Ep 9. The Placebo Effect

Penn & Teller: Fool Us is a reality show where aspiring magicians perform against the famous duo, Penn and Teller, with the hopes of fooling them and earning the opportunity to perform with the magicians in their Las Vegas show. Season 7 episode 9, titled The Placebo Effect, features four talented magicians who try to trick Penn & Teller with their unique, original illusions.

The first performance of the episode is by magician Shawn Preston, who claims to have a way to turn a bad memory into a good one. He performs a card trick with a unique twist, using a deck of cards with pictures of different animals instead of the traditional suits. Through a series of rapid-fire actions, Preston is able to correctly predict the cards chosen by Penn and Teller. Although the pair attempt to deduce the secret behind the illusion, they are ultimately unable to do so, and Preston manages to fool them.

The second performer, Scott Green, is a mentalist who aims to show that sometimes our perception of reality is not always accurate. He attempts to demonstrate a placebo effect, where he convinces the audience that he has the power to make them experience sensations such as warmth or coldness, purely through the power of suggestion. His performance involves a number of experiments, including one where he seemingly makes a volunteer feel the sensation of ice on her arm. Penn and Teller analyze his illusions, but they can't seem to agree on how Green accomplished his feats. The duo ultimately admit defeat and deem Green successful in fooling them.

The third act of the episode features magician Frederick Falk, who claims to have developed a trick that will allow him to read the minds of the entire audience. He shows the audience a piece of paper, with random words and numbers written on it by several audience members. Despite the random nature of the words and numbers, Falk subliminally implants the exact words and numbers into the minds of the audience, telling them to "write down anything". Penn and Teller are completely baffled, but ultimately, decide that Falk didn't quite fool them as they had a good idea of how he performed the trick.

The final performer of the episode is an illusionist named Peter Wood. His act involves a glass dome, containing a number of small spheres, which he claims he can make levitate. He brings Penn and Teller up on stage as volunteers, and has them each choose a sphere. Then, with some slight-of-hand, he makes the spheres rise and move around the dome, seemingly of their own accord. Penn and Teller try to figure out how Wood pulled off the illusions, but they can't seem to come up with a definitive answer. They ultimately declare Wood as successful in fooling them.

Overall, The Placebo Effect is a testament to the creativity and skill of the magicians featured in the episode, all of whom bring their own unique styles and approaches to the art of magic. The show remains a captivating platform for up-and-coming magicians to showcase their talents, while also providing viewers with an entertaining and engaging experience.