Recap: The Amazing Race Australia 4, Episode 12 and Season Wrap-up – “It’s been one helluva Race!”


Recap: The Amazing Race Australia 4, Episode 12 and Season Wrap-up – “It’s been one helluva Race!”

Teams begin the Final Leg and must now fly to Darwin in the Northern Territory. Upon arrival, teams head to the Darwin Waterfront where they must search through stacks of NT News newspapers for Race headlines. When they can identify them to the Editor, they will receive the next clue.

Jasmin & Jerome hope their hometown advantage will help them win this Leg.

The Amazing Race Australia Season 4 Episode 12 Recap The Amazing Race Australia Season 4 Episode 12 Recap

All three teams are at the Waterfront. Viv & Joey see what they think is a rack on the inflatable course in the water, but decide against swimming toward it. Jerome and Tim swim out, however, and grab the last newspaper before them.

Jasmin & Jerome get the correct newspapers first and open the next clue telling them to fly to Katherine, NT. But they won’t be landing there. They will be jumping out of the plane and skydiving!

Tim & Rod are next to get the thumbs up with Viv & Joey bringing up the rear.

The Amazing Race Australia Season 4 Episode 12 Recap The Amazing Race Australia Season 4 Episode 12 Recap

Jumping out of a plane is Jasmin’s worst fear, but she musters up the courage and takes the leap. She and Jerome open the next clue revealing the Road Block: Who’s ready to run circles? For this Road Block, teams must master animal training. They must first lead a dog through a course and then tame a wild horse by getting close enough to touch it.

Tim & Rod are able to jump out of the plane. But Viv & Joey’s plane gets caught up in bad turbulence so they have to land without skydiving. Beau says all time difference between the teams will be maintained so Viv & Joey will not be penalized for not being able to jump.

Over at the Road Block, Jasmin begins to lead the dog she has chosen. Rod arrives and gets started as well. Viv & Joey are able to catch up and Joey decides to do the Road Block.

Joey’s dog Teddy is great and he is able to finish that half of the Road Block first. He moves over to the horse and is able to touch it.

The Amazing Race Australia Season 4 Episode 12 Recap The Amazing Race Australia Season 4 Episode 12 Recap

Viv & Joey can now fly by helicopter to Nitmiluk Gorge where they will face their final task. Teams must complete a puzzle representing the countries they’ve visited on the Race. But seven pieces are hidden in the gorge and can only be accessed via kayak.

Rod decides to switch out his dog for Teddy who helped Joey finish first and it works. He and Tim are able to leave in 2nd. Teddy is a younger dog and Jasmin has been choosing older dogs who haven’t been too interested in playing. Jasmine decides to choose Teddy as well and it finally gets her and Jerome out of there.

All teams are on the kayaks. But Viv & Joey feel they’ve already lost their lead as they struggle to find their last piece. It’s been 30 minutes and they keep missing the piece even though they’ve passed it already.

Tim & Rod are the first team to find all the missing pieces. They must now arrange the puzzle pieces according to country, flag, currency, teams eliminated and Detour clues.

The Amazing Race Australia Season 4 Episode 12 Recap The Amazing Race Australia Season 4 Episode 12 Recap

Jasmin & Jerome find all their pieces and head back to begin their puzzle.

It’s now one hour since Viv & Joey have begun kayaking and they finally find their last piece. Seeing there’s only one left, they know they are last.

All three teams are now working on the final puzzle.

The Amazing Race Australia Season 4 Episode 12 Recap The Amazing Race Australia Season 4 Episode 12 Recap

Tim & Rod get their puzzle together and they can now search the gorge for the Finish Line. Jasmin & Jerome are right behind them as are Viv & Joey. Or so they want us to believe.

But it is Tim & Rod who step on the Mat first and Beau declares them the winners of The Amazing Race Australia and the winners of $250,000. Jasmine & Jerome are 2nd and Viv & Joey are 3rd.

The Amazing Race Australia Season 4 Episode 12 Recap The Amazing Race Australia Season 4 Episode 12 Recap

Episode Thoughts

And the Aussies finally head back home!

The first task with the newspapers was very interesting. Definitely amusing to involve the local paper and the fact that they like sensational headlines. It helped make this a very creative memory task. But at the same time, how do the teams know about events that happened when they weren’t even around? Like Sid & Ash stealing the dumpling or Mikayla vomiting when they weren’t even there? Things like that. It happened again with the quiz in Malawi. Very strange. Is it really a guessing game?

