The Traitors Season 2 Power Rankings: How Kate's Return, Peter's Plan Shakes Up the Game

[SPOILER ALERT: This post contains spoilers from "A Killer Move," the fifth episode of The Traitors Season 2, now streaming on Peacock.]

No one loves a twist more than The Traitors host and producer Alan Cumming. So in the final act of the fifth episode of the Peacock reality competition's second season, the Scottish master of ceremonies is practically jumping out of his immaculately styled suit to announce that the latest surprise is about to walk through the door.

The threat of a new wrench in the delicate mechanism that is this game of deception and deduction douses the already on-edge cast with anxiety and outright dread, none of which is alleviated when Below Deck's Kate Chastain turns the corner and takes a seat at the roundtable. She makes her triumphant return to the game as a Faithful after being Season 1's most chaotic and compelling player, a reputation that will undoubtedly influence how this new cast will embrace her.

But Kate's shocking arrival fails to derail a few key players who came to the raucous banishment ceremony with an agenda. First, Kevin aggressively mansplains his reasoning for targeting Janelle as a Traitor, while Janelle, Peter and Bergie correctly throw suspicion toward Dan. In the end, however, the wobbly motivation for banishing Janelle (when did playing the game become a crime?) won out and the queen of Big Brother became the latest Faithful sent home. But with a Golitah like Janelle gone, Kate arrives just in time to reclaim her throne as the pot stirrer. 

As that tense banishment vote carries the season past the midway point, let's rank who holds the power heading into the second half of Season 2.

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13. Dan Gheesling (Big Brother)

Oh, Dan. Who knew you would be the limpy gazelle of the trio of Traitors? A Big Brother legend, Dan has been playing the loudest quiet game in history, raising constant suspicion by not showing his cards at all. This week, it nearly made him the second Big Brother alum to be the first Traitor booted in their season (following Cody Calafiore's early exit in Season 1). Janelle said from day one that Dan was a Traitor, but her signature brutally honest gameplay overshadowed her otherwise compelling evidence. That was Dan's saving grace — and it's gone. But he finds himself at the bottom of this ranking, not for that near-death roundtable performance, but rather for what is unfolding in the Traitors turret at the end of the episode. Blinded by the threat to his game, Dan seemingly plays right into Peter's inspired plan to trick the Traitors into identifying themselves (more on that later). If he, in fact, does vote to murder the Shield-protected Bergie as the cliffhanger implies, he will waste what power he has as a Traitor on vengeance. In that case, Dan won't have to fake his own funeral like he did in Big Brother because the Faithfuls will be the ones to bury him.

12. John Bercow (Politician)

The former UK Speaker of the House of Commons remains an elusive figure in the game simply because neither the Traitors nor Faithfuls know whether he is useful as a sacrificial lamb or not worth any effort at all. In the latter half of Season 1, that indecision worked in Kate's favor for wholly different reasons — namely that her outspokenness was a great shield for everyone. But John's sheepish presence might not be as helpful, and if this is a true power ranking, he simply doesn't have any of it in this game.

11. Kevin Kreider (Bling Empire)

Someone should probably tell the Bling Empire star about the old adage that you never want to let the enemy see you sweat. Thinking he might be a target for banishment, Kevin was the first to speak during the roundtable and came out with an off-putting, chauvinistic energy that soured the night before it even got started. First demanding the cast to not interrupt him while he made his case against Janelle, and then chastising Kate for deigning to ask his name two seconds after she arrived, Kevin showed himself to be an insecure player. But more importantly, he also revealed that he is volatile enough to snap on anyone at that table — a trait that is dangerous to both the Traitors and the Faithful.

10. Shereé Whitfield (The Real Housewives of Atlanta)

The Real Housewives of Atlanta star has not been the most impactful player. Following Larsa's banishment, she hilariously chose to admonish the group for falling prey to the Traitors despite blatantly throwing away her vote on John because she couldn't decide. She also voted for Janelle, another error in judgment. You can only throw stones for so long, Shereé.

