With just two episodes to go of The Traitors UK, what was looking like a relatively clear path to victory for Rachel and Stephen has met a potentially lethal stumbling block - and it's come from the most unlikely player of all. Has the course of the game just been turned completely on its head? Or can the turret twosome see off this potentially seismic threat?
Fans on social media have been left reeling by scenes in last night's (Wednesday, 21 January) episode, which saw below-radar player Faraaz confidently explain why he thought Rachel was a Traitor.
Everything he said was totally accurate - and it left his fellow players, not least Rachel herself, in shock.
Now, Rachel and Stephen face a tricky choice of whether to look incredibly suspicious by bumping him off, or leave him in the game to potentially win more people over to his way of thinking.
Whatever happens, viewers can't get enough of the way Faraaz - arguably the quietest player of the entire season - has suddenly had a "main character" moment.
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Writing on X, one person brilliantly dubbed him "FARAAZATHA CHRISTIE", while someone else said: "Sorry Faraaz coming out of nowhere being the most capable faithful??? I’m floored."
"Faraaz working out Rachel’s game perfectly and then just chilling eating crisps, iconic behaviour," said someone else; while a fourth wrote: "Faraaz coming out as a Traitor hunter at the last minute my underdog king!! #TheTraitors".
"Obsessed with Faraaz going from just being there smiling away to becoming a last minute mastermind detective diva," reads another post. Echoing the sentiment, yet another person wrote: "Faraaz our nonchalant genius faithful."
The episode ended with Rachel and Stephen picking between Faraaz and Roxy for the next murder, and it's clear Faraaz poses the biggest risk to them going forward. But will bumping him off now look too suspicious?
Related: When is The Traitors on next? Plus everyone's odds of winning
Ironically, Rachel and Stephen's best bet may well have been to stick together, but even that strategy looked to finally be coming apart by last night's cliffhanger; with Stephen voicing doubts that Rachel truly will have his back until the very last moment.
It'll feel like a very long wait to find out whether Faraaz's stroke of genius happened at the right time; or whether it was too little, too late.
Only two episodes remain of this hugely successful run, with Friday's finale set to air at the slightly later-than-usual time of 8:30pm, running for an extended 75 minutes.
Once the series is over, fans can continue to get their Traitors fix with the Irish version, which lands this weekend. UK release news for the latest US season is still pending.
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.
