Spoilers for The Traitors UK up to and including episode seven (Wednesday, 14 January) follow.
First, Fiona tried to take aim at her but failed. Then Harriet explosively attempted the same, with no more success. After surviving two jaw-dropping attempted takedowns in two heart-stopping consecutive episodes, can Rachel Duffy now go on to win The Traitors UK?
That's certainly what a lot of viewers are saying on social media after the latest installment, which ended with Harriet volunteering herself for banishment in order to prove her own innocence, and therefore show that her suspicions of Rachel were genuine. Scenes from immediately afterwards hinted that she wasn't successful, with Rachel continuing to avoid much heat.
"After everything Fiona and Harriet have thrown at Rachel, if she wins the war tonight then she needs to win the entire series more than any Traitor ever has," wrote one person on X.
Another post read: "Rachel deserves to win. I wanted her out but she’s won me over. She’s playing chess and everyone else is playing checkers and that’s that." A third said: "Props to Rachel, though. Her plan worked PERFECTLY. Absolutely no one suspected a thing and she single-handedly managed to press Harriet's buttons and make her go into self-destruct mode. Got the most clued-up faithful out the game. She may go on to win this."
Related: When will The Traitors US season 4 be released in the UK?
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"Rachel surviving two massive grenades back to back and still no one believes its her. Sorry Fiona, Harriet, Amanda, Jade but the real mother of this season IS Rachel," said another post.
The question is, can Rachel actually go all the way and ensure all remaining Faithfuls chuck a green Ceremonial Pouch into the fire come the finale?
In the short-term at least, she seems to be just fine: nobody's really looking at her post-Harriet's exit any more than they were before, and if anything, it's Matthew and Roxy who seem to be in the most trouble for being so vocally against the crime writer in her final moments.
If anybody does try coming for Rachel again...? Well, who's to say she can't see them off, too?
She and co-conspirator Stephen will just need to make sure they play their hands very carefully: their next murder already feels risky, given the uncertainty over who has shields; but - at least if nobody dies - the group can wonder if a recruitment (or attempted recruitment) happened instead.
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If she can make it to the end, the real challenge will - obviously - be the very last moments of the series.
If any remaining players have any doubts whatsoever over anyone who's left, they can force another banishment and refuse to end the game. Will anybody look back on Rachel's time, and what's been said about her by Fiona and Harriet, and realise that she's not 100% trustworthy?
Faithful can, after all, be incredibly paranoid at the end and decide to ultimately play it safe - just look at what happened to poor Frankie after the Seer twist last year.
This is where strength in numbers might come in handy: Rachel and Stephen so far seem determined to stick together and be the first Traitors in the UK game's history to split the money.
Seeing as neither of them has a totally immaculate track record of suspicion, they could use each-other to their advantage, and join forces to get rid of any Faithfuls that doubt them.
Winning will be a tough task, for sure. But considering how, weeks ago, not many people thought Rachel (or Stephen, for that matter) stood a chance of making it very far, she's proven she's a much smarter player than anyone initially thought.
The Traitors airs on BBC One and streams on BBC iPlayer.
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Shaun is an Evening News Editor at Digital Spy, with over a decade of experience reporting on all things pop culture. He has written for outlets including Metro, Attitude, Huffington Post, The Mirror, Yahoo!, Pink News and Express Online, specialising in TV, movies, soaps, music and LGBTQ+ issues. He is also a BAFTA Rocliffe-winning scriptwriter, having written episodes of the soap Hollyoaks, the official Steps musical Here & Now and multiple Offie Award-nominated plays. He studied English Literature and Drama at the University of East Anglia, and will happily talk at length about Desperate Housewives to anyone who'll listen.
