The Amazing Race 4, Episode 13: And the Winner Is…

The end has arrived. After this episode, one of the final three teams will be crowned the winner of The Amazing Race 4. All three of the final teams left have the courage and determination to come in first, but only one will be the winner. Let’s take a look at the final three teams and the order that they will leave the pit stop.

Dave & Jeff (The Goats) – Best friends/No sense of direction
Reichen & Chip – Married gay couple/Sentimental favorites
Kelly & Jon – Engaged couple/My pick to win/Sentimental favorites

Wow, it’s nice to see that two of my sentimental favorites are in the finals! However, we all know I’m pulling for Jon & Kelly. Reichen & Chip winning would not make me sad at all, I really just don’t want the Goats winning only because of the whole “We never really knew you” thing. Anyway, we begin on Ellis beach, the location of the last pit stop. It is 1:47 a.m. and the Goats are departing. Opening their clue, they find they have to drive to Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park to join in a traditional ceremony for their next clue. Jeff says that of the remaining teams, their team has made the least amount of mistakes. I almost spit out my water. Um, Jeff? Are you aware that your team almost always gets lost? Do you know that on several occasions you were not able to find clue envelopes when they were right in front of you? I’m not even going to continue on this one.

At 2:14, Reichen & Chip leave the pit stop. The read their clue and head off. Reichen talks about how people stereotype gay people and he wants to show that stereotypes are not fact. He wants his team to be remembered as strong and prepared. 24 minutes later, Jon & Kelly leave the pit stop. They have a look of determination on their face. I know they are going to win, they just have to! When they look at their clue and see the Cultural Park doesn’t open until 6:00 a.m. Jon utters “Oh, doesn’t that stink for the boys,” and I definitely let out a good laugh. Kelly states that she doesn’t believe they made it this far because they are stupid and make mistakes. You know what Kelly, who cares. Your team is great and it’s almost impossible to rack up as many stupid mistakes as the Goats have.

All three teams are now at the Park. When the gate opens, all three teams run to start the ceremony. Actually, the whole thing is really cool. The leader in the ceremony tells them that all ceremonies begin with fire. He then lights a spear and hurls it over to light a torch on a nearby island. The whole thing is so surreal. The lit torch on the island signals another member of the ceremony to give the teams their next clue. The clue tells the teams to get to the General Aviation Terminal at the Cairns airport to get their next clue. Out of the Park, the Goats take the lead. Jon & Kelly are in second place on the road, but after several attempts, Reichen & Chip pass them. However, the roads are still slick from rain earlier that day and Chip spins their car out of control while Jon & Kelly can’t believe it as they pass. Although visibly shaken, Reichen & Chip are not hurt and Reichen tells Chip to never do that again.

The Goats get to the terminal first and find the final detour of the race. Their choice is Wing It or Wander It. In Wing It, teams must board a plane, get 10,000 feet above the ground, and tandem skydive with an instructor to their next clue. Although scary, it can be done quickly. Teams choosing Wander It have to drive to a mangrove forest and find a boat. Then they must navigate their way out of the forest to the sky dive landing post for the clue. Although this is not a scary task, it may take some time. I’m sorry, but it was almost not even an option to do Wander It. That would take forever! Kelly & Jon along with Reichen & Chip are also reading their clue now and all three teams choose Wing It.

All three teams are in different planes and Kelly states that she thought she would be okay but now she is scared. Reichen says anything is safer than being in the backseat of a car while Chip is driving. The Goats jump first and as they are freefalling, Kelly looks even more scared. After a minute though, Kelly & Jon jump. Kelly’s fear evaporates as she looks at the landscape below. An excited Reichen & Chip jump third and look like they are having an amazing time. David is the first to land and he is overjoyed with the experience he just had. The Goats get their clue and find that they are headed back to the United States. Their clue tells them to get to the island of Hawaii and then and then choose a marked car to get to Kualana Bay, the southernmost point in the United States.

As all three teams make their way to the airport, Reichen & Chip opt for the domestic terminal so that they can be by themselves. At the International Terminal, the Goats arrive first followed closely by Kelly & Jon. The Goats book a flight to Sydney, but Kelly sees that no flights from Sydney will go to Hawaii until the following day. The Goats eventually see this as well but decide to board the flight anyway thinking they will be able to find a faster route to Hawaii once there. Jon comments that in the big picture, the Goats may have just made a BIG mistake. So while the Goats are on their way to Sydney, Jon & Kelly and Reichen & Chip both book flights from Cairns to Tokyo. Once they are in Tokyo, they will have 45 minutes to catch a connecting flight to Hawaii. Both teams are concerned about how much time they have to connect.

Now, as the two teams head to Tokyo, the Goats are now finding out what a mistake they made. They find that the only way to get to Hawaii is from the connection in Tokyo, but all the flights out of Sydney to Tokyo have finished for the day. Getting more concerned, they make some calls but are unsuccessful in finding a flight out of there. At the Narita airport in Tokyo, the other two teams land. Both teams hurry to make their connecting flight. Reichen & Chip ask an attendant where to go and she sends them to a bus that takes them there. Kelly & Jon ask someone as well and she tells them to get on a tram. After they realize that is not what they should be doing, they ask someone else who shows them the correct way to get there. As Reichen & Chip finish up checking in, Kelly & Jon only have four minutes left. They finally get to the gate and are told they will not be able to board the plane. As they watch Reichen & Chip leave, Kelly states that it’s the lowest she has felt the entire race. They pull themselves together though and book a plane to Hawaii that will land 70 minutes after Reichen & Chip.

