Warning: This page contains spoilers for the March 5, 2026, 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 21st Century Heroes) for Thursday, March 5, 2026 (Season 42, Game 129):
In his memoir, he referenced Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds” while writing about a near disaster
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Nishal Shah, a research scientist originally from Parsippany, New Jersey
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Cory Aiello, a development officer from Indianapolis, Indiana
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Quentin Powers, a returned Peace Corps volunteer from Arlington, Virginia (2-day total: $20,798)
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Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
Quentin Powers is your 2-day defending champion on Jeopardy!; today, he goes for win #3 against Cory Aiello and Nishal Shah.
The Brier—the Canadian men’s curling championship—is taking place here in St. John’s this week. As I’ve taken up curling myself this year for the first time since high school, I’ve spent a little bit of time lurking on r/Curling. And one thing I’ve noticed is that the ideas some of the people have on that subreddit for curling are similarly hare-brained as the ones people have on r/Jeopardy for Jeopardy. The only difference is that I’m reasonably certain that World Curling or Curling Canada haven’t actively come out and said they read the subreddit—quite thankfully, I must add. That, and the curling media doesn’t put out clickbait articles that are just a quote roundup of the subreddit.
(Content continues below)
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Correct response: Who is Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger?
More information about Final Jeopardy:
(The following write-up is original content and is copyright 2026 The Jeopardy! Fan. It may not be copied without linked attribution back to this page.)
Sully Sullenberger came to worldwide prominence on January 15, 2009, when US Airways Flight 1549 ended up having to make an emergency landing in the Hudson River after an accidental bird strike caused the disabling of both of the plane’s engines. The fact that all 155 aboard the plane survived turned Sully into a national hero. As a result of the acclaim he received, his memoir Highest Duty: My Search For What Really Matters became a New York Times bestseller later that year, and the events of the flight were turned into the 2016 biographical drama Sully.
This is the sort of Final Jeopardy clue that tests everyone’s memory of non-quite-recent events; had this Final played 15 years ago, it would have been a near-guaranteed triple-get because it was still in everyone’s mind. Let’s see how it plays today.
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Game Recap:
When you’re three-quarters of the way through Double Jeopardy and just outside of 50% of the leader’s score, you really have two options: 1) most of your score; 2) a tiny amount. Nishal Shah chose neither on DD3, and his incorrect response on that clue ensured Cory Aiello had a runaway entering Final Jeopardy, risking way too much for not nearly enough upside.
Scores going into Final:
Cory $17,400
Nishal $8,000
Quentin $5,000
Tonight’s results:
Quentin $5,000 + $4,999 = $9,999 (Who is Captain Sully?)
Nishal $8,000 + $3,001 = $11,001 (Who is Sully? (Sullenberger))
Cory $17,400 + $530 = $17,930 (Who is Sully Sullenberger?) (1-day total: $17,930)
Game Stats:
Cory $16,600 Coryat, 24 correct, 2 incorrect, 43.86% in first on buzzer (25/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
Nishal $10,000 Coryat, 12 correct, 3 incorrect, 22.81% in first on buzzer (13/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
Quentin $6,000 Coryat, 11 correct, 4 incorrect, 22.81% in first on buzzer (13/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $32,600
Cory Aiello, to win:
2 games: 57.634%
3: 33.217%
4: 19.144%
5: 11.034%
6: 6.359%
Avg. streak: 2.360 games.
Andy’s Thoughts:
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Cory $17,400 Nishal $8,000 Quentin $5,000)
Quentin: Might as well go all in; you have to be correct to have a chance of second. (Actual bet: $4,999)
Cory: Bet no more than $1,399. (Actual bet: $530)
Nishal: Standard cover bet over Cory is $2,001. (Actual bet: $3,001)
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