‘Jeopardy!’ Fans React to Stunning Development, and an Unexpected ‘D— Tree’ Moment

Viewers react to the end of a short era, and the birth of a bizarre new phrase

(Spoiler alert: Please don’t read on further if you don’t want to know what happened on Thursday’s episode of “Jeopardy!”)

“Jeopardy!” said goodbye to a sensation on Thursday — but it said hello to an intriguing new phrase.

New York bartender Austin Rogers ended a thrill-packed 13-day run on the game show on Thursday’s episode, finally falling to defeat thanks to a stay-at-home mom from Tennessee.

Rogers, who went into the episode with an 12-day total of $411,000, came up with the correct answer in Final Jeopardy, nearly doubling his haul for the day for a total of $33,150.

However, it wasn’t enough to surpass stay-at-home mom Scarlett, who also came up with the correct question in the Movie History category (“It’s a Wonderful Life”) for a total of $33,201.

Before he bid adieu to the game show, however, Rogers helped give birth to the unlikely “Jeopardy!” phrase “d— tree.”

The magic moment came as Rogers attempted to cough up a response to a question in the Tree category, with the clue referring to “slang for a detective.”

Rogers flailed, offering, “What is a, oh god, a d—?”

To which host Alex Trebek replied, “I know nothing about a d— tree, but there is a gum tree, or gumshoe.”

Fans were quick to react to both Rogers’ loss and the “d— tree” moment on social media.

“Alex Trebek saying ‘d— tree’ is the best thing that’s happened today,” enthused one viewer.

“Alex said ‘I’ve never heard of a D— tree’ HILARIOUS,” opined another.

As for Rogers’ defeat, reaction was mixed.

“I’m so mad Austin is no longer on @Jeopardy! He actually made it exciting to watch. Scarlett will not so much#thanksforthedicktree,” one disappointed viewer lamented.

“Welp…#Jeopardy viewership will be down tomorrow. Thanks for the laughs #AustinRogers – the game will never be the same!” said another member of Team Austin.

“It was a good run, and he was a classy guy even when he was defeated,” noted another Rogers fan.

On the flip side of the coin, there was , “Yay, I can start watching #jeopardy again! Thanks Scarlett!”

“Oh thank God Austin is done #Jeopardy,” another viewer rejoiced.

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