Reality TV's most murderous game is heating up. Season 5 of "The Traitors" premiered in September with 22 new gamers embarking on a game of blind trust, backstabbing and betrayal.
After one "murder" in the seventh episode that premiered Thursday Oct. 22 on Peacock, just 13 players are left in the game. And the episode ended on a cliffhanger, with fans waiting to see next week if another faithful will be banished or saved by a new twist in the game.
Only one Floridian, Katie Fites from Jacksonville, is left in the castle. And she also happens to be the third traitor in the turret tasked with "murdering" (or eliminating) the other players in game, called faithfuls.
Here's who was "murdered" on "The Traitors: New Blood" last night, who is at risk
for banishment, who the traitors are, how the game works and how to watch the show.
Watch 'The Traitors: New Blood' with Peacock
What days are 'The Traitors' episodes coming out?
New episodes of "The Traitors: New Blood" air Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and stream on Peacock the next day. Episodes one through seven are available to stream on Peacock.
Who was murdered on 'New Blood' last night? See who's been murdered, banished so far
Mark Zgoda, a personal trainer from Phillipsburg, New Jersey, was the "murder" victim on last night's episode of "The Traitors."
When the roundtable began at the end of the episode, the players voted to "banish" (or vote out) Victor Vollbrechthausen, a business executive from New York City who has become a frequent suspect among his fellow faithfuls since the start of the season.
Two weeks ago, in the fifth episode, the traitors were tasked to complete a "murder in plain sight" by tossing a "poison apple" to a faithful ahead of a "wake of the living dead."
The task tipped off Victor, who has since been suspicious of traitors Tomica and Joe. At last week's roundtable, Victor presented his theory that they apples Tomica and Joe had could be evidence that they are traitors, but his fellow faithfuls did not believe him and accused him of being a traitor himself.
This week, Victor did not ease up on his (correct) apple toss theory, which the other players have dubbed "fruitgate." While a handful of the other faithfuls believed him, the majority did not and decided that his persistence was an indicator that he could be a traitor.
Victor was ultimately voted to be banished, but a new twist in the game could save him from banishment at the beginning of next week's episode. After the votes were tallied, host Alan Cumming revealed that one player had received a special power in the challenge earlier that day: the power to save someone from being banished.
The episode ended on that cliffhanger. At the top of next week's episode, the person with the power to save or banish Victor will be revealed and decide whether or not he can stay in the castle.
Here's the cast of "The Traitors: New Blood," including who's been banished and who's been murdered so far:
- Abbey Benjamin, a nurse from Mangham, Louisiana
- Abby Lee, an astrophysicist from St. Paul, Minnesota
- Ben McDonnell, a barrel racer from Granbury, Texas
- Clyde Moser, a teacher from Charleston, South Carolina
- Dr. Jay Vinnedge, a physician from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- Joe Vanella, a funeral director from Wantagh, New York, traitor
- Katie Fites, a marketing manager from Jacksonville, Florida, traitor
- Kriste Lewis, a realtor from Hattiesburg, Mississippi
- Morgan Cook, a content creator from Midland, Michigan
- Shane Beatty, an iron worker from Staten Island, New York
- Tomica Adams, a pilot from Boston, Massachusetts, traitor
- Victor Vollbrechthausen, a business executive from New York City, New York, at risk for banishment
- Wyatt Gillespie, a designer from Ligonier, Pennsylvania
Mark Zgoda, a personal trainer from Phillipsburg, New Jersey,murdered week five, Episode 7Michael Foote, a lawyer from New York City, New York, banished week four, Episode 6Niyyah Hayes, a therapist from Indianapolis, Indiana,murdered week four, Episode 6Sherry Kuehl, a writer from Leawood, Kansas, banished week three, Episode 5Logan Smith, a realtor from Gatlinburg, Tennessee, murdered week twoArisa Thomas, a dog groomer from Los Angeles, California, banished week twoXavier Scruggs, an MLB analyst from Wesley Chapel, Florida, murdered week twoKim Daily, a lawyer from Houston, murdered week oneMadeline Kostopulos, a construction manager from San Diego, California, banished week one
Does 'The Traitors: New Blood' have celebrities?
No. This season of "The Traitors" is titled "New Blood" because it is an all-civilian cast for the first time ever. "The Traitors" Season 1 featured some civilian contestants, but the cast was a mix of reality stars and regular people.
Season 2 through Season 4 of "The Traitors" were star-studded casts packed with TV personalities, reality stars, professional athletes and even a British aristocrat.
Who are the traitors on 'New Blood'? Floridian Katie Fites is a traitor
Two traitors were selected in the premiere episode: Tomica Adams, a pilot from Boston, and Joe Vanella, a funeral director from Wantagh, New York.
In yet another deviation from the show's method thus far, two people were chosen by the traitors to become accomplices ordered to complete a series of secret tasks to become the third traitor.
They chose the only two Floridians on the show: MLB analyst from Wesley Chapel, Xavier Scruggs, and Jacksonville marketing manager Katie Fites, who also happens to be the youngest player this season. In the third episode, Katie was chosen as the third traitor and Xavier was "murdered" and sent home.
When is 'The Traitors: New Blood' finale?
"The Traitors: New Blood" two-part finale (Episodes 11 and 12) are set to air one week before Thanksgiving, on Thursday, Nov. 19, starting at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.
See airing schedule for 'The Traitors: New Blood'
As of Friday, Oct. 23, seven episodes of "The Traitors: New Blood" are available to stream on Peacock.
September 17: Episodes 1 and 2 aired back-to-backSeptember 24: Episodes 3 and 4 aired back-to-backOctober 1: No New Episode.October 8: Episode 5October 15: Episode 6October 22: Episode 7- October 29: Episode 8
- November 5: Episode 9
- November 12: Episode 10
- November 19: Episodes 11 and 12 (the finale)
How does 'The Traitors' work? Here are the rules of the game
Based on the original Dutch show, the U.S. version follows the same premise: a group of contestants must work together on "missions" to add money to their overall prize pot, which can climb as high as $250,000.
However, hidden among the "faithful" contestants are the "traitors," whose goal is to eliminate the faithful and claim the prize for themselves.
Think of the party game "Mafia," but with a quarter of a million dollars at stake. In Peacock's version, contestants stay in an ancient Scottish castle. Award-winning Scottish actor Alan Cumming has hosted "The Traitors" since its American debut in 2023 and is also an executive producer on the show.
Every night, the selected "traitors" of the group meet in the castle's turret after all of the "faithful" have gone to sleep and choose one person to "murder." Each day at breakfast, the contestants who "survived" the night enter the room in small groups. As the contestants enter, each traitor tries their hand at keeping it cool and minimizing suspicion, acting as surprised as a faithful would when it is revealed who was "murdered" the night before.
Every night after dinner but before the traitors meet in the turret, the entire group has a roundtable discussion in which they attempt to reveal and banish a traitor by casting votes. After they are banished, the player reveals whether they were a traitor or a faithful.
What makes this season different from past seasons, though, is that the contestants are all regular people. Previously, contestants were celebrities, public figures or reality stars, with a significant number of contestants coming from other gaming shows, like "Survivor" or "Big Brother." The first season of the U.S. version of "The Traitors" mixed regular people with reality stars.
Watch 'The Traitors: New Blood' with Peacock
Lianna Norman and Samantha Neely are trending reporters for the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida, covering pop culture, breaking news and more. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY, at floridatoday.com/newsletters.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Who went home on ‘The Traitors’ last night? 1 player murdered
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