This article contains spoilers for the first season of The Traitors US.
The beloved and cutthroat reality competition franchise, The Traitors, dropped its first U.S. iteration on Peacock earlier this year. And it delivered an iconic victory.
Like The Traitors Canada season 1, The Traitors US had a mix of reality TV stars and contestants new to the television spotlight. Names including The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’ Brandi Glanville and Big Brother winner Cody Calafiore showed up at the Scottish Highlands castle in pursuit of a six-figure grand prize.
We were introduced to several personalities for the first time, like Christian de la Torre, Andie Vanacore, and Quentin Jiles while reality titans — like Big Brother champion Rachel Reilly and Below Deck’s Kate Chastain — brought their typical drama.
The Traitors US began with three Traitors and 17 Faithfuls, and after 10 episodes of murders and banishments, one player flew back to America after securing nearly $250,000 as season 1’s sole champion. And that was four-time Survivor legend Cirie Fields.
Although she’s never snagged the $1 million check on Survivor, the revered alum brought her social and strategic prowess to the United Kingdom. And she performed a masterclass.
So, how did Cirie, a day-one Traitor, fool the crop of competitors through season 1? Let’s take a brief dive into her game.
Cirie never received a vote against her at a banishment ceremony, and she cut her fellow Traitors en route to the championship
After the 20-person cast arrived at Ardross Castle, they sat together at a round table. Host Alan Cumming prompted the players to blindfold themselves, and he selected three Traitors — Cirie, Cody, and Christian.
When the blindfolds were removed, Cirie clocked in for work.
Cirie wasn’t known as a flashy competitor on Survivor. She did her best work when she was pulling strings in the background while relying on her social and political game to keep her out of the spotlight. And that was her strategy as a Traitor as well.
“My plan was, as usual, to be invisible,” Cirie said to Vulture in an interview published after the season aired in January. “I wanted to be under the radar as much as possible. People were looking for me to make any strategic move. I sat back and rode the wave of the game.”
She built relationships with several reality newbies like Andy and Quentin while leaning into her prior friendships with Rachel and Survivor’s Stephanie LaGrossa Kendrick. Cirie also democratically worked with her fellow Traitors (for the most part).
Well, until she decided to cut them.
Cirie, Cody, and Christian survived seven episodes before the two-time Big Brother houseguest was caught. Cody had crept onto players’ radars and after determining he was expendable, Cirie and Christian aided in the offense against him. He was ultimately banished at the end of the episode, and the Traitors fell to two.
But, not for long.
Cirie and Christian were tasked with recruiting another Traitor, and they chose The Bachelor’s Arie Luyendyk Jr. He accepted, and the three worked together for a few rounds of play until it was time for Cirie to turn her gun on Christian.
Christian was banished in episode 9, and five players were left in the game: Cirie, Arie, Kate, Andy, and Quentin. At that point, Cirie had insulated herself with iron-clad relationships with the Faithfuls, and she and Arie had made a pact to ride together until the end and split the pot. Further, Cirie hadn’t received a vote against her at a banishment ceremony the entire season
To say Cirie wasn’t clocked as a Traitor is an understatement.
At the final round table, Cirie, Andie, and Quentin teamed up to eliminate Kate, while Arie wrote the latter’s name down.
At the Fire of Truth, Andie, Quentin, and Arie all voted to end the game. But, Cirie had her crosshairs set on Arie, someone who hadn’t endured the trials of being a Traitor all season like she had. When Cirie’s vote was revealed, it immediately became clear to Arie that he had been betrayed. So, instead of waiting around to be banished by the trio, Arie elected to reveal himself as a Traitor.
After Arie left the fire, Andie and Quentin were convinced that they were about the take home a chunk of change with Cirie. So, all three contestants voted to end the game and Cirie dropped the devastating news on the heartbroken Faithfuls.
Although she had pulled in nearly $250,000, Cirie told Vulture it was difficult for her to enjoy her triumph until days after the show wrapped. Specifically, she and Andie had grown close and because of the nature of The Traitors, Cirie was forced to lie to Andie’s face for days.
“Because of the circumstances around it and all the emotion, I didn’t get to revel or enjoy it until days later, when it hit me,” Cirie said. “During the show, Andie was so sad that I couldn’t jump up and down. But a couple days later … it was excellent. It was everything I had been waiting for with Survivor.”
Cirie’s performance as a Traitor has become a benchmark for Traitors moving forward — not just in the U.S. iteration, but in the other international versions like Canada, Australia, and the U.K. as well. But, Faithfuls can also learn from Cirie.
“The Faithfuls could have talked to each other more. The Bravo-lebrities cliqued up. They were with each other whereas I was with everybody, because I’m thinking in terms of numbers. If I get these newbies, I’m in a good spot. I made friends, I talked to everyone, I listened to what they had to say. If more of the Faithfuls did that with each other, I might not have gotten so far.”
Around six months after Cirie’s first major reality competition show victory was aired, she joined the cast of Big Brother 25. She lasted 93 days in the house until she was evicted in fifth place.
The Traitors US season 2 has already been shot and it’ll premiere on Peacock on January 12. Two of Cirie’s fellow former Survivor castaways are a part of the stacked roster. One of only two two-time winners, Sandra Diaz-Twine, and Survivor: Micronesia champion Paravati Shallow attempted to become a two-franchise queen. Can they outlast the others like Cirie did? Only time will tell!