[Warning: The following post contains MAJOR spoilers for the Monday, October 15, episode of Jeopardy!]
Dargan Ware returned for his second game of Jeopardy! on Monday, October 20, after beating champion Cindy del Rosario in his first game. He had a one-day total of $26,200. During his second game, a careful Daily Double wager made his runaway game almost a close call.
For game two, Ware, an attorney and writer, played against Nick Petrilli, from Binghamton, New York, and Amanda Tholke, from Cincinnati, Ohio. Would there be seven new champions in a row, or would Ware win his second game?
The beginning of the round went well for Ware as he had the lead by the first commercial break. Petrilli, a casino surveillance manager, found the Daily Double. He was tied for second with $2,800 and made it a true Daily Double. Petrilli would take first place if he was correct. In “Automotive Options,” the clue read, “Found on many cars manufactured after 2002, the latch system provides secure attachment points for these.” He answered, “What are seatbelts?” which was wrong, so he dropped down to $0. The correct response was the child’s car seat.
By the end of the round, Ware led with $6,400. Tholke, a criminal defense attorney, was in second place with $3,600. Petrilli had $1,000.
In Double Jeopardy, Ware had the lead when Tholke found the first Daily Double. She had $6,400 and wagered $2,000. In “The Library of Alexandria,” the clue was “One story goes that the library rented the works of these 3 dramatists from the Athenian archives & kept the originals.” Tholke answered, “Who are the playwrights?”
“No, I’m sorry. We needed their names,” host Ken Jennings said. Tholke dropped down to $4,400. The playwrights they were looking for were Sophocles, Euripides, and Aeschylus.
Ware found the last DD a few clues later. He had the lead with $15,200, compared to Tholke’s $4,400. Ware wagered $4,800 in “Bury Me Not.” The clue read, “Not in a ballpark or on a polo field but on a golf course, like this famous first wife who died in 2022 & ended up in Bedminster, N.J.” He answered correctly with “Who is Ivana Trump?” and that gave him a score of $20,000.
The wager was safe and could have given Tholke a closer game if he had lost. Ware ended the round in the lead with $21,200. Tholke had $10,800. Petrilli had $4,200. If Tholke wagered all of her money in Final Jeopardy and got it right, she would have taken the lead with $21,600, if Ware got it wrong or made a small wager.
The category of Final Jeopardy was “Celebrity Authors.” The clue read, “A 1984 trip to Normandy inspired this journalist to write a book that popularized a term for an era of Americans.” The correct response was Tom Brokaw, which two of the contestants got right.
Petrilli had the right answer, wagered $0, and ended with $4,200. Tholke’s response was Dan Rather. She wagered all of her money, giving her $0. Ware had the correct response. He wagered $401, making his final total $21,601. Ware will be back for his third game on Tuesday. He had a two-day total of $47,801.
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