What happens when you put 11 contestants in a stunning location and tell them they’re all winners just by showing up, and will each take home an equal share of a $250,000 grand prize if they can exist peacefully throughout a new social experiment called The Trust, while also allowing them to vote people out and increase their own share through that action? Dishonesty, deceit, and lies, of course! Netflix’s latest social experiment is one for the books, and streamers can watch the first four episodes right now. Here’s everything that went down in The Trust Episodes 1-4.
The Trust Episode 1 Recap
After explaining the rules of the game, host Brooke Baldwin asked the contestants to step forward if they wanted to immediately vote somebody out. Everybody proved they have at least two braincells rubbing together, as nobody took the bait. It would’ve painted an instant target on their back.
But, as Brooke explained, all future votes would be in private, and majority rules. If just one person decided to vote another out, that person would be going home. If a vote resulted in a tie, everybody would be safe. There would also be tests of character scattered throughout the series.
Ahead of the first test, we learned that Juelz was a police officer. Despite that, he’s decided to tell people he’s a “stripper.” He fears their perspective of him will be about what he does, rather than who he is.
The first test exposes some secrets
Brooke brings the group boxes filled with secrets about the players. Somebody must read the secret aloud, and then the group has to guess who it’s about. The twist? The person it’s about doesn’t have to reveal themselves.
Brian is the first to admit a secret is about him. “I believe money is a poison.” We learn that his biological father used to steal money, and so he’s come to resent it in trying to be a different person. He puts peace and happiness first.
Other secrets are read, but perhaps the most interesting is that at 21, somebody became a millionaire. The group accuse realtor Bryce, but he laughs and denies it.
Lindsey takes the opportunity to admit that the secret, “I cheated on an ex-spouse with my current spouse,” was about her. At the time, she was a devout Mormon, her spouse was a serial cheater, and she’d had enough. Her current spouse is now her husband, and they share three children.
Nobody else is quite as forthcoming. “Baby, we got a house full of liars,” quips Winnie.
Introducing The Vault
On day two, it’s revealed that a secret vault lies beneath the house. Two people will gain access, and be presented with two offers. One benefits them individually, while the other benefits the group. One offer MUST be accepted. What happens in the vault, stays in the vault. And to decide the first two people getting that opportunity? Simple luck of the draw.
Juelz and Simone are eventually chosen. Their first offer is to take home $2,500 each out of The Trust, if someone gets cut at the next vote. The second offer is to add $5,000 to The Trust if they block two people’s votes. They select the second offer, blocking Bryce and Tolú’s vote as they are the first two names on the list within the vault.
Tolú, however, isn’t happy. “Nothing in this world is random,” she says in confessional. It’s the “same old sh*t.” She’s constantly had things “stripped away,” and this just reinforces the distrust she was already feeling towards Juelz. She tells Julie, Winnie, and Lindsey – and the group decide to do something about it.
The first vote claims a victim
Juelz’s aura is stinking up the place, at least for Tolú. She feels he’s hiding something, and she’d be right. He’s a cop! So the plan is set. Juelz will be sent home. But with Tolú’s vote blocked, along with Bryce’s, can she trust Julie, Lindsey, and Winnie to follow through? Here’s how the votes played out in Episode 1:
- Juelz – did not vote
- Jake – did not vote
- Bryce – did not vote (blocked)
- Gaspare – did not vote
- Simone – did not vote
- Jay – did not vote
- Brian – did not vote
- Julie – voted for Juelz
- Winnie – voted for Juelz
- Tolú – voted for Juelz (blocked)
- Lindsey – voted for Juelz
With The Trust broken, Juelz was sent home. Brian had a highly-emotional response, asking if anybody would “come clean.” He’s now on a mission to cull the voters. Jake says to both him and Gaspare, “Good guys? That’s now in the trash.”
The Trust Episode 2 Recap
While Julie at first seems to be hoping to build a “fantasy” of being with her for Jake, it’s clear she has the hots for the guy. We also learn a little about Julie’s past, as she reveals to Bryce she comes from an absent family. Her mother was abusive, and she never felt love as a kid. She was “abused by people who were supposed to love” her. Bryce tells her she deserves better, while holding onto his secret privileged upbringing.
The slate is wiped clean with the group at brunch. Brian had apologized to Tolú for losing his temper, and she said he shouldn’t ever feel sorry for being “authentically” himself. She’s giving main character energy, and it’s something I’m absolutely here for.
The second test causes more problems
In the second test of the season, the remaining 10 players must rate themselves from “most to least,” in a bunch of different categories. Disagreements immediately flare with the first category, most to least smart. Jake and Julie argue about who should be in the first position, and it’s all a little pathetic. In the end, soldier boy gets his way, and stands firm in the top spot. Jay sends herself right to the bottom of the pack.
