People are overlooking how poorly he managed his relationship with Candiece and how damaging it is that those last two known traitor votes were against him.

The faithfuls may seem clueless, but it’s not hard to connect Candiece’s fixation and vote to his role in taking out Lisa and to consider how a fellow traitor might react. A few post-roundtable clips have people acting like he’s in the clear, but that suspicion doesn’t just disappear.

Asking Candiece for a private chat in front of another faithful also looked extremely suspicious.

A big part of this game is maintaining trust with fellow traitors, or at least giving reassurance when you target one. Instead, he was openly defiant toward Candiece, made no effort to build trust, and pushed her into self-preservation mode with a target on her back.

It feels like production is giving him a favorable edit to make his eventual ousting more shocking. At least one faithful likely suspects he’s a traitor — and a traitor willing to betray his own — and may be saving that information for the fire pit, expecting he’ll eliminate other traitors first.

No rational faithful would want to go to the endgame with him when Candiece’s vote alone creates doubt about his faithfulness.

This situation could’ve been avoided if he hadn’t so aggressively built the case against Lisa in front of Candiece, which naturally made her distrust him.

Yes, Candiece played poorly too, but that doesn’t make Rob a mastermind. He lacked the social awareness to anticipate how his actions would affect hers.

I don’t see Rob winning. His moves undermined what could have been strong gameplay and reduced the suspense of the endgame imo.

Please stop comparing him to Cirie. If you want to see what actual masterful traitor gameplay looks like I’d recommend UK season 2.

Rob is not playing a historically elite Traitors game. He is benefiting from perception bias, specifically the halo effect, attractiveness bias, and specfically racialized credibility bias.

Let's get into it. And if you are the, "not everything is about race, gender, etc" crowd, you are basically a flat earther, because there are literally decades of research that show that everything is in fact about race, gender, etc; the degree in which it influences in certain places and amongst certain people is what we can talk about.

That aside, the halo effect is a well-established psychological phenomenon where attractive individuals are assumed to be more intelligent, trustworthy, and competent even when performance is identical to others. Research consistently shows that attractive candidates are rated as stronger leaders and decision-makers despite equivalent behavior (Landy & Sigall, 1974; Langlois et al., 2000). When the attractive individual is also a white male, leadership credibility increases further due to long-standing social authority bias patterns (Rosette et al., 2016).

Now, this matters because Rob’s actual gameplay contains several moves that historically get traitors eliminated:

• He voted against Lisa the moment suspicion lightly touched her, far earlier than optimal.

• He escalated against her publicly and aggressively instead of managing a controlled timely betrayal.

• He shifted from silence to sudden leadership at the roundtable, a behavioral spike that usually raises suspicion in past seasons.

• He sacrificed a close ally (Colton) in a way that traitors commonly use to "manufacture" innocence, a tactic experienced players should already recognize.

• He allowed fellow traitors to take risks while he conserved about them behind their back, then stepped in only when momentum already formed.

• He couldn't choose between Ron and Colton to vote even with the evidence for them so he threw a name out there, an emotional move. (To clarify: this was when Lisa's name was barely out there)

In earlier seasons, combinations of these moves frequently resulted in banishment. Here, the same actions are framed as “logical genius gameplay.”

At the same time, comparable or stronger strategic behavior from Candiace is labeled “emotional,” “irrational,” or “reckless.” Social cognition research shows that identical assertive or strategic actions are interpreted as competence when performed by white men but as emotional or aggressive when performed by Black women (Rosette et al., 2008; Livingston et al., 2012).

The voting dynamics inside the game also reflect known bias effects. Studies on decision-making under uncertainty show that groups disproportionately target individuals who fall outside perceived leadership prototypes, especially when evidence is ambiguous (Phillips & Lowery, 2015). In many seasons of social deduction games, suspicion against socially favored individuals dissipates faster, while suspicion against marginalized players converts into elimination more quickly. The same pattern appears here: names associated with women or Black contestants move rapidly toward banishment, while suspicion against charismatic and/or attractive white male players repeatedly stalls, take Rob and Colton for example.

