‘Jeopardy!’ Ken Jennings Admits Final Question Was Too Hard

Jeopardy! | YouTube

Jeopardy! is never supposed to be easy. What makes the show so popular is that many of the questions are difficult, and it is fun to see who can come up with the answers, both at home and on the TV screen. However, a recent episode had one question that was deemed “too hard,” and even Ken Jennings agreed.

Here is a look at the question and what Ken reportedly said to the players.

Jeopardy! Question Deemed Too Hard?

A question on a recent episode of Jeopardy! was confusing and almost impossible to answer. It was so hard that when fans went online to discuss it, one of the players from that episode joined in. According to this player, Ken Jennings actually apologized to them for the question after giving the answer.

Jeopardy! | YouTube
Jeopardy! | YouTube

On Monday’s episode, champion Susan Beachy from Queens, New York, defended her one-game winning streak. She took on Evan Jones, a software designer from Seattle, Washington, and Mike Ross, a teacher from Kansas City, Missouri.

By the end of the Jeopardy! round, defending champion Susan was in the hole, with only $1,000. Evan had $6,000 and Mike had $3,400. Evan extended his lead to an almost uncatchable $21,800 by the last Daily Double. Mike had $13,600, and Susan had no chance with only $5,000.

This led to the Final Jeopardy! round. The category was “Poetic Characters.” The clue read: “In an 1842 poem, it is said of this legendary character that his ‘quaint attire’ is much admired.”

Why Was Final Jeopardy! Question Deemed Too Hard?

Susan had no idea and wrote “Longfellow,” before crossing it out and not writing another answer. Mike guessed, “Falstaff.” Evan, who had the monster lead, guessed, “Daniel Boone.” None of the players got the question right.

The answer was, “Who is the Pied Piper of Hamelin?” Ken Jennings said, “this is Robert Browning’s ‘The Pied Piper of Hamelin,’ who is dressed in an odd, uh, multicolored way, I guess.” Ken put his hands up and said, “Hence the ‘Pied’ in ‘Pied Piper.”

Fans took to Reddit to complain about the answer and the vague clue.

  • “Ken’s explanation of the FJ clue as the subject ‘dressed in an odd, multicolored way’ probably didn’t clear anything up for most viewers.”
  • “It was a terrible clue and Ken definitely appeared apologetic trying to explain it.”
  • “Maybe the next time Ken thinks a FJ is really hard he should tell the writers to save it for the TOC, JIT or Masters!”

That is when Evan Jones chimed in to discuss the hard clue. “Ken told us after the game that he thought it was a hard clue, too,” Evan said. He then said he had a nightmare scenario that he wouldn’t have the right final answer. He said, “Worst case scenario, you give a silly answer; best case scenario, you luck into the correct response.”

What did you think of that final question from Ken Jennings on Jeopardy!? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Shawn Lealos
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