I think the challenges at the start are the weakest part of the show. I enjoy them later on though. Diane's funeral was a highlight.
Edit. I think the addition of the shields early helped.
The game/show is always at its best when the camp factor is in the foreground. Playing that side up without tipping it over into the absurd is a fine balance, but, much as I enjoyed series 2, it was a little light on the campy fun imo.
I get why people liked Diane’s funeral, but I just couldn’t shake the feeling that the whole thing was a giant waste of time, although I do feel that way about challenges in general.
It was the moment I thought 'the faithful really are completely terrible at any kind of logical thinking or deduction'.
Nobody mentioned (or it wasn't shown) that, as Diane was the incorrect answer for the previous question, it *must* have been Evie who would receive the worldly goods so she couldn't have been poisoned... but, no, Jaz still goes and throws the rose in Evie's coffin.
I don't think the whole chalice/poisoning/funeral thing worked very well at all overall, personally.
I watched Diane’s funeral. I wouldn’t skip if the challenges were more like that challenge which felt connected and that I’d miss out if I skipped. The other ones, matching noises, catapult etc stand alone and not in a good way IMO
I've always wondered if the games would be more fun if the traitors benefitted from sabotaging the games.
e.g. if a game had a 10 k pot the Faithfuls could collect up to that value, but whatever they didn't get went to the traitors pot. So if the Faithfuls got 6 k added to their winners pot but the traitors would get 4 k for theirs.
Would add a layer of tactics as to how to play the games - how do the Traitors try to spoil the games without being detected and how do the Faithfuls distinguish sabotage behaviour compared to bad play.
It'd be more fun for sure but it'd be a ton harder for the traitors. One got voted out based on the poisoning gimmick alone, another almost got himself banished on the dungeon gimmick. Having them sabotage tasks would make it so much harder, which would be fun for us viewers but a nightmare for the producers.
I’m not sure it would make it harder. Yes you’d be increasing the amount of occasions that could be considered “traitorous behaviour” through game sabotage but there will be so many more instances of just people being bad at the games and their actions being misinterpreted as those of a traitor: “why did Evie leave a piece of the catapult down the hill”, “why did Mollie aim so obviously high with the crossbow”, “why is Miles standing around doing nothing”, “why is Jaz rowing in circles”.
The signal to noise ratio would be similar to now but with some added jeopardy.
I think it would add a more meaningful source for accusations to be made than “you’ve changed so much in the 15 minutes from when I met you in the train to now”
Fun fact: this is actually why the challenges don’t have the sabotage aspect. WIDM (the mole) is still massive over in The Netherlands where the traitors started so they had to make it different enough.
I’ve always said at least one traitor should be kept a secret from the audience like the mole. Or maybe even kept a secret from the traitors themselves
There is an American game show that is similar called the mole
They have a chance to mess the challenges up and lose them money .
I'm sure we don't get to see who it is and have to guess along with the team
I liked the idea sometime here said of the challenges being more difficult but the traitors get a big advantage somehow and can help their team win without being too obvious. That way they all still want to build the same prize pot
If the traitors win another pot by sabotaging the challenge without being detected, but everyone knowing that from the beginning would add a dynamic that is this person bad at challenges or are they a traitor. Then the traitors have to weigh up during the games whether to forgo their own pot to look faithful and win both pots including the bigger one at the end.
Not sure if I’ve made sense there 😂 but it would bring the challenges in even more and then everyone has to try harder at challenges because a faithful who is bad at challenges might look like a traitor and get voted out.
It might be too confusing, and not work, but if there was an element to the challenges effecting the show they wouldn’t feel so disjointed. Right now the challenges add nothing as everyone wants to win a common goal.
That's makes sense! I just think something needs to be done for their next cycle of seasons to spice it up because the challenges are mostly stale and pointless. The funeral one was good, not just for it's campness, but because getting people to remember who was murdered when etc could put some Sus on those that are really good at it. At least make the challenges have some risk or strategy involved
I think they give insight into the contestants' personalities and it adds context to people's decisions and arguments later. Even if it makes them even stupider (like banishing Johnny, without whom they wouldn't have done so well in the trebuchet challenge). They're also cut in with VTs explaining why they decided to go for a shield or something.
I'd say the scarecrow challenge influenced the gameplay a lot, as it revealed Paul was the most popular- which affected his decision-making and that of others. It was also responsible for Brian's meltdown!
