'Traitors' cast recaps Phaedra's strategy and Sandra and Parvati's truce

It didn't take long for plans to begin as season 2 of the series began The traitors premiered on Peacock Friday, January 12.

“I was excited to see all the gamers,” Big Brother'S Janelle Pierzina told We weekly. “I like strategy games. I like games that think. So of course I was immediately very attracted to Parvati and Dan.”

The “gamers” in season 2 are Janelle and colleague Big Brother winner Then Gheesling, Survivor'S Parvati Shallow And Sandra Diaz Twine, The challenge'S Chris “CT” Tamburello, Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio And Trishelle Cannatella.

“And then I saw the Bravo people, and MJ was so nice,” Janelle continued, referencing Shahs of sunset'S Mercedes 'MJ' Javid. “There really wasn't anyone in the cast that I could say, 'Oh yeah, I really wouldn't want to work with you.' I would work with anyone who would be stupid not to. It's a game where you have to keep yourself alive in that castle.”

The 21-person cast list stretched from former Bachelor Peter Weber And housewives stars Larsa Pippin, Tamra Judge, Shereé Whitfield And Phaedra Parks in front of the British Parliament Johannes Bercow and boxer Deontay Wilder.

“My strategy, however, was to identify the traitors and work with them as long as possible to possibly be recruited or, if push came to shove, get enough people together to go after them,” Janelle explained. “But I definitely didn't want to catch real traitors right away, because it just seemed like some kind of stupid gameplay. Why would we get rid of someone who was actually a traitor on day one or two? They're just going to recruit – [and] What if they don't recruit me? They could recruit a very good faith person who I work with.”

While some stars wanted the chance to “kill” their fellow castle guests, MJ was glad she wasn't overheard.

“I knew if I was a traitor, I wouldn't be able to keep a straight face for even a second,” MJ said. Us about the round table selection. “I'm one of those nervous laughers. I would just do it [have] no game face. That would be impossible. Even that moment when we took off our blindfolds was so intense.”

John's breathing

Speaking of selection, the politician quickly came under fire when Janelle called out his heavy breathing host Alan Cummings walked around the round table and picked out the traitors.

“It was almost certainly a mistake, because you're probably supposed to be inscrutable [and] don't give anything away. So it was probably a mistake because it led for a short period… [of] this suspicion. “This is strange, this is suspicious, this is inexplicable, this is possibly a sign in the absence of any other evidence that this man is a traitor.” All it was, honestly, was this: I passionately wanted to be a believer. I made it clear in advance that that was what I wanted and hoped for [but] I had no guarantee that I would remain faithful,” John said Us. “Alan walked around the room so many times during the blindfolded ceremony that it was quite stressful. And when it was over, I was breathing heavily and I think I often breathe heavily and through my mouth – and Janelle asked me, “Well, what's going on?” And I said, 'Well, I've been asthmatic. And then there was a problem: 'Well, are you using an inhaler? No. Are you asthmatic now?' And I said, 'No, look, historically I was asthmatic. I don't breathe very well, but honestly, you put two and two together and you get five.' So it was a gross miscalculation: people thought it made me a traitor, but did I make a mistake? Yes.”

Larsa takes a shot at Parvati

It's no surprise Real Housewives of Miami viewers that Larsa would waste no time sharing her thoughts during the same selection ceremony. So when she was convinced that Cummings tapped Parvati on the shoulder based on an alleged sound coming from his jacket, she said something.

“My original plan was to stay under the radar and not necessarily make too much noise, but I couldn't do anything about it. Her energy just sent me to the left, to the left,” Larsa said Us from Parvati. Bananas then chimed in, “You and me both.”

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Sandra and Parvati's file

After publicly arguing about who was the true “queen of SurvivorJust last year, the two winners of the CBS show shocked viewers by showing off RuPaul's Drag Race star Peppermint help them make amends at the premiere.

“My stomach dropped and Sandra came out of the cart with her finger right in my face, and I thought, 'Oh God. … We have to stop meeting like this, girl,'' Parvati said Us. “Because we needed each other there. I mean, I didn't really know anyone except Sandra. So we had to find a way to work together and not have disagreements. And I'm so grateful that Peppermint took it upon themselves to bring us together, help us shake hands and bury the hatchet.

Sandra noted that it was a quick turnaround. “I thought, 'Oh no, not only do I have to navigate this game now, but now I have to deal with Parvati?' But thanks to Peppermint we talked about it briefly, I don't even think it was five minutes and I was ready to move on and we agreed to move on,” she said. “And if I agreed to something, that was it. So I just hoped that my honesty about moving on would be the same for Parvati. People tell you different things, but I was happy that Peppermint brought us together and we could bury the hatchet. And hey, it's all awesome.”

Phaedra and Dan's plans as traitors

During Episode 1, viewers learn that Phaedra and Dan have been selected as traitors. “In my world we fight, we drink champagne, we are glamorous – this world is all about strategy,” Phaedra said. Usnoting that part of her plan was to “hook up” with Dan because she knew he won Big Brother. “I had no idea. I only knew the Bravolebrities. And so, of course, as a Bravolebrity, I wanted to lightweight protect my entire Bravo family.

That included the former Real Housewives of Atlanta costar Sheree. “We know she can be a bit mischievous. I mean, she's a good liar sometimes,” Shereé said Us from Phaedra, which Tamra agreed to. “I think it's in our nature to be housewives, to be traitors at our core. That's what we do for a living. And the girls who joined were the ones who had been at it for a long time, so I didn't trust any of them.

For her part, Phaedra added that she wanted to be an “angel traitor.”

“That is of course the position that works the hardest, because everyone else is sleeping [and] You kill the people. But I wanted to make sure I did it right,” Phaedra shared Us. “My perspective was very different, probably from some other traitors, because I always root for the underdog. However, I was kind of at a disadvantage because I didn't know any of the gamers. … I used my personal conversations with people to determine who I really wanted to protect this game with or who I really wanted to play this game with.

As viewers saw, Dan “really wanted to play traitor” and he got his chance. “I just didn't want to sit on the sidelines. I served 10 years. I wanted to start mixing it, so I was definitely really excited and excited to play,” he said. “But during this game I realized that I'm used to chess, and this is more like poker.”

The first three episodes of The traitors streaming now on Peacock. Keep coming back to We weekly for more from the cast, including recaps for episodes 2 and 3.