Monday, May 19, 2014

The Amazing Race All-Stars - Finale Episode Recap (May 18/14)

Viva Las Vegas

It's been a long, crazy ride this season, from Bopper's non-start to the Afghanimals elimination last week, we've been on a trip around the world with some of our favourite teams and it's come down to the finale:  -Dave & Connor, father/son, cancer survivors and my team in the pool. 
                  -Caroline & Jen, flirts, band mates and the luckiest team by far, surviving two non-                  elimination rounds to make it to the final three.
                  -Brendon & Rachel - less crying this time but also the most hated team when they had the  nerve to U-Turn Dave & Connor.
These are the teams racing to the finish line for the Million dollars.

Dave & Connor are the first team to head out at 4:31am, they get the clue to fly to Las Vegas, Nevada!  Once in Vegas they will take a ride in a Ford Explorer (of course) to parts unknown.
-Dave excited to be going to sin-city until Connor tells him Brendon & Rachel live there.  Curses, their nemesis' (nemesii?) have an advantage!  They say they really like the Country Girls and if they don't  win, they'd like to see the girls take it (anyone but Brenchel.)

Caroline & Jen are the next team heading out at 4:38am - and they're also excited to be heading stateside - Jen says she went to high school in Las Vegas so she should have some familiarity with the city as well.  Caroline thinks it's time for them to win, they are the only team to run this many legs of the Amazing Race and never win one, so they need to just take home the million.

Brendon & Rachel - 4:52am - she starts reading the clue then squealing so only dogs could hear when she gets to Las VeGASSSS!
-Sqeal - We're going to Vegas and I'm from Vegas- Squeal.
-This is the second time they've made it to final three and this time they're going to win because she wants babies. (Sweet Jebus save us from little Brenchels.)

They are all on the same flight and land in Las Vegas - they run out to the black Ford Explorers and the driver tells them, "Get In." (It's very mobster-esque.)  In the cars all the teams are talking about Rachel cutting in line in front of the Country Girls to get in the cars - this was
not caught on film but me thinketh Rachel is protesting too much.  She says she never would have done that - they were at the cars first - and it's a race for a million dollars, she's going to do whatever it takes (I'm thinking she totally pushed her way in line.)

All the teams are in the cars and being driven into the desert... finally the cars pull off the road and their drivers tell them to "Get out and dig."  There are three pairs of shovels planted in the rocky dry soil so they all grab a shovel and start digging.  Almost immediately, Brendon & Rachel are the focus of Dave & Connor's wrath when they throw some of their dirt over at Dave & Connor's hole... Connor,"Will you not throw dirt on me!"  And they all have words.
-Dave & Connor are the first ones to reach their goal, they uncover a box/small crate, grab it and run back to the car.
-The box says Property of David Copperfield. (Ooh, magic box.)
-Caroline & Jen and Brendon & Rachel also find their boxes and they are all back in the cars racing back to the strip.  The box says, "If found, open and return the contents to the lot."  Rachel crawls in the back of the car saying she's getting the tire iron, then she hands the jack to Brendon. (What do you want him to do with that?)  The other two teams can't figure out a way to open the boxes so they don't bother.  Brendon uses a part of the jack to pry open the crate and they find a huge key ring with a ton of keys on it.

-Dave & Connor are the first team to pull into a parking lot near the MGM Grand where David Copperfield performs and they run to the clue box - ROADBLOCK - Do You Believe in Magic?
-They will learn the secrets of a daring escape from David Copperfield himself.  One person will be chained and handcuffed inside a crate, then using the set of keys they dug up in the desert, they must find the one key that will unlock their shackles.  Once they're free, they will need to stick their hands through holes in the top of the crate to unscrew the lid of a jar that holds lock picks, then using the picks they will have to unlock the chains.  Once that's done they can reunite with their partner... but I'm sure there is more to it... oh yeah, once they retrieve the lock picks, the crate is set on fire!
-Connor says he believes in magic and who should appear... well, walk over to them, but David Copperfield!  Connor's so excited, when he was a kid he had a David Copperfield magic kit, so this is a dream come true.

-Caroline & Jen get to the Roadblock and when Jen says she'll do it, David Copperfield surprises them - and the first words out of Caroline's mouth after the screaming is, "You're so handsome." (Ugh, give it a rest already.)
-Brendon & Rachel also arrive and Rachel is going to do the magic and she has her big ring of keys with her.

