for themselves, while the Faithful try to determine who the Traitors are and banish them from the game, sharing the jackpot winnings at the end.
But now there’s a twist.
*Warning — Spoilers for the first three episodes of ‘The Traitors’ U.S. season four to follow*
The first three episodes of season four of the hit Peacock series were released Thursday as the 23-person cast drove up to Ardross Castle in Scotland to meet host Alan Cumming for the first time. However, before even setting foot inside, the host revealed that the “game will begin faster than ever before” as he picked the first traitor in plain sight, who later became the secret traitor.
The Secret Traitor twist was recently used in the U.K. version of the series, in which that person creates a list of names for the Traitors to choose from to murder. In the twist, the Secret Traitor has no idea who the other Traitors are, and vice versa.
After the group sat at the round table for the first time, the contestants were blindfolded to determine who the regular traitors would be. They were: Lisa Rinna from The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Candiace Dillard Bassett from The Real Housewives of Potomac, and Rob Rausch from Love Island USA.
The Traitors first chose to murder Ian Terry from Big Brother before murdering Rob Cesternino from Survivor in plain sight.
Right before the Traitors were about to meet the Secret Traitor for the first time, Donna Kelce — mom of NFL stars Jason and Travis — had been banished and declared herself a Traitor.
Following her banishment from the castle, many turned to social media to voice their opinion that Kelce was not the best choice for the twist, claiming she might have made it further into the game as a Faithful.
“She shouldn’t have been the secret traitor, if she was gonna be a traitor she should’ve been a regular one or just a faithful,” one Reddit commenter wrote. “That was such a PR stunt.”
“Donna Kelce flopped…. Stop nepo casting on traitors,” another person on X wrote.
One user suggested that the position should have been given to a person with more game show experience. “If you’re gonna make DONNA KELCE a traitor, then do it all the way. we didn’t get to see her actually being a traitor before she was banished,” they wrote. “And if you’re gonna make someone a secret traitor, it’s gotta be a gamer bc they’ll know what to do with it. she didn’t.”
Episode four of The Traitors will be available to watch January 15 at 9 p.m. ET on Peacock.
The Traitors 2026 live reaction: Fiona wages war as castle descends into chaos
Alan Cumming ‘broke’ Pedro Pascal while filming Avengers: Doomsday
All the theories about secret links between the Traitors players
Researchers say these three Bluey episodes teach lessons we all need
The Traitors viewers declare Fiona v Rachel bombshell ‘best moment’ in series history
The Traitors: Rachel backed after ally attempts to expose her in shocking scenes
