(S14E11) Last week, the four teams remaining on The Amazing Race were still in China when Phil gave them the news -- "This leg isn't over." I'll admit to snickering a bit because Cara and Jaime were so excited to finally make a first place finish. It's my evil side. Or, perhaps it's karma. After all, they've been the epitome of Ugly Americans to the point of name-calling just because folks in another country may not know English. While Tammy and Victor have the advantage of knowing Mandarin Chinese, a lot still depends on taxis and common sense.
The remaining teams
Next week is the big season finale. For the first time in ages, there are no alpha male teams in contention for the win. We have two all-female teams in the running, the first mother/deaf son team ever on the show, and a brother/sister team. Last season, the brother/sister team of Nick and Starr won the race. I don't think that puts a jinx on Tammy and Victor. Right now, China aside, Tammy and Victor seem to be in competition with Margie and Luke for the million dollars.
Although not nearly as perfect as I would have thought, Tammy and Victor definitely had a head start in this leg. Not only do they know the language, but they recently attended the Olympics in Beijing. While the nuances in the language stumbled them a bit in the detour while taking orders, it was almost painful to watch Jen and Kisha try to pronounce the food items later on. Kisha said it best, "We black, not Chinese." That said, the route for the race was planned before the teams were chosen, not geared towards any remaining team.
Both of the all-female teams have their separate woes. Neither team has much luck with the taxis. Cara and Jaime have their Ugly American thing going on, plus they get panicky. Jen and Kisha have some old "sister baggage" between them, fears, and can be a bit Ugly American themselves. They're also in the grudge match with Luke and Margie. That's not all their own doing; however, the other teams seem closer to Luke and Margie.
Detours, Roadblocks, and U-Turns, oh my
Unlike last week, tonight's episode was one of those frantically-paced, never a dull moment times on the show. It wasn't surprising that everyone except Tammy and Victor chose the opera detour task rather than attempting to give food orders in Chinese. Nor was it surprising that that the roaming gnomes made their seasonal appearance. I was a bit surprised that the teams were stuck in their opera costumes and make-up, but better them than me!
I understand the reasoning why Tammy and Victor u-turned Jen and Kisha. No, they'd never be able to outrun them to the finish line. But I'm thinking it would have been a wiser choice to u-turn Margie and Luke, their strongest competition. True, they seem to like Margie and Luke better, and it would have been a rough detour with only Margie really contributing. Do we need to remind them this is a competition for a million dollars?
As for the roadblock with its native delicacies, I'll admit that's something I'd be horrible at doing. Beetle larvae? Yuck ... even deep-fried, that can't be tasty. I even gagged on a chocolate-covered grasshopper once and I like anything chocolate. Er, except grasshoppers. They usually have the delicacy roadblock each season, and I cringe each time. Give me NYC delicacies and I can handle those, even dirty water dogs!
Urine trouble
I know a lot of folks thought I was rough on Jen last week. May I be mean again, please? What the hell was she thinking? Yeah, she had to pee. So what?! Dammit, it's a race for a million dollars and because she had to stop to use a port-a-potty, they lost by seconds! I personally would have rather seen Jen and Kisha make it to the finals than Jaime and Cara. I couldn't believe they actually made it through the u-turn delay and could have made it to the final three. Unbelievable!
May Tammy and Victor win!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
5-04-2009 @ 6:40AM
djbuhhda said...
i was so mad that jen and kisha went home, as much as i like jaime and cara they aren't gunna be close to winning this whole thing in the final leg, i think jen and kisha woulda had a better chance at winning, but now i want cara and jaime to win. plus i still think it is completly unfair that there still in china, they better fly to some other place for the final leg cuz its a pretty big advantage to tammy and victor, i think they shoulda changed that in advanced of tammy and victor being on the show.
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5-04-2009 @ 9:51AM
deebopalula said...
From the previews, it looks like they're going to Hawaii for the final leg.
5-09-2009 @ 3:22PM
max said...
Why are they spending so much time in China? Are the producers determined to help Tammy & Victor win? I like them, but what an unfair advantage.
Liked Luke and his mom at first, but I've gotten tired of listening to him whine.
5-04-2009 @ 7:18AM
freedom55 said...
They were not chocolate covered grasshopppers! Where did you get the chocolate idea? They were fried!
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5-04-2009 @ 7:33AM
Karen said...
I'm pretty sure she was commenting that she couldn't eat the "delicacies" even if they were covered in chocolate. She didn't say they were -- she said they were fried.
5-04-2009 @ 7:46AM
laura said...
I am so glad that Jen and Kisha went home, they were undeserving of a win and and should be ashamed of themselves how racist they truly are. Tammy and Victor knew that they didnt deserve it , hence the U turn, knowing that luke and margie are strong competition, but that jen and kisha deserve nothing out of this game. Plus anyone who stops to pee on the last leg of a race? is an idiot and I hope she remembers that the million bucks possibly got flushed down the toilet literally every time she passes a port-a-potty.
