New Reese's Holiday "Mystery Shapes" Sound Like A Delicious Cop-Out

For the first time in 20 years, Reese's will roll out a new lineup of holiday peanut butter cups, and the company's commitment to being noncommittal is nothing short of admirable. The debut includes a "Holiday Lights" shape, which might look familiar to fans of Reese's Peanut Butter Egg, and a 3-pack of "Mystery Shapes," which many internet commenters have identified as a snowman, a bell, and a stocking—though that interpretation is really meeting the candy giant more than halfway. As with the inscrutable Holiday Trees of yore, Reese's might have to think up a clever reply to the collective "huh?" the new shapes have received.

No matter what these inconsistent choco-blobs resemble (intentionally or accidentally), sales numbers are likely to show that the shape of a Reese's isn't what's important to loyal customers. Or at least, the shape is not important for its own sake. What matters is the ratio of exterior to interior, and anything with a higher peanut-butter-to-chocolate ratio is most beloved. The pumpkins never really look like pumpkins; the hearts are roughly hewn at best. The egg has the advantage of being a featureless shape you can't possibly mess up, and the holiday lights are sure to follow that lead. As for the mystery shapes, they all look pleasantly bulbous, whatever they're supposed to be, and that can only mean good things.