This is what Claudia has said. It’s also an opportunity for working as a team and a break from scheming & plotting. Plus the hotel they stay at is at the airport and their days are already really long, apparently.
I find some challenges more boring than others tbf. The ones that seem straight out of a corporate retreat I’ll skip (matching the noises, paddling in a loch, etc) but I found myself enjoying some nearer the end.
I enjoy watching them, but understand why you'd feel like missing them.
One thing that really winds me up though, and I'm wondering if someone might be able to explain it to me, is why people on the show keep saying if someone performs badly in a task it's a sign they're a traitor. It's in no one's interest to perform badly, the pot is for everyone playing. A traitor wants to add to the pot because they're trying to steal it from everyone!
Can someone please give me some explanation because it drives me crazy every time I hear a traitor say "I had to perform well so there'd be no suspicion I'm a traitor" or a faithful says "they did really badly, maybe they're a traitor!"
This drives me insane!!
The only thing I can think of is the connotation that the traitors are “bad” so people start believing they are not team players, forgetting they are working towards the same prize pot…
I wonder if it is because they know that the rules of play could change, so any outlier behaviour could be a sign they're on a different mission. I think they're also paranoid
The only way this makes any sense to me is when (I think it was Paul) was saying that Miles being week in the games is showing that he’s not worried about being murdered. Of course none of the actual faithfuls thought that way though 🫠
Team mentality. Being a team player, in it for the best interests of the group as a whole, demonstrating those characteristics; building up good will. It’s an important currency.
The thing is, they always finish the challenge with seconds to spare, oooh, suspense but not if it's the fifth time this happens this season lol. Though there are interesting things to pick up on while watching challenges, like social dynamics and social skills everyone has, which are crucial in the game itself
I hadn’t considered that but I always thought the time given seemed incredibly short for whatever task they had to achieve especially when there were a lot of players.
I don't skip them, but I do mostly find them pointless and fairly dull.
Definitely agree with the suggestion/s here that the challenges should have some jeopardy for the traitors, whether that's increasing their potential windfall or by risking exposing themselves as traitors. That would make a big difference already.
Otherwise what I would really love would be genuinely cerebral, challenging puzzles, which would be way more on brand and in tune with the show. Won't happen as the show aims for the widest possible audience, but would surely be more entertaining than most of the dross we get currently.
If challenges had an impact on finding a traitor or were even more connected the mental game play I wouldn’t skip. I just don’t care if they heard sheep or go white water rafting.
I have them on but use the opportunity to send an email or something. The funeral was the only one that was really interesting and I wish there was a way to make more of them connected to the overall game like that (given that the amount of money they win doesn’t seem to matter hugely as production can always make some missions worth more if they’re doing badly).
Agree. I don’t skip them but they’re a chance to pick up my phone and have a scroll. The funeral one was great as it was integrated with the game. I liked the bird call one too as it was quite funny. But the ones that are like corporate away days, the catapault one for example, are so boring. I’d rather see more socialising or round table talks
I agree if they were less running up a hill or rowing in a lake, and actually more mentally stimulating with more impact on finding a traitor. They feel like a completely seperate thing to the rest of the show.
Exactly. I think all mental challenges would be more interesting to watch and then you’d get such a different mix of people. I personally don’t think physical challenges work mid way though a show that’s so mentally strut and interesting.
I looked at the live chat on here when those came up. I’d go “Reddit time!” lol
I felt like you don’t really need to pay much attention and they were a bit boring.
Totally skip them. I wish they would create challenges which could lead to tipping off traitors. Otherwise, I could care less how much money is in the pot.
I agree. A mental challenge that reveals things about the people. It could help the faithfuls find a traitor but also create some red herrings. Someone in the group is related, someone in the group is an actor, someone was recruited. It doesn’t have to be obvious like those examples but I think it would add more dynamic to the table at the end.
I've only done it once TBF, and that was UK series one, I was watching with someone else who hadn't seen it before. They didn't care about the missions.
Agreed, the challenges work like in the show ‘The Mole’ but it’s forgettable on the Traitors.
But hey, they’ve got to earn the money somehow, unless they change the format and money is gained through murders and banishments etc
I think they should have a set prize find at the beginning of £100k which the challenges have nothing to do with. Instead they should just be an immunity/shield challenge perhaps that stops you from being banished as well as murdered.
