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HaMerotz LaMillion 9 (TAR ISRAEL) News, Media & Discussion of *spoilers*

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Xoruz:
The finale begins on Tuesday.

Xoruz:
The final episode is tomorrow.

Xoruz:
It's finale day!

That's a wrap! See you next season!

G.B.:
Oh gosh I'm here, finally. I'm so sorry, I really wanted to be here and talk about the season, liven up the discussion and such. But the fact is that I was pretty severely delayed in getting started on this season, and from there I just couldn't catch up. There were always episodes coming out ahead and I was still behind. I only watched the finale today. So, I didn't want to go into this thread for fear of spoilers. Too bad there was so little discussion of this season, because I thought it was beyond spectacular. HaMerotz LaMillion is BACK after starting to decline in the previous seasons. I'll give my thoughts on each of the legs now.

ICELAND:
This was a very strong start and I knew right from the second task, the very cryptic one with the hot dogs, that this was going to be a good, challenging season. Iceland is a spectacular place to see and this was so much fun to see teams going all over the place on this leg. Teams getting lost, shifting placements all over the place, it was wild and very enjoyable. I thought it was incredibly strange that they just plain didn't have any traditional team introductions. No filming of the teams back at home? I kind of missed that, but the teams' personalities came out pretty quickly on this leg. I love that right away we learn that this season is going to be one that really, really tests the teams' mental fortitude. The hot dogs, the church organ player, the sweaters and keychains. It's nice to see a race focus more on that instead of the physical aspect. But I will say, when I saw the final challenge before the Pit Stop and what it entailed, that's when I knew this season was a winner. It WASN'T a luck-based task! It was one that genuinely and fairly tested teams' powers of observation and mental fortitude. Gone were the days of dice roll Pit Stops, and it was glorious!

Michal & Elrom I immediately liked their personalities. It's not so surprising that they got targeted, since I suppose other teams figured they were genre-savvy. Sad to see them go so soon, as Michal seems like a barrel of laughs.

SPAIN/GIBRALTAR/MOROCCO:
This whole leg could be defined as "unexpected". The Fast Forward blew me away with how involved and challenging it was, yet at the same time it still seemed BARELY doable. It might take a long time, but HMLM legs are long anyway so it would balance out. I was quite disappointed that only one team was even allowed to ATTEMPT it. I thought that was a very strange choice. I loved the Beatles involvement in the task, gave me a chuckle for sure. Gibraltar was one of my top 10 wanted destinations for the Race to go, so I was excited to see it happen. I'm sad that it turned out to be a bit of a dud, with 11 out of 12 teams showing up after night had fallen, meaning noise ordinances kept the band from playing and the teams from being animated or excited. As for Morocco, I was wondering if any of the newly forged Arab connections would eventually result in a visit, but I didn't expect one so soon. I was confused until I did some research and learned there's a lot more Israel-Morocco history, so it makes a lot more sense to me now. I love how you can tell the teams took WAY longer on this leg than producers were expecting, as teams had to stay "overnight" from the hours of, like, 8am to 11am. They even adjusted the departure times of the last two teams because their ferry was so late. All in all, it was fascinating to see just how exhausted EVERYONE was from this monster of a leg. It could have been better, but it was still pretty fun.

Shahar & Ronit reminded me a lot of Yafa & Boaz from season 4 and I really liked them. Ronit was endearing to me, and I was really pulling for them to go much farther than just two legs. Quite sad to see them go so soon.

MOROCCO:
Tangier is one thing because it's so close to Spain, but I didn't expect the Israeli race to then delve deeper into the heart of Morocco too. I was expecting something to go wrong, but everything was very pleasant. It was a pleasant time to experience as a viewer, though not so much for some of the racers. Poor Guy, he got completely battered on this leg. I was absolutely expecting him to have to withdraw due to his injuries, but he kept on going. The Yield didn't surprise me, I think everyone was just getting annoyed by those two, haha... When I saw the music task at the end, I noticed that every leg thus far had featured a song for one of it's tasks. It made me wonder if there was going to me a memory challenge at the end of the race related to all of the songs hey had heard. This didn't end up being true, but for a while I thought it would be. Also you have no idea how much I jumped for joy to see a SECOND Roadblock... After All-Stars only had a single one, I was afraid the Israeli Roadblock was extinct.

