(S14E09) Promos for tonight's The Amazing Race made it look like there might be a knock-down drag-out fight between Jen (of Kisha and Jen) and Luke (Margie and Luke, naturally). Now, there's nothing that can make an interesting show even more interesting than an old-fashioned brouhaha. At least, not in my book, there isn't.
So, I'm thinking ... Luke versus Jen. Which one would I put my money on for the win? I'd have to go with Jen. While Luke throws a good hissy-fit, I think she's not one he should take on. Maybe if it were a hissy-fit brouhaha, Luke would have the edge.
My Luke conundrum
I so want to like Luke. I usually adore his mother. But Luke has a problem, and I think Margie is enabling him. Having a deaf friend in my own life, I know communication can get frustrating at times. But Luke doesn't seem to read lips at all, which tends to add to his communication woes. I admire how well he can do and his determination. But, let's face it -- this kid is spoiled and mollycoddled. Yes, I said mollycoddled.
Tonight he definitely did elbow Jen at the clue box, albeit perhaps without thinking. It seemed to be more of a reflex. Then, later, he ran right into Jen, although he backed off immediately. That might have been totally accidental. They even replayed the clips for us during the welcome mat brouhaha. Jen herself is aggressive, so it's not like she's some delicate flower. Luke should have apologized for the elbowing and not gotten so hissy-fittish over being called a bitch.
It really bit my butt that Margie automatically defended Luke's actions and accused the entire hearing world of thinking deaf people are dumb. I so admire all she's done in the race, but I just can't abide by that. She's not always going to be there to protect him from the evil world at large. When he acts up, she needs to see his behavior and call him on it. She can't just base all things on the world being against him because he's deaf. The boy needs a lot of maturing, and his mother has to realize that.
Mark and Michael had no chance, but are good sports
After their time penalty and the speed bump set for this leg, it looks like Mark and Michael decided to have a good time. Yes, they tried to make decent time. But, more than anything else, they let loose a bit and had some fun with their speed bump, the roadblock, and the detour.
Bits and pieces
What did I learn from this episode? Well, I learned how to call someone a "bitch" in sign language. I'm sure that will be useful sometime during my life. I also learned how to say "thank you" in Mandarin, but don't ask me how to spell it. I liked the cormorant fishing better when done on Survivor: China by a family. The folks tonight seemed a bit abusive towards the birds.
I found it interesting that most of the taxi drivers they had in China were women. I know it's rare to see women cabbies here in the NYC area, and I don't recall seeing any on the show previously. I could be misremembering. You did notice that the women taxi drivers were all good ones, and they had no Taxis of Doom tonight. Heh.
Tammy and Victor had an edge which, in the end, didn't really get them ahead. They speak Chinese which should have been a huge advantage. Their own sneakiness showed up when they were telling drivers and others that their parents would cry themselves to death if they lose and such. But, it ended up being just a smidgen of an advantage.
For the record, the Pit Stop order:
1. Jen and Kisha -- Won a trip to Barbados
2. Tammy and Victor
3. Margie and Luke
4. Jaime and Cara
5. Mark and Michael -- Philiminated
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
4-20-2009 @ 3:28AM
Mark said...
I noticed something else too. Whiny boy Luke seemed to have a LOT of help during the fishing round; where the others were grabbing the birds and fish out of the water and out of mouths, sensitive Luke would wait with his knees up for the fisherman to hoist up the bird, and boy Luke would daintly grab said fish out of the bird's mouth.
Seems he had a LOT of help this round.
Reply
4-20-2009 @ 3:48AM
Val said...
Margie is not at her best when she is defending Luke.. This guy is a whiner! I think Luke has cried about something every episode..
Luke is not a good representative for deaf people.. His quest to prove that deaf people are just as capable as anyone else is failing.. He is incapable of doing anything without Margie! I thought all Deaf people read lips guess that is my ignorance... How does Luke function in life if he cant communicate with other people? Margie cant be there always..
