‘Jeopardy! High School Reunion’ Error Spoils Results of First Final
[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for the March 8 episode of Jeopardy! High School Reunion Tournament.]
Jeopardy! suffered a rare but major snafu during the High School Reunion Tournament on Wednesday, March 8. During the first few minutes of night one of the two-night finals, the player’s final dollar amounts were showed on screen, spoiling the ending for viewers.
The moment came as host Mayim Bialik explained the stakes of the finals, which are “a $100,000 grand prize and a guaranteed spot in the next Tournament of Champions.” The camera cut to the players directly after, their podiums revealing their winnings instead of being blank.
The mistake was immediately noticed by fans, and the end of the episode made clear that the numbers on their podiums weren’t just random mistakes, rather their actual final results. Jackson Jones from Louisville, Kentucky won the game with $24,000. Justin Bolsen from Canton, Georgia placed second with $13,570. And Maya Wright from Peachtree City, Georgia placed third with $3,370.
As this was the first of two games between these three finalists, no one was cut from the tournament. Jackson, Justin, and Maya will face off again in the High School Reunion Tournament’s final game on Thursday, March 9, their total winnings from both games determining the overall winner.
While the structure of the tournament meant the editing mistake didn’t reveal who went home, some viewers were still disappointed.
Hey @Jeopardy thanks for spoiling the final scores tonight during the intro pic.twitter.com/mc5Cbk5MRo
— Judd Volk (@JuddVolk) March 9, 2023
Jeopardy screwed up BIG TIME! Three minutes into the show they showed a shot of the 3 contestants with their FINAL totals!
See photo and the time bar at the bottom. Some editor is losing their job… pic.twitter.com/Uz7BcPWwrs— Tom Hull (@tomhull365) March 9, 2023
Fans on Reddit theorized over what could have caused the snafu.
“I wonder if they had to do a pickup of Mayim saying that line and/or their reactions after the show was over and someone forgot to reset the scores or notice that they were still there,” one viewer pondered.
“Yes, for whatever reason they likely had to reshoot the opening after the show and neglected to erase the scores,” replied another. “What I wonder is how many people view the finished product before it is sent to the affiliates, and none of them noticed this.”
Elsewhere in the episode, Taylor Swift fans were delighted to see categories inspired by her songs. “Shake It Off,” “Auntie Hero,” and “‘U’ Belong With ‘Me'” were listed one after the other on the game board during during the episode.
Tonight’s Final Jeopardy category was “Geographic Name’s the Same.” The clue: “The busiest passenger port in the U.K., it shares its name with a capital of one of the original 13 states.” The answer: What is Dover?
Maya incorrectly guessed York, wagering $1,030 and bringing her down to $3,370. Jackson accurately answered Dover, wagering $10,000 and bringing him up to $24,000. Justin also got the answer wrong, guessing Annapolis, wagering $4,831 and bringing him down to $13, 570. Did you answer correctly?
Tune in tomorrow for the Jeopardy! High School Reunion finale to find out who will walk away victorious from the inaugural tournament.
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