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 where they will find their next clue. All three teams believe that they have a good chance of winning the race due to having survived numerous challenges that were thrown at them. After their flight lands at the airport, teams must then compete in an All In which involves driving a taxi to the Empire State Building. Once there, teams must then climb 86 flights of stairs to reach the observation deck and collect their next tip attached to a suitcase. The surfers lose their lead after their taxi crashes into a pole due to another attempt by the ice dancers to sabotage their chances of winning leading to them taking the subway instead.

The Ice Dancers and Cadets get stuck in a traffic jam stairs but the cadets impersonate a police siren which helps clear a way to the building for both teams. The surfers are the first to arrive at the Empire State Building where they manage to climb the stairs with ease and must now make their way to Central Park for the mid-point Chill Zone, where the last team to arrive may be eliminated but unluckily for them, Brody gets a leg cramp and eats a rotten banana in an attempt to gain potassium. The cadets arrive at the building but fall behind the other teams due to Sanders wanting to find a parking spot. This later leads to them losing their taxi to the ice dancers and having to confiscate another vehicle instead.

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 which Jacques stops her before she throws a hot dog cart a him and Don and tells her that their game is over and that they lost making 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, which is hard to believe for Jacques.

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. Taylor admits that she's glad that she and her mom got cut from the competition before they had to do any of the disgusting challenges, while the stepbrothers reveal that they're rooting for the police cadets to win, due to their athletic skills. 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 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 reach and win the million dollars, Sanders held that she and MacArthur won while Surfers hug each other despite their loss. The final group shot has the Cadets 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. MacArthur admits that while it is embarrassing that they didn't win, the Race helped her realize how competitive, strong and forgiving her partner was. The final group shot has the Surfers celebrate 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 appeared, but did not speak.
 * Anne Maria, Blaineley, and Chris each made brief appearances, but had no dialogue.
 * A man driving a car, the intercom on the train, and a cart vendor spoke, but 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 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 at 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 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 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.

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 and Roll.
 * Sanders proclaims that she learned to drive recklessly from MacArthur, referencing to 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

 * In the Police Cadets' ending, the table that was holding the tray of money isn't visible.