With my performance only a couple of days away, I have had some thoughts about the best way to end my show. I don’t intend on changing anything technical, but I am considering how the final trick should end. The ending I’ve had planned up until now is for the blindfolded Rubik’s cube solving to not work, I take the blindfold off, and see that I’ve failed. Then I would act ashamed about it going wrong, show the Nina on the crossword, and confess that I need more practice at the puzzles and end the show as I began. However, I have recently had a new contemplation for the ending. How would the ending differ if I never take off the blindfold? In this ending, I fail it solving the cube, never take the blindfold off, and act like the trick was a huge success, despite it being very clear to the audience that the cube is not solved. This would possibly be a much more comical ending as I would look like a fool for wrongly assuming I had done the trick right. It still has the potential to have a thought provoking ending though. Like the thought experiment which asks, “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” should it make a difference to me if I solve the cube or not, if I never take off the blindfold. Solving a trivial puzzle arguably has no impact on anyone else so if the solver thinks they win, should the physical outcome matter.

I shared my indecision with a friend without spoiling the show too much or giving away the ending. They suggested if it was possible to combine both endings and it gave me a new idea. The ending I have now decided is essentially the new ending and then right before the very end, admit fear about what I will see when I remove the blindfold. I will then remove the blindfold and revert to the original ending. Hopefully, this combination will be effective in going from something comical to something thought provoking.