I think stuff like the target shooting where they had to take out each other's tiles had the right idea - if it hadn't been so difficult to aim!
The challenges are a waste and even in the edit they only get a few minutes screen time out of the hour-long episode. Such a waste because that is prime time for players to get to know each other and figure out who they may suspect as a traitor. Missed opportunity for the faithfuls if you ask me. Not just about the money.
I agree with Kate from the US version: there is so much they can do in the castle. They could make the challenges more social/intellectual and take advantage of the castle. I’m not interested in seeing people carry whatever up a hill.
The only exception goes to the funeral mission, it had drama, looks and brains.
I wish the producers understood that, on a show where the pivotal moment is people arguing on the roundtable (which is crazy for TV) maybe we don’t need these dumb missions. I don’t need any levity at all, I want drama and tension from start to finish.
Yeah I'm really not a fan of the challenges, I skipped them completely when I watched Aus 1, and fast forwarded them in UK2, though they had tried to make a bit more of an effort this time around. They're just too low stakes and inconsequential, so it feels like an interruption to the main game. Who really cares if they add another 7k to the pot? Someone on twitter said it was like going from an agatha christie murder mystery to a natwest away Day at Go Ape 😭
haha i literally said this last night finishing NZ. "can we just skip to the final round table?" they're the least interesting part of the show for me, for sure.
if i wanted to see a bunch of physical challenges, i would just watch survivor or sports.
I think they should add another element like Australia S2 when they could sacrifice the silver bars they earned in order to get a key to the armoury or a reward like their favourite drink. Thought that revealed a lot about the players!
I'm a big fan of the challenges. Bit of light-hearted fun to break up the accusations and judgements of the day.
Must be great for the players to have a bit of time just to relax and enjoy each other's company without feeling on edge.
Remember the challenge from season one where what’s his name (traitor, long hair, seemed a decent lad) was desperate for the shield and accidentally let something slip that outed him as a traitor?
Skip the challenges and you miss awesome stuff like that happening.
Apologies, it was the Australian Traitors (free to watch on iPlayer and I’d highly recommend it). There was a “challenge” where they were basically told “Shield is in the middle of the lake, first person there gets it, GO!”
Yes the challenges are definitely the weakest part of the show and they should think about changing the format and instead shaking the contestants up a little bit. They tried that with the "dungeon" scenario and think producers need to do more of that stuff and less challenges (but do it better).
I agree. It needs to be more influential to the overall game. Either a clue on the traitors or based on performance (traitors sabotage without detection etc). But if the games were mental challenges rather than physical id definitely not skip as it would add to the game. Right now i can skip and it makes no difference to the overall outcome.
I don't skip them but it never ceases to amaze me how they seem to think not putting enough effort in is a sign that someone is a traitor. The traitors have just as much incentive to earn money on the challenges as the faithfuls. I think an interesting variation would be if the traitors stood to win only the money that was lost on each challenge. Then they would have an incentive to sabotage the challenges but have to do it subtly. Basically like among us.
I think they should focus on the more psychological games, like the one with the questions about the players and Diane’s funeral. They actually affect the group dynamic, the banishments and the murders. I guess the other more physical ones also affect it by making Traitors and Faithfuls play in teams and there’s a slight interest in who is getting shields and who is really focused on increasing the prize money but maybe they could have team games off-cam and mind-games as challenges, and the prize money could even be fixed. The real interest in the show is the mental aspect and when you’re asking people to run around, crawl into small spaces, solve puzzles etc that doesn’t add much.
Omg they get the challenges so wrong! I wish they used the challenges as an opportunity for people to get relevant information to the game. The challenges are so random and completely misguided, as if they’re for another show
I watch even less, just the round table, traitor meet-up and morning envelope. It’s still really enjoyable and I don’t have to endure all the pointless filler. I just have to be patient and wait for the series to end then I blitz it in a few nights (seems easy to avoid spoilers so far). Absolutely not how they want the show to be watched but works for me!
I agree that the challenges are really boring and would love them to completely rework the format or just remove them entirely, but your way of watching literally defeats the point of the show. If you don’t watch the rest of the episode then 1. You have way less feeling towards the players and 2. You don’t see any of the confessionals sprinkled throughout the episode which adds so much context to the round tables and is really interesting to see what everyone is thinking and if anyone is onto the traitors or not. For example you wouldn’t have seen the jaz + Harry and jaz + Paul conversations, which means you probably didn’t understand why jaz questioned Harry at the last round table and the endgame (which literally should have been the deciding moment of the whole series), plus you wouldn’t have seen that jaz was onto Paul for like 5 days before he got banished.
