Amazing Race: The Finale

[Angelina]

I am just so happy for Uchenna and Joyce. I really wish them well. Even though my boss tomorrow will say "Screw the cab driver! A million dollars was at stake!", I am glad they did pay him. :)

Angela

[lonetree1353]

I thought that their efforts to beg the money to pay the cab driver before they went into the hotel showed the integrity and fairness that they have displayed throughout the race. I am really glad they won.

I do have to admire Rob's boldness with a lot of the things he managed to pull off. You do end up liking him whether you wanted to or not. I am sure that Rob and Amber are making money filming their wedding so they still are making money with the exposure.


I do have one question though. Does this mean if I book a flight with American Airlines, I also can board a flight within minutes of takeoff? I have known people who weren't allowed to board even after being at the airport 1 hour before the flight left.

[aggie94]

Originally posted by lonetree1353
I thought that their efforts to beg the money to pay the cab driver before they went into the hotel showed the integrity and fairness that they have displayed throughout the race. I am really glad they won.

I agree 100%. I love that they never gave up, I love that they followed through with their promise to their cabbie, I love that they won, and I especially love that everyone waiting for them at the finish wanted THEM to win. :D

In the back of my mind, I was hoping all season long that the story that broke early in the season (that there was a leak about the winner based on a lot of off-shore betting on Uchenna & Joyce) was right, and I'm so glad it was!!! DH and I both jumped up and down, yelling and hollering, when they turned the corner to the finish. No one deserved it more than they did.

Now, I am really looking forward to the next season, with the family teams of 4. I am so disappointed that DH and his brothers weren't able to get an audition tape in for that season before the deadline, because I really thought they had a great story and a good shot at getting on. :o :rolleyes: Who knows, maybe there will be another chance for them down the road. ;)

[Molli526]

I cried I was so happy - when they mentioned they could try to have a baby via IVF or adoption. SO glad they won.

[Gracie]

I was so afraid that their efforts to pay the cab driver $25 would have cost them a million (they could have always sent him some money!!). But it all worked out and I am also thrilled for them.

Don't other countries have security getting onto airplanes? How can anyone just board a plane while it is in the middle of backing away from the gate? Even Rob and Amber got on right at the last minute. Do you think that the airport staff were influenced by the TV cameras following U&J around and decided to help them? I was so amazed by this part. I never ever thought they'd catch up once they had to start out begging money at the airport (which they were not very good at!!). It is easier to get money from the other teams in earlier legs where there are more teams to help you out. This was the first time that having no money really was a barrier.

I'm sorry, but I just don't see Kelly as a beauty queen. Even with makeup. Did someone say that they are not still together? I wasn't real happy with her speech about what a great person she was and that Ron was missing out.

Anyone going to watch Rob and Amber's wedding? I will!! :o

Loren

[lhall]

:o :o I actually watched the Early Show this morning....

Ron & Kelly are not longer together. She said they are just 'good friends'. The host kept asking Kelly about their fights and her comments. It really didn't show her in the best light.

I'm thrilled that Uchenna & Joyce won. I figured they were out of it when they were doing so bad at begging money at the airport.

Leigh

[MISSINDI]

Haven't seen it yet, but really happy with the outcome. Good begets good, simple as that.

[mom2garret]

Originally posted by lhall
:o :o I actually watched the Early Show this morning....

Ron & Kelly are not longer together.
Leigh

Did you hear her when she said that Ron never finishes anything? She mentioned he even got out of the service when he defended himself about being committed to them. My God, he was a POW! I guess he must have planned that one! :rolleyes:
Jodi

[zackaboo]

Originally posted by mom2garret


Did you hear her when she said that Ron never finishes anything? She mentioned he even got out of the service when he defended himself about being committed to them. My God, he was a POW! I guess he must have planned that one! :rolleyes:
Jodi

I had a hard time with that one too. I just don't think they were a very compatible couple. I actually started pulling against them when she felt the need to constantly whine about their relationship while the cameras were rolling. Couldn't that have waited until after the race?

Ultimately the right team won. Uchenna and Joyce were fun to watch, easy to cheer for and the most deserving winner in my opinion. It is always great when there is a happy ending! They will be great parents one day!

[manetta]

I'm so happy that Uchenna and Joyce won! They seemed like genuinely nice and decent people.

I was so over the beauty queen that I would have pulled for even Rob and Amber if Uchenna and Joyce had been eliminated during the first hour. Was anyone else amazed (and thankful) that they weren't eliminated?

[PoppyJ]

All I have to say is...Karma, baby!!!!

I LOVED the ending!:D

[Laurielee]

Oh man, I cant believe I turned it off, I was so disgusted when U and J got the flat tire and lost everything and seeing them begging in the middle of the night which looked fruitless and seeing R and A smoozing it up, I just knew they were going to win and didnt want to watch, I was so tired and thought why stay up. Do they play the finale again? I am so happy U and J won

Laurie

[KimE]

I Loved, Loved, Loved the ending! It was so great, I was yelling out loud, my DD came up from downstairs to see what was wrong.
I thought it was great when Rob & Amber came running in and he mumbled something to her about not being first. And yes, they had played the game well and really smart with not being afraid to ask anyone for information along the way. Thank I think is the real difference.
I was sooooo sick of listening to Kelly the last 2 shows I was glad they did not show them the last part of the show. She is really quite a "catch" for someone now that she said she is ready for a commited relationship.

This was one of the best Amazing Races so far I think.
Now what to do on Tuesday nights.....:rolleyes:

Kim

[Slflyt]

I was thrilled with the ending. I wanted U & J to win and I'm glad R & A came in second. Question: Do the second and third place winners win any money?

We were able to see the goodness of U & J throughout the entire game. They were so nice to everyone and so helpful. I especially loved seeing how totally kind U was to everyone, whether they gave them money or not. The one guy who wouldn't give them any money he said something like, "No problem partner, thank you anyway." They are such a nice couple and I'm glad she didn't shave her head for naught.

[Beth H]

Question: Do the second and third place winners win any money?

Yes, but it's not that much. On the Television Without Pity boards, Aaron (from last year's 4th place team) said what they had won, and it was less than $20,000 to share. So I would imagine the 2nd place team wins $35 - 50 K.

I was so happy Uchenna and Joyce won as well. On the CBS morning show today, she mentioned that their doctor was giving them a free round of IVF. It sounded as though if that did not work out, they were going to seriously explore adoption. She looked beautiful on the show this morning.

Ron and Kelly definitely are broken up, by the way. Apparently, however, she felt they hadn't fought that much on the race! Ron sort of smiled when she said that. (Edited to say - sorry, I see Lindrusso had posted this already! :))

[stacy7272]

Well, I guess not yielding U & J really did cost Rob and Amber the win!

I think that the producers probably were begging the airline to let U & J on the flight, otherwise it wouldn't have been a very exciting finale.

I was noticing that Kelly kind of looks like Rachael Ray! Must be the nose.

[mrswaz]

That was a great race. I am thrilled for Uchenna and Joyce, and SO glad it's not Ron and Kelly.

Was anyone else chuckling at the onion chopping challenge? I think it was Kelly who said "man, this is a tough one." Lol. I just wanted to grab all of their knives and show them how to do it.

[Jewel]

Originally posted by mrswaz
Was anyone else chuckling at the onion chopping challenge? I think it was Kelly who said "man, this is a tough one." Lol. I just wanted to grab all of their knives and show them how to do it.

Oh my Gawd, that was totally freaking me out! I just kept yelling at them "Keep the tip of the @#$% knife on the cutting board and chop, chop, chop!!" :rolleyes: Just goes to show you that being a Foodie isn't just for the Kitchen anymore. ;)

[gertdog]

Yay! I was delighted with the ending and would have been really mad if Uchenna and Joyce hadn't won. I HATED that there was a non-elimination leg in the final three- once they get down to the final three, just let them race!!

I could not believe the American Airlines flight came back for Uchenna and Joyce, though. And it was a U.S.-bound flight on a U.S. airline, so the security regulations ought not to have been so lax IMO. I was really kind of shocked. Again, glad they won, but that was really odd.

Rob and Amber's luck definitely ran out at the end. I enjoyed watching them and thought they raced hard and well. But I'd be happy if the producers didn't cast any more reality "crossovers" in the future.

Was anyone else a bit uncomfortable watching U&J's begging situation?

[Jen]

We were so excited too...I was letting out lots of "yes, yes, yes"'s when U&J got on the plane, so enthusiastically that I was starting to worry about our neighbours wondering what we were up to! :o

I had heard the spoiler about the heavy bets on U&J as well, and I just always had a good feeling that they might win. But then about halfway through the 1st leg of the finale (or was it the 2nd leg?!), in one of the interviews that's obviously done after it's over, Rob sounded like he said "no one else could have won except for us" or something to that effect. It sounded like he was bragging after the fact, and I got a bit depressed.

I LOVED the fact that not only did U&J win, but they were classy enough to do it without stiffing the cabbie!!

The reactions of the other teams at the last pitstop were also funny (especially Patrick's little mantra).

Poppy - karma is exactly right!! As much as I didn't want R&A to win, I thought they were reasonably classy to other people during the race (but not to their fellow racers). But during that last episode they were soooo rude. I couldn't believe how Rob was walking up to people in Little Havana, demanding to know whether they knew of the store without a "please" or "thankyou" to be heard.

Mostly, I loved that U&J won because they exemplified what this show is about for me - they solidified their relationship, found out things about each other that they never would have seen otherwise, and came out of it stronger and more in love than before. Yay for love! Yay for babies! :D (I hope we will get a follow-up to find out whether they ended up with a baby!)

[gertdog]

Originally posted by Jen
But then about halfway through the 1st leg of the finale (or was it the 2nd leg?!), in one of the interviews that's obviously done after it's over, Rob sounded like he said "no one else could have won except for us" or something to that effect.

See, this didn't worry me at all. The Amazing Editors for this show definitely have a sense of irony, humor, sarcasm- I felt like I could almost SEE the caption reading "Pride goeth before a fall" as Rob was making that comment. :D

[Jen]

Stephanie, I know what you mean - usually I take those comments with a grain of salt. Actually, I said to DH during the show last night that I guessed they weren't going to win because the editors were really setting them up by showing all their egotistical talking! Also, those comments from last week's show where Rob talks about how stupid U&J are and how they only follow everyone else were some pretty nifty foreshadowing.

But this comment actually sounded like he was saying that they HAD won, after the fact. I should go back and check my tape and see if he said what I thought he did.

[AdGirl]

just watched the finale off TiVo last night.

ok first of all, YEA!!!!! so happy for U&J!!!

that being said, it's complete crap. they wouldn't have won if that plane hadn't come back for them. there is no way in real life that a plane that had already shut the door and had the runway pulled away would come back for two people on freakin' standby! i understand that it made for more exciting TV, but i don't think there's any way the producers didn't have anything to do with getting them on the plane. seriously, total crap.

[Arete]

I seriously doubt that the producers influenced the pilot's decision to allow U&J on the plane. TAR is ultimately a game show, and game shows are VERY regulated. (Wasn't it the $64,000 Question that was rigged back in the 70's which lead to the regulations?) Anyway, as a game show, it must follow some strict rules just like sweekpstakes do. If the producers influenced the outcome at all, they would be in major violation, plus R&A would have a pretty good lawsuit.

Really, I think it comes down to this: You get special treatment when you have a camera crew with you.

[Meganator]

Really, I think it comes down to this: You get special treatment when you have a camera crew with you.

I agree, that really has to be the explanation. They couldn't do such obvious "fixing" of the result.

It appears that they have some rules about not being able to say anything about the race while they are begging? No one ever says: "I'm in a race to win a million dollars and I came in last in the last leg, so they took all my money, see the camera crew over there?" Honestly, I'm not sure I would have given U&J money if I hadn't seen the cameras...

[Beth H]

It appears that they have some rules about not being able to say anything about the race while they are begging? No one ever says: "I'm in a race to win a million dollars and I came in last in the last leg, so they took all my money, see the camera crew over there?" Honestly, I'm not sure I would have given U&J money if I hadn't seen the cameras...

Yes, there are rules about what they can/can not say on the race. I believe that they're allowed to say that they are in a "race," but they can not say, "we're on 'The Amazing Race.'"

I think the plane jetway was re-opened for Uchenna and Joyce because of the cameras, not because anyone with the show convinced them to do it.