Raheli & Miri were funny but also kind of grating on the ears with how much they yelled. They also seemed to be totally exhausted by this point, so I didn't expect them to go much further. It's not often that a Yield actually ends a team's run on HMLM, but this is a rare example.

SENEGAL:
Israeli races have visited Muslim-majority countries before, but always only just the one. I definitely did not expect another one to follow right after, and I was excited to see Senegal. It's been two decades since the teams fought with taxis and jumped into pink-coloured water on the season that's sadly mostly forgotten. Seeing Senegal again in modern times was wonderful. The moment when a team's bags got stuck in the old half-broken taxi's trunk was absolutely hilarious to see. I was ASTOUNDED to see how many of the teams were doing the watermelon task...backwards. As in, why are you sitting facing away from the melons? FACE them to keep them in place. I appreciated how SMALL they made the flag marking the delivery point, as again it reinforced just how much mental fortitude is required of this particular season. Human-sized foosball is just a genius idea. It was a little bit strange to see teams visit the "Slaves island" and not do anything at all related to the slaves or their history, and instead just to baguettes. I suppose HMLM doesn't really do "moment of reflection" tasks; the only one I can think of is the holocaust survivor who was at the Pit Stop in Poland.

Amit & Rotem were a hoot. They weren't my most favourite of teams, but their shenanigans still made me smile and it was encouraging to see them succeed as far as they did despite not being in the best of shape. Fun times with them, though.

AZERBAIJAN:
So of course I was floored to see a THIRD Muslim-majority country visited in a row. I wasn't even aware that Azerbaijan accepted Israeli passports until now. Either way, it was nice to see the three countries of that region checked off the list. I was floored to see just how BAD AT MATH most of these teams are with the first task, and how BAD AT COOKING a lot of them were. Pro tip: Touching an oven is HOT. The stairs challenge was fun, though there wasn't really any challenge introduced by using their Azerbaijani names. It would've been better if teams had to ask locals what the name meant as well. The rest of the leg that took place at night highlighted a side of Baku/Azerbaijan that was not shown at ALL on the TAR20 visit, so it was a nice change of pace. The Happy Hour password was a fun way to trip teams up, but I'm surprised at just how long it took some teams. One team didn't even figure it out, a local had to solve it for them. Finally...jam? Jam is what eliminated a team? Wow...

Idan & Guy's elimination caught me off guard. They fought through so much adversity, especially on Guy's part, only to be eliminated by jam? Very disappointing, if I'm being honest, though at least it wasn't unfair such as the likes of Ben & Ran. I was honstly expecting them to reach the finals.

AUSTRIA/GERMANY:
I had always wondered if these countries were even on the radar for HMLM, considering their history. So I was happy to see them both finally visited. The Sound of Music task was SPECTACULAR, and I enjoyed it a lot. The Loacker product placement was a bit weird, but then the Detour. What ARE those tiny bikes? I swear, I did a million google searches and I can find no evidence online that thise bikes even exist in real life. Anyway, it was nice to see this little corner of Austria that's never been visited on the race before. We've seen enough Vienna and Salzburg, this was something new. The visit to Germany was fun, but a little short. Beer, theatre, and that's about it. I did find it funny how hard it was for teams to find the Pit Stop even after they reached the Arena, because it's so big and the taxi drivers were so confused. Also, YAY A SECOND DETOUR. Again, the last TWO seasons only had a single one, so I was afraid they were extinct too.

Hassi & Yerin, I loved them as an underdog team and was very impressed to see them win a leg. However, unfortunately they only have themselves to blame for their elimination. Why, oh why, did they decide to have Yerin ride the bike first? Obviously Hassi, who is older and heavier, was going to have much more trouble on the bike. She absolutely should have gone first. Then they might have realized that it was the wrong choice and gone to saw logs instead. A shocking example of first to worst.

