Photos
Video
RSS'The Amazing Race' Finale: Finding out who won
It was off to Maui tonight on "The Amazing Race" finale. Heading into the episode, I felt as though I would be happy no matter who won. Certainly I had my favorites, but there was no team there that I hated, and by the end of the episode I ended up liking all three much more than I had before.
I would have thought that Luke & Margie would have had the hardest time carrying the pig for the luau task, but they didn't. Probably that's because they realized that they should put the stick on their shoulders to carry the pig. Haven't we all seen this sort of thing done on TV, don't we all know the stick goes on your shoulders? And, if you were Cara & Jaime or Tammy & Victor and see Margie & Luke pass you while carrying the pig on their shoulders wouldn't you rethink your strategy? I know I would.
Despite their early first place position, Luke was highly stressed. On the jet ski, he was yelling at his mom and ordering her around. He should have been driving, that way he could only have gotten angry at himself. At least they found their clue quickly, otherwise it could have gotten ugly. It was also good for Margie that Luke did the Roadblock -- which involved finding 11 pictures from various tasks over the course of the season -- rather than leaving it to her, he would have yelled at her so much during it.
There's a task like that every season, which is just another reason I'm happy I'm not on the show. Do you think that after such a whirlwind tour of the world you could remember whether you visited the tiger in leg seven or leg six? I couldn't. Victor though, he was ridiculously good. Luke started off strong, but fell down miserably on the last two symbols. It actually looked like he started bringing the same surfboards back to the wall more than once (though that could have been in the editing). Victor & Tammy ended up leaving the Roadblock first. That just had to kill Luke, he had it and let it slip away.
Poor Jaime & Cara, I haven't liked their attitude for many a leg, but they have gotten in deep trouble with cabbies through no fault of their own repeatedly. They ended up calling the police to figure out where the surfboard task was, and while the cops had the answer, their cabbie realized he needed gas after they got it.
And then Jaime redeemed herself -- and Cara -- in my eyes. After Luke helped Jaime with the surfboards, thereby allowing her to finish, rather than just ditching him, she helped him right back. She may not have done that if it was going to cost her the race, but she still could have left anyway. She didn't. She helped him because it was the right thing to do. All my bad feelings for Jaime & Cara disappeared at that moment.
Tammy & Victor were the favorites from early on, and they showed repeatedly why that was the case. They had a couple of missteps here and there -- and I didn't always like them -- but they were great competitors. They may not have been my first choice to win, but I'm not unhappy that they took home the prize this season.
What I want to know is this -- what happened to the Detour? I think that they could have used a Detour on the final leg, if only because Jaime and Luke both left the race feeling as though they cost their respective teams a million dollars. If there had been a Detour, perhaps there would have been more separation between the teams -- of course, that would have made for a less close finish. It may have made for a more exciting finale. Though the finish may have been pretty close this year, I didn't really feel it to be nail-biting.
Bits and pieces:
- What do you think, would you have liked a Detour -- or something else -- to add a little oomph to the finale?
- How long does it Jaime or Luke to get over their feelings of inadequacy with the surfboard task? It would take me a goodly long time.
The TV and Film Guy's Reviews - we're more into kayaking.
Post a comment
Zap2it Twitter Talk 
Yay! I'm excited that Tammy and Victor won! I just want to know what two corporate lawyers are going to do with a million dollars when they already get paid a ton (though they DO work hard for it!).
A brother/sister team won last time too. The right team won. Can't wait for the next season.
I am happy that Tammy and Victor won. Considering that Luke was more than half-way done with the roadblock when the 2nd team arrived, Victor must have blazed through that task. I think Luke could have finished that task first if he had not made the mistake at the end. I think Luke's biggest problem is that he quits too quickly if things don't go his way. When he finished the surfboard task and found out he was wrong, he mentally quit right there. He did not even seem to be trying anymore after that. He didn't seem to think out what boards were wrong and was just changing the last boards randomly hoping he would be right.
But what was great was the girls helping Luke after they finished the task (sure Luke helped her figure out her last piece, but they could have left them there hoping that Tammy and Victor would get lost).
I wonder how much time p***ed after victor and tammy left before the last 2 teams decided to work together. If they did that right away (and agreed to split the money) they could have easily finished and possibly out-run Tammy and Victor. Well this was a great season!
I agree with your review as you hit on this leg's primary flaws: it was too short, and there was a lack of drama. But I have to commend Jaime for her sportsmanship at the Roadblock and after. The race brought out the worst in her most of the season, and you don't have to look hard through past episodes to see it. But right when she could have ditched Luke, she made the decision to do the right thing. And it was also big of her to take responsibility at the end when many would have made excuses for the final result.
I certainly don't think Cara/Jamie should feel bad about the board puzzle; they arrived after Victor and he was really quick. I agree that patience and focus were Luke's problems but he shares those with many young males and he was tireless and quick on the physical tasks. Overall they all did well and I bet their real time finishes were pretty tight. Probably should have been a road block to push them a bit further on the final leg.
What a strange decision to have Luke do the final roadblock. Yes, he might have a better memory than his mother, but she is clearly smarter and more collected. Did they not remember Luke's efforts on the other intelligence based challenges?
The lack of extra challenges didn't bother me. The fact that many of them were boring did. Also one thing to consider on the pig challenge- that essentially rewards the team whose 2nd player is also strong. That's why Margie and Luke did well...she's stronger than the girls on the other teams I believe.
I think it looked like Luke was usin one of the same boards multiple times because he actually had a board that had a race item on ite, the foor m***age, he just kept putting it in the last position instead of the second to last. Those board clues definately seemed difficult and Victor really did fly through his.
Not just from winning, I think Victor may have gotten more out of this then anyone. He really seemed to learn to appreciate his sister and how important it was to not always be the traditional son that he seems to have thought he had to be. On the pig challenge he did a pretty good job of controlling his frustration with Tammy not being able to carry the pig very far and he was able to re-***ess the pit set-up without just ***uming he did it all correctly.
What surprised me the most about Luke's failure at the roadblock is that he got the last 2 boads wrong!!! Those were the most recent legs and the 11th leg was practically the day before (OK 30 hrs after a 12hr rest and 18hr flight but who's counting).
In my eyes Cara didn't redeem herself because she helped Luke after he helped her. It was Jaime's idea for them to work together and after she got help there's no way she was going to leave without returning the favor. Cara was grilling Jaime when carrying the pig and not in a motivating encouraging way. Although I felt sorry for them that the cabbie again didn't know where to go and he needed gas. But that's Kharma.
In the end I think the best team won, but V&T weren't my favorite.
Another thing, good piont by Josh. They needed a detour. The final leg should have all of the main chalanges. This episode lacked the excitement when all the teams were together and they left the roadblock and went straight to the pit stop.
Tammy and Victor were the only team of the final three that I even halfway liked. The Cheerleaders should have been philiminated long ago and they (Jamie at least) were just plain Ugly Americans.
I started out liking Luke and Margie until it became clear that Luke was a spoiled brat and Margie was his enabler. I knew he was going to choke on that last task, that he would screw up at least one and then get frustrated.
I thought Victor and Tammy were given a huge advantage by spending so much time in China. . . but at least I didn't detest them!
I always hate to see this series end; can't wait for another race to get underway this fall!