-Dave & Connor are led over to the magic area and they ask for the keys - Dave still has a locked box - finally he just smashes it on the ground and Connor gets his ring of 50 keys.  Then he's chained and shackled in the box and raised in the air.  Dave is taken over to a video monitor where he stands with David Copperfield watching Connor in the box.
-Caroline & Jen are at their crate but they also didn't open the box so while they are trying to smash open their crate as well, Rachel gets all crated up ahead of them.
-All three of them are working on finding the correct key - Connor is the first person unlock his shackles, he gets the picks out the top and they light his crate on fire, much to the horror of dear ol' dad watching - they start to raise the crate and Dave's freaking out a little, willing Connor to pick the locks... which he does and Dave has to flip a switch to get him out... but instead the box drops and there's a fiery explosion!  Dave, shocked, asks, "Where is he?" 
-David Copperfield is acting worried, "Uh, we need to get the fire department." But when Dave turns around, that fire fighter walking towards him is none other than Connor!  (Ooh, Magic!)  They get the clue to head to the Neon Boneyard Museum where they'll have to search for their next clue.
-Rachel is the next one to release her shackles and get the picks - they've lit her box on fire and Brendon's waiting for the signal to flip the switches.
-Dave & Connor run out to the street and flag a cab... huh, must be off the strip because you can't flag cabs in Vegas... or else they set that up for the show.  

-Brendon is also scared when Rachel's crate drops in a fire ball but she sidles up to him pretty quickly in her fire gear.  They also head out for the Neon Boneyard.  She says that was the coolest thing she's ever done, ever.
-Jen also unlocks herself, Caroline flips the switches and David Copperfield makes her think something went wrong... until Jen comes over and shakes her, "You killed me!"  Ha, David Copperfield is such a jokester!  They head out too.

Neon Boneyard Museum - Dave & Connor arrive and they're not allowed to run through the boneyard, so they walk quickly looking for the cluebox.
-In the cab, Brendon & Rachel are trying to get their cab driver excited that they are in a race and going to have a baby if they win, but she is having none of it.  Their cab driver is all business, she won't go faster or she'll get a ticket and when they start yelling at her where to turn she looks like she's afraid of traffic... oh boy, I have never had a cab driver like that in Vegas, usually they're super aggressive and a little scary.
-Dave & Connor finally find the cluebox, it tells them to unscrew a lightbulb from the silver and red question mark sign (which is right there behind the cluebox) and take it to the Mirage Hotel & Casino and search for their next clue.
-Dave & Connor pass Brendon & Rachel as they leave - Brenchel finds the cluebox but they don't see the question mark sign right there and head out looking for it (uh oh.)  They finally find it, right in front of their faces, and we find out Rachel used to work at the Mirage so she knows where the employee entrance is (that's where they need to look for the next clue.)
-Caroline & Jen arrive just as Brenchel is leaving and this is where I lost all respect for them, when Brendon tried to steal the Country Singers cab.  I understand they certainly got the worst cab driver, but really?   To his credit, Caroline & Jen's cab driver refused to be
bought.  He was going to wait for the girls, no matter what. (Good for him!  Brendon better watch out for Race Karma, it will always get you in the end.)

-Finally Brendon & Rachel have to just take their own cab and direct their driver - she's as slow and useless as before... I would almost feel bad for them, but they kind of deserve it.

-Caroline & Jen get back to their cab and this guy is fired up now, he's the one yelling at them to hurry up (that's awesome!)  He tells them not to worry, he's going to get them.

-Dave & Connor are looking for the employee entrance to the Mirage... and Caroline & Jen are the first team to the clue box. (WHAT? Wow, that cab driver was fantastic for them - Brendon must have really p*issed him off, Hahaha!)
-The girls read the clue and it tells them they must use a window washing basket to replace the lightbulbs in the letter "I" of the Mirage sign 30 storeys above the strip.  Once they've replaced all the bulbs, they must give the number of bulbs to the guy to get their next clue.
-Dave & Connor are the next team to the clue box and they are also getting suited up to replace the bulbs.  (Total fall protection in effect.)

-Meanwhile, in Amazing Race cab driver hell, are Brendon & Rachel - they literally hit every red light on the way to the Mirage and had to start rooting for the cab driver to go through green lights and maybe go around the bus... (Yeah, my head would have exploded!)

