‘Bionic’ Woman Competes on ‘Jeopardy!’ After Losing Hearing

[Warning: The following post contains MAJOR spoilers for the Tuesday, October 14, episode of Jeopardy!]

A contestant who lost her hearing competed on Jeopardy! and won the game. Host Ken Jennings called her a “bionic” woman.

Allegra Hill, from Washington D.C., returned for her second game against Evan Argyle, from Salt Lake City, Utah, and Chris McGinn, from Indian Land, South Carolina, on October 14. Hill, a foreign affairs professional, had a one-day total of $23,601 after a judges’ ruling during Final Jeopardy.

The reigning champion was not doing too well and was in the negatives by the first commercial break. During the interviews, McGinn, an editor, revealed that she had tried out for Jeopardy! before, but never made it. Then, over time, she began losing her hearing. “It got worse and worse, and I thought [my] Jeopardy! days were behind me, but I got a cochlear implant last July. The brain is amazing because I’ve been able to hear so much better. And so here I am,” McGinn said.

“Maybe a bionic advantage over Evan and Allegra? We’ll find out,” host Ken Jennings said.

Argyle, a data scientist, appropriately wore an argyle sweater, which Jennings pointed out. Hill has played in the same orchestra as her brother since high school.

McGinn found the Daily Double on clue 16. With $3,200 in her bank, she wagered $2,200.  In “Transportation,” the clue read, “Traveling between the host city and Osaka, the first one of these began operating in 1964, just in time for the Tokyo Olympics.” “What is a bullet train?” she answered correctly. McGinn pulled ahead to first place with $5,400.

McGinn kept a lead of only $200 with $6,200. Argyle had $6,000. Hill had $800.

In Double Jeopardy, McGinn took the lead with $6,800. He found the first DD and wagered $3,000 in “Circum-France.” The clue was “A theater festival is held in this southeastern city, with performances at the Palais des Papes.”

“What is Avignon?” he answered. “Yes! The Papal Palace,” Jennings said. This gave him the lead at $9,800.

The round was a battle for first place between Argyle and McGinn. But Hill found the last DD on clue 21. She had $5,200 and wagered $3,000 in “Their First Film Together.” The clue read, “These 2 won an Oscar for writing in 1998, but first appeared as extras at Fenway Park in Field of Dreams.” Right away, she answered, “Who are Ben Affleck and Matt Damon?” This gave her $8,200, which put her only $1,600 behind McGinn.

Argyle remained in the first place with $17,400. McGinn was in second place with $11,000. Hill had $8,600 by the end of the round.

The category for Final Jeopardy was “Bestselling Authors.” The clue read, “At age 26 in 1917, she passed the assistant’s exam for London’s Society of Apothecaries.” The correct answer was Agatha Christie.

Hill had the correct response and wagered $4,100. This gave her a final total of $12,700. Evan wrote, “Who is Beatrix Potter?” He wagered $4,601, dropping down to $12,799. McGinn also had the correct answer. She wagered $11,000, giving her $22,000.

“Oh wow,” Jennings said at her wager. McGinn won her first game and will return on Wednesday for her second game.

Hill spoke out about her final wager. “Oh goodness – it wasn’t my math but my strategy which was wrong. I was trying to get in between Evan and Chris instead of covering Evan. Considered wagering my full score, but then got back to my flawed strategy. Oops 🤣,” she wrote on The Jeopardy Fan. “And yeah, should’ve bet more! In my defense, I was fairly sure I’d get it wrong and just wanted to make it to final.”

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