This article contains season 4’s first three episodes.Peacock’s The Traitors (US) is back for a fourth season with an iconic cast and Alan Cumming as the notorious host. The Emmy-winning reality competition series follows a group of cast members as they must decipher who in the castle is a Traitor (who can “murder” those who suspect their secret identity) or a Faithful.
Roundtable voting tells the cast who is actually a Traitor or a Faithful before they’re voted out of the castle. The winner walks home with the title and $250,000.
The Traitors season 4 dropped its first three episodes before returning on January 15, 2026, with new episodes. The new season drops on Peacock every Thursday at 9 pm EST.
“Let the Cards Fall As They Will”
Season 4, episode 1 was the typical standard for The Traitors. The 23 cast members arrived with a suitcase of nerves at the castle in the Scottish Highlands, greeted by host Alan Cumming.
In a twist from previous seasons, Cumming told the cameras that he chose the first Traitor before the cast even set foot in the castle. The choice would be so secretive that not even viewers would know who the Traitor was.
The cast member who had the Traitor card in their chest had to keep a secret from the cameras and the rest of the cast. The remaining two Traitors were picked by Cumming at the roundtable, which wound up being Candiace Dillard Bassett (The Real Housewives of Potomac), Lisa Rinna (The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills), and Rob Rausch (Love Island USA).
That night, the three Traitors gathered behind closed doors and found out each other’s identities. However, the one secret Traitor from the opening scene remained just that, a secret. Rinna, Bassett, and Rausch won’t know the secret Traitor’s identity, and the secret Traitor won’t know the other Traitor identities.
The secret Traitor will choose the short list of potential Faithfuls to murder, and the remaining Traitors choose who will be murdered from the list. Before the episode ended, the cast did their first challenge, where nine members of the losing team were up on the chopping block. The secret Traitor chose Rob R, Ian Terry, Mark Ballas, and Eric Nam as options to be murdered.
There was no murder in episode 1.
“The Death Conga”
Episode 2 started with the three Traitors deciding which cast member to murder based on the short list from the secret Traitor. In the end, the Traitors chose to murder Big Brother’s Ian Terry because of his brilliant knowledge of the game.
After mourning Ian, the cast gathered for their first mission of the day while conversing about who the possible Traitors were. Michael Rapaport was a common name on everyone’s lips because of his loud personality, but the cast was still undecided on who they should vote off at the end of the day.
The mission consisted of the cast members looking for “shield tokens” while on a journey to each a “shield throne.” The three who last the longest on the shield throne are saved from being murdered. The winning three were Colton Underwood, Yam Yam Arocho, and Caroline Stanbury, all of whom were saved from the chopping block.
Later at the roundtable, the group was undecided between Porsha Williams, Donna Kelce, and Michael. In the end, the cast voted Porsha off the show after a few misinterpreted comments. Unfortunately for the group, Porsha was a Faithful.
The last part of the episode showed the Traitors learning they had to murder in plain sight. If successful, they’d find out who the secret Traitor was. If unsuccessful, there’s no murder. After some heavy distractions made by Bassett (all thanks to a conga line), the three completed their private mission.
“Show Me Your Faces”
The third episode opened with the cast having breakfast and slowly finding out who was murdered the night before. Rob Cesternino was murdered in plain sight and ordered to leave the castle. Choosing Rob was the right choice after he caught Candice being a traitor after starting the conga line. He knew it was a clear distraction from something, and he was right.
As if tensions weren’t already high, Alan Cumming told the crew a roundtable banishment was happening before their next mission. The roundtable was intense, with Michael Rapaport and Yam Yam butting heads. Ultimately, however, the group thought Donna Kelce was the Traitor and ordered her off the show.
While it pained them to do it, the vote was the right decision because Donna admitted to being a Traitor. This meant that the secret Traitor from episode 1 was Donna all along.
With Donna gone and one Traitor out of the castle, the group got ready for their next mission. Everyone had to pair up, but Cumming warned them that there would be one person left out. That person wound up being Ron Funches. The duos worked together as one person was locked in a cage, and the other had to find and stack animal skulls to unlock the cage.
Those still locked in the cage when the mission ended were on the short list to be murdered. Since Ron was solo, he was immediately on the short list, along with Kristen Kish, Lisa Rinna, and Caroline Stanbury. Viewers will learn who was murdered in The Traitors episode 4, which releases January 15, 2026.
