The Amazing Race 6, Episode 11 MVPs and LVPs: Shanghai Surprise

It’s hard to believe another season of The Amazing Race is about to come to a close. We’ve given out lots of First Class awards – mostly to Gus and Hera and Kris and Jon. And we’ve given out plenty of Cargo Class awards – almost all to Jonathan. As the race has gone on and we’ve gotten to know the players a little better, it’s gotten easy to predict how they’ll behave from week to week. Hayden will harangue Aaron. Kendra will complain about poverty. Rebecca and Adam will fight like a couple of wet cats in a potato sack. And Kris and Jon will be relentlessly positive and pleasant to each other. But this week, things didn’t go quite the way they usually do for our racers. What does that mean for the awards?

For the first time yet, Kris and Jon were… not nice! I know! It’s hard to imagine, but there it was. The two of them ran into some spectacularly bad luck with cab drivers. Their first driver was so slow that even though they were quick to get a cab, they were towards the back of the pack when it came to reaching the next clue. They did not handle the stress with grace – Kris told him, “You suck, dude.” Then, when the two were on their way to find the tai chi masters, their next cab driver went in the completely wrong direction, costing them valuable time. Kris and Jon were so mad that they actually contemplated not paying the driver at all. Whether they meant to not pay him the fare or to not tip him isn’t clear. Regardless, they were mad and were not nice to the driver, to say the least. In the end, Jon wound up throwing money through the window of the cab, the kind of move we’d expect to see from Jonathan or from Colin in Amazing Race 5.

So what happened to the normally First Class Kris and Jon? It looks like their incredibly bad luck, coupled with the pressure of race ending soon, got to them. I’m tempted to excuse their behavior because I like them so much and because they’re usually so nice. But bad behavior is bad behavior, and part of getting the First Class award every week is dealing well with stress. So I’ll compromise. Kris and Jon don’t get Cargo Class this week, but they do get a dishonorable mention. Here’s hoping they get a good night’s sleep so the Kris and Jon we know and love will be back to finish the race.

The Cargo Class award this week once again goes to Adam. Weeks ago, Adam and Rebecca used the yield on Freddy and Kendra. Why? It’s hard to say. Jonathan asked them to yield Freddy and Kendra and they did it. It probably wasn’t the smartest strategy. It can be argued that Adam and Rebecca would have been better off yielding Jonathan and Victoria, since they were a strong team and would have pretty well been guaranteed to be eliminated. Still, they yielded Freddy and Kendra, and this week, it came back to haunt them. As soon as Freddy and Kendra had a chance to yield Adam and Rebecca back, they did it. Thus began the festival of whining from Adam.

Adam went on and on about how unfair and stupid it was for Freddy and Kendra to yield them and not the stronger Kris and Jon. He said that they only did it for revenge, not for strategy. Well, duh. I’m sure Freddy and Kendra would agree that they were motivated by vengeance. That’s their right. And although Kris and Jon are a stronger team than Adam and Rebecca, Adam and Rebecca have done quite well in several legs. In short, Adam was being a bad sport – and was so busy bickering with Rebecca about being yielded that it took a moment for the two of them to notice that the hourglass had run out. That’s Cargo Class behavior.

On the other hand, Adam had an incredibly good moment in this leg of the race. While Rebecca was washing windows, Adam went ahead and arranged for a cab, loaded their bags in the trunk, and told the driver to be ready to go as soon as Rebecca came down. That was a really smart move, one I’m surprised we don’t see more often from the partner who’s not participating. By having everything ready for them to get going as quickly as possible, Adam was exactly the kind of person you’d want as your partner in the race. That is absolutely First Class behavior.

So, why not mix things up a little this week? I’m going to give Adam the Cargo Class award for whining and being a bad sport. And I’m going to give Adam the First Class award for some smart thinking and good teamwork. Looks like that puts Adam in Coach. Enjoy the peanuts, Adam!

I’ll see you all after the finale, and we’ll give out our final batch of First Class and Cargo Class awards.

Betsy Wasser is the Associate Editor of Reality News Online. She can be reached with any comments at betsyw42@hotmail.com

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