Spoiler alert: Major spoilers for "The Traitors: New Blood" follow.
A new theory exposing "The Traitors" may be coming to fruition.
After a near-flawless first half of Season 5, two traitors now face heavy scrutiny after one faithful coined the theory "Fruitgate." The Emmy-winning competition series' first all-civilian season, titled "New Blood," has so far been a traitor streamroll, though things may take a turn after last week's twist.
The three traitors were required to "murder" a faithful in plain sight by tossing one an apple and having them catch it. And while they successfully eliminated a player, the treacherous trio did not go undetected.
Though one faithful saw through the fruitful scheme, the rest remain a discombobulated bunch. Paranoia
has turned friends against one another, often with disastrous results.
Here's what to know about the Oct. 15 episode.
How many traitors are left in 'New Blood'?
Three traitors remain on Season 5, "New Blood," as the faithful have so far banished other faithful.
Boston pilot Tomica Adams and New York funeral director Joe Vanella were the two original traitors, who recruited Florida marketing professional Katie Fites to join them. But Victor Vollbrechthausen, a 26-year-old New York City business executive, is on their trail after noticing Tomica and Joe were with Katie around the Scottish castle with apples the night of the murder in plain sight.
Victor shared his theory throughout the Oct. 15 episode, arguing that Joe had never eaten a fruit in the castle until that night and that Tomica offering an apple to others was too suspicious to ignore.
Unfortunately for Victor, the group quickly dismissed fruitgate as a half-baked conspiracy.
Who was murdered on 'The Traitors'?
Niyyah Hayes, a 29-year-old Indianapolis therapist, was the latest faithful to be "murdered" by the traitors. She caught Joe's apple despite being a close, trusted ally of Tomica, who was devastated by the outcome.
Moments before the reveal of who was eliminated, Joe and Niyyah laid side by side in a coffin, waiting for host Alan Cumming to say the unlucky soul's name. Joe privately informed her that her game was over because of him, and she immediately sobbed.
"I imagine he was clearing his conscience," Niyyah said in tears during her exit confessional. "That's going to be a very big burden to carry."
In his confessional Joe said "Niyyaha was well loved. I know that Katie and her had a very good relationship. Her and Tomica were tight so they might be upset by it but I did what I had to do."
Faithful falls at the roundtable
New York criminal defense attorney Michael Foote was banished at the roundtable.
His closest friends in the game, Ben McDonnell, Clyde Moser, and Abbey Benjamin, turned on him after believing that Michael was recruited and that his intelligence would make him a persuasive traitor. Michael stuck to his also-wrong theory that Victor was a traitor, while the actual traitors jumped on the Michael train.
He informed the cast that his background in criminal law made him the only person who truly knows how to get away with murder, before announcing he was, in fact, a faithful and quipped, "I'll see you in court."
'The Traitors: New Blood' cast
- Abbey Benjamin (Mangham, Louisiana)
- Abby Lee (Saint Paul, Minnesota)
- Arisa Thomas (Los Angeles)
- Ben McDonnell (Granbury, Texas)
- Clyde Moser (Charleston, South Carolina)
- Jay Vinnedge (Oklahoma City)
- Joe Vanella (Wantagh, New York)
- Katie Fites (Jacksonville, Florida)
- Kim Daily (Houston)
- Kriste Lewis (Hattiesburg, Mississippi)
- Logan Smith (Gatlinburg, Tennessee)
- Madeline Kostopulos (San Diego)
- Mark Zgoda (Phillipsburg, New Jersey)
- Michael Foote (New York)
- Morgan Cook (Midland, Michigan)
- Niyyah Bilal Hayes (Indianapolis)
- Shane Beatty (Staten Island, New York)
- Sherry Kuehl (Leawood, Kansas)
- Tomica Adams (Boston)
- Victor Vollbrechthausen (New York)
- Wyatt Gillespie (Ligonier, Pennsylvania)
- Xavier Scruggs (Wesley Chapel, Florida)
What is 'The Traitors: New Blood'?
Season 5, titled "The Traitors: New Blood," is the first season of the Peacock reality competition series to air on NBC.
The season name reflects the series' shift to 22 everyday Americans, rather than the celebrities and reality TV alums viewers are accustomed to.
When is the next episode of 'Traitors'
"The Traitors: New Blood" airs new episodes every Thursday at 8 p.m. ET on NBC, with the next one set for Oct. 22.
Each episode will stream on Peacock the next day. New content usually drops at 6 a.m. ET/ 3 a.m. PT on the streaming platform.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'The Traitors' recap: 'Fruitgate' theory has the secret killers sweating
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