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'The Amazing Race: Unfinished Business' Season 18, Episode 9 Recap
by Jason Hughes, posted Apr 25th 2011 8:45AM
['The Amazing Race: Unfinished Business' - 'We're Good American People (Switzerland)']Welcome to the friendliest edition of 'The Amazing Race' yet. With six teams remaining in the competition, everybody decided to hold hands and sing 'Kumbaya' across Lichtenstein. Where's that competitive drive?
It's as if one contestant would say, "I had a hard time with this one. Do you know the answer?"
"Well, we are racing for a million dollars, but why not," they'd get in response "Let me just tell you the answer to save you the trouble."
Really? Only one team got left out of the lovefest throughout this leg of the race, and I'll give you one hint. They've spent a good portion of the last two legs competing completely by themselves.
While the social element isn't usually emphasized as much on 'The Amazing Race' as it is on the other big CBS reality shows like 'Survivor' and 'Big Brother,' it is still a factor. All those 'Race' equalizers that drive us fans crazy are opportunities for people to become friends, get to know one another's strengths and weakness, and sometimes even strike up alliances.
What's weird about this bunch is that they seemed to all be allied this week. Only the cowboys, Jet and Cord, weren't a part of the group, and that's because they haven't been for so long. Add the lack of face-time with the other teams to their proven track record for coming out of nowhere at challenges to get right back into the race, and makes sense for the other teams to see them as a threat.
It's always easier to talk about people when they're not around, and if you never see a team, as with the cowboys, you can paint them anyway you want. It doesn't hurt to convince the other teams they're a much bigger threat than you are, because then their focus will be on fighting against the cowboys and you might be able to surprise them.
The ultimate proof of this bizarre five-team alliance came at the Double U-Turn. Only one team was U-Turned. I'm not going to fault the Globetrotters at all for U-Turning the cowboys, as they knew they were second to last at that point and they knew that it's more than possible to get lost on the way to a Pit Stop.
But no one else U-Turned anyone else. If nothing else, you can U-Turn a team that's a tough competitor just to buy yourself more time out of the Starting Gate for the next leg, but I guess no one is wanting to "play dirty" out of this final group. They don't want anyone mad at them in the next leg.
Hell, I'd have probably U-Turned the goths just to get them far enough back I might not have to hear Kent's incessant whining and moaning all the time.
How Vyxsin can stand it is beyond me. When she put him in the luggage cart and just pulled him to shut him up I realized what it is about him that annoys me. He's like an 8-year old child. He's petulant, immature, quick to frustration and Vyxsin is his mother-figure. I guess if that's what they're into, then so be it, but it makes him one of the most annoying people to have ever played this game.
The only reason the Road Block went smoothly for them is because Vyxsin did it alone. It was pretty cool that they basically got to see all of Lichtenstein via a bike ride. Completing it came down really to being able to read and follow a map. I'm still amazed people come on this show without having mastered this skill. It's like those people who go on 'Survivor' who didn't learn how to swim or start a fire. Do you know anything about these games?
On the Road Block, more of that team love came out. Justin confirmed the right answer to Jen -- the length of their route in kilometers. They then both told Flight Time the answer so he wouldn't have to go back and start over. This after Jet had already gotten it wrong and been sent back. Flight Time then told Gary (which could have made the difference for him and Mallory coming off that Speed Bump and already in last place).
Justin and Zev worked brilliantly as a team this leg, and became the first team to win back-to-back legs this season. They've also won the most legs of anyone with an impressive four out of nine. Even after any equalizers they managed to pull ahead each time.
Zev stepped up big at the Detour, motivating Justin to stick with their choice of eating a giant pot of fondue cheese. After failing at the last food challenge, Justin was ready to quit, but Zev wanted him to push through it. With no time limit, Justin had time to throw up and take breaks as needed. They still managed to finish the task first and hit the Pit Stop first.
Flight Time and Big Easy, who've been strong competitors these past couple of legs, made some key errors and nearly got eliminated, but that U-Turn of the cowboys definitively assured their continued racing. This was probably welcome news to Kisha and Jen, who've struck up an attracted friendship with them. Or maybe it's all just a strategy to trick the big boys into helping them until the final legs.
I'm a big fan of Jet and Cord but I really think their lack of social game may have cost them this season's Race. In these All-Star editions, everyone is at least aware of everyone else, which makes them feel almost like friends rather than strangers at the start. It creates a different competitive environment, and in this case created this strange super-alliance. We've seen smaller ones before: I just don't remember one this big before.
FINISH ORDER:
1) Zev & Justin
2) Kisha & Jen
3) Kent & Vyxsin
4) Gary & Mallory
5) Flight Time & Big Easy
6) Jet & Cord [Philiminated]
Who do you want gone next?
'The Amazing Race: Unfinished Business' airs Sundays, 8PM ET on CBS.
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