The Amazing Race: Unfinished Business post
Jet & Cord: And so the Cowboy domination begins, I suppose. Didn't their original run go a bit like this? A fairly poor show at the start, turning into front-of-the-pack after a couple of legs. All credit to them, they did race through both the Detour and the Roadblock, so they ran a good leg and deserved the win. I think it was one of these two who told Kent & Vyxsin that they had "some explaining to do", which may well have been a joke, but still annoyed me - they don't have to explain anything to you, bucko.
Gary & Mallory: It's always hard to say whether the use of the Express Pass was a good idea or not. I can totally see where they were coming from - arriving and knowing that you're the last team to get there does make it seem like a wise idea, and I can't say I wouldn't have done the same. However, looking at it logically it might've been a good idea for them to at least try the Roadblock and see how they got on before using their Express Pass - if they're struggling and two or three teams finish ahead of them, use it then. But like many things in this life, it's a gamble, and they played it relatively safe. Let's just hope they don't come to regret it in a later leg. Shame the Cowboys beat them to the mat, but they did seem to be faffing a bit on their way to the Pit Stop. Also, Mallory put in another exemplary performance on the Detour. She's got quite the logical mind, that one.
Margie & Luke: Seriously, if you're going to bring back Margie and Luke and they're not going to U-turn anyone, what is the bloody point?
Kisha & Jen: Another solid performance from these two. From leg to leg they never seem to lose or gain much ground, which is admirable, but they really need to start breaking ahead of the pack if they want to be serious contenders. Kisha did a great job with the dinosaur assembly, and that did look like a tough task. They also seemed to be good at the doll-arranging on the Detour. Let's just hope the tea-drinking Roadblock next week doesn't prompt Potty Emergency II: Electric Boogaloo. (Geddit? Loo? Oh, never mind.)
Kent & Vyxsin: Hands down, most ballsy use of the U-turn ever. Seriously, I take my hat off to them for U-turning another team that was right there watching them do it. I can't fault Kent's logic either - Jaime & Cara were the only team they 100% knew were behind them at that point, and they had a penalty to make up. I mean, it's an underhanded tactic, sure, but they were doing what they had to do to stay in the race. Kent was pretty useless on the Detour and had to be carried by Vyxsin, who seems to be getting her head back together now, but he did a great job on the dinosaur and remained calm. And even with their 30-minute penalty for missing the required flight last week, they still came in fifth, which is their best placing so far on this leg. Good for them.
Flight Time & Big Easy: Damn, these two are loud. Between the honking over losing their taxi, and the constant steam of yelling that accompanied their U-turning, did they ever shut up? I'm not saying they didn't have a right to be affronted, but they were being so whiny about it. Jaime & Cara, like Kent & Vyxsin, did what they had to do to give themselves a fighting chance: U-turn a team they were pretty sure was behind them. Credit to the guys for coming back from it stronger, but they really were pretty obnoxious about it. Especially comparing behaviour amongst those not participating in the Roadblock - Cara didn't seem to have any beef with Vyxsin, but Flight Time was not letting Cara off the hook. Honestly, if one of the U-turned teams had to go this week, I was hoping for these guys, but what can you do?
Ron & Christina: I'm not sure anyone else would have actually survived this leg without these guys. Seriously, was there an unspoken part of each clue that said "wait for Ron & Chris to arrive, let them direct their taxi driver in his own language, and follow them"? Because seriously. It's a shame that a well-raced leg up to that point was let down by a bad taxi driver who took them to the wrong place. At least they were in no real danger of being U-turned - I don't think anyone would've dared. Christina coped admirably with the trouble of the dinosaur - she had a lot of trouble with it, but kept going and finished it, and they're still in the race. Ron's condemnation of Kent & Vyxsin was pretty funny. He's such a troll. I love him.
Zev & Justin: In a leg filled with people basically following Ron & Christina in a giant caravan, these two were probably the most egregious about it - to their detriment, ultimately, when it got them lost and arriving at the final task in joint last place. They're just lucky Jaime choked, is all. I did enjoy their comment about being happy to get the top bunks on the sleeper train because it carried a much smaller chance of being murdered, though. They're pretty funny, these two.
Jaime & Cara: Oh, nuts. The U-turn claims another victim. I'm not entirely sure it was directly responsible for their ouster, but it did seem to knock Jaime off her game - and she might not have struggled so much at the Roadblock if she hadn't been tired from doing an extra task already. There were shades of Jaime's ugly behaviour returning when things didn't go their way, so perhaps it's fair enough that they're gone now, but still: I liked these two, I think they deserved a better placing than this, and I'll miss them. Still, at least China got its revenge on Jaime in the end, right?
