‘How can I be such a dogla human?’: Krystle D’Souza on why she didn’t ditch Rida Tharana in The Traitors S2 | Interview

The Traitors Season 2 closed on a nail-biter: Krystle D’Souza, playing as an original Traitor, held the final vote with only Shalini Passi and Rida Tharana left at the table. One stroke of the pen could have sent Rida home and paved the way for Krystle to dispatch Shalini in the night and pocket the entire prize. Instead, she chose a different endgame—banishing Shalini, standing beside Rida, and splitting the ₹66 lakh jackpot as joint winners.

The decision that defined the finale

In the last moments, strategy clashed with conscience. Krystle admits she had every opportunity to go for the solo crown. She’d even set up the stage by telling Shalini she planned to write Rida’s name. But when it came time to commit, she couldn’t bring herself to pull the trigger on her ally. The promise she’d made to Rida—“we win together”—wasn’t just talk. Krystle stuck to it, even though it meant walking away from a near-certain solo triumph.

“I had the final say and the math was obvious,” she reflected. “But sometimes your gut overrules the perfect move on paper.” In her view, Rida had earned the right to stand at the finish line, first as an astute Faithful and then as a late-game recruit who navigated a brutal pivot under pressure.

Why Rida deserved the finish line

Krystle’s respect for Rida’s gameplay ran deep. Through much of the season, Rida consistently pieced together sharp arguments and put heat on the right people—eventually, even Krystle. “Had I not forced her hand mid-game,” Krystle admitted, “she would likely have exposed me.” That paradox—recognizing Rida as both a threat and a worthy partner—ultimately made sharing the victory feel right.

There was also a human element. Rida’s switch from Faithful to Traitor, under Krystle’s blackmail, sparked an emotional spiral later in the game. The sudden inversion of loyalties rattled her. Krystle, aware that she’d triggered the turn, felt a responsibility to steady her partner. In the end, it became less about a clinical win condition and more about finishing a story they started together.

The recruitment that changed everything

Mid-season, Krystle cornered Rida with the show’s darkest bargaining chip: join the Traitors or face elimination. The gamble worked—but it came with consequences. Rida wrestled with the moral whiplash, and the alliance had to become more than just strategic. Krystle checked in, buffered the blows, and took on the role of protector when the weight of deception got heavy.

That shared strain forged an unspoken pact. When the finale demanded a choice, Krystle didn’t just evaluate moves; she measured what it would mean to betray someone she’d pulled to her side in the first place.

Rida’s take: “It’s a game—surprise me”

Interestingly, Rida insists she’d have respected the opposite outcome too. If Krystle had voted her out, Rida says she would have applauded the audacity. To her, the best endings in The Traitors feel like a masterstroke in chess—jaw-dropping precisely because you didn’t see it coming. “As a competitor, I value the move,” she said. “Win with me or eliminate me—either way, make it brilliant.”

A win built on tension, trust and timing

The finale distilled everything that makes The Traitors addictive: imperfect information, moral dilemmas, and decisions that live in the gray. Krystle engineered a path where she could have taken it all, yet chose a shared victory she believes was deserved on merit. Rida, who began as one of the season’s sharper Faithfuls and finished as a shaken but resilient Traitor, stood beside her as a co-champion.

Could Krystle have claimed the crown alone? Undoubtedly. Would it have been a colder, cleaner ending? Maybe. But the version that aired—a promise honored, a partner lifted, a prize divided—felt truer to the complicated alliance that defined the season’s closing chapters.

The last word

Krystle has joked that, in a different matchup, she might have cut a male player at the wire. But the truth behind the quip is simple: in that moment, with that partner, she chose not to be two-faced. She chose to be the Traitor who didn’t betray.