If you divert attention to the events that took place in Washington, DC on Wednesday night, Fox has something to offer: dress up celebrities like different animals and food products and shake their shoes with devotion.
The masked dancer created its regular timing on Wednesday, bringing with it five new contestants who tried to stay home to viewers anonymously. Before dropping your last guesses in the comments, let’s tell you who we met in Section 2:
SLOTH | For most of Sloth’s clue package and performance, I was pretty sure he was. Glee‘s Matthew Morrison: The word ‘Glee’ appears on a toothpaste tube; his choreography included the L-on-forehead “loser” symbol that appeared on many Glee poster; and he played a doctor Grey’s Anatomy, if this is what the “DR” name tag is supposed to be in its package. Although his routine was a bit slow and silly, it started making more complicated footwork in the second half, and it turns out that sloth can dance quite well!
But Sloth’s Word Up clue – ‘Broadway’, which would also apply to Morrison, and any number of him Glee role players – appear to be with a clear accent that Morrison does not possess. Lazy could only try to confuse us, but I’m going back to the drawing board with this guess – and there are some more clues, like chemicals mixing in cups and the number “13” on a red Solo cup, which is not do not pick up.
ICE BLOCK | Red herrings abound in the Ice Cube clue package, such as the phrases “real time” (a la Bill Maher’s HBO series) and “let it work” (a la Project Runway). But although judges Brian Austin Green and Paula Abdul do guess Maher and Tim Gunn, respectively, it’s Ken Jeong who guesses the same as me: Bill Nye, the Science Guy.
In addition to clues like the periodic table with elements and a bag full of cash bills, Ice Cube’s package contains some ballet slippers – and as Wikipedia told me, Nye has an American patent on shoes! His Word Up tip (” 90s icon ”), general sloppiness and – with nothing but respect! – so-so dance ability (on which he was also shown Dancing With The Stars back in 2013) seems to clinch the deal: it must be New, no?
ZEBRA | Enough of the reference to the boys group, it looks like Zebra is an athlete – maybe a racer? – who has since turned to politics and / or a career in Hollywood. My initial guess? NASCAR rival Ryan Newman, who has a partnership with Oscar Mayer (the hot dog costume designation!) And has received support from President Trump (‘Now the president knows my name!’); he was also in an accident on the Daytona 500 last year, which could explain Zebra’s clues about ‘running on a low gas tank’ or ‘switching back to a higher gear’.
On the other hand, none of the numbers in Zebra’s package, such as the number ‘3’ on a bronze medal, or the number ’11’, seem to be directly related to Newman’s career, and he does not seem to the political or showbiz aspirations that Zebra indicated. I feel a little lost about this (and got no help from Zebra’s cha-cha, which was more like … wild slavery?), But we still have a Word Up clue – ‘comeback’ – around us to help.
SPOOKASEM | Ooh, Cotton Candy is not here to waste, friends. Girls can dance, as not only indicated by her beautiful routine – which includes aerial acrobatics! – but also through her entry into the stage, in which she and her poses did some perfectly synchronized dolls.
Like Judge Ashley Tisdale, I thought Cotton Candy might be Julianne Hough, but her Word Up Clue (‘primetime’) didn’t sound much like Hough at all. Other clues we have to work with: a breakfast plate, a chalk drawing of a magician’s hat, a watch with the letters LIFE where 12, 9, 6 and 5 should be, and cupcakes decorated with lips and eyelashes.
MA | And finally we have Moth, who tells us that she was of relatively unknown to appear with the president in tabloids. (Whether it’s the president or not Trump is not made clear.) We also have a box with the caption “Clothes”, a photo of the Capitol building (yikes, the timing), mathematical equations and a painting of a nun with a halo over her head. And even though some of the clues clearly point to Monica Lewinsky – the scandal, her second act as a social activist – which seems a little too easy at this point, no?
At the end of the episode, Ice cube is unmasked – and indeed, it’s Bill Nye! Wednesday’s episode mostly made me feel like the world’s detective, so I’ll get this win (and share it with Ken Jeong).
OK, it’s your turn! Who do you think is lazy, zebra, cotton candy and moth? And did you guess Nye’s identity correctly? Tell us below!