Suvechha Sarkar
Brian Power takes center stage with laughter, keeping the energy alive in season 1 of Fox’s ‘The 1% Club.’ Episode 8, titled ‘You’re My Favorite Kicker!,’ once again proves that winning is not just about the facts in this competition but rather about flexing one’s thinking mind under pressure. The puzzles and questions are, as always, crafted to test the logic, pattern recognition, and quick wit of the 100 contestants trying to outsmart the odds. With Joel McHale as the host, the show starts with the 90% question and ends with the most challenging 1% question, where players can win up to $100,000.
The Beginning Questions Quickly Reduce the Number of Players From 100 to 61
With the stage finally set, as Joel welcomes everyone, the competition begins with the 90% question: Which of these sports isn’t being played correctly? It has images of three sports: (i) Soccer, (ii) Tennis, and (iii) Basketball (with the pumpkin in the hands of the players). Once the show comes to an end, the blue light reveals that 10 contestants are eliminated, leaving 90 of them. After announcing the correct response as the third option, Joel turns to Jason, who got it wrong, and jokingly refers to him as “Evil Santa” owing to his beard. Anila has also answered incorrectly and reveals that she is on the show, ‘Married to Medicine.’ The Prize Pot now stands at $10,000 as the game moves on to the 80% question: Logically, what name sounds like it should fill in the blank on this list- Jay, ___, Elle, Em.
The players have three options to choose from: (i) Kay, (ii) May, and (iii) Timothée Chalamet. The question knocks out five more players, keeping only 85 in the game. The correct answer turns out to be Kay since the words on the list are all named by the sounds of the alphabet J, L, and M. Lisa S., a pastry chef turned realtor, has answered incorrectly, and she states that she lost her mind temporarily. The Prize Pot now amounts to $5,000 after this question. For the 70% question, the competitors have to answer: True or False: It would be False to say the word True appears more than the word False in this True/False question? As the clock ticks away, the question leaves behind just 65 players, knocking 20 out of the game.
The correct response is “True,” but it turns out that Molly has got it wrong. Surprisingly, she mistakes Joel for playing in the kicker position. With that being said, the Prize Pot amount increases to $35,000. It’s now the turn of the 60% question, where the players are shown two images of a pan and a tree, and have to answer what kind of storage room they can get by combining the two images. This question eliminates just four contestants, leaving only 61 to compete. After announcing the answer as “Pantry,” Joel turns his focus to Tierney, who has wrongly answered the question with “Panhouse.” While Delvitra responded to it with “Pot tree,” Kiara answered “Pottery Barn,” earning her a lot of laughter. The game moves on with the Prize Pot now standing at $39,000.
Unexpected Eliminations and Quirky Confessions Keep the Game Lively
Joel then announces that the $1,000 given to the players can be used for any one of the following 10 questions to use as a pass and move on to the next one. That used pass will add $1,000 to the Prize Pot. Right after, in the 50% question, they are shown an image with three sequences of stickers. They have to identify which pattern comes next in the given sequence of stickers, which they have to choose from the three options provided. To everyone’s surprise, the question knocks out 19 contestants, and 26 people have used their passes. Thus, only 42 people now remain in the game, and the correct answer is the second option. Mickey has provided the inaccurate answer, and she playfully adds that she did it to speak with Joel. After this question, the Prize Pot now stands at an impressive $84,000.
The players are given three options and now face the 45% question. Each of those two-dimensional cutout shapes perfectly folds into a fully enclosed 3D pyramid, except one, which they have to identify. The blue light soon discloses that it has knocked out nine competitors from the competition. Among the 33 remaining contestants, only four have used their passes. Christina has failed to provide the correct answer for the question as option C. She expresses that she is embarrassed because she has a degree in Mathematics. With the Prize Pot now amounting to $89,000, it is now time for the 40% question: Dorothy’s seven-layer dip was a huge hit at the picnic. Which one of the three image options shown below was hers?
The question eliminates 11 players, leaving only 22 behind, and one of them has used their pass. Joel discloses that the third image is the accurate response and focuses on Cheri, who has got it right. Upon asking what she wants to do with the prize money, she explains that any mom who breastfeeds for even 30 seconds, their breasts are never the same. So, if she wins the prize money, she plans to use a portion of it for breast reconstruction surgery.”. Lindsey has also provided the correct answer. She is a small-scale chicken farmer who raises all types of breeds in different colors and feathers. If she wins, she hopes to build her daughters a Cluckingham Palace with the best chicken technology. After this question, the Prize Pot has increased to $93,000.
Trick Questions and Word Puzzles Leave Only 11 Contestants in the Game
It is now the turn for the 35% question, which has four image options: Here are the works of the artist known as Bennet. Which piece best displays Bennet’s blue period? After this one, the game continues with 22 players since none have used their pass or have been eliminated. The appropriate response is the second option, with a blue-colored period after Bennet’s name in the image. Jack has gotten the answer correct within seconds and states that he chose to be literal rather than getting into interpretation. He divulges that he is an Escape Room host and a Puzzle Designer. The Prize Pot remains the same since there have been no eliminations, and none have used their pass. Seven people still have their $1,000. They can either keep going to face the 1% question and win up to $100,000 or take their guaranteed $1,000 right now and leave the game.
