The Traitors series two final – as it happened

Phew, what a final and what a series. That concludes tonight’s liveblog but please feel free to continue the castle conversation in the comments section, especially if you watch on catch-up over the weekend. We’d love to hear your thoughts. I’ll keep an eye on it and chip in, now I’m not typing quite so frantically.

In the meantime, I’m @michaelhogan on the platform formerly known as Twitter, so feel free to say hi and give me a follow. Thanks for watching along with me and your excellent company. Stay faithful and sleep well. If you can…

Funny you should say that. You can currently apply to take part in series three by filling out an online form. Applications close on 11 February so don’t leave it too long, wannabe Wagathas.

The meme-worthy talking points just kept coming. There was that line-up double-bluff upon arrival at the castle. Harry licking his lips. Diane’s “But Ross is…” mic drop. Brian’s “am I or amn’t I?” meltdown. That “bye” from inside the coffin.

Miles’ face when Diane was alive and well at breakfast. Darth Paul’s downfall and final bow. Ross vowing to avenge Diane - and then turning out to be just as rubbish at revenge as he was at the game. Evie muttering “I’m fucked”. Elusive-gate. Mollie slate-gate. All in just 12 electrifying episodes. Top tier TV.

Let’s give it up for Lady Winkleman Of The Manor, who really has been the perfect presenter and puppet-mistress.

The owl. Those knits and coats, those gloves and funeral veils. The way she switched from screechy cheerleader during the missions to “not angry, just disappointed” when they idiotically eliminated Faithfuls. Camply hamming it up at Round Tables. Her clear relish for the game and love of the contestants.

She’s earned another BAFTA nod, a long nap and quite possibly some cheese. Or she said on The One Show last night: “I’ll be under a blanket with my puppy. That’s not code.” Iconic.

After the debut series proved a BAFTA-winning word-of-mouth hits in late 2022, The Traitors deftly avoided second series syndrome. Indeed, its sophomore run surpassed the first. The missions were more epic. The twists were even more devilish. With players having learned from watching the first series, the stakes were higher and the gameplay more ruthless from the get-go.

Her fellow Traitors turning on Ash so quickly was an early sign that nobody was safe. There was no loyalty between Traitors, which kept everyone on their toes. It was brutal but brilliant to watch. Clever casting - the likes of Paul, Harry and Diane became all-time classic reality TV characters - made it even more addictive second time around.

This series has made January bearable and blown Love Island: All Stars out of the ratings water. It even nearly restored Twitter/X to some of its former TV tweetalong glories. This finale was just the icing on a deliciously dramatic cake. Fizzy rosé all round.

I was rooting for Jaz to take Harry down to Chinatown but let’s face it. Harry played a better game than all the Faithfuls put together. They’ve been useless at sniffing out Traitors, only managing to banish them once they turned on one another. It’s Traitors who got rid of most Traitors, not Faithfuls.

They repeatedly fell into the trap of banishing people based on personalities and clashes, rather than whether there was evidence they were a traitor. The group dynamics were fascinating, as they all fell into line behind accusers, arguing amongst themselves while the Traitors sat back, watched and suppressed smiles (barely in Harry’s case).

Even in this final, they banished two strong Faithfuls in Evie and Jaz. If Jasmine or Zack hadn’t fallen narrowly short, it would have been a whole different game of Scottish soldiers.

Jaz-ica Fletcher. Hercule Jazot. The castle’s resident amateur detective teased us in this final, dancing around the possibility of unleashing his “caged tiger” theories. Instead Jaz Singh went out with a whimper due to a brain-fart by Mollie.

The Mancunian with the tidy beard and suspiciously well-pressed white clothing was fans’ big hope to crack the castle case wide open. Early in the series, he swam against the tide by becoming convinced Paul was a Traitor. He turned out to be right, of course, but Harry claimed all the credit. Jaz then trained his sleuthing skills on Harry himself. He talked a good game about “hard evidence” but was reluctant to air them at Round Tables in case it made him a murder target.

