The Amazing Race 2010 Finale

Sunday, December 12, 2010 - The Amazing Race had their finale tonight, with the three remaining teams racing for one million dollars. Thomas was the only guy remaining, as he and Jill left the Seoul, South Korea pit stop first to fly to Los Angeles, California. He and Jill, who won the Express Pass in the first leg of the race, enabling them to skip remaining tasks and go to the pit stop, and who also were not afraid to U-Turn another team in order to get ahead, feel that they are a strong team and can cheat the other two teams out of an historic all-girl win.

Brooke and Claire and Nat and Kat are not far behind Jill and Thomas, and both of the former teams would love to be the first all-girl team to win The Amazing Race. All three teams bunch up at the airport and end up on the same flight to California, and the race is on! Nat, who has raced despite her diabetes, and her teammate Kat, have also used the U-turn to their advantage, showing themselves to be a team willing to do what it takes to win. Brooke and Claire have actually been U-Turned, however, and overcame the difficulty to finish well and end up as one of the final three. All three teams have played smart and have a good chance of winning The Amazing Race's one million dollar prize.

Hot on each other's heels, the three teams make their way to Long Beach Pier J. As the teams begin to notice the huge cranes used in the drop zone of Long Beach Pier to move cargo containers, suspicions of a task involving heights begins to stir. Nat is deathly afraid of heights, so she is not happy to find that they must ride in an itsy bitsy elevator to the top of a crane, walk out a long, narrow way to the end and strap on to a bungee swing which will drop them quite a distance before lowering them to a platform where they can get their next clue. Actually all of the teams are fairly nervous, but they are all hoping Nat will freak out and be unable to do the task. Though obviously terrified, she holds Kat's hand and drops, swinging wildly and saying she will never do this again. But she did it when it counted, and so do the other teams.

Soon all the teams are on a helicopter ride over LA, sightseeing while flying to a secret destination. Each eventually recognizes the Rose Bowl stadium beneath them. They land, and find a Roadblock, where one team member must decorate three sections of a Rose Bowl Parade float in a carefully prescribed manner. Mums first, then rosebuds and finally a large rose replica. Once they have completed the task correctly, the 2009 Rose Queen will give them their next clue.

Nat does the task, but has to redo the roses, which she had not prepped correctly. Thomas does the task, although he and Jill both wish it had been her when they discover it is something "crafty." Brooke, of course, sees the Rose Queen with her sash and crown, and simply has to do the task, whatever it turns out to be. Once they have finished, they discover a clue with three questions which, when answered correctly, will reveal their next destination. The questions are 1) I am Sancho Panza's master. 2) I am the place to hear the symphony in the Glen and 3) year of monroe's itch.

Nat and Kat borrow their taxi driver's phone and call someone, who reluctantly agrees to help if they hurry. They do and she does, so they soon learn that Sancho Panza is a character in the novel Don Quixote, Griffith Park is the place to hear the symphony and "The Seven Year Itch," Marilyn Monroe's famous movie, gives the answer to the last question. Having lived in L. A. for a while, they quickly figure out that they are going to Quixote Studios in Griffith Park at Stage #7.

Brooke and Claire ask to be taken to a hotel, where they use the internet and figure out the answers as well. Jill and Thomas, however, end up in a taxi with a driver who does not speak very much English, thinks they want his GPS system and doesn't understand what "Internet" is. They then get out and run around asking people who all say some version of "Huh???"

Meanwhile, Nat and Kat have met Bob Barker, and begin playing a game involving a large screen with head shots of a lot of people, some of whom were greeters at the pit stops along each leg of the race. Using a small computer, they must choose the greeters, in order, to receive their next clue. Having kept a notebook of their travels, they are able to do the task reasonably quickly. Brooke and Claire, are successful, as well as star struck by Bob Barker, but Jill and Thomas are MIA. CBS tries to drum up some suspense, but it was fairly obvious that Brooke and Claire did not even arrive at the studio until Nat and Kat had left.

Nat and Kat endure a traffic jam, but must stay in their taxi despite traffic troubles, as they make their way to Greystone Mansion and the finish line. Nat and Kat arrive and run between lines of applauding former teammates toward Phil. He greets them and informs them that they have won One Million Dollars on The Amazing Race, and furthermore, they have established race history by being the first all-girl team to arrive first.

The doctors Nat and Kat talk about how this experience has bonded them; also about Nat's having diabetes. She says she hopes diabetics will be inspired to see that they can be as active as they want to be. Soon Brooke and Claire arrive, second, and claiming to have "laughed their way around the world." They point out that you can be totally feminine and still be a strong woman. They hope to have spread "Brooke and Claire Flair" around the globe. Finally Jill and Thomas arrive in third place, but they are just thrilled to have been a part of something so special, and to have run the race together. The other teams swarm around them to hug and congratulate them, as Nat and Kat describe the adventure as priceless.

Be sure to tune in again next season, when - MY GRAVY! - the cowboys are back! On February 20, 2011, The Amazing Race: Unfinished Business debuts, bringing back a fascinating mix of favorite "also-rans" from many other seasons for another chance to be winners of one million dollars on The Amazing Race.

Source: watching The Amazing Race Finale on CBS