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5-04-2009 @ 10:01AM
deebopalula said...
I agree with you about the porta-potty stop -- I would have peed all over myself rather than take the chance of coming in last on the final elimination round! But aside from that, why would they be "undeserving of a win" and "deserve nothing out of this game". They made it this far, fair and square, so they're just as deserving as everyone else. Not sure what you mean by them being racist, but the most obnoxious team in terms of putting down anyone who doesn't speak English is Jamie and Cara (well, Jamie, specifically). Jamie even took out her frustration on her own team mate when they finally got to the U-Turn which was pretty crappy since Cara had done nothing wrong. I would have preferred to see Jamie and Cara eliminated before Kisha and Jen. Now I just hope to see J & C come in third in the finale.
5-04-2009 @ 2:36PM
NJ Diamond said...
Stupid yes!! Racist No!
5-04-2009 @ 8:56AM
JPN said...
She lost a 1 in 3 chance for a million dollars cause she had to pee! I feel sorry for her in that maybe she felt like she was going to wet her pants or she couldn't run but...man...and Phil rubbed it in at the end! You always figure they do some tricky editing to make the teams seem to be closer than they really are but then he said they were "seconds" apart! I did feel bad for her last week with the swimming freak out but wow...her sister has to be a big person to not hold that one over her, I don't know that I could do that!
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5-04-2009 @ 10:04AM
deebopalula said...
"...her sister has to be a big person to not hold that one over her, I don't know that I could do that!"
I thought the same thing! I would have strangled my sister right there on the pit stop welcome mat!
5-04-2009 @ 9:17AM
Jake said...
I'm glad Jen and Kisha lost and Jaime and Cara won... this whole Ugly American thing is blown way out of proportion... it's just one of the girls and its towards taxi drivers. For the first time in a long time I'd be happy with any of the three teams crossing the finish line.
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5-04-2009 @ 9:56AM
Emland said...
I bet Jen is never going to live down pissing away a million bucks.
For that kind of money I would have left a little wet trail behind me.
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5-04-2009 @ 10:14AM
Rachael said...
Jen is a brat. I thought they were athletes? It amazes me that an athlete would have such little competitive spirit. You literally just passed your competition and you thought you had time to go to the bathroom? The fact that her sister let her do it was bas too. I would've pee'd on myself at the mat, as long as I made it to the mat.You could see a little disgust in Phil's face. I don't blame him, they were stupid to do that. I could care less who wins since they kicked off the father and son team. Luke is a loser, and I don't think he's helped the cause of deaf people at all, he's actually hurt them, in making them appear to be whiny brats. Jaime and Cara have been gliding by this whole time, in the begining it was riding on others coattails. And they were so stupid, when Margie told them that they went that direction already for the U Turn, and they continued to go. Tammy and Victor are just obnoxious, and if they mention they are Asian one more time, I'm going to scream.
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5-04-2009 @ 10:24AM
deebopalula said...
Jackie - I was wondering what title you used for this post! You had so many good options from this episode. Luke unintentionally making his Mom look like Alice Cooper during the makeup challenge was priceless, but I also loved the translations of Jen and Kisha's mispronounced Chinese food orders:
"Light Competition Red Dishes I've Played Before" (instead of Golden Pork Spare Ribs)
"Oil Comes Again To Please The Mouth"
(for New Taste Beef)
and my favorite.....
"Good Western Heads Lack Fish"
(Vegetarian Noodles)
Too funny!
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5-04-2009 @ 10:45AM
Andy said...
Um, it's the title of the episode?
5-04-2009 @ 12:10PM
MJL said...
Yeah, the title of each episode is a quote from the show, she doesn't choose them herself.
5-04-2009 @ 12:28PM
deebopalula said...
Ahhh... never realized that. I watch online and it's simply called "Episode 11". Still would have liked to see "The Amazing Race: Good Western Heads Lack Fish" though!
5-04-2009 @ 12:06PM
Jussup said...
So Jen and Kisha were the only ones I actually like so when they got U-turned I was SSSOOO bummed. Then they get back in it and I'm excited that they get to send obnoxious Jamie back to the states (where she should never be allowed to leave again)... then Jen goes and does the STUPIDIST thing I have ever seen. Pee on yourself if you need to go that bad--we are talking about one million dollars. I went from having their team as my favorite to not feeling they deserved to win at all after that dumb move. Sorry Jen and Kisha you lost me. Unfortunately all of the remaining teams are still annoying.
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5-04-2009 @ 12:07PM
Jussup said...
And though they showed themselves to be dumb, Jen & Kisha are not racist. After last night's debacle you have plenty of legitimate areas you can criticize the sisters without having to make crap up.
5-04-2009 @ 12:37PM
laura said...
Its hard to make things up when they are right there on the recaps saying horrible remarks against the chinese.
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