The Traitors U.S.: Ranking Every Resident of the Turret From Worst to Best

Four seasons and nearly 20 cloaks later, Peacock's The Traitors finally has a grasp on what it takes to be a Traitor.

In the Scotland-set competition series hosted by Emmy winner Alan Cumming, Traitors are tasked with deceiving, manipulating and murdering — metaphorically, of course — the Faithfuls among them in a game of strategy, trust, and intuition. The Traitors need to be ready to embrace the responsibility of the shrouds they wear, but also enjoy the power they are given to sow deceit and chaos. It's not fun if they aren't having fun.

But what makes a good Traitor, and a bad one for that matter? Who has proven they have what it takes to execute the mission, and who has shown that not everyone should get a ticket to the turret? Below, we rank the 18 Traitors across the first four seasons of the American series.

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18. Arie Luyendyk Jr. (Season 1)

This former Bachelor contestant sits at the bottom of the list for one reason and one reason only: He didn't commit. Admittedly, Luyendyk Jr. was recruited in Episode 7, so making that shift from Faithful to Traitor can cause whiplash. But the difference is that while everyone else on this list played the role of a Traitor until the bitter end (and in two cases, right to victory), Luyendyk Jr. quit at the final banishment ceremony under the pressure of deceiving his remaining players — fellow Traitor and Survivor winner Cirie Fields and two non-celebrities Andie Vanacore and Quentin Jiles. Props for falling on your own sword, but this is a game. Let's see it through, shall we?

17. Donna Kelce (Season 4)

Don't come for us, Swifties! Mama Kelce's low placement on this list is only partially her fault. As maybe the most broadly famous player in Season 4 thanks to her famous football-playing sons and future daughter-in-law Taylor Swift, Kelce had quite a bit of expectation on her coming in. So choosing her as the first-ever Secret Traitor was a mistake. She was facing career gamers and reality TV giants right away. Of course they zeroed in on her simply because she was an easy target. Who could resist making that sweet woman a Traitor? Cumming all but agreed in a recent interview, saying she was just too obvious. But Kelce didn't defend herself well either when under scrutiny, instead focusing on the positives of the experience. Ultimately, the biggest mark against her shrouded role is that we got to see very little of her actually being a Traitor.

16. Eric Nam (Season 4)

Poor, Eric. The K-pop singer wasn't made to be a Traitor, which is exactly why Rob Rausch was brilliant to pick him. Late in the Season 4 game, solo Traitor Rausch had to recruit and he chose the innocent guy who didn't say much and didn't have a good track record when he did. More importantly, turning him into a Traitor made him second guess everything and say even less, calling attention to himself and away from Rausch. Only in the finale, with far fewer obstacles, did he have a boost in confidence in his chances. But even that didn't save him from a pinky promise between Love Island-ers. Nam is meant for center stage, not the turret.

15. Dan Gheesling (Season 2)

A Big Brother legend felled by the one lesson in The Traitors castle that no one seems to be learning: Traitor-on-Traitor violence is never the answer. When Gheesling was selected as a player, anyone who knew his Big Brother record immediately got excited. But when he didn't adjust his strategic gameplay for the new task at hand, his reputation as a world-class gamer blinded him to the moves of others. What's worse, when he was backed into a corner, he chose to chew his way out through those he should have been leaning on. Picking a public fight with Phaedra Parks wasn't wise either, especially when you can't hold your own. Gheesling is a master gamer, but The Traitors proved it really does depend on the game.

14. Cody Calafiore (Season 1)

It is no coincidence that Cody Calafiore made it to the finale of Big Brother twice. He's charismatic, he's handsome and he knows how to work a room. The problem for him in the castle as a Traitor was always knowing how to wield that. His fellow Traitor Fields knew that dismantling this good-boy demeanor might force him to play harder than he should — and she was right. Lying about his interactions with Ryan Lochte tipped off his fellow players and ultimately spelled doom. He holds the distinction of being the first Traitor banished in the American series, but that's where his legacy ends.

13. Christian de la Torre (Season 1)

The only non-celebrity to get a peek at the turret (never forget that Season 1 was half celebrities, half civilians), de la Torre was a lovable addition to the castle who was able to wisen up about his gameplay as Traitor after going too hard right out of the gate. He understood that his strength was his civility and Average Joe status among the stars. Letting Fields run the turret helped him evade banishment in favor of tastier options like Calafiore for a while, but his boneheaded decision to pretend like he was the one the Traitors had tried to recruit overexposed him at the wrong moment.