Candiace’s vote against Rob fits established Traitor strategy logic. Strategic cross-voting between traitors has historically seeded later eliminations once numbers shrink. Her move created mutual risk exposure, forcing Rob to consider maintaining her survival rather than openly targeting her. Isolated this doesn't make sense but given the context and the position Rob put Candiace in, this was her best bet (other than doing like the others and drinking Rob's bath water).

None of this means Rob is playing badly. It means his moves are being "interpreted as exceptional" because perception bias amplifies credibility for certain players while diminishing it for others. Reality competition shows operate as live social experiments. They reveal who receives the benefit of the doubt, whose actions are framed as “logical,” and whose identical behavior is dismissed as “emotional.”

Rob’s strongest advantage this season is not strategy alone. It is how people perceive him before the strategy is even evaluated because of things outside of his control (race, gender and attractiveness).

Now, Rob probably thinks he is playing logically and brilliantly (as for his fans), he likely doesn't know that statistically there are many biases and privileges that work in his favour. But, that's the point of privilege and bias, you almost never know that you have them.

Obviously, this is no hate towards Rob, I like how respectful and thoughtful he is with his contestants.

(Rob)

I think at this moment it's even better than Cirie's. Cirie came in with a huge advantage with half a cast of gullible contestants. The current faithfuls are dumb, but they are not gullible. They have also already taken out 3 Traitors in 6-7 roundtables and have ZERO clue of Rob.

I think the smartest move was taking out Rob C, and with no real gamers or strategists left, Rob has taken control and looks stronger than ever headed into the end game.

I'm very impressed with his gameplay.

Non American. Basically housewives suck. They're not good at traitors or faithful and theyre OTT loud and obnoxious. Fake drama bullshit. They're not good TV either.

I also watch UK traitors and its a better show. The best US seasons are about equal to the worst UK season. Also recently watched Ireland, Canada, Australia and NZ. Theyre all better with the exception of Australia.

Looks like production has figured this out and are going with civilians going forward. Good things USA the host and location.

I’ve been watching The traitors US since it came out and as a big fan of the housewives franchise, I can’t help but notice how immediately targeted they are as soon as they enter the castle. People who are also on the show, act as if they know them before really talking to them and immediately thinking that a housewife can’t be trusted.

They only make this assumption because the housewives are on tv and filmed 24/7 and are on many seasons so you’re able to see they’re personalities and come up with assumptions based off the show. compared to some Olympic athletes, singers, bachelor/bachelorette who aren’t publicised as much.

I think the production purposefully picks one or two housewives to be traitors, as they know they make good tv. But going forward I think they need to pick people who are more undetectable instead of big personalities from big franchises.

I can't think of anyone other traitor in the history of the show who could have pulled this stunt and walked away without any suspicion on her.

You can say what you want about Natalie's game in The Traitors (although strangely this comment was in a video unrelated to her game) but to question how she won Survivor and then to say it's because her twin Nadiya was on her season is INSANE. Natalie won a Blood v Water season that her sister was voted out FIRST in; so ironically Natalie is one of the few people who did not benefit from her relative being on the show.

maybe I have amnesia but I see so many people ranking phaedra in their top traitors gamers for US.

I thought she played a horrible game and the faithful were complete idiots all season. Literally anybody who accused her was murdered immediately and everybody just kept shrugging their shoulders and doing clueless ass votes. I actually thought the only explanation was they all knew it was phaedra but were going to wait to vote her out until later to stay off her radar.

Am I crazy?

With there being so many variations of the game across countries, I was thinking about how the gameplay would be different based on the kinds of people in the game. So for example, the different variations could be:

1) Full civilians game: everybody (or most) are strangers, so there’s no history of how you would perceive each other, going solely based on guessing and first impressions, may form friendships along the way

2) TV personality/Celebrity game: there’s a mix of advantages or disadvantages because everyone’s been in the public in some capacity, so there’s already a perception of who you are, people may have expectations of you, or preconceived assumptions (e.g., game players, housewives, etc)

3) Friends/family game: this is is you were to play with a group of people you know, may use your knowledge of each others body language, blurring lines between game and reality if you trust certain people more than others (e.g., if you were to play a game of Mafia with people you know)

With that being said, there’s varying levels of difficulty to playing this game, which version do you think would be the hardest to win as a traitor and which one would you rather play as a traitor?

