‘The Traitors: New Blood’: Body Language Expert Said 1 Contestant Ruined His Game
On The Traitors: New Blood, contestants Xavier Scruggs and Katie Frites were Traitors’ Accomplices. This meant they had to complete tasks assigned by the Traitors to audition for the role of Traitor. The loser would be murdered. Xavier recently exited the game. A body language expert noted that his behavior made him seem very guilty.
A body language expert spoke about Xavier’s game on ‘The Traitors: New Blood’
On a recent episode of The Traitors: New Blood, Xavier and Katie had to find death warrants in a book and then deliver them to Joe Vanella and Tomica Adams, the Traitors. Body language expert Inbaal Honigman with Casino.ca noted that their responses to this were markedly different.
“Katie’s response to the challenge of finding a death warrant in a book is measured and focused,” she said. “Xavier’s is absolutely chaotic.”
Katie seemed to embrace the challenge, whereas Xavier treated it as though it could end his game.
“When Katie reads the note, she’s seen smiling,” Honigman said. “She waves the letter up and down in tapping motions, which show her determination. Xavier reads the note motionless, mournful. He holds the letter gingerly, as if the very letter could murder him.”
The players had to find the note without raising suspicion in the other players. Honigman said that Katie pulled this off better than Xavier.
“When Xavier gets close to the book, he goes through every nervous, tense body language cue in existence. Xavier could not look more guilty,” she said. “We see him wiping his face, covering his body with his arm, covering his lips with his hand, stroking his beard, rubbing his forehead, twiddling his curls between his fingers, leaning his head on his hand. It’s like a diorama of nervous behaviors. It’s the checklist of the nervous body language.”
In general, Katie was able to hide her nerves more than her Apprentice counterpart.
“Katie is a little concerned; her lips tighten and her brow furrows, but it is subtle,” she said. “When she moves to grab the book, she uses long, direct, exact movements which show that she is self-assured.”
He said that he didn’t like seeing Katie get the warrant
Xavier watched as Katie pulled her warrant out of a copy of Crime and Punishment. He said that this was not easy.
“That was the most grueling minute or two or three in my life. I’m just waiting for that last ring in the castle, and I’m like, ‘You guys are giving her way too much time to get this done!’” he told Entertainment Weekly. “So it was the most frustrating part.”
He said that upon reflection, he questioned whether he could have approached the situation differently.
“I look back, and I’m like, ‘Could there have been an opportunity to bring other people in?’” he said. “But then I’m thinking that would’ve been too obvious and too suspicious. Could I have blocked her out like an offensive lineman in a sense? So you’re thinking about all the gameplay, all the strategy, all the rules, but ultimately, she ended up getting it.”
‘The Traitors: New Blood’ contestant admitted he wasn’t happy to leave the game
Xavier was ultimately murdered. He noted that as a professional athlete, leaving the game in its early stages was not easy.
“It was tough, man,” he said. “Frustrated, angry, disappointed — all those emotions. Because you go in there, and at least for myself, I’m expecting to win! I’m not hoping to win by any means. I’m expecting to win. Even with all the twists in the game and knowing that it’s a small chance, that’s just naturally who I am.”
After taking some time away from the moment, though, he said that he enjoyed his time, however brief.
“So all those emotions came, and I was extremely mad at the moment once I was murdered,” he said. “But at the same time, very grateful now looking back, and appreciative of everybody that was there with me with the process.”
The Traitors: New Blood airs on NBC on Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET.
