2025-2026 Second Chance competition week 2, semifinal game 3.
Melanie Hirsch — an attorney from Silver Spring, Maryland
Andrew Wang — a medical student from Winnetka, Illinois
Aaron Himmel — a stay-at-home dad originally from Long Island, New York
| Player | First Commercial | End of Jeopardy! | End of Double Jeopardy! | Final | Coryat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aaron | $2,800 | $6,600 | $17,000 |
$17,000
2nd place: $3,000 |
$16,600
22 R (including 1 DD), 1 W |
| Andrew | $4,400 | $5,000 | $20,400 |
$0
3rd place: $2,000 |
$15,800
16 R (including 1 DD), 0 W |
| Melanie | $2,400 | $3,800 | $20,400 |
$40,800
Finalist |
$18,200
20 R (including 1 DD), 2 W |
| AROUND THE CARIBBEAN | CLASSICAL MUSIC | HOE HOE HOE: LET'S GARDEN! | GO AWAY, I'M MOBILE GAMING | FROM THE TV SHOW'S OPENING NARRATION | AN "I", 4, AN "I" |
|
$200
[16]
Ska & reggae both originated on this English-speaking isle
Jamaica
Melanie
|
$200
[28]
Arthur Fiedler ended a July 4, 1974 concert with this piece, including church bells & cannons, setting a standard
the 1812 Overture
Aaron
|
$200
[27]
The N.Y. Times counsels gardeners to wait until nights have reached 50 degrees to plant these vine-grown salad favorites
tomatoes
Aaron
|
$200
[30]
Can't talk, I'm preoccupied with forming chains of brightly colored sweets in this popular puzzle game
Candy Crush
Aaron
|
$200
[24]
"In the criminal justice system, sexually based offenses are considered especially heinous"
Law & Order: SVU
Aaron
|
$200
[25]
Adjective describing things that are exactly, precisely, completely the same
identical
Andrew
|
|
$400
[13]
Even on the U.S. these islands such as St. John, remember, you'll be driving on the left side of the road
the Virgin Islands
Melanie
|
$400
[17]
Bugs Bunny's forays into opera include the use of the overture to this opera while massaging Elmer Fudd's head
The Barber of Seville
Andrew
|
$400
[14]
In the fall, 6 weeks before the ground freezes, plant these bulbs & "tiptoe through" them in the spring
tulips
Aaron
Melanie
|
$400
[29]
I'm not at my sister's wedding because I'm busy with WWF--not pro wrestling, but this word game that's similar to Scrabble
Words with Friends
Aaron
|
$400
[23]
One episode used "The following takes place between midnight & 1 A.M."
24
Aaron
|
$400
[22]
If you tailgate you might get cited for a moving this
violation
Melanie
|
|
$800
[4]
Characterized by steep cliffs & large bays, Martinique is part of this "Lesser" group of islands
the Antilles
Andrew
|
$600
[3]
Mozart himself gave this catchy piece its name
Eine kleine Nachtmusik ( A Little Night Music )
Aaron
|
$600
[8]
Use this organic or inorganic soil cover to reduce water loss & against extreme temps but don't pile it on stems; it'll rot 'em
mulch
Melanie
|
$600
[10]
Sorry to miss your birthday; I'm slicing produce with my finger in this game & plan to play indefinitely or until I hit a bomb
Fruit Ninja
Aaron
|
$600
[19]
From 1960:"You're traveling through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight & sound, but of mind"
The Twilight Zone
Aaron
|
$600
[21]
It's how occupants of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue are expected to appear
presidential
Aaron
|
|
DD
$1,000
[12]
Split between 2 nations, this island has the largest population of any Caribbean isle, about 21 million
Hispaniola
Aaron
|
$800
[5]
It's the French name of a 1905 orchestral set by Debussy that describes different moods of the sea
La mer
Andrew
|
$800
[1]
Put some wide tape on the underside of your hand, sticky side out, & pat the leaves to help get rid of this insect
aphids
Melanie
|
$800
[18]
The office fire drill will have to wait; my crewmates & I are looking for an impostor on our spaceship in this multiplayer game
Among Us
Melanie
|
$800
[11]
"There are 2 kinds of folks who sit around thinking about how to kill people--psychopaths & mystery writers"
Castle
Aaron
|
$800
[7]
The M.I.T. School of this offers degrees in the biological, chemical & mechanical types
Engineering
Andrew
|
|
$1,000
[9]
The Caribbean Sea's greatest depth is found in this 25,000-foot-deep trench bearing the name of an alligator relative
(the) Cayman (Trench)
Andrew
|
$1,000
[6]
We're gettin' Bach to basics in this 48-part work with a keyboard instrument in its name, exploring all the major & minor keys
The Well-Tempered Clavier
Melanie
|
$1,000
[2]
From the Greek for "water work", this type of soilless gardening can be done indoors using nutrients in solution
hydroponics
Andrew
|
$1,000
[26]
I'll literally never be done playing Temple Run; it's this 2-word type where the character never stops moving forward
an endless or infinite runner
|
