Topic: TAR 30 EP 11&12 FINALE NIGHT LIVE SHOW DISCUSSION! 2/21/17

[Platrium]

Henry & Evan were boring!? I think they weren't, especially with Evan being very strategic and competitive. It's like she had some sort of villain edit at some points.

Kristi & Jen may not have won, but they're still winners to me since they're the only FF team never to go below the Top 3 and also the FF team with the highest average (as a result of the former).

[ilovetoread]

Why wouldn’t they have paid for their taxis? Surely they thought this was the last stop? They’d done so much!

Not a bad decision actually.

They were MILES away from SF, in the dark, in a locked down location.

Had there been another task they would have been up the creek with no hope of getting a taxi.

Oh yeah.  Because the taxi ride is sometimes what causes the change in place! Crazy.

[Jro]

Just a random afterthought, but it would've been cool if they somehow edited in the moment during Cody's goodbye message to Jessica during Big Brother where he basically told Jessica that she gave up $500,000 for him, and he will re-pay her. Worked out pretty well lol.

[Snausages]

The only reason Big Brother won is because they gutted the number of roadblocks. Jessica got carried by Cody, and that's bull**** imo.

[zuzuspetals]

Why wouldn’t they have paid for their taxis? Surely they thought this was the last stop? They’d done so much!

Not a bad decision actually.

They were MILES away from SF, in the dark, in a locked down location.

Had there been another task they would have been up the creek with no hope of getting a taxi.

Oh yeah.  Because the taxi ride is sometimes what causes the change in place! Crazy.

Wasn't the cluebox "This is it !" on the dock next to the Hornet ?  If so, then the run back to the taxis shouldn't have taken that long.

[BourkieBoy]

WHAT A LEG!!! <33333

THAT is the best finale leg in recent memory!

Sad that Skiers didn't win (they deserved it), but BB winning... Er...

[NELs]

I just watched the finale, and it was probably the best edited episode in this season. The Hong Kong leg was amazing at night! The tasks were amazing. The crab task was good, looked hard. The serving task had a great language barrier. The Roadblock could've been better(really smashing old electronics is the best you could think of.) The mini memory challenge was good.

Two night legs in a row was a great idea. The San Francisco leg is probably the best finale in recent seasons. All the tasks were great. The Kayak task was a great task and let the racers ask the people of the city. The Bridge Task was a great extreme task this season. The Fortune Cookie Task was a bit lame for a final leg. The final memory challenge was the best one in recent seasons.

Hong Kong 5/5 for being a great penultimate leg
San Francisco 5/5 for being a great night final leg

[nrh2110]

Okay first leg.

I'm REALLY happy with this Hong Kong leg. I was actually quite surprised when I found out they were going back to Hong Kong so soon, considering they just went there in 27, and they already did another country from 27 (Zimbabwe). That being said, this leg blew my expectations. The detour choices were some of the best detour choices this season. I think what the racers didn't realize is that if you did it right, the waiting detour was so much easier, but I still think both turned out great.

The roadblock was a bit disappointing. I thought it was a little too easy. Imo, I think what they could've done to really make this the perfect leg would've been to do a final switchback to TAR 17's eating roadblock, but seeing as they already went to a restaurant for one task, I guess it was pretty clear that that wasn't gonna happen.

That being said, the final task made up for it. Really happy with how it played out, and it was kind of cool that they brought a memory task early, which I wish they did more. Sad about Indy getting eliminated, but still a great leg. Really happy about Henry and Evan winning that leg; imo they receive too much hate, and I really don't like how the editing painted Evan as a villain despite not really doing anything wrong.

Now the second leg.

San Francisco has been long overdue! I'm surprised this is the first time in the newer seasons (I consider 18 the turning point because they changed the resolution and quality) that they went to San Francisco, considering it was one of the more visited American cities in earlier seasons. Also REALLY happy that they finally did a season without LA, as my worry when I saw the New York start was that it would be an LA finish.

Now onto the leg.

