So another issue I would ask producers should we ever, say, sit down and have some lunch together is how they plan the times for the next leg of the journey and whether they know in advance that there is only one flight going out that everyone will end up on no matter what time they leave their starting point. I mean, they build it up so much that Team #1 gets to leave ahead of everyone else, and yet it seems that they all end up at the airport just sitting around, which makes me feel like the first place people get the raw end of the deal since they have to sit around the airport even longer than everyone else. I suppose if someone jetted out four hours ahead of everyone else, that would pretty much kill the excitement and tension regarding who is going to win, but still, it seems kind of lame. That part aside, it did make for an intense and exciting race once that plane landed in Hawaii. I always feel a touch of sympathy for the camera men who have to keep up with the sprinting contestants while lugging camera equipment. Do they ever fall? I would if I were trying to run while holding a camera. But back on track. My feelings about the contestants have evolved enough through the course of the show that I wasn’t rooting strongly for a specific team—mostly, I was just rooting for someone to beat out the cheerleaders. Phil hit the nail on the head regarding Margie, who was indeed the Bionic Woman with that whole pig-carrying thing. She hoisted it onto her shoulders like it was a slightly heavy backpack while Tammy screamed like she was giving birth in some 1860s prairie cabin just to get it five inches off the ground for three steps. And while I know it was petty of me, I did enjoy watching her snap at Victor towards the end. Their incessant cheeriness and positivity has seemed almost unreal (not to mention grating) at times, and it made like her more to see that sisterly irritation finally flare up. As much as I have disliked the cheerleaders’ rudeness towards cab drivers throughout this competition, I did feel a tiny bit sorry for them (even as I laughed) at the continuation of the Curse of the Problematic Cab Drivers, which, in this case, included their cab driver’s inability to find their location and his need to stop for gas. They certainly met their match in the dispatcher who informed the driver on speakerphone that she was not their personal concierge and that she didn’t have time to look things up for them. Oh, snap! Bitches, meet Mega Bitch.
The final surfboard challenge was déjà vu in more ways than one. Not only were they reassembling all the stops on their journey via surfboard symbols, but we also got a repeat performance of Luke running around in his black skivvies and experiencing agonizing frustration. It was Chekhov all over again with those last two surfboards. It was nice to see a little cooperation between the cheerleaders and him at the end, though. Despite their shrill rudeness at times, the cheerleaders do at least have some sense of honor. Favorite line in the episode: “I got them all except for Jesus!” That’s right, Jaime—forget Jesus, and you can forget about the million dollars. But I was touched that at the end, when Jaime was being as hard on herself about the surfboards as she has been on everyone else in this competition, Cara showed her some grace by reassuring her that she had done a great job and that it had been an honor just to complete the race with her. Hopefully, Jaime will learn from that example. And while they haven’t been my favorites in this competition, I feel pretty okay that Tammy and Victor won. I appreciate that they never got ugly about things, at least in the episodes that I saw, and that they seemed to be genuinely having such a good time. Plus, I’m sure the money will come in handy for those two lawyers. I felt bad for Luke’s disappointment, but as his mom pointed out, he’d had a great time every step of the way, and his tearful tribute to his mother at the end made it clear that this was one of those priceless experiences they’re always going on about in the Mastercard commercials. So, see? Everyone’s a winner. Just not of a million dollars. I’m sorry it has come to an end, and I’ll miss the comments from those of you who have been reading (thanks, by the way!), but there’s always next season…
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I'm so bummed I won't be reading your views on the race for weeks and weeks to come! I've loved reading your thoughts on stuff, and I'm curious to see if you will change how you view the race in it's entirety when you watch a whole season and know how the race works from this past season.
Until season 15.....
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