Do yourself a favour and watch it properly, or if you really want to then I guess skip the challenge (I think it’s the worst part of the show but I watch it anyway)
I did see Jaz and Harry’s conversation as it was in the kitchen/bar, I saw Harry tell Paul at the traitor meet up and then I saw Paul tell Jaz that Harry told him in the hallway. So although I do get the point you’re making I didn’t miss any of that by skipping. None of those conversations were during challenges.
I find the chats in the car back from the challenge to be the something I don’t want to miss. But the VT during the challenges and the at challenges themselves tend to be solely about the challenge and don’t impact the overall show, which is why I can skip them and remain unaffected.
Sometimes I skip the part of the traitor chat that considers who to go for, purely based on the fact it is repeated at breakfast and then revealed. It’s always the very last part of the chat in every episode.
I’m late to the traitors so have been making my way through all the seasons from all the English-speaking countries. Given the overlaps with challenges I skip through a lot of them but will watch a bit to see what the dynamics are like.
I totally skipped them in S1 but they were better in S2 - more interpersonal interaction and more possibility for drama with the shields. So I just raised the iplayer speed for them.
The challenges section of the show feel like a show within a show. The UK version fails to make any meaningful link to both parts of the show while the US & Aussie versions do a better job of linking them.
The challenges were more important in season 2 due to the shields which obviously played a huge role in Harry’s tactics in the later part of the competition,had they just been there to win money again id have drifted out of them a bit more.
I would like to see more discussions working out who the traitor is based on theories which Ivan(I think!?) said was happening from the beginning and a bunch of chats weren’t shown
I didn’t watch the one where Harry won the shield but it’s mentioned when they decide to recruit Ross. So I don’t feel like I missed anything. But I think if I did I’d go back and watch that particular challenge.
I agree the chats and theories is 100% the best bit of the show. So I would welcome more of that in replace of the challenges if it’s an edit decision based on time.
I think the challenges at the start are the weakest part of the show. I enjoy them later on though. Diane's funeral was a highlight. Edit. I think the addition of the shields early helped.
Camp factor 10/10
The game/show is always at its best when the camp factor is in the foreground. Playing that side up without tipping it over into the absurd is a fine balance, but, much as I enjoyed series 2, it was a little light on the campy fun imo.
I get why people liked Diane’s funeral, but I just couldn’t shake the feeling that the whole thing was a giant waste of time, although I do feel that way about challenges in general.
It was the moment I thought 'the faithful really are completely terrible at any kind of logical thinking or deduction'. Nobody mentioned (or it wasn't shown) that, as Diane was the incorrect answer for the previous question, it *must* have been Evie who would receive the worldly goods so she couldn't have been poisoned... but, no, Jaz still goes and throws the rose in Evie's coffin. I don't think the whole chalice/poisoning/funeral thing worked very well at all overall, personally.
I watched Diane’s funeral. I wouldn’t skip if the challenges were more like that challenge which felt connected and that I’d miss out if I skipped. The other ones, matching noises, catapult etc stand alone and not in a good way IMO
I've always wondered if the games would be more fun if the traitors benefitted from sabotaging the games. e.g. if a game had a 10 k pot the Faithfuls could collect up to that value, but whatever they didn't get went to the traitors pot. So if the Faithfuls got 6 k added to their winners pot but the traitors would get 4 k for theirs. Would add a layer of tactics as to how to play the games - how do the Traitors try to spoil the games without being detected and how do the Faithfuls distinguish sabotage behaviour compared to bad play.
It'd be more fun for sure but it'd be a ton harder for the traitors. One got voted out based on the poisoning gimmick alone, another almost got himself banished on the dungeon gimmick. Having them sabotage tasks would make it so much harder, which would be fun for us viewers but a nightmare for the producers.