Jaz was so laid-back and unassuming that when he did speak up, he struggled to make himself heard and convince his fellow Faithfuls to back him. He just about joined the dots to rumble both Harry and Andrew in the home stretch. He doggedly kept voting to banish again but didn’t put together a convincing enough case. If he and Andrew had joined forces against Harry – or Mollie had gone with her head, not her heart - it might all have been different.

He’d had a rough upbringing, hero-worshipping his father only to find out that he was leading a double life and had a secret second family. No wonder Jaz found it hard to trust people. He spoke admirably about using the potential prize money to rebuild his fractured family. He would have been a worthy winner but it wasn’t to be. Jaz was sharp, cynical and analytical but his caution cost him. Welcome to Jaz club. Nice.

At 10.50pm, it’s The Graham Norton Show on BBC1 with a Hollywood-heavy guestlist and music from Elbow.

Film-wise, Boogie Nights is currently on Comedy Central. Late-night options include period drama Effie Gray (11.15pm on BBC2), Brad Pitt fantasy romance Meet Joe Black (11.40 on BBC1) or Quentin Tarantino’s Jackie Brown (midnight on Dave). “Sit your ass down on that sofa…”

“Me and Mollie are the babies of the group,” said Harry memorably. “We’re both young, dumb and fun. Not saying everyone else is old but they’ve got wives and stuff.” #wivesandstuff

The 21-year-old disability model from Bristol never truly emerged from her close pal’s shadow but she was popular enough to slip under the radar all the way to the final. Everyone thought Mollie Pearce was far too sweet and guileless to be a Traitor. They were right. She turned out too guileless to be a Faithful as well.

Mollie was hoodwinked by almost every Traitor and became defined by her susceptibility to Harry’s wily charms. She repeatedly insisted that she couldn’t be a Traitor, while viewers at home face-palmed in frustration. If Harry came down to breakfast in a hooded cloak and a knife dripping blood all over the mini-pastries, she would still have insisted he was innocent.

She came agonisingly close to a late moment of clarity about Harry, then was blinded by their friendship and changed the name on her slate to Jaz. Which made literally no sense, as he’d just voted to bamish again so clearly wasn’t a Traitor. Oh, Mol.

She spoke inspiringly about her limb difference and coming to terms with having a stoma bag at such a young age. In a rare moment of sincerity, Harry said “She’s an amazing young woman”. Ultimately, though, he used her as a human shield and broke her heart in the process. That’s the game, I guess, but when she fled the room in tears, it was still toe-curling to see. It’ll take more than a slap-up feed at the Slough branch of Nando’s to sort this one, Harry.

He was the BFWG (big friendly Welsh giant). The muscle-bound insurance broker from Talbot Green was often shown in cutaway shots working out shirtless or eating a bizarrely large bowl of mints. Backstabbing simply wasn’t to his fresh-breathed tastes.

Once he’d got to know his fellow castle residents, Andrew opened up about his past trauma. Pronounced dead at the roadside 23 years ago after a serious accident, he was predicted to be brain damaged and paralysed, but defied medical expectations to rebuild his life. Poignantly, Andrew admitted he spent many years hating his scars and angry at the world. The Traitors was his bid for a fresh start.

Andrew’s popularity led to Harry and Paul recruiting him but turning Traitor never really sat easily with the protective father figure. He was so trusting, he defended Paul against accusations. When Harry schooled him in strategy, Andrew looked like a confused labrador. The cloak weighed heavily on him and he went into his shell, which only made him look dodgier. The “elusive-gate” row at Round Table, when he tried to gaslight Ross, ultimately proved his downfall, making him look just dodgy enough to be banished second tonight.

Andrew has an Neuro Linguistic Programming qualification and said he’d use the prize money to set up a mental health initiative. An admirable ambition that I hope he finds a way to fulfil. He touchingly said that he’d never been proud of anything in his life before getting to this final. Be proud of that and much more, Andrew. Oh and pass the mints.

SecretPuddleJumper says: “This is going to be a big and important life lesson for Mollie about bastards.”

Pampers adds: “Have they added ‘oh my days!’ in ADR to remove some sweary stuff?”

bishamsmith says: “There’s something beautifully poetic about Harry being crowned champion to an empty room.”

