The nation has been gripped by Traitors fever, and reactions to the programme vary from “love it” or “hate it” to total disinterest.
I got into “The Traitors” last Christmas time when visiting my daughter and son in law in Australia, and then started to watch the recent Celebrity version, quickly becoming hooked. You may ask “Is this a suitable programme for a Christian to watch?” Well, a vicar took part in one series and the timing of one or two church meetings have had to be changed in recent weeks to allow for people getting home in time to watch it!
The first thing to note is that ” The Traitors” is a game, just as Murder Mystery parties are only games. In the Celebrity Traitors the three Traitors were chosen while all 19 of the group were blindfolded, and those 3 were told to murder someone almost every night. Of course, the victims aren’t really murdered – the worst thing they suffer is having to leave the game and the castle. Of 19 people who gathered in the castle, the 16 who are not Traitors are called “The Faithful” and are charged with finding out who the Traitors are.
Whichever group wins, the money goes to charity, so there is a positive and philanthropic outcome after all the skullduggery. Some bits are rather ghoulish, – a mock funeral with coffins and pall bearers, – and the Traitors plotting their murders in the castle turret wearing black cloaks with hoods, but ultimately no one should come out of the experience having suffered anything worse than being banished from the castle. I found myself wondering what the programme might contribute to our current understanding of morality and sin.
Some time ago I heard a sermon that remained with me. The minister said,
“People don’t go rushing into serious sin, it happens gradually as more of their actions lead them deeper into wrongdoing”.
For instance,
The office flirtation that leads to an affair, necessitating lying to the husband/ wife at home, full scale adultery, and an eventual abandonment of family responsibilities.
The person who steals some small thing and has to cover it up with a lie, may then accuse someone else, and when they lose their job because they are found out, may lie and steal even more as a result. Other family members may become involved in the cover up.
Some of these consequences of wrongdoing were very evident in the Traitors game. The Traitors don’t start off with a small sin, they murder straightaway on instruction, as part of the game. At round table discussions involving all participants, and in general interactions around the castle, the Traitors have to guard their facial expressions and lie if accused of suspicious behaviour, and usually try to suggest that someone else was responsible for the latest crime. Usually, the Traitors try to support one another, but when accusations and suspicions built up towards 1 Traitor, Jonathan Ross, the other 2 Traitors decided to abandon their loyalties and accuse him along with the others to save their own places in the game.
In a TV analysis of the programme after it had been filmed, Jonathan Ross said he had found it very stressful being a Traitor, having to lie and deceive other members of the group all the time. Alan Carr, a Traitor and the winner, burst into tears and apologised for his murders and lies, once he had confessed to being a Traitor and the programme was at an end. This was quite a touching moment as the 2 remaining Faithfuls hugged him and reminded him it is a game and he had played it brilliantly. A parallel with Christian forgiveness? The reaction of the 2 Traitors who found it so upsetting to murder their fellow group members, deceive and lie, albeit as an accepted part of the game, does indicate how difficult living a life of wrongdoing can be. As Christians, we might describe it as the opposite of knowing the peace that passes understanding.
Another point which the Traitors game underlines is that there is a sharp distinction between what is right and what is wrong behaviour. We are rather shy to talk about this in our present society, – to tell someone that certain actions are wrong is not an easy thing to do, but wrongdoing, which the Bible calls sin, was not condoned in this game, .There were consequences for the Faithful too, as they started to form alliances, accuse one another and banish group members from the castle on what turned out to be false accusations in many cases. Sometimes they felt very upset when they found out they had accused someone falsely.
The media have already reported 2 consequences of Traitors fever –
Donations to Neuroblastoma, Alan Carr’s chosen charity, have increased since he highlighted the charity’s work after winning the game.
More people are reported to be visiting castles, inspired by the setting used in the recent Traitors game.
Could I be hopeful that there might be another consequence – that people might think more deeply about the distinction between good and evil, honesty and deception, as they reflect on what was a brilliant TV series?
Prayer: Dear Lord. We thank you for fun and entertainment. May we be clear about your purposes for our lives, and about the difference between good and evil as we talk to others about choices we make. Amen