Warning! The following contains spoilers for The Masked Singer episode "Semifinals." Read at your own risk.
The Masked Singer whittled its competition down to its finale episode lineup and delivered another surprise I wasn't expecting in the slightest. Cluedle-Doo appeared yet again to taunt the judges, only this time, he revealed his identity. With the secret out and over with, I think it's high time we talk about the good and bad of Cluedle-Doo in Season 5.
To briefly recap, Cluedle-Doo's mask came off, and surprise, the super-secret special guest was Blue Bloods actor Donnie Wahlberg. The unveiling happened right after he performed Mark Morrison's "Return of the Mack," which was about as solid of a performance as any competitor of the night. Honestly, that's saying something, especially when the audience made the hard decision to cut The Yeti, who was also unmasked and revealed to be singer Omarion.
Viewers may be surprised by the reveal, but let's be honest, some shock was all but guaranteed given how little we had to go on for Cluedle-Doo this season. We received one clue weeks into the competition about Cluedle-Doo's identity, and it was that they had some tie to Mickey Rourke. The final clues arrived in the latest episode, which revealed a giraffe and a connection to The Masked Singer's greatest panelist Ken Jeong.
The Masked Singer viewers never really had a chance to figure out Cluedle-Doo's identity, which feels kind of cheap. Sure, I know the internet can run wild with the vaguest clues and figure a contestant out by the end of the first clue package, but there has to be a middle ground between "one clue" and "a lot of clues." Should The Masked Singer continue with the Cluedle-Doo trend in the future, I'd like to see more clues for Cluedle-Doo. They can still be incredibly vague, but we need more than one before the actual reveal episode.
Speaking of reveals, I'm also shocked that Cluedle-Doo was actually revealed in the penultimate episode. To be completely candid, I thought Cluedle-Doo was specifically created to be unveiled on the season finale, which has always felt a bit long for how many competitors are left in the competition. Cluedle-Doo's reveal there would've given a bit more mystery to the finale, which often is comprised of competitors the audience already knows the identities of.
Overall, I like the idea of Cluedle-Doo and most of what The Masked Singer tried to do with the character in Season 5. Even if the celebrity was big, the execution was a bit off, in my opinion, and felt a little sloppy. If the character (or another like it) were to return in a future season, I'd like more clues (no matter how vague they are) and a season-long mystery. I don't think that's much to ask, nor something impossible for them to pull off.
The Masked Singer's Season 5 finale airs on Fox Wednesday, May 26 at 8:00 p.m. ET. Were you surprised by the reveal of The Yeti? You might not have been if you checked out our guess post on the contestant!
