Final Jeopardy: Women in Mythology (6-12-23)
Today’s Final Jeopardy question (6/12/2023) in the category “Women in Mythology” was:
The name of this woman, the product of an incestuous union, means “against birth”
4x champ Suresh Krishnan, a networking engineer from Suwanee, GA, won $53,999 last week. In Game 5, he is up against: Michael Vallely, a data analyst from Somerville, MA; and Marilyn Singer, a children’s book author from Brooklyn, NY.
Round 1 Categories: Pop Songs – Tropic of Capricorn Nations – Narrator of the Novel – Core Values – 5-Letter Words – Ben & Jerry’s Flavor Graveyard
Suresh found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “Narrator of the Novel” under the $400 clue on the 11th pick of the round. He was in second place with $2,000, $600 less than Michael’s lead. Suresh bet $5 and said “Gravity”. That was WRONG.
This novel: Stranded astronaut Mark Watney show
Michael finished in the lead with $5,600. Suresh was second with $5,395 and Marilyn was last with $0. All clues were shown.
Round 2 Categories: The War of 1812 – Like a Statue – Health & Medicine – Color My World – Hang Up Your TV Reboots – “Ax” Marks the Spot
Suresh found the first Daily Double in “Like a Statue” under the $2,000 clue on the 5th pick of the round. He was in the lead with $8,195, $1,395 more than Michael in second place. Suresh bet $2,000 and he was RIGHT.
John Diefenbaker & Lester Pearson are among the notables commemorated with statues on this Ottawa Hill show
Michael got the last Daily Double in “The War of 1812” under the $1,600 clue on the 8th pick. He was in second place with $8,400 now, $1,795 less than Suresh’s lead. Michael bet it all and he was RIGHT.
In 1814 U.S. Forces under Gen. Jacob Brown invaded Canada by crossing this river between Lake Erie & Lake Ontario show
Michael finished in the lead with $26,400. Suresh was second with $14,195 and Marilyn was last with $4,400. All clues were shown.
Only ONE of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.
WHO IS ANTIGONE?
From Greek Mythology: “Antigone was the daughter of Oedipus and his mother, Jocasta. Oedipus, king of Thebes, unknowingly married his mother Jocasta, and had four children, Antigone, Ismene, Polynices and Eteocles.” Sophocles got three plays out of the Odeipus story (the Theban plays): Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonus and Antigone.
Various name meaning sites say the name means “worthy of one’s parents or in place of one’s parents”. Breaking it down with etymology online, you have anti- which means “against”, and gonos-, which means “seed, that which engenders.”
Now you’ve got one of the answers to this Greek Mythology Name Game quiz
Marilyn thought it was Niobe. She lost $$1,000 and finished with $3,400.
Suresh got it right. He bet $14,000 and finished with $28,195.
Michael wrote down “Uncle Steve.” That got some laughs but cost him $2,000. He finished with $24,400 and, once again, Suresh was handed a victory by the leader. This win got Suresh a guaranteed invite to the next ToC and is his biggest payday so far. Suresh has a 5-day total of $82,194.
A triple stumper from each round:
POP SONGS ($200) “Daddy” was the closing track on this diva’s solo debut “Dangerously In Love”
HANG UP YOUR TV REBOOTS ($2000) This sitcom won a ton of Emmys during its first run, 1998-2006, but ended in 2020 after a brief reboot & a few more trophies
2 years ago: Only ONE of the players got this FJ in “Golden Age Actresses”
In 2013 the Victoria & Albert Museum acquired her archives, including letters from Laurence Olivier & Tennessee Williams show
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Michael might get a second chance bid for the “human interest” side. Not saying it’s right, just that that could be
Embarrisingly, I missed the DD that Michael got correct, about the river between Lakes Erie and Ontario. Embarrassing because, the Niagara River is about 10 miles away from me!
For FJ, I first thought “contra”, and worked that. Came up empty. But, when I thought “anti”, I got it before time was up.
And, considering all the trivial trivia that Suresh knows, I was very surprised he got the Mark Watney DD wrong; apparently he wasn’t, as his goofy $5 wager showed!
It wasn’t a goofy wager if you remember his second game, Jason. The Novel Character category had 3 stumpers in it!!
I would bet $5 on a Math or Science DD — well, probably $10
I guess it just bugs me how it messes with symmetry. So, put that one on me!
I know, Jason. I think that the odd bets used to bug Alex because he couldn’t do the math in his head.
Does it bother anybody else that the word “incestuous” was used in a Final Jeopardy question? It just doesn’t seem right for a Final.
It only bothers me that it was used incorrectly. I think the word incest implies consent of both parties to most people, as in the “Flowers in the Attic” series. That wasn’t the case with Oedipus and Jocasta. They didn’t know they were mother and son and when they found out, she hanged herself and he gouged his eyes out. So I think people who don’t know the whole story might think that they continued the relationship after they found out.
Basketball preempted about 2/3 of the show tonight. I’ve always disliked mythology, but nailed this one thanks to the “against” part of the clue. We read that particular play in 10th grade, about 58 years ago.
The Pistons’ former home, the neuron clue, and the first DD were all to my liking.
What did Michael say about his cancer?
@Albert, Michael said: “You know, I had 3 failed cancer treatments. I didn’t think I’d be here so I’m just going to bet it all.”
The DDs did better in Double Jeopardy after an epic fail last Friday.
This was Suresh’s fourth time that he was not in the lead going into FJ! More unbelievable luck for Suresh continues. I am almost positive that we’re going to be seeing Michael back for Second Chance.
I’d love to know what criteria, if any, the show uses to invite people back. I just can’t envision a second chance for someone who has a big lead and blows it on FJ. To me it makes more sense to bring back someone who gets FJ and loses by $1 with a big total.
@Howard, I agree with you that second chances shouldn’t go to players who lost because they got FJ! wrong. However, that was no bar to being in the first Second Chance tournament. Here’s two players who were chosen even though they got FJ! wrong: Tracy Pitzel and Tom Philipose
I’m not sure but I think I saw somewhere that their criteria had something to do with how many right answers a player gave.