‘Jeopardy!’ Fans Stunned as ‘Easy’ Clue Stumps Contestants in Final Jeopardy
Jeopardy! fans were left stunned on Wednesday (February 14) when only one contestant correctly answered what many deemed an “easy” Final Jeopardy clue.
The latest episode of Champions Wildcard saw a face-off between Vince Bacani, a risk manager from Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Ilhana Redzovic, an investment associate from Chicago, Illinois, and Elliott Kim, a television editor from Los Angeles, California.
In a strongly contested battle, each contestant gave it their all, and things were fairly close after the first round. Bacani led the way with $5,600, Redzovic followed closely behind with $3,400, and Kim trailed with $2,200.
Bacani and Redzovic continued to go back and forth throughout the Double Jeopardy round while Kim fell further behind. Going into Final Jeopardy, Bacani led with $16,600; Redzovic stood at $10,600 and Kim at $4,600.
Host Ken Jennings unveiled the Final Jeopardy clue under the “Broadway Plays” category. The clue read: “Rita Moreno & Sally Struthers were the first to star in the female version of this comedy, their characters becoming Olive & Florence.”
While many viewers thought this was a relatively easy clue, two of the three contestants struggled with it. In fact, Kim didn’t even bother to give a legitimate answer, instead writing, “What is Happy Valentine’s Day EK <3 HK” and only wagering $1.
Redzovic attempted a guess, answering, “Two Gentlemen of Verona?” This was incorrect and led to her dropping to $0 after wagering her entire amount.
Only Bacani provided the correct response, writing “The Odd Couple,” the 1965 Neil Simon play that was turned into a 1968 film and 1970s television series before spinning off into a female-led adaptation in 1985.
“I am shocked. I thought that was an easy FJ but only one got it,” wrote one fan on the Jeopardy! Reddit forum.
“Me too! Two out three is bad in this case, am I right?” replied another commenter.
Another added, “After all those triple stumpers last week, I thought today’s FJ was a third straight pop fly. Broadway comedy; two female leads instead of males; surprised only Vince got it.”
“I am pretty bad at theater so I was very pleased with myself for getting FJ tonight!” said another.
“I can hardly believe I got a Broadway question. Not my category. The fact the female names begin with the same letters as the male version characters is a big hint,” wrote one YouTube commenter.
“I hate Broadway and I knew this instantly…geez guys get better,” said one fan, while another wrote, “Too easy. WAY too easy.”
Bacani will now move on to the semi-finals of the Wildcard tournament. The overall victor will join Group 1 winner Juveria Zaheer in earning a spot in the upcoming Tournament of Champions, which kicks off on Friday, February 23.
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