What is awkward, Alex? Jeopardy! took a turn for the uncomfortable on Thursday, March 12, when two unsuccessful contestants led to a Final Jeopardy round with just one buzzing competitor.
As they completed the final question in Double Jeopardy, a woman named Kristin was in first place by a mile with a total of $8,400. Her second-place competitor Brad was all the way in the red with negative $200, while an unlucky contestant Stephanie took a far third with negative $4,800.
In his famed quietly sassy tone, host Alex Trebek remarked, "Bad news for Brad and Stephanie. This was not one of our greatest days. Both of you figuring in the red and at the end of Double Jeopardy — that means you're not around to play in Final Jeopardy."
"So it's you all by yourself, Kristin," he told the last woman standing. "I think you're going to win the game — it all depends how you handle this Final Jeopardy category: The U.S. Government."
Introducing the last question, Trebek, 74, twisted the knife even further, saying, "Kristin and I are alone together, an opportunity to get to know each other." The host of more than 30 years then posed the clue, reading, "On August 15, 1994, 59 years and one day after FDR signed the original act, Bill Clinton made this an independent agency."
In a particularly anticlimactic moment, Kristin didn't even answer the Final Jeopardy question correctly, losing her wager of $1,600 when she guessed FDIC instead of the Social Security Administration.
Kristin, who ended up with a two-day total of $31,601, tweeted after the show aired, "Always sad when someone can't play Final. Even when I benefit. Seriously. #Jeopardy… To anyone snarking Stephanie and Brad: you had better ace the #JeopardyOnlineTest soon. Put up or shut up. It wasn't a good game for anyone."
Watch the bizarre moment in the video above!
