Game of Roses

This Week in Bachelor Nation: The Traitors: New Blood's NBC ratings slide, and Mikayla Matthews says she's done with The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. Jenn Tran's soft launch takes the top Parasocial Play of the Week.

BachelorClues and PaceCase start State of the Game with the first ratings for The Traitors: New Blood on NBC. The premiere drew a 0.33 in the 18-49 demo. Episode 2 fell to a 0.28, and raw viewers dropped about 25%, which put the show well behind Big Brother for the night. In Bachelor Nation News, Mikayla Matthews shuts down hopes of a Mormon Wives return, Taylor Frankie Paul hands her Instagram to her assistant, the Love Is Blind: Boston cast is revealed, and Golden couple Joan Vassos and Chock Chapple star in a sleep apnea implant commercial. The Top 5 Parasocial Plays feature Charity Lawson and Dotun Olubeko, Joe Vanella's Traitors watch party, Kelsey Anderson and Joey Graziadei, and Mikayla Matthews' munchies reel. Jenn Tran's mystery-man soft launch takes #1, and Taylor and Daniel Hastings' dog is the Parasocial Creature of the Week. In Screams from the Pit, BachelorClues finds comfort in Jesse Palmer's college football commentary, and a Pit member shares an I Love Cleveland supercut from Pilot Pete's season.

CHAPTERS
(00:00) Intro: Did Pilot Pete Jump the Timeline?
(01:36) Taylor Swift's "Cleveland" & I Love Cleveland Merch
(05:37) State of the Game: Is The Traitors: New Blood a Hit?
(18:48) Bachelor Nation News: Mikayla Matthews Won't Return to Mormon Wives
(21:05) Taylor Frankie Paul's Assistant Takes Over Her Socials
(22:16) The SLOMW Wars: Has MomTok Imploded?
(27:44) Love Is Blind: Boston Cast Revealed
(30:02) Joan Vassos & Chock Chapple's Sleep Apnea Commercial
(34:01) SLOMW Wars Headline Game
(36:50) Top 5 Parasocial Plays: #5 Charity Lawson & Dotun Olubeko
(38:25) #4 Joe Vanilla's Traitors Watch Party
(39:25) #3 Kelsey Anderson & Joey Graziadei
(42:01) #2 Mikayla Matthews Mocks the New M&M
(43:07) #1 Jenn Tran's Soft Launch
(47:58) Parasocial Creature of the Week
(49:02) Screams from the Pit
(49:36) PaceCase's Scream: What Love Island Taught Her About Consent
(52:32) BachelorClues' Scream: Dark Lord Palmer Calls College Football
(56:55) Pit Scream: The I Love Cleveland Supercut
(01:02:01) Watching the I Love Cleveland Video

EPISODE FAQ
Is Mikayla Matthews returning to The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives?
No. Even after Taylor Frankie Paul announced she was leaving, Mikayla Matthews said she won't be coming back because her concerns about how things were handled haven't changed.

How were the ratings for The Traitors: New Blood's premiere?
The Traitors: New Blood Episode 1 drew a 0.33 in the 18-49 demo and about 2.58 million viewers on NBC. Episode 2 fell to a 0.28 and about 1.9 million, placing second for the night behind Big Brother.

What was Game of Roses' top Parasocial Play of the Week?
Jenn Tran's Instagram soft launch, in which a mystery man pulls her in for a kiss just off camera, took #1 in the Top 5 Parasocial Plays of the Week.
ABOUT GAME OF ROSES
Game of Roses is the reality TV podcast that breaks down The Bachelor franchise, Love Island USA, The Traitors, and more as a game. Hosted by BachelorClues (Chad Kultgen) and PaceCase (Lizzy Pace), co-authors of How to Win the Bachelor.

JOIN US IN THE BOTTOM OF THE PIT
Get every episode ad-free, plus watch-alongs in Casa GoR, members-only live streams, and our Discord: https://www.patreon.com/gameofroses

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GameofRoses?sub_confirmation=1
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gameofrosespod/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gameofroses
Merch: https://gameofroses.org/
Game of Rosé wine: https://www.gameofroses.wine/
How to Win the Bachelor: https://www.simonandschuster.biz/books/How-to-Win-the-Bachelor/Chad-Kultgen/9781797138787
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Love Island USA's Taylor Williams and Clarke Carraway breakup turns messy with a stranded-at-a-gas-station story and an injury photo, while Grant Ellis reveals most of his happy couple weekends with Juliana were canceled.

