As The Traitors NZ wraps up its third murderous season, faithfuls Alex Casey and Tara Ward look back on all the death and deception. Warning: contains spoilers.
Tara Ward: Alex, YOU’RE FOUND. Please take a seat at my round table of emotions, as we have some important issues to discuss about The Traitors NZ. It’s been a season of highs, lows, and throwing rocks at vases, but first things first: what did you think of last night’s finale?
Alex Casey: Let me peel off my golden ghoul mask and speak my truth: I’m happy for Chloe and I love The Traitors but I can’t help but feel a bit disappointed by that finale. To be honest, I didn’t even realise last night was the big finale, because I felt like I was still waiting for the many, many big twists and turns we’ve come to expect from the franchise. The episode opened with the remaining three Faithfuls (Violette, Debbie, Maruia) and two Traitors (Keanu and Chloe) discovering that triathlete Aaron had been murdered, which would have been more of a shock had it not been roundly spoiled in the teaser the night before.
TW: Yes, sadly that wonky preview sucked the suspense from the finale faster than it took Debbie to neck a stinky smoothie in the final challenge. It felt a bit disjointed – one minute Maruia seemed to have the entire game sussed, but the next, she’s voting off Debbie as the last remaining traitor and effectively losing the game. Colour me surprised and tickle me in an abattoir, because I feel like we missed out on some crucial strategic insights, which are often the most delicious parts of the show. Or maybe I was just too distracted by the haunting image of hooded ghouls chucking snail juice on Chloe’s eyelashes during the final challenge?
AC: I too was quite distracted by the so-called ghouls in the final challenge, who were absolutely loving the chance to earn a crust exclusively through the fetishistic mediums of tickling, foot massage and barking “HOT SAUCE” at a baffled senior lecturer. Side note: have we ever seen the ghouls talk this much on The Traitors before? In fact, has a fella wearing a golden Look Sharp mask ever uttered the words “ALKALISED DUCK EGG” in all of human history? There is also something quite funny about The Traitors UK ending in the contestants scaling a 50m Scottish dam, and New Zealand just chucking out a few snails and sardines.
TW: We are but molluscs in this nation’s budget facial, and I did feel sad for day one traitor Keanu, who came so close to winning before being voted out at the final round table. Still, it was a treat to see four women make it to the final banishment – I like that Chloe will use the $75,000 to build a play area for her son, I enjoyed how a silly thing like Paper, Scissors, Rock influenced the fate of the game, and I’m still thinking about episode six when Debbie voted out her own son. Any other moments from the season that have stuck with you?
AC: There’s no denying that Keanu was absolute all-timer Traitors talent, and frankly carried the entire season on his bedazzled DJ shoulders. His final emotional monologue likening the guilt of being a potential Traitor to the guilt of being back in the closet should probably win something at the NZ TV Awards, and I’d be really happy with him representing New Zealand in some sort of Traitors World Cup. The other things I will remember are when Debbie said “that’s a woman’s knock” at breakfast one morning – and she was right! – and when Big Dave had a sulk after losing the death match and said “ladies first SUCKS”. These are the kind of weird New Zealand character reveal moments I love from our reality shows, alas they felt few and far between.
TW: Agreed, which is a shame given the season had such a rip-roaring start and also received public funding from NZ On Air and Screen Canterbury for the first time. Overnight ratings from Three revealed this season has had 446,000 streams on ThreeNow, compared to season two’s cumulative total of 657,000 streams and the 773,000 for Celebrity Traitors UK (although these numbers will grow for season three – the finale numbers are still to be confirmed and season two had 12 episodes, compared to season three’s 10). Also unconfirmed: the ratings if anyone had revealed the season-long bombshell that Debbie and Harrison were actually related.
AC: Yeah, that missed opportunity sadly does sum up this latest season a bit. Previous trips to the Traitors castle have felt much more joyous, with contestants and hosts alike delighting in the devilishness of the game, whereas this season everyone just seemed extremely flat, tired and kinda pissed off (“I absolutely hated it” murdered faithful Maria Williams told Woman’s Day). Like the latest trip to Celebrity Treasure Island, we also got our most tearful season yet. What does it say about our national psyche in 2026 that New Zealanders can’t seem to stop crying buckets on these silly family-friendly reality shows?
TW: I don’t know, but the solution is probably hot sauce.
This article has been updated to give further Traitors NZ ratings context: Early ratings for The Traitors NZ S3 are overnight and not cumulative, and season two had 12 episodes, while this season had 10 episodes.