The road to finale week was bumpy for all five remaining teams, but the teams heading into the final two episodes have been decided, so let’s see who they are!
EPISODES 9 & 10
IMAGE: NETWORK 10
Heading to Malawi, the five remaining teams were more determined than ever to snatch a podium finish in each leg. Flying across Africa, Beau surprises all of the teams with a compulsory U-Turn vote. Each team must vote another team to be U-Turned, and Tom & Tyler go first, voting Tim & Rod for being their closest competition. Tim & Rod return the favour, and it’s likely everyone else joins in on taking out the challenge beasts. Jasmin wants to U-Turn Tom & Tyler, but her & Jerome vote for Tim & Rod, fearing they don’t have the numbers to take out the big guys. But surely the other two will vote the footy mates… Wait, Femi & Nick vote Tim & Rod too, saying they are outside their circle. Wtf? Viv & Joey ALSO vote Tim & Rod, a unanimous 4-1 vote. Sighting their alliance as the real reason why, but it’s five teams left! How long do you wanna keep Tom & Tyler as allies? When they finish first in the final leg?
While competing in the first task, Tim & Rod ask everyone who they U-Turned, and are slowly learning and becoming shocked to find out all of the other teams have U-Turned them. #Awkward. As Rod says, “hey, let’s team up with the strongest team”. You reckon? Where are the influencers to make an actual game changing move?
Knowing what was coming, Tim & Rod wanted to waste no time, and were in 3rd place as they approached the Detour. Meanwhile, Viv & Joey disagree about which Detour option to take, ‘sew’ or ‘stack’. Joey puts his foot down though, saying Viv has already proven she can’t lift things above her head. It’s the first sign of tension between the two, and it may just be a tell for worse things to come.
IMAGE: NETWORK 10
The next challenge requires the teams to visit a bricklaying place and help build some bricks, Tim & Rod manage to make it to the stage after everyone else, but because of their speed in the Detours, they aren’t as far behind as expected. Jasmin & Jerome begin to regret their U-Turn decision when Tom & Tyler are first to leave the brick challenge, but they honestly can’t blame themselves because they still needed another team to make the same decision.
IMAGE: NETWORK 10
Tim & Rod end up reaching the middle of the pack after surpassing Viv & Joey and Femi & Nick, who struggle to accurately make bricks to the judge’s standards. Upon reaching the Pit Stop, Tom & Tyler secure another victory, bringing their total to 8/10 winning legs. Jasmin & Jerome are an extremely close second however, with Tim & Rod securing third. At the back of the group, Femi & Nick manage to secure another second-last placement, with Viv & Joey seemingly waving goodbye to their time in the competition. But, Beau announces it’s a non-elimination leg, so the siblings fight to live another day.
A full list of the placements for the ninth leg of the race are as follows:
1st - Tom & Tyler, Footy Mates
2nd - Jasmin & Jerome, Indigenous Parents
3rd - Tim & Rod, Newlyweds
4th - Femi & Nick, Psychiatric Nurses
5th - Viv & Joey, Mighty Siblings
No more non-elimination legs are in sight, so it’s do or die for all five teams, especially Viv & Joey who don’t want to fall victim to the curse of previous losers in non-elimination legs (immediate elimination in the next leg). The first task for each team is canoeing out in the ocean and pass a particular point, but Viv & Joey’s speed bump forced them to empty out the canoe that was filled with water beforehand, a significantly time consuming challenge. But, hope is alive when Femi & Nick lose a paddle that is necessary to completing the task.
Tom & Tyler found themselves in first place again approaching the Detour, where each team needed to choose between ‘Dirty’ and ‘Smelly’. Tim & Rod are the first to beat everyone else in the Detour, but Tom & Tyler are a close second. The Roadblock then forced teams to make some sandals from scratch, and I literally laughed out loud when Tom convinces Femi that Tyler has had some experience in making sandals. The boys may keep winning and presenting a boring result but damn they are hilarious and entertaining during the legs.
The challenge actually sees Viv & Joey catapult into first place, potentially putting them in good stead before the elimination. When the teams must listen to a clue from a loudspeaker in a crowded area, Tim & Rod sabotage Tom & Tyler and Viv & Joey by not letting them know they are catching a taxi, but the siblings and mates decide to sabotage as well by not telling Tim & Rod information that they believe is valuable to the task.
IMAGE: NETWORK 10
Another challenge sees the teams guess and evaluate how well they know the other teams they are competing with, answering some trivia questions that they won’t know the answers to until they reach Beau at the Pit Stop. Also, as Tom & Tyler point out, some information to answer relates to parts that they were not a part of, like a different Detour option. Mmmm. Very interesting, production, very interesting. Anyhow, whatever they get wrong, a penalty minute will be issued for each incorrect answer. This might be the difference between first and last, so it’s crucial each team is as accurate as possible.
In a dubbed, “clown car”, Tom & Tyler are passed by Viv & Joey in the race to the Pit Stop, albeit unaware of the time penalties that await. Viv & Joey do manage to reach the Pit Stop first, a bounce back from their last place in the previous leg. They must suffer a 13-minute penalty however, and as Tom & Tyler reach second with an 8-minute penalty. This puts Tom & Tyler back into first place AGAIN, but Viv & Joey do manage to snag third place behind Jasmin & Jerome who snuck in second after a 6-minute penalty. In the end, Femi & Nick were eliminated when Tim & Rod came in fourth, ending the run for the real underdogs of The Amazing Race.
