Nasty Guys Finish First

... Spoiler Alert! ... Spoiler Alert! ...


If you haven't yet seen (and you intend to see) episode 13 of The Amazing Race Series 8 - Family Edition (TAR 8), do not read any further!


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The last TAR 8 episode we saw here in Australia ended with the three remaining families reaching the half-way point in the final leg, located inside Olympic Stadium in Montreal, Canada. Although the Weaver family arrived first, at the end of the episode they were yet to find a 'departure time' for the following morning's charter flight to a mystery destination, so they technically 'finished' the leg in last place. The Linz family, who reached the Stadium second, were the first to find a departure time, followed by the Bransen family, who arrived at the Stadium in third place. Shortly after this episode began the Weaver family found their departure time, and we were all set to go. However, the three departure times placed the teams in the following order:


1. The Bransen Family
2. The Linz Family
3. The Weaver Family


Note: If you're already ahead of this point in the series, ... it really doesn't matter, because we've now caught up anyway. Thank you.

As always, I'll provide my thoughts on each team in this episode, listing them in the order in which they arrived at the pit stop (which, for this episode, actually means 'FINISH LINE') at the end of the episode (hence the 'Spoiler Alert!').



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1. The Linz Family: WINNERS!



I actually don't have too much to add to Part 1 of this double-episode post. Most of the exciting stuff happened in the first hour, while this second hour was just anxious TV (and ultimately - for me, at least - a disappointing-but-predictable end result). One thing I scoffed at when it came to the Linz family, was when ignoramus Tommy pronounced "Queen's Quay" the way it's spelt! It was obvious from the outset that this family was going to win the race, and for the most part, they were the most deserving of the win. Despite my issues with the Linz family, I won't try to take that away from them. They were an effective and competent team who were constantly in the top few teams and generally knocked down each challenge in record time (not always, though). In fact, except when the Weavers were Yielded, all three of the teams left in the race at this point fitted the above description. But despite their abilities to complete tasks and get along well as a group of four, the Linz family were bullies who treated people poorly and then cried foul when a tenth of that behaviour was relayed back onto them. That sort of thing shouldn't be rewarded, but I guess the Linz siblings will come to discover that in their own way over time, when their $250,000 (minus taxes) individual shares run out and their 'friends' tire of them. Their attitudes - if not changesd - will make them very lonely people. (But hey - good luck to them, eh?)



2. The Bransen Family: ELIMINATED! (2nd Place)



I thought the Bransens did a great job of keeping up with the Linzes. Wally was great on the final 'map' challenge (or so the editing led us to believe), and I think it was lovely that the girls all paid tribute to their father in their speeches at the end. That's all I have to say about them, though. (Actually, one other thing: They turned on the Weavers will surprising venom when stating how avidly they didn't want the Weavers to win. That was just nasty and mean, and showed their true feelings / prejudices.)



3. The Weaver Family: ELIMINATED! (3rd Place)



Well, it was not to be, for this team. And it was always gonna be that way. The first hour of this double-episode saw them roaring ahead, but it was never going to be that easy. Not on a show like this. There's always an "airport equaliser" of some description, and then you've got chance, luck, poor decisions, bad timing and tired / stressful family members to take into account as well. After a short while, it quickly became clear that the Weavers weren't really trying anymore. Apparently, the Bransens reached the finish line "one or two minutes" behind the Linzes, while the Weavers finished "an hour or two" after that. The Weavers did well to catch up to everyone else in the binoculars challenge, but the one thing I would have done differently would have been to have one family member using the binoculars, a second family member helping them with the naked eye, a third family member watching the Linz family, and a fourth family member watching the Bransen family. That way, if either of them spotted the destination first, we'd have seen where it was and not fallen behind. However, that being said, the Weaver barely 'fell behind' at this point anyway. The other teams were sharing an elevator to the ground floor when the Weavers spotted where they had to go. (Again, "or so the editing would have us believe".) Rolly's a champion and Linda's a very caring mother. I hope the family was able to re-group after the race had finished and not let the crap some of those other teams were throwing at them bring them down.



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Last week's tips:

First Team: The Linz family. Correct!
Last Team: The Weaver family. Correct!
Yield? No. Correct!
Fast Forward? No. Correct!
Elimination Week? Yes - obviously! Correct!
Biggest Argument: The Bransen family. (Wrong - it would have been the Linz family or the Weavers - but neither had a major argument.)
Smartest Team: The Linz family. Correct!


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My total tips:


51 Correct!

33 Wrong.


That's pretty good, considering they're mostly complete guesses!

Thanks again for going on this journey with me. I hope you enjoyed the show and my recaps of each episode, and I hope you'll join me again (presumably later this year) for TAR 10. Until then:

Bon voyage.


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