Episode 208

The finale episode of Season 2 of *Canada's Smartest Person*, **The Grand Finale**, aired on CBC at 8:00 PM on Sunday, November 22, 2015.

## Synopsis

The episode opened with a narration stating that twenty-eight brilliant Canadians competed throughout the season in spectacular and demanding challenges that redefine what it means to be smart, but that only seven remained now to fight for the title of Canada's Smartest Person. In order to present the seven finalists, a clip of Anthony Craparotta, Katy Warren, Tim Blais, Alex Manea, Marco Iannuzzi, Dan Tweyman, and Jason Vander-Hoek introducing themselves in that order was shown. The seven sections of this clip also included a brief narration about each finalist's respective performance up until this point. Jessi Cruickshank greeted the contestants and made them take notice of an empty eighth podium to the left of Jason's. She then announced that it is a wildcard spot that would be taken by the contestant who had earned the highest total overall score without winning their preliminary episode's Gauntlet. This additional finalist was revealed to be Heather Whittaker, who had earned 21 overall points in the third episode, but had also lost against Dan in the Gauntlet. In the same vein as her fellow finalists, a brief clip was shown in which she introduced herself and this clip also included a brief narration about her performance up until this point. Jessi reminded the contestants that they would be tested on the six intelligences, Musical, Physical, Social, Visual, Linguistic, and Logical, throughout the night. She then informed the contestants that they would face two universal challenges that would eliminate half of them before the rest continue competing. The first of these two challenges, the Speed Round, tested, in order, the contestants' logical intelligence, visual intelligence, musical intelligence, physical intelligence, social intelligence, and linguistic intelligence. By the end of the challenge, Jessi revealed that the bottom two finishers were Marco and Alex with overall percentage scores of 54% and 64%, respectively, and that the top two finishers were Katy and Tim with overall percentage scores of 83% and 80%, respectively. Since the bottom two finishers would be eliminated from the competition and the top two finishers would advance automatically to the third challenge, Jessi prompted applause for Alex and Marco in spite of their shared elimination and congratulated Katy and Tim for automatically advancing to the third challenge. With the overall percentage scores of Anthony, Dan, Jason, and Heather remaining unknown, with each being between 65% and 79%, Jessi informed them that, as the middle four finishers, they would have to compete in the second challenge in which two of them would also be eliminated from the competition. Then, Jessi stated that the show was going into a commercial break.

Jessi reminded the contestants and the viewers that Tim and Katy have already advanced to the third challenge, but that Anthony, Dan, Jason, and Heather would be competing in the second challenge, Ultimate Face-Off, which was another universal challenge. The first heat tested, in order, Jason and Heather's musical intelligence, linguistic intelligence, and physical intelligence and the second heat tested, in order, Anthony and Dan's logical intelligence, visual intelligence, and physical intelligence. By the end of the challenge, Jason defeated Heather 3-0 and Anthony defeated Dan 3-0. Since the losers of their heats would be eliminated from the competition and the winners of their heats would advance to the third challenge, Jessi prompted applause for Dan and Heather in spite of their shared elimination and congratulated Anthony and Jason for advancing to the third challenge. With Tim, Anthony, Jason, and Katy forming the Final Four, Jessi stated that one of them will become Canada's Smartest Person before stating that the show was going into another commercial break.

With the next six challenges each testing the contestants on one of the six intelligences, Jessi announced that the third challenge would be a test of linguistic intelligence with Syllable Switch being the corresponding challenge. Before the challenge started, Anthony performed a brief rap about how he would perform excellently in the challenge. By the end of the challenge, Tim got 2 correct answers, Anthony got 3, Jason got 4, and Katy got 5. Therefore, Katy was awarded 4 overall points for finishing in 1st place, Jason was awarded 3 for finishing in 2nd place, Anthony was awarded 2 for finishing in 3rd place, and Tim was awarded 1 for finishing in last place. Jessi stated that the show is getting closer to crowning its champion before stating that the show was going into another commercial break.

Jessi commented that Katy's performance in the linguistic challenge proved that she has more capabilities than just math and science and is full of surprises. Following this, a clip of Katy was shown in which she stated that it is important for her to have fun as much as it is important for her to work. Jessi announced that the fourth challenge would be a test of visual intelligence with Orders Up being the corresponding challenge. Jessi then introduced Mark McEwan, stating that he would serve as a guest judge in the challenge. Jessi asked Mark how important visual intelligence is for a chef, to which he responded that having a presentable plate leaves a good first impression, which would encourage someone to want to take their first bite into the dish. By the end of the challenge, Mark ranked Katy in 1st place, Jason in 2nd place, Tim in 3rd place, and Anthony in last place. Therefore, Katy was awarded 4 overall points for finishing in 1st place, Jason was awarded 3 for finishing in 2nd place, Tim was awarded 2 for finishing in 3rd place, and Anthony was awarded 1 for finishing in last place. After the challenge, Jessi revealed that, after the previous two challenges, Katy had received a total of 8 overall points, Jason had received a total of 6, and Tim and Anthony had each received a total of 3. Jessi commented that there is still lots of time for things to change before stating that the show was going into another commercial break.

