Up until I checked the schedule to see whether or not the Big Brother finale was going to be two hours, I didn’t realize that CBS was going to be airing the second leg of The Amazing Race on Friday. Since I already had something else planned for Thursday night, I didn’t get a chance to watch the latest episode of The Amazing Race until this morning.

I was really happy about the second leg taking place in Madrid. My maternal grandmother was born in Spain and came to the United States after World War II. (Growing up, I was usually the only girl in any of my classes who knew who General Franco was.) I love Spain, even if it is currently being governed by a smug Socialist.

My sister Erin Nicole and I often joke about trying out for The Amazing Race and I think we would have done well during this leg. I would have let her do the Roadblock with the tomatoes. We definitely would have been able to tell the difference between Puerta del Sol and Puerta del Sur. I would have totally dominated the Slice of History detour. Along with the fact that our grandmother was born in Spain, I’ve got a degree in art history and I’m a big history nerd in general. I would not have needed to ask the locals who Picasso was and who Dalí was. We would have made it to the pit stop without having to use the express pass and I totally would have hugged Phil when he said that we were team number one.

I rolled my eyes a bit when Ann-Marie and Riley decided to form the Boss Lady alliance with Ali & Joanna, Jody & Jenn, and Dafina & Saran. I always cringe whenever the people on this show, Big Brother, or Survivor try to do the “all-girls alliance” thing because it always starts with everyone going, “Girl power!” and it always ends with people getting mad over the pettiest of things. We saw some of that during last night’s episode, when Ali ignored Dafina at the roadblock. I also noticed that, for all the talk of women supporting other women, they didn’t bother to invite Katie & Charlotte to join the alliance. In truth, The Amazing Race is not a game that really benefits from alliances. I can think of one season in which an alliance really worked and most of the viewers hated that season because the alliance members were all so unlikable.

(Interestingly enough, Ann-Marie and Riley also suggested that all of the players doing the Slice of Ham roadblock should work together as well. Ann-Marie’s definition of working together appears to be that everyone else should do all the work while she benefits. If I seem to have issues with Ann-Marie, it’s just because I can imagine her being the passive-aggressive HOA president from Hell. Of course, if I was actually running the Race, I would want to get Ann-Marie eliminated because there’s only room for one Marie.)

In the end, the main lesson of this week’s episode was to always make sure that you’re on the right train. Katie and Charlotte got on a train going to Puerta del Sur instead of Puerta del Sol and it basically led to their elimination.

Here are my thoughts on how each team is looking after this leg.

Coming in first were the soccer players, Ali and Joanna. Ann-Marie and Riley really want to work with the soccer players but I never really got the feeling that Ali and Joanna really wanted to work with them. Ali and Joanna are too competitive for that. I personally would not enter into an alliance with Ali. It’s hard for me to trust someone who won’t stand up for her own country’s national anthem.

Coming in second were Michelle & Matthew. Michelle and Matthew are a strong team, even if Michelle did go a little bit overboard while yelling at Matthew during the Roadblock. So far, they’ve finished 3rd and 2nd and they’ve done it without wasting an express pass.

Coming in third were Cody and Jaime. Cody and Jaime used their express pass to get out of doing Slice of Ham. They seem like a strong team and I was touched by their backstory. I’m hoping for the best for them.

Coming in fourth were Ann-Marie and Riley. Initially, I liked the mother-daughter team but, after tonight’s episode, I just see them as being the type of neighbors who smile when they visit and then make fun of your furniture when they think you’re not listening.

Jody and Jenn came in fifth. They totally wasted their express pass to get out of doing the Slice of History detour. Jody said that, as a history teacher, she was embarrassed. She should have been. Seriously, I’ve got no respect for that team now.

Daisha and Dalton used their express pass to get out of doing the Roadblock and they still only came in sixth. If I were them, I would be worried.

Erin and Javi came in seventh. I actually liked Erin and Javi more during the second leg than I did the first. They work well together.

Coming in eighth were Anuar and Andrea. My main impression of them is that Andrea is one bad leg away from having a massive meltdown.

Conner and Garrett finished in ninth place. I was a bit surprised that they finished so far back. Conner and Garrett seem like a strong team, though. I expect they’ll be around for a while.

Doug and Dylan came in tenth. I like Doug and Dylan but they’ve really struggled and they no longer have an express pass. I don’t think they’re going to be racing for much longer.

Dafina and Saran came in eleventh. They were doing well until they hit the Slice of History detour. They no longer have an express pass but I think they’re still stronger than they seemed to be last night.

Finally, Charlotte and Katie came in last and were eliminated. They got on the wrong train and it cost them.

Six express passes have been used. The express passes are only good through the sixth leg. Here’s who still has them:

1. Ali & Joanna
2. Michelle & Matthew
3. Ann-Marie & Riley
4. Anuar & Andrea
5. Conner & Garrett

Next week, the teams head to Morocco and discover a whole new twist!

Previous Amazing Race 39 reviews

1. Sorry, Guys, We Used Our Express Pass

Of all the reality shows that we watched together, The Amazing Race was always my mom’s favorite. She enjoyed watching the racers as they traveled to different countries and struggled to make their way through new cities without getting eliminated. I’ve always enjoyed it too. If Big Brother is about getting production on your side and Survivor is about strategy, The Amazing Race is often about the importance of just being nice to the people that you meet on your travels. It doesn’t matter how athletic or clever you are. If you tick off your taxi driver by yelling at him, there’s a chance you won’t make it to the next Pit Stop in time to avoid being eliminated.