On this Digging Deeper, BachelorClues and PaceCase react to the clips Bachelor Nation has been passing around. Kim from The Traitors: New Blood explains on So Bad It's Good how she built her basketball coach cover story, and the hosts argue a low-stakes lie would have played better. On Kayla's Crash Out, Clarke describes being left at an Oklahoma gas station, as Taylor posts a photo of his face and promises his side of the story. A Plan Bri Uncut guest claims reality stars aren't real celebrities, which BachelorClues rejects completely. On Bachelor Happy Hour, Grant Ellis says the breakup was mostly Juliana's call and remembers his talks with Jesse Palmer. On Trading Secrets, Andrew Spencer insists Bachelor Nation isn't going anywhere, sparking talk of Season 30 rumors (Robert Irwin or Blake Moynes) and Love Island fatigue. And on The Viall Files, a Married at First Sight star has no idea who Nick Viall is.

CHAPTERS
(00:00) Intro: Magic: The Gathering's Spider-Man Deck
(01:41) This Week's Clip Lineup
(03:26) Kim's Basketball Coach Cover Story (So Bad It's Good)
(08:43) Clarke on the Taylor Breakup (Kayla's Crash Out)
(10:19) Nic & Olandria and the Couple Brand Trap
(14:00) Clarke Stranded at an Oklahoma Gas Station
(18:40) Taylor's Injury Photo
(21:07) Are Reality Stars Celebrities? (Plan Bri Uncut)

EPISODE FAQ
What happened between Taylor Williams and Clarke Carraway from Love Island USA?
On Kayla's Crash Out, Clarke said she was left stranded at a gas station in Oklahoma after a heated argument with Taylor, and Taylor then posted a photo of injuries to his face saying she hadn't told the full story.

Why did Grant Ellis and Juliana break up after The Bachelor?
Grant told Bachelor Happy Hour the split was mutual but mostly Juliana's decision, and that they only did two of five planned happy couple weekends.

Who are the rumored leads for The Bachelor Season 30?
BachelorClues says the two names he's heard are Robert Irwin and Blake Moynes.
ABOUT GAME OF ROSES
Game of Roses is the reality TV podcast that breaks down The Bachelor franchise, Love Island USA, The Traitors, and more as a game. Hosted by BachelorClues (Chad Kultgen) and PaceCase (Lizzy Pace), co-authors of How to Win the Bachelor.

JOIN US IN THE BOTTOM OF THE PIT
Get every episode ad-free, plus watch-alongs in Casa GoR, members-only live streams, and our Discord: https://www.patreon.com/gameofroses

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GameofRoses?sub_confirmation=1
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gameofrosespod/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gameofroses
Merch: https://gameofroses.org/
Game of Rosé wine: https://www.gameofroses.wine/
How to Win the Bachelor: https://www.simonandschuster.biz/books/How-to-Win-the-Bachelor/Chad-Kultgen/9781797138787
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

PaceCase and BachelorClues recap Episodes 3 and 4 of The Traitors: New Blood, where the Faithful receive a massive clue about the Traitors’ recruitment battle, suspicion begins closing in on Katie, and Joey Vanella continues to emerge as one of the strongest players in the castle. But these episodes belong to Jay, whose self-proclaimed body-language expertise, skeleton-cage chaos, and increasingly unhinged strategy produce some of the strangest gameplay we’ve ever seen on The Traitors.

Subscribe to Game of Roses on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/gameofroses

Patreon: https://patreon.com/gameofroses
Merch: https://gameofroses.org
Listen on Apple Podcasts: http://bit.ly/gameofroses
Listen on Spotify: http://bit.ly/spotifygameofroses
ABOUT GAME OF ROSES
Game of Roses is the reality TV podcast that breaks down The Bachelor franchise, Love Island USA, The Traitors, and more as a game. Hosted by BachelorClues (Chad Kultgen) and PaceCase (Lizzy Pace), co-authors of How to Win the Bachelor.

