Warning: This page contains spoilers for the September 12, 2023, game of Jeopardy! — please do not scroll down if you wish to avoid being spoiled. Please note that the game airs as early as noon Eastern in some U.S. television markets.
Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category Mythological Places) for Tuesday, September 12, 2023 (Season 40, Game 2):
“Paradise Lost” says it’s “abhorred” & “the flood of deadly hate” & in Dante’s “Inferno” it’s fed by a “gloomy brook”
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
| Susan Schulman, a baker from Greensboro, Vermont Susan’s past appearance: May 13, 2021  |
| David Maybury, a magnetics engineer originally from Richmond, Virginia David’s past appearance: February 22, 2021  |
| Cody Lawrence, an assistant editor from Sherman Oaks, California Cody’s past appearance: December 8, 2020  |
Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
Before I move on to my thoughts about today’s game, I want to make something abundantly clear after a comment last night that was surprisingly critical of me. This is as much a recap site as it is a resource for future contestants. I want to see this game played as strongly as possible, and calling out ill-advised wagering strategies in Final Jeopardy is part and parcel with that. I think it’s important for me to feel frustrated when I don’t see the game being played as well as it could be, in order to impress upon future contestants to take the time and learn the basics of wagering strategy.
Now that I’ve gotten that off my chest, let’s talk about today’s game: Cody Lawrence, David Maybury, and Susan Schulman were all players who had very strong games in their respective first appearances. All three were the sort of players that Second Chance was designed for. However, as I said in my preview, I think that David has kept himself in the best “game shape” since his first appearance. (It should be noted that Gabriel Ostler’s game skill seemed to have fallen off since November of 2020; Gabriel rang in first in 2020 almost as many times as he even attempted to signal yesterday.) I’m expecting much less fall-off from David.
It seems that many viewers were searching for potentially repeated clues yesterday; I would like to remind Jeopardy! fans that about 40% more clues are generally written than get played. Backup and spare clues are written in each category, and there are even full boards that would carry over from last season, as there would have been game boards that were not selected by Standards & Practices for play. (This is what I mean when I have often said that game material is selected randomly and independently of the contestants playing in the game—S&P selects the 5 games for play from a larger number, with the extras being saved for a future date.) Thus, I expect that clues repeated verbatim will eventually be seen this fall, but we’ve yet to see those clues. (I’m sure Mr. Lusk will find some way of taking the above paragraph and somehow not finding a way to credit me, as he somehow always seems to.)
(Content continues below)
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Correct response: What is the River Styx?
More information about Final Jeopardy:
(The following write-up is original content and is copyright 2023 The Jeopardy! Fan. It may not be copied without linked attribution back to this page.)
The River Styx is famously assigned by many in classical literature to be the body of water that the dead must be ferried across in Greek mythology in order to reach the underworld. Interestingly, the Styx isn’t the only river given this distinction; other works depict the Acheron River in northwestern Greece as the border of Hades. (However, the quotes in the clue definitively lead towards the Styx.)
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Game Recap & Tonight’s Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Tuesday, September 12, 2023 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: The U.S. In 1964; After In Living Color; Potpour-Everything; “M”mmmm; African Capital Haiku; That’s T-B-D)
Susan had the best time on the signaling device early, picking up 6 correct before the first break, but Cody’s Daily Double hunting gave him the early lead! Susan clawed back to take the lead after 30, but everyone was playing well and it was a tight game at the second commercial break.
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Cody 4 correct 0 incorrect
Susan 6 correct 0 incorrect
David 4 correct 0 incorrect
Today’s interviews:
Susan got “The Call” in the middle of the Vermont flooding.
David greatly assisted rowan ward with their preparation for last season’s Second Chance.
Cody accidentally bumped into Alex Trebek many years ago at a mall food court Panda Express.
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Susan 12 correct 0 incorrect
Cody 7 correct 0 incorrect
David 9 correct 0 incorrect
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Susan $7,000
Cody $6,800
David $4,200
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Quite A Fox; The Sporting Life; Influenza; Georgia On My Mind; Play People; Stuck In The Middle Word With You)
While all three players were hunting for them, it was David who got to both Daily Doubles in Double Jeopardy!, taking advantage of them to lead going into Final! An $18,200 Coryat out of Susan was just good enough for second going into Final, and Cory sat third.
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
David 22 correct 1 incorrect
Susan 21 correct 1 incorrect
Cody 12 correct 0 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 0 (0 today).
Scores going into Final:
David $24,800
Susan $18,200
Cody $10,800
Everyone got Final today—David returns on Thursday and Friday!
Tonight’s results:
Cody $10,800 + $10,800 = $21,600 (What is the Styx?)
Susan $18,200 + $7,401 = $25,601 (What is the River Styx?)
