Let the repeated eigenvalue be , and choose an eigenvector . Complete it to a basis of . In this basis the matrix is an upper triangular matrix, with first column , say . Its characteristic polynomial is . By part (a)(ii), this must equal , so .
If , the matrix is already . If , rescale the first basis vector by and apply part (a)(iii); the upper-right entry becomes one. Thus
The second possibility is a size-two Jordan block. It has only one independent eigenvector, whereas has a two-dimensional eigenspace, so the two types cannot be related by matrix similarity. This repeated-eigenvalue classification in dimension two proves the required result without assuming the general Jordan normal form theorem.