Three episodes into "The Amazing Race," and I'm already admitting to becoming a fan of Jeff & Jordan. I tried so hard not to root for them at first -- I wasn't too big a fan of either one of them in the "Big Brother" house -- but their mix of humor and recklessness and almost enough to make me forget that Jordan already has a sizable amount of money to her name. This is why I laughed when the two continued continued to blunder at the detour before finally finishing in the middle of the pack
This episode was a mixture of the good, the bad and the ugly:
- The good: watching Carol & Brandy break down and give the "Race" its first dose of relationship drama this season. It's always good to spice things up.
- The bad: We're still in South America! The past two seasons make me miss the days when production had more money to spend on challenges and plane tickets alike.
- The ugly: the had to see the Travelocity gnome again...and he was playing cards for no good reason.
Cowboys Jet & Cord started the leg in first place, which is a spot they became very familiar with for much of the episode. This time there wasn't much trickery on their part -- rather, they just did all of their tasks faster than anyone.
Early on the front of the pack consisted of the cowboys, Carol & Brandy, and Joe & Heidi (who are working to prove that they can actually be exciting). After that we had team "Big Brother," Monique & Shawne, and the under-the-radar Steve & Allie. Bringing up the rear were detectives Michael & Louie, brothers Dan & Jordan, and Catie & Brent, who nearly didn't even make it onto the leg after dealing with a serious case of food poisoning.
After taking the bus over from Chile and confronting the gnome in his clever card game, the teams then moved on to what we may call the most unevenly balanced roadblocking in "Amazing Race" history: performing a lasso. Did anyone inform producers they have cowboys on this season? This is more or less the equivalent of bringing back the Globetrotters and telling them to dunk. Suffice it to say the cowboys distanced themselves here, and it was also the point where one other team met their demise. Monique & Shawne just couldn't muster the right balance on strength and timing. Though they started the roadblock in the middle of the pack, everyone else was able to pass them in a matter of TV minutes.
From there, the teams went on to the obligatory detour that consisted of two random "horse activities:" finding treasure based on coordinates for some bandits or some bizarre form of polo on a fake horse (real horses are, of course, too dangerous).
It was at this detour we found most of the episode's unintentional comedy. Jeff & Jordan read the clue for the coordinates wrong, believing that the "bandit" they were supposed to take their treasure to was actually the "gunslinger" who gave them the clue. They did this at least three times before reading the clue all of the way through and promising never to reproduce. (Good for them!)
Ironically, team "Big Brother" were one of the few groups who actually completed the challenge. Most of everyone else (including the detectives, who once again proved that their detection skills are a little off) tried the coordinates, got frustrated, and went over to the polo game.
In the end, though, no team messed up enough to take the place of Monique and Shawne. I really thought that this team has potential to win the show thanks to their balance of athletic ability and intelligence. However, like with our ever-so-present gnome, it just wasn't in the cards.
Were you surprised by the elimination? Let me know your thoughts with a comment and stay tuned for more "Amazing Race" news.
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Comments
I cannot stand this couple. Not on BB and not on AR. These two are ruining my favorite reality shows. I kept hoping their idiocy would land them in last place on Sunday but no such luck. Plus CBS will undoubtedly keep them around until the end to take advantage of their huge fan club, and who knows, they may even give them the money. If they rig AR the way they rigged BB, I guess we'll have to endure the Jeff and Jordan show for as long as they shove it down our throats. I truly, truly cannot stand them.
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