‘The Traitors’ Season 4 Episode 6 recap: Lisa F—in’ Rinna

It turns out that sometimes you can put your trust in your fellow competitors on The Traitors. Like when you learn that, after the last challenge where they were all tempted to take shields, no one did, thus granting them all immunity for the night. As episode 6 begins, the gang assembles for breakfast (seems the castle’s salmon reserves have been restocked), anxious to learn whether or not the Traitors committed a murder the night before. If even one person stealthily pocketed a shield, any one of them could have been murdered. It was the ultimate test of trust within the group, and they collectively agreed that no one would take a shield, but it also seemed like some folks were open to breaking the agreement.

In the end, though, everyone showed up to breakfast, allowed to live another day. But trust will erode – even among the Traitors – this week, you can count on that.

When the Traitors – Lisa Rinna, Rob Rausch and Candiace Dillard Bassett – learned there would be no murder, they immediately start thinking ahead to their next kill, probably Colton Underwood, as he’s been throwing Lisa’s name out there. “I wanna slit his throat!” Lisa sneers. I do love how much she’s into this role playing. But the problem is that because Colton is on to Lisa, he starts a campaign against her, telling some of his trusted friends, including Dorinda and Rob R., that if he’s murdered that night, it would be Lisa’s doing.

After breakfast, the Faithfuls begin the day plotting out their next banishment. Johnny Weir has done the math and determined that is he can get 8 people to team up with, they can eliminate anyone they want, and at this point, he’s eyeing Ron Funches. Poor Ron has not been given a fair shake on this show, just because his only strategy has been to be himself, which is usually introverted and solitary (but also super rude to Dorinda at that one round table, I genuinely can’t understand their beef which only gets worse in this episode).

Rob R. has a heart-to-heart with Ron while they’re playing chess before their challenge begins that day and both men exchange compliments, and it seems like maybe the first time Ron has had anyone to truly talk to and be himself with during this whole game, even if Rob is a Traitor. (As a very obvious side note, Rob R.’s grammar-policing and chess playing is way hotter than anything he ever did on Love Island USA, right?)

For the day’s challenge, the players are brought to Alan Cumming‘s creepy cabin in the woods, the site of many terrifying and hilarious challenges of yore, and today’s challenge might be the most terrifying and hilarious of all.

They’re told to enter the cabin, where they’ll be given a series of clues that will help them locate names on headstones in a graveyard outside. Once they solve each clue as a group, two players will stand by the headstone with the name they’ve figured out. For every headstone they correctly identify, they’ll earn $3,000, but there are shields buried at one of them, and the money will be forfeited if anyone takes one. Like last week, they collectively agree to avoid the shields. The clues are presented to the players in all kinds of creepy ways that feel inspired by the work of Disney Imagineers: names are spelled out on a giant Ouija board, a typewriter types out a clue, player-piano style, a creepy doll sings letters to them, at one point a woman covered in blood appears to them screaming after the lights are turned off. It’s great fun to watch how scared everyone is by these setups.

Alan is especially tickled by the fact that Lisa is still terrified and screaming even after she’s left the cabin.

“Lisa is screaming… at nothing,” he deadpans into the camera.

In the end, the group banks $15,000. When they return to the castle, Johnny starts to rally his group of 8 that he needs to banish someone, and in a surprise twist, he pivots and suggests they target Colton. Rob is shocked that Colton is being targeted. “They’re planning a coup! They’re planning to vote Colton out tonight. Took me by surprise,” he says. Rob has been trying to stay loyal to Colton, and this throws him off.

While the rest of the group discusses who to banish, Colton plans his next strategic move. “Instead of trying to banish a Traitor,” he explains, “I’m going to try to hold one hostage.” Colton brings Lisa to the billiard room where he attempts to trap her, saying he wants to win the game with her. “I will protect you at the round table… if you’ll protect me in the turret.” I mean, to my knowledge, a Traitor and a Faithful can’t win together. is he implying Lisa recruit him, or what?

Lisa doesn’t fall for any of this though, and gasps, “What are you talking about? I am a Faithful!” and then she tells him she thinks he’s the Traitor. It was a big swing, but Colton missed with that one.

The evening’s round table is one of the longest and most all over the place yet. First, Ron is targeted once again, and he defends himself by explaining that he’s still being held responsible for getting Porsha Williams banished, even though Colton has led the charge against more Faithfuls who were banished. “Who?” Colton asks, “With Porsha and with Tiffany?” to which Ron replies, “And then with Michael [Rapaport]. What, because we don’t like Michael, we don’t count it?” << Incredible “But because we love Porsha, we’re still on me?” It’s so true; had Porsha not been so well-liked, people probably would have moved off him by now. Soon all the people in Johnny’s Circle of 8 (Eight is Enough? Eight Votes To Snuff? I’m still workshopping over here.) come for Colton, accusing him of controlling the game, throwing out too many names, and being a bad Faithful. Lisa, for one, cannot believe her ears, is she saved from Colton’s plot after all?

Even with all this heat on Colton, Ron, in dramatic fashion, says that everyone should banish him just to get some clarity on his Faithful status, and Ron starts to address each one of the players (except for Dorinda!) personally, bidding them farewell and compliments. This prompts Tara Lipinski to interrupt Ron, feeling moved by his speech, to declare that Ron could not possibly be a Traitor. It’s a weird, wild moment, but it also seems to change minds, with several others declaring Ron to obviously be a Faithful. With Ron gaining the support of more Faithfuls, Colton decides that the only way to save himself is to throw Lisa’s name out there.

As the banishment votes are revealed, it seems no one in Johnny’s G8 Summit have stuck with his plan and they all vote for different people. The end result is a shockingly close near three-way tie between Lisa, Ron and Colton.

Rob R. struggled to decide who to vote for, having become so clouded by his friendship with Ron and his alliance with Colton, and in a shocking twist, he casts his vote for fellow Traitor Lisa. It’s a very risky move considering how close the final vote is, and certainly one he would have really regretted more, except that in the end, Ron was voted out.

After Ron reveals his Faithful status, Alan attempts to lift the mood of the room by telling them all that he’s hosting a banquet in the castle for them that night. While that sounds fun, none of the three Traitors are excited now that Rob has fractured their alliance. “This is about to be bad for Robby Bobby,” Rob says. Before Lisa can go off on Rob, however, she goes off on Colton. In front of everyone she puts him on blast for expecting her to act a certain way just because she’s a Housewife. “Don’t expect me to be a Housewife,” she tells him,”because I am Lisa F—in’ Rinna. I was Lisa F—in’ Rinna before Housewives, and I am Lisa F—in’ Rinna after.”

Oh, and this banquet everyone’s going to be at? Lisa F—in’ Rinna is about to murder someone in plain sight – in front of everyone – at it.

Liz Kocan is a pop culture writer living in Massachusetts. Her biggest claim to fame is the time she won on the game show Chain Reaction.