First task I think turned out to be easier than it should've been, just by luck of Jody finding the balls so fast despite having none of the three numbers the first time. Second task too, I think turned out to be more of a flop, but I think maybe it was because of the editing. (Also was it really the highest ascension? Was it higher than the Honolulu one from TAR 20?)

Loved the fortune cookie task. That task proved a bit harder than it seemed it should've been, which I liked.

Final task. Wow. The way they described the task made it seem so easy, and I was worried it was going to be too easy, specifically the assembly, but as you all saw, that was not the case. I think effectively, this was kind of a recreation of the final task from TAR 12 due to the logic involved, and as I think RFF agrees, that was one of the best final memory challenges of all time, and because of this, I think this was one of the best memory challenges of all time. Totally made up for the easiness of last season's memory challenge.
,
Yes, I'm not happy with the winners. Never liked Jody. Was really pulling for the other two teams and it KILLED me when Henry had the right combination and didn't get it checked. Oh well. That's four seasons in a row where I have not been a fan of the winner, so maybe 31 will be the season for me.

All in all, one of the best final legs of recent seasons. Last season's final leg was the low point of its season imo, but this season's was one of the high points and totally makes up for it.

Of the seasons since the last All-Stars, my current ranking is now 25, 29, 30, 28, 27, 26, but there's a good gap between 30 and 28. I really hope TAR keeps up a streak of good seasons because that's two great seasons in a row after having two meh and one bad season.

Also, quick side note, did anybody else notice that Phil said the wrong number of countries? He said 9 countries when there were 10. Has this ever happened before?

Here's to an end to a great season and [hopefully] TAR 31!

[Winteriscoming]

The only reason Big Brother won is because they gutted the number of roadblocks. Jessica got carried by Cody, and that's bull**** imo.

Did you miss the last 15 minutes of the episode where she was forced to do the final task by herself and beat Jen and Henry and ran to the finish line or did you just chose to ignore it?

[Maanca]

What was that correct symbol for leg 12 supposed to be, a pistol? Inquiring Wikipedia editor wants to know

[Musicon]

It was a good final episode, there have been some weak ones in recent years with a team getting ahead early and weak memory tasks to close.  I would have liked the finish mat to be harder to find than just a straight run in, but otherwise it had plenty of classic Amazing Race suspense.

And I was happy with the top 2, they had more character than 3/4.  And Indy were likely the weakest of those left so being cut at 4 was right.  And interesting teams with clear strengths but also faults that they had to work on.

I wouldn't mind Henry/Evan coming back for an unfinished business season.

[Musicon]

Yales :
(UB2) Falling short of winning just because of Henry deciding not to get a check for final roadblock
(AS3) I don't see them having a chance to come back after the constant bashing towards Evan by casuals

Casuals will want boring teams back, so definitely don't want to go by what they want.

[violetb1911]

Such a disappointment to see Jody win after one of the most well-structured races in TAR history. imo they definitely didn't deserve it, but when Jessica came through and constructed her plane first, I felt that she redeemed this karmic burden off of her back. I wouldn't say its an unjust victory ( *cough* season 29 *cough* ) but definitely would have preferred Kristi and Jen winning.
High point of the double length finale:
--> The tasks. The tasks really stole the show for me. The quality and the difficulty of the tasks has improved manifold from previous seasons (*cough* season 28 *cough*).
--> Henry and Evan's comeback. One of the only 3 teams to completely recover from a speed bump to win 1st place.

Low point of the double length finale:
where do I start!
--> Alex and Conor being disrespectful to the guy who clicked their photographs. (That really pissed me off.)
--> Alex and Conor getting frustrated over the crabs. I get it, it's a tough challenge. Get over it.
--> Kristi not reading the clue properly before smashing the electronics and then wincing. #readyourclue !!!
--> Both Kristi and Jen and Alex and Conor neglecting that rando dude's advice. I get that he (might have been) was drunk, but there was a reason why he was pointing at it!
--> Conor accusing Henry of lying and getting offended over Evan not openly helping them. It's a race, million dollars are literally on the line, what makes you think Evan will literally give away her lead?
--> Cody and Jessica miraculously getting the 6-6-0 balls immediately after finding out its 660. Kristi and Jen intuitively found it out and they deserved more of a lead.
--> Evan and Henry having several miscommunications and breakdowns. They were all over the place in the final task.
--> Kristi's breakdown in leg 11 and Jen's breakdown in the final roadblock. Nobody ever saw them this disoriented. These last few legs really wrecked em'.
--> Henry getting the plane correct but switching it at the last moment. I wasn't really rooting for them to win, but ah it was so close.
--> Cody and Jessica winning the race *sigh*

