The Amazing Race
The Amazing Race wrapped up last night with a two-hour finale. This season, overall, was pretty average to me. There were a couple teams to root for, but I didn’t think any of the personalities were especially likable and memorable. (The most memorable team is “Twinniiiiiieeee!” and for all the wrong reasons.) The challenges this season weren’t that memorable either, and the “alliance” of three and heavy cooperation took a lot of the competitive spirit out of the race.
That said, I enjoyed the finale. I was never really sure who was going to win, and the final moments had me on the edge of my seat. Click through for a recap!
Penultimate Leg – Spain to France
When the final four teams touched down in France, they had to take part in some brief product placement before locating their next clue near a statue of a dog.
From the beginning of the leg, the twins were obsessed with getting the Beekman Boys out, despite the fact that the other two teams are clearly bigger threats. It was fun to see Josh pull out his French speaking skills in front of everyone, but by doing it in a group it didn’t give them any advantage.
Speed Bump – Corseted
Lacing it up
Lacing up a corset? Really, guys? That was literally a challenge we used for a recent charity event (an awesome one for the local AIDS non-profit, based on The Amazing Race) that I helped plan. So a Halifax charity event is on a par with the real show. Awesome for us, weak for them. The twins didn’t fall too far behind completing the task, but the other teams had already left for the next location, caravan-style.
Detour – Chow or Plow
Pony Express
In the first Detour option, teams would have to make and serve a meal for a pack of hungry hunting dogs. In the second option, teams had to till a field. Since I have, quite unfortunately, seen the film War Horse, I’m aware that tilling a field is not exactly easy. (OK, it was not easy with a racing horse.) So I would have fed some puppies.
Originally, all three leading teams decided together to go “Chow” and feed the dogs, but once in the car Trey and Lexie decided to finally get competitive and head to “Plow” instead. Later, the Chippendales drove by the plowing and decided to go for that as well. The twins and their enemies the Beekman Boys ended up at “Chow” together.
Trey and Lexie were the first team to complete a Detour, followed closely by the Chippendales.
The Beekman Boys were good at 
chatting while they worked and tried to mess with Twinnies’ minds, but the twins mostly just bickered with each other. As if I needed another reason to HATE the twins, when the Beekmans received their clue one said “The gays bloody beat us.” ARE YOU KIDDING ME. I hate them like poison.
Roadblock – Who’s a Funghi?
In this Roadblock, one team member had to collect thirty mushrooms – three types, ten each – in a giant, awesome cave.
Lexie got through the challenge on her first try, which was pretty impressive – the cave was dark and confusing. The Chippendale also did well, getting it right on his second try. I wasn’t surprised that these teams would both be in the final leg. It was close, but the Chippendales managed to make up some ground and nab the first place finish. It was nice that that one guy got the car for his mom. Trey and Lexie came in second place.
Unfortunately, the Beekman Boys are notoriously bad with directions (did that even come up before this episode) and they seemed to get lost on the way to the Roadblock, which gave the twins a chance to catch up. I could only hope they their idiocy would prevent them from completing the Roadblock quickly.
Team Twinnie got the clue on their first try, leaving the Beekman Boys in the dust. Sigh. I’ve really come to hate the twins. The Beekman Boys also got it on their first try, but they were about ten minutes behind the twins. There was a lot of implied drama – the twins weren’t sure they were going the right way, the Beekmans hit construction – but I was sure the twins would still arrive first.
I WAS WRONG! The twins really did go the wrong way, and once again The Beekman Boys managed to squeak through. Team Twinnie was eliminated before the final leg! Sorry, bitches, but “the gays” did beat you. Congratulations, you’re the worst. Instead of a montage of them being “fun”, could we get one of them stealing money and saying “the gays”?
Final Leg – France to New York
The final three teams took off for the final leg of the race, which would lead them back to good old New York City. The Beekmans are from New York, so that would give them an advantage, but the other two teams were obviously stronger. The Chips pulled the pro move and dumped their bags before getting on the plane.
Everyone touched down in NYC at the same time and it was a race to Coney Island. There everyone searched for the typical red and yellow marker, but it wasn’t that simple. A sign for “The Amazing Houdini” had a clue painted into the poster. Lexie was the first one to realize what the clue was, followed quickly by the Beekman Boys. The Chippendales were down on the beach, still looking for the marker.
