'Jeopardy!' fans pity champion for missing 'too easy' final question: 'Brutal'

foxnews.com:

A "Jeopardy!" player lost big this week, and instead of complaining about his answer or the clues provided, fans were actually sympathetic.

Two-day champion Taylor went into Final Jeopardy with a $1,500 lead, and when presented with the category of "Compound Word Origins," he wagered the majority of his earnings only to give an incorrect answer.

He ended the show with just $978. The clue given read, "This compound word meant an astronomical object of exceptional brightness in 1910; it was soon applied to actors and athletes." The other two contestants, Julie and Andrew, correctly answered "Superstar," while Taylor looked solemn as he showed that he'd written "What is star?".

He wagered $8,722 of his $9,700 and ended up in third place. As usual, fans had some thoughts. "Taylor must’ve misunderstood the category," someone theorized on the "Jeopardy!" Reddit page. "That's why it's important to fully understand the category before providing a response." The category was about compound words, which seemingly led the other contestants to "superstar." Another theory about why Taylor missed the question was that it was oddly easy for Final Jeopardy, the category that usually contains one of the most difficult clues in the entire game. "Honestly I almost thought there was some trick in that Final Jeopardy, it seemed too easy," explained one person. "In my 10+ years of watching Jeopardy!, that might be the easiest FJ clue I’ve ever seen," another viewer claimed.