Did ‘Wheel of Fortune’ Just Serve Up Its Worst Episode Ever?
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Wheel of Fortune usually includes at least one tricky puzzle per episode, but Monday’s (April 8) episode saw three baffling brain teasers that left many viewers confused and annoyed. Some fans are even asking if it was the worst episode ever, just weeks before host Pat Sajak retires.
The episode featured a face-off between Andre Hernandez, a married father of three from Elkton, Florida, Cameron Davis, a mom of one daughter from Cantonment, Florida, and Pam Thompson, a retired older lady from Atlanta, Texas.
Things got off to a rocky start in the Before and After Round, where the first part of the puzzle is combined with the second half to make one complete phrase. The tough four-word puzzle seemed to stump the three players until Hernandez eventually solved it as “Fashion Plate Of Spaghetti.”
“What the hell is a fashion plate?” one viewer asked on X (formerly Twitter).
“Fashion Plate?” said another baffled fan on the Wheel of Fortune Reddit forum.
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a fashion plate is defined as either “an illustration of a clothing style” or “a person who dresses in the latest fashions.”
Wheel of Fortune/YouTube
Things only got stranger from there as the three contestants moved onto the Express Round, where the category was “Around The House.” They each struggled with the three-word puzzle until Hernandez again swooped in with the correct answer, “Whipped Body Cream.”
“One of our more violent and lesser-known products,” host Pat Sajak joked, acknowledging the obscure answer.
“What the actual (duck emoji) is “whipped body cream”?” asked one fan on social media.
Another added similar, writing, “What the hell is “whipped body cream?””
“‘Whipped body cream’ was the correct answer to the puzzle on Wheel of fortune, yep, that was it,” wrote another.
Wheel of Fortune/Puzzle
But the worst was left until last, and this time, Hernandez couldn’t figure it out. The Florida native advanced to the Bonus Round with $15,000 and selected “Place” as his final category, along with the additional letters “B, W, C, and O.”
Hernandez was faced with a two-word puzzle that read, “B _ _ _ _ / _ _ T _.” Unfortunately, he couldn’t come up with an answer before the ten-second timer ran out and lost out on a brand-new Mazda.
Fans again took to social media to share their outrage, with many saying “Bumpy Path” is not a “place.”
“A place. BUMPY PATH? That’s not a place it’s a thing. This show drives me nuts. I guess they’re running out of real puzzles. Ugh!” wrote one Reddit user.
“Omg I was just going to post about this. It is most definitely a thing!” added another.
“The other puzzles were odd too. Fashion Plate? Whipped body something? Thumbs down!” said one commenter.
“My favorite place: Bumpy Path. I’m looking at you Wheel of Fortune,” quipped another.
My favorite place: Bumpy Path
I’m looking at you Wheel of Fortune. pic.twitter.com/BXHYZSFJpk
— Matthew Mucha (@MatthewMucha1) April 8, 2024
“Bumpy Path seems more like a thing than a place…weird,” said one fan, while another added, “How is “bumpy path” a place? #jeopardy doesn’t want contestants to win.”
What do you think? Were these puzzles too confusing? Let us know in the comments section below.
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