12. Kate Chastain (Season 2)

Kate's ability to cut someone down with ruthless precision while simultaneously seeming like she could care less about them was often read as classic Traitor behavior. But the best part about her Season 1 arc was seeing her go from that disaffected player to someone who actually cared about earning money/defeating Traitors with a team. In Season 2, her inevitable recruitment as a Traitor forced her to recognize that she might actually not be cut out for the task, even though Phaedra Parks predicted she would be a "crazy cool killer." She greeted the opportunity with a dry "I guess I'm a Traitor now," and reasoned that it at least came with a dramatic cloak. She may have persevered to the end, only to be cast out by the remaining Faithfuls, but she saw it as a mercy killing. She did more damage as a Faithful with nothing to lose than a Traitor with something to hide.

11. Bob the Drag Queen (Season 3)

It was smart for Cumming to pick Bob, simply for the theatricality of his time in the turret and at the roundtable. This is TV after all, and Bob made great TV in his short four episodes. But Bob also learned the hard way that being the loudest in the room doesn't always drown out the suspicion. To be fair, Bob was always clear that's how he rolls and there was no changing that for a game. But unfortunately, he came for fellow Traitor (and future podcast cohost) "Boston Rob" Mariano and missed, exposing himself to increased scrutiny. Thankfully, he went out with a barn-burner exit speech, ending with "Guys, I said I swear to God. GOD! And that was a lie because I don't believe in God. I'm a Traitor."

10. Danielle Reyes (Season 3)

One of the best Big Brother players in history was completely undone by the job of being a Traitor in what may be the most spectacular flameout in the turret yet. Historically a calculated gamer, Reyes instead became known in the castle for her very animated reactions to revelations she already knew about as a Traitor. That quickly drew attention to her, while she was also making some mind-boggling moves to oust her fellow Traitors for ones that better suited her agenda. That's the name of the game, so she can't be faulted for that. But ultimately, she was too hard to trust, ignore, or defend. Fatally, she decided to recruit her on-again, off-again Big Brother costar Britney Haynes, who accidentally miscounted the votes and banished Reyes — a mirror of the Big Brother betrayal that was their enemies origin story.

9. Britney Haynes (Season 3)

Haynes outranking Reyes on this list may be personal preference simply because it's hard not to wonder what could have been if she had been chosen over Reyes at the first roundtable. Haynes is smart, and she had the added pressure of not only coming in as a last-minute Traitor but she did so during Hurricane Danielle, which had reached Category 5 levels of ridiculousness. It was an untenable situation, especially given their shaky personal history. But Haynes jumped in headfirst and made the best out of a bad situation, exactly what you want from a recruited Traitor. There is a special skill in executing a heel turn, and she didn't waste the chance.

8. Candiace Dillard Bassett (Season 4)

This Real Housewife of Potomac had the perfect strategy early in the game. She was consistent in her voting, so as not to ring any unnecessary alarm bells, even when the roundtable got heated. She went after Kelce and Ron Funches until they were gone. But then, the turret turned on itself, and Rausch's decision to go against Lisa Rinna put their fellow Traitor Bassett in the middle. From there, she violated her own consistency and did exactly what she didn't want — called attention to herself for unusual behavior. Her fateful vote, a threat dressed up as a throwaway vote against Rausch, only further sealed her fate.

7. Carolyn Wiger (Season 3)

Perhaps the most emotional exit for any Traitor came when Wiger, a Survivor favorite, lost her roundtable battle against fellow Traitor Reyes. Dismissed for her quirks and eccentric-to-say-the-least personality, Wiger was an exciting Traitor for all the reasons why she says the world judges her. She called it like it was, wishing to murder her fellow Traitors when the turret got tense. She was animated in an endearing way, versus Reyes' baffling version. But she also brought heart to the job, which isn't a requirement but she threaded the needle of compassion and culpability with precision and well-earned tears.

6. Parvati Shallow (Season 2)

Not unlike Steven Spielberg, who made people scared to go into the ocean after Jaws, Shallow has forever made cups and chalices something to be feared in the Traitors castle. Alliteration aside, her reputation as the Duchess of Deception and the Mistress of Murder, as John Bercow dubbed her, wasn't off base. Like the best Traitors, Shallow didn't back down from a challenge, nimbly orchestrating the now-iconic murder in plain sight of Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu. She overcame intense suspicions, and feuds with both Sandra Diaz-Twine and Peter Weber, to survive longer than some might have suspected. She was hungry for the duties of being a Traitor, and combined with her ability to listen and learn, she wielded the executioner's blade with glee — and a headband.