By the end of the decision time, Joel announces that Cheri has decided to walk away now with $1,000. She thinks that the money is going to be a good deposit for moving forward with the previously mentioned endeavor. Next up is the 30% question, where three images containing jewels are given on the screen with the names Lee, Hill, and Jones. The fourth one has the name Johnson, and the players have to find which among the three given options belongs to the Johnson family. As time ends, the blue light reveals that four people have been eliminated. No one has used their pass, and the 17 remaining contestants have correctly chosen the second option as their response. Lindsey has gotten the answer wrong and quips, “This is what happens when you count your chickens before they hatch.”
Unlike Lindsey, Josie figured out the answer in 1.5 seconds. She is an Attorney for an insurance company. With the same amount in the Prize Pot, Joel moves on to the 25% question. The players are shown an image reading: CUSP, PINTO, QUARTZ, ___, GALLEON. The question reads: The words in this image all have something in common. Logically, which answer choice should fill in the blank from these ones- (i) Wince, (ii) Cinder, (iii) Loiter, and (iv) Teal. The question knocks out another six players, meaning only 11 contestants are left in the game, and three among them have used their pass. Kenneth has figured out the correct answer to the third option in under a second. He admits that he is a little competitive, and his father is a Rodeo Chaplain.
The Competition Narrows Down to Four Players Vying For the Prize Money
After an interesting story from Kenneth, Joel turns his attention to Michael. He also answered correctly and confesses that he overthought the answer due to his science background. Although he has a PhD in Biomedical Engineering, he also has a theatre background. In case he wins, he is going to put on his own theatrical production since he hasn’t performed in a while. After wishing him good luck, the host announces that the Prize Pot now amounts to $96,000. He then explains that whoever makes it to the farthest can get a share of $10,000 or risk that money and face the 1% question to win the grand prize. If a player still has their pass, they can use it on any question except the final one. Three people still have their passes left, and they have four questions left to utilize them.
For the 20% question, the contestants are presented with an image containing different shapes of cookie cutters. They have to answer how many different shapes of the cutters are pictured there. While no one among the eight remaining players has used their pass, three of them have been eliminated. The accurate response is “Six,” and Josie is one of those who have provided this precise answer. She discloses that her daughter is a fan of Joel after watching ‘Animal Control.’ The Prize Pot now stands at $97,000 as the show proceeds to the 15% question, which contains an image with the letters G, L, E, R, E, C, T, A, and N arranged in a rectangular position. Their question is: What 9-letter word can you spell using each of the letters in the illustration below exactly once?
Once the clock ticks away, the blue light discloses the elimination of two contestants. No one among the six remaining players has used their passes. Mora has failed to provide “Rectangle” as the correct response, and she explains that she was thinking Italian when she answered. The Prize Pot has remained unchanged at $97,000. It is now the turn for the 10% question, along with an illustration: Five cars park in this lot. The first takes the space farthest from the entrance on the right. The next two take the highest available odd-numbered spaces. The fourth parks in the only space directly between two cars. The last parks as far from the first car as possible. Which of these spaces is still empty? The players can select from the four options: (a) 1, (b) 3, (c) 5, and (d) 7. By the end of this question, two people have answered incorrectly, while the other four have provided “1” as the accurate response.
With Logic on His Side, Michael Triumphs in the 1% Question
Michael has provided the correct answer based on his logic of selecting the odd number, first by seeing the answers and then reading around half of the question. Joel discloses that his logic worked perfectly since he solved it in 10 seconds. Jack has answered faster than Michael at 1.8 seconds. Since no one has used their pass, the Prize Pot remains the same at $97,000. Jack and Michael still have their $1,000 and can pay for a pass on the following question and guarantee their place at the Final. If they don’t use it, they can easily leave the show with $1,000 each, no matter what. Right after, Joel announces the 5% question: In each of these five words, “DOTED, BET, DINER, BRAS, STEP,” you can double one letter to make a new word. What word would you get if you could read those five letters in order?
Ultimately, Jack, Michael, and Josie move on to the final question since only one player is knocked out on this question. Jack and Michael still haven’t used their passes, which means no matter the game’s outcome, they can still take home that money. The three contestants are going to play for $97,000. Before that, they have to decide if they want to leave the show now by taking $3,333 from their share of $10,000 or risk it all on the final question. They can split the Prize Pot amount with any other winner if they’re right. If only one gets it right, they can win the entire Prize Pot. Since all three players decide to continue, Joel announces the 1% question: What is the next letter of the sequence TTTFFSSE_?
With the answers locked in, Josie discloses that she has put “E” as an answer because the question confused her mind. On the other hand, Jack provides “O” as his response by recognizing that the pattern signifies numbers. However, Michael’s answer is “N” since he thinks the sequence reads ten, twenty, ….., eighty, and ends with ninety. Michael is revealed to be the winner as he correctly answers with “N.” He walks away with $97,000 plus his remaining $1,000, while Jack goes home with $1,000. Unfortunately, by the end, Josie has to leave the competition empty-handed.
Read More: The 1% Club Episode 7 Recap: What’s Up, Buttercup?