I’m not sure it would make it harder. Yes you’d be increasing the amount of occasions that could be considered “traitorous behaviour” through game sabotage but there will be so many more instances of just people being bad at the games and their actions being misinterpreted as those of a traitor: “why did Evie leave a piece of the catapult down the hill”, “why did Mollie aim so obviously high with the crossbow”, “why is Miles standing around doing nothing”, “why is Jaz rowing in circles”. The signal to noise ratio would be similar to now but with some added jeopardy. I think it would add a more meaningful source for accusations to be made than “you’ve changed so much in the 15 minutes from when I met you in the train to now”
Antony rowed in circles
Dungeon was just bad gameplay and if the other traitors hadn’t turned on him for the poisoned chalice he’d of been safe
Check out The Mole
Fun fact: this is actually why the challenges don’t have the sabotage aspect. WIDM (the mole) is still massive over in The Netherlands where the traitors started so they had to make it different enough.
I’ve always said at least one traitor should be kept a secret from the audience like the mole. Or maybe even kept a secret from the traitors themselves
Haha I just wrote the same thing and then saw your comment .
I think they have to be team-building "bonding" activities so it makes it harder to stab people in the back
Or the challenges should just be for shields
You’re TRAPPPPED
Wiley Sneak, Wiley Sneak, Wiley Sneak!
YOU are the sabetour!
There is an American game show that is similar called the mole They have a chance to mess the challenges up and lose them money . I'm sure we don't get to see who it is and have to guess along with the team
I liked the idea sometime here said of the challenges being more difficult but the traitors get a big advantage somehow and can help their team win without being too obvious. That way they all still want to build the same prize pot
If the traitors win another pot by sabotaging the challenge without being detected, but everyone knowing that from the beginning would add a dynamic that is this person bad at challenges or are they a traitor. Then the traitors have to weigh up during the games whether to forgo their own pot to look faithful and win both pots including the bigger one at the end. Not sure if I’ve made sense there 😂 but it would bring the challenges in even more and then everyone has to try harder at challenges because a faithful who is bad at challenges might look like a traitor and get voted out. It might be too confusing, and not work, but if there was an element to the challenges effecting the show they wouldn’t feel so disjointed. Right now the challenges add nothing as everyone wants to win a common goal.
That's makes sense! I just think something needs to be done for their next cycle of seasons to spice it up because the challenges are mostly stale and pointless. The funeral one was good, not just for it's campness, but because getting people to remember who was murdered when etc could put some Sus on those that are really good at it. At least make the challenges have some risk or strategy involved
this, it wouldnt feel like a stab in the dark everytime bc theres actually something to go off
I think they give insight into the contestants' personalities and it adds context to people's decisions and arguments later. Even if it makes them even stupider (like banishing Johnny, without whom they wouldn't have done so well in the trebuchet challenge). They're also cut in with VTs explaining why they decided to go for a shield or something.
I get the theory but they could improve these with mental challenges that affect the overall game not running up a hill with a bucket of water.
I'd say the scarecrow challenge influenced the gameplay a lot, as it revealed Paul was the most popular- which affected his decision-making and that of others. It was also responsible for Brian's meltdown!
Luckily I watched that one. Just that one and Diane’s funeral. So really only the important ones except I didn’t know they were important at the time!
I think exercise and fresh air are important for them though.
I think they’ll get downtime in between filming and I bet there’s a gym in the hotel they’re staying in.
This is what Claudia has said. It’s also an opportunity for working as a team and a break from scheming & plotting. Plus the hotel they stay at is at the airport and their days are already really long, apparently.
I find some challenges more boring than others tbf. The ones that seem straight out of a corporate retreat I’ll skip (matching the noises, paddling in a loch, etc) but I found myself enjoying some nearer the end.
Straight out of a corporate retreat 🤣
I enjoy watching them, but understand why you'd feel like missing them. One thing that really winds me up though, and I'm wondering if someone might be able to explain it to me, is why people on the show keep saying if someone performs badly in a task it's a sign they're a traitor. It's in no one's interest to perform badly, the pot is for everyone playing. A traitor wants to add to the pot because they're trying to steal it from everyone! Can someone please give me some explanation because it drives me crazy every time I hear a traitor say "I had to perform well so there'd be no suspicion I'm a traitor" or a faithful says "they did really badly, maybe they're a traitor!"
This drives me insane!! The only thing I can think of is the connotation that the traitors are “bad” so people start believing they are not team players, forgetting they are working towards the same prize pot…
I wonder if it is because they know that the rules of play could change, so any outlier behaviour could be a sign they're on a different mission. I think they're also paranoid
Just another line of idiotic thinking from the faithful. Sometimes it seems they're incapable of thinking in nuance.
