Spoiler alert: This story contains major spoilers from the Oct. 22 episode of "The Traitors: New Blood".
ARDROSS, SCOTLAND — Exploding pumpkins, a field of scarecrows and an unnerving new power? "The Traitors" lives to spook.
The Emmy-winning reality competition series, which typically airs at the start of the year, embraced a haunting aesthetic ahead of Halloween in its Thursday, Oct. 22 episode. The latest mission, which USA TODAY observed in Scotland in June, saw the "New Blood" cast compete for a game-changing new power that can alter the outcome of the roundtable banishment.
In each mission, contestants typically work together to increase the prize pot total of up to $250,000 or earn a shield that protects them from "murder." However, as host
Alan Cumming explains, this time they weren't just playing for money, but for an unprecedented advantage for whoever racked up the most gold.
The eerie mission had the remaining players, now down to 13 after New Jersey personal trainer Mark Zgoda's murder, sweating from high stakes and high cardio. The group reached a hill a couple of miles from the castle and spotted a plethora of scarecrows scattered across a field, including about 50 human-sized ones, 13 taller ones with pumpkin heads, and a giant one wearing a traitor's cloak, looming over them all.
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Each pumpkin scarecrow had a sign with a contestant's name, while the standard ones carried gold inside. In 15 minutes, players raced to rip apart the normal scarecrows and return the gold to a barrel. Some scarecrows contained a black heart that players had to put in the barrel of a castmate they wanted to eliminate from the mission, exploding their pumpkin and ending their chances of winning the power.
Four players see their pumpkin doppelgangers blow up
Victor Vollbrechthausen, a 26-year-old business executive, was the first player whose scarecrow's pumpkin face burst into orange mist once fellow New Yorker and 32-year-old ironworker Shane Beatty placed a black heart in his barrel. In his confessional, Shane explained that he wanted the new advantage for himself and eliminated Victor because of his undeniable athleticism.
Tensions ran high throughout the mission as Victor called out the elimination of faster players over the slower ones, Joe Vanella and Tomica Adams, whom he continues to accuse of being traitors after last episode's "Fruitgate" theory. Wyatt Gillespie shaded Abby Lee when she eliminated him, quipping, "Taking out the people who are fastest? Crazy method."
With seconds left, an out-of-breath Joe placed one last piece of gold as the timer ran out, while Abby fell short. Together they earned $15,300 that will go to the total prize pot. Victor, Wyatt, Morgan Cook, and traitor Katie Fites were the only four players ineligible to win the advantage.
'Traitors' mission took inspiration from 1984 horror classic
Mark Drake, the show's missions director, aims to make each mission as visually spectacular as possible.
"Obviously, with 'The Traitors,' you're never quite sure what's happening. What you see at the surface isn't always what's going to play out," Drake told USA TODAY in June after the mission was filmed. "You want the same with the missions. Everything's not what it seems."
The latest mission, which producers call "The Last Straw," carried a slightly dark undertone reminiscent of the 1984 horror film "Children of the Corn," Drake said. The pumpkin heads only boosted the Halloween spirit.
"I spend my time trying to make the missions as visually spectacular as possible so you're trying to make them big, you're trying to make them epic. You want them to look filmic," he said.
Producer says 'Traitors' money is 'life-changing' for civilian cast
The most gratifying part of bringing a vision to life is seeing the contestants' reaction when they arrive, as well as the competitive nature they bring to each mission, which Drake said may school the gamers from "Survivor" and "Big Brother." Season 5 has been titled "New Blood" as a nod to this being the first U.S. season of all everyday people as opposed to celebrities and reality TV alumni.
Not only does every player want to raise the prize pot, but the faithful also want to catch traitors red-handed while the traitors worry the power could end their games.
"If people think the celebrities were fighting hard, just wait till they see this," Drake added. "They're really going for it, aren't they? Obviously, that money is life-changing for them. It's a huge amount of money. They all have the bit between their teeth."
So who won the secret power?
In true "Traitors" fashion, the episode ended on a cliffhanger, revealing that Victor, who received the most votes at the roundtable, could be saved from banishment if the winner of the power decides to save him. Viewers will have to wait until the Thursday, Oct. 29 episode to see the outcome.
With only 13 players left, the faithful still haven't banished a single traitor. However, the treacherous trio of Tomica, Joe and Katie are worried, as Victor has correctly figured out that Tomica and Joe are guilty and won't back down until he can convince his fellow faithful.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How 'The Traitors' changed the game with Halloween-themed mission | Exclusive
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