'The Amazing Race': Luck be a lady

Eight countries. 21 days. More than 25,000 miles. One winning team.

To say that this season of "The Amazing Race" brought the drama is a bit of an understatement. We saw siblings squabble, a former beauty queen throw tantrums (repeatedly, no less), pro poker players lose their cool, a musclebound lawyer do his best Hulk impression, brothers bicker again and again (yes, they earn a second mention) and the tragic elimination of a beloved team due to a missing passport. 

As always, the race came down to a single leg to decide the ultimate victors, a leg in which, rather miraculously, all of the teams managed to board the same transatlantic flight and remain almost neck and neck all the way to the finish line, where a cool $1 million and an eyebrow-raise from host Phil Keoghan awaited one team.

Fortunately, the ultimate victor of "The Amazing Race" didn't come down to who could eat a Chicago-style deep-dish pizza the fastest (remember that?) but to a series of challenges that not only fit in with the Vegas setting (everything from Cirque du Soleil to Wayne Newton) but also forced them to keep their heads every step of the way.

So which team won? And who got left in the dust on the Strip? Let's dive in.

Let's be honest: This was Meghan and Cheyne's race to lose, really. They had proved themselves the most competitive and successful team out of everyone thus far this season, and, going into the final leg, I think even they knew that they had the most at stake. 

Personally, I would have been fine with anyone winning the race so long as it wasn't Sam and Dan, who continued their streak this week of driving me up the wall and making me want to rip off my ears after having to listen to their nonstop verbal assault at each and every route marker. There have been teams before on "The Amazing Race" that I've loved to hate, but I can't even say that about the brothers. 

Leaving behind the beauty of Prague, the final three teams jetted off to Las Vegas, the site of the final pit stop, on the same flight. I had a feeling that the producers would pull some strings to ensure a race to the finish line with all three teams in the running because, really, there isn't much drama when one falls so far behind. (Remind me: Was it in the first season when a team was actually 24 hours behind the winner?)

Poor Ericka had her ups and downs this week. I was super-impressed with the way that she managed to rappel down the facade of the Mandalay Bay. Face first, no less. (Husband Brian was terrified of heights, but so was Cheyne, who performed the Road Block with his eyes closed.) But while Ericka dazzled with her fearless attitude here, a later challenge led to her having a complete and utter mental breakdown as she was trussed up in a Cirque du Soleil bungee harness attempting to grab a bouquet of flowers. Although I've liked watching Brian and Ericka, the sight of her screaming her head off and sobbing profusely left me wondering if there was any way that they still had a shot at winning the grand prize.

But Meghan and Cheyne made one HUGE error. Or make that two. One was not knowing where in the world Monaco was (or make that "Moe-na-co" as Sam pronounced it) and listening to their taxi driver when he said that the most famous casino in Monaco was the Venetian. (They also nearly listened to someone who told them that Monaco was in Spain. Um, the principality is, in fact, located between France and Italy.) It was an error that let the brothers get ahead of them and make their way to the Monte Carlo.

Viewers might remember how, earlier this season, Sam and Dan had trouble with a challenge that forced them to determine the value of gold, based on a fluctuating currency exchange rate. While the numbers weren't changing, counting still proved to be an issue for Sam and Dan as they had to count out $1 million in  poker chips. Fortunately, Meghan and Cheyne were able to catch up ... and pass the whiny brothers.

Whew.

Not sure why Wayne Newton told Sam and Dan who he was (the look of confusion and bewilderment on their faces was priceless) as it would have been so hysterical to have seen them wandering around the Strip attempting to find Mr. Vegas' home ... without knowing his name. 

Some tight editing made it seem as though it would come down to a footrace between Meghan and Cheyne and Sam and Dan, but that wasn't the case at all as Meghan and Cheyne made it to the finish line with some time to spare. 

As I said earlier, I would have been happy if the perennially perky Meghan and Cheyne won or Brian and Ericka, so long as Sam and Dan didn't walk away millionaires. But I have to say that I'm happy it was these two who won the grand prize. They played a good game, were extremely competitive but didn't (except for that one time with the Globetrotters) get caught up in mean-spiritedness or sink to underhanded dirty gamesmanship to win. In other words: They raced and they kept their eyes on the prize.

What did you think of this season of "The Amazing Race"? Did the right team win? Am I too hard on the brothers? Head to the comments section to discuss.

-- Jace Lacob (Follow my musings on television, food, and more television on Twitter at @televisionary)

Photo: All of this season's teams gather at the finish line on "The Amazing Race." Credit: CBS

Related:
'The Amazing Race': A Kafkaesque evening in Prague
'The Amazing Race': Slip and Slide
Complete 'Amazing Race' coverage on Showtracker 

Comments

[Sharon]

I hoped that Brian and Erika would win, and I prayed that Sam and Dan did not. Megan and Cheyne were great competitors and they earned the prize. I wish them well since winning the money can be a bigger challenge then "The Amazing Race"

[Jossia]

I am so happy the hippies won. They played a fair game and stayed true to each other and didn't lose sight of the prize while maintaining their sportsmanship.

Now, as for Ericka and Brian. She needs a therapy session in anger management and she can give lessons on how NOT keep a husband. Although a pretty woman, she can give some nasty evil looks which she often did to her husband who displayed the patience of God. I believe she even pointed her finger so hard at him that I got the impression that she was ready to hit him...did anyone else see this last night? She dictates instead of working as a team. She had her good moments during the season but all-in-all...I feel sorry for her husband. What he must endure while they are at home and away from the cameras. Now other couples were nasty to each other as well during the season but they didn't make it to the final leg...this couple did.

[Ellen]

I am thrilled that Mehgan and Cheyne won. I agree with you I would not have minded Erika and Brian either - anyone but the brothers. That said, they were not my least favorite at the start of the race, the Lawyer with the mouth and the attitude was,,,I could not wait for him to be eliminated. As for Sam & Dan being the worst ever, hmmm, I dont think so. How about Flo and Zak? Well, Flo anyroad, omigawd her voice was like nails on a chalkboard to me. Then there was the guy who kept shoving his wife around. Point being, I think there were worse then the brothers but they certainly made the list of my least liked.
I love this show and am sad it's over.

[Alejandro Gonzalez]

I agree with you and with some of the other comments entirely. You were not even half as hard on the brothers as they deserved. The winners played the game fairly and never lost their cool. The brothers were unfair and underhanded. First they took a cab that was waiting for another couple, offering the driver more;and the final straw was when one of the brothers agreed to join forces with one of the Globetrotters team, and then broke the agreement when he figured out the word. I would have been upset if they had won.

[portiaperu]

I agree overall with your review of the teams and the final segment of the Amazing Race.

But, we need to keep in mind that the reason for the squabbling between Sam and Dan may be the tendency we all have to fall into long established sibling behaviors and roles. In this case, add the stress of the race and I imagine it increased their negative behaviors by many factors.

The dating, engaged, or newly married, on the other hand, have a completely different relationship to each other - without the long-term history that might interfere with their ability to act as a team.

[ho]

I tend to agree with most of my fellow commenter s, the team that won, is the team that deserved to win. I would also say that the last challenge was to easy. I really like the challenge, where the racers must remember all that occurred during the race. love this article. P.S. google post episode interviews of the contestants, eye opening.