‘Wheel of Fortune’ Confuses Fans After $100,000 Bonus Round Loss

Amanda Bell October 9, 2024, 7:47 pm

Yolanda and Kim on Wheel of Fortune — Sony Pictures Studios

Wednesday’s (October 9) edition of Wheel of Fortune was an exceedingly friendly affair, with three pairs of lifelong pals lined up around the wheel to play as pairs. Kim and Yolanda, who’ve been friends for almost five decades, were particularly animated contestants who were also quite good at the game (and even had the announcer covering his head for potential “flying wheel cards” amid all their excitement).

The two women managed to win not one but two vacations (which is significant because their biggest goal in joining the show was to earn themselves a girls’ trip, albeit one to Africa instead of the tropics and New York). They also netted a total regular game winnings total of $31,500, and thus a trip to the Bonus Round, and won over some wheel watchers at home.

Watching #WheelofFortune.

I’m a Kim & Yolanda fan. They better win it all.

— Tyrell Taylor (@Film_Ninja) October 9, 2024

Unfortunately, they were not as lucky when it came to that Bonus Round.

In their chosen category, “Living Things,” they were given an eight-letter word with three of the letters filled in through the given “RSTLNE” assistance. They chose to add D, M, P, and I to the board, but it wasn’t very helpful, leaving them with four blank spaces and little clue as to what they should be filled with (_ E _ _ N I _ E). Though they guessed “penguin” after some struggle, it turned out the answer was a very different species altogether: “Begonias,” a type of flowering plant.

Naturally, fans on social media had some pretty animated reactions to the miss, especially after host Ryan Seacrest revealed theirs to be a $100,000 prize card, including some serious confusion over the answer itself.

Begonias? What the hell?!?? And it was an $100k miss. Ryan can’t catch a damn break #WheelOfFortune

— PiplupJamesBattle (@PiplupJames) October 9, 2024