The stomachs hit the floor during the heaviest roundtable of The Traitors Ireland series so far. If you still need a moment to recover from Sunday’s episode, you are not alone. Here is how the drama unfolded at Slane Castle.
Carla Recruits Pauric O in Shock Blackmail Twist
The episode opened with sole surviving Traitor Carla tasked with blackmailing a Faithful to join her ranks. While speculation centred on Pete, Carla blindsided the castle by targeting Pauric O.
“I picked Pauric O because I need to blackmail somebody that’s strong, somebody that won’t turn their back on me, and someone that I think can definitely get all the way to the final,”
Carla explained with a cheeky grin.
Presented with the choice to “go bad or go home,” Pauric O accepted instantly.
“Sign me up, kid!” Pauric O said with a smile that eclipsed Carla’s. “I have never been so happy in my life to be blackmailed!”
With the new Traitor duo formed, they immediately turned to business, drafting a hit list of Ian, Sam, or Anna for murder.
“Do you wanna write a letter?” asked Carla. “I’ve written enough!”
Mission Master Sam Murdered; Pete Devastated
The morning breakfast reveal confirmed the worst: Sam, the self-described “Mission Master,” had been murdered. His absence hit Pete particularly hard.
“It was very upsetting,” Pete said in his interview, still choked up with the speed of it all. “He was a good guy… Sam’s the name of my son. I said, ‘Sam’s my adopted son in here’.”
The atmosphere in the castle was described as the Glenroe theme tune multiplied by ten—a palpable sense of impending doom.
Saints and Sinners Mission Yields €2,000
The day’s mission split the contestants into Saints (Anna, Carla, DJ, Diego, Donal) and Sinners (David, Ian, Janet, Kayleigh, Pauric O, Pete, Seán C). The Sinners faced a complex challenge matching each other to deadly sins secretly selected by Traitor Pauric O, while the Saints enjoyed afternoon tea—with a catch.
“I think we’re going to be offered a shield or cash,”
Anna predicted with eerie prescience.
The group initially resolved to take the money, but host Siobhán McSweeney invited them individually into the chapel with a temptation: spend €200 of the prize pot to buy a shield for the night. Anna, Donal, Carla, and DJ all declined. Then came Diego.
“I think I’m gonna not take the shield…” he told Siobhán before delivering one of the best laughs in Traitors history. “Ah, f*** it, I will take the shield!”
“I knew I liked you!” whispered Siobhán.
Diego’s comic timing was impeccable. The Sinners had earned €2,000, but Diego’s purchase left the prize pot at €1,800, sparking “Shieldgate”—an investigation into who broke ranks.
Roundtable Chaos Seals David’s Fate
The shield drama was quickly overshadowed by the roundtable. David drew heavy heat after previously asking about a shield, while Janet faced scrutiny for not appearing upset enough over Sam’s exit. Janet shut down Pete’s interrogation with a stern warning.
“If I stand up there and say, ‘I’m a Faithful’, you’re going to look like a horrible person.”
Janet survived the onslaught, but David could not recover. A fatal slip of the tongue—accidentally saying “two other Traitors”—destroyed his defence. Kayleigh was in bits; Traitor Carla described it as the s****est roundtable ever
. Anna delivered the final, poignant plea before the vote:
“I really, really hope more than anything that we are all right and you haven’t been set up, because I don’t think any of us would be able to take that. So please, be a Traitor.”
Every Faithful voted for David, joined by Traitors Carla and Pauric O. ‘Big Dave’ exited with remarkable grace.
“I just want to say to everybody here, this has been the best thing I’ve ever done – apart from my husband and my kids!” he smiled. “Who I’m dying to see. I’ve had enough of this big, dysfunctional family. I want to get back to my real one.”
“Just remember to keep your eyes open,” David cautioned. “Because you haven’t caught a Traitor – I’m a Faithful.”
The revelation triggered collective devastation.
“You’ve banished a very good Faithful,” said Siobhán. “Exactly what The Traitors wanted. I wonder who will bear the brunt of this collective decision?”
Seán C and Ian Target Carla as ‘OG Traitor’
Post-banishment, as Shieldgate rumbled on, Seán C and Ian solidified a theory in the early hours.
“I think there’s still an OG Traitor in there…” Seán C told Ian. “I think Aoife was the recruit.”
“I’m thinking Carla,”
he continued, firming up Ian’s theory that Aoife had signalled Carla during her own banishment in episode six.
“Pay attention to Carla.”
“Yeah, one of us has to take her out,” replied Seán C.
“She’s playing the game,” said Ian.
“Intuitions on this one – f*** logic!” Seán C agreed by way of mic drop.
The question remains: will only one of them survive to fight that fight?
Face-to-Face Murder Twist Promises Carnage
The night ended with a bombshell twist for the Traitors: their next murder will be committed face-to-face.
“By murdering this person, we’re hoping that it takes the eye completely off of me and Pauric because we’re quite friendly,” shared Carla as she warmed to the mayhem.
“They’re probably one of the closest people I have in the castle. We get on really, really well,” teased Pauric O.
“But this game’s called The Traitors, not The Faithfuls.”
“I think carnage is going to ensue – and I hope it does!” he laughed.
When to Watch The Traitors Ireland
Speaking to RTÉ’s Róisín Cullen recently, psychotherapist Dr Richard Hogan noted that even viewers at home can forget The Traitors is “all a bit of fun”—a sentiment tested severely on Sunday night.
The Traitors Ireland airs on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player on Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays.
