It took until the penultimate episode, but Michael Sheen finally landed a proper Traitor-hunting blow. James Acaster’s confession at the Round Table was a huge win for the Faithful, and it gave the castle a fresh reason to look at Maya Jama and King Kenny. After weeks of the Faithfuls trusting the wrong people – including naming the Traitors as the most trustworthy players, which was utter ironic TV gold, the game has finally opened up. We think we have the top 3: Michael Sheen’s ‘genius’ Celebrity Traitors takedown reveals who’s at the Fire Pit – here’s how.
There are still seven players in the castle, so calling our top three is a bold move. But Michael, James Blunt and Romesh Ranganathan have all helped turn suspicion towards Maya, and each have many things going for them that protects them from both murder and banishment, so therefore see them make it to the Fire Pit. Here’s why we’d keep an eye on them.
Michael Sheen
The self-proclaimed ‘vengeful daddy’ finally came for blood – and, for once, got the right person. Michael has long been one of the castle’s leading voices, even if his detective work has previously taken a few scenic detours. After the murder of Miranda Hart, though, he returned to the case with a sharper plan: revisit the murder of Ross Kemp in plain sight and look more closely at the players who had avoided suspicion.
Michael wasn’t the only one to suggest looking at the quieter players. James Blunt had raised that idea, too. But Michael helped connect it to the ‘Library Three’ – Maya, Kenny and James Acaster – which led him to then put James A under pressure at the Round Table. James’s subsequent dramatic Traitor confession proved that theory was exactly spot on. It also leaves Maya and Kenny looking much less comfortably overlooked.
That makes Michael a strong candidate to reach the Fire Pit. The Faithful now have good reason to listen to him, and he has publicly put Maya in the frame. The Traitors could murder him to remove their biggest problem, but Michael has already made that move risky: he told the others that if he were murdered, they should think back to Maya’s behaviour. He said, ‘If I’m not here tomorrow, obviously think back to that Round Table and think back to people’s reactions, think back to how people answered questions.’ Heavily insinuating Maya in the process. Meaning should they kill him, it would point straight to the Traitors, making it a dangerous decision for them to make. His success last night should be enough to protect him from banishment, and hopefully calling out Maya directly should shield him from murder, too. He’s primed for the Fire Pit.
James Blunt
James Blunt and his thunderbird-inspired array of outfits have been a joy to watch. But what’s even more joyful to watch is how he’s finally begun to put the pieces together, thanks to Michael. He was among the players who pushed the group to consider the quieter contestants, and after James A’s confession, Blunt’s own suspicions moved towards Maya.
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He told Romesh: ‘I do start thinking this points in certain directions now. And I’m afraid to say Maya was the assistant in there.’ That gives him a clear line of reasoning to bring to the final: James A was a Traitor, he was part of the library group, and Maya was there, too, and playing a similar game to a now-proven Traitor.
Blunt could still attract suspicion himself – Romesh has questioned him before – so this is no guaranteed stroll to the Fire Pit. But James A, speaking after his banishment, described Blunt as ‘ferocious in this game’ and ‘a man possessed’. Coming from someone who has just watched him help turn the Faithful against a Traitor, that sounds less like a compliment and more like a warning to the remaining players.
Romesh Ranganathan
Romesh has spent much of the game being quietly funny while other people confidently accuse the wrong person. Now, though, he’s beginning to share more useful theories – and his suspicion of Maya puts him in step with Michael and Blunt.
His ‘royal court’ theory needs a small reshuffle. Romesh had Maya as the Queen (correct), Michael as the King (wrong) and Blunt as the Jester (wrong). But this was before the Round Table. For us viewers, the reveal that James A was a Traitor makes the answer to the King question much less mysterious: King Kenny is the one to watch. The question is whether Romesh will make that adjustment in time.
He also has a little accidental help from his hay fever. During the blindfolded puzzle mission, Sharon Rooney said she could hear him sniffing beside her, which Romesh joked had ‘exonerated’ him from being a Traitor. It gave him a handy alibi in the group’s eyes, even if sniffing is not exactly a full forensic investigation, meaning he’s unlikely to be banished.
The danger is that Romesh has become more valuable to the Faithful. James said people look to him for good arguments, which is useful when you’re trying to expose a Traitor and less useful when the Traitors are choosing whom to murder. Still, if he survives long enough to put Maya and Kenny’s names together, the quiet game may yet have its very loud pay-off.
