‘The Traitors’ Season 2 Cast Members, Ranked from Petulant Peter to Phabulous Phaedra

Johnny “Bananas” made an amateur mistake right out of the gate by putting himself out there as a fierce, frontrunner competitor. He put a big target on his back and he was taken out first by the Traitors. Sure, the rest of the Faithful acted shocked when he went, but if he really knew what he was doing, he would have laid low for the first few challenges. Sorry, Johnny. Better luck next time.

Similarly, Marcus was a target from the get-go for no other reason than that he came into the game with his girlfriend, Larsa. Amateur move, Marcus. Everyone knows in a reality competition show that those with a very clear alliance are going to be targeted first. In any other circumstance, Marcus (as a pro athlete) could have gone further, particularly if he was able to win money during the challenges or win a shield for himself along the way.

Larsa obviously had a similar issue to Marcus—she came in with her significant other, which is never a smart move on a reality show. However, once Marcus was gone, Larsa should have been in the clear. And she should have had a massive advantage in that she’s part of the Bravo family. Just look how well Phaedra, Kate, MJ and Shereé fared by sticking together? Her failure to capitalize on her Bravo roots certainly contributed to her low ranking.

Why in the world was Maksim trying to act like a villain? His demeanor and behavior throughout the first three episodes screamed Traitor even though he was one of the Faithful. He does get some props (which is why he isn’t lower on the list) for standing up for Peppermint during her banishment, but the Dancing with the Stars alum otherwise just became a blip in a stellar season.

Do I love a self-elimination? Absolutely. It’s incredible TV (see: BenDeLaCreme). However, Deontay’s self-elimination was quite lackluster as it occurred off-screen. The professional boxer was simply not there at breakfast in episode four. Where was the drama? Where was the storm-out?! Deontay does get credit for giving us all the emotions in episode three when it was becoming clear he wasn’t able to take much more of the murder and banishment. But a request for future self-eliminators: Please do so in front of the cameras.

Sadly, Tamra doesn’t rank higher on my list because, like Larsa, she wasn’t able to fully capitalize on her Bravo connections and was gone too soon (AKA in episode five). She didn’t particularly add too much to the castle either—she was no, Kate, that’s for sure (more on Kate below). She does get bonus points, however, for one of her final lines: “I just hope it’s not a Housewife in there that murdered me.” If she only knew…

Similar to Peter (who you’ll hear about from me in a minute), Kevin became, well, pretty damn annoying on the show. Yes, he made it far and yes, the Bling Empire star was able to find himself in a good-guy alliance. But it’s never a great sign when fans like myself are screaming at the television set, “Someone just murder Kevin already!” Fortunately, he finally got his in the end. Good on him though for being such a non-threat that Traitors and Faithful alike let him continue on for so long.

Talk about getting the short end of the (peppermint) stick here. Peppermint is a fabulous performer and entertainer, but she was falsely accused of being Traitor far too early and sent home. Sure, it was largely her own fault for mistakenly saying that she was a Traitor (SMH, Peppermint), but she’s higher up on the list for two good reasons. First, there was her fabulous farewell speech where she spoke of being an advocate for the transgender community. And then there was the fact that the contestants who made it further in the season—namely Trishelle—spoke of her elimination frequently as a major (if not the major) regret.

Alright, Bachelor Nation, please don’t come for me here. Peter made for some fabulous television in his day (yes, I’m talking about the windmill with Hannah Brown). But his “I need to root out the Traitors” good guy act became thoroughly exhausting. Yes, I get that the object of the game is to find the Traitors and yes, Peter was very good at figuring out who they were. But when he turned down the opportunity to join the Traitors and stayed as one of the Faithful? An absolutely unforgivable move (at least as far as making good TV is concerned) in my book.

I’ve been a Big Brother fan of Janelle’s for years. So I was very excited to see her on the cast list for season two of The Traitors. Sadly, Janelle only did okay on the show. As a great game-player, she likely had a target on her back from the beginning. In her five episodes on the season, she proved to be a great competitor with some great instincts, but alas, her big personality kept her from flying under the radar as successfully as, say, an MJ or a Bergie.

Dan, Dan, Dan. Sigh. As an avid fan of the show, I’m always rooting for the Traitors. But he was just so bad at it. Being paired with Phaedra, he really should have been able to take things all the way to the end. But instead, he was caught in episode six (embarrassing, Dan!). Even worse, watching Dan try to lie as a Traitor was almost comical as he was always physically sweating (shame on the Faithful for not catching him sooner). But the most unforgivable sin? Dan tried to save himself by coming for my girl Phaedra at the roundtable. Fortunately, she ate him up and spit him right back out.

