‘The Amazing Race 35’ finale recap: Who won $1 million prize in ‘A Sunset, Seattle Scramble’? [LIVE BLOG]
Tonight on “The Amazing Race,” the final three teams travel to Seattle, where they must complete three challenges in a scramble leg, a first in “Amazing Race” history. The challenges are inspired by Seattle’s art scene and include swinging from a high trapeze, glassblowing and being a roadie for a grunge band. The team that successfully completes these challenges and arrives first at the final Pit Stop will win the $1 million prize. This finale episode titled “A Sunset, Seattle Scramble” airs Wednesday, December 13 (9:30-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on CBS. Phil Keoghan hosts.
CBS promised “the biggest season yet,” with 13 teams competing for the first time ever. We also see the return of commercial travel, no non-elimination legs, the express pass and a twist on the infamous U-Turn! Here are the teams still in contention: Greg & John (brothers), Rob & Corey (father/son) and Joel & Garrett (best friends). See the full cast in the gallery above. Follow our live blog recap of tonight’s episode below.
SEE ‘The Amazing Race’s’ Steve and Anna Leigh reveal how they actually lost time in Dublin
9:30 p.m. — Previously, on “The Amazing Race”! In episode 11, teams traveled to Dublin, Ireland, where they had to complete four challenges in the penultimate leg including swimming in the Irish Sea, dancing with the legendary Riverdance troupe, scoring a point with the hurling team and reciting quotes from a famed Irish novelist. Following multiple Roadblocks, father/daughter duo Steve & Anna Leigh were sent home in fourth place. Let’s finish the race!
9:37 p.m. — As the winners of the last leg of the race, Rob & Corey open the next clue first. Team will fly from Dublin, Ireland to Seattle. Once there, they’ll race to the Space Needle to find their next clue. Corey says he grew up in Vancouver, Washington and is very familiar with Seattle. Will that be to their benefit? Maybe not. Greg & John are also familiar with the area, visiting multiple times and even living in the city for a month during college. All teams are on the same flight and will begin this final leg on equal footing.
9:45 p.m. — The teams have arrived in Seattle and drive themselves to the Space Needle. They all arrive at roughly the same time, but Rob & Corey grab the clue first. Teams must walk around the rim of the Space Needle to find their next clue. Only one team can go at a time, so Rob & Corey get the advantage, followed by Greg & John and then Joel & Garrett in last. Next, they’ll had back down to the ground and head to Chihuly Garden and Glass. Rob & Corey reach the next Route Info clue: Get ready for a Seattle Scramble. Teams must complete three challenges inspired by the Seattle art scene. In “Grunge,” they most be a roadie for a grunge band, in “Grab,” swing from a high trapeze and in “Glass,” blow molten glass. Because it’s a scramble, they complete each task in any order they choose. At the end of each task they’ll get a piece of their next clue. Rob & Corey decide to head to the trapeze first because the other two challenges are close together. Using a different strategy, Joel & Garrett decide to start with the closest task, “Glass,” and work their way to the furthest. Greg & John have the same strategy of Joel & Garrett.
10:00 p.m. — Greg & John get to the glass blowing task first. Joel & Garrett aren’t far behind. As they work on that, Rob & Corey arrive at the trapeze, where they’ll have to complete a knee-hang catch. Corey nails it on his first attempt. Rob isn’t so graceful. This is going to take him a few tries. Luckily for them, the other two teams are struggling with the glass blow and fail their first attempts there. Eventually Joel & Garrett become the first team to finish a task and earn a piece of their next clue. For now, the best friends are in first place.
10:15 p.m. — Back at the trapeze location, Rob completes the task on his eighth attempt. He and Corey can check this box off their list and move on, leaving Greg & John in last place. At this point Joel & Garrett and Rob & Corey are both heading to the “Grunge” event. The glass blowing challenge is just killing Greg & John. Time and time again they keep breaking their glass. Finally they finish on their sixth attempt. They head to “Grunge,” where all three teams will converge. Joel & Garrett arrive first. They’ll have to properly set up a stage for the band to receive their next clue.
10:25 p.m. — Things are looking smooth for Joel & Garrett until they realize they’re missing a piece of equipment. They can’t figure out where it is, but while they search, Rob & Corey arrive. Joel & Garrett find their missing piece and ask for a check, but something’s wrong. They’ll have to figure out exactly what they’ve missed. Meanwhile, Greg & John have arrived and now all three teams are setting up stages. Eventually Joel & Garrett find one more missing cord, hook it up and receive their second piece of the next clue. Off to the trapeze! Greg & John can’t find a piece of equipment they need, not realizing they have to simply flip another piece over. They keep picking it up without realizing it’s right in their hands! As they wander around aimlessly Rob & Corey finish this task up and will head to their third task in this scramble.
10:35 p.m. — Greg & John have finally figured out how to set up this stage. It’s difficult to know how much time they lost, but they’re definitely in last place. Will they be able to make up the time? Joel & Garrett are at the trapeze and begin their attempts. This isn’t pretty. Meanwhile, Rob & Corey are glassblowing. Later, Greg & John arrive at the trapeze while Joel & Garrett are still inside. Theoretically, the brothers should be able to nail this since they’re more athletic than any other duo. A ray of hope hits the besties when Joel finally nails his trapeze act. Now if Garrett can follow suit they’ll be in first place. And he does it! It only took them each three tries. Joel & Garrett have won the scramble and get the last piece of their next clue. When they piece everything together, it’s an address. They’ll just have to figure out how to get there. Greg & John make quick work of the trapeze and head out next. Over at the glass blowing station, Rob & Corey wrap things up quickly as well. This is a tight three-way race!
10:45 p.m. — Joel & Garrett get to the next clue. It’s the final challenge before they race to the finish line. They’ll have to arrange a bunch of kayaks that have all the Roadblocks and Detours they’ve completed on them — in chronological order. Who has the best memory? Joel & Garrett look like they’ve almost finished when Greg & John arrive. John, who Greg says has a “crazy memory” takes control for the brothers. After their first check, Joel & Garrett have something wrong. Finally, Rob & Corey arrive in last place, but in a memory challenge like this anything can happen. All the teams are here, fighting for that final clue.
10:52 p.m. — Joel & Garrett can’t figure out what they’ve done wrong. As a viewer, we know that they’re mistaking “Bird’s Eye View” with “Above it All,” but in the heat of this race they’re not getting it. So much time has been lost. In the meantime, John’s “crazy memory” pays off and the brothers pass their first check and receive the next clue. They’ll race to the finish line at Clise Mansion while hoping to avoid a navigation disaster.
11:00 p.m. — Not long after Greg & John leave, Joel & Garrett realize their mistake and correct it. Both teams are now racing to the final Pit Stop. Both teams have to stop and ask for directions. With one final stress-induced push to the Pit Stop, brothers Greg & John arrive first and win the $1 million prize! Joel & Garrett arrive in second place, with Rob & Corey finishing third.
Finale results:
1. Greg & John
2. Joel & Garrett
3. Rob & Corey
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