The Masked Singer 2023: Who Are Dandelion and Mantis?
The Masked Singer fans were transported from the small screen to the big screen this week as 'Warner Bros. Movies Night' saw two new characters take on episode seven winner Doll.
But it wasn't long into episode eight before Doll's end credits began to roll.
Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider - last week's +250 favorite to be the character - was unmasked as Doll, after he finished behind new characters Dandelion and Mantis in the audience vote.
The remaining pair then went head-to-head in the Battle Royale, with Dandelion coming out on top.
But Mantis will also be sticking around after show judge Robin Thicke rang the Ding Dong Keep It On bell to save the insect from flying home.
Mantis will now face off against previous survivors Medusa and Gargoyle in a special redemption episode later in the season, in which one of the trio will re-join the competition and the other two will be eliminated.
Thanks to these hypothetical odds provided by industry sports betting experts, we've looked at which celebrities might be unveiled as Dandelion and Mantis in a future episode.
Williams' Flower Power?
Vanessa Williams is the hot +100 favorite to be unmasked as Dandelion.
Eagle-eyed viewers were quick to spot the character saying in her clue package that a "devastating twister hit my home" could be a reference to singer and actress Williams having to resign her Miss America 1984 title.
The star had become the first African-American woman to receive the honor, but then became the first winner to resign in the pageant's history after Penthouse magazine revealed plans to publish nude photos of her.
Should Williams not be under the mask, then some fans believe legendary singer Diana Ross - widely regarded as one of the best soul singers of all time - could be part of this year's Masked Singer celebrity cast.
In Dandelion's clue package, she said: "My life has always felt kind of like a movie. ‘The Wizard of Oz’ to be exact."
Ross, who is +250 to be the character, is no stranger to that world, having portrayed Dorothy in 1978 musical adventure movie The Wiz.
Singer Dua Lipa is the +300 third favorite to be unmasked as the character, while The Masked Singer judge Nicole Scherzinger has Zooey Deschanel (+400) as her favorite to be the flower.
Emmy Rossum (+600) and Reese Witherspoon (+800), guessed by Scherzinger's fellow panelists Jenny McCarthy and Ken Jeong, respectively, are outsiders in the market.
Mantis Saved By The Bell
Mantis was quite literally saved by the bell on Wednesday night's episode thanks to Thicke, who predicted legendary actor Dennis Quaid is the man behind the mask.
While The Parent Trap star looks unlikely to be the character at odds of +1200, Stand and Deliver star Lou Diamond Phillips could be the beneficiary of Thicke's last-ditch bell ringing.
The actor is +150 favorite to be unmasked as Mantis, as a number of clues were linked to the actor and film director.
One of the visual clues for Mantis was poker chips, and Phillips is known to be a poker player when he isn't on screen or behind a camera.
Matches and an explosion were also part of Mantis' clue package, which could be a nod to Phillips appearing in 1996 war movie Courage Under Fire alongside Denzel Washington and Meg Ryan.
Hollywood stars Jeff Goldblum (+300) and Keanu Reeves (+500), who was Scherzinger's prediction, are also in the frame to be the character, while some fans pointed out Mantis' boots are similar to those worn by actor Martin Short in 1986 comedy movie Three Amigos.
But The Only Murders in the Building star is a big +650 to be Mantis, ahead of McCarthy's guess, Kevin Bacon (+800), Quaid, and Jeong's prediction Bruce Springsteen is a massive +5000 outsider.
Dandelion Is New Favorite
After an impressive performance in episode eight, Dandelion is now the new favorite to win season nine of The Masked Singer at +200.
Episode three winner California Roll - who looks most likely to be a cappella group Pentatonix – had been at the top of the market for weeks, but the character's price has more than doubled in the last week, from +150 to +350, following Dandelion's emergence.
Medusa is now the +400 third favorite, and it is now known she will face both Mantis - who is +700 to win the whole competition - and Gargoyle (+1000) in a redemption episode, while episode six winner Macaw is out to +650, from +600 last week, to triumph in the contest.
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