The Traitors: Why was Alan Cumming surprised by Phaedra Parks' gameplay in season 2?

The Traitors US season 2 concluded with two new episodes this week, featuring the season finale and the reunion special, which aired on March 7, 2024. The latest episode marked the end of the Peacock show for this season as Trishelle and CT, two The Challenge stars, took home the grand prize, but ahead of the season finale, host Alan Cumming spoke to People Magazine about the show and several cast members.

During the conversation, the host opened up about Phaedra Parks, who was the third traitor to be eliminated. He noted that he was surprised by her passive strategy in the game and that the only thing she was "kind of firm" about was her loyalty towards the Bravo celebrities, specifically to the other Housewives. Cumming said:

"There was a very tribal aspect to her Housewife stuff, which I kind of enjoyed as well. She never really risks a judgment about anything. And as a lawyer, you have to be very authoritative, but non-partisan, So, I was kind of surprised."

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What did host Alan Cumming think about the cast of The Traitors US season 2?

In the same interview, the host opened up about multiple The Traitors US season 2 cast members, including John Bercow, the former politician. Alan Cumming noted that he thought Bercow would be voted off early and that people would find him "annoying." He was surprised that the cast member was able to adapt and become a "real team player."

As for The Bachelor alum Peter Weber, Alan stated that his gameplay on the Peacock show was "fantastic." He added that it proved the theory that "gamers" were going to be showcased predominantly during the show. He continued:

"It shows this whole theory that gamers from shows like Survivor and Big Brother and everything are going to be much more predisposed to be good in the show; that's clearly not true. Peter being the cutesy Bachelor has kind of worked it all out and was really kind of strategizing in really amazing way."

The Traitors US season 2 host chimed in about Dan Gheesling and felt like he "blew it." Alan told the publication that everyone was talking about how great Dan was at tactics, but the other contestants were telling him what to do.

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What happened during The Traitors US season 2 finale?

The season finale started with Kate, CT, MJ, Sandra, Shereé, and Trishelle still in the running to become the winner or winners of the show. Since Phaedra was eliminated in the previous episode, it was up to Kate to decide who to kill next, and she chose Shereé.

During the final mission, the cast had to make their way onto a ship while going through a course of obstacles where they would come across checkpoints where they could potentially earn more money or risk wasting time to complete the challenge. In the end, they were able to raise the prize fund to $208,100.

At the round table, Sandra was banished from The Traitors season 2. The remaining cast members then had to individually pick whether they wanted to "end the game" or "banish again" until either they all agreed to the former or only two players remained.

During the Fire of Truth, each player received pouches to throw into the fire based on whether they wanted to banish again or end the game. Kate Chastain was banished next, after which MJ voted to end the game, but The Challenge stars wanted to continue playing.

As part of the next vote, all three voted against each other and had to do it again, and ultimately, the two MTV stars eliminated the Shahs of Sunset star from the game and split the pot.

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Episodes of The Traitors season 2 are available to stream on Peacock.