I wasn’t particularly riveted by this finale. It was just ok. I agree that having a task that only one team at a time could perform sucked all the competitiveness out of it.
I noticed that the Dancer team had to sit in the helicopter and wait until both the other teams tried the leap (and failed.) Safety concerns, I’m sure, but it could have been an even easier stroll to the end if they hadn’t had that extra wait time.
Not a lot of drama or excitement in that despite the editors’ desperate attempts to play up what there was (Matt & Dana missing the clues in the haybale on the way in, Corey and Tyler’s taxi driver not knowing where Gibraltar Rock was): made for a rather ‘meh’ finish.
They also put the mat within walking distance of the final task, which eliminated any possibility of getting lost/bad taxi karma. Once the winning team started tearing up the memory puzzle, it was over.
Can I say in addition to the comments above, my other complaint is that they didn’t really go anywhere interesting or landmark-y.
They went to:
A retirement condo building
A marina
Some place up in the mountains
A winery (because when I think L.A., I think wine)
That 90 mile helicopter ride took them from LA to Santa Barbara, which produces excellent wines. Remember the movie Sideways (Paul Giamatti…I am not drinking merlot!)? That was set in Santa Barbara.
Seems like the finales are mostly in a coastal city.
exceptions that I can remember are Atlanta and Portland.
I would still like to see the teams have to split up in a finale and each do a roadblock separately and then one of the them would have to stress out at the finish line, waiting on their partner.
Once Tyler took three jumps to snag that clue, the final round was all over.
There were two in Nevada (both Las Vegas), Phoenix, Dallas, Atlanta, Mount Vernon VA. If Great Lakes coastlines don’t count as coastal cities, we have Chicago, Toronto, several upstate NY spots and others.
Thanks for that:
I should have remembered the Vegas and Dallas finales, but most of those early inland finale pitstops were before I started watching. Toronto was the Canadianversion
I consider Washington/Mt Vernon a coastal city.
The middle of country is still under-represented, IMO
Yeah that didn’t fool me at all. When they got to the haybale clue I immediately said “Well, they must have figured it out quick or Dana woulda been waaaay more pissed off.”
Cory and Tyler were better overall racers than the Dancers (and for that matter, so were Bernie and Ashley–I was really rooting for them) but as long as that sissy-wimp momma’s boy didn’t win, I’m ok. (Seriously-kid, you’re in your 20s. Stop making your “momma” do all the hard or dirty or tedious tasks. Also, quit snivelling, pull your pants up over your ass and GET OFF MY LAWN. 
I liked Mom and I liked the team’s overall attitude in general, but giving all the tough tasks to mommy was pathetic, kid.
A fix they could do to the last leg to make it more interesting and to make the other 11 legs actually mean something is to give each first place team a “minus one minute bonus” at the final leg. So Tyler and Cory, who got…what…6? first place wins would have made the dancers sit on the sidelines for 6 minutes of waiting before they got to step on the mat.
I doubt it since Tyler and Korey were very far behind. The time to go back up and jump again had to be 10-15 minutes each time. So they were 20-30 minutes off of first place. Also, Matt and Dana won one leg as well, so the time difference would only be 4 minutes.
The best bet would be to have tasks that could be solved simultaneously by the competing teams. Having a 1-by-1 roadblock PLUS a stark penalty for failing toasted this leg.
Ugh, that would be horrible. They’re waiting in sight of the mat while a timer counts down, cutting back and forth to scenes of the 2nd place team at whatever task they happen to be doing at the time? That would be unwatchable.
Since every final leg starts with a flight that everyone is on, you could make it work if you add the delay at the airport, right after landing, so the team with the most 1st place finishes gets a head start.
They each had to do the same number of tasks.
I’ve always thought that they should have a final leg where they drop them in Lebanon KS - literally the middle of the country!
Yes. And as I wrote, most of the hard, dirty and scary ones went to mommy.
But they have to decide who does a task based on a one sentence clue, and can’t switch. That’s why Cole wound up doing the cliff diving task.
For the record, here are the roadblocks & who did them:
Search a cave for mask pieces & assemble - Sheri
Mud diving to find an emerald - Cole
Search for matching handbags - Cole
Find flags of founding UN members - Cole
Paraglide over Alps - Sheri
Oil change - Sheri
Learn Georgian dance - Sheri
Find puzzle tube underwater in shark tank, solve puzzle - Cole
Spread seawater over sand, then fill salt bags - Cole
Cliff dive - Cole
Search park for world landmarks, get “passport” stamps - Sheri
Rooftop jump - Sheri
Final hashtag puzzle - Cole
I’d say the hard, dirty and scary ones were - mud pit, paraglide, oil change, salt, cliff dive, rooftop jump. So 3 Sheri, 3 Cole.
You have convinced me that I was incorrect. I agree with your hard/dirty/scary list and it is even…even if you include the cave (and I wouldn’t but Sheri would have), it’s still pretty balanced and the salt one sucked enough that it more than made up for any disparity.
So I retract my “He’s a wimp” comments. Congratulations. You have won this leg of…The Amazing Race Thread. 
Nice! But I’m not taking you on my Travelocity Trip for two to Straight Dope Headquarters.