Suvechha Sarkar
With the charm turned up and logic put to the ultimate test, season 1 of Fox’s ‘The 1% Club’ returns once again. Episode 7, titled ‘What’s Up, Buttercup?’ proves that sometimes, it’s not about what one knows but how one thinks in moments of pressure. Like usual, a list of questions is crafted not to test textbook knowledge but to challenge the corners of one’s brain. The same brainteasers are given to the 100 contestants live, starting with the easiest 90% question. The humorous host, Joel McHale, is at the center of this chaos, always ready with a quip. With up to $100,000 prize on the line, only the sharpest minds can get a chance to win.
The Game Kicks Off With Visual Puzzles and Celebrity Riddles
The game begins after Joel welcomes everyone to the show and jumps right into action. The contestants are presented with three images of glasses as the options, alongside the 90% question: You have to wear prescription lenses to see, assuming the lenses match your prescription, which of these glasses would best help you see right now? Once the time ends, everyone discovers it has eliminated nine players from the game, keeping only 91 behind. The correct answer is the second option since it is the only picture of glasses that has no missing lenses. Joel focuses on Jonathan, who answered it incorrectly, and discovers that he thought the third option was the answer. With the Prize Pot now at $9,000, contestants now face the 80% question with an image of sand, drawing, bull, and lock in one line and a Jack card, nickel, and sun in the other.
The question is as follows: If the images on line one stand for Sandra Bullock, then what celebrity does line two stand for? There are four options further provided: (i) Joel McHale, (ii) Jack Black, (iii) Viola Davis, and (iv) Jack Nicholson. This time, all players answered correctly as option four, leaving the same number of contestants. Rosano, one of the people who has responded accurately, discloses that if he wins the money, he is going to get a dinner to get his revenge body since he is a recent divorcee. Another player, Cinnamon, has also gotten it correct, and she is an Anesthesiologist. She jokes that her co-workers call her Dr. Spice, and Joel can do it too. With the Prize Pot still the same, the show moves on to the 70% question: What is the only month of the year whose name is a commonly known word when spelled backwards?
Surprisingly, the question knocks out 19 players, leaving behind only 72 of them. The answer is “May,” which spells backwards as Yam. When Joel questions Jamie, who got it wrong, she admits that she panicked, and although she knew the answer, she didn’t put anything in her response. She adds that she would’ve built a pool if she got the prize money. By the end of this, the Prize Pot amount has increased to $28,000. It’s now the turn for the 60% question, in which the audience is presented with an image containing a wooden bowl, a metal spoon, a paper plate, and a wooden spoon, with the question written “If the first item is Blambled Grunk…, the second item is Spinkered Googum, and the third one is a Zibbly Grunk, then what is the fourth item called?” The players have to select from the options: (i) Spinkered Grunk, (ii) Blambled Googum, and (iii) Zibbly Googum.
A Wave of Tricky Questions Eliminates Over Half the Contestants
Once the time to answer the 60% question ends, everyone is baffled when they learn that 27 people have answered incorrectly. This leaves behind only 45 contestants, who correctly picked the second option, Blambled Googum, as the response. The spotlight shifts to Tre, one of the eliminated players, who discloses that he was a participant in ‘Love Island USA.’ With the jokes aside, the focus moves to Nick, who also got it wrong and works as a Director for a non-profit preschool soccer program. He is here with his beautiful wife, Natalie, and Joel remarks that they are the best-looking couple he’s ever seen. He then proceeds to reveal that the Prize Pot now amounts to $55,000. All the competitors still playing can use their $1,000 to pay for a pass once and move on to the following question.
Joel adds that players can only use it for the next 10 questions, following which it will be added to the Prize Pot. For the 50% question, they have to look at the names of the animals: Aardvark, Rabbit, Raccoon, Haddock, and Honeybee, and guess the one that is going to come next from the options logically: (i) Octopus, (ii) Giraffe, and (iii) Lobster. As the time ticks away, it knocks out nine more contestants, leaving only 36 of them, among whom eight people have used their passes. The correct answer is “Giraffe” since each animal has a double letter in alphabetical order. Madden got it wrong and regrets not using his pass. Upon questioning, he divulges that he would’ve opened a Southern Style Clothing brand with the prize money, which he and some of his friends had thought about for a while.
Besides being fraternity brothers, Madden is here with his friends Noah and Griffin, who are all juniors at the University of Georgia. Austin has used his pass and makes a shocking revelation that he has been dating his ex-wife for two years, and she is cheering for him. With that being said, the Prize Pot has increased to $72,000. Right after, Joel announces the 45% question with an image on the screen: This is Charlotte’s reflection in the mirror. If she swipes right on her dating app, in what direction will her swipe in the mirror reflection go? As time passes, it turns out that five people have used their passes while 15 people could not respond accurately. On the other hand, the remaining players have answered correctly: “the right direction.”