All in all, even though there were so many disappointing things, it's life. All in all this season was phenomenal and I'm looking forward to s31, (hopefully?) this year. If not a new season, an AS or UB. Those were pretty fun! ( *cough* season 24 *cough* )

[TheRabbi]

I've been reading through the spoiler threads now that it's over. I'm sad they edited out the bit at city hall! I saw a quick shot in one of the montages and noted it was cool that the building was red and yellow lighting and wondered if it had anything to do with the show. Shame.

Really enjoyed the finale, even with preferring different winners.

[TheRabbi]

Of the seasons since the last All-Stars, my current ranking is now 25, 29, 30, 28, 27, 26, but there's a good gap between 30 and 28. I really hope TAR keeps up a streak of good seasons because that's two great seasons in a row after having two meh and one bad season.

I like this game! I've gotta go 28 - 30 - 25 - 27 - 29 - 26. Just didn't care for either of the 'strangers' themed seasons. Something was really lacking there. I was expecting to loathe the social media season, but it shattered my expectations and I loved it. I also loved this season. 25 and 27 are in the middle for me: both good seasons, but not up to 28 and 30's quality.

[CocoNuts]

Of the seasons since the last All-Stars, my current ranking is now 25, 29, 30, 28, 27, 26, but there's a good gap between 30 and 28. I really hope TAR keeps up a streak of good seasons because that's two great seasons in a row after having two meh and one bad season.

I like this game! I've gotta go 28 - 30 - 25 - 27 - 29 - 26. Just didn't care for either of the 'strangers' themed seasons. Something was really lacking there. I was expecting to loathe the social media season, but it shattered my expectations and I loved it. I also loved this season. 25 and 27 are in the middle for me: both good seasons, but not up to 28 and 30's quality.

Im going 25 - 30 - 27 - 28 - 29 - 26

[Declive]

Loved the final episode and the season.

I was frustrated that Alex & Conor weren't there to race to the finish line, but they were really cranky in Hong Kong and didn't deserved it.

And i loved Jessica being the hero. I'm a big big fan of her.

[TheRabbi]

The various things I'm reading are hinting that there was some drama at the finish line about teams that hadn't paid their cabs yet. Does anyone know more about this?

[Alenaveda]

The various things I'm reading are hinting that there was some drama at the finish line about teams that hadn't paid their cabs yet. Does anyone know more about this?

What was NOT shown during the Final task was that TWO teams had chosen to keep  their taxis and HAD to stop the task and come out to pay.

Debate and Skiers

[paradoxinee]

People should stop saying that the winning team didn't deserve to win. Unless they cheated to win or were rigged to win (which is a NO), they deserved it. You love them or hate them, it doesn't matter.

[TheRabbi]

Thanks Alenaveda. Lot of threads to wade through, especially when I haven't checked the spoilers before the episodes.

[ilovetoread]

I really liked Team Extreme, but they fell apart these last two legs. They never lost their cool the entire race and both of them had meltdowns, was it because they finally had tasks that they couldn't finish as quickly as they had others? I still love them, but it was a huge contrast to the previous episodes.

Also, what was up with Conor and Alex? They were so short and rude to everyone and about every task. I wonder if something happened behind the scenes because although Conor usually gave up quickly, he was never that ugly to people as he was on the Hong Kong leg. Was it just the pressure?

Poor Henry. I wonder if he only found out he had it right last night? Will Evan forgive him? Seriously, I wonder. Especially after the extra footage scenes with Phil asking them about being soul mates and neither being able to answer the question. Phil's awkward questions have got to go!

