The Amazing Race 9: The Finish Line, Episode 4

Greetings and welcome to this week’s recap of The Finish Line, CBS’s online talk show for The Amazing Race 9. This week Peggy Bunker and Al Rios (filling in again this week for his “Clown” partner, Jon) are back to dish about the teams, the challenges, and all the other details of the race. They’re joined by Wanda & Desiree, the charming mother/daughter duo that lost at the end of this season’s first double-length leg. The ladies look lovely and more alike than they did on the race.

Peggy greets Wanda & Desiree, saying she’s glad they’re here but sorry their race may have ended sooner than they wished. She then asks, “What went wrong?” Desiree answers that many people had bad luck with cabbies, but their problems started when they had to drive themselves. Their taxi drivers were always great. Getting lost on the Autobahn was their downfall. Wanda says they realized quickly that they had gone the wrong direction, but it took another 20 minutes to find a place to get off the Autobahn!

Peggy reminds viewers that she and Al would love to hear from them. Al remains stolidly silent. Peggy goes on to ask if there’s anything else Wanda & Desiree could have done to change the outcome. Wanda says it’s hard to know where others are. When team Double D asked to partner with them, they felt bad when they got lost, too. Al, apparently realizing the show has begun, finally speaks up and agrees that you feel bad when you lead another team astray. All I know is that I’ll root for a team that at least reads their own maps and tries to find where they’re going (Wanda & Desiree) over a team that can’t be bothered to do more than follow another car (Dani & Danielle) any time. Maybe Team Double D should be called Team Lazy Leech instead!

Desiree says that teaming up may be risky, but luck is a big factor. Wanda says it wasn’t really an alliance, they just liked the girls and when they asked to follow they couldn’t say no. Peggy jumps in and alludes to Team Double D’s “special” alliance with Eric & Jeremy. She then asks how it felt when they knew they were going the wrong way. Desiree says it’s such a long way to Munich even if you don’t get lost – about two-and-a-half hours – that you never know. They knew they were lost, but Team Double D didn’t know for quite a while (sigh). Desiree just hoped another team had gotten lost, too. They were actually surprised to see they were the last two teams at the field since the drive was so confusing they were pretty sure someone else would have gotten lost even worse.

Peggy uses this moment to segue into a clip of Wanda & Desiree driving in Germany. We see mother and daughter getting frustrated with each other and the drive again. Desiree complains about her mother’s “Spanglish” pronunciation of words in Germany. We see Dani & Danielle clueless about where they’re going and the whole Autobahn fiasco and Desiree’s “don’t you dammit me!” to her mother. Finally, the clip ends with more clips of Wanda & Desiree’s frustration and confusion.

Al asks if the amount of time Wanda & Desiree spent checking in with the Double D girls was a big waste. Wanda & Desiree seem to miss the point of the question and say they really needed to stop and ask for directions. They go on to say that it was a hard day. They knew they were over three hours behind the lead teams and so they had a much greater chance at losing this round. Peggy points out that this is the first time we really saw this team lose it on the race. She must be forgetting the roadblock in Russia! Peggy asks about Wanda’s “Spanglish.” Desiree says in the first few legs Wanda was speaking in Spanish to folks and then when they were in Russia and Germany she continued with a Spanish accent. Al says Jon kept saying “rapidemente” no matter what country they were in! Desiree says BJ and Tyler learned how to say “pass that car!” in many languages to prepare for the race.

John from somewhere calls and says how exciting the race is this season. He asks if they would have done anything else to prepare for the race. Desiree says they packed lightly but should have packed even less – fewer toiletries, soaps, etc. Wanda says she had two pairs of sneakers and should have had only one. She says it’s really hard to have a light pack. Al says it’s crucial but very hard to do. When you’re running, you have to have a light pack. Desiree says Ray & Yolanda were giving away things right and left.

Lisa from Lisa & Joni calls and says, “Hey!” She says she knows how hard it was for Wanda to dive into the pool in Russia. Lisa asks how she kept going. Wanda says she doesn’t have a fear of water – she took swimming lessons before the race – but she didn’t know how to free dive. The clue was about ten feet down and it was hard to get. Peggy says Desiree was sweet at first, but then got tough. Desiree says they saw swimming lanes and thought it would be a speed test and that Wanda is actually a faster swimmer, so she took the roadblock. Lisa and Wanda & Desiree exchange verbal hugs and kisses before Lisa hangs up.