Okay, we need a minute, because Matthew “Matty” Hyndman getting banished this close to the end of The Traitors was genuinely painful to watch.
Matty went out at a tense roundtable that turned chaotic thanks to the season’s infamous “dagger” double-vote twist, which ended up tipping the numbers against him at exactly the worst time.
What makes it sting even more is that Matty wasn’t some passive passenger in the castle — he was playing, thinking, and trying to survive in a game that punishes hesitation.
After his exit, Matty admitted he wished he’d gone “all guns blazing” and pushed harder in the moment, especially when it came to where his suspicions were starting to land.
That kind of honesty is why people liked him, because it’s the most relatable post-elimination feeling in the world: you replay the moment and think, “Why didn’t I say it louder?”
Meanwhile, the dagger twist also left other players visibly shaken, because nobody wants to realize their power move just helped take out the wrong person.
And with the finale looming, you can feel the castle shifting into that late-game panic where every vote feels like it could decide the whole season.
But here’s the silver lining, and it’s very “Traitors-to-talent-trajectory.”
Even as Matty’s in-game story ends, there’s already chatter that he could come out of this with a genuinely strong future outside the show — the kind of post-Traitors glow-up fans love to predict.
That same buzz is also circling Stephen, who’s still very much in the mix and being talked about as someone who could have a big career moment after the season wraps, whether that’s media opportunities, brand deals, or simply becoming a reality TV fave people keep watching.
And honestly, it tracks, because The Traitors doesn’t just create winners — it creates characters people get attached to, even when they lose.
Matty’s exit was dramatic, unlucky, and emotionally sharp in exactly the way the show does best.
But the fact that people are already talking about what’s next for him says a lot.
This might have been the end of his castle run… but it doesn’t feel like the end of the story.
📷 IG: @ bbc / yermatty / stephenlibby