The Amazing Race 14 – The Finale
Aired 5-10-09
The opening recap focused on the journey the final three teams had to get to this final leg. For Margie & Luke, it had an inspirational feel to it. For Tammy & Victor, the theme was personal growth. For Jaime & Cara, it was all about how obnoxious Jaime has been. Poor Cara didn’t even get a mention. Host Phil Keoghan pointed out that they were only the 4th all female team to make it to the final three. Normally, that would be a good reason for me to root for them but not this time. I want a female team to win a season - but not this season and not this team.
The race picked back up at the Bird’s Nest in Beijing, China. Brother and sister lawyers, Tammy & Victor, were the first to depart at 9:15PM. The teams had to fly over 5000 miles to Maui, Hawaii. Once there, they had to find their way to someplace called Beach Access 118. They knew the other teams were going to bring their A game for the final leg so Tammy & Victor were going to try for an A+. At the airport, they discovered that they couldn’t make any flight reservations until 6:00AM whether in person or by phone.
Mother and son team, Margie & Luke, left at 11:24PM. Luke figured that when the race started he and his mom were considered to be the underdogs but, now that they’re in the final three, everyone can see they’re a strong team. Perhaps before the race began someone might have said that Margie & Luke were at a disadvantage because Luke can only communicate through sign language, but I doubt anyone thought that was true after they won the very first leg. They were tough competitors from day one and I still love the moment when fellow racer Mike White dubbed Luke the “sinister deaf kid.”
Best friends (and this season’s obligatory cheerleader team), Jaime & Cara, left at 2:04AM. They thought it was long past time for a female team to win and noted that they said from day one not to underestimate them.
We had a final race reboot as they all landed together in Maui after an 18 hour flight. Tammy & Victor were the first to leave the airport and the first to make it to the beach. Once there they discovered an awful task. They had to season a whole, 145 pound pig carcass for a luau and carry it 200 yards to the site where they would prepare it in a roasting pit. The very pink pig had its feet bound together so they could carry it using a pole. Frankly, you didn’t need to be a PETA member to be horrified at the sight. The task was also a good excuse for the show to have all these slim, good-looking people strip down to bathing suits. Jaime & Cara were the second to arrive at the pig site.
While Margie & Luke were the last to get there, they quickly passed the other two teams because Margie again showed herself to be a little powerhouse as she carried the pig down the beach. Tammy and Cara struggled under the weight. Not to discount what Luke has accomplished on the race but, for me, the bigger inspiration has been watching this 40-something mom consistently kick the butts of her younger competitors on the physical challenges. Meanwhile, Victor yelled at Tammy to keep picking up her end of the pig, but did at least make an effort to yell words that seemed encouraging. Jaime just berated Cara every time she dropped her side of the pole.
Margie & Luke were the first team done burying their pig and got the next clue. The teams had to travel to the beach at McGregor Point and ride a jet ski a mile to a buoy field. They then had to search through 100 buoys to find one with the next clue attached. They moved quickly to the site and found the clue quite easily although not without some aggravation. Margie again had it up to her eyeballs with Luke badgering her to go faster. Seriously, kid, you should have caught on by now that your mom knows what she’s doing. Sheesh!
Tammy & Victor made it to the buoy field just ahead of Jaime & Cara but the cheerleaders found the clue before them. The teams seemed to be separated by only a few minutes. They next had to travel to the Hana Highway and locate a surfboard fence. At the fence, Margie & Luke found a Roadblock.
Roadblock
One team member had to sort through a huge pile of surfboards to find the 11 that had pictures related to each leg of the race. They then had to stand them up like fence posts in the correct order. This was a tough one because I thought some of the pictures were pretty cryptic. Margie said Luke had been reviewing things through the race in preparation for the final task.
Meanwhile, cab Karma hit Jaime & Cara. Their driver didn’t know where the fence was and, as usual, Jaime went off. The driver kept trying to get help from a dispatcher who proved to be the one person who finally shut Jaime down. On a speaker phone the dispatcher said she wasn’t their personal concierge and didn’t have time to track down their destination. Jaime settled down a bit and borrowed the driver’s phone to call the police for directions. She was smart enough to be polite to the person who answered and did get accurate information. The driver then spiked Jaime’s blood pressure again by announcing that they needed to stop for gas. She was in her own personal nightmare.
Tammy & Victor got trapped behind a slow vehicle and, by the time they made it to the fence, Luke had found all but 3 of the boards. Victor took the challenge and it was the perfect task for him. He quickly started to make up ground on Luke. The last two boards that Luke had to find were from the final legs in China. He stalled out and stalled out badly. Board after board that he tried was wrong.
Meanwhile, Jaime & Cara’s driver scurried about the gas station and did quickly fill the tank. That caused Jaime to take a deep breath and actually apologize to a cab driver. They arrived at the fence and Jaime started sorting through the boards as Luke was getting more and more frustrated. I’ve given him a hard time during the race for having a short fuse but, this time, I could completely understand. He was watching sure victory for him and his mom slip away.
Victor finished first and he and Tammy got the clue taking them to the final Pit Stop at the King Kamehameha Golf Club. They sped off while an exasperated Luke and Jaime watched. After letting the two go for a bit longer, Margie finally told Luke to just work with Jaime so they could both finish. It seemed like a fitting way for these teams to conclude since they had the only real alliance on this edition of TAR. Luke showed Jaime the board she was missing and she returned the favor. As they all headed to the golf club, Luke and Jaime were in tears and Margie and Cara showed support by saying that they were proud of the job they’d done.
All the previously eliminated teams were standing with Phil as Tammy & Victor Jih ran to the mat to claim their title as the season 14 winners. Tammy commented that, since the disaster in the mountains of Romania on leg three, she and her brother had put in the effort to really listen to each other. While the experience didn’t change their relationship it did help it to progress. She added that she also learned that “the nerdy little Asian girl, who could barely hold up her backpack before, can do quite a bit.”
Jaime & Cara came in second. Jaime took responsibility for the loss but Cara wouldn’t have it. She said that they did it together and finished the whole race and that was what really mattered.
Margie & Luke were third. At the mat, Phil asked Luke to admit that his mom was the bionic woman and he did. Luke also thanked her for having learned to sign for him and said he was lucky to have her. Margie, of course, dissolved into tears.
In the end, Victor said that he’d always been the person who’s done what was expected of him and he learned through the race that life is more fun when you sometimes do the crazy and unexpected. I also watched Tammy & Victor get presented with their million dollar check on this morning’s “Early Show”. I was especially touched when Tammy talked about how they owed a lot of the victory to their mother. She insisted that her children learn Chinese even though they were born and raised in the US. She even insisted that only Chinese be spoken in the house. It was the perfect example of how an adult can end up being very grateful for the thing that most drove them crazy when they were a child.
TAR has been renewed for a 15th edition and I can’t wait to see where we’ll be going next!
Full episodes and bonus clips of TAR are available at CBS’ website here:
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