Jeopardy! crowned a new daily champion on Monday, and a surprising connection to the final clue put her over the finish line. Contestant Emily Croke secured her victory when she correctly answered a clue about Folger Shakespeare Library founders Henry Clay and Emily Jordan Folger. But for Croke, the excitement didn’t stop with her win. “That’s my great-great-great Aunt Emily!” exclaimed the contestant. The reveal took everyone, including host Ken Jennings, by surprise. “Emily Folger, the one we mentioned in the clue, is the person you, Emily Croke, are named after?” asked Jennings, getting a nod from Croke in return. While the studio audience seemed delighted over Croke’s fortunate coincidence, fans were more divided when the clip hit Jeopardy’s Instagram. Some fans kept the congratulations rolling, celebrating Croke’s “ancestral power” and extraordinary luck, while one critical viewer asked, “How is anyone not a family member supposed to deduce the correct reply? What am I missing?” “Conflict of interest,” wrote another, while a third drew comparisons to the 1994 film Quiz Show, in which game show producers manipulate results behind the scenes. Others merely expressed cynicism, writing, “Hmm… I wonder what controls are going to be put in place because of this one.”
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