The Punishment That Had To Be Kept Secret For Months On Impractical Jokers

When it comes to keeping audiences entertained, there isn't a single episode of "Impractical Jokers" that doesn't provide. Week in and week out, the show delivers on its three — formerly four before Joe Gatto left the series in 2022 — hosts putting together some truly hilarious challenges in hopes of making fools of one another. Suffice to say, they don't take it easy on each other, hence why one or multiple of them wind up losing more of these challenges than the others. Thus, they must endure a dreaded punishment at the end.

To put it mildly, punishments are the worst. Devised by the other hosts, punishments are cringe-worthy, highly embarrassing challenges that those unfortunate enough to be saddled with them must carry out. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. This means that they're often the funniest parts of "Impractical Jokers" episodes, forcing those on the receiving end to go through experiences that range from goofy to traumatizing. Some of them are even impressively complicated, which generally results in them reaching an amazing payoff.

In one instance, an "Impractical Jokers" punishment had to be kept secret for months in advance. It seemed to be worth the wait, though, since it has become one of the show's most well-remembered moments.

Season 3 of "Impractical Jokers" gave fans the landmark episode "Brother-in-Loss": the episode where Sal Vulcano is punished by being forced to witness the marriage of his sister Jenna and his co-star, James "Murr" Murray. It was an unexpectedly thorough punishment that has since gone down as one of the most unforgettable in the show's history, but it didn't come together in no time. "It was like a top secret. For like months we held that secret, and I was so terrified that somebody on the crew was going to let it slip," Murr shared from the comfort of his bathtub (via truTV on YouTube).

For the duration of the punishment, Sal was physically tied up and forced to witness the legitimate marriage ceremony — occasionally crying out in frustration until his mouth was covered. However, this punishment nearly went down an entirely different way. In an interview with Den of Geek, Murr shared, "The original idea was that we would take Sal to a ski slope, and he's not a very good skier...he had to ski to the bottom, and at the bottom was me getting married to his sister." Ultimately, they decided the wedding alone was a good enough punishment for Sal, dropping the skiing aspect.

Jenna and Murr's marriage may not have lasted very long once the cameras stopped rolling, but it stands to reason that the memory of their wedding is forever seared into Sal's mind. Surely his "Impractical Jokers" cohorts feel that the months of planning, preparation, and secrecy were worth it.