Next up is leadership, and Jake begins arranging everybody. He moves Brian up, who admits in confessional he’d rather sit back and slink into the shadows. Winnie doesn’t want to be top, but that’s alright, because Jake has taken that spot for himself. Again. Julie tells them they should swap, but they don’t move. Lindsey notes in confessional that he’ll now be viewed as the “head of the snake.”
Brooke then adds a twist to proceedings. As Jake thinks he’s the best leader, he now must put everyone in order. The category is loyalty. Brian is put right at the top, while Julie is left somewhere in the middle. She’s absolutely furious, but not quite as pissed as Jay, who calls Jake “devious, narcissistic and mean” when he slots himself into second. “We should all aspire to have the confidence of a straight, white man,” Tolú says in confessional.
Jake then has to decide who will take the second trip to the vault. He can choose himself, but instead goes for Gaspare and Bryce, noting Bryce had his power taken. This angers Tolú further, as she too had her vote blocked, but wasn’t even considered.
The vault’s second offer is rubbish either way
I didn’t love these two offers. Both took $10,000 away from The Trust. Unfair much? The first offer would give each of them $5,000 if they voted for the same person at the next ceremony. The second offer would subtract $10,000 from the pot, but protect one person at the next vote. They go for option two, choosing to make Julie immune, because she’s the third name on the list.
Meanwhile, Jay tells her fellow women, “All I’m seeing is misogyny.” She wants Jake gone. The sooner the better. Tolú notes that Jake keeps making reference to her being from Africa, but it’s not once something she’s told him. It’s putting her on edge, and ruining her experience.
But will Julie stick with the women? She feels “real chemistry” with Jake. But he’s also burned a bridge with Lindsey, after she opened up about her marital struggles, just for him to rank her last when it came to loyalty. “Don’t ask me about my family!” she shrieks at him, before storming off. “She’s going around here like a freakin’ lunatic,” Jake says to Brian. Not cool, bro.
Upon their return, Bryce and Gaspare call a meeting. They’re truthful about their decision, but there’s tension in the air. Jay just comes out with it.
“There is nothing I hate more than being dismissed,” says the 70-year-old. “What happened today was very misogynistic … Where is this ego from?” she asks Jake. Simone then asks Jay not to speak for her, as she didn’t feel hurt by Jake’s decisions. But the damage is done.
Jake gets upset and apologizes for letting everyone down. Brian says in confessional that if he has to vote Jake out to protect the rest of the group, he’ll get it done. “We’re in this together.”
The Trust Episode 3 Recap
Brian is worried about the women. He doesn’t want them to feel uncomfortable around Jake. At the same time, he tells Gaspare, that he is over the “vicious attacks.” He’d much prefer conversations, but Jake has “gotta stop trying to control everything.”
Elsewhere, Bryce feels it’s time to come clean. At least to Lindsey. “I’m really in this for the group,” he tells her, after admitting he is a millionaire.
Another conversation between Winnie, Tolú, and Julie, sees honesty as a running theme. Tolú can tell Julie has been “developing feelings” for Jake, so she doesn’t want her judgment to be clouded. In the end, would she choose the women over him? She says so, but not everybody is convinced. Later, Julie asks Jake to speak to Tolú.
He does, and their conversation is a beautiful one. He sincerely apologizes for bringing her culture into things before she had even opened up about her past to him. “I never wanna hurt you and I’m so, so sorry … You are seen.” As she cries and thanks Jake for his words, it seems the two can put the past behind them, and move forward together in the game.
The second trust ceremony and vote claims another victim
Ahead of the second trust ceremony, Mama Jay reveals to Julie, Winnie, and Tolú that she will be voting somebody out. While the three of them didn’t want to vote, Julie assumes Jay is targeting Jake. In a bid to protect him, will she cast a vote? And in doing so, will this “circle of trust” be broken completely?
At the trust ceremony, Brian asks that everybody “have some grace.” When Julie then asks the table if anyone is going to vote, Jay is rattled. “It was total betrayal,” she says in confessional. Here’s how everybody voted:
- Tolú – did not vote
- Winnie – did not vote
- Jake – did not vote
- Gaspare – did not vote
- Bryce – did not vote
- Brian – did not vote
- Simone – did not vote
- Lindsey – did not vote
- Julie – voted for Simone, to “counteract the wildcard.”
