Review: The Traitors, “Think Outside the Box” | Season 4, Episode 9

Sometimes the lower-stakes episodes of The Traitors are more satisfying than the actual big faceoffs. Or maybe “lower-expectations” is a better phrase. The last two episodes have continued the season’s strong run—nothing this week comes close to the delirious heights of the banquet or Rob and Candiace’s tension coming to a head—but both of those episodes also had their mild disappointments, especially at the roundtables themselves. “Think Outside the Box,” on the other hand, is more boring overall, but with its own modest pleasures. It’s working with less, which makes it easier to appreciate in its own way.

I came into this week curious about where the season could go from here, and “Think Outside the Box” doesn’t present any huge surprises in answering that question. Rob is still dominating—maybe even more so than last week, because all the faithfuls seem to have completely accepted his (solid, but not name-clearing!) explanation for Candiace’s confusing attacks. He has a very clear path to a win without a significant fumble at this point, so the bigger question is whether he’ll share that win with Eric. And that dilemma doesn’t necessarily make for the most compelling narrative stakes as we near the endgame.