9. Mercedes "MJ" Javid (Shahs of Sunset)

In reaction to Janelle's campaign to target Dan, the Shahs of Sunset star quickly started a messy counter offense against Janelle simply because she is quick to name names. It wasn't a great strategy and, frankly, didn't reflect well on how easily MJ is swayed by her own thirst to get a win.

8. Trishelle Cannatella (The Real World: Las Vegas)

For now, The Real World: Las Vegas alum can sleep easy with the shield she won during the bird-watching challenge. While her early mishap with Peppermint hasn't been forgotten, she finally got on the right track with her vote to banish Dan. But is that enough to deflect from an otherwise dicey game so far? There is some power in not being the best or worst target.

7. Sandra Diaz-Twine (Survivor)

During this week's banishment, the two-time Survivor winner verbally sparred with Janelle so aggressively that Alan can be heard trying to quell the fight. While both women are titans in their own respective games, it wasn't either's finest moment. Does that hurt Sandra? Probably not, but it does remind the group she is a cunning player who doesn't take lightly to being cornered. She was also named as a potential chaos-inducing murder victim by the Traitors, which is never a good place to be.

6. Chris "CT" Tamburello (The Challenge)

The Challenge legend has been a relatively quiet presence in The Traitors castle up till now, but Janelle's somewhat out-of-left-field accusation about his traitorous potential brought out the fighter in CT. His vocal willingness to be a team player in the bird-watching challenge was smart, but it's only a matter of time before everyone remembers that CT plays to win.

5. Kate Chastain (Below Deck)

The newest member of the group is tough to rank because she doesn't have any gameplay under her belt this season. But she has already proven she can be an asset when she wants to be and a detriment when she feels like a pawn in everyone else's game. It makes for captivating TV, but will she play the game the same way with this new cast? For now, she is comfortably safe because the group is out for the blood of their more well-established suspects. 

4. Parvati Shallow (Survivor)

The heat was on for the Survivor alum heading into Episode 5 after Phaedra called out her fellow Traitor for drawing attention to a potential Real Housewives alliance. Parvati recovered from Phaedra's wrath and slinked back into the shadows for the challenge and roundtable. But don't forget, she is among the people Peter tried to trick with his plan because he suspects her as well. She saw it for the trap it was, but if Dan falls for it, he could take her down with him.

3. Carsten "Bergie" Bergersen (Love Island USA)

In just five episodes, the timid Love Island USA star has gone from doubting his aptitude for this treacherous game to being one of its most successful players. Not only did he blaze through this week's challenge with Trishelle (and earned a shield for his efforts), but he also confidently and clearly spoke up against Dan at the roundtable. Poking his head out of the sand made him the likely target for Dan's post-banishment fury, but with that shield, he is safe. Plus, surviving the murder would cause immense confusion and bounce suspicion back on Dan and Parvati, which is a shield in its own right.

2. Phaedra Parks (Married to Medicine/The Real Housewives of Atlanta)

Despite being the talk of the roundtable last week, the idea that a Traitor lives among the Real Housewives players went unmentioned this week. It certainly helped that Phaedra sacrificed her fellow Housewives sister Tamara Judge to throw off suspicions that a Bravo team had formed. In the aftermath, Phaedra remains a commanding presence in the game, who wisely only deploys her control when necessary. Of the Traitors, she is still sitting pretty. But she should probably show a little more post-murder shock at breakfast and less interest in whether boiled eggs are on the menu. If the cameras caught that chilly dismissiveness, one of the Faithful could have too.

1. Peter Weber (The Bachelor)

Shooting up the chain of power this week is the season's token former Bachelor who cooked up an ingenious plan to root out Traitors by concealing who won the shields and then planting false intel with his suspects. If they take the bait (and Dan seems to be ready to bite), he will have the first concrete evidence to banish a Traitor. The plan was strategic and methodical, which made for incredible TV. His only Achilles heel — did he tell too many people what he did? If his plan gets back to the Traitors, they may see him as too calculating to live. Dan says Peter can't possibly be that "savvy," but it is a miscalculation that could be the cherry on top of his killer power move. 

New episodes of The Traitors begin streaming Thursday night at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on Peacock.