It’s a jam-packed, thrilling season 21 finale of The Amazing Race. In the first hour, one team will be eliminated to set up the final three. The twins are playing at a disadvantage because of their speed bump. Let’s see how this all plays out!
Alliance Exposed
On their flight to France, which all four teams catch together, the Beekmans overhear the rest of the friend gang talking about their alliance. The Beekmans say they knew they were friends but didn’t know they made it official. Josh points out how demoralizing it is. The others try to make up for their loudness with some fake smiles.
Knowing that the three remaining groups are together, it doesn’t give the Beekmans much incentive to race on their “own” — they just decide to hang back and follow the group. That seems like a sure-fire way to come in fourth, but they’re really bad with directions.
After landing and loading up their cars with crates, everyone is driving off, with Trey and Lexi as the leader of the pack. The twins, who are behind the Chips, realize that the Beekmans are sneaking up from behind so now their minds are on trying to lose them.
But Josh has a bit of an ace up his sleeve because he’s the only one of the group to actually know French! This comes in handy while asking for directions, and they find the dog that holds their next clue inside a French garden.
A Bit of French Helps
While the others go off to find Leonardo DaVinci’s final resting place, the twins have their speed bump to overcome. And it’s just that — speedy — as they find a woman they have to help dress in an 18th century costume.
With the twins not around, Trey and Lexi and the Chips now cling to the Beekmans because of their French. That didn’t take long. But the Beekmans are now the navigators, which is bad for all because of their inability to find their way around. Them stopping to ask for directions allows the twins to make up some lost time.
After finding their way, the teams must complete a detour. Chow (Beekmans and eventually the twins) or Plow (Trey and Lexi and the mind-changing Chips). Lexi is feeling confident because she has horses on her ranch in Texas. The Beekmans know their way around a kitchen so think they can do their task well.
With the Beekmans and twins working right beside each other, the insults start flying. The twins call them the “evil gays” while the Beekmans chat it up with the twins to try and throw them off their game.
Are You Afraid of the Dark?
Trey and Lexi are done with the detour first and are off to pick mushrooms inside a giant, dark cave, which only one of them can go inside. The Chips are done right behind them, and this proves to be the easier task. I totally thought the other one would be.
They have to memorize three types of mushrooms inside a market that they have to pick 10 of in the cave. It’s quite scary inside, and the mushrooms are just everywhere.
Meanwhile, the Beekmans are ahead of the twins in preparing all the meat just right. While they complete it first, they have a hard time finding their way to the cave, which seems to be the story for them this season.
James (or Jaymes? I still haven’t learned this!) is out of the cave first — but he gets it wrong and must go back! Meanwhile, Lexi emerges after getting lost for a bit, and she has gotten all the right mushrooms. J gets it right on the second try and they’re off to the the “Castle of the Ladies” for the pit stop.
The Final Eliminated Team
Trey and Lexi, playing ahead for all of this leg, go to the wrong castle, which means the Chips are first. As winners, they each get a car. Trey and Lexi settle for second.
Back at the cave, the Beekmans and twins practically get there at the same time, thanks to the former’s lack of directional knowledge. The twins actually emerge first from the caves and get it right — Brent still can’t find the exit!
Both teams eventually are struggling to find the pit stop, constantly having to stop to ask for directions. The Beekmans come across a detour but don’t follow the signs. The twins are going in the opposite direction.
And the Beekmans get to the pit stop first! Wow, it seemed like they were behind so I’m not sure how that happened. The twins, meanwhile, flirted with last place in the last leg, so they blew it for two straight weeks and are eliminated.
Eyes on the Prize
With the final three of Trey and Lexi, Jaymes and James and Josh and Brent, it’s back to America, specifically New York City!
Well, the Beekmans are from New York; one of them actually works in the city. Will this be some home-field advantage for the underdogs?
A postcard from Coney Island is their next clue. It’s a crowded, busy day and the three teams are aimlessly wandering around for a Houdini poster that’s smack in front of them that has their next clue. They look up at the rides, they check all the entrances — they even go to the beach.
Trey and Lexi eventually find the sign first and try to be all cool and normal because the Beekmans are right near them, but they see the sign as well, and the Chips round out the rear what seems like a lot later.
Fall and Deliver
In their next task, they must complete a Houdini trick — suspend upside down from 15 stories high in a straight jacket. Figure out how to escape from said jacket and then free-fall down. Trey is scared. Scared of heights. Scared of straight jackets. Despite this, everyone completes it rather quickly. The only one super into it is Jaymes.
Next, the teams are off to find the first ever pizzeria, which happens to be in New York. There, they must memorize addresses and three orders of 10 pizzas and deliver them correctly. As Trey and Lexi leave with their memory full of pizza, the Beekmans arrive.
Where are the Chips? Wasting time hailing a taxi. It appears their taxi didn’t wait for them during the Houdini challenge. Then they get stuck in traffic and run the rest of the way. The Chips get to the pizzeria as Trey and Lexi get their final clue. The Beekmans do two incorrect deliveries so they’re racing against the Chips to wrap it up.
Hello, Goodbye
The final roadblock takes the team to the UN headquarters, where they must raise flags that say “hello” and “goodbye” in the languages of the countries they visited to the correct country flag.
Everyone struggles. It’s full of frustration and some tears. Everyone is so close, and this challenge just turns out to be a methodical process of elimination challenge. It eventually becomes nightfall and two and a half hours left. Josh seems to be first, with James close behind. Lexi has let her emotions and the pressure get the best of her, and it doesn’t seem likely she’ll catch up because she can’t maintain her composure.
Josh, who says he made the challenge a math room, gets all his flags up first, yelling “I love the world!” The finish line is Gotham Hall. As they’re off trying to hail a cab and get directions, the Chips are hot on their tails.
And the Winner Is…
Despite never winning a leg before, the Beekman boys win when it counts the most! All the eliminated teams are there cheering them on as they enter Gotham Hall. Hugs all around. They want everyone to know that nice guys do finish first and underdogs should never give up.
Jaymes and James (second) and Trey and Lexi (third) are all happy for the Beekmans as well, though the tears are falling for Lexi. The Chips won a car, and Trey and Lexi got some trips out of it, so not all is lost.
The Beekmans have been apart due to them losing their jobs, and they say the $1 million will allow them to be together again. Congrats, boys!
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(Image courtesy of CBS)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
