The Amazing Race 5, Episode 2: MVPs and LVPs – Rabid Dogs

It’s time once again to look at the teams’ performances on the latest episode of The Amazing Race to award the Cargo Class award for worst racers and the First Class award for the best racers. Shall we get to it?

It wasn’t hard at all to choose the team that deserved the Cargo Class award this week – without a doubt, it was Alison and Donny. What a pathetic showing, and one that plummeted them from first place to last in a single leg of the race. But coming in last place isn’t the only reason Alison and Donny so richly deserve this booby prize. They deserve the Cargo Class award for the nasty way they treated each other through this leg of the race.

Alison and Donny’s sniping started as soon as they tried to find their way to the disco and only got worse. They found the clue, found the next checkpoint, but still argued about whether or not they were in the right place. They did all right finding Eva Peron’s grave, but when they got to the Perro detour, they were at each other’s throats once again. The pack of dogs Alison was walking showed more respect to each other than she and Donny did. Naturally, they get lost, because why would you bother practicing reading maps before going on The Amazing Race? They wound up having so much trouble with the dogs that they ditched the task and switched to Tango instead.

That was pretty much their last good idea this episode, since they made the foolish mistake of taking the bus to the next checkpoint, rather than a quicker taxi. Sure, Donny thought it would be expensive to take a cab, but shouldn’t they have taken a minute to find out just how expensive it would be before dismissing the idea? If they had, they might still be in the race, so I’ve got to say, I’m glad they didn’t bother. I will certainly not miss the ugliness and nastiness between the two of them. It’s bad enough to make unwise decisions like taking the bus instead of a cab and to get lost with a map, but it’s much worse to treat your partner with the disrespect and contempt with which Alison and Donny treated each other. They were Cargo Class all the way this week, and good riddance to them.

I had a harder time choosing a team or individual who deserved to be First Class this week. Brandon and Nicole gave a solid performance that got them in first place, but neither of them did anything that really impressed me. Charla and Mirna were right at their heels, but Mirna’s constant negativity and whining makes it awfully hard for me to reward them right now. I’ve got to give the First Class award to a team that is quickly becoming one of my favorites, Team Wounded Knee Jim and Marsha.

Jim and Marsha started this leg in last place, and Jim’s knee is undoubtedly still bothering him. And they made one potentially costly mistake in this leg of the race – that is, taking the advice that the Bowling Moms gave them of exchanging their money. It ate up a lot of time, and it became clear quickly that they’d been steered in the wrong direction. But Jim and Marsha didn’t let that get them down. They did a great job at every other task, and made smart decisions to keep Jim’s knee healthy, like doing Tango instead of Perro and having Marsha handle the ribbon roping task. And in spite of the stress they were undoubtedly feeling, they treated each other well throughout this leg of the race. Remember in the first episode when Marsha said she wanted to prove to her dad that she’s not a kid anymore? Well, it looks like she’s done it, since he said that he’s proud to see her as the leader of their team. Watching the two of them race together makes me feel good inside; in other words, the exact opposite of how Donny and Alison make me feel. That’s First Class all the way.

I’ll see you next week to give out the next batch of awards.

Betsy is the Associate Editor of RealityNewsOnline and can be reached with any comments at betsyw42@hotmail.com.

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