Pop-Culturalist.com

Peter Weber (The Bachelor) has been all gas and no brakes this season on The Traitors 2. From flawlessly blocking a murder from happening to adeptly uncovering many of the Traitors, Peter has elevated the strategy and gameplay of the competition series to new heights. Sadly, his time was cut short when his fellow Faithfuls wrongfully accused him of being a Traitor.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to catch up with Peter to discuss the the game moves he made throughout, the ones we didn’t see, his keen sense of observation, and whether or not he’d be open to returning for Season 3.

PC: You are, if not, the player of the season. I was so impressed watching your gameplay, but there’s only so much they can fit into one episode. If audiences thought you were all gas and no brakes watching what you did on the show, it’s really been in these exit interviews where you get to see how every decision that you made was so calculated and intentional. What was the move that you made that you wish they aired?
Peter: I had made a strategic decision to withhold the recruitment letter information from everyone except my group of Faithfuls. Immediately after breakfast, I told them. But it didn’t air that I had told everyone else in the castle at some point that I had been recruited except for Phaedra [Parks] and Parvati [Shallow].

I saw that there was some friction going on, and people felt ostracized, so then I tried to use that to divulge some really important information. I tried to use it as a peace offering almost and gave that to them to see if we could gain some trust. I only did that once they had proven to me that I could trust them as well. I wanted to make sure that we had that mutual trust. That part would have been nice. But most of the other plays were shown.

PC: You also have such a keen sense of observation where you can see things from all perspectives. There’s a point when Shereé [Whitfield] lights Phadera’s torch. To everyone else, it feels like this full-circle moment for a friendship that has had its ups and downs, but you saw it as the game taking its toll on Phaedra, which we ultimately see at the end of Episode 9 was, in fact, true. Did you ever bring that argument up to Shereé ahead of the roundtable that you were banished because it felt like such a compelling argument, especially when it came down to just one vote?
Peter: Yeah, I guess that’s another one. I did. At the roundtable ceremony that I got banished. I had brought that up. I made a statement to everyone that I thought that was the toll of being a Traitor finally catching up to Phaedra. They’ve been good friends for a long time. Shereé showing that beautiful gesture of love towards Phaedra really hit her, at least that’s the emotion that I saw. Phaedra knew that she was going to have to turn on her really good friend at some point in the game.

Before that, just to add, they didn’t show this, but there was another thing that had given me a tip-off about Phaedra. It was a bloodhound comment that Parvati loved to call me. She loved to call me that, but she’d only call me that when it was just the two of us. So there was one day, it was the first time she had ever called me a bloodhound, the very next day I was having a one-on-one conversation with Phaedra and she referred to me as a bloodhound. To me, I thought that was a Freudian slip where I felt like the two of them had been talking about that in the turret and they didn’t even realize it.

They also didn’t show when Dan had thrown Phaedra under the bus for being a Traitor at that roundtable ceremony. I remember telling Phaedra, “This is awkward, but I’m sorry, I think Dan just told us you’re a Traitor.”

So I had all this compelling evidence stacked up in my mind. The torch was the third and final one. I was like, “This makes sense that this emotion is showing that it’s taken a toll.”

PC: You brought so much logic to the reasons why you couldn’t be a Traitor. I didn’t expect your end game to be a banishment. Speaking of seeing things from all perspectives, you were also recruited by the Traitors, which you ultimately turned down. I think for a lot of people, they questioned that decision, but you talked about how that would have been such an easy move for Phaedra and Parvati to immediately turn on you and get you banished. How much time did you ultimately have to make that decision? Was there ever a point when you turned to Phaedra and Parvati and said you’d be open for recruitment further down the line? Did you ever find out if that was their intention?
Peter: I kind of did. I was having fun with them a bit. That was purely just enjoying the game. I was having a bit of fun with them, teasing them. We had a couple of moments where it was just the three of us in the armory. I was hinting at them, trying to break them down a bit and fluster them to see if I could have that benefit us later on in the game.

I didn’t specifically say, “I’d love another recruitment down the line and I would do it.” I struggled with it because it would have been so much fun to be a Traitor. I would have loved that. But the main reason was that I couldn’t turn on my people at that point. I also thought it would be too obvious. I was too obvious of a pick to be the recruitment.

The next morning would have revealed there was no murder and someone got recruited. I thought all the signs were going to point to me. He’s the one that’s been pointing everyone out, of course they’re going to recruit him. It was just a good route for Parvati and Phaedra to then throw me under the bus the very next day and try to start that momentum going if I would’ve been banished and I was a Traitor. In my opinion, Parvati and Phaedra win the game if that happens. But there were a bunch of things that went into that.

I did think that if Phaedra would have recruited me for a second time, and I did think there was a chance for a second recruitment, even though I hadn’t asked her, if she had given me the ultimatum, I would have had to say yes at that point. She’s able to throw me under the bus the next day and she cruises to victory because now she gets all the credibility and suspicion off her. But that didn’t happen. It is what it is.

PC: There are so many different layers to this game, but fundamentally, there has to be a Traitor at the end, and you sussed out all three of them really early on in the game. Was there ever a point in time when you turned to your group and said, maybe we should start getting rid of the Faithfuls and lower your own threat level?
Peter: That’s a great point. That was the whole play with switching from getting Parvati out to Phaedra. But the way the game is played, it just happened too quickly. But that was our intent. We didn’t realize it until halfway through, but if you keep getting rid of the Traitors, that actually hurts your chances because now you have to restart the whole process of figuring out who the next recruit is all over again. Trishelle [Cannatella] brought that point up, and it made so much sense. At that point, I was like, “Let’s try and befriend Parvati.” Let’s see somehow if we can convince her that we really think she’s a Faithful and have her keep us until the end. We did try to go that route, but it may have been too little, too late.

This game is so complex. It’s so dynamic, right? It can go a million different routes. But that’s a good strategy for possible players going into the next season. Maybe you’ve got to sacrifice some of your own to get to the end and improve your chances.

PC: Perfect segue to this next question, but what’s so exciting about this game is it’s ever-evolving. One of the biggest changes they made this season was having an entire cast of alumni from other shows. If you could change one thing for Season 3, having played this game, what would it be and why?
Peter: I would change the selection of Traitors. I would have it be a random generator. I would randomize it so nobody would have the ability to have any targets on their back from the beginning. You go in and immediately start thinking, who’s the most likely choice for a Traitor? You can’t help that. Who has this kind of personality? Who has this? If you do a random generator, no one is a suspect from the beginning. Now it’s truly we have to figure out from this point forward who is being sketchy and who has the potential to be a Traitor and why.

PC: Yeah, you were made for these types of games. That’s such a great point. One change that I would love to see in Season 3 is the ability to give the shield to someone after you’ve claimed it. You’re such a strong candidate if they’re going to bring someone back for Season 3, would you be open to playing again? Would you bring a new strategy if given the opportunity?
Peter: Hell yeah. 100%. I had the time of my life. I’m so grateful for it. In regards to the strategy, I’m not going to reveal anything here that could be on the internet. But for sure, this whole game is about adapting and I learned so much from this gameplay. It’d be cool to go in with a bit more experience now and having a game show in general under my belt. I definitely would play a little differently.

Make sure to follow Peter on Instagram. Watch The Traitors 2 on Peacock today.