The Traitors Ep 1 - 3 Review: Karan Johar's 'deadly' game show has unnecessary drama with less thrills but Apoorva Mukhija deserves applause
Karan Johar-hosted The Traitors premiered the first three episodes on June 12 on Amazon Prime Video. The murder mystery-style game show is engaging but has unnecessary drama.
Last Updated: 03.12 PM, Jun 13, 2025
Are you a Squid Game fan or Bigg Boss? You might find several references in the Karan Johar-hosted reality game show, The Traitors. The show's first three episodes were dropped on June 12 on Amazon Prime Video. Directed by Nishant Nayak, the show involves 20 celebrities, and they have one motto: 'Do not trust anybody but earn trust from everyone.' Meanwhile, KJo chose three traitors who have the right to murder innocents each night, but on the contrary, everyone can play a mind game and catch the traitors among them.
The Traitors Episodes 1 - 3
Right from the beginning, The Traitors, hosted by Karan Johar, has been giving Squid Game vibes. The masked men, murdering people to win money, going through deadly games, the contestants betraying each other, and more. In Traitors, the winner gets prize money of Rs 1 crore. Meanwhile, The Traitors India has been adapted from an American reality TV show of the same name, which is based on the Dutch series De Verraders.
The Traitors India features Anshula Kapoor, Apoorva Mukhija, Ashish Vidyarthi, Elnaaz Nourouzi, Harsh Gujral, Jannat Zubair, Janvi Gaur, Jasmine Bhasin, Karan Kundrra, Lakshmi Manchu, Maheep Kapoor, Mukesh Chhabra, Nikita Luther, Purav Jha, Raftaar, Raj Kundra, Sahil Salathia, Sudhanshu Pandey, Sufi Motiwala, and Uorfi Javed.
Each of them needs to remember one motto: 'Trust is rare but dhoka (betrayal) everywhere' to win the game.
Also Read: The Traitors: Secrets, shadows, and the game you didn't see behind Karan Johar's reality show
Amid the chaos, Karan chose three traitors while everyone was blindfolded, and those were: Purav Jha, Elnaaz Norouzi, and Raj Kundra. These three can murder innocents each night, but at every night at a table, everyone can vote and share their reviews about who they think is the traitor. The most-voted person gets eliminated, and after the elimination, everyone gets to know whether they lost an innocent or a traitor. Thus, at the first try, Raj was eliminated. It deserves special mention how Apoorva explained the point of why she thinks Raj is a traitor, led everyone to believe her, and that was impressive. On the other hand, the contestants chose the wrong participant as Karan Kundrra was eliminated, but he was innocent.
The Traitors has 'deadly' games but where is the thrill?
The Traitors was expected to have interesting games, but if you have watched the show, you would know none of the games had a proper thrill. It was overly cinematic and overdramatic than focusing on an actual game. Several arguments seem scripted, and the chaos lacks originality. At times, it feels like watching a mix of Bigg Boss, Squid Game, Khatron Ke Khiladi, and Splitsvilla. One of the scenes of The Traitors legit mirrors the marble game in Squid Game, where the players needed to betray each other to win the round.
Speaking about the performances, Apoorva Mukhija is a solid player. The way she explained why she thinks Raj Kundra is a traitor was thoroughly impressive. On the other hand, Raj has an intriguing personality, but guess what, he overexpressed himself. Meanwhile, Uorfi Javed is a good player and observes everything. Maheep Kapoor is the entertainment.
Meanwhile, The Traitors has engaging drama, but it can be more intense. New episodes will air each Thursday at 8 p.m. on Amazon Prime Video.