“Jeopardy!” followers expressed their disbelief in any case three contestants have been left stumped by a ultimate query a few character in a beloved piece of popular culture.
On Thursday’s episode of the long-running recreation present, contestants Mary Walheim, Alfred Wallace and three-day defending champion Bryce Wargin got here up brief when offered with a clue within the “Fictional Characters” class.
The immediate learn: “Boq is one of these fictional people, ‘Not as big as the grown folk… but neither were they very small.’”
Walheim was left with a greenback in whole winnings after betting $5,999 of her whole $6,000 haul when she incorrectly guessed “What is a Lilliputian?”
“I’m afraid it’s not the Lilliputians from ‘Gulliver’s Travels,’” “Jeopardy!” host Ken Jennings informed her.
Walheim’s opponents, Wallace and Wargin, additionally appeared to consider that the clue referred to the 6-inch-tall males dwelling on the island of Lilliput in Jonathan Swift’s traditional 1726 novel.
Wallace’s reply was revealed to be “What are lili?” The contestant, who wagered $10,000 of his $10,600 in winnings, famous that his response was “almost Lilluputian.” Jennings agreed, including that Wallace had possible run out of time to put in writing the characters’ full title.
Wargin’s first guess was “What are Lilliputians?” earlier than he crossed the reply out and wrote, “dwarves.”
Jennings then knowledgeable the contestants that “What is a Munchkin?” was the right reply.
“In the 1939 movie of ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ the Munchkins are very small, but in the book, the Munchkins are said to be about Dorothy’s height,” Jennings informed them.
Wargin, who was within the lead heading into the ultimate spherical with $16,000, had wager $5,201, which dropped him right down to $10,799.
Nonetheless, as a four-day “Jeopardy!” champion, Wargin’s whole winnings have been $70,199.
Many followers watching at residence had simply guessed the proper reply because the character of Boq performed a distinguished function within the 2024 mega-hit film musical “Wicked,” which was an adaptation of the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical of the identical title.
Boq was portrayed by Ethan Slater in “Wicked,” which starred Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo.
After the episode ended, followers flocked to social media to share their dumbfounded reactions.
“Read the word “Boq” and SCREAMED “MUNCHKIN!!!!!!!!” How did NO ONE GET THIS??? wrote one social media consumer on X.
“How did no one get that BOQ answer on jeopardy right,” one other X consumer added.
“Everyone who watched Jeopardy and recently watched Wicked was screaming at their TV tonight…,” one viewer chimed in.
“No one knew boq is a munchkin on final jeopardy, ” a “Jeopardy” fan posted on X, including crying emojis.
“My entire household was shouting MUNCHKIN!!! Apparently not one of the 3 saw ‘Wicked,’” one other fan wrote on X.
“Final was so easy. How did they all miss it,” a viewer puzzled within the present’s Reddit dialogue thread.
Each the film and the play “Wicked” have been primarily based on Gregory Maguire’s 1995 guide “The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.”
Maguire’s novel is centered on the imagined backstory of Elphaba, the Depraved Witch of the West and presents an alternate model of occasions that occurred earlier than L. Frank Baum’s 1900 kids’s novel “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.”
Boq is featured in each books, however he was not included within the traditional 1939 film “The Wizard of Oz,” which starred Judy Garland.
After “Wicked” was launched final November, the movie turned a serious blockbuster, raking in $747.2 million worldwide in opposition to a $150 million price range.
The film is now the highest-grossing musical movie adaptation of all time. “Wicked” additionally obtained 10 nominations on the 2025 Academy Awards, together with nods for Erivo as finest actress and Grande as finest supporting actress.
The film took residence Oscars for finest costume design and finest manufacturing design.
Slater is about to return as Boq, together with Erivo as Elphaba and Grande as Galinda, partially two of “Wicked,” titled “Wicked: For Good.”
It’s due out this fall.