Jessica and Cody make a great team. Yes Cody beasted most of the comps, but they wouldn't even have been in the race if Jessica hasn't gotten Cody through the singing challenge. Her attention to detail and focus balances Cody's rambo-style of wanting to just kill every task without thinking. I'm shocked they did so well with him having less than a week after leaving the poisonous situation on Big Brother before starting the race. I'm very happy for them.

[elthemagnifico]

Ive just invested the best 2 hour season finale of a tv show ive ever had....

Lets start with Hongkong Leg! Last penultimate leg (S29) we were served one the most exciting and intense penultimate leg ever in TAR history, and now, in Hongkong the crews served us its magical again.

The detour choices were really good, Physical and detail task vs Language and Mental barrier. The crabs reminded me from S12 but with different style and concept, while the Messenger task reminded me from S14, but with Cantonese. It is really good since you have to jump the barrier from either crabs or Chinese speaking customers. The crab seemed easier but with well alive crab and its quantity, it was sure a hell for short-patience player. Language barrier seemed hard, but its easier since there were translations in the dish and you could just recognize by hearing the intonation to be written.

RB seemed like a just-do-for-fun task which was fine for me to cool down the tension, but the next task was a killer. Finding a crypted signs in the crowded hangover ppl was really frustating, especially when you dont know, what kind of sign needed. This task was a game changer for everybody, and i loved it. I also loved about how crews made it as a mini series task from the RB, and 'punishment' concept. It was spot on.  Best task of the race since Zimbabwe's concert and Jason Bourne-esque RB.

Overall, it was a funtastic legs for sure, another best penultimate leg from TAR, and best Hongkong leg since last visit.


Going to San Fransisco! The tasks was good. Finding the balls from the lake was cool since not only we have to search the right balls, but we have tp make sure what kinda 'balls' needed. It was requiring a physical, coordination, and especially communication. I liked it. Next we climbed to One of the suspensions of the SF bridge and bungee jumping to the pitch black below. It was a good linear high task since they also needed upper body strength to get to up there.

Next, a cryptic clue to Fortune cookie's factory in Golden Gate. This task was good, attentiom needed and detail oriented. But the best of the best ever on this season came from military ship. The final task. The super freaking, frustating, and tvworthy memory challenge ever to date, since 12 and 21. The best final task/memory challenge task ive ever seen. It was basically a task that requires to search 12 specific parts, with stickers representing each leg, and put it to assemble the plane according to required combination. This task was a combination of ARI+RB, which i loved it, and the required combination for the the parts was really cool and made the puzzle even harder. This taks really needed everything, especially the fundamental part of TAR. I really loved watching member teams were struggled to put in pieces, and try figure it out the right combination. This was the final task that every fans, oldie or newbie wanted for, and it fulfilled.

For the winner, even though i didnt root Cody x Jessica, the are deserved, since it is the finale leg. And tbh, no matter how many legs you have won, if you sucked at finale, you wouldnt win. And Jody, especially Jessica performed better game than  any other teams, so they really deserved it. But i kinda hoping that Skiers and Indies got returned for AS/UB. (And also the lifeguards)

Overall, this was a really good season, if not the best. There were still flaws in this season, and i preferred Season 29 more, nevertheless, it was such a enjoyable season, definitely top 5 seasons imo. It started at rock bottom, and it ended on flying colors. Hoping for another great seasons onward

Edit: my rank for TAR post AS2 would be

29 > 25 > 30 > 28 > 26 > 27

[elthemagnifico]

**looked up for TAR reddit, especially dpthe live discussion and post discussion thread, and it was really cance than ive ever expected before, some just bashing on winners and mocking to other team's rooter instead of appreciating the finale leg itself*

[Musicon]

**looked up for TAR reddit, especially dpthe live discussion and post discussion thread, and it was really cance than ive ever expected before, some just bashing on winners and mocking to other team's rooter instead of appreciating the finale leg itself*

Cross casting will always bring some hate, but it will also bring in viewers.