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5. "Boston Rob" Mariano (Season 3)

Looking back on it, the Faithfuls should have never second guessed that if the producers were going to fly Mariano to Scotland, there was no way they weren't going to make him a Traitor. Considered one of the greatest reality TV players period, Mariano had the odds stacked against him from the start because he is a terrifying competitor. He was smart in building his alliances though, both with fellow Survivor alums and others like Dylan Efron. He also let his other three Traitors carry most of the weight of the job early on, cracking their resolve without taking much of the heat. Only when Bob the Drag Queen came for him did Mariano actually have to emerge in earnest, but he never backed down. His greatest sin may have been taking a swipe at his fellow Traitors too early. Or that he let Tom Sandoval of all people orchestrate his banishment.

4. Lisa Rinna (Season 4)

This might be a controversially high place to put a Traitor who was the first one voted out in their season, but Rinna had everything a good Traitor should. She was down to get blood on her hands. Wearing the brooch to the Black Banquet and killing Yam Yam Arocho in plain sight was delicious, even if he set in motion her banishment with his accusatory exit. She was vicious in the face-to-face murder of fellow Housewife Caroline Stanbury ("Back to Dubai you go, Caroline"). She also cut Colton Underwood down to size, which scored her points with almost every viewer at home. She made her mistakes, chief among them was targeting another Housewife, Porsha Williams, at the roundtable. But through it all, she was entertaining and she relished being a Traitor like a Traitor should.

3. Phaedra Parks (Season 2)

God help a Traitor or Faithful who goes against Phaedra Parks. The Real Housewife of Atlanta churned out one-liner after one-liner in Season 2 as she defended herself, first against the flimsy attacks of Gheesling and then the superiority complex of Peter Weber. There are shirts in this world today that say, "I do too much because you do too little." But she ultimately outdid herself in an exchange with Weber — "This is not The Bachelor, and I don't have to kiss your ass for a rose." Where most Traitors are calculated about when they speak and how much, Parks refused to stay silent and never wasted a word. She embraced being a Traitor, almost as vigorously as she enjoyed her cover as a Faithful. She played both roles beautifully, something very few people could do.

2. Rob Rasuch (Season 4)

The snake in the grass from Love Island had a run on Season 4 that reality TV dreams are made of. Beyond being drawn like a Disney prince from the South, the casually cool demeanor with which Rausch breezed through the castle was hard not to be swept up by, right down to the overalls for any occasion. As a Traitor, he was committed to the part, murdering a Survivor legend, Rob Cesternino, in plain sight in Episode 2. He jumped on any challenge, making himself indispensable to the Faithfuls, as much as his fellow Traitors. But he wisely saw the chance to target his fellow Traitor Rinna and took it. He found ride-or-dies among the Faithfuls and honored that bond until killing them served him better (see: Underwood and poor Maura Higgins in the finale). He was quiet, but not silent. Strong, but not showy. He played those Faithfuls like the snake charmer he is, and they fell for every note. He deserved that win, and he was correct in what he said in the final moments of the season, about why he didn't take Nam with him to the winner's circle. "Would you give someone you met three weeks ago $100,000? I wouldn't." And he didn't.

1. Cirie Fields (Season 1)

Bow down to the queen of the castle. Sorry, Alan! Not one of the 17 people above played this game like Fields. As a six-time contestant of Survivor (currently playing in Survivor 50), Fields has plenty of experience outwitting, outlasting, and outplaying the competition. But better than anyone, she knew how to take her lessons from the various islands of Survivor and apply it to the close confines and suspicious eyes of the Traitors castle. She was a mama bear to those who trusted that warmth, and a friend to those looking for a safe port in the storm of lies. She also understood that this is a game to be won, and she was selected to win it a certain way. When she finally sacrificed her final two victims, both civilians facing a world-class gamer, she did so not with pleasure but with pride that she had endured the stress and responsibility of executing on the promise of the series. In a funny way, despite its ascendant popularity and Emmy run, The Traitors is still chasing the high of its first season, thanks to Fields making it clear from day one that the Traitors can win this, a reality that has loomed large over the castle and the contestants ever since.

The Traitors Seasons 1-4 are streaming on Peacock. The Traitors U.K. Season 4 is also now streaming on Peacock, and a non-celebrity edition of The Traitors is coming to NBC and casting contestants right now.