Jessi reminded the viewers that Tim managed to create a YouTube channel by combining his passion for music with his knowledge in science. Following this, a clip of Tim was shown in which he stated that it is important for people to realize that they do not need to stick to doing just one thing that they're good at and that intelligence comes in many forms. Jessi announced that the fifth challenge would be a test of musical intelligence with Sliding Scale being the corresponding challenge. By the end of the challenge, Tim received a time of 16 seconds, Anthony received a time of 57 seconds, Jason received a time of 39 seconds, and Katy received a time of 44 seconds. As a result, Tim was awarded 4 overall points for finishing in 1st place, Jason was awarded 3 for finishing in 2nd place, Katy was awarded 2 for finishing in 3rd place, and Anthony was awarded 1 for finishing in last place. After the challenge, Jessi revealed that, after the previous three challenges, Katy had received a total of 10 overall points, Jason had received a total of 9, Tim had received a total of 7, and Anthony had received a total of 4. Jessi stated that the season finale is halfway done and that the best is yet to come before stating that the show was going into another commercial break.

Jessi commented that, since there were only three challenges left before the Super Gauntlet, the contestants would need to shift things into high gear and that maybe Jason, who works as a teacher and truck driver, could explain this metaphor to them. Following this, a clip of Jason was shown in which he stated that he did not come to *Canada's Smartest Person* to stay for a minute but that he came to go all the way. Jessi announced that the sixth challenge would be a test of logical intelligence with Moving Sum being the corresponding challenge. By the end of the challenge, Tim got 5 correct answers, Anthony got 3, Jason got 6, and Katy got 4. Therefore, Jason was awarded 4 overall points for finishing in 1st place, Tim was awarded 3 for finishing in 2nd place, Katy was awarded 2 for finishing in 3rd place, and Anthony was awarded 1 for finishing in last place. After the challenge, Jessi revealed that, after the previous four challenges, Jason had received a total of 13 overall points, Katy had received a total of 12, Tim had received a total of 10, and Anthony had received a total of 5. Jessi commented that this was a close race before stating that the show was going into another commercial break.

Jessi commented that, although Anthony displayed his rapping talents earlier in the show, there is more to Anthony behind the mic. Following this, a clip of Anthony was shown in which he stated that he just has to win *Canada's Smartest Person* and that he never quits. Jessi announced that the seventh challenge would be a test of social intelligence with Screen Test being the corresponding challenge. Jessi then introduced Cameron Bailey, stating that he would serve as a guest judge in the challenge. Jessi asked Cameron what kind of social intelligence goes into making a great pitch, to which he responded that someone who is pitching needs to be persuasive and empathetic with the person they are pitching to. By the end of the challenge, Cameron ranked Jason in 1st place, Katy in 2nd place, Tim in 3rd place, and Anthony in last place. Therefore, Jason was awarded 4 overall points for finishing in 1st place, Katy was awarded 3 for finishing in 2nd place, Tim was awarded 2 for finishing in 3rd place, and Anthony was awarded 1 for finishing in last place. After the challenge, Jessi revealed that, after the previous five challenges, Jason had received a total of 17 overall points, Katy had received a total of 15, Tim had received a total of 12, and Anthony had received a total of 6. Jessi informed Anthony that, unfortunately for him, it was mathematically impossible for him to advance to the Super Gauntlet at that point. In spite of this, she also told him that he would compete in the next challenge anyway in order to maintain fairness regarding the overall scores. Jessi then stated that the show was going into another commercial break.

Jessi announced that the eighth challenge would be a test of physical intelligence with Ball Handler being the corresponding challenge. Tim finished sinking his white balls first in 2 minutes and 1 second, Anthony finished sinking his white balls second in 2 minutes and 10 seconds, and Jason finished sinking his white balls third in 2 minutes and 42 seconds, forcing Katy to stop her progress. Therefore, Tim was awarded 4 overall points for finishing in 1st place, Anthony was awarded 3 for finishing in 2nd place, Jason was awarded 2 for finishing in 3rd place, and Katy was awarded 1 for finishing in last place. After the challenge, Jessi revealed that, as a final total score for the previous six challenges, Jason had received a total of 19 overall points and finished in 1st place, Tim and Katy had both received a total of 16 and tied for 2nd place, and Anthony had received a total of 9 and finished in 4th place. The tie between Tim and Katy was settled by their overall percentage scores in the Speed Round since both contestants shared an equal number of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place finishes in challenges. Since Katy had an overall percentage score of 83% in the Speed Round and Tim had an overall percentage score of 80%, the former finished in 2nd place and the latter finished in 3rd place. Since only the top two finishers could advance to the Super Gauntlet, Jessi congratulated Jason and Katy on making it to the Super Gauntlet and prompted applause for Tim and Anthony in spite of their shared elimination. It was then revealed that, on a score out of 600, the best performers of the night were, in order, Neil Barbour of Crow Head, Newfoundland and Labrador, with a score of 573, Keval Tripathi of Waterloo, Ontario, with a score of 568, Elisha Ricci of Georgetown, Ontario, with a score of 559, Mark Rogers of Ottawa, Ontario, with a score of 557, Miguel Adam Magcalas Demonteverde of Scarborough, Ontario, with a score of 554, Catherine Vogelaar of Edmonton, Alberta, with a score of 553, Maggie Hou of Mississauga, Ontario, with a score of 549, Phil Quon of Calgary, Alberta, with a score of 538, Amanda Lian of South Windsor, Ontario, with a score of 536, and Marianne Williams of Holmesville, New Brunswick, with a score of 534. Then, Jessi revealed that over one million intelligence tests were completed on the Canada's Smartest Person app before stating that the show was going into one last commercial break.

