Lying to the End

The Traitors Finale Reveals the Winners

Photo from The Hollywood Reporter from Peacock / C BY-NC-ND 2.0

After a long season of betrayals, challenges and endless fights, “The Traitors” finale was finally released on Thursday, Feb. 26. Going into this finale, a total of six celebrities remained: four faithfuls and two traitors. The celebrities were Rob Rausch, Mark Ballas, Maura Higgins, Tara Lipinski, Eric Nam and Johnny Weir. 

The episode started with Rausch and Nam deciding on their final kill, which resulted in Ballas dying. After more conversations about the accused and a last challenge to add more money to the prize pot, the final roundtable commenced, resulting in Weir being banished. With the final four, the players were given the decision to either continue voting out suspected traitors or end the game, hoping that everyone among them were faithful. They chose to vote again, and Lipinski was the next to be banished from the castle. With two traitors left and one faithful, it was assumed that the game would be over, and both traitors would make it to the final two. However, Rausch made the ultimate unexpected decision, voting his fellow traitor out alongside Higgins. With Nam being banished, Higgins and Rausch were left as the final two in the castle. 

With this ultimate betrayal, Rausch was left as the only traitor remaining in the castle, ultimately winning the prize pot. Not only did Rausch leave the castle with $220,800, but also all celebrities left with new and old friends that will last a lifetime. 

With this finale, Alan Cumming, the show's host, announced that a new version of “The Traitors” will be coming to Peacock: a fan edition. Fans have the opportunity to apply to compete in the castle and participate in the challenge of surviving as a faithful or lying as a traitor. If you are interested, make sure to apply to be part of the fun!