‘The Traitors: New Blood’ Ep. 6 Recap: The Boy Who Cried Fruit
Victor's "Fruitgate" theory falls on deaf ears as suspicion fractures the Dolls alliance and leads to an emotional banishment.
Spoiler Alert: This recap reveals events from Episode 6 of The Traitors: New Blood.
We’d previously left the Scottish Highlands with three Faithfuls and a Traitor buried in shallow but deadly graves. Between Niyyah, Mark, and Clyde, someone caught Joe’s “poison apple” and, before Alan can announce to the living which underground Faithful will be leaving their ranks, Joe decides he’d rather let the victim know himself.
He tells Niyyah her fate, ashamed of this choice. I have a feeling he really wanted to get Mark out, but alas, this so-called “murder of necessity” ends with Tomica’s number one ally on the chopping block. This is sure to test the bonds of the Traitors who, at this point, have had a shocking lack of internal drama. Niyyah clocks this obvious attempt at Joe clearing his conscience, and it’s especially regrettable to see her go, considering she didn’t even catch the apple on her first try.
Obviously, Tomica is not happy about Niyyah being murdered. However, this should be the least of her worries considering the news Katie is about to share. She reveals to Tomica Victor’s suspicions surrounding “Fruitgate.” The Traitors, especially Joe and Tomica, have a lot of damage control to do. But do they really? Remember, these Faithfuls are not the brightest bunch. Even spot-on observations by Victor fall on deaf ears among the other Faithfuls.
I suppose it doesn’t help that Victor’s delivery is reminiscent of that one paranoid neighbor who claims aliens built the pyramids. However, Victor is ultimately correct, and it’s a shame to see people like Abby L — who had originally been on board with the theory — deciding suddenly that Victor is barking up the wrong tree.
Katie also tells Joe about the floating fruit theory, and Joe’s reaction is to simply start eating a lot of apples very publicly. Honestly, a pretty sound strategy. An apple a day keeps Victor away, or so I’ve heard.
Tomica takes a more practical approach and starts feeding a new name to the Faithful: Michael. The working theory, supported by Ben and Clyde, is that Michael was recruited to the Traitors after the first challenge. This starts to weigh on Ben and Clyde, and as someone who has been in a gay friendship trio like this one, I understand their emotional apprehension.
Michael’s alleged status as a Traitor throws a wrench right in the middle of “The Dolls” alliance. Imagine finding out one of your gay friends is actually a secret member of the Freemasons or something like that. Harrowing stuff, I know.
And of course, it wouldn’t be an episode of The Traitors without Abby L pitching a brand-new mindless theory. It makes me sad, honestly, after seeing her finally hit the right track in the previous episode. This time, Wyatt is at the top of her list — a man who’s had less screen time than Alan’s own dog.
We get to the challenge, which seems to be a revamped version of the iconic singing dolls competition from two seasons ago. This time, players must match the scream of a former contestant through a game of silly noise telephone. Let’s just say, there goes 15 minutes of my life I’ll never get back.
The challenge is a success, though the Faithful have zero opportunity to learn anything about the Traitors’ identities. This is something I firmly believe should be added to every challenge. A challenge lacking Traitor clues or Faithful shields is a total waste of time.
After the challenge, Victor overhears Joe, Tomica, and Michael planning a meeting. Once again on the right track, he orchestrates a small plot to eavesdrop on the group. He overhears that the trio plans on coming after Victor at the roundtable, which doesn’t exactly help Victor’s narrative.
Reducing Victor’s offensive comments to simple paranoid deflection is a smart move on the Traitors’ part, with Michael unknowingly going along. Katie builds on Tomica’s earlier comments and throws out Michael’s name, setting up our two main suspects going into the evening’s roundtable discussions.
Victor starts with his “Fruitgate” theory and is met with eye rolls from the other players. It’s unfortunate to see a player’s social reputation get in the way of their gameplay, but it is a social game at the end of the day. I think if someone like Michael had presented this theory, things might have gone another way.
It seems that the main piece of evidence against Victor’s accusation is the fact that none of the Faithfuls believe Tomica would have killed Niyyah. I suppose Victor could have been more successful had he focused on the Joe half of the equation. However, I’m of the belief this theory was dead on arrival due to the glaring fact that people simply do not like Victor.
Abby L discusses her Wyatt theory, claiming Wyatt brought up his suspicions of Niyyah as a defensive action before her murder, raising the question: why would a Traitor accuse someone they’re about to kill? It’s the flawed logic I’ve come to expect from Abby L. But the theory resonates with some of the Faithful, and Wyatt ends up receiving as many votes as Victor.
Still, it’s Michael who emerges as the object of most suspicion. Led by Katie and supported by Clyde and Ben, the Faithfuls ask Michael why it is that he doesn’t seem to be afraid of being murdered. It’s true, Michael is playing a very aggressive game for a Faithful, but someone has to, and it’s sad to see real gameplay punished in this way.
Michael defends himself, rightfully claiming that the Traitors probably see him as a shield, drawing suspicion away from the true culprits. This is simply not enough, and in the most emotional vote of the season yet, Michael is banished from the castle, his Faithful identity sending shockwaves through the remaining players.
Going into next week, I hope Victor will maintain his “Fruitgate” theory. There’s only so much time left for “the boy who cried fruit” as Tomica, Joe, and Katie prepare for their next devious murder in the turret.
The Traitors: New Blood airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC and streams the next day on Peacock. Visit peacocktv.com.
More from Metro Weekly:
You must be logged in to post a comment.