Eric and Danielle!!!! Now how did Eric and Danielle — yielded twice and always on the precipice of being eliminated — win? Perhaps they just wanted it more. As Eric said, missing first place by only five minutes his first time around was one of the most bitter things he's ever had to deal with. Near the end of the episode, he swore that he would not settle for second place; it was first or nothing.
When the finale began, Charla and Mirna took an early lead, thanks to some due diligence checking flights. (After making it this far on their second race, how could no other teams go beyond asking one ticket agent when trying to find the quickest route?) They got a flight that landed 20 minutes before the other teams. In Hawaii, Schmirna continued their lead through the detour, but as soon as their next clue said they'd have to run a mile on the beach, I knew their advantage would soon vanish. Sand is like kryptonite to Charla's Heelys. And Mirna's yelling is like kryptonite to my ears. As she kept up her steady patter of "Charla, you have to run, it's a race, oh, my God, they're going to pass us!" I realized that an oil spill would be less of a blight on Hawaii's beaches than Mirna's voice.
There was no roadblock on this final leg. Instead we got a group challenge where each team had to kayak against strong currents and waves to fetch a clue on a buoy. I knew Schmirna would have trouble with this challenge, but I didn't predict how the beauty queens would struggle. Dustin wanted to get out and walk the kayak in the shallow water and apparently wasn't listening to Kandice's pleas to get back in the boat. The team that had not bickered once in two seasons finally hit their breaking point, and after the challenge, they had it out in the car. Well, they did the beauty-queen version of "having it out." I've never seen a calmer argument in my life.
Kandice calmly chastised Dustin for not being a good teammate, and Dustin apologized and said that Kandice was her number one bestest buddy and that there was no one she'd rather have sign her yearbook. She leaked out a couple of delicate tears and then they agreed that they indeed were best friends 4-eva. "We have a race to run, sister!" cried Kandice.
The final sprint came in San Francisco, with a challenge that was a mix of Big Brother and The Newlywed Game, in which the teams had to prove how well they could predict their partners' answers. Thankfully, the questions were all about the other teams, so no one was made to consider the strangest place Mirna had ever made whoopee. (The correct answer, by the way, is "Please, sir, wherever you want it to be, just take my money and get me to airport!")
Now, I just made fun of Mirna yet again, but this challenge put her and Charla in a new light. The teams were asked to assign superlatives to their competitors; one of the categories was "best sense of humor," and Eric and Danielle and the beauty queens both picked Schmirna. Considering we've only seen other teams curse the cousins, this gave me pause. What if all their foolishness was an act for the camera, and the other teams were in on it? What if they're really funny, likable people?
But with 10 minutes left to go in the entire race, it was too late to change my opinion, so I shook off this nagging doubt as Danielle matched Eric's answers and retrieved their last clue from the safe while Charla and Kandice struggled. Though the other two teams were behind them and the editors tried to make it seem like the beauty queens were hitting nothing but green lights while Eric and Danielle got nothing but red, the end was obvious. Eric and Danielle trotted in to the awkward reaction shots of their fallen rivals. Rob and Amber's smug applause looked particularly odd, as if it were shot separately and inserted into the show. Maybe Romber couldn't attend the finale because they were already on to their next TV series.
Even with the joy of winning a million dollars, Eric couldn't muster up any real affection for Danielle, settling for uncomfortably pressing his lips against her forehead. Jeez, in season 6, after Hayden and Aaron landed only in fourth place, and he had spent the entire race being browbeaten and whined at by Hayden, Aaron still proposed to her on the mat. But all Eric could muster was that? Now, I am a romantic, and I wanted to believe that he and Danielle were truly as meant for each other as they claimed, so I was determined to ignore his apparent hesitation....
And then, as an added prize, Phil handed Eric the phone. It was his old teammate and close, close, close, close friend, Jeremy. "I'm gonna give you some spankings when you get home!" cried Jeremy, and a glow came over Eric that I hadn't seen him get once from his current teammate. Sorry, Danielle, you busty beard, you. You never had a chance.
So, now that it's all wrapped up, I think that The Amazing Race: All-Stars ranks as one of the best seasons yet. The cast was great and there was a classic mix of comedy and drama that I love from the show. I hope the producers pick equally enjoyable people for their next season. As for the winners, while I rooted for the Beauty Queens, the right team won. Eric and Danielle were the underdogs, having clawed their way to the top after being on the verge of elimination and having been yielded twice. They stayed strong and worked hard to make it to the top. And that's what the race is all about. See you next season!
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