- Jay – voted for Simone
With just two votes, Simone was sent home in a shocking blindside. “The cancer’s just too deep and it’s spreading,” Simone said after being voted off. Bryce was especially emotional, after forming a bond with Simone earlier on. But the game must continue. And Tolú is playing it. When Julie tells her she voted Simone, she passes that info on to Winnie and Jay. All are pissed Julie asked if anyone was voting at the ceremony. It “threw every woman in this house under the bus,” Winnie suggests.
The third test is actually fun
What better to ease the tension than some shuffleboard? Two boards are in play. One can see players add money to the pot. The other can see them try to grab immunity from the next vote. Surprisingly, every single players tries to add some money to the pot. In the end, they collect $10,000, putting the total back up to $255,000. It’s a nice moment of celebration, after some true emotional trauma.
Later, Julie speaks to Jake. She tells him about the women’s conversation, and how she “cast a vote to protect” him from Jay. He thanks her, and wonders why Jay is “firing at people,” adding that she’s a “loose cannon.” Julie pleads with Jake not to tell the other ladies, and he doesn’t. But actions can speak louder than words.
Return to the vault
It’s another random draw for the vault. Jake gets the opportunity to go, and Bryce is sent right back. The two haven’t connected on an “emotional level,” so this was always going to be interesting.
The first offer was $10,000 each, from The Trust, if someone goes home at the next vote. The second offer would add $2,000 to The Trust for every person who did not vote at the next ceremony.
While the two have Jay in their sights, because they think she sent Simone home, Bryce wants to go for the second offer. He doesn’t wanna be the youngest contestant voting out the oldest. Imagine how that’d look. But Jake says, “Your integrity’s on the line here.” It’s a tough one!
The Trust Episode 4 Recap
In the end, Bryce wouldn’t budge. He and Jake take the second offer, but Jake’s comments about the previous vote rub Tolú the wrong way. She wants to protect Jay from his “malicious” intent. Meanwhile, Winnie also has her concerns; but about Julie. “I judge you based off your actions and your movements,” she says. Julie’s moves in regards to Jake has the pair on edge.
Jay later tells Winnie she’s “so sick” of Julie and Jake’s “whole game.” Of Jake she adds, “I saved his ass and he has not thanked one of us.” Looks like this one isn’t over…
A trust ceremony to remember
For the first time this season, with $18,000 on the line, nobody votes for another contestant to go home in the trust ceremony. This means the pot now stands at a whopping $273,000.
“I feel like this is the calm before the storm,” says Bryce. He’s planning on revealing the truth about his millionaire status, but wants the right opportunity. Then, along comes dinner! But not before a game.
Brooke asks the contestants to sit next to who they are most connected to. Jay starts things off, and picks Lindsay. Jake picks Brian, much to Julie’s bemusement. Bryce picks Julie, and Winnie is last up, picking Tolú. This leaves Gaspare all alone – which means he gets to sit at the head of the table! “Honestly, I wouldn’t have picked any of you guys either,” he jokes. The poor guy is just relieved he didnt get evicted.
Bryce’s big confession eventually comes, and he’s just relieved he can now wear his overpriced sneakers without having to hide their designer labels. Everybody takes it well – except for Julie. “I’m getting so annoyed with this group,” she says in confessional. She thinks Bryce is “offensive.”
Fortunately, her mood changes when Gaspare is given the opportunity to send two people on an excursion. He selects Julie and Brian, because they “deserve something nice.” Julie notes it’s one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for her. I like Julie. I feel she’s gonna learn the most about herself from this experience, no matter what happens.
An excursion with a twist
The next day, Julie and Brian head out to do some ziplining over a lagoon, while exploring a cave. It’s a stunning location. Back at the house, there’s a spa day, and conversations about the game. Tolú tells Lindsey of an earlier conversation he had with Bryce, where he said he found it hard to have to hide parts of himself, like his wealth. “I should cry?” she asks. The only problem? Bryce overhears his name. When he asks Lindsey about the chat, she spills everything. Well, apart from the bit where she said she was “game” to vote Bryce out.
Meanwhile, back with Julie and Brian … another twist! They get their own individual vault decisions. One offer is presented to them on the table, but it’s blind. If they open the offer to see what it is, they must accept it. Our host Brooke only tells them that it will benefit them individually, and not the group. They can keep their decision to themselves, or share with whoever they want, when they select what to do.
As Brian explained his family was looking to adopt a young boy from foster care, I rooted for him to take the offer. But he’s a man of his word. “My integrity is not for sale,” he says, pushing the offer away.
But what about Julie? She accepts…
The Trust, Episodes 1-4 are streaming now on Netflix.
TELL US – ARE YOU ENJOYING THE TRUST ON NETFLIX? SHOULD BRIAN HAVE ACCEPTED THE OFFER? WHO DO YOU WANT TO MAKE IT TO THE END?
