There were a number of things about Sunday night's episode of "The Amazing Race" that could be considered ridiculous. For example, Jet & Cord continue to wear their cowboy hats even when it serves as a detriment to their team. Also, there was a detour that literally involved putting on a bird costume and jumping off a pier. (Since when do things I can do at home count as challenges?)
I was pretty critical last week of the casting for this season -- and I largely stand by that. Where are the likable teams? Joe & Heidi are boring, Monique & Shawne are too familiar, and Jeff & Jordan -- well, they already have a million to their name thanks to "Big Brother."
As for who has promise, there's Steve & Allie (who were more or less ghosts this week) and Jody & Shannon. Unfortunately (spoiler alert), the grandmother / granddaughter team went home this week without a sizable amount of drama. Cops Louie & Michael nearly shot themselves in the foot by getting lost, as did Jeff & Jordan (who managed to avoid the rare honor of going from first to last).
Really, though, this episode was about too things. First, Jet & Cord taking off on all of the other teams at the Chilean bus station. I applaud their ruthlessness, especially since other teams tend to think for some reason that "The Amazing Race" is akin to running up and down a field handing out flowers. The guys want to win! Who cares if they're this season's version of the Globetrotters? We know that a few other teams (namely Carol & Brandy) bring up their sketchy little move next week, as they should -- there's nothing like a little confrontation to get the drama going. (Where's Margie & Luke when you need them to take on Kisha & Jen?)
Next, we had the classic case of cows being cows. Teams went to a farm for a roadblock, only to discover that cows do extremely nasty things. They also kick people in the head. Animals have produced some of the best moments in "Race" history (see "my ox is broken!") and it was nice to see them return. As for the llamas during the earlier detour, they were an epic letdown.
As for actual finishes to this leg, the cowboys took first followed by Joe & Heidi. Dan & Jordan look destined for the "fumbling brothers who make it farther than they should" role, and Louie & Michael might win the award for having some of the weakest detection skills of any detectives ever.
I really want to see the race take off somewhere exciting next week, since it seems like the reduced filming period is impacting the budget across the board.
What did you think of this week's episode? Let me know your thoughts and stay tuned for more coverage of "The Amazing Race."
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Comments
I don't think they did anything sketchy at all. They just found a better bus, and failed to point out the mistakes of other teams. I think that is smart, not ruthless. They other teams are just whiney if they can't handle it.
I think they are sketchy, they didn't show any good sportsmanship and snickered as other teams floundered. I always thought of a cowboy as a hero, not a villain and they sure made them out to be jerks. hope they lose.
They were never asked directly about their bus. If they had been, I suspect they would have told the truth. How do I know? I know these guys. And BTW, how are cowboy hats a detriment to their racing abilities?
Cowboys suck:
You couldn't BE more wrong. I've known these guys since their Wranglers were 10" long...you won't find two better young men. Google them, you'll see what awesome young men they are. (Check out the "Heros" article on pbrnow . com) They're not sketchy, just competitive...have competed their entire lives. The difference in rodeo and this race is that they would NEVER allow another cowboy to make a mistake if they could help him...that's a life and death. But will they let other teams on the Race make a mistake? Absolutely...they're playing for a million dollars and no lives are at stake. Will they intentionally sabotage anyone for that million? Absolutely not. They don't have it in their genes. They wouldn't have lied, but they didn't have track those teams down to volunteer the info either. They deserved not to be told...they've underestimated Cord and Jet from the beginning, considering them dumb cowboys. They're supreme athletes, and A LOT smarter than anyone thinks.
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