The Traitors Season 2 Review: Bigger, Better

The Traitors Season 2 is definitely more thrilling than Season 1, endorses Divya Nair.

What’s the format of The Traitors?

The reality show is about survival between Innocents and Traitors.

At the beginning of the show, host Karan Johar blindfolds all the players and chooses three Traitors. The Traitors cannot reveal their identity.

There will be a weekly task in which contestants can compete to earn a shield that will give them immunity. Every night, the Traitors will ‘kill’ one Innocent player, who will be eliminated from the game.

At the Circle of Shaq, all the players will discuss, debate and vote for who they think might be a Traitor. The player with the most votes will be eliminated.

What’s new in Traitors Season 2

Karan Johar returns as the mean host, who will pick the traitors and unnerve the contestants. In season 2, he introduces us to Boo, a wild cat, short for buri khabar, as he explains.

His fashion game has improved by a few notches, but wearing an outfit with blood-splatter prints can look a bit scary and unsettling.

The format has been modified with new twists, bigger celebs and a bigger bounty.

What’s cool

Unlike Season 1, which had a fair mix of not-so-well-known content creators, Season 2 boasts a fancy lineup that includes actors Dalip Tahil, Shweta Tiwari, Mallika Sherawat, Krystle D’Souza, Parul Gulati and Rhea Chakraborty, along with content creators and television celebrities.

But the real gamechangers are the faces we scroll past on our social media feeds — Aaditya Kulshreshth (Kullu), Abhishek Malhan (Fukraa Insaan), Ansh Chopra, Harman Singha, Ikka Singh, Karan Singh Magic, Munawar Faruqui, Prish, Chef Ranveer Brar, Rida Tharana, Sahil Salathia, Shahneel Gill, Shalini Passi, Soundous Moufakir and Tanya Puri.

When Season 1 dropped, my cousins and friends argued that the format was very similar to Werewolf/Mafia, in which the team’s sole purpose is to bust the imposter while the imposters manipulate the innocents to stay in the game.

Season 2 is far more interesting because now the contestants have already seen what happened in Season 1 and have some idea of how to play the game.

Who gets eliminated in the first week of Season 2?

What makes it thrilling is that you cannot predict who will flip the script in the end. For example, in reality shows like Bigg Boss, senior actors always had an edge because of their popularity and audience support. But in a show like The Traitors, your popularity and over-smartness could be your biggest weaknesses.

And that is exactly what worked against stand-up comedian Munawar and actor Dalip Tahil, who were eliminated in the first week.

If you want to stay long, the strategy is to stay low and play under the radar.

It was interesting to watch confident celebrities like Chef Ranveer Brar and Shweta Tiwari feel like a fish out of water. Apart from physical and mental fitness, the show puts your vulnerabilities and anxieties to the test. It’s about being alert and watching out for the Traitors among you.

The beauty of new-age reality shows like The Traitors is that you may enter the show with a master plan and strategy, only to watch it crumble right in front of you.

You could be a Sherlock Holmes in the story of your life. But that moment when you watch a group of Innocents debate, put their own game at risk and crack the Traitor, the collective feeling of joy you feel is worth tolerating all the drama.

If Season 1 had Apurva, The Rebel Kid, Season 2 has Abhishek Malhan (as long as he remains). And who would have thought Parul Gulati and not Rhea Chakraborty would turn out to be the smartest among them all?

This one’s definitely more thrilling than Season 1.

The Traitors 2 streams on Prime Video.

The Traitors 2 Review Rediff Rating: