Poor Jade. She can’t seem to catch a break.
Even her fellow contestants on The Traitors have acknowledged that Jade’s time in the Scottish castle has not been the cosy crime drama experience the surroundings suggest.
And after tonight’s episode resulted in switched votes and roundtable deadlock, I fear her days of defending herself aren’t yet over.
Regardless of what happens next, Stephen now has his own life-sized bulwark in Jade.
I’ve made my case before for how warped the suspicion levelled at the PhD student has been, because it has primarily relied on her quiet and subdued personality as proof.
But at tonight’s critical summit – the last time a banished contestant reveals their identity – Jade’s swapped votes could be the concrete bit of evidence those already gunning for her can point to in their quest to oust her.
Regardless of whether it’s James or Rachel who leaves Ardross Castle, the only other names floating through the corridors are Jade and Stephen.
For all his guilty blushes and darting looks, Stephen and his Paddington Bear-style fits are, in my opinion, going into the final, with Faraaz as the lone Faithful spying in his direction.
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That leaves Jade the obvious choice for who the Faithful will suspect was accompanying Rachel up the turret steps. But it isn’t just Jade’s actions that have helped Stephen when all seemed lost time and again this series. Rachel’s mistake in last night’s episode was only amplified by her actions tonight.
Regardless of who pulls a shield from their box, Faraaz has mounted far too convincing a case against Traitors supremo Rachel for her to finish this implausible run with a win. If only Fiona hadn’t sparked kindling at Rachel’s feet when she self-immolated, it might all be so different.
But during this episode, even James, whose guesses and gameplay have been so atrocious it’s been painful to watch, has finally taken notice, getting wind of the fire that has been burning right under their noses, set by Fiona and smouldered by Harriet.
Murdering Roxy was Rachel’s big blunder, because at the roundtable she had no allies left to latch onto, while James had actual evidence to point to.
Which is why I think Rachel deserves to be the banished party, and probably will be, leaving Stephen to beeline for victory. This isn’t the first time in this series that a stalemate roundtable has come down to chance.
Earlier on, Amanda was banished over Reece after picking the box at the front of Claudia Winkleman’s killer platter.
This time, Rachel picked the box at the back. It’s dubbed a ‘game of chance’, but the whole box business doesn’t feel quite as 50/50 as a simple coin toss would.
But if Rachel is the one who leaves, admitting she’s a Traitor on the way out, it will be Faraaz that the remaining Faithful look to for guidance, having now made himself known.
He’s going back and forth over whether it’s Stephen or Jade, and based on the day they just had, it’s Jade who’s done the most to incriminate herself, thus unfortunately putting herself back on the chopping block.
Why Jack found Rachel’s speech convincing is something only he can explain. He has said he’s locked in with tunnel vision on the show finale. An apparent byproduct of that is he’s got blinders up to everything else, like guilty Stephen next to him.
Only time will tell how that works out for him.
Compared to Jade’s unshakable cloud of suspicion, Stephen is Teflon. Rachel tried to throw her qualms across the roundtable at him, but all she had to go on was his return from the cages mission donkey’s years ago.
Rising like a serpent on the attack, the 32-year-old cybersecurity whizz batted away the accusation with the assurance of someone who now knows exactly what they’re doing. Perhaps he got it from Rachel because up until now he’s had the frantic look of someone desperately trying to learn on the job.
If Stephen is able to ride out the lingering suspicions around Rachel and capitalise on Jade’s eyebrow-raising roundtable indecision, he could yet keep his fabulous wool jumpers over his castmates’ eyes until the bubbles are popped at the very end.
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