-Caroline & Jen are in first place right now but Jen is afraid of heights and is trying not to look down as they ascend.  Dave & Connor are maybe five minutes behind them and Dave's not really happy with the height either - Connor just wants to rip through the lightbulbs and get ahead of the girls, Dave is concentrating on looking at the windows so he won't freak out.
-Brendon & Rachel finally arrive at the Mirage and since she used to work there she starts running to the employee entrance, completely missing the clue box that was right outside - they head into the hotel. (Well, they can't blame that on the cab driver.)

-Caroline & Jen are getting started on screwing in the lightbulbs.  They said it was kinda hard to get them in because they were a ways away they had to lean over pretty far and then the threads were long... they were also each counting how many bulbs they put in and will add their totals when they're done to get the final number.
-Dave & Connor have better wrist action and they are ripping through the light bulb changing.

-Brendon & Rachel are inside the hotel now and she's telling him they have to find the clue first.  He thinks they're supposed to search the hotel for it but she knows it's one of the biggest hotels in the world - they head back out to the entrance and finally find the clue box. (Duh!)
-When they find the clue she starts blaming him for running into the hotel, she just followed him. (Really? Great teamwork.) He says, it's not me, it's us, so just drop it." (Exactly.)

-Dave & Connor passed the Country Girls in the light bulb screwing task and were the first to give the number of bulbs, 240.  Negative. (oops) So they have to recount, but then figure they are probably only one or two off - so they guess 241 and that's right!

-Brendon & Rachel are now getting started on the light bulbs.
-Caroline & Jen just finish and they get the count right first try - 241.
-Dave & Connor are maybe a minute ahead of the girls they just hope their cab driver is fast because they know the girls' was.  They get the clue to make their way to Maverick Helicopters in Henderson.
-Caroline & Jen are right behind them.
-Brendon & Rachel finish the light bulb count but now they have to go find a different cab.

Maverick Helicopters
-Dave & Connor's cab turns down a dead end street first and when they turn around they see Caroline & Jen's cab just turn into the road in front of them.  Dave & Connor urge their cab driver to pass the girls and they re-take the lead.
-Both cabs arrive at the Maverick Helicopters building and Dave & Connor are the first team to read the clue - ROADBLOCK - Who wants to be a UFO?  Light up the Sky.
-This Roadblock requires teams to sky dive from a helicopter at 10K ft! In a futuristic lit up suit.  First they must fly down the strip and spot the sign showing them the finish line (the Aria sign) The Vegas Motor Speedway.  Once they have relayed the correct information to the pilot they are cleared to free-fall to the finish line.
-Dave and Caroline are the jumpers and Connor and Jen are being driven somewhere... they have no idea where and the clue did say sky-dive to the finish line so this could be the end.

-Brendon & Rachel get to Maverick Helicopters and Brendon is doing this, probably good since Rachel is a blubbering mess, she's just so passionate about this and she wants it more than anything in the world, it's making her emotional.  She is praying that someone messes up. (Somebody, please slap her.)

In the helicopters, Caroline is worried that she'll miss the sign and have to circle back around, which could cost them the lead, Dave doesn't want to let his son down... and they both spot: Race ends at
Vegas Motor Speedway.  Their helicopter pilots confirm that's right and they head for the drop zone.

Vegas Motor Speedway - the big mat is there, all the eliminated teams are there...
Connor and Jen are both standing with Phil waiting to see if it's Dave or Caroline dropping in a trailing fireball... that's so Cool!

And the first person to land is... DAVE!   Connor goes and meets him and together they run to the mat and Phil tells them they have won the one million dollars and the Amazing Race.  Also, Dave is the oldest winner ever of the Amazing Race and this is the first time they have ever had a parent/child team win the Race. 
-And Dave cries.  So all is right with the world.

-Caroline lands right behind him and she and Jen run to the mat as well.  Caroline says if they couldn't win, they are glad it was Dave & Connor.

A ways behind is Brendon, falling through the sky to meet a sniveling Rachel.  They are going to have to wait on the Brenchel babies until he graduates now but this experience is something they will tell those babies about.

Dave & Connor's final words, "Quite a comeback." (Men of few words.)
But with Dave & Connor, the winners of our pool are:

Elaine R., Bob L., Coleen T. and Shelley A.

Congratulations all!  I will contact you all to get you your winnings :)

Have a great summer everybody.  There will be an Amazing Race Canada again this summer but as I will be moving, I'm not going to be able to do a pool for it.  I encourage someone else to give it a try if they'd like.

Coleen.
 

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