Spoilers ahead for the Season 31 finale of The Amazing Race on CBS.
Another season of The Amazing Race has come to an end, and the fight was no less intense in Season 31 than it was much earlier in the series' run. The drive to win $1 million propelled the teams through daunting and terrifying tasks throughout the course of the season, and it was down to four teams heading into the finale. The winning team would be Leo Temory and Jamal Zadran, Colin Guinn and Christie Woods, Tyler Oakley and Korey Kuhl, or Nicole Franzel and Victor Arroyo after the unforgettable final challege.
After nearly two hours of competitors tackling challenges that tested their resolve (and relationships), the winning team was decided. Was it Nicole and Victor, who were the last remaining Big Brother team in a season that started out by pitting Amazing Race veterans against teams from Survivor and Big Brother? (Notably, none of the Survivor teams survived to the final four.) Nope.
Nor was the winning team Leo and Jamal or Tyler and Korey. Colin and Christie won the $1 million prize. Congrats, Colin and Christie! It's nice to have some good news after the sad twist on the Amazing Race front a few months ago.
The final rankings are: Colin and Christie in first, Tyler and Korey in second, Leo and Jamal in third, and Victor and Nicole in fourth.
For a while, the odds seemed stacked against Colin and Christie. They last appeared on The Amazing Race in Season 5, back in 2004. The other two Amazing Race veteran teams in the final four had much more recent experiences. Leo and Jamal were part of Season 23 and The Amazing Race: All-Stars while Tyler and Korey appeared in Season 28. The life partners had a few tense moments in the finale before finale defeating the final challenge fast enough to win.
Now, what was that final challenge, and why was it so unforgettable?
The final challenge involved a drum set, a huge group of musicians making a whole lot of noise, and The White Stripes. After the final teams were tasked with making records, they had to travel to Hart Plaza in Detroit for their last task to tackle.
They had to assemble a five-piece drum kit from scratch, and the musicians around them were covering The White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army" loudly enough that it was almost uncomfortable watching from the comfort of my couch. It had to be almost painful for the teams trying to assemble a drum set on the scene!
Now, this isn't the most extreme challenge ever set on The Amazing Race, but the musicians didn't just play "Seven Nation Army" once before moving on to other songs from The White Stripes' discography. No, they played "Seven Nation Army" over and over and over again, and anybody who has heard the song has undoubtedly gotten that song stuck in their head.
Seriously, I don't even need to know the lyrics to get in stuck in my head. The beat is enough. If I'm up all night because The Amazing Race got "Seven Nation Army" unforgettably stuck in my head, I feel like I might deserve $1 million!
The Amazing Race will be back for another season, although I do not expect to get $1 million out of it myself. Season 32 of The Amazing Race will premiere at midseason in the 2019-2020 TV season, along with Criminal Minds for its final season, MacGyver, Big Brother (which recently premiered its latest season and is already upsetting fans), Man With a Plan, The Amazing Race, and Undercover Boss on CBS.
Be sure to check out our summer TV premiere guide for some viewing options during the wait.
