Well, I didn’t see that one coming.
Timothy and Reebs (Marie) spent nearly the entire 10th leg of The Amazing Race doing everything they possibly could to win themselves a U-Turn Award, but it was all a tease. All their perceived missteps during “Cobra in My Teeth” wound up not being all that bad, and another team swooped in to steal their dubious thunder.
So which team was it? And how bad of a blunder are we talking?
The Amazing Race Recap: Dining on Cobra >>>
Winner, Winner, Cobra Dinner
Props first go out to Jason and Amy for turning in a nearly flawless leg and coming in first for the first time. They happily ate the cobra (with Amy even proclaiming that she loves food challenges), and Amy’s makeup skills helped them breeze through the Japanese bride Detour in just a few hours.
The only minor hiccup was Jason listening to Travis and undercooking the hard-boiled eggs on the first attempt. It wound up being not that big of a deal, though, since Travis and Jamal also made the same mistake. And since the Afghanimal stayed an extra few minutes and still didn’t get the eggs right and Marie hadn’t arrived, the teams maintained the order they were in.
The Bride of Dennis Rodman
The eggs were similarly the only real error for Nicole and Travis, though they struggled a bit with Travis’ transformation into a hideously ugly Japanese bride. His sweaty face kept his makeup smudged, but I think in the end, the judge realized that was the best they were going to do and let them go.
It allowed Tim and Marie to catch up, and they lost the ensuing cab race without knowing whether it would leave them eliminated, but it wound up being moot.
How Did They Not Win?
This leg seemed like it was going to be a train wreck for Tim and Marie from the get-go. First, they got lost on the way to the cobra challenge, then they wandered around and bickered long enough for all the other teams to actually finish eating before they backtracked and figured out where they were supposed to be.
It also seemed like eating the snake was going to be too much, but despite complaining and gagging, they polished it off rather quickly.
They were the last team to arrive at the hard-boiled Roadblock, and everyone and their mother was sure Marie was going to botch it. Tim was especially convinced, and he seemed to be validated when Marie tried to cook the eggs by holding them over the boiling water.
But again, she surprised, figuring things out and becoming the only one to get it right on the first try. And things actually went quite well for them after that, leading to a second-place finish.
A Controversial Double Switch
And here’s where it gets stupid. What the heck were Leo and Jamal thinking, switching Detours twice?! Their initial logic was pretty sound, that all the other teams had a female member and would be more adept at putting on makeup. Good, go find your pruning shears.
But after wandering around the tea fields for a few hours not knowing what they were looking for (i.e. a white flag on a stick is not pruning shears), they decided to do the Japanese bride challenge. At the time, I wrote down, “Can’t switch! At this point, it’s like giving up.”
They knew the other teams had a huge head start, they knew they’d be at a cosmetic disadvantage and they knew no one would consider helping them after all the stupid lies they’ve told. Some parts of the game are all about patience, and you’ve got to maintain your resolve and know you’ll find that needle in the haystack eventually.
But then, to arrive at the other Detour, see teams still struggling with it and decide to switch back because god forbid you have to shave your beard is giving yourself the kiss of death.
I have always maintained that they save non-elimination legs for the teams they like, and this could just be a scheduling thing, but there’s no way you deserve to be saved when you bring about your own fate in such an unnecessary way. If you make decisions that include acceptance at finishing last, it should be the end of the line. But that’s just my opinion.
Who will be the winner of The Amazing Race? Tune in next Sunday at 8pm on CBS to find out.
(Image courtesy of CBS)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
Emmy-winning news producer & former BuddyTV blogger. Lover of Philly sports, Ned, Zoe, Liam and Delaine…not in that order
