(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!