The Amazing Race – A finale of firsts

Well, it’s been a series of highs and lows this season on The Amazing Race, but I feel like the two-hour season finale ended on a very high note with some very challenging tasks and some pretty heart-stopping jockeying for position. We were also treated to a couple of firsts at the final Pit Stop, one of which could have had a huge impact on the outcome.

The teams left India and flew to Hiroshima, where they all had a chance to reflect on the important things in like while visiting the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. Before they all got there, the teams had their own moments of drama as Brendon & Rachel missed the bus three teams were on (but caught up … and Rachel simultaneously yelling at Brendon while applying eye shadow was sad and hilarious at the same time), then Dave & Rachel missed a train which just caused them to miss a ferry to the next location (the next ferry was about seven-and-a-half hours later) … but the clue wasn’t coming till the sun rose so they were back in the game.

Of course, no stop in Japan is complete without team members having to compete on a wacky Japanese game show, and this time they had to run on treadmills, grab three rubber chickens and jump on the finish mat. Poor Vanessa had to do the challenge because Ralph had already done five, and running on her sore ankle was not the best way to actually win a race. Ralph was actually begging her to take the penalty before she hurt herself more, but he was also supportive when she didn’t want to quit. Unfortunately, the duration of the game due to the ankle injury put them too far behind to catch up, and they were eliminated. It was nice to see Ralph get a bit emotional while talking about how proud he was of Vanessa’s efforts.

The last leg of the race took the final three teams — Dave & Rachel, Art & JJ, and Brendon & Rachel — to Honolulu. All teams were on the same flight, but the first location was a puzzle that Art & JJ could not figure out (and neither could their cab driver). Teams had to figure out what the twins “Mauka” and “Makai” were, and Dave & Rachel had a cab driver who knew exactly what they were looking for: two buildings known as the twin towers that over look the mountains on one side and the ocean on the other. Brendon & Rachel also had some knowledgeable folks help them, while Art & JJ were sent to a park with statues. Once the teams found the buildings, they had to ascend to the top, on the outside by ropes, to locate the next clue, then rappel back to the ground face down. I don’t know if I could have completed that task.

The last few challenges of the race became very tension-filled when a team’s position depended on the correct reading of clues. After shaving some ice with a machete, teams had to go on foot to the next location, but even after reading the clue out loud, Rachel and Brendon hopped in a cab … and went to the wrong place, taking them from second place to last and giving Art & JJ a boost. After performing an ocean rescue of a distressed swimmer, Rachel & Dave were still in first but also failed to follow directions in the next clue which told them to follow a marked path to the next clue. That mistake took them directly to the Pit Stop, where Phil told them in front of all the eliminated teams that they had not completed the task. Everyone was stunned because this had never happened before in the history of the race, and it put the team with the most wins — seven (tied for the all-time record) — in danger and gave Art & JJ another little boost.

Meanwhile, Rachel has had yet another meltdown, this time because Brendon simply asked her to jog to the helicopters but she was having none of it (and she wasn’t able to re-apply her makeup at the same time either). Art & JJ, thinking they were well behind Dave & Rachel, were surprised to see them arrive at the Road Block that Art was having no success with — balancing on to pieces of wood (they call it a sled!) and flying down a hill at 60 miles per hour. After umpteen tries, Art was not happy when Rachel showed up and got it on the second (at least that’s how it looked with the editing). She then completed the second half of the challenge, and she and Dave were on their merry way back to see Phil and collect a million bucks, and become the winningest team in Amazing Race history with eight first place finishes (or eight-and-a-half if you count the first time they visited the Pit Stop on the final leg).

Art was even less happy when Rachel showed up, completed the sledding before him (but not without more tears), but he managed to score a goal with a piece of round lava rock before she did and checked in at the Pit Stop in second place. Brendon & Rachel finished third, but I have to give it to them for making it that far because I don’t think anyone who knows them from Big Brother would have expected them to work together for more than a couple of legs. I guess with their loss, CBS will not be ponying up the cash to document and televise their wedding, a la Rob & Amber. So, after a few non-eventful episodes, season 20 of The Amazing Race ended on a very high note with a lot of excitement and tension as teams swapped places throughout the final leg. What did you think of the finale? Did your favorite team win? Sound off in the comments section below, and join us here again in the fall as season 21 gets under way!

Clacked by Chuck Duncan
on May 07, 2012 @ 00:16 EST5EDT