Parvati Fights to Survive, Could Peter Be the Answer?

After fellow Survivor legend Cirie sailed smoothly through this game last season, it certainly looked like all the cards were stacked in the favor of the Traitors, but this season’s crop of Faithful have been particularly savvy. And while Bachelor Peter has been getting most of the credit for that, we can’t overlook Challenge superstar Trishelle.

Her read on why Big Brother legend (and Banished Traitor) Dan would target RHOA’s Phaedra was spot-on. Dan was trying to save his own behind by offering up a real Traitor because that would not only absolve him with the Faithful, but make him look really, really good at the game.

It didn’t help him in that moment and most of the players didn’t put the clues together, but Trishelle did. Unfortunately, she was unable to convince anyone to listen to her — Peter runs his little alliance. But with no Banishment last week, she’d get a second chance … if she could survive the night.

In the turret, Parvati was certain that Bergie (Love Island) was the right person to Murder, as Peter was among the many safe. But Trishelle was also available to murder, and it would have been a much smarter move overall for both her and Pheadra.

That’s certainly how things looked when Bergie didn’t show up for breakfast and Trishelle went quickly to work.

“A lot of people are looking at the safest bet, which would be Parvati because everyone’s convinced she’s a Traitor,” she mused. “However, I’ve always felt like Phaedra is a Traitor and no one’s even suspecting it.”

“Phaedra doesn’t really talk a lot of game, doesn’t throw out people’s names,” she continued. “I’m a poker player, she has a little twitch in one of her eyes that’s kind of a tell at a poker table. I just need to convince the other guys.”

She started with Peter, laying out her plan, but he was still stuck on getting out Parvati first. “We need to get [Phaedra] out before Parvati because Parvati is a wounded bird; she’s by herself,” Trishelle argued. “You’ve gotta think ahead.”

“I am thinking ahead. I’m trying to get us all through tonight,” Peter pushed back.

“No, I’m thinking three steps ahead,” Trishelle countered.

Remarkably, she was able to convince him that her plan made sense. She also argued that because Parvati is Public Enemy Number One, she would be easier to get rid of. Phaedra has a cabal of people who will never vote for her.

“Phaedra has three ride-or-dies where I could show them on paper that she’s a Traitor and they would not vote for her,” Trishelle lamented.

In particular, she’s referring to Phaedra’s fellow Bravo-lebrities MJ (Shahs of Sunset), Kate (Below Deck), and Shereé (RHOA). She’s right, too, in that this group has been crazy faithful to one another … and there are four of them!

In a game of dwindling numbers, that’s really dangerous for the Faithful if any of those four are Traitors. And it just so happens that one of them is. This could be a saving grace for Parvati’s game, and she doesn’t even have to do anything.

We’re just not sure Peter was the best messenger for this. Trishelle herself should have talked to Parvati. The plan this time was to convince Parvati that the Peter Pals (Peter, Trishelle, Kevin, and John) don’t suspect her, but they do suspect Phaedra.

The problem is that with 11 people in the game, four doesn’t banish anyone. They could’ve just told Parvati it’s her or Phaedra and she’d have voted Phaedra. In the end, it was just that, but no one did enough to rally the troops and numbers to save Parvati.

This is where Trishelle’s list of reasons to suspect Phaedra might have been good to reveal before the Round Table. As seen with Dan, it’s harder to convince people to change their mind at the table as most have some idea what they want to do when they get there.

Parvati tried to save herself with a masterful performance for former Parliamentary member John, complete with tears and some truths about the challenges of her past two years. “If I can get away with this, maybe I have a new career in acting,” she laughed.

John heard her out and told her she was strong, but didn’t necessarily say he believed her. Could the queen of manipulation have met her match in a politician from across the pond — well she’s the one across the pond at this point, but our point remains!

At the Round Table, it was clear that it was going to be either Phaedra or Parvati, which would create an interesting conundrum. After Peter rejected their offer to join them, no matter who went tonight, there would only be one Traitor left … and there’s no way that could stand.

Before the reveal of how that would be resolved, there was the matter of which Traitor was going to go. Trishelle laid out her case against Phaedra, which included her laissez-faire attitude at breakfast when they discovered who was banished.

She also pointed out her theory about Dan targeting her and why, and then she and Bling Empire’s Kevin took note of her eye twitch. Phaedra, once again, masterfully deflected every argument. And, once again, her Bravo sisters came to her aid.

In particular, Kate was perhaps the most vocal in support of Phaedra. It’s amazing how protected Phaedra is just because of her shared kinship as a Bravo-lebrity with these three other women.

The final nail in Parvati’s coffin came when John declared she “could well be a Duchess of Deception and a Mistress of Murder,” detailing all the compelling reasons he believes she was Dan’s closest ally because they were both traitors. He’s not wrong, either.

In the end, it was Parvati who had to walk the walk of shame, which only strengthened the already nigh-impenetrable shield around Phaedra. Will the Peter Pals dare to take another shot at her anytime soon?

The power in the game shifted to the Traitors in a big way, even as there’s only one left, because the few who do suspect her are just that … too few.

As for that twist, that came when Alan joined Phaedra in the turret and told her that it was time to recruit. This time, though, the Faithful couldn’t just reject her like Peter did. This was a do-or-die situation. Become a Traitor or get Murdered.

Immediately, we realized her smartest move would be to recruit one of her Bravo sisters. Especially as this was to be a face-to-face meeting in the dunegon, so they’d know it was her.

At the same time, a more selfish move for endgame thinking would be to recruit someone outside of the Bravo-lebrities, because they’ve still got her back so aggressively even now when they’re all Faithfuls. Then, she could betray the other Traitor before the end and pocket all the cash. Could she betray a fellow Bravo-lebrity?

We may yet find out as she chose to bring Kate in as a Traitor because of her familiarity with the game (she made it to the final episode last season) and her willingness to be unapologetically in your face. However, those suspicious of Phaedra may already question Kate as she was so adamantly defensive.

It all depends on how the reveal that Parvati was a Traitor impacts their thoughts about Phaedra. We don’t think Trishelle will let it go that quickly.

We’ll find out what Kate says (which is surely to be a yes), as The Traitors continues next Thursday at 9pm ET on Peacock.