Recap: The Amazing Race 36, Episode 10 (Part 2) – “We got to catch them boys.”

Recap: The Amazing Race 36, Episode 10 (Part 2) – The Longest Minute of Your Life

Phil accompanies the Final Three teams to the charter flight that will take them to the Final Destination City: Philadelphia! The Pit Start is atop the famous steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. And teams open the first clue directing them to drive to Lincoln Financial Field. They have $20 for this Leg.

On the drive, Ricky says he was born and raised in Philadelphia. Juan & Shane stop and asks some construction workers for directions.

Rod & Leticia arrive at the stadium first and open the first clue revealing a Road Block: Who’s got team spirit? For this Road Block, teams will dress as an Amazing Race mascot and then maneuver through an obstacle course on the field before hitting a target with a t-shirt cannon.

Leticia and Ricky decide to do the Road Block. Shane arrives and gets started in last.

Leticia chooses Phanatic to guide her through the course. Ricky chooses the Eagles’ Swoop while Shane gets to run with Gritty.

Ricky hits the target on his 4th attempt while Leticia gets it on her 8th attempt. Shane makes up time when he hits the target on his 2nd attempt.

Teams must now drive to between Pat’s and Geno’s cheesesteak shops. Juan & Shane ask a local who tells them those are two pizza shops. They end up clicking on the wrong location in Google Maps and end up in New Jersey.

The waiting clue at the corner directs teams to Headhouse Square. Here, teams must memorize and recite the preamble to the Declaration of Independence.

Rod & Leticia catch up to Ricky & Cesar and they start memorizing. Ricky & Cesar go for their first attempt, but get the thumbs down. As do Rod & Leticia.

Ricky & Cesar give it another go and they get the thumbs up. They must now drive to Betsy Ross House where they will find another Road Block: Who wants to earn their stripes?

For this Road Block, teams must properly assemble the first flag of the United States of America based on information provided to them by George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and Betsy Ross.

Cesar does the Road Block, but because he grew up in Mexico, he is not sure if he will do well.

Back at the preamble, Juan & Shane arrive just as Rod & Leticia finally get the thumbs up.

But Cesar finishes his flag before any other team arrives. He and Ricky must now make their way on foot to Arch Street Meeting House. Rod & Leticia arrive just as Ricky & Cesar run out.

Ricky & Cesar get to the next clue directing teams to assemble a three-dimensional Liberty Bell puzzle.

Meanwhile, Leticia and Juan are starting the flag Road Block. Juan ends up finishing his flag next, dropping Leticia to last.

But Ricky & Cesar finish their Liberty Bell and receive the final clue pointing them to the Finish Line at Glenn Foerd Estate.

Though Juan & Shane and Rod & Leticia get started with the Liberty Bell, it is Ricky & Cesar who arrive at the mansion and cross the Finish Line as Team #1. Phil officially declares them the winners of The Amazing Race. This is also their 7th Leg win.

Juan & Shane are 2nd place and Rod & Leticia are 3rd.

Episode Thoughts

Definitely interesting to watch a Final Leg fit within 30 minutes of episode time. I can actually think of a few other finales that should’ve been much shorter airtime. TAR32 definitely one of them lol

But it’s nice to finally get to Philadelphia. Of course, this Final Leg would’ve been made infinitely better with a memory task somewhere. But that’s alright. Though it should be automatic that the Final Leg has a memory task, TARUS is just not that way. So it’s whatever.

Still, I think this was a solid Final Leg. Lots of tasks. Almost similar to TAR27. The tasks themselves may have just been okay, but having several of them still provides the opportunity for teams to move ahead or fall behind. It’s just too bad for Juan & Shane and Rod & Leticia that Ricky & Cesar are just that good. Lol

First off, having Phil walk the teams to the plane was just an interesting moment. We won’t see anything like that probably ever again. So having it here is really the last time we’ll see COVID Era accommodations on-screen on TAR.

Now, I don’t know, but seeing Gritty and the Phillie Phanatic going crazy standing next to Phil has to be one of the funniest moments in recent TAR memory. If there’s any city to host a mascot task, it’s definitely Philadelphia. And this first Road Block was a good way to give a nod to that.

Finally having a Final Leg in Philadelphia, of course you’re going to have something related to the Declaration of Independence and the like. I don’t know that a memorization and performance task on the Final Leg is the way to go though. But it does offer up some unique challenges.

I would’ve had an extra task with the cheesesteaks. Maybe have each team member eat a sandwich from each shop. How about even guessing from which shop it’s from. Just as an extra task.

The flag Road Block was another good nod to Philadelphia’s place in American history. Definitely a bit of a critical thinking task. At first, I thought teams could just guess half of the colonies based on how long the stripes are. But then all stripes were the same length lol

Finally, the Liberty Bell task is a fun, clever task to have here. TARPHDME4 had a similar 3D puzzle task in its finale. But it incorporated a memory component. Perhaps TAR36 could’ve done so here too. But it’s okay.

I must commend TAR for the production value with the awesome TAR mascot costumes, the zipper flag and the Liberty Bell puzzle contraption.

Overall, this Final Leg could’ve used one more task. Preferably a memory task. But it definitely wasn’t the worst we’ve seen from TARUS.

And finally, a well-deserved win for Ricky & Cesar.