Roadblock – Houdini Escape
In a word? Awesome. I have bungee jumped, and this kind of crazy activity is just the kind of thing I’d want to do on The Amazing Race. Get held up high in the air, escape from a straightjacket, and then plummet towards the earth? So. Cool. Also, I am super flexible and pretty sure I could get out of the straight jacket quickly.
Trey went first, and he overcame his fear of heights and slayed the challenge. He was so fast! Brent went next and was also quick, but the Chippendales were right on their tails.
Teams were instructed to head to Lombardi’s, the famous “first pizzeria in New York”, to which Lexie said “I hope I don’t have to eat pizza.” What? Girlfriend, have you seen what people on this show have had to eat? Pizza is ain’t no thang.
Deliver Ten Pizzas
Unfortunately, the teams weren’t eating. They had to memorize three locations and deliver ten pizzas to them on foot. It was a challenge that would be easy to screw up, which meant anyone could take the lead. The Beekmans went with a strategy – one would memorize the orders, the other the addresses. They also know New York, and knew what order to visit the addresses in. But for all that, they screwed up the deliveries. Trey and Lexie did it right, putting them way in the lead – they had their next clue before the Chippendales had even begun.
Sigh. The fact that Trey and Lexie didn’t recognize the symbol for the UN is precisely why I can’t root for them. I mean…guys. Please.
The Beekmans made their corrections quickly enough, but the error resulted in some of the first bickering we’ve seen from them. At least they immediately recognized the UN symbol. The Chippendales delivered the pizzas on their first try, and also had to ask for help with the next clue. Some people are cut out to be pizza delivery people, others diplomats. That’s just life.
Roadblock – UN
At the United Nations, one team member had to match up the greetings they received at the pit stops with the correct flags. When they had everything right, they could raise the UN flag which would lower their clue.
Lexie, Josh and James did the challenge. Lexie seemed frustrated, and things didn’t get better when she smacked herself in the head. Remember when she cut her finger? Lexie breaks down easily. It was a really difficult task, and Josh employed the best strategy – completing the ones he knew and then trying every possible combination for the others. It’s all about keeping a clear head and focusing on what you have and haven’t tried yet, and Josh excelled at that. They finished first.
The Chippendales also stayed calm, and they came from behind to finish second. I like both these teams. I was rooting for the Beekmans because I’ve liked them all along and they’re the ultimate underdogs, but I wouldn’t have been completely disappointed with the Chips winning.
That said, it warmed my little heart to see Josh and Brent run to the finish line. Good for them! OK, so they were far from the best team. They narrowly escaped elimination many times. They never won a leg – until the one that really mattered. But they didn’t have an “alliance” helping them complete tasks all along, and they were the best at the final challenge and I think they deserved this win.
The Chippendales were very classy when they came in second, and I do like them. I’m glad they came in second. We didn’t see Lexie finish the challenge, but they too were gracious. They’re very young and not well-traveled, so they should be proud of their third place finish.
This wasn’t the most exciting season, but the final episode was pretty thrilling and I’m pleased with the results. What do you guys think?
CTV recorded the show funny so we missed the last four minutes!! Luckily, I told my wife you would already have a (brilliant) recap and we raced upstairs to read what happened after they got the taxis to head to Gotham Hall!
We shrieked when the twins were eliminated. Trey was so calm and his line “I’m still very scared” was delivered PERFECTLY while he bounced at the end of the bungee line!
The Houdini poster always had tourists in front of it posing for a camera….a nice little helping hand that none of the racers picked up on!
I’ll agree and say a strong finish to an average season….I wouldn’t mind the Chippendales coming back for some sort of All Star/Second Chances season….and maybe James and Abba…but that’s all.
Oh wow, well I’m glad I posted the review right away!
I’m really surprised but really, really happy that the Beekman boys won as it seemed like they could really use the money for their farm. I really thought they were the weakest team of the three so they surprised the heck out of me by doing so well on the last leg. I LOVED it when they beat the Twinnies to make it into the final 3. I know the Twinnies did have a lot of fun and were really self-depracating, but wow did they ever do and say so many stupid, ignorant things. I guess it’s possible that that’s just the way they were edited, but man I can’t stand them.
