The Amazing Race 34 finale: Who won? Derek & Claire status
Here’s where things stood entering the episode: Luis & Michelle, Derek & Claire, and Emily & Molly were the three teams remaining. Of the group, we found ourselves rooting for Emily & Molly. Why? It has nothing to do with the other teams’ likability, especially Derek & Claire. Instead, it was tied more to them not being your prototypical Amazing Race team we’ve seen over the years. They are instantly memorable and they have a backstory that is extremely rare and fascinating. If there’s ever another returning-player season, they are sure to be on it.
With all of that being said, Derek & Claire were the instant favorites entering this final episode and understandably so. They are the two who managed to really dominate the past couple of legs and have that perfect combination of athleticism and intellect. The idea of Claire in any sort of final memory task is completely terrifying, just because we’ve seen what she has done with some others over the course of the season.
In the early going of the finale tonight, it did feel reasonably clear that Derek & Claire had the inside track — however, that final, memory-based task can be brutal. Hear, it revolved around trying to form a melody on a giant piano that we’re pretty sure was an homage to the movie Big. Based on the edit, it did seem like all teams were at this particular task at the same time. It just came down to whether or not another team could catch up to the leaders.
Did anyone catch them?
In a word, no. Derek & Claire are your winners for season 34! We give them credit. Not only did they manage to dominate a lot of the tasks the past few weeks, but they showed a lot of skill in that final task. Emily & Molly were in second place, and the only thing we were left to wonder about is whether them taking a wrong turn early on really cost them.
For those wanting the final order, Emily & Molly finished in second and Luis & Michelle were in third.
Related – Be sure to get some additional news now The Amazing Race, including the chances at a season 35
Who did you think was going to win heading into the finale for The Amazing Race 34?
Be sure to share right away in the comments! Once you do just that, stay tuned — there are more updates ahead that you don’t want to miss. (Photo: CBS.)