It’s the TAR finale, Trashies! Our attractive social media stars have been to Mexico, Columbia (a TAR 1st), Switzerland, the gorgeous French Alps (where the Maroon girls tried to take Phil’s lunch), Armenia (another 1st & who could forget the friendly ladies there?), Georgia (a 1st), Dubai, Indonesia and China. #Blodie almost happened and now we are down to our final 3 teams racing for a million bucks: 1. The Boys (Tyler & Korey), 2. The Dueling Dancers (Dana & Matt), and 3. Heartthrob (Sheri & Cole).
Underdog mother-and-son team Heartthrob spent most of the race in the back of the pack. They were saved by a NEL and a leg when they checked in last but were still racing. It’s surprising to see them in the finals but they are super supportive and kind to one another and I’ve enjoyed watching them. The Boys have been mostly in the front, (though saved in episode 7 when Daddy Daughter accidentally took Tyler’s backpack), and I’ve been rooting for them all season. Some find Tyler to be a bit much, but I think he’s adorkable and while I’m not crazy about that word, it does describe him and I want to associate it with someone other than Zooey Deschanel. And Korey is a cutie who seems to have a great personality. Plus they’re good at the challenges and seem to be having fun. On the other end of that spectrum is Dana, who has been bitchy all season when the Dancers get (limited) airtime.
From the mat in China Phil tells the teams they are headed to Los Angeles, CA, specifically the Angelus Plaza. They’re also been upgraded to premium class, whatever that is (they have awesome reclining chairs with no one next to them). Cole gives us the title quote, and with everyone starting at the same time I’m hoping for a close leg.
“Models living the high life”
Everyone is in a cab to the plaza but the Boys, who arrive first, neglect to see the clue box and end up in last place (clue karma?) The clue is for the Roadblock: Leap of Faith where a team member will jump off a building and try to snatch the dangling clue. If you miss you have to do it again, though the clue will be moved closer for each attempt. After some hemming and hawing Matt decides to do it, with Dana actually being supportive. He goes for it and easily grabs the clue. They will next board a helicopter to Santa Barbara, and while they’re getting ready to take off they watch both Sheri and Tyler fail on their 1st attempts (Sheri was super scared and jumped while holding the safety harness so she had no chance of grabbing anything.)
The face of someone who knows he might win a cool mil
While Tyler is fawning all over jump instructor Brandon, Korey is telling the cameras they’re a two-try three-try team. Tyler probably only got it the 3rd time because he was afraid of embarrassing himself in front of Brandon. They’re last out of the challenge.
Meanwhile, the Dancers have arrived in Santa Barbara and are trying to locate the Theresa Ann, a 1926 fishing boat that is docked among the many boats in the harbor. They wisely use their cab driver’s phone to learn more about the boat. They have to motor themselves around in a dinghy and Dana picks a direction and lo-and-behold the boat is there. Damn, they’re actually gonna win this thing. They are leaving the harbor just as Heartthrob is arriving. This team also used their driver’s phone but have concluded that they’re looking for a museum (of the boat I guess?) so they board their dinghy and ask other boaters for directions to the museum.
Very close behind are the Boys, but they don’t seem to know how to operate their dinghalingy:
Do either of us know how to drive this?
Oops! My bad.
Yeah, they totally crashed into someone’s boat. Hope they left a note.
Heartthrob finally realizes they’re looking for a boat, one they passed twice (D’oh!) When Cole sees the Boys he wants to show they have the clue, to deter them from going down the same waterway, which didn’t make sense to me.
The Dancers need to head to the next location, the Gibraltar Rock, but let their taxi go (why?) so waste 20 minutes trying to find a cab then calling for one. Double D’oh!
The faces of someone who just blew it
Heartthrob also let their taxi go and ask the Boys’ cabbie if she knows where the Gibraltar Rock is. She doesn’t, but how awesome would it have been if she started researching it and knew exactly where to bring the Boys? What actually happens is the Boys get out right before Heartthrob but Ms. Cab Driver doesn’t know how to follow Siri and takes then them wrong way! Ug, I hate when bad taxi luck happens to a team I like on the last leg (yes, last season too).
The Dancers are first to arrive at the giant cliff for Tyrolean Traverse. Each of them will have to retrieve 2 halves of the clue: Matt will traverse/pull himself across a gorge while simultaneously lowering Dana down the face of the cliff. Then Matt pulls himself back to the ledge while pulling Dana back up (she’s also climbing). Looks physical but they get er done and are headed to Grassini Family Vineyards.
Heartthrob arrives at the rock and Cole traverses while mama climbs.
Cole is terrified and doesn’t do as well as Matt, but they finish just as the Boys are getting ready to go. Korey will be on top and Tyler on the bottom (probably the opposite of real life hahaha).
Even though they missed the clue stuck into bales of hay on a parked pick-up truck, the Dancers are still in the lead arriving at the second Roadblock: Roll with the Barrels. The person who did not perform the prior roadblock will have to do this one. Along the race each leg has had a hashtag in one of the clues, and Dana took notice of them, thinking they might be used in the final task. Sure enough, she needs to identify which # was for each leg, and spell out the city using lettered wine barrel lids. This was a cool challenge and I wish they had more stuff like this throughout the race.
Killing it
After a tiny scramble trying to find the lake that is the Finish Line, the Dancers run to the final mat where Phil and all of the racetestants are cheering them on. There are hugs, tears and talks of how Dana isn’t a raging bitch they are learning to communicate better. They would rather be passionate (read: hateful) than boring.
Now you can pay someone to carry your fanny pack!
The Boys quickly get through their simultaneous rock climb and seem to be a few cities behind Heartthrob at the Roadblock, but it is the mother-and-son team that comes in 2nd. All 3 teams are grateful for the experience yada yada yada.
See you on the internet
Winners: The Dancers
2. Heartthrob
3. The Boys
Well, that’s it. I guess the Dancers deserved it, they ran a decent race with no major errors. I was surprised at their lack of screen time – they certainly weren’t getting any kind of winner’s edit. Will you miss this season’s crop? Let me know your thoughts in the comment section below and thanks for reading all season!
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