My mom also always liked Phil Keoghan, the Race’s longtime host. Just as Jeff Probst was once the perfect host for Survivor, Phil is the perfect host for The Amazing Race. Phil is earnest and enthusiastic and, unlike both Probst and Julie Chen Moonves, he seems to actually have a sincere investment in each team of racers. When a team does their best and still gets eliminated, Phil is there to offer comfort. When a team does something sneaky to get to the Pit Stop, Phil is there with a look of disappointment to let them know that they’ve failed to live up to the mission of The Amazing Race.

I think my mom would have enjoyed last night’s season premiere. I know I did. At a time when every long-running reality show is piling on twist after twist, The Amazing Race has thrived by keeping things simple. Even when a twist is introduced, it’s usually a fairly straightforward one. This season, every team is starting out with an Express Pass. The Express Pass can be used only once, and it can only be used through the sixth leg. Also, only one team can use an Express Pass per challenge. So, if the team ahead of you uses their Express Pass to get out of doing a Roadblock, you can’t then use your Express Pass to catch up with them. It’s not a bad idea and, by giving all 13 teams a pass, the show keeps things fair. (That’s the sort of thing that Big Brother has still not figured out how to do.)

The first leg took place entirely in Vancouver and, by the end of it, three teams had already used their Express Pass. Erin and Javi used their Express Pass to get out of the season’s first Roadblock. (Personally, I think they’re going to regret using it that early in the season, especially when they probably could have done the Roadblock fairly easily.) Because the Detour featured two tasks to choose from, two teams were able to use their Express Passes. Dylan and Doug used their pass because Doug was exhausted after the Roadblock. Dafina and Saran used their pass because they realized they were running behind.

Here are my thoughts on each team, in the order in which they arrived at the Pit Stop.

Coming in first were Erin and Javi. Erin and Javi are newlyweds. Erin is the self-described “breadwinner” and Javi… well, who knows? Javi seems kind of useless. This team came on strong during this leg, but they’ve already wasted their Express Pass, and they seem like a couple that’s going to end up fighting as soon as they find themselves running behind.

In second place, we’ve got Conner and Garrett. They’re childhood friends! They both seem kind of obnoxious, but they still came in second without wasting an Express Pass, so I think they’re going to be around for a while.

In third place, it was Michelle and Matthew! Michelle owns an auto parts store, and Matthew says that he’s a former R&B singer. I actually think these two are going to do well in the Race. They both seem to be athletic, they worked well together, and they don’t seem to secretly hate each other like Erin and Javi do.

In fourth place, it was Doug and Dylan! Doug is 72 and his grandson Dylan is 18. I liked Doug from the minute he said, “Oh heck yeah,” during the Roadblock. That said, Doug was moving pretty slowly after that Roadblock, and they had to use their Express Pass to come in fourth. I’m hoping for the best for this wholesome team, but I’m not optimistic.

In fifth place, it was the sisters, Katie and Charlotte. I always support the sister teams because Erin Nicole and I often joked about trying out for The Amazing Race. Otherwise, they didn’t make a huge impression this episode. They seem like a middle-of-the-road team.

In sixth place, it was Anaur and his daughter, Andrea. This is another team that just seemed like they were kind of there. They finished right in the middle of the pack, so it’ll be interesting to see if they move up or if they start moving down.

In seventh place, Anne-Marie and Riley! Anne-Marie and Riley are the mother-daughter team. A mother-daughter team has never won The Amazing Race before, and I have a feeling that it’s not going to happen this season either.

In eighth place, Jody and Jenn! They’re best friends and they’re both moms. They didn’t make much of an impression otherwise. I don’t really see them sticking around for too long.

In ninth place, Dafina and Saran. They’re sisters and they seem nice. They had to use their Express Pass to come in ninth. That’s not really a reason for optimism, but it does seem like, every season, there’s a team that surprises the viewers by surviving a bad first leg and then becoming one of the stronger teams. It wouldn’t surprise me if that happened with Dafina and Saran.

In tenth place, Ali and Joanna. Phil introduced them as being “soccer royalty.” Sorry, Phil. The World Cup is over and I’m back to not caring about soccer. Ali was one of the players who took a knee during the national anthem, so I’m actively rooting for this team to be eliminated.

In eleventh place, we’ve got Cody and Jaime. They are a brother/sister team, and I don’t think they’re going to be around that much longer.

In twelfth place, we’ve got Daisha and Dalton, this season’s dating couple. Again, coming in next-to-last is never a good sign as far as the early legs of the Race are concerned. On the plus side, they’ve still got their Express Pass.

And finally, brothers Zack and Nate were the last to reach the Pit Stop, and they were the first to be eliminated. It’s a shame because they did seem nice, but they were also struggling from the start of the leg to the end of it. As soon as they got a lengthy profile about their lives back in Dallas, I knew Zack and Nate were probably going to be eliminated.

I’m happy The Amazing Race is back! Hearing Phil shout, “Go!” was exactly what I needed to hear. Tomorrow, the Race heads to Spain!