Spoiler Alert: This recap reveals events from Episodes 3 and 4 of The Traitors: New Blood.

Last night, we took a trip back to the Highlands for another two episodes of lying, backstabbing, and Scottish treachery. It is revealed that both Katie and Xavier found the missing death warrants, meaning Joe and Tomica must choose which player to add to the turret, and which to murder. Katie pitches the fact that she voted for Madeline during the roundtable as a means of “flying under the radar,” while Xavier admits a more aggressive strategy. He’d spent the day planting Katie’s name in Traitor conversations, attempting to taint her reputation in the castle.

Joe correctly distrusts Xavier’s immediate inclination to throw another Traitor under the bus, and his fate is sealed. Xavier becomes the game’s second murder victim, and Katie earns her spot back in the game. Tomica and Joe make it clear that they desire unity amongst their ranks. Xavier is escorted to his death as Katie declares, “It’s time to be evil.”

The sun rises the next morning, and only on The Traitors would we ever witness a gay man teaching a Southern mom how to use a French press, only to be interrupted by news of another treacherous murder. The safe players enter the dining room one by one, and by episode three, I still find myself squinting at certain people and asking myself, “who the hell are you?” Xavier’s murder is revealed and suspicions continue to mount against Victor. Niyyah wonders why Victor wouldn’t defend Madeline at the roundtable considering their budding romantic attraction.

Katie continues to bond with the younger players, or as Tomica calls them, “the Love Island Crew,” further cementing her safety in the game. But Tennessee native Logan is still keeping a watchful Southern eye on the “Tiny Traitor.” Jay begins playing a weird numbers game, attempting to recruit Faithful into an alliance. Clyde admits that Jay is slowly becoming a “polarizing figure.”

We get to the first challenge, in which the players must push a battering ram across the grounds to open three dilapidated crypts. Inside each crypt is money for the prize pot, with a chance of an additional advantage. The catch? Only two players can enter each crypt to claim the prize. Morgan and Arisa enter the first crypt, where they find $5,000 and nothing else. The rest of the players are suspicious and assume Arisa has a shield but is not admitting to it.

In the next crypt, Tomica and Clyde retrieve $5,000 and a shield. Tomica allows Clyde to take the reward. She doesn’t need to worry about being murdered, so there is no use putting unnecessary heat on herself by choosing to be protected. They don’t tell the other players about the shield right away. Michael and Ben enter the third crypt and walk out with $5,000 and a clue about the identity of the Traitors: “Last night, two players battled in plain sight to become a Traitor.”

Niyyah and Michael immediately think of a moment the previous night when Arisa took Victor’s hands in her own and, as a means of reading his behavior, asked him point-blank if he is a Traitor. They believe this could be some sort of recruitment ritual. Let’s just say, people in these types of games have become suspect for far less.

Tomica admits to the rest of the players that she doesn’t have a shield, seemingly admitting to the Traitors her “vulnerable” status. I think this is a good way of removing suspicion, but if you think about it for more than half a second, it becomes pretty obvious that this “accidental admission” is in fact quite calculated. Tomica has nothing to lose by admitting this and all the trust in the world to gain. Clyde says in a confessional that he “doesn’t think Tomica knows how to play the game.” These types of confessionals always make players look stupid in the end. One can imagine a clown nose superimposed on Clyde’s cast portrait.

Logan remains locked on Katie, though suspicions remain about Victor and Arisa. I wonder if the players are nervous that they have another Rob Rausch situation with Victor (a previous player who coasted through the game as the world’s most handsome Traitor). My take: Victor may have the looks to skate by in the castle, but he certainly lacks the charm.

At the roundtable, Abby L recounts seeing Arisa take a shield during the challenge. This is such flawed logic! Why would a Traitor risk their reputation in the game for meaningless safety? This is a broken aspect of The Traitors, and one that becomes frustrating each year as it is inevitably brought up in roundtable discussion. Michael and Ben pile on the Arisa blame train, claiming her “truth circle” moment with Victor must be what the challenge’s clue refers to.

Kriste brings up an interesting point, postulating that whoever the third Traitor is must have beat Xavier in the battle. Jay and Logan bring up Katie’s connection to the late Xavier, and Jay admits to the circle that he is a “body language expert,” though he has decided to keep his cards close to his chest, much to the annoyance of the rest of the group.

A few more accusations are slung in Victor’s direction, but it isn’t enough. In the end, the Faithful settle on Arisa and her “truth test” in the billiards room. Of course, their accusation is wrong, and poor Arisa is banished from the castle.

After the roundtable, Mark grows suspicious of how quiet Sherry had been during the discussion. Sherry and Abby L talk, and in another round of “Traitor semantics,” Sherry mistakenly ponders whether “all three Traitors could be women.” Rather than focus on the crux of the question, Abby’s selective hearing is on full volume, and she tells the other players that Sherry “must be a Traitor” because she “knew” the number of Traitors in the game.

I wonder sometimes if anyone actually watches this show before coming on board. There are almost always three Traitors. Once again, wishful thinking rears its ugly head, and the Faithful are that much further from discovering the truth.

That night, the Traitors, now joined by Katie, select their third murder. They choose Logan due to his observant nature. I can’t help but grade this as a wrong choice. Logan has, up to this point, been very vocal against Katie. Why stoke the fires of that suspicion so early?

At breakfast, the murder is revealed and the players are shocked that a Faithful “as good as” Michael still remains in the game. I, for one, don’t understand this, considering Michael has been wrong about everything thus far. Jay continues to rub people the wrong way, admitting he is saving his suspicions for the roundtable rather than voicing them early. Meanwhile, Shane is on the right track, connecting Katie to both Logan and Xavier.

We get to the mission, where players must deliver barrels of gold down a path blocked by gates, all while being chased by the ominous “Parade of Death.” Any player caught by the parade will be marked on a shortlist for murder that evening. The art department killed it with this one — the black-hooded skeletons marching through the forest are a terrifying image.

At the first gate, four players must remain behind. The players decide it’s best for those suspected of being Traitors to stay behind. But what exactly does this tell us about their potential culpability? I’m still trying to figure that one out. Victor, Morgan, Niyyah, and Mark stay behind.

As the challenge continues, Jay brings the heat, claiming to have information he can only reveal if guaranteed safety at the end of the challenge. Two players must stay behind at the second gate. Kriste and Tomica elect themselves as sacrifices. At the final gate, another four players must give up their safety. Again, Jay refuses to remain, and anger builds among his fellow players, especially Katie, over his obnoxious ultimatum. Joe, Clyde, Abby L, and Sherry take the fall, with Sherry claiming Jay “should be ashamed of himself.”

The challenge is over, the players are $12,000 richer, and everyone is really upset at Jay. The “information” he’d held over them during the challenge? An unfounded accusation against Kriste of all people. Bizarre gameplay from the Midwestern physician. Jay tries to apologize, but no one is having it.

Sherry says “Jay’s gotta go,” arguing that his “chaos” is more detrimental to the Faithful than any action by a real Traitor. Michael sees the push to banish Jay as a distraction and agrees with him that Katie might be the “perfect Traitor.” The clock chimes in Ardross Castle, and the episode ends as the three surviving Traitors must decide who their next victim will be.

The Traitors: New Blood airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC and streams the next day on Peacock. Visit peacocktv.com.