Paul Gorton: It’s the final day of ‘The Traitors’ and it’s about to explode
In the latest of his weekly columns for Rolling Stone UK, 'The Traitors' season two star Paul Gorton tells us why he's predicting an explosive final.
By Paul Gorton
Right, let me clear my throat. There’s something I need to shout from the top of my lungs. HAPPY TRAITORS FINAL DAY TO YOU ALLLLL!
It’s bittersweet to think that we’re at this point already. I’m buzzing to see who’s going to walk away with the £100,000, but I’m equally aware of the Traitors-shaped hole that is already forming in my life until the anticipated celebrity series drops later this year. But we don’t need to think about that just yet.
Regular readers will remember that I described Charlotte as “absolutely phenomenal” in my first column and, unlike my prediction about poor Linda scooping the lot, it’s fair to say I’ve been proved right here.
They think she’s the lovely innocent Welsh woman that would never tell a lie, but it turns out she’s a silent assassin and the greatest Traitor of this season. You could argue she’s been a Traitor since day one with that accent too. Loyalty doesn’t get you anywhere in this game and her strategy has just been unreal. I think she was right to backstab Minah because she had a history of doing that herself. Or to put it another way, Charlotte had this ultimatum: Banish, or be banished.
Hats off to Minah though. It’s been a very serious bunch in there this year and she’s been a little breath of fresh air with the way she’s played her game. She just happened to suffer the same fate as me, where you recruit a strong faithful – which is what me and Harry did with Andrew – and then you find yourself gone the next day.
I think the show needed a moment that would cause a bit of unrest and the giant chess challenge did exactly that. It felt like something out of Harry Potter and I was half expecting Ron Weasley to ride in on the back of a Knight. That would have been a nice bit of ginger representation too, which is sorely lacking this season, ahem.
But in terms of drama, that moment where the two-faced chess piece stopped in front of Leanne was absolute gold. She appeared to take it personally and I can’t say I blame her. Every emotion is bound to be heightened when you’re seemingly so close to reaching the final.
That challenge also showed what a lovely bloke Alexander is – he refused to take it seriously – and Jake is really coming into his own. He’s played for England’s Cerebral Palsy Football Team, which shows that he’s used to competing in a final or two.
Let’s talk about Francesca as well, our all powerful Seer from last night’s episode. She’s in for one hell of a shock when she discovers Charlotte – the woman she simply couldn’t imagine as a Traitor – is exactly that. If Charlotte still manages to win after that revelation, I think we could have an all-timer of a player on our hands.
And then there’s the small matter of the new rule change for the final, where those who make it now won’t reveal if they are a Traitor or a Faithful. That begs the question of whether Faithfuls – even if they’re pretty sure that the other last person standing is a Faithful – goes against them because they want to take the whole pot. That’s going to be a massive moment.
I’ll be back next week for one final Traitors debrief for you all, but for now I’m off to dust off my cloak, pull up my hood and get ready to see which of this year’s Traitors and Faithfuls are about to leave the castle with a life changing amount of money. Enjoy the final!
As told to Nick Reilly