Spoiler warning: This article discusses the first two episodes of The Traitors: New Blood.
The episode-ending test gives Xavier Scruggs the more visible case to become the next Traitor, but it does not make him a safe prediction. He is already playing against fellow accomplice Katie Fites in front of Joe Vanella and Tomica Adams, the two original Traitors. That initiative could read as ruthless enough for the turret, or reckless enough to make the other Traitors choose Katie instead.
The important answer ahead of Episode 3 is that neither accomplice has been confirmed as the third Traitor. NBC’s new twist puts Katie and Xavier in a direct contest: one will receive a robe and the other will be murdered. Their ability to complete the warrant task comes before the existing Traitors’ final choice.
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- Release date: September 24, 2026
- Episode: Season 5, Episode 3
- Format: Reality competition
- Streaming on: NBC and Peacock
Katie and Xavier are competing, not recruiting together
Joe and Tomica chose Katie and Xavier as accomplices after the premiere began with only two Traitors. The new format makes them complete a covert task, retrieving death warrants hidden in identical books and bringing them to the turret. The contestants are not simply being offered an invitation. They are being made to demonstrate that they can lie, move through the castle unseen and handle the pressure of a decision that can end their game.
The consequence is unusually sharp. The successful accomplice becomes the third Traitor; the other is killed. That means each player has a reason to finish the task, but also a reason to make the rival look unreliable. It is an audition in which solidarity is almost impossible.
Xavier has already shown the instinct the turret may want
At the end of Episode 2, Xavier moves to target Katie during the brief period before the roundtable. Reporting on the premiere notes that he does so in front of Joe and Tomica. On one level, that is a strong traitor move: he recognizes that a future in the turret may require cutting down the other contender before she can do the same to him.
But the timing is the risk. The original Traitors are not looking only for a player who can be aggressive. They need someone who can help them survive scrutiny. If Xavier makes the contest too obvious or too personal, Joe and Tomica may conclude that Katie offers a more controllable partner.
Katie may benefit from seeming less dangerous
Katie’s possible advantage is that Xavier’s early maneuver gives her a reason to play defensively and carefully. The task rewards stealth, and the show’s producers have said the twist was meant to make Faithful players experience the same in-plain-sight pressure normally reserved for Traitors. Katie does not need to outscheme Xavier publicly. She needs to prove that she can execute the warrant mission without drawing attention.
So the prediction is narrow: Xavier presently looks likelier to be chosen because he has made his appetite for the game obvious, but that same move could hand Katie the cleaner path. The show has not revealed who completes the test or receives the robe. Does a good Traitor recruit choose the bolder player or the quieter one? Put your prediction in the comments.
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