'The Amazing Race' Season 17, Episode 12 Season Finale Recap

[The Amazing Race – "Hi. I'm Sorry. I'm in a Race"]

There’s a lot of hype this season as two all-female teams attempted to break the trends of all-male teams and couples winning the U.S. version of The Amazing Race. Nat & Kat, the doctors, are up against Brook & Claire, the home shopping hosts. While Brook & Claire have only had one first-place finish, the doctors have won four legs.

The show finally went from eleven teams to the final three of Nat & Kat, Brook & Claire, and Jill & Thomas. The teams left Seoul, South Korea and boarded the same plane to Los Angeles. I'm still not sure why exactly this show insisted on playing "California Gurls" by Katy Perry to represent Los Angeles. They had to look for Port of Long Beach. The teams were given $400, emphasizing that the final leg would be very taxi heavy.

Jill & Thomas - 3:57am
Brook & Claire - 4:23am
Nat & Kat - 4:27am

Thomas jokes around about how he never had to deal with Spanish-speaking people and hoped to use his skills in L.A. Little did he know that he was in for a language barrier treat. Brook & Claire, for a short time, had cheetah print shorts on, but they disappeared as the team landed in L.A. Nat & Kat had some familiarity with Los Angeles because the two went to UCLA.

As all the teams landed in Los Angeles, Nat & Kat were the first team out and got a taxi. They were followed by Jill & Thomas and Brook & Claire. As the teams arrived at the port, they realized that they would have to Bungee Swing. This brought fear in Nat, and we were given a flashback to her fear on a gondola. All the other teams arrived and were strapped in, but all were dropped the same way they arrived. Nat & Kat dropped first, and in all reality, the bungee swing was a glorified childhood swing. Nat praised the ground as she and Kat got a clue to be sent to a "surprise destination" via a helicopter.

Jill & Thomas dropped next without too much drama from Jill. Brook & Claire followed next, and Brook screamed the whole way like a little girl. Eventually all three teams were in the air as they headed to the Rose Bowl Stadium. Nat & Kat were first to the roadblock, which forced the contestants to decorate three elements on a float. Nat started on the mums first. Thomas decided to finish the final roadblock, causing a lot of regret for Jill. Brook, who seemed naturally connected to beauty pageants, had pride in the roadblock. Nat finished first, but she didn't correctly put water in her roses; she recovered before Thomas finished.

There were three clues for the next task which led the teams to Quixote Studios, but sadly none of the last three teams knew the story of Don Quixote. At least Nat knew the Marilyn Monroe clue. Nat & Kat head out on a taxi, trying to call information. Jill & Thomas get a broken English-speaking taxi driver, who insisted that a GPS will get the couple wherever they needed to be.

The Clues:
"I am Sancho Panza's master" - (A: Don Quixote)
"I am the place to hear the Symphony in the Glen" (A: Stage in Griffith Park)
"Monroe's Year of the Itch" (A: The Seven-Year Itch)

Brook & Claire decided to go to a hotel to get the answers, while Nat & Kat managed to get the information off of the phone. They headed to the studios and found Bob Eubanks "hosting" their final puzzle. They had to identify the eleven greeters this season, who were all wearing "hats." There were 48 total videos that would flash back and forth, with the other clips being from other seasons of the show.

The Correct Numbers:
1) 27
2) 6
3) 31
4) 29
5) 45
6) 10
7) 8
8) 43
9) 36
10)13
11)38

Nat & Kat used a small notebook to methodically figure out the greeters from their information. They eventually got all eleven right and headed out, as the editors made it look like Brook & Claire just arrived. Nat & Kat were in a bit of traffic, while Brook & Claire magically finished the puzzle without much of a hassle and had less traffic. Nat & Kat finished first, making them the first all-female team to win a season of The Amazing Race. Brook & Claire were second, but still proud of their accomplishments. Based off of the preview from last week, Jill & Thomas eventually made it to the studio and solved the puzzle and finished in third.

Roadblock: Nat, Brook, Thomas

Final Leg Placement
1) Nat & Kat
2) Brook & Claire
3) Jill & Thomas

The best editing on this show was near the end. In a quick interview, Gary & Mallory wondered if they could do the show again, and they will next year during another All-Star season.