The third season of The Traitors U.S. is off to a ruthless start.
Within minutes of the contestants arriving at the Scottish Highlands castle, returning host Alan Cumming tasked them with their first of many tough decisions.
After riding in on horseback surrounded by an army of masked and cloaked figures, Cumming explained the rules of the game.
“Today, all of you arrived as equals, but before the day is done, I will have chosen the Traitors. Under the cover of darkness, these Traitors will deceive, manipulate and, of course, murder,” he said, smiling devilishly. “The rest of you will become the Faithful. Your goal is simple — stay alive and banish the Traitors!”
Teasing the cash prize of up to $250,000, Cumming reminded players that “if any Traitors remain at the end of the game, they will take all of the prize money.”
He then commanded his cloaked followers to disperse; however, one stayed behind.
“This game is all about tough decisions and this is the first of many,” Cumming said, going on to introduce the mysterious cloaked figure. “This is not one of my followers, this is someone who is dying to join our little game.
“If any of you would like them to join us, it’s quite simple. Just step forward and shake my hand. However, the person that shakes my hand will then choose another player who will be exiled from my castle immediately,” he explained, leaving the group baffled.
The person was finally asked to remove their mask, unveiling themself to be Survivor legend Rob Mariano.
The Boston native, who’s competed on the longrunning survivalist game show a record-breaking six times, went on to make his case for why he should be invited into the game.
“I have a reputation of being quite the gamesman. And not only will they gain me as an ally, but they will also have the ability to eliminate someone that may be an adversary to them,” Mariano said. “Take a look around, not everybody here is here to help you. Ask yourself if you’d rather be exiled or do the exiling.”
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While several of the contestants expressed interest in shaking Cumming’s hand, in the end, it was Mariano who was sent away in exile.
“I’m just super frustrated with this group of idiots,” he told the cameras in exasperation. “They didn’t let me get in the game; that’s it plain and simple. I’m gonna get prejudged based on my history. It’s bulls***.”
New episodes of The Traitors U.S. season three will be released Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on Peacock, with the finale airing on March 6.