The Traitors Ireland delivered perhaps its most explosive roundtable of the series on Sunday night, as tensions between two players boiled over into personal jibes that left viewers stunned.
The tenth episode of the second series saw just seven players remaining inside Slane Castle, five Faithful and two Traitors, Pauric O’Meara and Carla, with the €50,000 prize pot still up for grabs.
Following DJ’s exit last week, the Traitors held the ceremonial dagger, allowing them to hand one player two votes at the round table. Carla wasted no time stirring the pot, quietly telling others she suspected Pete of being a Traitor.
As the rest of the group began to turn their attention to Pauric O’Meara over breakfast, host Siobhan McSweeney arrived to reveal that the dagger had been handed to Anna, an unwitting ally of both Traitors.
Turning on each other
In a sign of the paranoia setting in, Pauric O’Meara was seen working three separate Faithful before the challenge, planting seeds about his fellow Traitor Carla in an apparent bid to stab her in the back.
But when Ian and Pete pushed back and questioned him, he appeared rattled, and even began to suggest that his close pal Ian was a Traitor too.
The Traitors format has now been sold to 40 countries worldwide, from Indonesia to Brazil to Malta.
What started as a Dutch show in 2021 has spread across six continents — Ireland’s version is just one of dozens of local editions now airing globally.
The challenge then sparked serious controversy. Teams of two were given the choice to either pocket €2,000 for themselves or add it to the prize fund. Kayleigh and Ian, and Carla and Diego, put their share into the pot.
Anna, however, took the money for herself after plenty of encouragement from Pete, a decision that left the others livid and increasingly convinced that Pete was a Traitor.
‘You are a sheep’
That set the stage for a blistering round table, with Ian rounding on Pete and reeling off a list of ‘evidence’ he claimed pointed to him being a Traitor.
Pete hit back by casting Ian as a follower rather than a leader. ‘I don’t really hear you much at the round table, because usually you just sit back and you listen,’ he said. ‘I’m a leader. I apologise for being a leader. I take control. You sit back, it’s almost like you’re repeating what people say to fit in.’
The remark lit the fuse. Ian accused Pete of attacking his character rather than addressing the points he had raised. Pete insisted he was doing no such thing, before doubling down. ‘I lead, you don’t lead. You are a sheep,’ he said.
Even fellow Traitor Pauric O’Meara felt moved to step in, noting that the pair were ‘going at each other at a personal level’.
For a while it looked as though Pete was for the chop. But a late revelation from Anna, who said she believed it was Ian who had handed her the dagger, sent the vote swinging the other way. Ian was duly banished, only to reveal he had been a Faithful all along.
With Pauric O’Meara and Carla gleeful back at the conclave, it now looks as though Kayleigh or Anna could be next in line for the Traitors’ murder.
Viewers react
Reacting to the episode on X, viewers were left in disbelief at just how heated things got.
One viewer wrote: ‘Ian: “I suspect Pete.
‘Pete: “Great to hear you actually speak at the table.”
‘OH HE’S GONE PERSONAL.’
A second viewer said: ‘An Ian and Pete cat fight wasn’t on my bingo card but I’m living for it.’
A third wrote: ‘From “I think you’re a Traitor” to “YOU’RE A SHEEP” in under three minutes. Outstanding escalation.’
A fourth summed up the dramatic climax with: ‘The boys club is officially over.’
Extra.ie coverage of The Traitors Ireland is brought to you by ESB Networks.
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