Amazing Race 5 Team Dynamics: Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

There's an old saying that goes something to the effect of, "If you spend enough time with a person, you begin to eventually look and act like the person." That may not be the official quote, but it's close enough. This week, each team seemed to be acting like a different team. Now, usually this sort of strange adaptation is positive, but not here in the world of The Amazing Race. So, how did team dynamics factor into all of this confusion of lost personalities? Well:

Team Anger Management: Colin and Christie sure could take a chill pill. Actually, Colin sure could take an entire bottle of chill pills. Right from the start, Christie hit the nail on the head with her assertion that Colin has one teeny tiny, itsy bitsy flaw: he's a maniac. Well, she didn't say it just like that, but she did note that he loses his temper quickly, then gets frustrated, then makes mistakes. Wow, Christie could be the next Freud with that deduction. This team has done a complete 180 from the beginning of this season to now. A few weeks ago I would have been surprised to see any sort of bickering from such a strong team. Now, I'm surprised when Colin doesn't pull out a machete because the water park doesn't open until the teams are all caught up. Colin somehow managed to leave Africa without handcuffs on him, but can he do the same in India?

Well, he was acting like Marshall and Lance upon first entering the country, pointing out it's "beauty." For those playing along at home, Colin is clearly mocking the land and lifestyle of the Indian people. Real classy. At the roadblock, Colin once again lost his composure and cool when he couldn't make a solid brick. Uh, Prozac, table nine! Although Colin and Christie did self-destruct at the roadblock a bit, it did not cost them too much time. However, like I've been saying all along, this tension is going to build up and erupt, resulting in either a loss of place or elimination. Actually, the promos for next week show Christie asking for R-E-S-P-E-C-T (just a little bit). Will she get what she wants? Probably not is my guess. If this team wants to stay in the race, they better focus a bit more on their dynamics during the mandatory rest period. They need to straighten out their differences immediately, lest they interfere with, what seems to be, a pretty certain gold medal.

Team Illiterate: Although they have their hearts in the right places, Chip and Kim seemed to have their minds on a completely different planet this week. Now don't get me wrong, Chip and Kim do have some seriously planned out strategy, such as the whole "let's not get to chummy with Colin and Christie" idea. They were right on the money when they said that these two would eventually self-destruct and all the other teams have to do is watch. Chip also seems to be playing some sort of elaborate mind game with Colin (telling him that they got lost on the way to the amusement park, pointing out Colin's Olympian physique). I know what he's trying to accomplish, but I'm not 100% sure it's going to actually work.

So, why are Chip and Kim a little slow this week? Well, for starters Chip completely missed the numbers in the water park (which didn't hurt them too much, but everyone was all together at that point). Then their big mistake hit hard. The clue clearly said to drive themselves to the next route marker, yet Chip and Kim raced into a taxi at full speed and sped away. As a matter of fact, they went so far as to urge their taxi driver to drive quicker! It's a good thing that Kim re-read the clue or else who knows how detrimental it could have been for them. Even though they missed the connecting flight to Calcutta, they were extremely lucky that this gargantuan mistake only placed them a mere ten minutes behind last place.

Which brings us to which team Chip and Kim were acting like this round: Brandon and Nicole. Why? Well, while waiting for their connecting flight, Chip prays for a miracle to catch up with the other teams. If you don't buy that, you could say that Chip and Kim are acting like Old Chip and Kim, by missing clues and not reading directions fully. All things aside, this leg proved to be another strong finish for this team, further proving to me that they've got what it takes to make it to the end. They rarely bicker or complain about each other and they almost always finish in either first or second. Hopefully for them, Chip's prophecy of Colin and Christie self-destructing will come sooner than later, being as how Colin and Christie are their biggest competitors. If they can squeeze in front of Colin and Christie, I'm certain that Chip and Kim will win it all.