A Million Ways to Lose a Million Dollars

'''The final three teams arrive in New York, the final destination of the race. In a cab driving, stair climbing showdown, two players have their final showdown, leading to a mad dash to Central Park where one squad finally vanquish their greatest foes (and someone's biggest problem) but still have one team to contend with. In the end, that one team finally finishes and gets the million, while the other felt good they made it to the end regardless.'''

Plot
The teams must now fly to New York for their next clue. All three teams believe they have a good chance of winning the race, as they have all survived numerous challenges that were thrown at them. After their flight lands at the airport, teams must compete in an All-In, which involves driving a taxi to the Empire State Building. Once there, teams must climb 86 flights of stairs up to the observation deck where they will collect their next travel tip attached to a suitcase. The Ice Dancers immediately start playing dirty, taunting the Police Cadets and crashing their taxi into the Surfers Dudes, where their taxi spins out of control and crashes into a pole. Lucky for them, they are near a subway entrance, so they take the train instead.

The Ice Dancers and Police Cadets end up stuck in a traffic jam, however the Cadets are able to clear the traffic by impersonating a police siren, allowing them and the Ice Dancers to arrive at the building. The Surfers are the first to arrive at the Empire State Building, where they climb the stairs with ease and find out their next task is to get to Central Park for the mid-point Chill Zone and Don states that the last team to arrive at the mid-point Chill Zone may be eliminated. Unfortunately for them, Brody gets another leg cramp, much like what happened in the first episode, but this time came prepared by keeping a banana in his pocket for potassium, though it had become rotten by this point. The Police Cadets arrive before the Ice Dancers, but fall behind due to Sanders insisting they find a proper parking spot. As the Surfers rush back down, they take the Ice Dancers taxi, mistaking it for one left by Don, while the Ice Dancers take the Police Cadets taxi. In a bid to catch up, MacArthur uses her police badge to confiscate a hotdog van and pursues the Ice Dancers.

The Surfers are the first to arrive at the mid-point Chill Zone and must now go to a boathouse and ride a boat to the middle of a pond to find a combination that will unlock their briefcase. The Ice Dancers get a flat tire and have their vehicle turned over by the Police Cadets resulting in them having to race on foot to the finish. Sanders and MacArthur arrive at the Chill Zone but their tip gets blown away by the wind into a drain. As the Ice Dancers arrive, Sanders uses her broken arm to grab the tip for the Police Cadets resulting in MacArthur having to carry her to the Chill Zone. The Ice Dancers are the last to arrive and get cut from the competition which leads to Josee throwing a temper tantrum by breaking a fountain to which Jacques stops her before she can throw a hot dog cart at him and Don and he tells her that it's over and they lost, which makes Josee cry and hug Jacques only to be crushed by the hot dog cart she lifted. They believe that their tactics weren't worthy of winning the competition with Josee promising to be a better person, only to push a lady in the fountain afterward and Jacques says he's proud of her.

The final two teams use a map to make their way to the boathouse, especially after the Surfers end up going to the wrong one. After finding their combinations, the teams will find the directions to their final Chill Zone inside the briefcase where the first team to arrive will win one million dollars. The camera then switch to the previously eliminated teams sitting at the bleachers, some using the interview expressing their opinion on the final two. Rock is so excited that someone is going to win the money but Spud mistakes being in the finale as being finalists. Pete and Gerry make jokes about the finalists and how bad the finale is. Lorenzo and Chet reveal that they're rooting for the Police Cadets to win, due to their athletic skills. Taylor admits that she's glad that she and her mother got cut from the competition before they had to do any of the disgusting challenges. Crimson is happy about the Ice Dancers' elimination, but Ennui carefully reminds that her happiness is infectious. The Ice Dancers are still bitter of their elimination and give both teams a 0.0. Meanwhile, both teams have trouble searching the buoys for a combination, and MacArthur tries to flirt with Brody, who seems to be more focused on winning, much to her anger. The Cadets are the first to find the correct combination but in their excitement, MacArthur accidentally creates a hole in the boat as it begins sinking but they manage to make their way to shore with the Surfers not far behind.

After reaching to shore, both teams quickly run as fast as they can to the final Chill Zone with the eliminated contestants cheering for them. In the end, one of the teams reached the finish line and is declared the winner. Regardless of who win, only the Ice Dancers are not happy but Don blatantly says he doesn't care. In both endings, the Surfers admit that they have a good time during the Race while MacArthur admits that being in the Race taught her a lot and realizing that her partner is stronger than she thought. The winning team celebrate their victory with Don and the other contestants join them in a final group shot as Don signs off the show.

