We didn’t think we’d see the day when an episode of The Traitors would include a chainsaw, a Ouija board and a blood-soaked zombie, but then came series 4, episode 8. “This isn’t good for your heart”, said Traitor Rachel as the players completed their latest -and what we expected to be Rachel’s final – mission. After all, Harriet has outed her, so now the Faithful would finally clock on and vote her out? Well, not exactly.
In a somewhat jaw-dropping turn of events, not only did Rachel manage to avoid further suspicion from her fellow contestants, when it came to the round table, no one voted for her. At first, we were as confused as everyone else watching at home, but we’ve done a little GH investigation and sussed out why no one is voting Rachel out. Or, indeed, even reminding their fellow players of the fact that Harriet just sacrificed herself to reveal Rachel’s true identity. Here’s what’s really going on…
She’s “popular”
BBC
Much like the rest of the nation, we began the series admiring the fact that Rachel was seemingly making friends with everyone. She’s clever, but she must be a lovely person too, we thought, as her friendship group grew. But as the episodes have gone on, we’ve seen a subtle “mean girl” energy rearing its head. Think the girl at school who was the leader of the pack and no one would stand up to for fear of getting on the wrong side of her. Now it starts to make a lot more sense why no one would vote for the Traitor who’s quite literally standing right there in front of them.
She’s using her FBI skills
BBC
In last night’s episode, Rachel shared a crucial secret with her fellow players. “For the last few months, I’ve been trained by a former FBI agent in the beauty of micro-expressions and people’s ability to lie”, she told them. After a little bit of digging, we’ve since learnt that on such a course, Rachel would have been taught all there is to know about body language, so that she can understand the subconscious signals people are sending her every day. This would also mean that Rachel is likely to be hyper aware of the subconscious signals she herself is sending the Faithfuls – and we’d bet on her having learnt some “signals” that are helping her deflect heat from her, portray her trustworthiness and not suggest even an ounce of treachery.
She’s already used them on Stephen 
BBC
Remember when Stephen had the opportunity to save Fiona and out Rachel – and then he didn’t? Or the countless times Stephen has stood up for and deflected attention from Rachel when some of the Faithful have been onto her? Even though Rachel has never really done the same for Stephen (even Fiona said it!)? Clearly, Rachel has already used the above skills on her fellow Traitor, convincing him that he must do anything to please her. If we’re honest, we could even see Stephen sacrificing himself for Rachel with the way this game is going.
She knows that money is everything
BBC
Ever noticed how anyone who’s ever gone for a shield immediately comes under scrutiny? Realistically, it makes very little sense, given that only the Faithful players actually benefit from shields, but the reason the players get angry comes down to the fact that money is everything in this game – and Rachel knows it. Despite the fact that it might actually point people’s suspicions in another direction if she were to play the ‘Faithful’ game of trying to get a shield, in every single mission, she goes for the money, thereby keeping her fellow players content that the prize pot is growing. Now that’s diplomacy. Little do they know, of course, that she’s a little more likely to take it home than they are.
Her round table game is second to none 
BBC
“Can I tell you where my head’s at?” said Rachel, calmly, during tonight’s round table. She continued: “Since I’ve got here, I’ve got a couple of things right and a couple of things wrong, so I’m coming back to something that I’m sure of. Amanda was a Faithful, she had phenomenal experience and she had two suspects on her list: Sam and Jade. Amanda’s job for me was one of the strongest leads that we have for really understanding people.” When Sam questioned the integrity of Rachel’s theory, she played dumb and simply said, “I don’t have anything else”, a move that ended Rachel’s round table moment and swiftly moved the spotlight off her. Once again, she proved no one can catch her…
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