JOIN US IN THE BOTTOM OF THE PIT
Get every episode ad-free, plus watch-alongs in Casa GoR, members-only live streams, and our Discord: https://www.patreon.com/gameofroses

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GameofRoses?sub_confirmation=1
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gameofrosespod/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gameofroses
Merch: https://gameofroses.org/
Game of Rosé wine: https://www.gameofroses.wine/
How to Win the Bachelor: https://www.simonandschuster.biz/books/How-to-Win-the-Bachelor/Chad-Kultgen/9781797138787
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Taylor Frankie Paul says she’s leaving The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives — and she’s not the only MomTok star heading for the exits. BachelorClues and PaceCase break down the latest chaos surrounding Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, including Mikayla Matthews announcing her departure, Taylor Frankie Paul’s statement about stepping away, and the increasingly big question: can MomTok actually survive this? Plus, Joey Graziadei is officially heading to the castle for The Traitors Season 5! We break down the newly announced cast, including Whitney Leavitt, Taylor Hale, JaNa Craig, Iain Stirling, Craig Conover, Kristin Chenoweth and more — and make our early picks for who should become a Traitor. Then in Bachelor Nation News: Chris Harrison returns to dating television with his new show The Vow, JaNa Craig and Rob Rausch land a new Peacock hosting gig, and we debut a brand-new segment designed to get Game of Roses into Secret Lives of Mormon Wives Season 6. Finally, we crown the Top 5 Parasocial Plays of the Week and descend once again into the Screams from the Pit.

Subscribe to Game of Roses on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/gameofroses

Patreon: https://patreon.com/gameofroses
Merch: https://gameofroses.org
Listen on Apple Podcasts: http://bit.ly/gameofroses
Listen on Spotify: http://bit.ly/spotifygameofroses
ABOUT GAME OF ROSES
Game of Roses is the reality TV podcast that breaks down The Bachelor franchise, Love Island USA, The Traitors, and more as a game. Hosted by BachelorClues (Chad Kultgen) and PaceCase (Lizzy Pace), co-authors of How to Win the Bachelor.

JOIN US IN THE BOTTOM OF THE PIT
Get every episode ad-free, plus watch-alongs in Casa GoR, members-only live streams, and our Discord: https://www.patreon.com/gameofroses

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GameofRoses?sub_confirmation=1
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gameofrosespod/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gameofroses
Merch: https://gameofroses.org/
Game of Rosé wine: https://www.gameofroses.wine/
How to Win the Bachelor: https://www.simonandschuster.biz/books/How-to-Win-the-Bachelor/Chad-Kultgen/9781797138787
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Traitors: New Blood has officially begun, and the game is already producing massive errors, promising players, and some truly unhinged strategy. PaceCase and BachelorClues break down Episodes 1 and 2, from Joey Vanella and Tomica entering the game as Traitors to Kim’s fatal profession play, the new Traitor-selection twist, Victor’s disastrous decision to sprint for the first shield, and the chaos surrounding Madeline at the first round table. Plus: early reads on Katie, Xavier, Kriste and the rest of the cast, why looking strategically competent can get you murdered, and whether this group of unknown players can produce the next generation of reality TV stars.

Subscribe to Game of Roses on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/gameofroses

Patreon: https://patreon.com/gameofroses
Merch: https://gameofroses.org
Listen on Apple Podcasts: http://bit.ly/gameofroses
Listen on Spotify: http://bit.ly/spotifygameofroses
ABOUT GAME OF ROSES
Game of Roses is the reality TV podcast that breaks down The Bachelor franchise, Love Island USA, The Traitors, and more as a game. Hosted by BachelorClues (Chad Kultgen) and PaceCase (Lizzy Pace), co-authors of How to Win the Bachelor.

JOIN US IN THE BOTTOM OF THE PIT
Get every episode ad-free, plus watch-alongs in Casa GoR, members-only live streams, and our Discord: https://www.patreon.com/gameofroses

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GameofRoses?sub_confirmation=1
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gameofrosespod/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gameofroses
Merch: https://gameofroses.org/
Game of Rosé wine: https://www.gameofroses.wine/
How to Win the Bachelor: https://www.simonandschuster.biz/books/How-to-Win-the-Bachelor/Chad-Kultgen/9781797138787
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.