The skydiving was a good way to get teams from Darwin to Katherine. But I don’t know if I ever remember a team not being able to perform a task, but not get penalized for it. Even if it was out of their control. I remember teams getting penalized for darkness.

The Road Block was good as it definitely related to life in the area. But teams shouldn’t have been able to swap dogs! lol Similar tasks in the past don’t allow teams to switch animals? Unless it’s a milking task? Not sure. But not being able to swap dogs adds another challenge that can be fun.

The final puzzle task was nice. A different kind of puzzle. And the extra aspect of having to search for some pieces AND kayaking as well. It’s a physical and mental challenge to finish off the Final Leg. And also some luck too.

Overall, it was a pretty solid Final Leg. I think maybe there should’ve been one more task to help fill it out more. But the tasks that it did have were fine. And the Northern Territory looked stunning.

Episode Quotes

Tim: “I hope fear cripples her.”

Jasmine: “Such an unnatural thing to do.”

Beau: “It has been one hell of a Race.”

Beau: “You are the smallest people I’ve ever seen in my life. But you’ve got the biggest hearts.”

Season Wrap-up

While the thought of The Amazing Race Australia was definitely a possibility when CBS bought Australia’s Network 10, it was still a pleasant surprise when season 4 was finally confirmed.

The Amazing Race Australia has still remained the gold standard for international TAR franchises. And even during its original run on Seven, the three seasons regularly ended up more fun and entertaining than the American mothership.

So expectations were definitely high for TARAu4. But at the same time a little bit tempered knowing the production was going to be managed by a different company on a different network.

I’ll say right off the bat that of the four seasons of TARAu, this season 4 is definitely the weakest. It definitely felt like the first season by a production team still trying to get the hang of things.

But still, the season was enjoyable and fun. It felt refreshing and different. And certainly more interesting than recent TARUS seasons.

The best part of the season is definitely the cast. And for the many things one would come to expect from TARAu, having excellent casting is one of them. Thankfully, TARAu4 continued that trend. This cast was likeable and competitive. Not a single dud in the entire season, to be honest. And TARUS (and maybe even TAR Canada) could only dream of such a good cast.

You want a cast that is entertaining. You want a cast that is competitive. You want some teams who can be heroes and others who can be villains. You want a diverse group of teams. And this season delivered all that.

Another huge positive and another thing that one expects from TARAu is the beautiful production. The cinematic visuals continued and even took a step forward a bit as well compared to the first three seasons. TARAu just looks and feels different from other TARs. (TAR Asia 5 might’ve been the closest.) And that is a huge plus.

The Route was pretty solid. It was great visiting some countries that rarely get visited on TARUS. For example, it was great to see South Korea at the START of the Race instead of always at the end like on TARUS. Though the Legs in Korea themselves were kind of lackluster, just being there was already enjoyable.

The Vietnamese Legs were familiar of course. But seeing a completely different set of teams with different backgrounds doing the familiar tasks kept things interesting for a TAR fan like myself.

The Legs in Mongolia I think is when the season really started getting into a groove. Both Legs were great and competitive. And again, visiting a country only visited once on TARUS is awesome.

The Zimbabwe/Zambia Legs were alright. Both definitely came across more as travel promo videos. But the highlight definitely had to be the animal poop Fast Forward in Zimbabwe. An awesome task that better be a Road Block on a future season of TAR (or TARPHDME lol).

The two Malawi Legs definitely have to be the best Legs of the Race. Exciting, competitive. So much going on in each Leg and episode. Thailand was also strong and definitely helped lead to one of the most dramatic Penultimate Legs ever.

Leg Design improved as the Race moved along. There were definitely a couple of times during the Race where an extra task should’ve been inserted to help fill out a Leg or tasks that should’ve been rearranged for maximum effect. There definitely should’ve been more Road Blocks too.

After TAR Asia 5, I definitely felt like a U-Turn or Yield shouldn’t be available on the Penultimate Leg. (Definitely not BOTH!) By the Penultimate Leg, I think it should be all on the teams and not on any twist like that that should decide who goes to the Final. The last U-Turn should’ve been in Leg 10 with the first U-Turn popping up earlier. But of course, the U-Turn on this Penultimate Leg definitely help drive what made the episode so dramatic.

While I miss Grant Bowler and thought he was a good host, Beau Ryan did a pretty great job and probably has taken over from Jon Montgomery as the loosest and most fun TAR host in the world. Beau’s hosting style was very refreshing and he did help make the Race fun to watch.