The Contestant Count Drops Drastically Owing to the Mind-Bending Questions
Andrew, who has responded correctly to the 45% Question, reveals that he did a last-second change. After learning he is a Podiatrist from Miami Beach, Florida, Joel announces that the Prize Pot now amounts to $87,000. For the 40% question, the contestants are shown a picture of multiple beads with alphabets on it and asked: Taylor wants to make friendship bracelets for her four friends: (i) Sabrina, (ii) Chappell, (iii) Billie, and (iv) Charlie but she only has the beads to spell three of their names correctly. Which of these friends is not getting a bracelet? This time, it only eliminates two players, with only 19 left, and only one among them has used their pass. The correct answer to the question is “Chappell,” and the question has brought the Prize Pot up to $88,000. Sadly, Cinnamon has answered incorrectly, missing the second “p” in the name.
Joel proceeds to the 35% question with an image of a shape shown on the screen: You can build this shape out of four identically shaped pieces without rotating any of the pieces. Which of the shapes given in the four options (also different shapes) can you do it with? A total of five contestants are eliminated this time, with only 14 of the players left in the game. One has used their pass, and it is soon revealed that the correct answer is the first option. Jay has responded correctly to this question and explains that he made the shape in his mind. Right after, Joel announces that the Prize Pot has now reached $93,000. The seven players who still have their passes left can either hope to make it to the 1% question and risk it all or keep their guaranteed $1,000 right now and leave the show.
Only two contestants decide to do so, bringing the number of remaining players to 12. The 30% question is as follows: “State” is the name of a town located in the state of a “Country,” which is a part of a country named “town.” One of these is the name of the place with the largest area. The competitors have to select among the three options: (i) Town, (ii) State, and (iii) Country. The game loses only one player, and one of the remaining 11 contestants has used their pass. After announcing “Town” as the correct response, Joel focuses on Cassie, a wine seller, who got it wrong. She admits that she chose country as her answer because she perceived the question was tricking her. On the other hand, Cheryl, a company CEO, reveals that if she wins the prize money, she is going to get glammed up and walk on the red carpet.
With the Riddles Getting Harder, Only a Few Players Survive
With the Prize Pot now at $94,000, the players move on to the 25% question: My favorite musical instrument is a Tambourine. In college, I majored in Education. My favorite kind of building is a jailhouse. By that logic, which of these is my favorite vegetable? The options are (i) Asparagus, (ii) Brussels Sprouts, (iii) Cauliflower, and (iv) Rutabaga. This question knocks five more players out of the game, with two among the remaining six contestants already having used their passes. The answer is “Cauliflower,” which Carrie has precisely answered, but she has still not used her pass. Upon asking, she discloses that she lives with her husband and three boys, so she wants to build a “she-shed” to spend time alone. Joel informs everyone that the Prize Pot now amounts to $96,000.
Joel proceeds to announce that the players who make it furthest can win a share of $10,000 or risk it and take on the 1% question and try to win it all. Two people still have their passes and can use them once in the next four questions. The players are shown a picture with multiple triangles and asked the 20% question: This abstract painting is called triangle forest. How many numbered triangles are there in this painting? As the time comes to an end, it is disclosed that none of the six players have used their pass and answered it correctly as 18. Among them is Andrew G and Jay, who shares the secret that he was on ‘Jeopardy’ and even went to the semi-finals. He adds that he has lost 10 times and is still unsure if he’ll make it to the end, despite $96,000 being at stake.
Despite Outsmarting the Competition, Jay Loses Everything on a Single Word
For the 15% question, where the players have to read “FIR STAD JUST THESP ACES ANDTHE NWRIT EDO WNTH ELA STLET TERIN THISSEN TEN CE” and respond to it. By the end, there are still six contestants left since all of them correctly noted that the sentence has spaces in the wrong spots, and the answer is “E.” Since no one has been eliminated or used their passes, the Prize Pot remains the same. Carrie, Cheryl, and Jay have all answered it accurately, but Jay still denies that he is going to get to the 1% question. They move on to the 10% question, where they are shown a picture with many numbers and have to answer: How many numbers in the image appear more times than the actual value of the number they represent?
This time, three players get eliminated, leaving only three behind, and one has used the pass. After declaring the correct response as “3,” it is revealed that Andrew has answered incorrectly. With the Prize Pot now at $98,000, competitors have to answer the 5% question: I played a Lucky Duck Slot Machine three times. Each time I played, I lost half my money. Now all I have left is a lousy $2. How much money did I lose in total? Once the clock ticks away, everyone is left in utter shock as it further eliminates Carrie and Cheryl. Only Jay remains, as he has provided $14 as the accurate response. Joel informs him that he has just won $10,000, and can either leave the show with this money or risk it all on the 1% question to win the $98,000.
After much deliberation, Jay decides to take his chance on the final question. The 1% question is as follows: You will come on top if you know what is the last word in this sequence- Teas, Shout, Stew, ____? After his answer is locked, Jay confesses that although he figures that the rest of the words are formed from directions like east, south, and west, he couldn’t figure out what word North can be turned into. It turns out that for $98,000, the answer to the 1% question was “Thorn.” Unfortunately, despite coming so close to a win, in the end, Jay walks away empty-handed.
Read More: The 1% Club Episode 5 Recap: A Rabbi, a Mascot and a Psychic Walk Into a Bar
