‘Jeopardy!’ Fans React To Close Match and Unexpected Comeback

[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for the September 19 episode of Jeopardy!]

Jeopardy!’s Season 37 Second Chance Tournament featuring returning players continued with Elizabeth Devereaux, a middle school teacher from Lawrence, Kansas; Morgan Halvorsen, a chief copy editor from Silver Spring, Maryland; and Rob Kim, an attorney from Portland, Oregon. However, audiences couldn’t help but notice all the blunders from the contestants, including several triple stumpers and a wager that fumbled the game for someone.

The game opened gracefully for all players, including Elizabeth, who answered correctly for a true Daily Double before the end of the first break and gained the lead. Meanwhile, things took a turn for Rob before the break with a negative $2,000. Fortunately for him, he was able to make up for it by the end of the first round but was still in the negative by $600. Elizabeth led with $4,600, and Morgan followed up with $2,000 before the game moved on to Double Jeopardy.

Double Jeopardy is where the triple stumpers became noticeable, especially the “Phrases & Idioms” category. When Elizebeth got her second Daily Double and wagered $5,000 of her $13,200 lead, host Ken Jennings forebodingly remarked, “Wow, that’s a pretty big wager,” before giving the clue. She answered partially and got it wrong, a move that defined the game going forward. It’s interesting to note how long the host gave her to answer, given the snafu in the prior game. From there, Rob quickly began to clear the board and quickly gain the lead, of which he secured when he correctly answered. Double Jeopardy ended with Rob ahead at $9,800, Elizabeth at $9,400, and Morgan at $5,200.

For Final Jeopardy, in the category of “Historic Geography,” was the following clue: “Of Spain’s colonial possessions in the Americas, this 3,400-square-mile one in the Antilles never gained independence, but did change hands.” Everyone answered incorrectly, except for Rob, who crawled his way from the negative all the way to a $18,801 total and advanced to the finals.

“What a great comeback by Rob, considering he spent the entire J round in the hole,” one Reddit user noticed. “Elizabeth had it in the bag but lost it on that USPS DD. It seems like there were more incorrect answers than average given in this game,” another noted before someone else informed them the game had 14 triple stumpers total.

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Nice strong start by Elizabeth. On the other hand, not a good one by Rob. It’s very early in the game. #Jeopardy #JeopardySecondChance

— Jeff Veloso (@jveloso100) September 19, 2023

Strong lead for Elizabeth, but Rob and Morgan can make some ground as we head into Double Jeopardy. #Jeopardy #JeopardySecondChance

— Jeff Veloso (@jveloso100) September 19, 2023

Elizabeth had a strong start, but a daily double worth $5K ultimately backfired her. On the other hand, Rob had a rough performance early but found his groove in the Double Jeopardy round. This is certainly a tight race as we head into final. #Jeopardy #JeopardySecondChance

— Jeff Veloso (@jveloso100) September 19, 2023

Wow, really head-scratching blunder! And eventually losing the game. Previous losers in #Jeopardy don’t need to be given another chance. #SecondChanceTournament pic.twitter.com/BSSlkWvpKM

— The Sport Dogtor, M.D. (@MartySande34622) September 20, 2023