Overall, it is definitely amazing to have The Amazing Race Australia back. And it’s confirmed for a Season 5 in 2020! Let’s hope they continue what they’ve been doing best and improve on the shortcomings from this first outing from Network Ten.

My Final Subjective Team Rankings

The Amazing Race Australia 4 Tom Tyler The Amazing Race Australia 4 Judy Therese The Amazing Race Australia 4 Viv Joey The Amazing Race Australia 4 Sid Ash The Amazing Race Australia 4 Chris Adrienne The Amazing Race Australia 4 Jasmin Jerome The Amazing Race Australia 4 Hayley Mikayla The Amazing Race Australia 4 Tim Rod The Amazing Race Australia 4 Rowah Amani The Amazing Race Australia 4 Femi Nick The Amazing Race Australia 4 Alana Niko

I have no problem admitting that I’m a hypocrite. I have no problem with a team winning a lot of Legs if it’s a team I like. And if it’s a team I don’t like, I have no problem with them getting U-Turned out of the Race on the Penultimate Leg. lol

So Tom & Tyler, I have no problem with them winning all those Legs. Like I’ve said, I feel like they got lucky with a few of their wins. But that doesn’t take away the fact that they’re one of the best teams to ever run the Race. Not only skill-wise, but they were likeable and had fun without becoming annoying or cocky. They would fall behind, but just work to get themselves back ahead. I think that’s the difference between having a problem with or not having a problem with a team winning many Legs.

Tom & Tyler won all these Legs, but they weren’t unlikeable, cocky jerks. You could easily root for them and it was heartbreaking to see them eliminated thanks to a U-Turn like that. They definitely reminded me of TARA5’s Treasuri & Louisa. Another dominant team that was basically forced out of the Race by a U-Turn AND a Yield in the Penultimate Leg. It’s too bad as I would have had no problem with them winning the Race. And they would’ve deserved it. I think, just now immediately after the season, Tom & Tyler might be one of my favorite TARAu teams ever. Though there’s definitely a lot of amazing TARAu teams.

It’s also hard not to like Judy & Therese. The Nuns were fun and enjoyed themselves during their short time on the Race. While I don’t want to judge, I doubt they would’ve made it all that far. But I was hoping we’d get a couple of Legs with them. This is the kind of casting you won’t get on TARUS. And I thank TARAu for it.

On the surface, Viv & Joey may seem like underdogs. But they started off the Race on top, faltered a little bit in the middle, but stepped it up towards the end when they needed and they made it to the Final Leg. I think there were some moments when they could’ve hustled a little bit more. But there were also other moments where they just truly shined. A great team to watch most of the Race and I think the team I was rooting for the most in this Final Leg.

Sid & Ash. Hmm. Again, like I mentioned before. All I can do is judge them based on what we see in the episodes. Whatever happens off-camera, I can’t judge them on. And that’s certainly their personal business. So on-camera, they were the perfect TAR villains. Cocky, uber-competitive. But not being able to back it up with good Racing. At least, for most of the time on the Race. So their villainous antics (which were very tame compared to past TAR teams) came across more as fun and amusing rather than nasty or mean-spirited. The fact that they were at the back of the pack most of the time made them even more fun and enjoyable. And when they finally got to the top, it was actually a refreshing moment. Their elimination was so crazy as they really had been doing so well finally. But one mistake cost them. Too bad.

Chris & Adrienne were a great team. They had an awesome fighting spirit that you love to see on the Race. Adrienne’s fiery personality and Chris’ more measured opposite personality meshed perfectly to bring us a fun, engaging team. Chris’ Race-ending injury was tough. But the two of them were great people who wouldn’t give up. Another casting choice you wouldn’t see on TARUS.

Jasmin & Jerome were also a good team. I kind of wish they made more of an impact earlier in the Race. That is, I wish they had been more cutthroat and competitive earlier on. The first half of their Race involved mostly their nonexistent rivalry with Sid & Ash. But once they were gone, Jasmin & Jerome were able to step it up and really show how competitive they were. Unfortunately for them, the TAR Hometown Curse was in full effect and it just wasn’t meant to be. I think this Leg really exemplified their Race. They can get themselves to the front, but mistakes push them all the way to back.

Hayley & Mikayla had great potential. They seemed like they could’ve been a strong team. Continuing TARAu’s history of great, strong female teams. But they weren’t able to step it up at the right time. They fought hard and for the time they were on and featured in the episodes, they were a fun team.