PreviouslyID9637740 adds: “Cue Sunak ringing Harry to join the Tory election team. Lies ‘r’ us!”

giroliddy says: “Siri, show me a Pyrrhic victory. But 95k buys you a lot of Pyrrhic, I guess.”

ColinWilson says: “Thought Harry dressing up more than usual as an ersatz spiv for the last bit should have been enough of a clue. Oh well.”

fotografere adds: “I hope Mollie is OK because she was really played! Gutted for Jazatha Christie. He was spot-on but he had no chance at the final banishment. To think, Harry NEARLY went out. That’s an expensive lie to buy!”

Time for a rapidfire round-up of your comments. emilyscatnaps says: “I absolutely would be Andrew in this situation. With extra crying… Oh Andrew. Short of ripping the jacket off Claudia’s back and forcing Harry into it, you couldn’t have made it clearer for Our Jaz. Come on now.”

“Oh my diddly days” indeed. Army engineer Harry Clark, 22, introduced himself as a “proper lad” with “a face you either want to kiss or punch”. Which was it for you? Bit of both? A kunch?

After ostentatiously licking his lips when he got that fateful tap on the shoulder, he emerged from Darth Paul’s shadow to outdo even his Jedi master when it came to treachery. The only OG Traitor still standing played a masterful game from start to finish. If anyone ultimately deserved that £95k prize pot, it was him. But damn, he came close to being exposed at the last gasp.

With his baby face, gelled quiff and George Michael earring, “Hazza” admitted that his game-plan was to play on his youth by acting the naive innocent. He became everyone’s surrogate son or cheeky little brother. He made himself a hero on missions, becoming widely trusted - like his namesake Potter, Harry had an invisibility cloak - while secretly scheming and strategising like a stone-cold killer.

As Harry said, his military background meant he was trained to complete the mission. He was able to disconnect his emotions and get the job done. He proved a worryingly good liar too, outsmarting rivals without them realising. Harry took full control of the treacherous conclave, schooling “my baby Traitors” Andrew and Ross in the ways of the conclave, then throwing his co-conspirators under the bus when it suited him. He execured his evil plans to perfection and only wobbled wth the end in sight.

Andrew came for him in the final but the Welshman brought a knife to a gun battle. Jazatha Chrsitie came within a whisker of rumbling him and would have done so if it wasn’t for Mollie’s naivety. There was no satisfying ending to that paritcular whodunit. The cherubic master manipulator just about kept his cool. He broke Mollie’s heart but his newly boosted bank balance will soften that particular blow.

Will Harry use the money to fund the “Instagram lifestyle” that the tabloids have been getting in such a froth about? Or on treating his large family and getting his foot on the property ladder? Either way, the schemer from Slough deserves it for the four weeks of prime entertainment he’s provided. Lick those lips one more time, Hazza. You’ve earned it.

Not only is Ed Gamble’s spin-off show Traitors Uncloaked underway on BBC2 but the canny Beeb is ensuring there’s more Traitors action coming our way soon. Three international versions will be available on iPlayer this year. In fact, the second series of The Traitors Australia begins on BBC3 at 10.50pm tonight, with all nine episodes available as a boxset.

Later in the year, the debut run of The Traitors New Zealand and the second season of The Traitors US (hosted by Alan Cumming and featuring John Bercow among the contestants, surreally, as well as Love Island alumna Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu) will also be coming to iPlayer.

Oh and in wireless news, the finalists will be reunited Claudia Winkleman on her Radio 2 show tomorrow morning at 10am. You’ll have to imagine the cloaks and suspicious glances.

And also totally nonsensical. Jaz voted to banish again. A Traitor wouldn’t want to banish again, so why on earth did she then vote to banish Jaz? Blinded by her love for Harry but good golly, Miss Mollie.

Well, that was a nerve-shredding 70 minutes with a worthy (if frustrating) winner, I thought. Please stay with us for analysis, reaction and a round-up of your comments.

The OG is victorious. He celebrates outside the castle with fizz and a cry of “Come on! I’m the best Traitor in the world!”

Very Titanic. “I hope Mollie didn’t hear that,” he adds sheepishly.