Anyone catch Margie equate Luke's handicap with being Black? " You should know how it feels because you're Black! he has lived with this his whole life!" something to that effect.. I think she got a few "you peoples" in there too.. Wow Margie not a good look..
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4-20-2009 @ 5:23AM
Picviewer said...
He's deaf? Wow this is the first I heard about it, never knew that considering it's thrown into some conversation every single week....
Better question is how did he "hear" the initial bitch comment if her back was to him?
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4-20-2009 @ 5:35AM
Christopher said...
I hate to sound sarcastic here, but are you serious?
4-20-2009 @ 6:17AM
Brent McKee said...
His mother told him of course.
I really don't like this kid. He may seem like a grown adult but there's an emotional immaturity to him. He has a huge chip on his shoulder; he expects hearing people to disrespect him. As for his mother, she is an enabler. I get the whole concept of Deaf Culture but the fact is that Luke is living in a hearing world and he can't expect the world to change to suit him, he has to make some accommodations to the rest of us.
4-20-2009 @ 5:34AM
Christopher said...
I understand its a competition, but you don't throw a body elbow on a women period. You just don't do it.
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4-20-2009 @ 8:34AM
GL said...
It certainly makes you a bitch.
4-20-2009 @ 6:49AM
John said...
Oh cry me a river Jen...This is a joke. While Luke is immature and his mother may be an enabler, Jen pulled the first punch by jumping on him at the clue box. I don't condone violence however i think it was a gut reaction not on purpose. Look at how the tape was edited it clearly shows Jen jumping him from behind...so in a word she is the BITCH...and should grow up...
As for the 2nd incident both were running at the same time and you can clearly see that in the tape and momentum kept them both going.
Oh and for the record Kisha is an ignorant...sorry can't use the word on here... "We just laugh in people's faces" and she did say she would do that and did it. Nice, that was very mature.
There are always two sides to every story...Jackie...it's too bad you can only report on one...
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4-20-2009 @ 8:11AM
Rick B said...
it just seemed to me that Luke took on the role of a 'victim' way to quickly. I don't think being deaf had anything to do with this and that should have been apparent to his mom, Margie. Fact is, he pushed and elbowed a woman, then he joked about fighting her when he was talking about it with his mom in the cab.
I am rooting for Kisha and Jen to win this thing now!
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4-20-2009 @ 8:40AM
Alicia said...
I thought both teams were being stupid up to the point that Kisha and Jen decided to laugh at Luke's voicing. I work for a company that serves the Deaf community and I've seen how many hearing people treat the Deaf. When Kisha and Jen decided to make fun of him for his speaking, they turned it from an argument about the game into a personal attack. It's worth noting that, while she was upset, Margie didn't really flip until that happened.
Yeah, Luke's a bit spoiled - all parents want to protect their children from the hardships of the world. In the case of Deaf children, this is sometimes easier because so many of them go to Deaf schools, so they grow up in a sheltered environment. However, it seems like the show has been set up in some ways so that he is forced to be even more dependent on Margie. I understand CBS not providing an interpreter during the legs of the race, but there's no reason they can't provide an interpreter when they arrive at the pit stops and during the interviews. Margie shouldn't be expected to be his ears and voice for the behind-the-scenes aspects of the race.
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4-20-2009 @ 1:10PM
Jussup said...
I can not disagree with you more. They were not making fun of his communication--they were amazed at the situation and laughing at the total idiocy of the whole thing. People with disabilities want to be treated like everyone else? Well then guess what--don't expect people to walk on eggshells around you then. Kisha and Jen would have been just as appalled and amused by any hearing person acting like as much of a jackass as Luke was. It bugs me so bad when anyone uses their shortcomings as a carte blanche for acting completely out of line.
6-12-2009 @ 12:56PM
Ralph said...
Bottom line is Luke got to the box first, Jen should have waited for her turn but as usual felt she was 'entitled' to be the first. She deserved the elbow, perhaps even a smack in the face.
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4-20-2009 @ 9:16AM
deebopalula said...