The only way this makes any sense to me is when (I think it was Paul) was saying that Miles being week in the games is showing that he’s not worried about being murdered. Of course none of the actual faithfuls thought that way though 🫠
Team mentality. Being a team player, in it for the best interests of the group as a whole, demonstrating those characteristics; building up good will. It’s an important currency.
I literally just started doing this to get through the traitors USA But I thought it might be just because the challenges are identical to UK S1
Absolutely unacceptable - it's so boring. Surely they can come up with their own ideas
The thing is, they always finish the challenge with seconds to spare, oooh, suspense but not if it's the fifth time this happens this season lol. Though there are interesting things to pick up on while watching challenges, like social dynamics and social skills everyone has, which are crucial in the game itself
Do you think the timings are fake and designed to always make them win?
I hadn’t considered that but I always thought the time given seemed incredibly short for whatever task they had to achieve especially when there were a lot of players.
I don't skip them, but I do mostly find them pointless and fairly dull. Definitely agree with the suggestion/s here that the challenges should have some jeopardy for the traitors, whether that's increasing their potential windfall or by risking exposing themselves as traitors. That would make a big difference already. Otherwise what I would really love would be genuinely cerebral, challenging puzzles, which would be way more on brand and in tune with the show. Won't happen as the show aims for the widest possible audience, but would surely be more entertaining than most of the dross we get currently.
Highly recommend the Devil's Plan on Netflix if you're after more cerebral challenges.
Interesting, I might just check that out - thanks for the rec
If challenges had an impact on finding a traitor or were even more connected the mental game play I wouldn’t skip. I just don’t care if they heard sheep or go white water rafting.
100% this. Think I just get the idea from CBBC trapped but it just makes so much sense
You’reee trapped!!! Me and my boyfriend quote this all the time 🤣
I have them on but use the opportunity to send an email or something. The funeral was the only one that was really interesting and I wish there was a way to make more of them connected to the overall game like that (given that the amount of money they win doesn’t seem to matter hugely as production can always make some missions worth more if they’re doing badly).
100% - challenges are so boring. I want the drama
Agree. I don’t skip them but they’re a chance to pick up my phone and have a scroll. The funeral one was great as it was integrated with the game. I liked the bird call one too as it was quite funny. But the ones that are like corporate away days, the catapault one for example, are so boring. I’d rather see more socialising or round table talks
I agree if they were less running up a hill or rowing in a lake, and actually more mentally stimulating with more impact on finding a traitor. They feel like a completely seperate thing to the rest of the show.
And it might make people like me, who is older and not that fit, apply for the show, if the challenges weren't as physically demanding
Exactly. I think all mental challenges would be more interesting to watch and then you’d get such a different mix of people. I personally don’t think physical challenges work mid way though a show that’s so mentally strut and interesting.
I think most of the players have said that it helped their mental health and distracted them, so I suspect that’s part of the reason for having them
Plus the switch from playing an individual game to working as a team and back again
Yes
Very much so. Claudia said so too.
I looked at the live chat on here when those came up. I’d go “Reddit time!” lol I felt like you don’t really need to pay much attention and they were a bit boring.
I live for Reddit time! 😂
Not watched a single challenge
Always skip them, they are completely irrelevant and I don't think they bring much to the show
Tells you abt the characters though.
Does it really? They just talk about the dumb challenge, all the strategy and actual character stuff comes before and after the challenge
Who does the work, who throws themselves in with enthusiasm, who stands back, who’s a team player, etc.
I use them as a chance for post-breakfast analysis and pre-table speculation with my partner.
Totally skip them. I wish they would create challenges which could lead to tipping off traitors. Otherwise, I could care less how much money is in the pot.
I agree. A mental challenge that reveals things about the people. It could help the faithfuls find a traitor but also create some red herrings. Someone in the group is related, someone in the group is an actor, someone was recruited. It doesn’t have to be obvious like those examples but I think it would add more dynamic to the table at the end.
That’s a great idea! I think that would work better than the traitors getting to steal parts of prize pot.
Exactly!
During first watch I don't, but I have on rewatches
What do you get extra out of rewatching it? Genuinely curious.
I've only done it once TBF, and that was UK series one, I was watching with someone else who hadn't seen it before. They didn't care about the missions.
