JEOPARDY! fans have clocked the game show for venturing into familiar territory during its High School Reunion Tournament.
Brown freshman Justin Bolsen won after a crucial Daily Double for "Halley's comet," which was the answer to Final Jeopardy just a week ago.
Mayim, 47, is hosting the 14-episode High School Reunion Tournament featuring 27 former Teen Tournament contestants who first went toe-to-toe in 2018 and 2019.
On Thursday, Teagan O’Sullivan, a freshman at American University from Watertown Massachusetts, faced Shriya Yarlagadda, a sophomore at Harvard University from Grand Blanc Michigan, and Justin from Canton, Georgia.
The eventual winner will get $100,000 and a slot in the 2023 Tournament of Champions.
Justin and Shriya were neck and neck at $8600 and $8800 when Justin found the last "Daily Double."
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He told Mayim he was going to bet the farm to which she exclaimed: "Wow!"
The clue under "Astronomy and Space" read: "With perihelion on July 28, it will be seen again from Earth in 2061, when all of you are looking back on your youthful hopes."
Justin was correct with "Halley's comet" and that huge bet propelled him to first place.
Final Jeopardy under “Famous Names” read: “For a special 1970s cookbook, he provided one simple recipe--a can of Campbell's tomato soup & 2 cans of milk.”
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Everyone was correct with “Warhol” and he painted on just $823 to advance with $23,223, beating out Shriya by a mere 2K.
He was all smiles as he was declared the winner and on Reddit revealed he made his final score coincidentally match the air date (2/23/23) as it's also "his mom's birthday."
'IT WAS JUST USED'
Fans were impressed by the youngster's bold move which made the episode exciting - but irked by the topic of the Daily Double clue, which reflected poorly on the writers and in no way the student as the episode was pre-taped.
One fan wrote on Reddit: "Jeopardy! viewers didn't have to wait over 70 years for Halley's Comet to come around again.
"As it was used for a Daily Double just over a week after it appeared for a Final Jeopardy clue."
Another user agreed: "Hally's Comet is a clue subject that seems to come around about as often as full moons."
A third wrote: "Yeah I was like, wow again so soon already? I suppose the fact that it's a different clue set explains it but it's still funny."
And a fourth: "I’m pretty stunned Halley’s Comet was a Daily Double."
A fifth simply wrote: "Good job to Justin for doing the true Daily Double!"
Though the clues were completely different, on February 14th's game, Final Jeopardy under the category: "Arts & Science" read:
"A craft that visited it was named for Giotto, based on the story that 680 years earlier, the painter depicted it as the Star of Bethlehem."
Kendra Westerhaus, who won the episode, was the only one to get it right within the 30-second time frame with: "Halley's Comet." - some fans also clocked that clue as clunky given it was 26 words.
FRUSTRATING FINAL JEOPARDY! CLUES
Hardcore fans have been unhappy with the quality of Final Jeopardy clues lately.
Recently one under the category “Business Milestones” read: "These were first sold in 1908 at a price equivalent to about $27,000 today."
None of the contestants managed to give the correct answer: “What is: the Ford Model T?”
Fans then not only slammed the clue as "vague" but also spotted it asked for "these," but the desired response was singular, or one model.
Every day the Final Jeopardy clue is printed in The New York Times and in a rare move the clue actually was edited for clarity, per Jeopardy.com.
Recently, the show’s producers also misspelled an Edgar Allan Poe quote in Final Jeopardy.
And they caused wrath like no other with a King James bible question fans fumed was flawed in its premise during the Tournament of Champions.
Even the fan-favorite Twitter account Jeopardy! Blind Guesser, in which fans tweet at them with their Final Jeopardy guess based only on the category - had to buzz in recently.
They tweeted they were sitting out "blind guessing" for an episode because the Final Jeopardy was used "8 days ago."
MIXED ON MAYIM
This week marks the first time Mayim has hosted regular episodes this season and in five months instead of Ken Jennings, 48.
Fans have made it no secret that it's been an adjustment, as the former 74-time champ lives and breathes Jeopardy!.
Just four episodes in, outlets have run headlines like: "Mayim Bialik Is Almost Universally Despised As Jeopardy! Host."
Fans have simply made it clear they prefer Ken's hosting style, and Mayim also accepted a response on Monday that many deemed "incorrect" for starters.
Another larger issue is Mayim's cadence; namely, her pause when deeming a contestant correct or not on nearly every clue.
Producers have revealed that Ken will be back after Mayim's three-week tournament.
He'll return on Friday, Mar. 10 and that host stint is expected to last through at least April 14.
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This is welcome news for Ken-leaning legions as many were fearing he'd be off until next season, or September 2023.
The scheduling news could be an early indicator that Mayim will mostly stick to specials going forward.
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