THE Traitors fans’ jaws dropped after the game took the most shocking turn yet, with one traitor being banished and a beloved faithful getting recruited.

Thursday’s episode of the Peacock series stunned fans right out of the gate with an unexpected murder from traitors Rob and Candaice Dillard-Bassett.

Person in a dark hooded robe or cloak, viewed from behind.
The Traitors saw the most shocking twist yet as one traitor is banished and a faithful is recruitedCredit: Peacock
 

Alan Cumming as the host of The Traitors in a black hat and cloak.
Thursday’s episode also saw a controversial player get murdered in the gameCredit: Peacock

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

The show picked up where last week’s left off with the pair butting heads over Rob’s push for their former fellow traitor, Lisa Rinna’s, banishment at the roundtable.

Host Alan Cumming then prompted the duo to either choose to recruit or murder a faithful, which they chose the latter.

Candiace vied to give Colton Underwood the axe, since he was the ringleader in getting Lisa outed.

Despite Rob’s close friendship with Colton, he decided to let Candiace make the final decision.

At breakfast the following morning, it was learned that Colton had been, in fact, murdered in the game.

Viewers were thrilled that The Bachelor star finally got the boot as he’s been widely considered as one of Season 4’s most controversial players.

Although Colton was eliminated, his name kept coming up throughout the episode, as he secretly suggested Candiace as a possible traitor before his exit.

This, along with Candiace’s seemingly random “throw-away” vote for Rob to avoid throwing Lisa under the bus at the last roundtable, drew heat at the Real Housewives star next.

Candiace’s insistence on gunning for Rob, who’s managed to get most of the faithfuls in his corner, backfired, as she got the majority vote for banishment.

This left Rob as the sole traitor and in a position to choose a faithful to recruit as a new ally in the game.

Rob pondered his options with Alan, revealing he was between bringing on Eric Nam or Mark Ballas, as he believed they had the intelligence and were the least likely to be suspected of being a traitor.

Viewers then saw a disappointed Eric upon discovering the letter from the unknown traitor, but his expression quickly shifted to confusion as he opened the note.

The letter summoned the singer to a “secret meeting” outside at the stone steps, where he would learn his fate.

“I need to get through these next three roundtables with someone I trust and someone I want to keep in the game until the end.

“There’s so many variables and so many players; I’ve thought about it a lot, it’s the best move for me strategically,” Rob says in a confessional interview about his decision to recruit Eric as a traitor.

However, Eric expressed doubts that he even wanted the role before Rob revealed himself from beneath his green hood.

“I started the game as a faithful, and I will die a faithful because I can never be a traitor, or could I do this?” Eric said in a confessional.

The episode concluded with Eric looking completely stunned as he came face-to-face with Rob at the meeting.

Next week will reveal whether Eric accepts Rob’s offer to become a traitor or wishes to be murdered from the castle.

Fans were utterly shocked over the various turns the episode took, from killing off Colton to banishing the second traitor in back-to-back roundtables.

“That. Was. Glorious!” one person reacted on Reddit.

“ROB IS PLAYING A MASTERFUL PERFORMANCE,” said another.

“I’m getting more invested in this season because now I want to see if Rob can make it to the end,” commented a third.

“Also thank you editors for showing Eric’s reaction to seeing it was Rob haha,” remarked a fourth.

“This episode was great! The challenge was hilarious. Honestly way better than the over hyped episode from last week,” added a fifth.

There are now 10 faithfuls remaining in the competition, with Rob and possibly Eric now on the dark side.

A man in a gray jacket and white shirt, wearing a pearl necklace, sits in a yellow armchair holding an open envelope.
Colton Underwood was murdered by the traitors after rustling feathers at last week’s roundtableCredit: Peacock
 

A smiling woman with long brown hair, wearing a red and white cardigan with gold buttons.
Candiace Dillard-Bassett’s rift with her fellow traitor Rob ending up costing her the game as she was banished from the castleCredit: Peacock
 

A man wearing glasses looks surprised with his mouth open.
Eric Nam was recruited by Rob Rausch to become a traitorCredit: Peacock