Eyebrows and Pitstops: Week 8

It’s been two weeks since we’ve had an episode of The Amazing Race, yet my pain over the loss of Mike and Mel still stings. The show just seems darker without the father and son pair on it. Last night we got a little uglier thanks to the former “cheerleaders” (is anyone else expecting these two to pop up in Hustler post race?), and a lot stupider thanks to Michael and Mark and their inability to follow instructions. In the end I was just left screaming “why Phil why” at my TV.

Staying in Thailand for a second week was perhaps a sign of the economy as the producers wanted to milk the most out of one country. This season continues to be an improvement over the last if only for the continued lack of airport scenes. It was clear all the teams would be travelling to Bangkok together so I appreciated that the producers did not attempt to create any false tension. Once they arrived I thought the Road Block was relatively easy but boy was I wrong. While the task itself was finished quickly the instructions threw nearly all the teams for a loop, and two teams left all their bags behind as they moved on. From this point on you knew it was a two team race to the bottom. Jen and Kisha made the bonehead move of finishing the leg and then doubling back to collect their gear. How they thought Phil would check them in without passports is beyond me. Of course when you’re racing against Mark and Michael you can always have hope. While the brothers stuntmen went back for the bags right away, they mismanaged their money to the point where they had to barter gear for rides. By the time they arrived to the mat, they had amassed two 2-hour penalties for obtaining rides by trading their personal belongings. Jen and Kisha soon arrived a second time and were safe for another week. Then came the news I knew was coming all episode long, this was not an elimination leg. Mark and Michael are safe and while they have the deepest hole of the season, I wouldn’t count them completely out. In that moment though I just thought of Mel and Mike and wished they could have held on for one more week.

Next week it looks like we’ve got Duel II type drama as there is a bitchfest between dainty Luke (just put your hands in their god damn mouths) and Jen.