Secret Traitors red cloak twist explained – everything you need to know – The Mirror
Need to know
Claudia Winkleman announced The Traitors latest twist on tonight’s show, bringing an epic new focus to the hit BBC show as the latest group of hopefuls enter the castle
The Secret Traitor in the red cloak is going to change the game enormously – the Faithful just don’t know it yet
Everything you need to know about The Traitors’ red cloak twist
Claudia announced the twist by telling viewers: “I’m also going to pick a Secret Traitor and nobody will know who that is – not the Traitors and not even you. It’s naughty isn’t it?”
The idea is to give viewers a taste of what it feels like to be a Faithful and not know who the Traitors are.
The Secret Traitor wears a red cloak while the other three Traitors will stay in the traditional dark green robes. While none of the three normal Traitors know the identity of the Secret Traitor, their new boss will know exactly who they are.
The Secret Traitor’s main power is that they get to dictate which of the Faithful can be murdered each night. So after the first mission, there were ten contenders but the Secret Traitor picked out three for selection – and none of them were who the Traitors wanted to bump off.
The show’s bosses are not saying how long the Secret Traitor will last in the series, only that the regular Traitors will need to fight to win back their power. It is not clear at this stage what happens if the Secret Traitor is selected for banishment at the roundtable.
When the trailer dropped on Christmas Day fans speculated that the red cloak could signify the return of a previous Traitor. In fact, it just means that the Traitors no longer have all the power in the castle.
The Secret Traitor will not select themselves or any of the Traitors to be killed. So each name on the murder shortlist provides the Traitors with new information; it tells them that those selected are genuine Faithfuls.