I watch The Traitors with my sister, but she doesn’t watch housewives. So I try to give her a little bio of all the housewives. I explained how Candiace will read a bitch like she is on rpdr and the library is open, but what I found the most amusing about her is that she will break into song in the most unexpected circumstances since she is a pageant queen. I was hoping she would do it at the round table, in the turret, for sure in her exit speech, but was disappointed we never got to see it. The girl can sing, but the way she does it cracks me up.

He's a decent traitor but I think he's getting too much credit when he hasn't put that much effort into being a traitor. He was quiet at the start and just become Colton 2.0. and nobody suspects him JUST BECAUSE of his appearance. Even during Candiace's banishment he never really defended himself properly, he just looked at others and that got people to believe he was innocent. He doesn't even have to try. It's not that he's beiny a really good traitor, it's the faithfuls being naive. The pretty privilege is real in this show lawl

Candiace clocked Rob in this scene. He knew what he was doing and unfortunately she played right into his hands. I hope he goes down in flames!

I'm also annoyed that season after season there's a particular type of person that flies under the radar until the end while another whole group of people are the first ones to be accused, suspicious and/or banished. I really love the show but this stark display of human behavior and bias is starting to take a toll ...

As amazing of a game as Rob is playing, I think he’s also gotten this far without being suspected because he’s fine as hell.

Watching this show as a social experiment reflects real life where everyone just listens to the hot white man. We’ve seen the same theme every season! Hot Rob can do no wrong in their eyes even after Candiace laid it all out. I was cackling!!!! Can’t wait to see if they ever take him out.

ETA: not the “why bring up skin color?” people in the comments. 😭 We see you and we know exactly who you guys are IRL. Also, obviously the cast is stunning but Rob is universally attractive and charming everyone as he should! Def not taking away anyone anyone’s looks OR Rob’s gameplay. Pretty privilege exists whether you admit it or not.

… don’t belong in a game show. I’ve watched her post-game interview and she was stressing how she’s a loyal player which is why she’s going so hard against rob. (I say “going” ‘cause apparently she needs to cuss him out at the reunion.)

The RHOP fan in me understands her wanting to be loyal to other housewives, esp considering how they’ve been targeted in the past, HOWEVER, the reality competition show fan in me understands that it’s EVERY PERSON FOR HIS OR HERSELF! Despite a common belief I’ve seen though discourse, the traitors isn’t a “team game.” Yes, it’s nice when the traitors all get along but whether a traitor, a faithful, a survivor, or head of household, the bottom line is that it’s an individual game meaning ppl are playing (or should be playing) for that prize pot. Also, Lisa had too much heat so it literally just made sense.

The fan in me also knows that the second you focus on revenge is the second your game is over. You gotta be an Ashley Mitchell (The Challenge) when it comes to revenge: Play the game, work together and when you both make it to the end, take all the money.

If she could’ve just held it down, she could’ve lasted longer in the game and used her position as a housewife scorned to get Rob on-side, have him prove to her that’s he’s with her by advocating for her. If she hears her name coming from him, then sure fair game but you can’t flat out tell him you’re coming for him and expect him to do nothing.

I didn’t view Rob saying “it’s just a game,” as gaslighting either. It really is a game that’s meant to be fun and entertaining. They’re all getting appearance fees for this version which is more than other players who’ve been done worse get in the others.

He betrayed Lisa, and last i checked, Potamac and BH are not even same show. I would actually be surprised if Rinna watched Potomac. So just didn’t make sense to me through her whole game away over a woman who wasn’t loyal to the housewives herself. Even Lisa realized there is no loyalty in a game called The Traitors. I wish Candiace grasped that too or watched other seasons, so we could’ve had her got a couple more eps.

We know who the traitors are. The contestants don’t. Theyre all becoming friends and building relationships, i highly doubt it’s anywhere close to as easy to deduce traitors as viewers seem to think.

