Tonight's episode starts with a season wide recap where we get a reminder of all the teams who've been eliminated. Then we get footage of the final three teams and how they've handled the race throughout. That whole recap took less than three minutes, Big Brother Canada could learn a thing or two from that.
Even though Tyler & Korey were the first to the mat, everyone will be getting an upgrade for the flight home in Premium Class and they're all on the same flight to Los Angeles, California. When they arrive in Los Angeles they'll need to make their way to Angelus Plaza to find their next clue. Everyone grabs a cab from the airport and off they go.
Dana & Matt are the first to arrive at the Roadblock, A Leap Of Faith where someone will have to leap off the edge of a building to grab the clue 170 feet above the ground.
Matt chooses to do it, then Sheri chooses to do it to save Cole having to face his fear again. Tyler & Korey are the last team to get to the plaza and Tyler decides to take the leap.
Neither Matt nor Sheri want to look down as they step onto the edge. Matt jumps and grabs his clue on the first try and Dana & Matt are off on a helicopter ride 90 miles north to the city of Santa Barbara. As Dana & Matt head out, Sheri starts to panic and cry on the edge but then she makes the jump . . . and misses. On the ground Cole gives her a big hug and reassures her. When Tyler makes the leap, he misses too.
Dana & Matt have taken the lead and I've noticed how Dana isn't snapping at Matt now that there's no pressure at the moment. Back on the ledge Sheri makes another jump and grabs her clue, leaving Tyler & Korey in the back . . . especially when Tyler misses his second jump. Good thing he grabbed it on the third.
I love helicopter rides despite all the noise inside of them. I once took my kids up in a helicopter when they were really young to fly over the Rockies and the one who was most excited to get into the helicopter was the most terrified to look outside once we were in the air. Too bad because they missed a great view, even better than this one flying out of Los Angeles.
Welcome to Santa Barbara where Dana & Matt are off to the harbour in search of a fishing boat. They can see the second team coming in for a landing as they race off in a cab, arrive at the harbour and find their marked dingy. Off they go in search of the Theresa Ann. While they're on the water, Sheri & Cole are back on land.
Dana & Matt find the Theresa Ann and their next clue and they now need to make their way up Gibraltar Rock to find their next clue. When they get back to shore they realize they should have kept their cab. Meanwhile Sheri & Cole are getting in the dingy and looking for the Theresa Ann, . . . as they float right on by.
Dana & Matt finally ask someone for help and they call them a cab as Tyler & Korey land in Santa Barbara. This could be the biggest mistake in the race that Dana & Matt have made, especially in the final leg when even a few minutes lead is priceless. This is not the time to be releasing your cab into the wild.
Dana & Matt find a cab while Sheri & Cole are still on the water and Tyler & Korey arrive, and remember to ask their cab to wait. Sheri finally spots the Theresa Ann, grabs the clue and hopes not to get spotted by Tyler & Korey. As Sheri & Cole get back to shore, Tyler & Korey almost run into the Theresa Ann. Unfortunately the cab Sheri & Cole found (which I think was Tyler & Korey's) had no idea where to go, and they grabbed another one.
Dana & Matt have found Gibraltar Rock and now they need to perform a synchronized climbing maneuver to grab two halves of a clue, . . . one of them has to climb across Rattlesnake Canyon on a cable while the other scales the cliff side and the further out one goes the lower the other drops. Matt was a little quick going across and that got Dana a little stressed but he knew what he was doing Grainger the furthest clue first. Meanwhile, Tyler & Korey must have taken that bad cab because their driver had no clue where they were heading.
That looked like a lot of work doing that synchronized climb and used a lot of upper body strength, but Dana & Matt completed the task and now have both halves of the clue. As they piece their clue together, Sheri & Cole have arrived and are suiting up. Dana & Matt are on their way to the Grassini Family Vineyards for the next clue.
As Dana & Matt drive down they see Tyler & Korey driving up, but the boys never saw them. While Tyler & Korey get ready, Cole finds himself stuck trying to pull himself back and at the edge of the cliff, as Sheri is climbing up, she tells Tyler that the dancers had already left. Now Tyler & Korey know they're in last place. They've made up some time on this task but it's now time to hustle boys.
Dana & Matt arrive at the Grassini Family Vineyards and run right past the bale of hay with all the clues in it. That's not exactly a good idea, but definitely something you could overlook in the excitement of being near the finish line when you're focused on finding a clue box. Dana & Matt run back to the start and find the clue for another Roadblock, Roll Out The Barrels.
They need to spell out nine cities based on the hashtags in the clues throughout the race and hang those letters off the ends of the barrels. Dana's a little stressed having the entire race fall on her shoulders but she's just racing through this a lot faster than I think Matt would have. At the speed she's going she could be done before the other teams arrive. She calls for a check and she's done it, all before anyone else arrives.
She races back to Matt and they open the clue. They're off to the finish line somewhere in the vineyard. As Dana & Matt run in search of Phil, Sheri & Cole arrive and Cole gets started, then Tyler & Korey arrive and it's all Korey. Too late though, because Dana & Matt round a corner and they can hear the music.
Dana & Matt are the winners of the Amazing Race and having all the other teams applaud as they race in was great. Phil was a little concerned at one point during the season that they were going to implode but somehow they made it work. Congratulations to Dana & Matt, it was a well earned win.
Coming in second is Sheri & Cole who've had a great run and definitely strengthened their bond. I really liked them and as Sheri points out, this was their best finish. Coming in third is Tyler & Korey, who are still smiling and still friends. There are smiles and tears of joy all around, and of course a ton of hugs, as the final three get to say their farewells and we fade to black.
Well, that's it. Somehow, despite all of her negative attitude, Dana & Matt have won Season 28 of The Amazing Race. As Wayne and I have always said, the only leg that matters is the last one. I'm not unhappy with the result but I am surprised, . . . although, to be honest I'd have been more surprised if Sheri & Cole had won. Next week I've got one more to go as I review the Survivor finale and then I've got a few weeks off before Wayne and I are both back to review The Amazing Race Canada on June 28th. Until that time.