The Traitors US Banishments: Could Dan Gheesling be Exposed as a Traitor?

The First Two Banishments and Their Aftermath

The Traitors US season 2 has already had two banishments, and the events that unfolded as a result of them could expose Dan Gheesling as one of the traitors. On the premiere episode, host Alan Cumming chose Dan and Phaedra Parks to be the first two traitors. They then recruited Parvati Shallow, completing their trio. They've already shockingly murdered Johnny 'Bananas' Devenanzio and Marcus Jordan, leaving the remaining 16 faithfuls scrambling to figure out who they are.

Deontay Wilder in The Traitors US Season 2 promotional photo

At the first Traitors US season 2 round table, they banished Peppermint, who'd had a confrontation with Trishelle Canatella that some of the contestants found suspicious. The second banishment was Maks Chmerkovskiy, who was eliminated from the competition after his friend, Deontay Wilder, pointed out what he thought was Maks' suspicious behavior after Marcus' murder. However, both Peppermint and Maks were faithfuls. At the second round table, Larsa Pippen and MJ Javid voted Dan as a traitor, and, if he's not careful, they could turn everyone against him at the next round table. Dan could be in trouble at the next banishment for the following reasons.

Dan Gheesling in The Traitors promotional poster

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The Changing Focus of the Faithfuls

Because the faithfuls were wrong about Peppermint and Maks being traitors, they're beginning to realize that they're focusing on the wrong things at the banishments. They are ready to shift their focus, and this could be a big problem for Dan. While Phaedra and Parvati's names have never been mentioned at the round table discussions, Dan is now on Larsa and MJ's radar. If nothing changes, they'll most certainly vote to banish him again, and now others might vote with them in order to make a new start in the game.

Larsa Pippen The Traitors Promotional Poster

Larsa and MJ have now spoken publicly about how they think Dan's quiet personality is actually a mask hiding his murderous identity as a traitor. They won't want to make the mistake of banishing another faithful at the next round table. With their strong personalities, they could now take the lead and convince everyone else to banish Dan. Larsa wants revenge for the murder of her boyfriend Marcus, so, if she truly suspects Dan is a traitor, she could now continue to push her theory and persuade people to vote with her.

MJ Javid The Traitors

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The Unsettled Dynamics and the Impending Murder

Deontay Wilder was devastated and crying after he led the charge against Maks at the last round table and was later proven wrong when Maks revealed that he was actually a faithful. He spoke about how Maks changed from the first time he met him. He added that Maks' reaction to Marcus' murder seemed fake to him, and he thought it was bad acting, as though he already knew that Marcus wouldn't be coming down to breakfast. Of course, he was completely wrong about his theory. Deontay also declared that he thought that Dan was a faithful, and that his quiet personality shouldn't be confused with being a traitor.

Peppermint in the Traitors US Season 2 promotional photo

If Deontay and others such as Sandra Diaz-Twine, who also persuaded people to vote for Maks, take a step back, this will leave the floor open for players such as Larsa and MJ to take center stage at the next round table. They're suspicious of Dan, so this could spell trouble for him if they haven't shifted their focus to a different one of their fellow contestants. The faithfuls didn't follow Larsa and MJ's lead the first time they accused Dan, but, since the faithfuls have been wrong twice already, they might be ready to change their strategy, as Larsa and MJ have encouraged them to do.

Maksim Chmerkovskiy in The Traitors US Season 2 promotional photo

After banishing two of their own, the faithfuls are determined not to make the same mistake again. In The Traitors US season 2 episode 3, Alan announced a new twist for the traitors, which was a murder in plain sight. This meant that Dan, Parvati, and Phaedra had to work together to retrieve a poisoned chalice from the library. The first faithful to drink from the cup would be murdered with a slow-acting poison. As Dan and Parvati worked together to get the chalice, Parvati pointed out that everyone was walking around the castle on high alert.