IMAGE: NETWORK 10
A full list of the placements for the ninth leg of the race are as follows:
1st - Tom & Tyler, Footy Mates
2nd - Jasmin & Jerome, Indigenous Parents
3rd - Viv & Joey, Mighty Siblings
4th - Tim & Rod, Newlyweds
5th (Eliminated) - Femi & Nick, Psychiatric Nurses
Now we have our finale week teams: Footy Mates – Tom & Tyler, the Deadly Duo – Jasmin & Jerome, Siblings – Viv & Joey, and Newlyweds – Tim & Rod. Who will take out the crown and $250k prize money?
REVIEW
Finale Week is upon us and if you called these four teams to be the ones heading into it…well I would not be surprised. Tom & Tyler have consistently been the biggest threats of the season, and considering Viv & Joey had a great start to the race, it’s not entirely surprising they’re here. Tim & Rod have often been close to securing a first place victory, so maybe it’ll finally come for them in that final leg. And Jasmin & Jerome are the only remaining team who did manage to beat Tom & Tyler in a leg (the other being Sid & Ash), so it would be awesome to see them grab another win this late in the game. Let’s evaluate our finale teams.
Jasmin & Jerome – I may have doubted them last week after a shaky performance, but they really pulled it together for a strong progression this week. Sure, no wins, but they have been hot on the boys’ tail and if they ended up winning the entire thing I wouldn’t be surprised. We’ve seen the big strong teams fall short in that final leg, and I think Jasmin & Jerome are the most likely to topple them at the end. I do think they’ll make it to that final leg and won’t be eliminated Monday night, although there is a small chance for me. But they have proven they can fight when it counts and I really believe they are now capable or getting to the end. I would love a Jasmin & Jerome win, but am nevertheless excited for a top three finish (potentially).
IMAGE: NETWORK 10
Tom & Tyler – Well, they really are becoming pretty unstoppable but I have a theory. There was a week where we saw Viv & Joey really struggle and get a couple of seventh places. Then last week Jasmin & Jerome didn’t have too much of a strong performance. And this week Tim & Rod really had to overcome some adversity to stay in it. Tom & Tyler might just be seeing their undoing at the most crucial time in the competition. And sometimes the bigger threats they are, the harder they fall. Can the boys win it all? It’s possible. And it certainly would just cement that they were the strongest team outright. But I have a feeling they’ll be pipped at the post. I want the guys to win, don’t get me wrong. But I won’t be rooting for them, simply because it is too predictable. I’d love for one of the other teams to take it out, but given how good they have been the entire race, Tom & Tyler really do deserve to take home the cash.
Tim & Rod – They had some hiccups this week. But that comes down to the double Detour because of the U-Turn. Maybe people weren’t ready to take down Tom & Tyler earlier but I have no doubt in my mind all four teams are in it for themselves now so I don’t think this couple will have to worry about being on the outs of an alliance. They have never taken out the top position, but if it’s going to ever come it better come when it matters. Even when things aren’t going well for the team, Tim & Rod consistently excel at the tasks and challenges, so even if it looks grim, I think they’ll be able to race out of anywhere and thus secure a place in the final leg. Once there, I really see Tim & Rod digging deep and using their great communication as the tool to their success. If Beau announces them as the winners, I think it’s an incredible finish that does great justice for the season. Beating out Tom & Tyler would be a personal victory for Tim & Rod too.
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Viv & Joey – I’m quite surprised they made it to finale week because they just haven’t been as strong as they were to begin with. Considering last week I talked about how good they supported each other, this week we saw them get into some intense situations and disagree with each other. Thankfully, they survived. But I just don’t see it happening again. I do think they’ll be the team to miss the final leg and go home on Monday, although I don’t want that to happen. With some inconsistency and inability to complete some tasks, I think Viv & Joey will become undone with something too hard for them to overcome. I hope I’m wrong, so please guys prove it to me. But honestly, they’ve had a good run but not nearly as strong as either of the other teams. Good luck to them though!
So Femi & Nick weren’t the underdogs I was expecting but hey they really did incredible considering how up and down they were for the entire race. It would have been great to see them gather their bearings and shoot to the top but it wasn’t meant to be. A really fun team that’s going to be missed in this final week. It’s a shame to see them go but I have no doubt they’ll be a strong presence for the series future on social media.
Beau’s doing good as he has been lately. I’m always indifferent about it. But he’s doing the job and getting it done well. So props to him. Production’s choice to put the trivia minute penalty in the last leg was strange. Has that ever happened before in The Amazing Race history? I don’t know why they didn’t just have someone tell them if they were right or wrong over and over again. I mean, we could have had a Viv & Joey first place finish! Oh well. It just seems odd but righto. Pretty good season they’ve formed overall and I hope next year they do even better, make things more challenging and cohesive to bring an even more exciting chain of events between teams.
Who will clinch victory next week in The Amazing Race Australia finale? Not long to go now!
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The Amazing Race Australia concludes Monday and Tuesday at 7:30pm on Channel 10!
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