Since The Traitors premiered, it has been fascinating to see people like Dan Gheesling flop on the reality show. After all, in addition to Bob the Drag Queen clapping back at fans, Tom Sandoval’s pit stains, and his surprising popularity, The Traitors has featured a lot of strategic gameplay. After arguably becoming the most famous Survivor player ever, “Boston” Rob Mariano joined the cast of The Traitors.
Sadly for Survivor fans, Tony Vlachos was banished early and Parvati Shallow failed on the show. On top of that, while “Boston” Rob Mariano lasted longer than Tony or Parvati, he also messed up by breaking The Traitors.
“Boston” Rob Mariano Turning On Bob The Drag Queen Ruined The Traitors Season 3
During The Traitors Season 3, “Boston” Rob Mariano was initially rejected by the other players. While the other players may have initially believed he was gone, “Boston” Rob was eventually brought back and immediately became one of the traitors.
When “Boston” Rob joined the traitors, the group was made up of Bob the Drag Queen, Danielle Reyes, and Carolyn Wiger. Before “Boston” Rob joined the turret, the trio of traitors were working together reasonably well.
Then everything changed when “Boston” Rob made a fateful decision without consulting his fellow traitors. When “Boston” Rob turned on Bob the Drag Queen and had him banished, he ruined the rest of The Traitors Season 3.
During the early days of The Traitors Season 3, the traitors weren’t working together perfectly. It was clear that Carolyn felt ignored, for instance. However, they were behaving as a team and that remained the case initially when “Boston” Rob joined them.
TV Insider Ranked Traitors By Their Powers of Manipulation | ||
|---|---|---|
Traitor | Season | Rank |
Christian de la Torre | 1 | #12 |
Kate Chastain | 2 | #11 |
Cody Calafiore | 1 | #10 |
Arie Luyendyk Jr. | 1 | #9 |
Bob the Drag Queen | 3 | #8 |
Dan Gheesling | 2 | #7 |
Parvati Shallow | 2 | #6 |
“Boston” Rob Mariano | 3 | #5 |
Carolyn Wiger | 3 | #4 |
Danielle Reyes | 3 | #3 |
Phaedra Parks | 2 | #2 |
Cirie Fields | 1 | #1 |
Then, things began to fall apart during the fourth episode when Bob the Drag Queen made a comment about the three players who joined the game late. While speaking about that trio, that “Boston” Rob was a part of. During a mission, Bob the Drag Queen stated that they needed safety since they were under suspicion.
I did think that one of the new guys needs a head up there because we all think one of them might be a traitor.
As soon as “Boston” Rob heard Bob the Drag Queen utter those words, he expressed why he was upset by his comments. “Bob, what the hell are you doing? You’re throwing me under the bus. You just put a big target on me, and ultimately, that’s a problem… Bob calling us out like you did. He didn’t necessarily set me up for death tonight, but he made it imminent in the future and put so much sauce on me that I did not need.”
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As a result of Bob the Drag Queen’s comment, “Boston” Rob decided that he had to get him banished during the next roundtable. Since “Boston” Rob is a highly persuasive person, he successfully had “Bob” the Drag Queen banished next.
In February 2025, “Boston” Rob Mariano told People that he didn’t regret getting Bob the Drag Queen banished. “I don’t regret it. I mean, I could have done it maybe an episode or two later, but the problem is after I opened my mouth and started saying it, I had to execute on that. You know what I mean? Because I can’t put the words back.”
Since they both have huge personalities, seeing “Boston” Rob and Bob the Drag Queen fight it out at the roundtable was very entertaining. As great as that moment was, it also marked the beginning of the downfall of the rest of the season.
The huge problem with what “Boston” Rob did to Bob the Drag Queen is the effect it had on the two other traitors. Since Bob the Drag Queen was Danielle Reyes’ friend and ally in the game, “Boston” Rob taking him out completely broke Danielle’s trust.
What Reality Shows Has “Boston” Rob Mariano Starred In, According to IMDb?
- Survivor
- Rob and Amber Get Married
- The Amazing Race
- Deal or No Deal Island
- The Traitors
As was consistently shown in her confessionals, it wasn’t just the fact that Danielle didn’t trust “Boston” Rob anymore. Since she was upset with him for having Bob the Drag Queen banished, Danielle wanted “Boston” Rob gone.
Wise enough to recognize that she wasn’t in a good position to go after “Boston” Rob directly, Danielle had an alternative plan. What Danielle did next, in response to “Boston” Rob’s betrayal, completely undermined the traitors as a group.
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In an attempt to undermine “Boston” Rob without going directly at him, Danielle decided to target Carolyn. Danielle did that by talking to several of the other players about Carolyn in an attempt to have her banished without having to do it directly herself. Unfortunately for all the traitors, Carolyn quickly learned that Danielle was trying to engineer her exit. After confronting Danielle, who basically admitted to what she’d done, Carolyn never came close to trusting her fellow traitor again.
Fortunately for Danielle, “Boston” Rob was banished during the season’s 7th episode, largely due to the way he got Bob the Drag Queen banished.
In February 2025, Screen Rant published a thread asking its readers to react to “Boston” Rob Mariano’s dramatic The Traitors exit. The responses to that thread reveal that many fans felt that “Boston” Rob had a detrimental effect on the season. On top of that, many fans also felt that “Boston” Rob was eliminated too early, which was a side effect of him turning on Bob the Drag Queen.
Thanks to “Boston” Rob banishing Bob the Drag Queen, the distrust that was created led to all the traitors working against each other. For example, once “Boston” Rob was gone, Danielle and Carloyn were the only traitors left and they were incapable of working together well.
Since the traitors were incapable of working together, the season lacked the intrigue of seeing them battling the faithful. Instead, the traitors seem to do everything they could under the show’s rules to destroy themselves.
Ultimately, the traitors complete downfall led to a truly boring The Traitors finale. Seeing four of the faithful not even seem to question each other was tedious. The only thing that made it worse was having to watch Alan Cumming try to add suspense to the situation that obviously was going to play out in the most boring way possible.
Looking at the history of The Traitors Season 3, it is completely obvious that “Boston” Rob is the one who ruined the season.
Even “Boston” Rob Mariano Admitted That He Was Wrong
Since fans saw “Boston” Rob Mariano get Bob the Drag Queen banished, the Survivor icon has defended the move. However, most fans have really questioned whether “Boston” Rob going after his fellow Traitor really was necessary. Instead, many fans have argued that the only one who seemed to even care about Bob the Drag Queen’s remark was “Boston” Rob.
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During The Traitors’ reunion, Bob the Drag Queen was asked about his remark about the new guys that set “Boston” Rob. In return, Bob the Drag Queen stated that he didn’t even remember saying it. That inspired Danielle Reyes to say that Bob the Drag Queen’s remark, “Wasn’t that impactful.” To his credit, “Boston” Rob agreed that the statement wasn’t that impactful to anyone but him.
You’re right, Danielle. It wasn’t that impactful. But internally, it was for me. So I started to act on it.
After “Boston” Rob made that admission, Andy Cohen read a statement that was sent in by a fan. That fan wanted “Boston” Rob to explain how he wasn’t the one to start all the drama among the traitors. Instead of making that claim, “Boston” Rob outright admitted that he started the traitors turning on each other.
No. I definitely do think I started it.
“Boston” Rob then joked that the fan had the situation wrong.
The Traitors (US)
- Release Date
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January 12, 2023
- Showrunner
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Stephen Lambert
- Writers
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Lee Grant, Christine Rose
