Finale of The Traitors labelled ‘most brutal moment in TV history’

“TV moment of the year, give it all the Baftas!”

The finale of The Traitors UK has been described as “the most brutal television moment in history” after the second series came to an end on Friday night.

If you haven’t been watching The Traitors, then quite frankly what have you been doing with yourself this January?

The reality TV show has taken the UK and Ireland by storm, providing some brilliant drama to fill bleak January evenings and becoming absolute appointment viewing.

After four weeks of mother-son reveals, Paul villainy and Claudia Winkleman sass, the second series of the UK version of the show came to an end last night (January 26), with just under £100,000 on the line.

Finale of The Traitors labelled ‘most brutal moment in TV history’

Going into the final episode, five contestants remained. These consisted of Andrew and Harry, who were both traitors, and the faithfuls of Jaz (a.k.a. Jazatha Christie), Evie and Molly.

And by the end, the jaws of viewers were on the floor after a brutal climax.

The final saw the five have to banish contestants until they believed no traitors remained. Any traitors that did survive until the end would take all the money for themselves, instead of the faithfuls dividing it between themselves.

Evie was the first to be banished, but when she revealed she was a faithful, the group decided to vote again, knowing at least one traitor was still in the group.

Harry had been a traitor from the very start (BBC)

A last ditch effort from Andrew to out Harry backfired on him, and he was banished.

After he revealed he was a traitor, a big decision remained for Jaz and Mollie: was there another traitor amongst them?

Whilst Jaz had his suspicions, Mollie had been close to Harry throughout the series and was completely trusting of him.

When Jaz decided to vote again, he tried to convince Mollie that her closest friend in the show was a traitor, and she didn’t know what to do.

After much deliberation, she wrote a name on her slate – Jaz’s.

With Harry obviously voting for Jaz as well, the game was decided – and Mollie’s heartbreaking fate was sealed.

In The Traitors finale, Mollie put her faith in Harry (BBC)

With just the two of them left, Harry was asked by Claudia to reveal whether he was a faithful or traitor.

Looking Mollie in the eye, he revealed he had been a traitor from day one, prompting Mollie to walk out the room in tears, shouting “f**k” which is an understandable reaction when you’ve just watched someone nab almost £100k from you.

Viewers couldn’t believe what they had witnessed, with many shocked by how brutal the finale was.

One person wrote: “NO WAY HAS SHE STORMED OFF!!!!! Oh my god this is the most brutal television moment in history???”

A second described it as the “TV moment of the year.”

Mollie looking through the shouting “FUCK!”
The piano music
Claudia looking down cos of the sheer awkwardness

TV moment of the year, give it all the BAFTAS. This alone is worth the tv license ?? #TheTraitors #TheTraitorsUK pic.twitter.com/KJxkBDKKHw

— Joe (@onlyjoekin_) January 26, 2024

Another said: “Wow that was one of the best hours of TV I’ve seen in a long, long time!! Amazing ending. The right person won! But boy that was brutal!!!”

“That Traitors finale wowzers… some of the most brutal TV I’ve seen in years,” a fourth wrote.

Someone else commented: “Traitors ending was absolutely brutal.”

What made it even more gut wrenching for Mollie was that she had initially written Harry’s name down to banish him, but changed her mind at the last minute.

Speaking on The Traitors: Uncloaked after the show, she said: “I wrote Harry’s name down first, and I changed it… He played an excellent game, so fair play to him.”

The disability model said it was “tough” to watch the footage back and relive the moment.

The finalist added: “I think, deep down, I probably knew [Harry was a traitor], but that slight doubt, I just couldn’t do it. It’s a tough one, but it is what it is.

“Going from thinking you’ve won with your best mate to [losing], it was rough.”

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