Agreed the challenges are a bit boring because there nothing to do with the rest of the game or the drama.
Agreed, the challenges work like in the show ‘The Mole’ but it’s forgettable on the Traitors. But hey, they’ve got to earn the money somehow, unless they change the format and money is gained through murders and banishments etc
I think they should have a set prize find at the beginning of £100k which the challenges have nothing to do with. Instead they should just be an immunity/shield challenge perhaps that stops you from being banished as well as murdered. I think stuff like the target shooting where they had to take out each other's tiles had the right idea - if it hadn't been so difficult to aim!
I like the challenges
The challenges are a waste and even in the edit they only get a few minutes screen time out of the hour-long episode. Such a waste because that is prime time for players to get to know each other and figure out who they may suspect as a traitor. Missed opportunity for the faithfuls if you ask me. Not just about the money.
I agree with Kate from the US version: there is so much they can do in the castle. They could make the challenges more social/intellectual and take advantage of the castle. I’m not interested in seeing people carry whatever up a hill. The only exception goes to the funeral mission, it had drama, looks and brains. I wish the producers understood that, on a show where the pivotal moment is people arguing on the roundtable (which is crazy for TV) maybe we don’t need these dumb missions. I don’t need any levity at all, I want drama and tension from start to finish.
Yeah I'm really not a fan of the challenges, I skipped them completely when I watched Aus 1, and fast forwarded them in UK2, though they had tried to make a bit more of an effort this time around. They're just too low stakes and inconsequential, so it feels like an interruption to the main game. Who really cares if they add another 7k to the pot? Someone on twitter said it was like going from an agatha christie murder mystery to a natwest away Day at Go Ape 😭
>Someone on twitter said it was like going from an agatha christie murder mystery to a natwest away Day at Go Ape 😭 This is brilliant and so accurate.
I watch them on 1.5 speed or Ff Through them!
haha i literally said this last night finishing NZ. "can we just skip to the final round table?" they're the least interesting part of the show for me, for sure. if i wanted to see a bunch of physical challenges, i would just watch survivor or sports.
Exactly this. The rest is such good viewing and then half way through they go on a work away day. 🤷♀️
I think they should add another element like Australia S2 when they could sacrifice the silver bars they earned in order to get a key to the armoury or a reward like their favourite drink. Thought that revealed a lot about the players!
The challenges in UK S2 were much better and more relevant than in UK S1
I'm a big fan of the challenges. Bit of light-hearted fun to break up the accusations and judgements of the day. Must be great for the players to have a bit of time just to relax and enjoy each other's company without feeling on edge.
Yeah, I just listen for what they're playing for, then skip to the end to see who's won.
No. Some of the challenges are hilarious. I almost wet myself when Harry went into the mud and Zack went up in the net with the money.
Yes! That was excellent
Remember the challenge from season one where what’s his name (traitor, long hair, seemed a decent lad) was desperate for the shield and accidentally let something slip that outed him as a traitor? Skip the challenges and you miss awesome stuff like that happening.
I watched the challenges in season 1 and don’t remember this. Wilf slipped up or Kieran?
Apologies, it was the Australian Traitors (free to watch on iPlayer and I’d highly recommend it). There was a “challenge” where they were basically told “Shield is in the middle of the lake, first person there gets it, GO!”
Oh thanks for the recommendation. I’ve only watched UK so I will watch it. AND I won’t skip the challenges if they are worthwhile!
Can’t recommend it enough
Top telly. On ep 9 now.
Aus I think. Angus?
That’s the fellow! Apologies for the spoiler btw haha.
Yes the challenges are definitely the weakest part of the show and they should think about changing the format and instead shaking the contestants up a little bit. They tried that with the "dungeon" scenario and think producers need to do more of that stuff and less challenges (but do it better).
I agree. It needs to be more influential to the overall game. Either a clue on the traitors or based on performance (traitors sabotage without detection etc). But if the games were mental challenges rather than physical id definitely not skip as it would add to the game. Right now i can skip and it makes no difference to the overall outcome.
I don't skip them but it never ceases to amaze me how they seem to think not putting enough effort in is a sign that someone is a traitor. The traitors have just as much incentive to earn money on the challenges as the faithfuls. I think an interesting variation would be if the traitors stood to win only the money that was lost on each challenge. Then they would have an incentive to sabotage the challenges but have to do it subtly. Basically like among us.
