TAR17, Recap Leg 12, 12/12/10

Welcome to Leg 12! Last time, on It’s All About Seoul, teams raced from Hong Kong to Seoul, South Korea. There was a visit to the border, and Nick and Vicki falling extremely behind. This led to their elimination, which left two awesome teams (and an asshat): Nat and Kat, the doctors and best friends, Brook and Claire, the HSN hosts, and Jill and Thomas, the YDC. Who will win The Amazing Race 17? (click for more)

Arrival at the pit stop last episode:
1st – Jill/Thomas, Team Who?
2nd – Brook/Claire, Team Infomercial
3rd – Nat/Kat, Team ER

Temple of Heaven, Seoul, South Korea

3:57 AM Jill/Thomas (1st)
Clue: Fly 6000 miles to your FINAL DESTINATION CITY: Los Angeles, California, USA! Once there, take a taxi to the Port of Long Beach and find Pier J.

Thomas: “Oh, good, California. I can work on my Spanish skills.”

4:23 AM Brook/Claire (2nd) – Brook: “I would like to boot Thomas.”
4:27 PM Nat/Kat (3rd)

Teams leave the Pit Stop and head towards Incheon International Airport. They arrive in the following order:

1- Jill/Thomas
2- Brook/Claire
3- Nat/Kat

Teams discover that everyone will be on the same Korean Air flight to LA. And Brook and Claire will be in their cheetah pants. (Toyouke: “The "cheetah pants" are EXACTLY why they shouldn't win.”) So, the Amazing Red Line takes us across the Pacific Ocean. (Toyouke: “Is no one going to ask to be seated in the front of the plane?”) All teams arrive in the following order:

1- Nat/Kat
2- Jill/Thomas
3- Brook/Claire

Ubiquitous shots of LA, plus Katy Perry’s “California Girls”. (Auburnium0513: “Noooo! The music, really?” Toyouke: “Oh, CBS, Katy Perry? Really?”)

Teams take a taxi to the Port of Long Beach, find Pier J and arrive in the following order:

1- Nat/Kat
2- Jill/Thomas
3- Brook/Claire

Teams are welcomed to the Drop Zone. This means that the teams will ride a cramped elevator up a crane, pick up their clue, and then bungee swing 120 feet down to a raft below. (Toyouke: “What is the point of the bungee swing?“) Once teams are on dry land, they can open their next clue. Teams jump in the following order:

1- Nat/Kat
2- Jill/Thomas
3- Brook/Claire

Then, teams finish the task and open their clue in the following order:

1- Nat/Kat – Nat: “I’ve never loved asphalt so much.”
2- Jill/Thomas
3- Brook/Claire


Teams open their next clue to find that they must board a helicopter which will take them to a surprise destination. They board helicopters in the following order:

1- Nat/Kat
2- Jill/Thomas
3- Brook/Claire

Teams then ooh and ahh at their air tour of LA. After the comments of it being better than taking the freeway (Toyouke: “I love that everyone keeps complaining about LA traffic but every freeway shot has had NO TRAFFIC.”), teams land at their surprise destination: The Rose Bowl. Teams get their clue in the following order:

1- Nat/Kat
2- Jill/Thomas
3- Brook/Claire

And teams come to the twelfth and final roadblock.

ROADBLOCK:
“Who’s bright enough to float?”

In this roadblock, one team member must complete three different parts of a Rose Bowl float: mums on the edge, tulips in the middle, and a large rose for the outside. Once all parts are completed correctly and verified by the float captain, teams get their clues from Rose Queen 2009, Courtney Lee.

The following team members complete the Roadblock.

1- Nat – who forgets to fill water tubes on the tulips. Not a mistake to make on the last leg, ladies.
2- Thomas – who strategized to make sure Thomas got the final Roadblock. (Toyouke: “That's an interesting Roadblock strategy for Jill and Thomas. But I don't think it takes decorating skills to do this.”)
3- Brook

After much float building, teams complete the Roadblock in the following order:

1- Nat/Kat
2- Jill/Thomas
3- Brook/Claire

Teams are now given their next clue:

1: I am Sancho Panza’s Master.
2: I am the place to hear the Symphony of the Glen.
3: Monroe’s Year of the Itch

Fill in the blanks: ___1___ Studios, ___2___, Stage _3_.

So, everyone ponders the clue. (Toyouke: “This clue is tough.”) Nat and Kat call information and somehow get the woman to look stuff up for them. Brook and Claire convince their taxi driver to take them to a hotel so that they can access a computer. And Jill and Thomas irk their taxi driver into doing nothing. After all that, all three teams eventually figure out their destination: Quixote Studios, Griffith Park, Stage 7.

Teams arrive in the following order:

1- Nat/Kat
2- Brook/Claire
3- Jill/Thomas

Once teams arrive, the final task begins.

FINAL TASK:

Teams arrive at stage 7 and are greeted by game show legend Bob Eubanks. He leads them to a podium in front of a video screen with 48 flashing pictures of people in hats. All 48 of them have greeted at a Pit Stop on the Amazing Race over the last seventeen seasons, including the eleven from this season. Teams are instructed to find the 11 greeters and put them in order. Once completed, teams get their next clue. For reference, the Pit Stops were Eastnor Castle, Accra, Doyumo, Norwegian Border, Narvik, St. Petersburg 1, St. Petersburg 2, Muscat, Dhaka, Hong Kong, Seoul.

(Toyouke: “Remember the GREETERS!? That is EVIL. Oo, I wonder if you could get close enough to read lips.”)

Teams complete the task in the following order:

1- Nat/Kat – (Auburnium0513: “Nicely done, ladies! Way to take notes!”)
2- Brook/Claire
3- Jill/Thomas

Teams get their clue and find that they must now find Greystone Mansion, the FINISH LINE of this racearoundtheworld. The first team to arrive WILL win the Amazing Race 17!

1- Nat/Kat
2- Brook/Claire – (Toyouke: “Brooke, being a strong woman DOES NOT INVOLVE BEING SHRILL AND WEARING CHEETAH PANTS.”)
3- Jill/Thomas

4 continents, 30 cities, 32000 miles, Nat and Kat, you are the first ever all-female team to win The Amazing Race, and the winners of TAR 17! Now, THAT was satisfying.

ORDER NOW:
1st – Nat/Kat
2nd – Brook/Claire
3rd – Jill/Thomas
4th – Nick/Vicki
5th – Chad/Stephanie
6th – Gary/Mallory
7th – Michael/Kevin
8th – Katie/Rachel
9th – Connor/Jonathan
10th – Andie/Jenna
11th – Ron/Tony

Next season: Remember all those teams you loved? And they all lost because of a technicality or a silly situation that knocked them out of the race? Well, they are back in TAR 18: Unfinished Business! Join Amanda & Kris, Flight Time & Big Easy, Gary & Mallory, Jaime & Cara, Jet & Cord, Kisha & Jen, Kynt & Vyxsin, Margie & Luke, Mel & Mike, Ron & Christina, and Zev & Justin as they race AGAIN! Until February 20, 2011 . . . see you next time!