Police Cadets' ending
In the final race to the Chill Zone, the Cadets are the first team to arrive and win the million dollars. Sanders held that she and MacArthur won, while the Surfers hug each other despite their loss. In the final group shot, the Cadets are celebrating their winnings.

Surfers Dudes' ending
In the final race to the Chill Zone, the Surfers are the first team to arrive and win the million dollars as they celebrate. The Police Cadets congratulate the Surfers for their win and MacArthur asks Brody to call her, much to his delight. MacArthur admits that while it is embarrassing that her team didn't win, the race helped her realize how competitive, strong, and forgiving her partner was. In the final group shot, the Surfers are celebrating their winnings.

Cast

 * Carrie, Devin, Dwayne, Ellody, Emma, Jay, Jen, Junior, Kitty, Laurie, Leonard, Mary, Mickey, Miles, Noah, Owen, Ryan, Stephanie, Tammy, and Tom all appear; however, they do not speak.
 * Anne Maria, Blaineley, and Chris each make brief appearances; however, have no dialogue.
 * A man driving a car, the intercom on the train, and a cart vendor speakAaa, though it is unknown who voiced them.

General

 * This marks the first time in the franchise that a returning character(s) are in the final two.
 * Several Total Drama characters made a cameo:
 * Anne Maria is seen outside the Empire State Building.
 * Chris is seen sitting on a bench, reading a newspaper in the streets of New York City.
 * Blaineley is seen carrying boxes from an assumed shopping spree, although she is wearing a pink dress.
 * A wanted poster of Ezekiel can be seen in the background.
 * A graffiti of the skull on Duncan's shirt can be seen on the walls of a building.
 * Sky's older sister can be seen walking by the airport.
 * DJ, Cody, Katie, and Tyler's Camp TV design were seen throughout the episode as either pedestrians or drivers.
 * The Rob Ford look-alike from the premiere is seen in front of The Empire State Building.
 * The butler from Total Drama All-Stars, is on top of the Empire State Building observatory deck.
 * The man in the Hawaiian shirt from The Aftermath: IV, a female intern from Jamaica Me Sweat, and one of the men from Dakota's paparazzi entourage are seen running away from Geoff and Brody's taxi.
 * The homeless man from Celebrity Manhunt's Total Drama Action Reunion Special who stole Ezekiel's wallet is seen sleeping on the subway train next to the Surfer Dudes.
 * When the Police Cadets run after the Ice Dancers after having their taxi stolen, they pass by a woman who looks like the mother from Broadway, Baby! who had her baby carrier swapped.
 * The doll from That's Off the Chain! and The Enchanted Franken-Forest appears on the bench after the Ice Dancers try to sabotage the Surfer Dudes while driving a cab.
 * Leshawna's bag from Not So Happy Campers - Part 1 and Haute Camp-ture appears in possession of a background character.
 * This is the second finale of the franchise in which three contestants/pairs compete.
 * Interestingly, both shows in which it had happened are based on the format of racing around the world from The Amazing Race.

Continuity

 * The presence of snapping turtles in the Central Park pond is a callback to Broadway, Baby!.
 * Taylor mentions the exotic animals eating challenge from New Beijinging and the spa challenge from I Love Ridonc & Roll.
 * Sanders proclaims that she learned to drive recklessly from MacArthur, referencing MacArthur's reckless driving in earlier episodes.
 * Brody recalls the climbing of the CN Tower in Toronto during the first Either/Or in None Down, Eighteen to Go - Part 1, when he and Geoff climb the Empire State Building stairs.
 * MacArthur uses the same technique to hijack a hot dog car which she did to commandeer the cab in Mediterranean Homesick Blues.
 * The old lady who Josee pushes into the fountain looks like the Travel Tip Giver from New Beijinging, though her attire has changed.
 * Devin hasn't fully recovered from his injuries, as he is seen with his head still covered by bandages.
 * Dwayne no longer has the tattoo on his chin he got during Maori or Less, suggesting he had it removed.
 * Brody has lost the extra weight he had in the previous episode.

Goofs

 * The Ice Dancers are somehow be able to join the other previously eliminated teams near the finish line ahead of the finalists despite them walking away from the midpoint Chill Zone earlier.
 * In the Cadets' ending, the table holding the money is missing.

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