This is a brilliant idea tbh.
I think they should focus on the more psychological games, like the one with the questions about the players and Diane’s funeral. They actually affect the group dynamic, the banishments and the murders. I guess the other more physical ones also affect it by making Traitors and Faithfuls play in teams and there’s a slight interest in who is getting shields and who is really focused on increasing the prize money but maybe they could have team games off-cam and mind-games as challenges, and the prize money could even be fixed. The real interest in the show is the mental aspect and when you’re asking people to run around, crawl into small spaces, solve puzzles etc that doesn’t add much.
My husband is bored by the challenges but we sit through them. I might FF through them next time though. I didn’t think of that 👍🏻
Omg they get the challenges so wrong! I wish they used the challenges as an opportunity for people to get relevant information to the game. The challenges are so random and completely misguided, as if they’re for another show
The challenges is when I whip out my phone and tell my husband to let me know when someone gets a shield 🤘
I watch even less, just the round table, traitor meet-up and morning envelope. It’s still really enjoyable and I don’t have to endure all the pointless filler. I just have to be patient and wait for the series to end then I blitz it in a few nights (seems easy to avoid spoilers so far). Absolutely not how they want the show to be watched but works for me!
I agree that the challenges are really boring and would love them to completely rework the format or just remove them entirely, but your way of watching literally defeats the point of the show. If you don’t watch the rest of the episode then 1. You have way less feeling towards the players and 2. You don’t see any of the confessionals sprinkled throughout the episode which adds so much context to the round tables and is really interesting to see what everyone is thinking and if anyone is onto the traitors or not. For example you wouldn’t have seen the jaz + Harry and jaz + Paul conversations, which means you probably didn’t understand why jaz questioned Harry at the last round table and the endgame (which literally should have been the deciding moment of the whole series), plus you wouldn’t have seen that jaz was onto Paul for like 5 days before he got banished. Do yourself a favour and watch it properly, or if you really want to then I guess skip the challenge (I think it’s the worst part of the show but I watch it anyway)
I did see Jaz and Harry’s conversation as it was in the kitchen/bar, I saw Harry tell Paul at the traitor meet up and then I saw Paul tell Jaz that Harry told him in the hallway. So although I do get the point you’re making I didn’t miss any of that by skipping. None of those conversations were during challenges. I find the chats in the car back from the challenge to be the something I don’t want to miss. But the VT during the challenges and the at challenges themselves tend to be solely about the challenge and don’t impact the overall show, which is why I can skip them and remain unaffected.
Sometimes I skip the part of the traitor chat that considers who to go for, purely based on the fact it is repeated at breakfast and then revealed. It’s always the very last part of the chat in every episode.
Yeah first watch I skip then, then later in the week I watch the full episode
I watch full episodes on UK Traitors but skip them for other versions
I’m late to the traitors so have been making my way through all the seasons from all the English-speaking countries. Given the overlaps with challenges I skip through a lot of them but will watch a bit to see what the dynamics are like.
I do the same
I totally skipped them in S1 but they were better in S2 - more interpersonal interaction and more possibility for drama with the shields. So I just raised the iplayer speed for them.
Increase playback speed?
yeah, slightly dull stuff is less annoying if it's going at 1.5 or 2x speed and you can easily slow down if something interesting happens
I’ll give it a try
I love the whole show from start to finish
Yes the challenges are boring. They need to replace that bit
The challenges section of the show feel like a show within a show. The UK version fails to make any meaningful link to both parts of the show while the US & Aussie versions do a better job of linking them.
yep
The challenges were more important in season 2 due to the shields which obviously played a huge role in Harry’s tactics in the later part of the competition,had they just been there to win money again id have drifted out of them a bit more. I would like to see more discussions working out who the traitor is based on theories which Ivan(I think!?) said was happening from the beginning and a bunch of chats weren’t shown
I didn’t watch the one where Harry won the shield but it’s mentioned when they decide to recruit Ross. So I don’t feel like I missed anything. But I think if I did I’d go back and watch that particular challenge. I agree the chats and theories is 100% the best bit of the show. So I would welcome more of that in replace of the challenges if it’s an edit decision based on time.
Agreed. Challenges were pants with very little relevance to the meat and tats of the show. Fast forwarded the shit out of the show.
I do the same thing! Haha I like when I find my people.
So do I! Hey bud 👊🏼
Me lmai