This week is an unbelievably bittersweet one for Jeopardy! fans, as the final episodes hosted by Alex Trebek have begun to make their debut. The episodes, which were filmed just days before his passing on November 8th, definitely have a lot of emotions tied around them, as fans are using the occasion to honor Trebek’s iconic legacy as a host. On Monday’s episode of the syndicated game show series, Trebek’s legacy took an oddly sentimental direction, with a clue that celebrated his cameo in the upcoming film Free Guy. In a video from the episode, which you can check out below, Free Guy star Ryan Reynolds helps deliver a clue for a Jeopardy! question, in which the contestants were tasked with guessing “non-playable character”. Reynolds quote-tweeted the video calling it “an honour” and “a little heartbreaking” to be included with Trebek in these final episodes.
Videos by ComicBook.com
It’s an honour (and a little heartbreaking) to be with #AlexTrebek one last time on @Jeopardy 🇨🇦 https://t.co/YQ3FDo3n6m
— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) January 5, 2021
Trebek’s cameo was first unveiled in Free Guy‘s trailer last October, and showed Trebek hosting an in-universe episode of Jeopardy!, in which he asks a contestant about Reynolds’ character in the film. Reynolds paid tribute to the legendary host in a tweet shortly after his passing in November.
“Alex Trebek was kind enough to film a cameo for our film Free Guy last year despite his battle,” Reynolds tweeted at the time. “He was gracious and funny. In addition to being curious, stalwart, generous, reassuring and of course, Canadian. We love you, Alex. And always will.”
Trebek hosted Jeopardy! for over three decades, continuing to do so even after publicly announcing his cancer diagnosis in March of 2019. In the year and a half that followed, Trebek continued to update fans on his condition — as well as the emotional struggles he felt while undergoing that journey.
“Now I’d be lying if I said the journey had been an easy one,” Trebek previously shared in a video update. “There were some good days but a lot of not-so-good days. I joked with friends that the cancer won’t kill me, the chemo treatments will. There were moments of great pain, days when certain bodily functions no longer functioned and sudden, massive attacks of great depression that made me wonder if it really was worth fighting on. But I brushed that aside quickly because that would have been a massive betrayal – a betrayal of my wife and soulmate, Jean, who has given her all to help me survive. It would have been a betrayal of other cancer patients who have looked to me as an inspiration and a cheerleader of sorts, of the value of living and hope, of my faith in God and the millions of prayers that have been said on my behalf.”
Trebek’s final Jeopardy! episode will air on Friday, January 8th.