“Not Ekin-Su!” It was the Phaedra quote heard round the world. The fact that Ekin-Su was able to become one of the most meme-able moments of season two while getting murdered pretty early on has earned her a near-top-ten spot. And while she didn’t accomplish all that much in her short time, she did at least have a very memorable death when she was poisoned by Parvati with a glass of wine.

Full disclosure, I had no idea who Bergie was prior to this season. But the Love Island USA alum was hard not to love—even if he was never really a value add to the competition. The man had more lives than a cat, somehow evading murder time and time again. Yes, he was part of annoying Peter’s plan to foil the Traitors, but his low-key personality made him much much more likeable.

Now this is how you capitalize on a Bravo alliance. Shereé did such a good job of seeming non-threatening and sticking with her Bravo gals, meaning she was never a prime target of the Traitors (well, until there were very few folks left). She was also never really suspected by the Faithfuls, so she was able to avoid banishment for the full season. Did she add a lot of drama and pot-stirring to the show? No. But good on this Housewife for smartly staying under the radar for so long.

Did I expect a former member of U.K. Parliament to be on The Traitors? Obviously not. Did I expect him to do as well as he did? Hard to say (politicians are notoriously shady after all). But John was quite the competitor, with a mix of dumb luck and strategic alliances keeping him alive for most of the season. Naturally, I wasn’t the biggest fan of anyone who hitched their bandwagon to Peter, but John made himself far less of a threat than Peter or Kevin, propelling him all the way until episode ten.

Oh, man. I don’t know if I’ll ever forget the look on MJ’s face when Trishelle and C.T. turned on her in the finale. She was so close and she was naïve enough to believe that the rest of the Faithfuls would have her back. While her naivety keeps her from being higher on the list, the Shahs of Sunset star managed to remain unthreatening to the Traitors and the Faithful (a la Shereé) to the very end. And she smartly aligned herself with the ladies of Bravo, providing her the necessary shield from death or expulsion.

C.T. really was a great competitor this season. In fact, I’m kind of shocked that no one tried to get rid of him along the way, considering just how good he was able to perform in the challenges. He very nearly lost it all in the finale, which is why he’s ranked behind Trishelle, but she came to her senses in the end and decided to split the pot with him. Why isn’t he higher up on the list? Well, money isn’t everything. The top five made for some killer TV…

Who would’ve expected Trishelle to avoid the Traitors’ ax for long enough to win the whole thing? Aligning herself with Peter could have (and likely should have) spelled the end for her. But her solid game-playing kept her in until the very end. She gave us some great moments (like when she very nearly got rid of C.T. in the finale) and some really terrible moments (like when she came for Peppermint in episode two). But whether or not I wanted her to win, Trishelle was perhaps the most impressive member of the Faithful.

Survivor Sandra clearly came in with a reputation (just ask Parvati) and with high expectations. The fact that she was able to make it as far as she did is almost shocking—why didn’t anyone target her sooner (again, looking at you, Parvati)? She was a fierce competitor, always suspicious of her fellow players. And she almost made it the whole way…until she ran into Hurricane Kate.

Parvati was born to be a Traitor. Like Phaedra, the former Survivor contestant seemed to relish the fact that she was there to murder her fellow cast members. Her confessionals were full of duplicitous plans and she was able to make it pretty far in the show considering she had “guilty” written all over her ever since the episode she was recruited (and before that too, honestly). And when Parvati and Phaedra had words in the Traitors Turret? Oooooh, that was tense in the best way possible.

God, I love Kate. She is such good TV and nothing made me happier this season than her surprise return to the franchise. She had me full on cackling in season one as she was actively sabotaging the missions (like when she blatantly threw away money during the barrel challenge). And then Traitors producers gave us all the ultimate gift by bringing her back midway through season two. This time, she brought her signature dry humor and got the ultimate upgrade by being asked to join the ranks of the Traitors. Fortunately, unlike Peter, she accepted (not that she had a huge choice in the matter…). Kate remained an incredible competitor right up through the finale when she fell just short of winning the whole thing.

Ten seasons from now when Peacock finally decides to do an all-stars cast, Phaedra is going to be their absolute first phone call. Phaedra brought the entertainment, she brought the treachery and she brought the most meme-able faces all season long. Was she the best Traitor in history? Definitely not. After Dan’s accusation at the roundtable, she was really never able to fully recover. And, of course, in the end she got caught. But after every single season two episode, Phaedra was the watercooler talk. Even more, she knew how to get fans to root for her to escape the watchful eyes of Peter, Trishelle and the rest of the Faithful. Phaedra was by far the highlight of the season and she will be sorely missed in season three.

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