MONGOLIA:
Mongolia is a fun place and I'm glad to see it being visited more often. This was a fun leg, though it wasn't anything super spectacular. I was disappointed to see the "Warrior's Gate" challenge yet again. We've already had this in HMLM, back in Japan on season 1. (Incidentally, WHY DON'T THEY EVER GO BACK TO JAPAN??). I did enjoy the integration of taxis into the final task, considering how rare and expensive they are in Mongolia. I thought that was pretty clever.

Modi & Miki's withdrawal caught me off guard at first, but honestly I was just waiting for something like this to happen on HMLM and am surprised it took so long. HMLM is so much longer and more involved than other races, and it's exhausting! I appreciate how the host convinced them to step on the mat and still receive the 6th place they deserved before allowing them to withdraw. They were pretty fun, and I liked just how many languages they could speak.

SOUTH KOREA:
Oh, this leg was FUN! Visits to Korea have been a bit samey on other seasons. How many times have we seen Tuho, the spectacle of being close to the DMZ, and gross food. This time it was K-Pop and Squid Games! I really, really liked the K-Pop Dolls challenge. Forcing the teams to listen to a song and sing it to locals is hilarious and also a really great challenge, and I was surprised to see who was the ONLY contestant to immediately recognize one of the songs... Esti?? I was also surprised at just how few of the teams recognized the Gangnam Style dance featured on the post card. I've never seen Squid Game, but I know of it and integrating two of its challenges into the Race was a spectacular idea. As for the Loved Ones aspect? Well, I've always thought that the requisite "Loved Ones" challenge on races were a bit of a drag and always went on too long. It's not the viewers' family, so it can get a bit boring becuase we don't have the connection that the teams have. I was very, very happy and excited to see the requisite "Loved Ones" part actually be integrated into a challenge. Playing it during Red Light, Green Light as a way to distract the teams and make them cry makes it MUCH more engaging for the viewing audience......And then they have the normal loved ones visit right afterwards anyway. Ah, so close. The end sure caught me off guard though. I honestly didn't know The Masked Singer originated in Korea...All I know about that show is just how much my dad despises it.

PARTNER-SWAPPED SOUTH KOREA:
Well this was a treat. The idea of a Partner Swap is honestly really good and has the potential for a LOT of entertainment. I still feel that the Partner Swap in TAR30 was a really big dud. They didn't do much, they didn't travel anywhere together, and it was over before you know it. So THIS Partner Swap was looking to be much, much more entertaining! Even just the fact that it wasn't so much a "Swap" as the teams getting totally mixed up. The fact that Itzik managed to pick the one single girl for his partner was just perfect, though I also appreciated how kind and undderstanding Lee was towards his religious mandates. The leg was so-so, falling back on the typical Korean fare we've seen already, and the fan dance task confused the heck out of me. I still don't understand how teams were meant to extract unambiguous numbers from that. When the host announced that, unlike TAR30, this Partner Swap would end with an elimination, I got super hyped. I still believe it would be a GREAT idea to actually eliminate one of the swapped teams. Afterwards, everyone else would go back to their normal teams, but the remaining swapped team would have to continue on the race as a "new" team until the end, still racing to win half of the grand prize. Sadly this didn't end up happening, but what they did instead was still a great idea. Dissolving the teams into individual contestants allows them to still have an advantage for finishing the rest of the leg in first (unlike Cody & Jen just getting shafted entirely) and lead to a very fair way to get final placements (and an elimination) on the leg. The final challenge was a littttle bit luck-based for my tastes, but finding your name in a completely different language is a fun task that I wish we'd see more of.

Udi & Matan, I must be honest, were the least interesting team of the Race. They weren't bad at all, and I by no means disliked them whatsoever, but they were the most plain and didn't really stand out to me. I enjoyed their company and preferred them over a CERTAIN other team, but I wasn't too hung up to see them eliminated here either.

VIETNAM:
I was hoping for a few more new countries instead of a three-peat, but Vietnam is always fun. Although we've already seen Ho Chi Minh City, it would've been nice to see them travel somewhere like Da Nang or Hue. This leg was okay, nothing super special, although I like the papaya task and thought it was fun. I liked how it was rainy season in Vietnam at the time and teams kept getting drenched by downpours.