Tim & Rod really had momentum on their side. They peaked at the perfect time and were able to truly step it up with each Leg. They were almost nonexistent in the start of the Race, but they did improve Leg to Leg. It was a good win for them even if they wouldn’t have been my first choice. One thing to note though is they didn’t really have any alliances other than with Sid & Ash (who the other teams weren’t fond of, especially Jasmin & Jerome). So they Raced on their own most of the Race and that’s big.

Rowah & Amani also had great potential so it was too bad to see them eliminated so early. I think they could’ve had a good run. Femi & Nick really fell forward much of the Race. But in their last Legs, they were able to slowly start stepping it up a little bit. Not enough to overcome their bad directional skills. But they had a shot. And finally Alana & Niko. We barely knew them! I would’ve been interested to see how such a young team would do on TAR. But that major mistake in the premiere was just crazy!

20 thoughts on “Recap: The Amazing Race Australia 4, Episode 12 and Season Wrap-up – “It’s been one helluva Race!”

  1. Just like in your season wrap ups in TARUS, if you’re gonna make a list of your favorite teams in TARAU who would be on the list?

    1. Hmm, never thought about my TARAu teams before. Going through the list, I’ll say:

      1. Sarah & James
      2. Paul & Steve
      2. Lucy & Emilia
      4. Tom & Tyler
      5. Tracy & Anne-Marie
      5. Alana & Mel
      5. Sally & Tyson
      6. Elizabeth & Todd
      6. Aston & Christie
      6. Judy & Therese
      6. Viv & Joey

    1. Hmmm, it’s been so long since I watched the original seasons so I don’t even remember most of the teams. So I will like a lot of the TARA5 teams more, but I think:
      Treasuri & Louisa
      Zabrina & Joe Jer
      The Richards
      Parul & Maggie
      JK & Mike
      Marc & Rovilson
      Claire & Michelle
      Ida & Tania
      Aubrey & Jacq
      Geoff & Tisha

    1. Hmm. Not sure. I don’t really have a favorite artist. I just enjoy any songs that I like and that includes many different artists and genres, classics and contemporary too.

    1. Haven’t watched it in a while, but I think it’s alright. Dan & Jordan are still one of the teams I love. And looking back, the Carol & Brandy/Brent & Caite rivalry was funny. Obviously, ugh to Jet & Cord though.

  2. I’m currently watching BB8. From what you remember, what is your opinion on the season and the houseguests?

    1. I think I tuned out halfway through the season. I remember thinking Dick was obnoxious, maybe because I thought Jen was awesome and hilarious.
      Otherwise, I don’t remember much.

    1. Hmmm… not sure. Maybe something like:

      1. Jet & Cord
      1. Dave & Conner
      3. Tyler & Korey
      Then some mix of BJ & Tyler, Caroline & Jennifer, Rob & Amber, Jessica & Cody.

      I tend to block out the teams I don’t like. Unlike my favorite teams, I can name them off the top of my head lol

    1. Hmm, most of the HGs were just meh. No one I really disliked except maybe Jackson a little. And maybe Nick. But definitely not compared to other HGs of the past that I couldn’t stand. I actually liked Christie because she was a hilarious mess. Jessica was also funny in how she had no idea what was going on most of the time. I actually liked Jack and Tommy’s bromance too.

      The only moment from the whole season I liked though was that pre-live show leak. That was fun to watch at the time.

  3. From each season of Big Brother you watched/remembered, if you were a juror, you would have voted for from the final two of each season.

    1. Oh! That’s very interesting!

      BB1: Eddie
      BB2: Will
      BB3: Danielle
      BB4: Jun
      BB5: Drew
      BB6: Maggie
      BB7: 😝
      BB8: Dick
      BB9: Ryan
      BB10: Dan
      BB11: Jordan
      BB12: Hayden
      BB13: Rachel of course! hehe
      BB14: Dan
      BB15: 😝
      BB16: Derrick
      BB17: Liz
      BB18: Paul
      BB19: Paul
      BB20: Kaycee
      BB21: Jackson

  4. From the seasons of American Idol you’ve watched or remembered, who were you rooting for in each season?

    1. Hmm…
      Season 1: Kelly Clarkson and sometimes Nikki McKibbin
      Season 2: Josh Gracin
      Season 3: Jasmine Trias and Camile Velasco
      Season 4: No one in particular
      Season 5: I think either Katharine or Elliott
      Season 6: Blake Lewis and Melinda Doolittle
      Season 7: Ramiele I guess
      Season 8: Kris Allen
      Season 9-present: I don’t think I watched the show anymore lol

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