“To be continued….”
Really, Amazing Race? We’re ending on a cliffhanger!?
Well, kind of. Watching last night’s episode, it seemed pretty obvious to me that this was going to be the first non-elimination leg of the season. When you’ve got a roadblock, a detour, and then an extra task that are all as difficult as the ones last night, it typically means that the leg is going to turn out to be a non-elimination leg. The first roadblock, for instance, was pretty much dependent on luck. (Jody and Jenn had some bad luck, and Jenn spent two hours smashing vases and searching for the next clue.) The detour involved either learning a difficult language or rolling a giant tiger through the desert. And then the extra task was designed to upset and frustrate the players. This was a leg designed to generate drama as opposed to an elimination.
I would also point out that the fourth leg also appears to take place exclusively in Morocco. So my feeling is that whenever Dylan and Doug or Jody and Jenn reach the Pit Stop, Phil will say, “You are the last team to arrive. However, you are still racing, and here is your next clue!”
Here’s where the teams stood at the end of the episode.
Ann-Marie and Riley, both of whom strike me as being a bit fake, are currently in first place. They used their Express Pass to get out of doing the fruit stacking.
Anuar and Andrea are in second, mostly because they used their Express Pass to get out of doing the detour.
Ali and Joanna are in third place, and they still have their Express Pass. They’re doing well, but it’s hard for me to root for anyone who took a knee during the National Anthem.
Connor and Garrett are in fourth place and still have their Express Pass. After struggling last week, they came on strong this week.
Cody and Jaime are in fifth place. They seem to be getting stronger as the race goes on.
Michelle and Matt went from second to sixth place. They seem to be a good, middle-of-the-road sort of team.
Dafina and Saran are in seventh place. Dafina and Saran have achieved some good karma by helping out some of the other teams. They also received the Roadside Assistance Advantage, which means that both of them can work together on a roadblock if it is used. (Usually, only one player is allowed to do the roadblock.)
Erin and Javi are in eighth place. It looks like their earlier first-place finish was pretty much entirely due to using their Express Pass, because they’ve been struggling ever since.
Daisha and Dalton are in 9th place. They really need to have a good leg to break their cycle of finishing in the back.
Finally, Dylan and Doug and Jody and Jenn are competing for 10th and 11th place. Dylan and Doug did surprisingly well at the Detour, but then, when they had to stack the fruit, Dylan seemed to be letting his frustration get the better of him. As for Jody and Jenn, I’m sure they spent this leg regretting that they wasted their Express Pass in Madrid.
“The last team to arrive may be eliminated!” Phil said, but I don’t think that’s going to happen to either Dylan and Doug or Jody and Jenn, at least not at this Pit Stop. The fourth leg, though, will be a whole different story.
We’ll find out next week!
For the record, here are the three teams who still have Express Passes: Ali and Joanna, Connor and Garrett, and Michelle and Matt. They’ve only got two more legs left before they expire.
