We knew this was going to happen, and yet we're still sort of mad about it.
The Masked Singer just unmasked yet another celebrity, but not really. They did, but they also didn't, ya know? Mostly, what they did was play a trick on us, just a few episodes after they had Kermit the Frog—a puppet—pop out of a giant snail. This time, they introduced a new "wild card" contestant, in the same vein as the Orca and the Crab.
The Bulldog appeared to be there to attempt to steal a place in the competition from one of the other contestants, but there was something sort of off about him. His voice was strange, and his costume was a whole lot less ornate than the others. It was essentially just a mask and a tracksuit—a nice tracksuit, sure, but not one that would win anybody any costume awards.
Then, when it was time to vote for who deserved to stay in the competition, guest host Niecy Nash announced that she was actually just going to choose who would be taking off their mask, and it was the Bulldog. Then the Bulldog took off his mask and revealed himself to be...regular host Nick Cannon.
The panel was really stunned and the fake audience was fake stunned, and it was a pretty funny, on brand moment for this show, but it also feels accurate to call it a complete waste of time. The whole point of watching these episodes is to not just guess who the celebrities are, but to be rewarded with a reveal at the end. Nick Cannon was never a real contestant! He's the host!
We're not really mad at this, but we're a little mad. There was barely even time to wonder who the Bulldog was before he was forced to unmask, and then it was like, "Oh, Nick Cannon."
Fans have theorized for weeks that Nick might have been hiding under a mask, especially since Fox was never able to give a firm answer on when he'd return to the show after recovering from COVID-19. It would have been pretty funny but also in very poor taste if Nick had actually been a contestant from the beginning, but at least it would have felt like a satisfying reveal. Did they plan this whole wild card thing just so Nick could do this?
Could they not eliminate two singers tonight, to make it feel like a bigger deal?
We're not mad, Masked Singer. Just disappointed. And maybe a little mad. Welcome back to the show, Nick Cannon!
You can keep up with all the singers who are not Nick Cannon below.
The Masked Singer airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on Fox.