I also wouldn’t have minded it if the Chippendales had won, as Jaymes wanted to use the money to help his father with his medical bills. Overall, though, you’re right Jill: it was a pretty bland season. Here’s hoping the next one is more exciting.
Thanks for blogging about it Jill! As always, I love reading your posts the next day!
Thanks so much for reading & commenting!
My mother and I had to spend the whole morning waiting for the usual Singaporean guy to upload the video on YouTube, so when we got to the episode I was already tense with adrenaline and frustration. My original pick to win the Race, obviously not based on liking, was the Twinnies (I then switched to Trey and Lexi), whilst my mother said that the Chippendales were going to win, since they had done really well in the past few legs.
All the alliance-talking immediately reminded me that the only way Beekmans wouldn’t be the first to fall was if the other teams managed to screw some challenges (as it actually was). As soon as we got to the Detour I immediately thought that Chow was a poor choice, on the paper probably it seemed easier than Plow but it actually costed the Race to the Twinnies. I loved the mushrooms’ Roadblock – hell, I just LOVE mushrooms – but when Natalie managed to get it done before Brent, I was extremely worried. And all the editing depicting a huge competition between them and the Twins getting wrong indications, I was sure that it was only implied drama and that the Beekmans were pretty screwed. So when my mother and I saw them running to the Pit Stop in third position we kind of jumped up screaming and clapping our hands! We were happy, but at the same time thought that third place would have been an HUGE accomplishment enough for them, and that the real competition in the final leg would be between the other two teams.
The final leg was EXTREMELY exciting. The Chippendales probably lost their Race at Coney Island when they weren’t able to spot the clue – they really paid for that mistake and were behind for the whole episode after that. The Houdini Roadblock was terrifying on paper, I honestly don’t know if I would have been able to pull it through. Then, when Josh screwed the delivery, I was on the verge of tears because I thought that it was the end for their ambitions to win. I was rooting for them from the beginning and I always thought they would fall sooner or later, but I really didn’t want it to happen so late and for such a banal mistake. But then we got to the final Roadblock.
I honestly can’t believe that it took so much time to complete it. Honestly, more than two hours and a half? In my opinion, the only one that would be a little tricky were Indonesia and Bangladesh, and with a couple of tries, it would be easy to sort them out. But Lexi managed to get even Netherlands, Russia and China wrong (and more than once!), and even Josh, who did a pretty good job, seemed to be very uncertain on some ones. I don’t know how much between the Beekmans departing and James Lewis completing the Roadblock, but it seemed a matter of minutes, so I’ve got to say the Chippendales did a pretty good job too. I was 100% sure that they would overtake the Beekmans on the final run, even on the stairs of Gotham Hall.
But then…then I saw Josh and Brent entering the hall and all the other contestants cheering, and I burst out screaming and laughing hysterically! I’m extremely happy that my favourite team managed to win, it never had happened before in this kind of competitions. Yes, probably they didn’t deserve to win, but they were extremely supportive of each other and really caught up in this last legs. They made some mistakes along the way, but after all, everyone else did.
I’m extremely happy with the outcome of the Race, even if there were some bad moments here and there (the Twins saying “the gays bloody beat us” surely top them all, how awful it was!). I’m definitely in for TAR 22 and I can’t wait for TAR Canada either! Thank you Jill for the wonderful recaps that made me enjoy this program even more!
I wasn’t surprised that the Roadblock took so long, but maybe living in Europe some of that would come easier to you. I think for me as a Canadian, the obvious ones were French and English but then the others would be difficult – even if you got the language right, you’d have to try to get which one was hello and which was goodbye, so it could take two tries.
Thanks so much for reading David, I have looked forward to your comments each week!
Aw, I’m flattered! Thank YOU so much for providing the best overall recaps on the net!
Oh my God…. the Beekman Boys won… this is honestly the most disappointing result (for me) since… I don’t even know, there were only 2 other times when I was THIS frustrated with the winner; once when Flo&Zach one (back in season 3) and the other when the brother won over Jet&Cord in season 16. So. Very. Frustrating.
