Jeopardy! fans baffled by ‘misleading’ final clue and ‘can’t believe’ Adriana Harmeyer got it

JEOPARDY! fans have been shocked by what they claim is a ‘misleading’ clue during a recent episode.

Perhaps even more surprisingly, contestant Adriana Harmeyer correctly guessed the answer.

Jeopardy!

Jeopardy!

The shocking moment came during Monday’s Final Jeopardy.

Adriana, Ty Patton, and Kelsey Kaunisviita Vockrodt competed.

The category was “2 last names, same first letter.”

Host Ken Jennings gave the clue, “Born 344 years apart, they are 2 real people mentioned by name in the titles of 1990s Best Picture Oscar winners.”

The correct answer was “Schindler and Shakespeare,” which threw viewers for a loop.

Kelsey managed to guess Schindler but didn’t get Shakespeare.

She wagered $0.

Ty guessed correctly, wagering $13,399.

His answer brought his total up to $26,799 and gave him the lead.

Adriana guessed last and was also correct.

She added $10,800 to her daily total, bringing her final Jeopardy! winnings to $27,000.

“That is just barely enough!” Ken announced as Adriana beamed.

Viewers were impressed – and not just with Adriana’s 14-day winning total of $326,000.

Jeopardy! Host Timeline

Jeopardy! has had a tumultuous history regarding hosts after the death of the iconic Alex Trebek in 2020. Here are all of the hosts since the game show's inception in 1964.

Art Fleming – 1964 to 1975, he was the original host of the daytime version of Jeopardy! on NBC.

Alex Trebek – 1984 to 2020, the late, great Alex hosted Jeopardy!’s modern iteration for 36 years until his death from pancreatic cancer.

Guest hosts – 2020 to 2021, Jeopardy! tested out a series of guest hosts for week or two-week stints, including Anderson Cooper, LaVar Burton, and Aaron Rodgers.

Mike Richards – 2021, he was named host for one week before resigning amid controversy. He was the show’s executive producer at the time.

Mayim Bialik – 2021 to 2023, when Mike was announced as the show’s new host, Mayim was chosen to host tournaments and primetime specials.

Mayim and Ken Jennings – 2022 to 2023, 74-time champion Ken (the longest-winning contestant ever) joined Mayim as a guest host and they split hosting duties.

Ken Jennings – 2023 to present. Last December, Mayim announced on Instagram that she would “no longer” host Jeopardy! after a lengthy hiatus, having stood with the writer’s strike, and Ken was named sole host.

Ken now helms all editions of Jeopardy! including Celebrity Jeopardy!, the nightly show, and other primetime specials like Masters.

Many Jeopardy! fans found the clue to be misleading and struggled to guess correctly.

They were stunned that anyone, let alone two competitors, could answer right.

‘STRANGE QUESTION’

“The question could have been better worded, maybe giving the years in the 90s of the two films or maybe indicating the first two letters were the same,” one person posted on Reddit.

“Very strange question,” someone else stated.

“I didn’t think it was misleading at all. I guess you missed that two of the contestants got it correct and one got it half right I thought it was confusing,” a third Jeopardy! viewer wrote.

“Yes, It was very strangely worded, I am surprised they got it,” another person posted.

“Today’s final jeopardy was gobbledygook I can’t believe some of them got it,” a fifth fan stated.

GO, ADRIANA, GO

Although Jeopardy! fans weren’t thrilled with the Final Jeopardy quote, but many were excited for Adriana.

After the episode aired, viewers took to social media to celebrate her victory.

Some critics also pointed out player Ty’s fatal flaw in his final wager, noting that while his strategy was smark, he “gave up any chance to win.”

“Ty gave it a hell of a fight. Well done to him! And of course, congrats to Adriana for keeping her streak alive,” one fan posted.

“The player in a close second position made a huge bet and gave up any chance to win if incorrect on FJ,” another person wrote.

Ty popped into the Reddit game thread to weigh in himself.

“Oh … and my FJ wager … I know. Knew it as I was doing it. I have about 1,000 words typed out about what I was thinking if anyone’s interested. Wrote it the day I taped because I knew future me would not be pleased,” he wrote.

Another fan replied, “So close! You almost beat Adriana. Good game.”

Others speculated about what it would take for Adriana to lose a game .

“At this rate, it will take one really good challenger plus an absolute killer on a FJ clue to take Adriana out,” one person guessed.

“I still stand by my opinion that it’s gonna take either two really good challengers at their best or for her to be down going into a really easy FJ clue for her to go down,” a second user shared.

“Adriana’s refusal to hunt for DDs is ultimately going to be what knocks her out,” another person posted.

“She had this game handsomely in the bag until Ty grabbed $5,000 on DD3. It ended up way closer than it had to be. Had anyone else found DD2, the game might have ended differently.”

Adriana will go for win No. 15 on Tuesday.

Jeopardy!

Jeopardy!

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