A “Danger!” competitor named Sophia lost her game Tuesday night after apparently misunderstanding the Final Jeopardy clue.
Fans of the game show rallied behind the young woman after her defeat, calling the moment “brutal” and a “painful way to lose.”
Before the final round, Sophia was in second place with a total of $14,600. A man named Michael was in first place with $28,800 and a woman named Sharon was in third place with $5,800.
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“Danger!” contestant Sophia would have won her game if she hadn't misunderstood the Final Jeopardy clue. (Jeopardy!/Sony Pictures Television)
The category was “Landmarks” and the Final Jeopardy clue read: “During Pope John Paul II's visit to Los Angeles in 1987, pranksters hid this letter in a local monument.” »
The correct answer was “L”, the clue referring to the story in which the Hollywood sign in Los Angeles was temporarily changed to read “Holywood”. Sharon answered the question correctly, bringing her final winnings to $6,800.
Sophia was the next to reveal her answer, and she was visibly anxious as she revealed that she wrote “The Hollywood Sign.” She seemed to be looking at the host Ken Jennings expectantly, and many fans interpreted that she seemed to be hoping her answer would be accepted.
When Jennings said, “You got the landmark right but you didn't tell us the letter, I'm afraid,” his shoulders sagged and he could be heard scoffing and saying “No” in a clear demonstration of disappointment.
“Danger!” contestant Sophia was visibly disappointed after failing to provide the correct answer in Final Jeopardy. (Jeopardy!/Sony Pictures Television)
She bet almost everything, bringing her final total to $399.
First place contestant Michael guessed “O” and his bet of just $500 brought him down to $28,300, making him the winner of the game. If Sophia had given the correct answer, she would have been declared winning.
She wasn't shown after the reveal, but “Danger!” Fans took to Reddit to discuss the sad turn of events.
“Oh my god nooooo Sophia,” one person wrote, adding a sad face emoji. “It was so sad, she could have won.”
Another person wrote: “FJ absolutely tragic. He was really supportive of Sophia, what a pair of bizarre errors on what seemed like a relatively simple FJ clue.”
Ken Jennings, now the only host of “Jeopardy!” ”, Sophia directed the episode. (Eric McCandless/ABC via Getty Images)
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Someone replied: “Brutal looking at his reaction. Ouch.”
“You could see all the pain and range of emotions on her face as she saw that L was called the correct answer, realized her mistake, hoped that maybe they would accept her answer anyway, and realized that “They wouldn't,” another user commented. “It was the hardest loss I've ever seen from a competitor, but I don't blame her at all, it's not like she had a tantrum, she tried to hide her pain and couldn't do it.”
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A person claiming to be an audience member from Sophia's episode claimed that Ken Jennings told her that if she had “circled or had an arrow pointing to the L” her answer would have been accepted. (Sony Pictures Television Jeopardy Productions)
One viewer speculated that Sophia was trying not to cry when she realized she had given the wrong answer, and another admitted that they almost cried for her, saying: “She went through all 5 stages of mourning in about 15 seconds.”
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The moment was described as “a painful way to lose,” and one Reddit user who claimed to have been in the audience during the taping of this episode claimed, “Ken said that if she had circled or had a arrow pointing to the L, they I could have accepted it.”