[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for the April 5 episode of Jeopardy!]
After making an impression in the April 4 game with his delightful reaction to his win, Brian Henegar impressed again with his Jeopardy! performance on April 5.
The guest services agent from La Follette, Tennessee was up against Brandon Broughton, a local history librarian from Ozark, Missouri, and Teresa Browning, a home inspector from Columbus, Ohio, in the Wednesday night game. At the first break, the scores were Henegar at $5,000, Broughton at $3,400, and Browning trailing far behind at -$800. She only increased her score by $200 by the time Double Jeopardy came around, but her opponents didn’t drastically increase their leads either.
Heading into Double Jeopardy, the scores were Henegar $7,800, Broughton $4,800, and Browning -$600. Browning turned things around and got out of the red in this round, but ended up losing $2,000 from her $2,200 total when incorrectly answering the Daily Double about Switzerland’s Lake Lucerne.
Daily Doubles proved to be Browning’s Achilles heel. Each time she was catching up to the other players, she’d get stumped by a Daily Double on which she wagered lots to try and snag the lead. On her second Daily Double, her score started at $3,400. Her $3,000 wager brought her down to $400.
Henegar had a different Double Jeopardy experience, taking his score from $7,800 to $23,000 in just that one round. He didn’t get entire categories correct but came close, getting enough right to give him a large lead heading into Final Jeopardy. The scores heading into the final round were Henegar at $23,000, Broughton at $10,000, and Browning at $400.
Once again, the Final Jeopardy stumped all three players. The category: Movies of the ’80s. The clue: “Based on an off-Broadway play with just three characters, it won the Best Picture Oscar & the actors in all three roles were nominated.” The answer: What is Driving Miss Daisy?
Both Henegar and Browning incorrectly guessed Glengarry Glen Ross, and Broughton guessed Dinner With Andre. Browning bet it all on her response, bringing her down to $0. Broughton wagered $9,201, leaving him with $799. Henegar wagered $2,999, keeping him comfortably in first place at $20,001. His reaction wasn’t as animated as the night before, but the smile on his face spoke volumes.
Fans on Twitter praised his gameplay, calling him a “machine” for getting so many prompts right.
Brian is a machine.
— BurningBrule (@BurningBrule) April 6, 2023
Brian has played extremely well.#Jeopardy
— LinestandingNYC℠ (@linestandingnyc) April 5, 2023
Brian on #Jeopardy is so great
— Conor (@ConorCoen) April 5, 2023
I like that Brian is looking at #Jeopardy as learning something and having fun. Because that is what got me hooked on game shows initially when coming to the US. I worked my way up from Price is Right (repetitive phrases to learn pronunciation) to Jeopardy for brain exercise.
— kratzy1 (@kratzy1) April 5, 2023
I really need to start watching Jeopardy regularly again. Champ Brian’s energy is infectious. Dude is having the time of his life playing Jeopardy and I’m here for it.
— premium gay Joestar 🌈⭐ (@Maukxie) April 5, 2023
Fans on Reddit noted that had Browning been correct, Broughton’s wager would have put him $1 behind her, putting him in third place. Broughton actually responded to the Reddit thread to explain his wager.
“You might wonder why I wagered such that I risked putting myself in 3rd place. Well, so do I,” he commented on a popular Jeopardy! recap thread.
“I feel for you, Brandon. The wagering part is harder than answering the questions! It’s a lot of pressure to do pen-and-paper math while everybody is waiting for you,” one user replied.
“I only realized what I had done once the music stopped,” Broughton said back. “Oh well, a good time was had regardless.”
“I’ll be the first to say I am not the best at arithmetic, never have been,” he added in another reply to a viewer. “But I’m thrilled with how things turned out regardless, and if I can give people at home a laugh then all the better!”
Henegar will be back again on Thursday, April 6 for his third go at the beloved game show.
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