The Traitors: New Blood, Ep. 7: Tomica Adams and Katie Fites — Photo: Euan Cherry/NBC
Spoiler Alert: This recap reveals events from Episode 7 of The Traitors: New Blood.
Niyyah has been murdered in plain sight, and still not a single Traitor has been discovered by this bumbling class of Faithfuls. Is tonight the night when Victor’s “fruitgate” theory will finally make landfall? Let’s just say my expectations for this crew are very low.
The heat is on for both Joe and Tomica, and despite Tomica’s vicious case of “Victor-itus,” the Traitors make the smart decision to stir confusion amongst the contestants. Mark becomes the turret’s next victim, much to the horror of the Faithful, who compare Mark’s fate to the death of the family dog. Maybe my bias as a cat person is showing, but that doesn’t seem to be the nicest analogy to make.
I’d honestly hoped the Traitors had gone with another name thrown out in the turret: Wyatt.
Wyatt’s elimination would have been a finger pointed directly at Abby L, and if you’ve been following along with these weekly recaps, you should know how I feel about Abby L and her opinions. Alas, as Alan says, “Pretty Mark is pretty dead.”
At breakfast, Ben starts to grow suspicious of Katie, clocking her calm demeanor in the wake of Mark’s death. Victor plays a dangerous game, loudly and repeatedly accusing Tomica of being a Traitor. In one way, this protects Victor from being murdered, creating a firm link between the two. However, it comes across as arrogant, and if he’s not careful, it could be a one-way ticket to banishment.
Meanwhile, Abby L is still barking up the Wyatt tree, as Tomica and Katie attempt to spread Victor’s name around. Morgan seems to be on board with this stupid theory, to no one’s surprise. This is disappointing considering Morgan is a key player in the whole “fruitgate” affair. Perhaps the Scottish air causes memory loss, because how could she forget Joe quite literally throwing an apple at her?
However, Ben and Wyatt don’t believe Victor is a Traitor. They might not be totally on board with “fruitgate” yet, but they see Victor’s behavior as simply “playing hard.” They remember what similar accusations did to a Faithful like Michael, and props to them for attempting to prevent such a mistake from happening again.
Next we get to the challenge in which players must dig through the straw-filled chests of an army of spooky scarecrows in search of bags of gold. The player who collects the most gold will be awarded a special “never-before-seen power.” But that’s not all — scattered among the strawmen are four “black hearts” that players can use to remove others from the running for the coveted power.
The Traitors: New Blood, Ep. 7 — Photo: Euan Cherry/NBC
To no one’s surprise, Victor is given the first black heart by Shane, and Alan himself has to calm the nerves of this sore loser. Clyde makes a weak move by giving the next black heart to Morgan. It is clear his friendship with Tomica makes it difficult to accept any Traitor theory attached to her name.
Abby L targets… you guessed it — Wyatt, and Ben gifts the final black heart to Katie, unknowingly being the only Faithful who actually did something right. Katie’s eyebrows do this crazy arch when she realizes she lost, and this expression of bewilderment perfectly encapsulates how I’ve felt the entire season thus far.
After the challenge, Victor and Tomica have a small conversation with potentially huge consequences. Victor once again presents his theory to Tomica, and an accusation of Traitor recruitment is thrown back in his direction. When Victor asks for evidence or another name under Tomica’s suspicion, she hesitates and stutters. But then a bomb drops.
“Katie,” says Tomica, throwing her fellow Traitor under the bus. My jaw dropped. Later, Tomica and Shane claim that Victor’s “fruitgate” theory “came out of nowhere.” Are you kidding me? The players know that a murder in plain sight occurred. Why is Victor the only Faithful questioning how that happened? Tomica and Joe holding the “poison fruit” is the only observed behavior that isn’t based on a “gotcha” slip-up by one of the Faithful.
At the roundtable, Kriste begins discussions with a bullet in Abby L’s direction. Is she right? No. Would an Abby L banishment be a net positive for the Faithful? Absolutely. So I say, more power to ya, Kriste! And honestly, her evidence is quite strong. Abby L has been at the head of many wrongful Traitor accusations. Sounds like Traitorous behavior. Kriste has certainly had worse ideas.
Victor brings up Niyyah’s death and questions why no one is curious about the murder in plain sight. Here comes “body language expert” Jay, who claims that Victor has “done nothing to prove that he isn’t a Traitor.”
This is such a common thread on this show, and it angers me every time. In a court of law, the jury looks at the evidence pointing towards the guilt of a defendant, not a lack of evidence proving their innocence. This is basic civics, and my recommendation for Jay is a repeat of seventh-grade government class.
Joe’s name is brought up in the apple conversation, and Tomica inserts herself right in the fold. If I had a dollar for the number of times Tomica and Joe stood up for each other at the roundtable, I could buy my own castle in Scotland!
If the Traitors were smart, they would create as much distance as possible between each other. They are setting themselves up like dominoes — when one falls, the rest are bound to quickly follow suit.
Victor tells the table about Tomica’s Katie accusation, much to the surprise of her fellow Traitors. Tomica claims she misspoke and meant to say Kriste, but the damage is already done. In one of the most bizarre votes I’ve ever seen (Tomica, Victor, Abby L, Wyatt, Morgan, and Katie all receive votes), Victor is banished from the castle.
Is all hope lost? Have the Faithfuls eliminated their top sleuth? Not quite yet. Alan steps in and informs the players that the contestant who earned the most gold in the day’s challenge will receive “the Power of Pardon” and may choose to save Victor from banishment or personally stamp his ticket back to America.
We end here with many questions. The fate of not only Victor but the entire Faithful class is held in the hands of this mystery winner. Will “fruitgate” make a triumphant return, or will the Faithful once again damn a member of their own league? I’ll see you next week…
The Traitors: New Blood airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC and streams the next day on Peacock. Visit peacocktv.com.
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.
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.
Spoiler Alert: This recap reveals events from Episode 5 of The Traitors: New Blood.
When we last left off, Jay was about to do his big one, and by that I mean finally provide some sort of clarity as to where his boundless suspicion lies. He’s a body language expert after all, right? Don’t make me roll my eyes.
However, I’ll give credit where credit is due because his accusation did happen to be right on the money. Jay accuses Katie (and Kristie tangentially) at the roundtable. Now the problem is his evidence is a little weak, and considering the two people he’s accusing are some of the most vocal against his obnoxious Faithful antics, it's not really a good look.
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