Alex Trebek’s Final ‘Jeopardy!’ Episode Will Feature Special Tribute to His Fan-Favorite Moments

Alex Trebek’s final Jeopardy! episode will air on Friday, and will feature a special tribute to many of the beloved host’s fan-favorite moments. In a post shared to the official Jeopardy! Instagram page, a portion of the montage was shared, revealed a handful of old clips of Trebek, including one in which he was dresses as a Roman soldier. “Alex’s last episode airs today – don’t miss it,” read a caption on the post. “Be sure to check with your local station for broadcast information.”

The video also featured a brief look at a clip from 2019, where a contested wrote “We love you Alex!” as his wager during Final Jeopardy! When it was revealed, Trebek grew emotional, as this happened shortly after he shared his cancer diagnosis. Dhruv Gaur, the contestant who wrote the sweet message, later spoke with Good Morning America about the moment, and shared the impact that it had on him. “To see that vulnerable side of him really caught me off guard too,” Gaur said, “but then also made me really grateful that I could bring this love and appreciation to him in a way that would touch him so deeply.”

Gaur also sat down with Ellen DeGeneres to speak about the moment, saying, “You could really tell it was tough for him.” He also explained, per Deadline, the thought process behind his choice to write the kind note. “Obviously I wasn’t going to win the game or anything, so I could try to figure out the right answer or I could do something for this person who might need it right now.”

Trebek passed away in November, after a months-long battle with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. He was 80 years old at the time of his death. In a recent interview with the Today show, Jeopardy! executive producer Mike Richards spoke fondly of the TV icon, calling him an “absolute warrior.” He went on to say, “What he was able to do by getting himself back to the set to tape those final episodes, and we didn’t know it was going to be his final episodes and neither did he, but it was herculean.”

Finally, Richards opened up about that powerful monologue Trebek delivered to the Jeopardy! cameras before his death. “In this very special unbelievable final week, he comes out and gives a talk about the importance of togetherness and sticking together and that the world is struggling but that we have to get through it together,” Richards explained. “We had chills. There are specific moments in Jeopardy! when you clap, and then there are moments when you are quiet. There’s not that many people in the studio because of COVID, and we all burst into applause. We were so moved that we had to applaud.”