Sahar & Yeftah...so how did you get eliminated? Flowers. When they completely DOMINATED the first leg, remaining in 1st the entire time, I was afraid that they were just going to dominate the whole race and be unstoppable. I appreciated seeing this turn out to not be the case when we see that these very strong military boys do have some flaws that hold them back...namely math, cooking, and apparently floral arrangements. Very unexpected to see them hit the final task in first, then drop to last and be eliminated, but it wasn't a dice roll so I'm satisfied by the upset.

NEW ZEALAND:
In contast to the Ho Chi Minh visit, I rather enjoyed seeing a return to the location of the Finish Line of the very first season. And this visit taking place in the DEAD of winter gave it a much different feel. This must rank as one of the top 10 coldest legs of the race ever, there was frost everywhere! I'm surprised they even let teams drive themselves in such icy conditions. It was an absolute treat to see the Shemozzle Race return again, even if the rules were a bit confusing to follow again. The airbag task was...weird. You should've seen my face then the host says "New Zealand is leading the world in fighting climate change. Teams must now jump on a balloon." The fact that not one but two teams had vehicle problems at the same time, while in 1st and 2nd place, really shook things up. As for the final memory challenge, I give it full props for how difficult it was! On this race, which I have repeatedly praised for how much it is challenging the mental fortitude of teams, it's satisfying to see this culiminate in one of the most mentally challenging tasks I've ever seen. And this solidified the season as having NO pure luck-based tasks before the Pit Stop for any of the legs. Words cannot describe how happy this made me, and elevates this season right up to the top as one of my favourites of all time!

Itzik & Esti reminded me of a more modern Akiva & Anaelle, more in tune with the modern world but still holding onto their religious values with an iron grip. I like teams like this, who stand out significantly among the crowd and/or have a small but persistant handicap. I was always rooting for them to succeed and I loved seeing a rare, RARE example of a couple on TAR who don't constantly fight. I can only remember one or two fights off the top of my head. Sad to see they couldn't make it to the final...esepcially for the one team that beat them out...

FINAL LEG:
They claimed that this would be the most countries visited on an Amazing Race "worldwide". With the finale being in New Zealand, though, they fell short of this. For those of you wondering, the record number of countries is actually 13, set by The Amazing Race 10, as this includes the home country of the United States. If this Race had started or ended in Israel, they would have tied the record, but still would not have beaten it. As for the leg itself, the two extreme heights-related challenges were a blast to watch and very creative. Yet, the leg felt short. Like, REALLY short. I know the final leg of HMLM is usually shorter than the others, but this one felt particularly short. What brought it around, though, was the brilliant idea of the final challenge. Finding someone to literally lend out their car is a fantastic idea and a great way to cause panic and exitement during the rush to the Finish Line. The Finish itself was a little boring, just a normal mat on a dark bridge with no other teams, but it was still pretty fun.

Lior & Sapir I couldn't stand. From the very first leg, they constantly got on my nerves with their incessant arguing and fighting, bad attitudes, and general lack of energy. I swear on every single leg, Lior looked so done with everything and I was expecting him to quit every single time. I honestly just wanted them gone, leave the race to teams who are enjoying it a lot more, and much would have preferred Itzik & Esti in the finale besides them...Especially for what happened. I think it's a total waste when a team with someone who is afraid of heights gets into the HMLM finale. It's happened before and it happens here. HMLM ALWAYS has an extreme heights-related challenge on the final leg. It's been that way from the start, and teams KNOW this. So obviously a team that's afraid of heights is not going to succeed at this task and it's just a waste of a position in the finale. As we can see what happened, Lior didn't even try.

Inbar & Avishay were pretty fun. For a lot of the race they kind of flew under the radar and I never initially pegged them as being on track for the finale, but they surprised me. I loved Inbar's energy, and their unique relationship of uncle and niece was a relationship we don't usually see. I think the best part of them was that their interactions with locals were always the funniest.

Lee & Anne were my pick to win behind Itzik & Esti, and in the finale I just knew they would crush it and win. They were fun, they were funny, they had bright attitudes and optimism. In general it was very fun to watch them and see them succeed, and I think they very, very much deserved their win. Good job to you two!

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