On Friday’s episode of Jeopardy!, Mehal Shah was dethroned and one of his answers had host Ken Jennings incredulous
This contestant made daring moves in their previous game
Unfortunately for contestant Mehal Shah, the November 22 episode of Jeopardy! was a departure from his previous victorious game.
The two-day returning champion and software engineer from Seattle, W.A., who had a total of $46,062, did not go on to make it a third-day. He even encountered a bit of shade from host Ken Jennings for his Final Jeopardy! answer. Mehal, who wowed fans with his bold wagers, went up against Adam Hersh, an attorney from Brooklyn, New York, and Courtney Schooley, a preschool teacher from Tulsa, Oklahoma on Friday episode of the ABC trivia game show.
Before the first commercial break, Adam had the lead with $5,200 as he got a Daily Double clue in the “French-Named Food And Drink” category. Mehal followed behind in second with $4,400 and Courtney $0. By the end of the first round, Mehal and Adam switched places. Mehal took the lead with $7,200 with Adam had $5,800 and Courtney with $2,400.
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Adam snatched the lead back by Double Jeopardy, when he got the Daily Double right. Mehal got the last Daily Double right in the round but unlike Thursday’s episode (November 21), he wagered $4,000 instead of going for the daring True Daily Double. Adam had $16,600 to Mehal’s $14,400 and Courtney had $8,400 before Final Jeopardy!
Mehal was defeated on Jeopardy!
The category for this Final Jeopardy! was “Movies and Psychology” and the clue was, “In this film, Paula Alquist tells Gregory Anton, ‘Have you gone mad, my husband? Or is it I who am mad?” Courtney guessed right with the movie “Gaslight,” raising her total to $16,800. Mehal guessed “Foile á Deux” which was wrong and the answer had Ken disbelieving what he heard as he asked, “The Joker movie?”
Then he stated it was “not correct” and Mehal did one his well known risky wagers which unfortunately dropped him to $0. Adam also got the answer correct, bringing him to $29,000 and making him the winner.
Fans took to the Jeopardy! subreddit thread about the November 22 episode to discuss the neck and neck game and also Ken’s shade to Mehal. One fan said: “All three of these contestants were amazing. I’m just so sad to see Mehal lose!” A second said: “Great game! I love that Mehal and Adam were going back and forth for the lead AND that Courtney was able to get to >50% of the leader’s score going into FJ, so everybody was in contention at the end.” Another wrote: “‘The Joker movie?’ LOL damn Ken chill”
Adam become the new champion
Mehal also took to the subreddit to thanks the fans and give some of his “brain droppings.” One of those “brain droppings” involved explaining how he came to the answer, “Foile á Deux.”
“I wasn’t making a Joker reference in FJ. I was initially thinking about the act of Gaslighting, and knew it was related to a movie. Gaslighting Abbie is a Steely Dan song (from the album that won Steely Dan their only Grammy) but I couldn’t get a movie from there,” He elaborated.
“Then I started wondering if the movie was about two people with a shared delusion and put Folie a Deux thinking it might work. It didn’t and I leave 0/3 on Final Jeopardy!. I did explain this to Ken during the credits sequence, and he no longer thinks I’m some weird Joker fanboy,” the Washington resident continued.