Gary & Mallory: It's always hard to say whether the use of the Express Pass was a good idea or not. I can totally see where they were coming from - arriving and knowing that you're the last team to get there does make it seem like a wise idea, and I can't say I wouldn't have done the same. However, looking at it logically it might've been a good idea for them to at least try the Roadblock and see how they got on before using their Express Pass - if they're struggling and two or three teams finish ahead of them, use it then. But like many things in this life, it's a gamble, and they played it relatively safe. Let's just hope they don't come to regret it in a later leg. Shame the Cowboys beat them to the mat, but they did seem to be faffing a bit on their way to the Pit Stop. Also, Mallory put in another exemplary performance on the Detour. She's got quite the logical mind, that one.
Margie & Luke: Seriously, if you're going to bring back Margie and Luke and they're not going to U-turn anyone, what is the bloody point?
Kisha & Jen: Another solid performance from these two. From leg to leg they never seem to lose or gain much ground, which is admirable, but they really need to start breaking ahead of the pack if they want to be serious contenders. Kisha did a great job with the dinosaur assembly, and that did look like a tough task. They also seemed to be good at the doll-arranging on the Detour. Let's just hope the tea-drinking Roadblock next week doesn't prompt Potty Emergency II: Electric Boogaloo. (Geddit? Loo? Oh, never mind.)
Kent & Vyxsin: Hands down, most ballsy use of the U-turn ever. Seriously, I take my hat off to them for U-turning another team that was right there watching them do it. I can't fault Kent's logic either - Jaime & Cara were the only team they 100% knew were behind them at that point, and they had a penalty to make up. I mean, it's an underhanded tactic, sure, but they were doing what they had to do to stay in the race. Kent was pretty useless on the Detour and had to be carried by Vyxsin, who seems to be getting her head back together now, but he did a great job on the dinosaur and remained calm. And even with their 30-minute penalty for missing the required flight last week, they still came in fifth, which is their best placing so far on this leg. Good for them.
Flight Time & Big Easy: Damn, these two are loud. Between the honking over losing their taxi, and the constant steam of yelling that accompanied their U-turning, did they ever shut up? I'm not saying they didn't have a right to be affronted, but they were being so whiny about it. Jaime & Cara, like Kent & Vyxsin, did what they had to do to give themselves a fighting chance: U-turn a team they were pretty sure was behind them. Credit to the guys for coming back from it stronger, but they really were pretty obnoxious about it. Especially comparing behaviour amongst those not participating in the Roadblock - Cara didn't seem to have any beef with Vyxsin, but Flight Time was not letting Cara off the hook. Honestly, if one of the U-turned teams had to go this week, I was hoping for these guys, but what can you do?
Ron & Christina: I'm not sure anyone else would have actually survived this leg without these guys. Seriously, was there an unspoken part of each clue that said "wait for Ron & Chris to arrive, let them direct their taxi driver in his own language, and follow them"? Because seriously. It's a shame that a well-raced leg up to that point was let down by a bad taxi driver who took them to the wrong place. At least they were in no real danger of being U-turned - I don't think anyone would've dared. Christina coped admirably with the trouble of the dinosaur - she had a lot of trouble with it, but kept going and finished it, and they're still in the race. Ron's condemnation of Kent & Vyxsin was pretty funny. He's such a troll. I love him.
Zev & Justin: In a leg filled with people basically following Ron & Christina in a giant caravan, these two were probably the most egregious about it - to their detriment, ultimately, when it got them lost and arriving at the final task in joint last place. They're just lucky Jaime choked, is all. I did enjoy their comment about being happy to get the top bunks on the sleeper train because it carried a much smaller chance of being murdered, though. They're pretty funny, these two.
Jaime & Cara: Oh, nuts. The U-turn claims another victim. I'm not entirely sure it was directly responsible for their ouster, but it did seem to knock Jaime off her game - and she might not have struggled so much at the Roadblock if she hadn't been tired from doing an extra task already. There were shades of Jaime's ugly behaviour returning when things didn't go their way, so perhaps it's fair enough that they're gone now, but still: I liked these two, I think they deserved a better placing than this, and I'll miss them. Still, at least China got its revenge on Jaime in the end, right?