The Traitors US season 4: The issue with Rob Cesternino’s murder
It is now over 24 hours from the first three episodes of The Traitors US season 4 airing on Peacock, and there is a major issue still sticking in our craw. As you would imagine, it happens to be tied to the shocking episode 3 murder of Rob Cesternino, the result of the latest Murder in Plain Sight twist.
Now, it is important here to leave a certain measure of emotion at the door. From a fan and strategy perspective, it is obviously a bummer to lose the two-time Survivor player so early in the season. Does it make sense? Certainly. If you are a Traitor, why would you want someone this smart and capable taking part in the latter stages of the competition? In a way, Rob proved his threat level by clocking his impending murder before it even happened.
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The issue comes down to the function of this particular murder, and also the way in which the game tilts the balance of power too much in certain directions. If you are going to do the Murder in Plain Sight twist, for example, should there not be a way for a Faithful to save themselves? Rob’s shock at being murdered was tied to him trying to do physically everything he could to avoid death, including steering clear of the infamous conga line. In past seasons, victims had to drink the poisoned chalice or have some other specific action with a Traitor. Here, it didn’t matter in the slightest. You are coupling this with the idea that the Secret Traitor in Donna Kelce only gave the other Traitors a limited number of people to work with.
We do not want to place too much of the blame on Kelce for Rob’s murder, since even without a shortlist the Traitors could have made a similar move. Instead, we just want to throw out this specific argument: If the Murder in Plain Sight twist continues, there should be a way for smart Faithful to avoid it, much like Rob intended. That is especially the case early on in the season, when they are often the most powerless and their game is left up to chance. Can you argue that everyone could try to avoid a murder all at once and mimic his strategy, thus making it impossible for a Traitor to kill in a specific example? Sure, but with so many play styles, it is hard to see that ever happening.
The Traitors US is a show still reasonably early in its lifespan; when a twist does not work fully, there are lessons for them to learn.
Related – Learn more about what is next on The Traitors US
Do you think that The Traitors as a franchise needs to shake something up after the way Rob was killed?
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