Since Ryan Seacrest made his Wheel of Fortune debut on the 2024 TV schedule, there’s been plenty of discussion about how he stands up to his predecessor — one of best game show hosts in history — Pat Sajak. The actual game, however, has stayed the same, and that’s to say it’s remained at times brutal and unfeeling for those trying to win some big bucks. One recent contestant may be having the cruelest winter of all, after she missed the bonus puzzle so narrowly that her plight required at least one rewatch.
On December 10, Brittany made it to the Bonus Round and chose “What Are You Doing?” as her category. After getting a little help from the letters she picked, her 10 seconds started, and then way too quickly ended in heartbreak. Take a look for yourself:
The answer was “Updating My Software,” and Brittany guessed it immediately after the buzzer. If you’re like me (and several others, who we’ll get to in a minute), you likely had to watch that back a couple of times for two reasons.
First, did she get her answer in on time? After working on the first part of the puzzle, she shouts out “Software” simultaneously with the buzzer. Now, if game shows were sports (and some would argue they are), this seems like it would be a “tie goes to the offense” kind of situation. Unless they invoked the infuriating “long pause” rule, I think they would have ruled that she said the final word in time. (You totally just rewatched it again to see how long that pause was, didn’t you?)
However, in Brittany’s case, I think it was the answer to a different question that ultimately doomed her: Did she even guess the correct first word? After running it back again, you can hear the contestant say “Uplifting” before getting the final two words, but she doesn’t put it all together with “Updating” until after the buzzer.
Ryan Seacrest then revealed the $40,000 she lost out on, and while her $30,921 in winnings will likely make for a pretty Merry Christmas, fans agreed it was a heartbreaker nonetheless. Comments on the above video included:
- It was razor-thin, but ultimately not enough to secure a victory. Heartbreaking loss, but $30K is nothing to sneeze at. Plus, she had Donald Duck cheering for her and who doesn't love Donald Duck? ^_^ – Garrison_the_Barbarian
- That hurts. – Mr.Face222
- I hate she was late with it but even after the buzzer, it was a excellent solve. – bigralph1978
- That...hurt. And it was the correct call...Brittany literally said UPLIFTING MY SOFTWARE before the buzzer. This puzzle was tricky indeed. – richardhernandez4490
I agree with the fan who said it was an impressive solve, even if it was a second late. I can’t imagine my brain would do me any favors with just 10 seconds in such a high-pressure situation. If you want to see how other contestants fare with their own races against the clock, check your local listings to see when Wheel of Fortune airs where you live.