$1,000
[20]
"The name: Dr. Richard Kimble. The destination: death row, state prison. The irony: Richard Kimble is innocent"
The Fugitive
Aaron
|
$1,000
[15]
The settlement of a dispute according to the judgment of an agreed-upon third party
arbitration
Aaron
|
| WORLD HISTORY | THE PLAY'S THE THING | CRITICAL VASE THEORY | ASIAN AMERICANS | POP CULTURE FORECAST | CAUTION: WORD CONSTRUCTION ZONE |
|
$400
[18]
The first recorded labor strike went down in this empire's New Kingdom around 1160 B.C.; the workers wanted their bread & beer
Egypt
Andrew
|
$400
[24]
In "Pygmalion" the Doolittle family has trouble with the H's in the name of this professor
Henry Higgins
Andrew
|
$400
[30]
The ancient Roman Warwick Vasewas the model for the men'strophyat this tennis event, the first Grand Slam of the calendar year
the Australian Open
Aaron
Melanie
|
$400
[28]
This cellist performs in the great outdoors for his project called Our Common Nature
Yo-Yo Ma
Melanie
|
$400
[27]
It's not just a regular pea-souper, there's a lethal fog coming for London in season 1 of this royal Netflix show
The Crown
Melanie
|
$400
[29]
Got up from bed+mother of Jesus=this herb
rosemary
Melanie
|
|
$800
[7]
Planes called ohkas, or "cherry blossoms", were used by these suicidal units during the Battle of Leyte Gulf in 1944
kamikaze
Andrew
|
$800
[23]
Here's some literary tri-via: it was where 3 roads met that the title character of this ancient play killed his own father
Oedipus Rex
Melanie
|
$800
[26]
This pottery maker's meticulous copies of the 1st century Portland Vase seenhereare almost as famous as theoriginal
Wedgwood
Melanie
|
$800
[25]
The daughter of Indian immigrants, sheserved in her state's House of Representative from 2005 to 2010
Haley
Aaron
|
$800
[17]
Looks like a downpour is coming on the wedding day of Axl Rose & Stephanie Seymour in this music video
"November Rain"
Aaron
|
$800
[22]
Shakespeare wrote "All the world" is one+a sports team leader=this transport
a stagecoach
Melanie
|
|
$1,200
[6]
After making it over the Alps, this general lost an eye during a jaunt through the marshes of the Arno in 217 B.C.
Hannibal
Melanie
|
$1,200
[3]
A young Maggie Smithplayed Mistress Ford in this Shakespeare comedy at the Old Vic in 1959
The Merry Wives of Windsor
Aaron
|
$1,200
[13]
Iridescent Favrile vasesare among the most coveted collectibles by this Art Nouveau glassmaker
Tiffany
Andrew
|
$1,200
[8]
She doesn't just dress brides; this fashion designer came up with a look for the Philadelphia Eagles cheerleadersin 2003 & 2013
Vera Wang
Melanie
|
$1,200
[16]
The forecast says "No rain coming to the town of Dirt" in a 2011 movie; but what is coming is this chameleon voiced by Johnny Depp
Rango
Aaron
|
$1,200
[21]
Type of corvid+place where a mixologist works=this prying tool
a crowbar
Andrew
|
|
$1,600
[4]
A biography about this chief calls him "The Founder of the Zulu Nation"
Shaka
Andrew
|
$2,000
[2]
Less than 20 years apart, Tonys went to "Copenhagen", about talks in wartime, & this Nordic capital play, about peace talks
Oslo
Melanie
|
$1,600
[11]
The ancient Greeks used this two-handled type of vase for storing food & wine; the Dipylon one is considered a masterpiece
an amphora
Andrew
|
$1,600
[14]
He & David Filowere grad students at Stanford when they started what became Yahoo!
(Jerry) Yang
Andrew
|
$1,600
[9]
Like the band Glass Animals, your weatherman admits these "been faking me out", but real ones will happen in summer
heat waves
Melanie
|
$1,600
[20]
Cautionary golf yell+dark image caused by the Sun=this, something an author does
foreshadow
Melanie
|
|
DD
$6,600
[5]
In the 19th century a group of Irish radicals & a group of U.S. coal miners agitating for better conditions shared this feminine name
Molly Maguires
Andrew
|
DD
$3,800
[1]
2010's "Clybourne Park" starts with a white couple selling their home to the Younger family of this great American play
A Raisin in the Sun
Melanie
|
$2,000
[12]
Soldier vasesare so called after a 1717 vases for soldiers exchange by Poland's Augustus II & Friedrich Wilhelm of this Germanic land
Prussia
Aaron
|
$2,000
[15]
Born in Vietnam, this writer had his novel "The Emperor of Gladness" selected for Oprah's Book Club
(Ocean) Vuong
Melanie
|
$2,000
[10]
The wind is out of the west, north... every direction at 0 mph per the title of this 1989 Nicole Kidman boating thriller
Dead Calm
Aaron
|
$2,000
[19]
Soft bird plumage+members of a play=this, describing a look of dejection
downcast
Aaron
|
In an early draft, this title line was followed by "it may be your last", but Judy Garland refused to sing it that way
"Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas"