'TAR' Edition: Teams Flag Down the Finish Line!

Well, it was another thrilling finale of The Amazing Race last night, but it didn't live up to other editions' finales. Namely the family edition, which I still maintain, despite the overall disappointment, had the best TAR finale ever! This finale was exciting, but I didn't find myself really getting into the action until that final flag challenge. It was a great way to end the Race and it reminded me of Family Edition's ending puzzle map (but not as good). Things started off well in the newest country on my list of dream vacations: Thailand (if you watch this show and Top Model, you so know why). The Hippies left first and learned that they needed to travel 75 miles by Taxi to the Royal Kraal where an elephant would give them a T-Mobile Sidekick that contained their next clue. All of the teams rushed to the Royal Kraal only to find that it didn't open until 4 a.m. (Insert "Debbie Downer" music here). Did anyone else find the opening time odd? I mean, are there a lot of people lined up to get in this place at 4 a.m.?? I'm all for an elephant giving me a Sidekick, but I can certainly wait until a more normal hour like 9 or 10 a.m. Moving along because each team got their Sidekick and learned that they needed to fly to Tokyo, Japan and search the many lit-up boards in that city's version of Times Square for the one that gave them their next clue. When they were showing those hella-busy pedestrian crossings at Times Square: Tokyo Style, I kept hearing Dave Matthews Band's "Ants Marching" in my head. This intersection is the world's busiest according to Phil (and if Phil says it, then you can rest assured it's true. The man is a walking atlas, so from Phil's lips to God's ears). At the airport, things got interesting. The Slackers and Ray/Yolanda searched for the earliest flight and found the same one, but the Hippies assumed it would be faster to travel on a Japanese airline and wound up missing the earliest flight. They were now an hour and a half behind the other two teams. Even better, this time there was no magic commercial break that fixes everything, just an ordinary one that puts you an hour and a half behind.


Once the Slackers and Ray/Yolanda got to Tokyo, they made their way to the hotel that housed the marked cars they would need to travel to Times Square version TKO. Things took a drastic turn, though, when the Slackers went into the hotel and asked for directions while Ray/Yolanda (a.k.a. Fran/Barry when it comes to directions) drove off without asking anyone. Oh boy, we're in for plenty of Ray/Yolanda lost shots coming up. Enter the Ray/Yolanda lost shots. Yeah, it didn't take long because the highway signs were seriously the most confusing signage ever!! They were basically a bunch of lines going all different directions and the lines (read roads) were color coded with red and yellow and I have no idea. I was lost and I wasn't even in the darn race. Ray/Yolanda stopped to get directions, but the language barrier made it impossible to get anywhere. Meanwhile, the Slackers cruised along with their excellent directions and map courtesy of the hotel guy. They reached Times Square: Far East, and found the message that read: FIND HACHIKO. It seems Hachiko is a statue erected to honor a beloved dog in Japanese lore and they would need to find the man with nifty TAR/Harry Potter scarf to get their next clue (this guy was so supporting Gryffindor). The statue was a few steps behind them, so they found it and Harry Potter and opened the clue to find a Detour: Maiden or Messenger. In Maiden, teams had to travel 7 miles by taxi and carry a maiden in a traditional transporter for Asian royalty 1/3 mile to a tea ceremony. In Messenger, teams had to put together two folding bikes and then use them to deliver two messages through the crowded Tokyo streets. The Slackers chose Maiden (big shock!) and headed on their way. Meanwhile, Ray/Yolanda were still lost (somebody just wake me up when they get there) and the Hippies landed in Tokyo and used Tyler's knowledge of the country and the language to quickly reach Crouching Times, Hidden Square, the clue and the statue. They chose Messenger and quickly worked through the task with their usual excitement. The Slackers carried the maiden (and hoped that she was "hot") to the tea party where they received their next clue that told them to go to the Capsule Land Hotel. The Hippies finished their Detour as well and both teams found the hotel and learned that they would be spending the night in individual capsules that were not built with the claustrophobes in mind. I'm just going to fast forward through Ray/Yolanda because this thing is long enough and all you need to know is that they finally found the sign, statue, Maiden and hotel. The Slackers had a 9 a.m. departure time, the Hippies had 9:15 and Ray/Yolanda had 9:30.


The next morning, the teams learned that they needed to drive 80 miles to Fujikyo Highlands, an amusement park located at the base of Mount Fuji (and Phil let us know that it's wildly popular with the young kids. Who knew Phil had his finger on the pulse of the youth generation in Japan? I'm telling you people, an atlas!). The best part of the explanation was seeing Japan's newest thrill ride: the PhilCoaster. The teams made their way there, but not without a few antics. First one member of Team Slackers decided that the mountain behind Fujikyo Highlands was Mount Tokyo. Thankfully, the other one called him out on it by saying, "No dumbass, that's Mount Fuji." The Hippies got in front of the Slackers and they raced to the clue box where they found the Roadblock. One member had to ride three rides, and while riding, look for the man holding the sign with their next clue. The boys took off and started on their first ride. Meanwhile Ray/Yolanda pulled something that anyone who has ever been on the Jersey Turnpike knows too well. They lost their ticket, and luckily for them, they weren't in New Jersey because they held up the line of cars while they searched their entire car for slip of paper. Finally, the toll operator asked them to pull over to the side and a man came out and had them pay the full amount just as you would on the Jersey Turnpike. Then something happened that only happens at the rest areas on the Jersey Turnpike, the second toll operator slapped Ray on the behind. Ray was so out of sorts over the whole thing that he almost got in the wrong side of the car. Meanwhile back at the park, the boys had completed two rides and still no sign, although, Tyler tried to pull a fast one and told Jeremy that he saw it on the second ride and Jeremy being Jeremy, totally believed it. On the last ride, both of them saw the actual sign (Lake Yamanaka) and got their next clue, which of course, instructed them to drive to Lake Yamanaka and peddle the little duck to the big swan (little duck being a paddle boat and big swan being a river boat), the Pit Stop for this leg of the race. I don't know why, but something about those instructions just cracked me up. The two teams raced to the lake and began peddling, but the Hippies reached Phil first. The Slackers whined about the Hippies playing mind games and Phil pretended to not want to roll his eyes. Again, let's fast forward through Ray/Yolanda (who I totally love BTW, and wanted to win) because after the ticket thing they got into one of their fights about nothing and it carried on for way too long and I was totally confused. They finally reached the Pit Stop in last place and Phil took all of their money and belongings because this was a non-elimination round (Phil didn't even bother with the whole "the last team to check in here, MAY be eliminated" speech leading into the Pit Stop explanation. He knows we all know the drill).


The next morning, the teams learned that they needed to travel back to the hotel where they first got their cars and wait for a shuttle to the airport where they needed to fly to Anchorage, Alaska. The Hippies left some money on Ray/Yolanda's car before heading back to the hotel. On the way to the hotel, the Hippies took a shortcut, but the Slackers figured the Hippies were lost and would arrive at the hotel after them. The shortcut paid off because the Hippies reached the hotel and found the Internet access they needed to search for flights. They asked the hotel front desk not to tell the other teams about the Internet access. Team Slacker arrived and the front desk held true to their word, but it didn't matter because the Slackers found an earlier flight over the phone. At 6 a.m., the shuttle arrived and both teams boarded without Ray/Yolanda. The pair was busy begging for money and struck the big time when they found some drunk business men who thought Yolanda looked like Janet Jackson. They then made their way to the hotel and airport. The Slackers managed to pull off their earlier flight, but the other two teams caught up with them in Taipei, and all three were on the same flight to Anchorage.


Once in Anchorage, all three teams found their marked vehicles and the clue that instructed them to drive to Lake Mirror. I started to think that this was where Ray/Yolanda were going to catch up and make this thing interesting, but alas, it was not. The Hippies and the Slackers arrived at Lake Mirror together and found another Detour: Deliver it or Drill it. There's really no point in explaining Deliver it because it involved a plane and delivering medical supplies, but the weather conditions prohibited this Detour from taking off. In Drill it, teams had to use an auger to drill 10 holes in the ice, and then push a shack across the ice until it was covering two of the holes. As you can imagine, both teams worked as quickly as they could to drill the holes, but it was incredibly difficult. The Slackers finished first and of course, picked the pink shack to push across the ice. They centered it in place and received their next clue, which instructed them to drive to Kincaid Park, put on snowshoes, and use a map to find their next clue. The Hippies finished just as Ray/Yolanda were finally getting to the lake. They had decided to stop and ask directions because of their poor navigational skills, but overcompensated by stopping every so many miles and asking again. So, they got there without getting lost, but it took them 10 times longer. They can't win for losing! The other two teams arrived at Kincaid Park, with the Slackers having a decent lead. The Hippies couldn't find the snowshoes even though they were Right. In. Front. Of. Them!!! Shades of Fran/Barry in Brazil began to fill my mind. I guess these two really do travel with the ghosts of the former teams. They finally found the gear and began searching for the clue. Meanwhile, the Slackers found their clue and learned that they needed to fly back to where the Race began in Denver, Colorado. They would then need to travel 30 miles to the town of Golden and find Clear History Park. They made their way to the airport and booked a flight, but the Hippies arrived shortly after and booked the same flight. Ray/Yolanda worked through the Detour, found the clue in the dark with their snowshoes and map and booked the same flight as the other two teams. This had to be the point where Ray/Yolanda finally entered the race and made thing interesting, right? RIGHT???


Once in Colorado, the teams made their way to the park and learned that they needed to search all of it for their next clue. This was basically the same task as the one prior in Anchorage, except with less snow and more hidden places. The Slackers, as usual, found theirs first and learned that they needed to travel to Red Rocks. They jumped in their taxi and took off while the Hippies quickly found theirs as well. Ray/Yolanda searched and searched, but couldn't find a clue. Never mind, I give up! They're totally out of it. This is where things heated up. The other two teams arrived at Red Rocks, with the Slackers having a slight advantage. The location held the final Roadblock of the race. In it, one team member had to locate all of the flags of the countries that they visited on the Race, and then put them in order of their travels. There was a little board there designed to help and trick the teams because it contained unlabeled pictures of all of the flags and some extras to throw them off. After completing the task, teams needed to run to the finish line to win the $1 million. Eric worked quickly, but BJ soon started the task as well, and they were moving along neck and neck. Eric gathered all of his flags first, but he had them in the wrong order. He kept rearranging them, but he couldn't get it right. Meanwhile, BJ finally got all of his flags and began arranging them. He got it right on the first try and he and Tyler sprinted to the finish line, landing in first place and winning the $1 million. The Slackers came in second and Ray/Yolanda finished in third. So, another season of The Amazing Race has come and gone and the Hippies are now a million dollars richer. What did you think about the outcome? How about this season of TAR? Leave me a comment with your thoughts.

All of the pictures in this edition are from cbs.com. The site has a lot more pictures and info if you just can't get enough of TAR. You can also click on over to The Early Show's site (click on "Watch Team Hippie Wins 'Race'") to watch today's interview with the final three, including Ray's surprise for Yolanda. And be sure to tune in later today for the regular edition of Pass the Remote jam-packed with thoughts on the new Top Model. Plus, the Idol moment and all the latest television news!

To get more television coverage, including a complete archive of the best of Pass the Remote and a photo gallery featuring pictures from the set of Veronica Mars, click on over to PassTheRemote.net.