The Traitors Recap: MJ’s Vote Breaks That Nail-Biting Tie, as Three More Players Exit Alan’s Castle

Peter. Phaedra. Peter. Phaedra. It all came down to Shahs of Sunset star MJ Javid, who was left to cast the final vote and break the season’s biggest nail-biting tie thus far.

After making us wait a whole dang week (seriously, I have aged waiting for this episode), the first few moments of Thursday’s Traitors immediately delivered the goods: Peter is her vote, and the former Bachelor is banished from the game. “I felt like there was way more evidence going in your direction than any other direction,” MJ tells him. Cue the long faces once Peter reveals he is a faithful. DUH! (Yeah, yeah. It’s easy for us to judge when we’re at home being armchair experts.)

But with Peter gone, the argument for Phaedra becomes far easier for Trishelle to sell. The Real World vet hopes and prays she can convince MJ, Kate and Shereé to write down Phaedra’s name at the next roundtable. But will Phaedra be able to spin a different story to get Trishelle and CT off her back?

MURRRDERRR! | With everyone coming for Phaedra, Kate’s fine to let the former housewife drive this one. CT has a shield, so it all comes down to offing either Trishelle or John. Unfortunately for the former British politician, he has, in fact, attended his last breakfast.

After their morning meal, Kate does what she can to help her fellow traitor, planting seeds about Sandra possibly being the second of two traitors still in the game. But can she convince the others to save Phaedra for the final ceremony?

MISSION | The players must dig through a mud pile to find gold nuggets, and carry them across the lake over a group of floating platforms. The season’s final shield is also buried in the muck, which MJ finds and delivers to its proper home at the very last second. Trishelle and CT do most of the hard work, banking the group an additional $28,350. (And for those keeping tabs, the total prize pot is now $158,100.)

Back at the castle, Sandra eyes Kate working overtime in a conversation with CT and MJ. She decides to go outside and try to crash their chat, only when she does, Kate won’t say who she thinks “No. 2” is.

Back inside, Shereé asks her friend point blank if she’s a traitor, but Phaedra maintains the lie. Though it seems like her layers of defense are weakening. Is that a glimmer of defeat we’re seeing in her eyes?

ROUNDTABLE 2 | The discussion at the banishment ceremony is brief. Too brief. Trishelle questions Phaedra’s silence the night prior when her name kept coming up. MJ, finally coming to her senses, says that Phaedra’s nature could totally help her excel in the role. Sandra says it’s “gonna kill me if you end up being a traitor, but the signs are all there. We just have to see if what Trishelle was saying was right.” At this point, it seems that this season’s hilarious fan-favorite is cooked. And honestly? It seems like Phaedra’s ready to throw in the towel. “I’m very exhausted,” she says. “It just gets to a point where you just get really tired of fighting.”

Alan calls it all off and when the votes are revealed, everyone writes down Phaedra’s name (she jots down CT). At the last second, Kate throws a rather unnecessary dagger: “In this game you’re more selfish than skillful. It’s not fun to play games with people who play that way.”

When Phaedra stands in the Circle of Trust, she reveals she’s a traitor and says she hopes there are no hard feelings. (Meanwhile, she tells us in an interview that she’s ready for a spa day and a flight outta Scotland. We don’t blame her! Carrying an entire season on one’s back is hard work.)

Kate’s comment to Phaedra serves as yet another red flag for Sandra, who thinks that it’s very possible that Kate could be the last traitor in their midst. But Kate knows that if the group banishes another faithful, that person could easily be Sandra…

Who are you rooting for in this potential Kate vs. Sandra finale showdown? Place your bets in the comments below!