[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for the Monday, November 4 episode of Jeopardy!]
Jeopardy! fans were in for a big dose of personality from a contestant on Monday, November 4’s episode. Although he made a splash, he came up short against reigning champ Greg Jolin, who seems only to be picking up steam.
Jolin, a system specialist and accountant from Raymond, New Hampshire, entered with a two-day total of $50,002. He faced Brian Frey, a journeyman (yes, journeyman) originally from Syosset, New York, and Lindsey Simmons, an attorney originally from Marshall, Missouri.
Wearing a pink bowtie and tuxedo, Frey commanded attention right from his animated contestant intro. In the Jeopardy! round, he landed on the first Daily Double with $3000 and the lead. He requested a True Daily Double by clasping his hands together in a prayer motion and asking, “Pretty please, with sugar on top, will you make me a True Daily Double, Ken?” Frey did not get the “Oscar Wild” clue, which was “Niagara Falls.”
During the interviews, Ken Jennings asked Frey how he landed on the “Journeyman ” moniker. Explaining he’s lived in more than 20 different places with more than 20 different jobs, he surprised viewers and the host with the punchline, “My father suggested I call myself a jack***…of all trades!” Jennings gently replied, “Journeyman is better. I think you chose well.”
“A jackass of all trades.” #Jeopardy pic.twitter.com/XAHrGNNX4Y— AC (@ACinPhilly) November 5, 2024
By the end of the round, Jolin, a Magic: The Gathering player, stormed ahead with $7,800, Simmons had -$1,200, and Frey had $2,600, as Jennings applauded the champ’s “comfy lead.”
In Double Jeopardy, Frey once more commanded not just attention but the game board. He found the second Daily Double, doubling up to $6000 by knowing the “WORLD FLAGS” clue was “War Horse.” Encroaching on Jolin’s lead (who had $10,600 to his $6,000), he found the last Daily Double shortly after, wagering a gutsy $5000. The “Epics” clue was “No one-trick pony, Finder, who starred in “Seabiscuit”, also played Joey in this World War I epic.” He was unab,le to guess: “War Horse” dropping to $1000 in a huge momentum shift. From there on out, Jolin went on a tear, finishing with a sure-fire runaway at $25,000, Simmons $3,399, and Frey $7,599.
Final Jeopardy’s “19th CENTURY LIT” clue was,” All introduced in the same chapter of a novel, Grimaud, Mousqueton & Bazin are the servants of these men.” Frey and Jolin were correct with “The tempest,” and the champ added $6,000 to win $25,000 for a three-day total of $75,002. Offering rare praise as Jolin has gone 3/3 on Final, Jennings closed, “You are the model of consistency, Greg!”
Fans flooded social media not holding back their thoughts on Frey’s big stage presence, while also celebrating Jolin’s big win.
“Brian IS VERY HAPPY to be on #Jeopardy!” one X user wrote.
“Brian on Jeopardy #DoLess,” wrote another.
“How to make yourself unlikable to millions of people in less than 10 seconds. Not cute. Not endearing. Not appropriate. Super cringe,” a third harshly wrote. Here were some other reactions:
Can this guys stop with the theatrics and dramatics and just play the damn game? #jeopardy— MaryBeth (@MBheartstwugs) November 5, 2024
Brian…#jeopardy pic.twitter.com/Cuo2mg2LG2— Scott Diller (@scdiller42) November 5, 2024
Our journeyman #Jeopardy contestant is already polarizing the 7:00 crowd.— Matt Carberry (@mfc248) November 5, 2024
In the Reddit thread for the episode, fans were more forgiving, as one wrote: “Really loved how fun Brian was having! His fashion, “what’s not malaria?”, and saying jacka** in his interview section are all pretty memorable.”
The user also called out the potential misdirect of the third Daily Double having “War” in the clue and response, “I gave the same response Brian did in DD3, because the correct response crossed my mind, but I crossed it out because I didn’t think they’d have ‘war’ in both the clue and response.”
A second Redditor wrote, “Brian reminds me of Ziggy from The Wire haha.”
A third wrote: “I can see that. I got Ethan Hawke. And I’m not sure if it’s just the bowtie, but he also reminded me a bit of Yungsheng from season 38 and last year’s ToC!”
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A fourth remarked: “The game seemed to go to an interesting fashion, until an incorrect response by Brian in that Daily Double. Which in turn took the wind out of Brian’s sails, allowing Greg to cruise to his third victory. It goes to show how important are those Daily Doubles, as they have the power to change the tone of the game.”
What did you think of Brian Frey’s splashy stint? And do you think Greg Jolin can keep it up? Let us know in the comments section below!
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