DJariya

emachine12

Man, three memory challenges. The producers really wanted to address some complaints about the last few season's final legs.

I'm happy with who won. They deserved it more than anyone in this season's race.

Bill Needle

Cab drivers figured into the final? Has that ever happened before?

emachine12

Several times in previous seasons, cab drivers and other transportation issues have shifted the outcome of the final leg.

Josh-da-man

I often wonder if the taxi drivers know that they're on The Amazing Race and intentionally fuck with them.

Red Dog

Where's Uber when you need it. Didn't one of the cab drivers not know where Belmont Park was?

Wolf359

I thought it was more that he knew where it was but he was angry that they didn't tip him at the drop off.

Damfino

Oh yes, and even more astonishing is that a New York cabbie wouldn't know where Belmont Park is. I've never even been to New York and even I know that it's on Long Island near Queens. Of course, I'm a horse racing fan too, so that helps.

mdc3000

This was a fun season but the editing of the finale let the cat out of the bag at least 30 minutes early, as the winning couple was the ONLY one commenting on action as it was happening...when I realized they had NO testimonial footage of the other 2 teams, the outcome was certaing....wish they hadn't done that, would have made that race to the finish more exciting..... and that $100 cab decision was a million dollar mistake - that will be hard to move past in real life.

DWilson

I was definitely one of those complainers (the season with the parachuting out of a plane particularly bugged me) and I was surprised when they pulled a second and a third memory challenge. I actually empathize with Justin, -I definitely would have impulsively told the cab driver to "stick it" when he tried to hold me up for an extra $100. I've shot myself in the foot more than once just because someone was trying to screw me over for a few extra dollars.

Strapped4Cash

I was happy with the outcome and believed that Joey & Kelsey should have gotten to keep their cab, although Chris & Logan got screwed when Justin chased their driver away (I wouldn't have wanted to deal with him either).

An EW interview is up with the winners, which surprised me in that I don't think we ever heard that Joey, and Kelsey especially, were big fans of the show (maybe that would have taken away from Justin's story on how "special" he was ).

http://www.ew.com/article/2015/12/12...rs-perfect-leg

brainee

For you more seasoned TAR viewers: what are the actual rules for how the players pay for their race? Does the show give them a set amount which they have to budget? If so, what happens if a team goes over? Do they have to pay out of pocket? Get a time penalty for extra cash? Have to walk everywhere?

It did sound like Justin didn't pay the extra money to keep the cab out of principle/emotions, and not because the money was a real issue. And it's his own damn fault they lost. For such a superfan, he knew that wasn't something to do ... especially on the last leg, where coming in first is all that counts.

I'm happy with the reporters winning. I just wish the editing didn't make so invisible for most of the season. I suspect it was they because they didn't bicker, weren't obnoxious, weren't stupid, and were just generally pleasant nice people.

Yeah, there was a little snippet on this last show where the reporters talked about their own knowledge of the game (knowing to keep track about facts of all the countries they visited). But I guess "superfans" was always to be Green Team's edit ... the reporters were just the team that always came in second. Except when it counted the most

emachine12

You are given a set amount of cash at the start of selected legs. You then must budget this cash to last as long as possible. You never know how much you'll get, sometimes they show the racers saying the amount.

In one season, on a leg in Africa, they got a whole one American dollar at the start. And in this season, all of the teams (after some prodding for a few) donated all their money to an orphanage. I think leg 2 or 3, it was.

If you run out of money, you have to resource the cash yourself. As long it doesn't go against local laws. So you can ask strangers for help or has been done in other races. opposing teams. You could also barter but in nearly every case of this, the team got a penalty as batering is illegal in most countries. And in rare cases, you could ask a cab driver to forgo his fare just to help out. Of course, this again has to not break any local law.

If you have extra money, you can buy food & water. You are on your own until most pit stops... one team in another season had to use their saved cash to buy shoes because they left them at a detour.

brainee

Kelsey and Joey were by far the most likable players at the end. I'm glad Joey got assertive when the paparazzi tried to steal their cab. And during the show, I when Logan and Chris thought they were 100% in the right in that situation. Though pretty much the personality type you'd expect of a paparazzi.

It was especially satisfying to see Justin lose at the end after he was being such a dick at that beach chair challenge, yelling at the reporters trying to distract them while Diana pounded nails.

brainee

That was the paparazzi, right? Doing nothing to dispel the stereotype that people in their profession are generally selfish, rude, and unpleasant.

Thanks for the explanation. And in reading the ew interview, Joey was talking about the decision to keep the cab was not as straightforward as it seemed (since it was costing them money to keep the cab waiting, and they were running the risk of running out of money).

DRG

I'm curious why they don't allow the contestants to drive themselves in the final leg, just the take the 'bad cab luck' out of the equation.

MLBFan24

Good finale. Lots of chances for the teams to catch up to first place with the memory games, unlike last season where once you fell behind, no chance.

I'm satisfied with the winners.

Justin is terrible and karma got him back.

I can't imagine rooting for anyone next season. The preview looked atrocious

Bill Needle

I was spouting sarcasm. It seems to happen so often it has become a cliché.

They already seem to have killed off the thrill of finding flights that other teams miss or risking connections or alternate routes on flights by increasingly just putting teams on arranged flights or having start times that ensure they end up that way. Why not take the dumb luck of the draw cab drivers out of the equation.

mwbmis

In the extended mat interview, Justin said he got mad in the moment b/c the cabbie was trying to rip him off and asking for more money than he agreed to, and they weren't sure how many more cabs they were going to need in the leg. Diana was mad at herself b/c she knew she should have been the voice of reason in that moment.

I guess I'm OK with Joey and Kelsey winning. They were pretty nondescript so I'm not sure how anyone could be passionate about them winning either way. At least it wasn't Chris and Logan.

There was a big finale party, and Justin posted some videos of them hanging out with the with the winners, the TX guys, the cheerleaders, and James Earl. Everyone seems to get along real well. If they get invited back, Justin is going to race with Tanner.

I guess Diana started a charity project with her students for the African orphanage.

creekdipper

Maybe Justin should have tamped down some of that "NY swagger."

Nice to hear that everybody had a pleasant wrap party. Justin is probably a far nicer guy than his villain edits indicated. That said, I could do without seeing him for a while but afraid he's a sure bet to return. I lost count of how many times my wife said, "Diana's a saint."

davidh777

Glad that the winners were the least annoying team left.

I always like when the winners are greeted by the other teams, but then I liked the old Survivor parade of the fallen as well.

Setzer

^This. I had a gut feeling they would pull out the win after finishing 2nd so many times. Glad Justin & Diana didn't win....I got tired of his constant crying all season.

chowderhead

I think the reason always given is that the last leg is for the 1 million dollar prize so there will be serious concern about reckless/speeding driving. I am sure there are rules against speeding but with 1 million dollars on the line, people might take dangerous risks. I would like to see more bicycles or other forms of transportation for the last leg.

MLBFan24

I liked that the pitstop was within running distance from the last Roadblock, rather than having to take a cab to it (so yes, they took the bad luck cab out of the equation)

creekdipper

And Chris & Logan should have had to pedal with about 20 paparazzi right on their tails.