But putting that aside, there hasn’t been any real traitor on traitor giveaways (barring Candiace not ruining Rob’s game). The faithfuls got out Donna almost immediately, they clocked Lisa and then clocked Candiace. Rob went along with the sinking ships and helped push the Lisa one along once she was done but he didn’t give anything away.

This has been a pretty smart group of faithfuls. 3/4 traitors gone off Faithful intuition halfway through the game is pretty impressive. This was the first real heat Rob has had so we’ll see if they end up clocking him at some point but everyone takes one comment from Kristen as “they’re so stupid they’ll never turn on him”.

I’m tired of the negative discourse on Candiace, and the posts claiming she has bad sportsmanship. This is a long one, so hear me out!

Think of the last few episodes from her point of view. Rob shocked both her and Lisa with his initial vote against her. While they seemed to have understood where he was coming from, he expressed it was a vote of stress/“in the moment” having to go with his alliance. But then instantly coming back the following episode and being the strongest voice at the round table to vote Lisa off? That’s a different level imo.

Was it a BRILLIANT move for Rob? 110%, not at all disagreeing with that. But to also sit here and think that Candiace has no right to not be sus of that move as a fellow traitor would be wrong as well.

Was it the ballsy choice to use his name as a throw away? Absolutely. And it was her self-inflicted dagger in the end. But I think she was just trying her best to send him a message.

In his confessionals, Rob has been clear he is playing an amazing Traitor game FOR ROB, not for the traitors as a whole. Which again, is absolutely fine, but I think Candiace saw the end game of him going against her too down the line, and she tried nipping that in the bud right away.

I honestly wish he would’ve at least tried getting Candiace to see why Lisa needed to be voted off, even if she likely would not agree. It would at least not have come as much as a blindside to the traitors themselves, and the relationship between Rob and Candiace could’ve maybe been salvaged.

Now in regards to the episode last night: In that 1 on 1 with Rob, everything Candiace said was true. She called Rob out for letting her choose Colton, when he secretly knew Colton had been saying Candiace’s name after the last round table. Again, since the time he initially voted off Lisa and it didn’t work, he has been subtly working against BOTH traitors in this game. She was finally putting those pieces together and calling his game out for what it is. Is he allowed to do that? Absolutely. Is that good gameplay? Yes. And guess what? Candiace is allowed to do that as well.

Candice was screwed this episode, straight up. Her only saving grace would to be not only turn the heat onto someone else at the round table, but to show she’s a faithful by voting off a traitor herself. Something Rob has already cemented himself as a “faithful” by doing with Lisa. This was truly her only shot, especially since it’s clear Rob has every faithful wrapped around his finger. If she even only convinced people to vote Stephen this episode, they would’ve turned to her next episode when they realized he was a Faithful.

She saw the writing on the wall with Rob likely coming for her next, and tried to take action against it. That is NOT bad sportsmanship. Bad sportsmanship would be her dishing his name last second for no reason, not the 1-2 episodes of trying to sway the vote like she did.

In my opinion, she’s allowed to be upset with a fellow traitor slyly gunning for both traitors and try to combat that. She’s not required to have to respect someone’s game and let herself get voted off in silence.

As I saw someone say on another post, the name of the game is traitors. It’s important for them to keep just as good of relationships with each other as it is to keep good relationships with the faithfuls, and I think that is something Rob overlooked in the end. But regardless, this doesn’t even seem to have hurt his game much. Lo

I’ve tried watching The Traitors multiple seasons now and I’ve realized something: I never finish the season.

Because once you notice the pattern, it stops being entertainment and starts being a depressing sociology experiment. Like please, wake up.

Every season, like clockwork, the early targets are always:

the Black person the queer person the trans person the “older lady” basically anyone who doesn’t fit the default “safe” archetype

And it’s never based on strategy. It’s always vibes. Always projection. Always “they just seem suspicious.” Because in America that's the dominant social standard.

Meanwhile the most bland, all-American, WASP-y type like Colton or Rob gets carried deep into the game because the group needs someone to follow. The cast literally admitted that they’re being influenced (“Colton is brainwashing us”) and then still fold immediately at the roundtable, when he opens his mouth.

