Beau welcomes the Final Three teams to the Final Leg in Bangkok and says there will be no grand prize sharing this year. All the money will go to the winning team’s chosen charity.
Beau flags them off for the Final Race and they run to the waiting clue at the end of the walkway. That clue directs teams to hop on a tuk tuk to take them to Nopparat Theatre in Bangkok’s culture district to learn and perform a traditional Thai sword dance.
Brooke & Adam are last to depart the Pit Start, but arrive first at the theater. The other two teams catch up. All teams fail their first attempts. Brooke & Adam manage to get it on their second attempt. Bam Bam & Logan get the thumbs up on their second attempt while Billy & Oscar get it on their third.
Teams must now make their way to Chinatown Gate and collect a fish order of two catfish for delivery which they must make by hand to a popular local eatery on Plaeng Nam Road.
Brooke & Adam arrive at the fishmonger pick-up point, but do not see the yellow and red flag right next to them. They still pick up the fish before the other two teams arrive. But Bam Bam & Logan manage to deliver their fish at the correct location first. Billy & Oscar deliver second with Brooke & Adam now in last place.
After delivering the fish, teams must prepare and eat a delicious local Thai delicacy, fresh frog curry. They must first each cut and skin a frog before cooking It according to the recipe. They must then eat it as well as surprise duck’s neck and water bugs to receive the next clue.
Brooke & Adam finally arrive at the cooking station just as Bam Bam & Logan plate up their dish. They begin eating with Billy & Oscar close behind.
After having no trouble with the frog, Bam Bam & Logan are shocked to see the extra food served for dessert. All the teams are now eating with some Aussie tourists wanting to take a selfie with Bam Bam whom they recognize.
Billy & Oscar are the first to stomach the delicacies and they open the next clue telling teams they must now complete the “iconic final puzzle” at NT Tower Bangkok. For this one, teams must arrange 12 blocks, each with symbols representing each Leg of the Race. Once the blocks are in the correct order, they will receive the final clue.
Bam Bam & Logan are the next to leave the food stall with Brooke & Adam still trailing.
As Bam Bam & Logan arrive, Billy & Oscar get the thumbs down on their first check. Brooke & Adam arrive and all teams are now working on the puzzle. Bam Bam & Logan use their notes to figure some of the symbols out. But all three teams get multiple Xs and thumbs down.
Bam Bam & Logan are the first team to get the thumbs up and they open the next clue directing them to the original Bangkok Central Train Station, the Finish Line.
At the Finish Line, Beau speaks with actress/model Lukkade Metinee who says that because of Bangkok traffic, one wrong turn could put you behind by an hour.
Billy & Oscar get their puzzle approved next with Brooke & Adam seemingly right behind them.
All three teams are now on the way to the Finish Line and all three teams get off of their tuk tuks seemingly at the same time.
However, Bam Bam & Logan are the first team to step on the Mat. Beau pours some beer into his shoes to celebrate their win. Billy & Oscar are Team #2 and Brooke & Adam are Team #3.
Episode Thoughts
It was an alright Leg. It felt more like a regular Leg rather than the Final. But I guess it provided enough opportunity to be a competitive Race.
Okay performance task for first task of the Leg. A little bit better than last season with the performance task as the second Route Marker. But when you have performance tasks like this, it’s best to have it at the start to give teams plenty of opportunity to overcome any of the first come, first served dynamics of it.
The fish delivery was a good task to get teams out in the bustling evening streets of Bangkok. (Also great to have the Leg again finish at night!)
The cooking and eating challenge was okay too. I feel like this season had a lot of eating challenges. So having one on the final Leg seems kind of fitting. And the variables of the task help to try and keep things interesting.
It would’ve been nice to have maybe one more task before the puzzle. But the puzzle was interesting because the symbols seem so random. Especially if, as they showed, the symbols appeared on random items or locations during the Legs. Lol I wonder how long it took for teams to figure it out. But a creative challenge nonetheless. And certainly better than many other final memory tasks.
A nice Finish Line location. But a bit of a barebones Leg for a Final.
All that said, Bam Bam & Logan are probably my favorite, non-tie winners of TARAu ever. I think I would feel the same for any of the three teams, actually. But the brothers very much deserved the win. And they were very consistent this season too.
Overall, season 8 of The Amazing Race Australia was a solid season. I think last year gets the edge just because it was so different from the other Network 10 seasons. A bit of a stronger cast, personality-wise. And that it came after those horrible seasons. And also better than TARUS and TARC. So it really elevated last year’s excellent season that much more. The three Channel 7 seasons are still the best Aussie seasons. But season 7 is next and now season 8 is close behind.
Great teams, great competition. Here’s to hoping we get another celebrity season next year! (And yes, I probably prefer a celeb season because it will limit the season to just 12 Legs and episodes. And not the 75 Legs and 41 teams of seasons 5 and 6. Lol)
Episode Quotes
Logan: “Those frogs were bloody ugly.”
Billy: “One cat-dog, what’s wrong with that?”
Bam Bam & Logan: “Never above, never below. Always beside.”