I cannot believe this. The guys who wanted to go and help the team that got U-Turned, being well aware they were the last 2 teams in that leg. Unbelievable. I hate the world. Gah.
I hope we’ll at least see either the Twins, Trey&Lexi or The Chippendales in a future all-stars season.
To be fair, only one of the guys wanted to go and help the U-turned team. The other didn’t, and they made the right move and kept racing. I don’t see that as being too wildly different from the helping each other along that we saw from the twins, Chippendales and Trey and Lexie all season long.
Yeah, I know; I would have gone postal by now if that wasn’t the case. But the things is, it still remains such an ‘what am I even watching’ moment that it really does bother me. Also, it’s not the fact that they wanted to help that bothers, it’s that… come on, you are the second to last team and you want to help the only team that’s behind you? That goes way past being friendly/helpful in my book.
I’m also majorly disappointed. Worst case secario played out. Urgh.
Least deserving, least favourite team…
made the whole thing look like a joke. the final challenge was awesome…. but the others sucked.
first time i’ve felt this annoyed at the outcome.
I was rooting Chippendales all the way, although the way the show started bringing up the cancer story was a good indication that they weren’t going to win. I still liked the Beekman Boys better than Trey & Lexi, but not by much.They just had way too much good luck. They screwed up on a non-elimination leg, abbie & ryan missed their flight, the double u-turn, the (EVIL) twins going the wrong way, etc. I don’t recall them ever doing anything particularly right apart from that final challenge and the time zone one.
Still, at least none of the teams I hated made the finals. The twins really put on a show that last leg they were on. Good lord. They went from amusing to annoying to downright despicable this season.
The twins really did go through quite a transformation, didn’t they?
Or maybe you just have a giant poll up your ass…. JAI SRI LANKA BITCH!
Twinnie?
The Amazing Race is always interesting to watch and follow. The scenery and competitions are great. Now…about this season: The twins were very disappointing in all aspects: yelling, screaming, taking the money that they knew was not theirs, belittiling the other teams – just an overall disappointing team. How are they going to face their family and friends after the things that they did during the race? It’s too bad that Ryan and Abby were eliminated – they could have won the $2 million grand prize. I loved the competitions – each one is unique and quite creative. It’s fun to watch the contestants do such unique and unusual things. As has been said before by many contestants: “Where else could you do _____!” It’s always amazing to see what the challenges are. It would be totally a blast to be working for the program to be a part of this massive program and getting all the arrangements and details arranged. I look forward to each season.
Hey Jill,
Thanks again for another amazing (pun intended) season of recap and fun. It was awesome reading your recaps and “watching it” with you. Girl, you two shades of awesome!
Saying that, it took a day but I finally watched the finale. WOW. I think my eyes started watering during that last stretch. ULTIMATE WIN. I cannot be happier. No way was what I was wishing and hoping all along was gonna happen… and then POW! A language challenge… AWESOME. Were they the best/deserving team? Heck no! Was I deliriously overjoyed for their win? YEAH!
That kiss they planted on each other on the final mat warmed my heart to pieces. Even Ryan was jumping up and down for them. For some reason, this was the most satisfying win I’ve experience since I started watching TAR. Maybe it’s because of the moral of the story…
NICE GUYS SOMETIMES DO FINISH FIRST. Thanks, Josh… and thanks, Jill!
Thanks Peter! I agree, it was nice to see two guys who were truly nice win the season!
You didn’t comment on the naievete (or the stupidity) of the players who did not know what the UN emblem stood for…they’re the same people who will someday wake up and say, “What the hell happened?” (when the Un takes over the U.S. of A.)
I did comment on that, actually.
“Sigh. The fact that Trey and Lexie didn’t recognize the symbol for the UN is precisely why I can’t root for them. I mean…guys. Please.
The Beekmans made their corrections quickly enough, but the error resulted in some of the first bickering we’ve seen from them. At least they immediately recognized the UN symbol. The Chippendales delivered the pizzas on their first try, and also had to ask for help with the next clue. Some people are cut out to be pizza delivery people, others diplomats. That’s just life.”