What's ridiculous is that at both clue boxes, the difference between who got the clue first and who got it second would have been what, one second? Must have been the heat of competition that made both players act like their lives depended on getting the clue first.
I've felt for some time that Margie - as much as I've liked her - had to be somewhat responsible for Luke's immaturity and this episode sealed that impression for me. Although I give her credit for telling Luke after the first incident not to physically push people when Luke was indicating that he was ready for a fight.
@Alicia - I really disagree that Kisha & Jen were laughing at Luke's voice. I think they were laughing because he was overreacting to the incidents and also laughing at Margie and Luke's version of the events. Honestly, I would have had the same reaction. Jen & Kisha have not made any comment during the race that I can recall indicating that they would be the kind of obnoxious people who would laugh at somebody's disability. Jamie on the other hand.....
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4-20-2009 @ 9:23AM
djt52800 said...
They were not laughing at his disability they were laughing at what he was saying...he was lying...and the flip out that he was doing...he told Phil like he was a 5 year old...they pushed me....come on bitch get over it...your making humans look bad...
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4-20-2009 @ 9:41AM
Deb said...
I think the initial tussle happened partly because Keisha came up on Luke from behind -- nobody's fault, but Luke's deafness could have played a role to make him react in a more startled way. But then both teams overreacted, and it just got worse from there. It wasn't anybody's finest moment!
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4-20-2009 @ 9:38AM
D said...
I'll never understand why Luke wasn't taught every possible way too communicate.When it was said that he was proud of not lip reading I couldn't understand why.
Both teams acted like idiots over situations that would have changed nothing in the race for them whatsoever.I think Phil should have said that to them and I think the show production team played up and used the controversy to draw viewers.
I also think the two short guys were over penalized for what they did.I don't think bartering to pay for cab rides they don't have enough money for is that bad a thing.What does the show want?Them stranded with not enough money to go on and no alternatives?
There's no way Luke should have done the bird fishing thing unable to hear so he had to have more help.
I'm now routing for Tammy and Victor only because the teams worthy of winning are being weeded out.
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4-20-2009 @ 1:21PM
Derek said...
D, Being allowed to pay for cab rides via personal items completely unbalances things. Each team is given a set amount of money at the beginning of each leg. By using personal items for payment, you basically get more money than anyone else. And, theoretically, you could load up on expensive person items before the race, and effectively have 2x or 3x as much money as everyone else.
4-20-2009 @ 9:54AM
Ryan said...
Most of you seem to have NO clue. She basically jumped a deaf man from behind. How was he supposed to react? He couldn't hear her coming, and had no idea what was going on. The elbow was most likely a reflex action from her jumping ON HIM. I mean get real, are you people not watching the same show?
I'm not saying his mom doesn't coddle him, but most of you need to think about what it would be like and how you would treat your own child if he/she was born with an impairment such as this.
I also think the girls showed their true colors by laughing at Luke when they were at the mat. They should be utterly ashamed of themselves for their behavior. If someone laughed or made fun of them for being black, oh, then the sh*t would have hit the fan, but since he's just deaf, that makes it ok. Shame on them.
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4-20-2009 @ 10:21AM
Patrick R said...
Except Kisha and Jen said they were not making fun of him, and Phil even expressed that he believed them. Kisha said she was smiling because that's what she does in tense situations. I don't think that's so uncommon.
Either way, I think both sides were somewhat in the wrong. Jen DID come up at Luke from behind at the first clue box. But then Luke also did the same thing to her the second time, maybe because he was still pissed about the first encounter? Both of 'em need to grow up.
4-20-2009 @ 1:41PM
Maria T C G said...
Waaah waaaah waah...give me a break! Ooooh she came up from behind him. Have you not been watching the game? Um, its a chaotic at best. He saw her there and they both were going for a box. It wasnt like he was on the street and some random time some random person came up and grabed him. Check out the video again.
Stop trying to act like he was a victim. I have called him a baby from the first episode. His mom is treating him like the spoiled baby that he is.
On another note...
I too never understood why he would be "proud" of choosing not to communicate with someone or attempting to bridge the gap.