Warning: This page contains spoilers for the February 19, 2025, 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.
This site also has recaps for today’s three Pop Culture Jeopardy episodes. If you’re looking for those recaps instead: Episode 34 (Queerly Benevolent, Orange Juice No Pulp, Those Darn Etruscans); Episode 35 (Trivia Tuesdays, A Tribe Called Quiz, Three Almost Dads); Episode 36 (Twisted Misters, Equizbeth Moss, Married With A Third Wheel).
Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category The Ancients Speak) for Wednesday, February 19, 2025 (Season 41, Game 118):
He wrote, “I must make the founder of lovely & famous Athens the counterpart…to the father of…glorious Rome”
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Jonathan Fisher, an actor originally from Coral Gables, Florida
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Rachael Schwartz, a scientist from Berkeley, California
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Emily Sands, a benefits consultant from Chanhassen, Minnesota
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Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
Today’s Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament quarterfinal is being contested between Emily Sands, Rachael Schwartz, and Jonathan Fisher. This is probably the singular most intriguing quarterfinal of the event, in my opinion. All three of these players are very strong statistics-wise per the Unified Prediction Model (and I should note that the Unified Prediction Model does not take attempts into account whatsoever—Emily has admitted in the past to “late attempts” at the end of one of a match whose outcome had already been determined in order to tip the statistical scales.) I would also say that Rachael–back in 1994 before any of these strategies had really been enumerated—made one of the best situational Final Jeopardy bets in the history of the show in her Tournament of Champions semifinal en route to winning that 1994 tournament. I could see each player winning at least twice, if not three times if you played this game out ten times.
A reminder that Celebrity Jeopardy! is taking a week of scheduled reruns this week; I believe that Quarterfinal #2, the Neil deGrasse Tyson match, is rerunning, but I am not 100% certain. It should also be noted that this week being reruns was scheduled at the beginning of the season by ABC; nothing at all should be read into the fact that this week’s episode is a rerun—although I am sure that someone on Reddit will attempt to turn it into a Chicken Little act.
(Content continues below)
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Correct response: Who is Plutarch?
More information about Final Jeopardy:
(The following write-up is original content and is copyright 2025 The Jeopardy! Fan. It may not be copied without linked attribution back to this page.)
In his The Parallel Lives, Plutarch wrote about 46 famous Greeks and Romans, paired in 23 groups of two. His first pairing was of the two famous founders—the Roman Romulus and the Greek Theseus “for both were of uncertain and obscure parentage, and got the reputation of descent from gods”.
You can find as complete a text as is possible to find at this point of Parallel Lives at the Loeb Classical Library.
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Game Recap & Tonight’s Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Wednesday, February 19, 2025 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Authors Not Authoring; Let’s Play Sports; Classical Music; Liquor Is Quicker; Lack Of Energy; I’m “Dragon” Today)
Rachael got off to an early lead by getting the Daily Double correct but Jonathan battled back to tie by the interviews; after 15 clues, the scores were Jonathan $2,400 Rachael $2,400 Emily $2,000.
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Jonathan 4 correct 1 incorrect
Rachael 4 correct 0 incorrect
Emily 5 correct 1 incorrect
Today’s interviews:
Jonathan had cousins that tried to edit Wikipedia during Jonathan’s run.
Rachael has been using her mom’s flashcards from the 1990s.
Emily made some friendship bracelets for the JIT field.
Jonathan’s and Emily’s incorrect responses kept their scores down while Rachael continued to lead.
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Rachael 6 correct 0 incorrect
Jonathan 8 correct 3 incorrect
Emily 9 correct 3 incorrect
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Rachael $3,200
Jonathan $2,800
Emily $2,200
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: The ABCs Of Architecture; Broadway; Receding Heir-Lines; Tough Vocab; The Elements; Island Mountains)
Emily and Jonathan got to the two Daily Doubles; Emily went all-in, while Jonathan did not, leaving $2,000 on the table. As it was, Emily led going into Final Jeopardy by just $1,600.
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Emily 20 correct 4 incorrect
Jonathan 19 correct 6 incorrect
Rachael 8 correct 0 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 26 (0 today).
Scores going into Final:
Emily $14,000
Jonathan $12,400
Rachael $6,000
This Final Jeopardy was a Triple Stumper; Emily successfully figured out that Jonathan was making a small bet, betting $0 herself—and advances to the semifinal as a result! What a finish!
Tonight’s results:
Rachael $6,000 – $5,000 = $1,000 (Who is Herodotus?)
Jonathan $12,400 – $399 = $12,001 (Who is Virgil?)
