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The name on everybody’s lips is gonna be Ron Funches.
The Salem-raised comedian was banished during the sixth episode of The Traitors, which debuted Jan. 22 on Peacock. His fellow players proved unable to shake their suspicions following Funches’ compelling-but-fallacious case against Porsha Williams and his early alliance to Donna Kelce, revealed in episode three as the Secret Traitor. Though he had a target on his back nearly since day one, Funches stayed true to himself and the spirit of the game, and in doing so created emotionally stirring television.
Funches was the first name mentioned at breakfast. Though he seemed to try and connect with other players after being criticized for being too quiet, he reveals after breakfast that he knows he’s going home. Nobody took shields during last episode’s challenge, so nobody is murdered. Lisa Rinna laments in her confessional about Michael Rapaport’s banishment, as he was a tactically useful distraction. Rausch is one of the few people to make an effort toward Funches, in part because he knows Funches is a Faithful. Colton Underwood is suspicious of Rinna, and as they ride to the challenge together, Rausch doesn’t try defending her to him.
The challenge, a repeat from last season, is largely uneventful: players must solve clues in a creepy cabin to find where money is buried in a nearby graveyard. There’s only one miss among the clues, and though there’s an opportunity to take a shield and forfeit prize money, players pressure one another successfully to not take it.
Funches seems resigned to his fate, but Rausch begins to experience a change of heart about letting him take the fall. Meanwhile, a coalition starts forming once players including Mark Ballas and Kristen Kish realize that eight players united can swing the vote any way they want in the season’s halfway point. While Underwood starts to campaign against Rinna—even going so far as proposing an alliance to her face while she maintains the façade of innocence—Johnny Weir independently starts campaigning against Underwood over his bold, successful effort to banish Tiffany Mitchell. Ballas and Kish’s alliance grows to include Weir, Tara Lipinski, Stephen Collettii, Maura Higgins and Eric Nam, but unfortunately tips off Rausch and Candiace Dillard-Bassett.
The Roundtable ceremony opens in awkward silence until Funches openly dares his fellow players to start accusing him. Ballas does offer Funches the chance to defend himself, which he uses to question why he’s more accountable than Underwood for being incorrect about sending Faithfuls home. Kish agrees, which launches into the alliance’s case against Underwood. This sways players away from Funches, but they swing back like a pendulum once Yamil “Yam Yam” Arocho reminds them of his connection to Kelce.
In what feels like a genuine and new move for The Traitors, Funches attempts to prove his innocence by genuinely and personally complimenting everyone at the table. The effort sways more people, especially Lipinski, back to his corner. Rausch defends both men, leading the table to bring up the need for a third name. Underwood uses the opportunity to accuse Rinna, with her comparatively muted demeanor and her vote against Williams seen as her most damning evidence. The vote winds up being closer than expected, with Rausch left with no choice but to vote against Rinna. Ultimately, Funches is chosen by one vote, with an exit that proved more emotionally taxing than viewers might expect.
The online response to the episode has come out overwhelmingly positive toward Funches. He revealed on his social media channels following the episode that he received a diagnosis for autism after viewers suggested that he could be on the spectrum. The revelation not only reminds fans of The Traitors not to judge people for being different, but gives Funches’ costars a reason to perhaps second-guess their treatment of him at the season-end reunion special.
As Oregon’s last remaining player, Rinna’s remaining screentime on The Traitors could be limited. She narrowly survived banishment against Funches, but will feature prominently in the next episode’s challenge: a banquet where the Traitors will have to perform a murder in full view of the other Faithfuls. Underwood awoke Rinna’s “Housewife” persona which until now had been dormant, so no matter how long she remains on our screens, Rinna will likely deliver memorable moments right up to her end.
The Traitors streams new episodes at 6 pm Thursdays on Peacock.
