Tournament of Champions Game 2 Recap
Jonathan Fisher vs. Andrew He vs. Christine Whelchel
Again, we did not know who was in each game until they walked up to the podiums. We expected Jonathan, since Ryan had played the first game it seemed they were going in order of games won. I was excited to see Andrew, his original games had some incredible Daily Double wagers so I knew the entertainment potential was high. (Also, I’ve heard Andrew might be the “dark horse” of this tournament!! In case you haven’t heard!) I had gotten to talk to Christine at Jeopardy! Honors (and she lives in my state!) so she was another contestant I was looking forward to seeing play.
Outfit Details
Jonathan grew a beard, but otherwise he stuck with his standard outfit of pastel dress shirt and dark blazer. On set I wrote down that his shirt was mint green but it’s definitely blue, maybe I just didn’t get a good look at it! (I didn’t take detailed notes on outfits since I knew I would see them again on TV.)
In Andrew’s original run he wore a black tie a few times and I really liked the skinny tie look. He tended to wear mostly grey & black in his episodes, with one dark green sweater, so the brighter red was a nice change here. In his promo photo with Ken, he was wearing a printed shirt (looked like a small floral design). These photos were taken the day before taping and a lot of people wore different outfits.
This color looks fantastic on Christine, especially with her new pink hair, and her lip color matches perfectly. There’s a bow at the waist which is such a great detail (and it’s high enough that you can see it over the podium.) The clear framed glasses are cute (different frames than during her previous games). The earrings were a last minute substitution - she had told me at Jeopardy! Honors that she would be wearing earrings with Star Wars charms. But when she put them on in the morning, one of the charms was missing! She ended up wearing these cool interlocking ring ones instead.
Ken is wearing another new tie - this one also seemed a bit shiny and a rusty red color. A lot of his red ties are brighter red so this is a nice addition. Also the plaid of his suits is more visible in person!
Vibe Check
Jonathan - theatrical
This is probably obvious! But I feel like it’s accurate and it seemed like he had a similar “stage presence” off stage too. I didn’t get to actually meet Jonathan but I saw him at Jeopardy! Honors holding a beer & talking in a group of people, making everyone laugh with a reference to Ronald Reagan.
Andrew - chill af
Andrew seems so cool and focused on stage. He’s willing to bet big on Daily Doubles and doesn’t seem to get rattled at all. It’s funny though, I messaged Andrew this later and he said his actual “internal monologue” is “just nonstop four letter words”, so sometimes external vibes can be deceiving! Great job keeping cool, Andrew!
Christine - tense
I don’t mean tense as in nervous, but more “ready to pounce” like a cat stalking prey. I felt like she was there and ready to answer some freakin’ trivia.
Mistakes and Retakes
Ken seemed smoother in this game, I didn’t write down much for retapes.
Ken did some pickups during commercial breaks, where he re-read a few clues to correct pronunciation or inflection
In Double Jeopardy, he did go “And now the final clue” one clue early (he did this in Game 1 Single Jeopardy too.) If you listen carefully right before Andrew selects the second to last clue (Art for $400) you can hear Ken’s “You got it” sounds slightly awkward with upward inflection because they had to edit.
I’ve heard interviews where they mention that the hosts switched to digital screens for the clue reading this season, but I did see Ken shuffling around papers a few times, so I’m not sure which he was using for this taping.
Interesting clues/categories
When the VWLSS HWN category came up, I was afraid it would be another rough one like Parliament of Vowels. It wasn’t, but the Jeopardy! clue writers have managed to make sure I’m afraid of vowels now. (Hey, Jessica, what’s the phobia for fear of vowels?)
Crocodile Pop for $1000 featured a clue about the book series Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile
Which doesn’t seem like something important enough to include in my recap. But wait, there’s more! When we were walking through Sony Pictures Studios later, Sam K. spotted a poster for a new movie… Lyle, Lyle Crocodile! It was a funny coincidence and Sam even took a photo of the poster.
Things got even more interesting when, deep in an IMDB rabbit hole a week later, I noticed that the Lyle, Lyle Crocodile movie was screen-written by William Davies - the brother of Jeopardy! EP Michael Davies - and starred Constance Wu, who mentioned it in her contestant anecdote on Celebrity Jeopardy! Basically what I’m saying is I now have an entire conspiracy wall devoted to Lyle/Jeopardy connections, so watch for my new podcast “Crocodiles All The Way Down”, coming soon.
I wanted to yell “NO STEP ON SNEK” when the answer was “Don’t Tread On Me”. Welcome to my internet-melted brain.
Overheard Segment
Ken & Andrew
Ken: Were you checking your math carefully Andrew?
Andrew: More just stressing out
Ken: About the wagering or the poets
Andrew: Just everything
Ken: Just the whole vibe, huh
Ken & Jonathan
Ken: Jonathan, I heard you were in a play at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival
Jonathan: Yes! I’m doing The Tempest right now!
Ken: RIGHT NOW??
Jonathan: haha, well my understudy is going on while I’m here!
(Ken seemed really interested in Jonathan’s acting career & excited to talk to Jonathan, it was sweet!)
Other stuff
The dividers going up before Final Jeopardy! really do sound like spaceships!
Corina comes over to the contestants during commercial breaks and gives them little pep talks and says things like “Shake it off!” and “Get that cash!”
I’m pretty sure Cindy & I screamed when Andrew won.
Andrew turned to both competitors right after the game and said “Good game!”
This game was such a nail-biter! I was glad to see Andrew victorious but sad to see Jonathan and Christine go. I have to say I prefer this year’s straightforward format but my “want everyone to win” heart definitely misses wildcards a teeny bit!
After this game, the legendary Mitch the Sound Guy asked if I was a former contestant since I was sitting in the front row with Sam K. and Cindy. I said “No, but I’ve heard a lot about you!” ALL the contestants talk about Mitch, so it was awesome that I got to meet him in person despite not being a contestant!
Tomorrow’s game is going to be a heart-breaker regardless of the outcome, because ALL THREE contestants are in my group chat and the vibes are fantastic. Don’t miss it!
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I can confirm that Corina is both a hype queen and a chill queen. Also, MITCH TALKED TO YOU!
Great recap! I loved the Mitch the Sound Guy shout on the pod this week, too. Buzzy said his name, and I said (to no one) “he’s the first person who called me champ!”, right before Buzzy said, “he’s the first one who calls everyone champ”