Emily $14,000 – $0 = $14,000 (Who? <3 you doug & dana!) (Semi-Finalist)
Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:
Daily Double locations:
1) I’M “DRAGON” TODAY $600 (clue #4)
Rachael 1200 +1000 (Emily -800 Jonathan -800)
2) THE ELEMENTS $1600 (clue #2)
Emily 2200 +2200 (Rachael 3200 Jonathan 2800)
3) RECEDING HEIR-LINES $1200 (clue #11, $20400 left on board)
Jonathan 4400 +2400 (Emily 6800 Rachael 5200)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 238
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Emily 3 4
Rachael 2 3*
Jonathan
DJ! Round:
Emily 3 4* 3 3 5 3
Rachael 2
Jonathan 4 5 4 3*
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Emily 3.50
Jonathan 4.00
Rachael 2.33
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 26 (0.22 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
Emily $13,400 Coryat, 20 correct, 4 incorrect, 35.09% in first on buzzer (20/57), 2/3 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)
Jonathan $11,200 Coryat, 19 correct, 6 incorrect, 42.11% in first on buzzer (24/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
Rachael $5,600 Coryat, 8 correct, 0 incorrect, 10.53% in first on buzzer (6/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 9 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $30,200
Lach Trash: $14,000 (on 13 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $9,800
Lead Changes: 8
Times Tied: 9
Player Statistics:
Emily Sands, career statistics:
245 correct, 43 incorrect
12/18 on rebound attempts (on 45 rebound opportunities)
38.52% in first on buzzer (240/623)
15/19 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $42,800)
6/11 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $14,982
Rachael Schwartz, career statistics:
262 correct, 30 incorrect
25/27 on rebound attempts (on 74 rebound opportunities)
29.47% in first on buzzer (234/794)
11/17 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $10,200)
8/14 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $14,714
Jonathan Fisher, career statistics:
350 correct, 48 incorrect
12/14 on rebound attempts (on 49 rebound opportunities)
44.15% in first on buzzer (351/795)
13/19 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $14,800)
8/14 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $19,500
Andy’s Thoughts:
- Today’s box score will be linked to when posted by the show.
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Emily $14,000 Jonathan $12,400 Rachael $6,000)
Emily: I’ll never fault a leader making the standard cover bet of $10,801 in this spot—you’re betting on yourself, and you’re at this level for a reason. However, if you really do think that Jonathan is going to make a bet to keep Rachael locked out, then a bet between $0 and $1,199 will stay ahead of that. (Actual bet: $0)
Rachael: I think your best chance of victory comes from a cover bet and a miss from Emily and an overbet and a miss from Jonathan. Bet no more than $2,799. (Actual bet: $5,000)
Jonathan: Bet $399 or less to keep Rachael locked out, and hope for a cover bet and a miss from Emily. (Actual bet: $399)
Updated JIT odds:
Matt +420
Jaskaran +670
Emily +1100
Raymond +4500
Troy +900
Jackie +3900
Maya +10000
Roger +1500
John +2200
Avi +10000
Amy +1300
Luigi +1900
Ray +4000
Robin +2500
Ryan +7700
Ben +1300
Claire +15000
Shane +2600
Seth +5300
Jackson +7800
Juveria +2000
Finals length odds:
2 games: +170
3 games: +110
4 games: +350
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I guessed my favorite Greek philosopher. Diogenes. Oh, well.
Interesting numbers to this retired science professor…
46 chromosomes in a normal human body cell – 23 pairs of chromosomes – each pair contains one maternal and one paternal chromosome.
Thinkin’ Plutarch did not know this back in the day.
I was thinking that it was said about a sculpture and guessed Phidias.
I love a final like this, with an opportunity to make some (reasonable) non-standard bets, and a great player with the guts to pull it off. Brava Emily!
Also, Buzzy Cohen once gave me some studying advice around the time of my original run, which was to listen to the BBC’s podcast “In Our Time”. It has definitely helped broaden my knowledge, including a recent episode all about “Parallel Lives” that was quite helpful here.
Thank you very much for your insight here Sam! It’s very appreciated. Jeopardy is so much more than a trivia game. It’s trivia, buzzer skill, and reading your opponent and figuring out what they might bet.
I was stunned when I saw Emily’s wager, but so awesome! She played it perfectly and turned a non-runaway into essentially a runaway! Amazing stuff!
I love that you discussed this type of scoring situation in your pregame thoughts then it happened in the game
“among” not “between”.
That’s pedantic. Searching for “Between vs. Among: Usage Guide” will result in, for example, “There is a persistent but unfounded notion that between can be used only of two items and that among must be used for more than two. Between has been used of more than two since Old English”
That game was crazy good! I had no idea on FJ.
Retro congrats to Emily on such a skilled win, in more ways than 1! Onto the Semifinals for her!
Will Troy do the expected tomorrow and move to the Semifinals? Or will Raymond or Jackie steal the game from him? I’ve never seen Raymond play, but I have seen Jackie and she has quite the skill at this game as well. 🙂