Landing at Kona airport first, Reichen & Chip get in their car and head for Kualana Bay. They get stuck in a little traffic, and then we get to see the Goats boarding a flight to Hawaii. Reichen & Chip eventually start moving but then get caught behind a slow driver. Meanwhile, Kelly & Jon land at Kona airport and move quickly to try and gain some ground they had lost earlier. Reichen & Chip get to Kualana Bay and find their final Roadblock. In this final Roadblock, one team member must swim out to a floating tiki head, dive down to get a rock that is below them, carry the rock to the beach and once they have it on the shore must crack it open with a chisel and get their next clue, which is located inside. Chip decides to do it once Reichen suggests that Chip would perform the task better. Quickly running out to the water, Chip makes his way to the tiki head and dives down. He gets back to the shore with the rock but has some problems opening it. Kelly & Jon are still on their way, getting much closer. Chip finally gets the clue out of the rock, which tells them to drive 60 miles to Volcano National Park, where they will walk across a field of hardened lava to their next clue.

As Reichen & Chip head off, Kelly & Jon arrive at the Bay. Jon decides to do the Roadblock, and not only that, but he will do it in the buff because he doesn’t want to get his underwear wet. Jon is crazy, in a funny way. Kelly yells to him not to damage the merchandise! After quickly retrieving the rock, Jon smashes it open while still naked, puts his clothes back on, and they head to Volcano National Park.

Reichen & Chip get to the Park and carefully walk across the hardened lava. They retrieve their clue and it tells them to get to their final destination city, Phoenix, Arizona. Once there, they must get to the USS Arizona Anchor Memorial where they will find their next clue. Heading for Hilo airport, the closer of two airports on the island, Reichen & Chip book a flight to Honolulu and then another flight to Phoenix that will get them there at 8:15 a.m. Still trailing, Kelly & Jon get their clue at the Park and opt for Kona airport because there will be more flight options. They book a flight to Honolulu and with only five minutes remaining, they make their flight this time! Once in Honolulu they see Reichen & Chip and both find they are on the same flight to Phoenix. While waiting to board, both teams ask for directions to the Anchor and Reichen & Chip nab tickets closest to the plane’s front exit. Both teams board the plane to their final destination city and you can tell by their faces that both want this.

Once they landed in Phoenix, Reichen & Chip gain an early lead by getting off the plane first and grabbing the first cab. Kelly & Jon get a cab soon after and both teams tell their drivers it’s very important they drive as fast as possible, using quite a bit of leftover cash as enticement. Reichen & Chip tell their cab driver not to take the freeway because they are scared of traffic. They get to the Memorial first and their clue tells them to get to the southeast entrance of Sun Devil Stadium. Minutes later, Kelly & Jon get to the memorial, get their clue and head off to the stadium in hot pursuit of Reichen & Chip.

The first to reach the stadium are Reichen & Chip. The clue has a riddle in it. Happy Valentine’s Day + White + White. To solve the riddle, the teams have to figure out that the date of Valentine’s Day, plus the numbers of the two players who are honored at the stadium (Wilford White & Danny White), would point to a seat number with their next clue. Reichen & Chip have a bit of a problem finding the section where the clue is and Kelly & Jon approach the stadium. However, Chip goes to section 214, row 33, and seat 11 and finds the clue. It tells them to get to Papago Park, choose a set of bikes then ride down a marked path. After that, they must run to the finish line. I was hoping they would think that meant take a cab and get a time penalty. Just kidding. Anyway, Jon & Kelly get to the stadium and also decipher the clue. They get the final clue and head off with Kelly yelling, “The finish line!” Jon gives the cab driver some extra money to get them there as soon as possible.

Getting caught in a little traffic, Reichen & Chip get to the park, put on their helmets and ride down the path. They quickly get down the path and see Phil and the nine previously-eliminated teams. Jumping off their bikes, they run to the mat and Phil tells them, "Four continents, twenty-four cities, forty-four thousand miles, Reichen & Chip, you are the official winners of THE AMAZING RACE." You have to be happy for them, I know I was. Several minutes later, Kelly & Jon arrive and they are told they are the second team to arrive. Jon says that with everything Kelly has done in the race, how could anyone not be impressed? I tell ya Jon, you have an awesome lady. Kelly says that the race made her realize how much they loved one another. She never realized how much she loves Jon and how much he loves her. I’m so happy. I can’t believe I had a tear in my eye!

Back in Hawaii, the Goats receive a clue telling them that Reichen & Chip won the race and Kelly & Jon came in second. Jeff says that it stinks coming in third place but there is so much that he learned. David says the same and that they had a blast. At the winners circle, Reichen reflects on what the race was about. He learned that he is very competitive and that he is loved by his partner, and that is the most important thing. Chip says that he realized how much he needs Reichen and that Reichen needs him too. That makes him feel loved. Aww, these two really do love another and it’s pretty cool to see that.

And so ends The Amazing Race 4. I have to say, this has been so much fun. Thanks to everyone who wrote me telling me how much they enjoyed my articles and thanks to those that wrote saying they didn’t like them, you only helped me learn. I also want to thank RNO Editor David Bloomberg for letting me take over such a popular show. This has been the first show I ever recapped and I have to admit I was very nervous. However, week after week I became more comfortable with the people and show I was writing about and by the end, I felt like I had been doing this for years! The finale party was excellent, and I’m going to have another article up soon about how much fun I had and who I met. Anyway, thanks again to everyone. Even though Jon & Kelly didn’t win, I’m surprisingly not mad. Reichen & Chip deserved it, and I’m glad they won. Until next season, bye everyone!

Phil Kural is a senior at Temple University, and can be reached at pkural@temple.edu.

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