Jessi stated that everyone would soon know who would be crowned Canada's Smartest Person. The final challenge, the Super Gauntlet, consisted of five sections that would test, in order, the contestants' physical intelligence, linguistic intelligence, musical intelligence, logical intelligence, and visual intelligence. Jessi told the contestants to take to their starting positions and wished them both luck before the challenge began. Jason and Katy were neck and neck throughout the first four sections as when one would complete a section, the other would follow suit and catch up moments later. It all came down to their showdown at the visual section where Katy assembled her cube as Jason was about halfway through assembling his. Ultimately, Jason stopped at the visual section as Katy hit the buzzer, which signalled her victory. Katy was crowned Canada's Smartest Person and blue, gold, and white confetti descended onto the stage as the audience cheered and applauded. Jessi thanked the viewers for tuning in for the season and for participating on the Canada's Smartest Person app. The show closed with seven of the eight finalists, Katy's mother, and Jessi celebrating onstage. Marco was not present for unknown reasons.

## Episode Progress

  WINNER  This contestant won the final challenge and the competition.
  RUNNER-UP  This contestant was the runner-up of the final challenge and the competition.
  ELIMINATED  This contestant was already eliminated from the competition.
  IMMUNE  This contestant was immune from competing in the challenge.
     This contestant advanced to the third challenge or qualified for the final challenge due to a sufficient total score. (FIX)
     This contestant was eliminated from the competition due to an insufficient total score. (FIX)
     Denotes a challenge that is based on linguistic intelligence.
     Denotes a challenge that is based on physical intelligence.
     Denotes a challenge that is based on musical intelligence.
     Denotes a challenge that is based on visual intelligence.
     Denotes a challenge that is based on social intelligence.
     Denotes a challenge that is based on logical intelligence.
### Notes

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Despite sharing a total score of 16 and an equal number of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place finishes in challenges, Katy had an overall percentage score of 83% in the Speed Round and Tim had an overall percentage score of 80%. Therefore, Katy and Tim placed 2nd and 3rd, respectively, for the pre-Gauntlet phase of this finale episode and Katy advanced to the Gauntlet along with Jason.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 The overall percentage scores of Anthony, Dan, Jason, and Heather remained unknown, however, it can be deduced that each was between 65% and 79% due to the scores of Alex and Tim being 64% and 80%, respectively.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Despite both Dan and Heather losing 0-3 to their respective opponents in the Ultimate Face-Off and having unknown overall percentage scores between 65% and 79% in the Speed Round, Dan won the Gauntlet in their preliminary episode and Heather did not. Therefore, Dan and Heather placed 5th and 6th, respectively, for the finale episode.

## Final Placements

### Notes

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Despite sharing a total score of 9 and an equal number of 1st place finishes in challenges, Denise placed 2nd in one challenge and Julie did not place 2nd in any. Therefore, Denise placed higher than Julie.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Despite sharing a total score of 11, Jennifer and Richard placed 1st in one challenge and Marielle did not place 1st in any. Therefore, Jennifer and Richard placed higher than Marielle. Between Jennifer and Richard, despite also sharing an equal number of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place finishes in challenges, Jennifer had an average placement of 3.1 throughout her preliminary episode while Richard had an average placement of 3.3 throughout his. Therefore, Jennifer placed higher than Richard.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Despite sharing a total score of 16, Anish placed 1st in two challenges and Chris and Jessica placed 1st in one. Therefore, Anish placed higher than Chris and Jessica. Between Chris and Jessica, despite also sharing an equal number of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place finishes in challenges, Chris had an average placement of 3 throughout his preliminary episode while Jessica had an average placement of 3.4 throughout hers. Therefore, Chris placed higher than Jessica.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Despite sharing a total score of 19, Andrew placed 1st in two challenges and Margaret placed 1st in one. Therefore, Andrew placed higher than Margaret.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Despite sharing a total score of 17, Maryanne placed 1st in one challenge and Alex did not place 1st in any. Therefore, Maryanne placed higher than Alex.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Despite sharing a total score of 19 and an equal number of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place finishes in challenges, Maya had an average placement of 1.2 throughout her preliminary episode while Amanda had an average placement of 1.3 throughout hers. Therefore, Maya placed higher than Amanda.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Despite sharing a total score of 20, Petros placed 1st in two challenges and Jakob placed 1st in one. Therefore, Petros placed higher than Jakob.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://www.cbc.ca/smartestperson/blog/S2-finale-recap-katy-warren-is-canadas-smartest-person
2. ↑ http://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2679332654