David $24,800 + $12,663 = $37,463 (What is the Styx???) (Finalist)
Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:
Daily Double locations:
1) AFRICAN CAPITAL HAIKU $800 (clue #11)
Cody 2400 +2400 (David 1600 Susan 2200)
2) GEORGIA ON MY MIND $2000 (clue #1)
David 4200 +4200 (Cody 6800 Susan 7000)
3) INFLUENZA $1600 (clue #12, $18400 left on board)
David 12800 +4000 (Cody 6800 Susan 12600)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 231
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Cody 3 5 5 4*
David 4 5 5 3
Susan 1 2 3
DJ! Round:
Cody
David 5* 3 4 5 3 5 4*
Susan 5 4 3 2 1
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
David 4.18
Susan 2.63
Cody 4.25
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 0 (0.00 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
David $20,200 Coryat, 22 correct, 1 incorrect, 36.84% in first on buzzer (21/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 1 rebound opportunity)
Susan $18,200 Coryat, 21 correct, 1 incorrect, 38.60% in first on buzzer (22/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 1 rebound opportunity)
Cody $9,200 Coryat, 12 correct, 0 incorrect, 19.30% in first on buzzer (11/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $47,600
Lach Trash: $4,400 (on 5 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $2,000
Player Statistics:
Cody Lawrence, career statistics:
32 correct, 3 incorrect
1/1 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)
26.32% in first on buzzer (30/114)
1/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$2,200)
1/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $12,600
David Maybury, career statistics:
46 correct, 3 incorrect
1/1 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
37.72% in first on buzzer (43/114)
2/3 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$1,800)
2/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $19,300
Susan Schulman, career statistics:
41 correct, 3 incorrect
0/0 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
35.96% in first on buzzer (41/114)
1/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $3,000)
1/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $18,300
Andy’s Thoughts:
- This was an excellent game and all three players proved that they deserved another chance.
- Today’s box score: September 12, 2023 Box Score.
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: David $24,800 Susan $18,200 Cody $10,800)
Cody: If David is incorrect, you can pass him, but only if you’re correct. Bet at least $4,000 to pass Susan’s minimum cover bet over you. (Actual bet: $10,800)
David: Standard cover bet over Susan is $11,601. (Actual bet: $12,663)
Susan: Bet between $3,401 (therefore covering Cody) and $4,999 (therefore staying ahead of David if he’s incorrect.) (Actual bet: $7,401)
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I think Jill’s bet might have been explained by podium positioning – unless there’s a random change in format that nobody knows about, the finalist with the highest score in the semifinals gets the champion’s podium – and thus, the right to pick the first clue – in both halves of the finals.
Was it justifiable? No. Still no. But that might be part of the reason.
Well, that’s awkward…
My first correct guess of the new season! At first I wasn’t sure, because Milton and Dante weren’t ancient Greeks, but they did know their beliefs, so the clue made sense, and I went with my gut. P.S. I’m glad to have the new season’s new games again, in whatever form.
Me too, RedRose! My 1st correct guess this season. Sadly, I didn’t recognize any of these 3 contestants from their previous games. Same thing happened on September 11th. Perhaps I missed their previous t.v. appearances, as well.
Judith P.—don’t feel bad—I didn’t remember any of these people either. For what it’s worth, since their last appearances, we have seen a lot of contestants, and I think we tend to forget the non-winners and remember the winners, especially those who won multiple times. Giving good-playing non-winners another opportunity to come to our attention is one part of what the Second Chance Tournament is about!
Thinking it had to be a body of water, I guessed River Styx.
While not always the case, mythology is one of my wheelhouse subjects. Add to it having read The Divine Comedy a while back, and this one was a gimme for me. 2-0 for the season.
Excited to see todays game and see if todays contestants also try to search out daily doubles and see if that’s the trend this entire season or not.
Reading about Dante’s inferno helped me to get to the river stix. Very strong game play by everyone here. But i wonder if these scores will be used in thr wild card spots in the Champions tournament competition later on?
Firstly and most importantly: happy birthday, Andy!
This was an outstandingly played game from beginning to end. By the end, I was wondering if the combined Coryat had cleared $50,000; I was a bit surprised that it hadn’t. Today’s episode demonstrably proved wrong half of “Austin Powers”‘s wisecrack on JBoard last week — these three are surely not “below average players.”
The first paragraph of the Pregame Thoughts caught my eye, as it wasn’t me who made that critical comment — and I have previously noted cases where you had different reactions to ostensibly similar play. (One such instance from last year being Donna Matturri vice Tanya Parrott.) But your objection to Jill’s wager yesterday isn’t even remotely in the same ballpark. There’s a clear distinction to me between “aggressive” or “passive” styles of gameplay one the one hand, and Final wagering strategy on the other. The latter is far less subjective than the former.
I’m not sure what was said but it would be kind of hard to justify that all in wager attempt in any universe. I didn’t even realize she went all in until reading the post game stuff yesterday lol
Kind of a softball FJ! I’m glad it was a triple get.
Andy’ while everyone who is more than just an occasional viewer Jeopardy knows (or, should realize,) that there is back up material for the game boards, material not selected for game boards, because any of a number of reasons, the percentage you say is surprising.
I had the DESTINATION of travelers on the river Styx, not the river itself, as my response to this Final Jeopardy.
Is there a reason why the next day’s players arent being announced during the credits, as it was done most days last year, and, porobably before?
I actually don’t know why that’s happening, Bill. (The next day’s players thing.)