Gut-wrenching ‘Race’ offers satisfying ending

Another "Amazing Race" finale, another two hours of gut-wrenching tension, another loss for Rob Mariano.

As "The Amazing Race 7" concluded, Uchenna and Joyce Agu proved that the only rule that should guide teams is “never give up,” as the married couple came from a distant third place to win the whole race.

For most of the final two legs, which took the remaining couples to Jamaica, Puerto Rico, and Miami, all three teams could have easily given up as they were stymied by external things: slow cab drivers, flat tires, stingy strangers, airport ticket agents, airplane pilots, a delayed flight, traffic. Uchenna and Joyce were the recipients of much of this bad luck, but they also benefited from a few things that were outside of their control.

Although they were 15 minutes behind in the second-to-last leg, Uchenna and Joyce quickly caught up and led the pack on the way to the pit stop. After Jamaican police pulled Rob and Amber over, Uchenna and Joyce seemed like they’d breeze into first, but then their cab got a flat tire. Although Rob and Amber’s cab driver had to stop and get directions, the "Survivor All-Stars" couple, dubbed "Romber" by fans, came in first place once again.

Uchenna and Joyce checked in last at Montego Bay, but were saved by the race’s final non-elimination leg. Still, that meant they had to begin the final round with nothing except the clothes they were wearing and their passports. Just 10 minutes behind Rob and Amber, they were completely broke and unable to convince strangers at an airport to give them a few dollars. It looked like the end for Uchenna and Joyce as they eventually boarded a flight that was seven hours behind Rob and Amber’s flight to San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Operating hours, the great equalizer
Again, though, circumstances beyond the teams’ control affected the race; this time, it was one of the infamous equalizers of “The Amazing Race”: operating hours. Uchenna and Joyce were far, far behind, Rob and Amber had a commanding lead. But once again, it instantly became anyone’s race, as the hours of operation at a roadblock task caused all three teams to even up as they waited for the location to open.

Ultimately, while all three teams were affected by things not under their control, the race all came down to mistakes teams made on their own. Rob and Amber made one of their few errors at the roadblock, misreading the clue and falling to third place.

But that wasn’t as fatal as Ron and Kelly’s inability to read carefully — and communicate civilly — which cost them the race. On their way from the roadblock to the airport, they misread street signs in San Juan, which delayed their arrival at the airport. As a result, they were only able to get on a later flight.

At the airport, Rob and Amber almost jumped an hour and a half ahead of Uchenna and Joyce by getting a standby seat on a flight. Although the flight was closed and the doors were shut, the pilot decided to let Joyce and Uchenna on the plane, completely wiping the smug, cocky look off of Rob’s face, and once again making it anyone’s race. As the plane touched down in Miami, the two-team race to the finish line kept viewers’ hearts beating rapidly.

Joyce and Uchenna pulled ahead as Rob and Amber struggled to interpret a clue correctly. But then the external came into play one last time, as Joyce and Uchenna ran out of money on the cab ride to the finish line. When they arrived and paid their cab driver, he said, “Not enough money. You’re joking.” The finish line was just a short jog away, and it held the promise of $1
million, but they had to beg people on the street for $45 to pay their driver. “We can’t just run in — we gotta make sure this man is covered,” Uchenna said.