[Warning: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for the Monday, January 26, episode of Jeopardy!]
Another celebrity competed in the Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions on Monday night. Abbott Elementary star Lisa Ann Walter tried to advance to the semifinals as W. Kamau Bell fell flat last week. Walter cursed on TV after a disastrous game, and fans reacted.
Walter, a comedian, actor, and activist originally from Washington D.C., played against marketing specialist TJ Fisher, from San Francisco, California, and technology manager Mike Dawson, from Portland, Oregon, on January 26. Whoever won the game would advance to the semifinals this week.
The beginning of the round didn’t start off well for the contestants. By the time Dawson found the Daily Double on clue 11, the highest score was Fisher’s $1,400.
Dawson had $1,000 and made it a true Daily Double in “Bus-Podge.” The clue read, “A former Greyhound bus depot in Anniston, Alabama, is part of the national monument dedicated to these activists.” “Who are the Freedom Riders?” he answered correctly. That gave him the lead with $2,000.
Walter finally got on the board on clue 12. By the first break, Dawson had $2,600. Tisher was in second place with $1,000. Walter had $800.
During the interviews, Dawson revealed he had emergency brain surgery since his last Jeopardy! run. He said he had trouble speaking, and half of his body went numb.
“So, serious. But, it seems like you’re doing OK,” host Ken Jennings said.
“Well, yeah. It’s only been two-and-a-half months, but I was lying in the neurotrauma ICU, and the doctor’s talking to me, and I’m like, ‘Please, you’ve got to fix my brain in time for the Tournament of Champions!’” he said.
“We’re glad to see you looking so well,” the host said.
Walter shared that she had it put in her will that her ashes will go in her Celebrity Jeopardy! trophy when she dies. She won Season 2. Fisher regrets getting a Judy Garland question wrong on his first run.
By the end of the round, Dawson was in the lead with $4,800. Fisher had $1,400. Walter, after getting a question about Philadelphia wrong, was in the negatives with -$200. Walter’s show, Abbott Elementary, takes place in Philadelphia.
In Double Jeopardy, Fisher found the first DD on clue six. He pulled into the lead with $5,400 and made it a true Daily Double. “Really? OK,” Ken Jennings said.
In “15-Letter Words,” the clue was: “This word for a small comment that displays prejudice was coined in a 1970s essay called ‘Offensive Mechanisms.’” “What is microaggression?” he answered correctly, giving him $10,800.
Fisher found the last DD on clue 12. With the lead of $9,200, he wagered $2,000 in “Lake News.” The clue read, “In 2017, the New Yorker called this lake in a same-named African country the site of the most complex humanitarian disaster.” After some hesitation, Fisher guessed, “What is Lake Chad?” giving him $11,200.
On clue 21, Walter incorrectly guessed after already being in the negatives, and she said, “What the hell?”
“How do we feel about Lisa cursing?” one Reddit user asked.
“I curse while watching so much, especially when a contestant gets a wrong response for some BS…like answering ‘What is Dark Side of the Moon?’.. Sorry, we were looking for What is THE Dark Side of the Moon….” a fan replied.
Fisher ended with $15,600. Dawson had $8,000. Walter ended with -$2,600, so she could not participate in Final Jeopardy.
The category for Final Jeopardy was “U.S. States.” The clue was: “This border state produced about half of the gunpowder for the union.” Neither of the game show contestants answered, “What is Delaware?”
Dawson wrote, “What is Maryland?” He wagered all of his money, ending him with $0. Fisher’s response was, “What is Kentucky?” He wagered $401, giving him $15,199.
Fisher won and advanced to the semifinals. The semifinals begin on Tuesday, January 27.
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This story originally appeared on TV Insider