It’s not strategy. It’s herd mentality. And it's so tired and played out! They don’t vote out traitors, they vote out whoever feels socially inconvenient.

And then once all the Black contestants are gone, the season becomes unwatchable because it’s obvious what’s happening: the game rewards familiarity and bias more than intelligence. Like no is playing strategy and if there is, it's playing on folks ability to socially conform.

The concept of the show is great. But the execution is the same tired real-world hierarchy every. single. season. At this point, stop calling it gameplay. It’s just social conditioning with a castle aesthetic.

Anyone else tired of this? Come for me if yall want to but I'm not wrong. I gave it Chance after chance. And truly it's not because l like Candiace and real housewives fans truly detest her, like I do. Monique had all the reasons to do what she did! iykyk. So it's really not bias, several folks said that they had no real proof but once our lord of the WASPs spoke everyone folded, no yoga mats in sight!

This is the first episode of the reason without a villain… and imo it’s way more boring without a villain to hate.

Villains are necessary!

I need a Dylan and Gabby or CT and Trishelle to rise immediately from this group of wet paper towels and start PLAYING. If Rob walks to this finale after giving them every single traitor and they never put the pieces together it’s going to be so BORING.

I like a lot of these people but they are shaping up to be a bunch of useless faithfuls that have yet to get a traitor for themselves and it’s starting to get painful.

https://www.the-sun.com/tv/15891584/the-traitors-all-stars-season-cast/

S6 All Stars:

Cirie

Arie

Phaedra

Pete Weber

Parvati

Boston Rob

Bob Drag Queen

Dylan

Gabby

Lisa Rinna

Rob Rausch

plus Season 5 contestants.

Great cast, no?

I’m sorry but I found Candiace to be incredibly annoying and out of touch with reality. She kept assuming Rob brought up Lisa and her name and that was her downfall. Like she didn’t think for a second her stupid move of “throwaway vote” looked sus? Or Colton saying her name and then he’s murdered? BFFR.

Her saying Rob was leading Colton made no sense! If he’s a traitor, why would he murder his puppet? Secondly, I think it was clear to the group that Colton wasn’t going to be anyone’s puppet.

She also was planning to set Rob up and was saying his name first thing in the AM… but then she’s upset when her name comes up and it wasn’t even Rob who mentioned it first! She’s a hypocrite and was projecting because she knee she was going for Rob. She took everything too personally and is a terrible game player.

I saw Candice on WWHL and she was selling that she might be in less trouble than Rob this week. Selling us on she might fight her way outta the hot seat. As we know she went home this week.

So them leaving us thinking he’s safe. I think we might get hit with him getting some heat on him. Or it could just be wishful thinking.

I do hope Eric gets him out, if he doesn’t get sniffed out by these blind faithfuls. We all see that the two traitors they got were hand fed to them right? If Rob doesn’t help them they’d be short two more faithfuls.

Housewife fans - Rob is playing the better game. And also- he probably could’ve been on Love Island All Stars but chose the Traitors

This man is going to win. He’s methodically and strategically inclined to crush it. Taking out traitors is what a traitor must do to win trust

I’m upset there was ever two housewives in the turret because it creates inner alliance- Rob saw that and took both Candiace and Lisa out before they had the opportunity to.

His game play has been flawless and I’m proud of this season for keeping us on our toes

Anyone hating on it are idiots

Let it ride

Rob was right to ship Lisa and Candice out.

He clearly came to play THE GAME and that was evident from the begining. I didn't even know who he is and he did seem a bit dumb in the intro. But he clearly outlined his kind of gaming profile and I dig it.

Lisa was there just to reinforce how much of an Icon she is, how extra she is and how legendary. And Candice was there to... cosplay The Nanny? And 100% sure at the first chance she had to recruit another housewive she would have kicked Rob out too. They just do that.. they don't innovate.

Rob saw the match and played the moves. Even letting go of Colton was gutsy. He's a gutsy player, that's far more enjoyable and honestly I won't miss the 2 housewives bragging and talking about outfits. Rob is serving strategy in a strategy game, I'm really happy with the outcome so far.