The Amazing Race 10, Episode 7 First Class and Cargo Class Awards: And the First Shall Be Last, the Sequel

Before I begin handing out the awards this week, I want to congratulate Jessica, Linda, Donna, and John for correctly guessing that my phrase (Fsbif snf stu gomodjrf ;sdy.) would have read “David and Mary finished last” were it typed with my fingers in the proper position on the keyboard. And special mention to Karen for realizing that the “M” in Mary is missing from the phrase as it appears in the article! If you haven’t already read Jenn’s recap, click over there now. All finished? Great! Now it’s time to move on to the awards!

First Class this week is going to Dustin and Kandice. They started out in second place and performed well throughout the leg despite a fender bender. I was a little worried about them at the start when they seemed not to know where London was. However, as Jenn said in her recap, perhaps they didn’t hear the agent through the glass.

It’s also not out of the realm of possibility that they would be flying through another London. (Yes, I know there is a London in Kentucky, and I am sure there are other Londons in the world too.) While it seemed they were being unreasonable by repeatedly checking for another flight, smart racers double- and triple-check to make sure there isn’t another, earlier flight. They didn’t lose any time and ended up on the same (and only) flight to Mauritius.

At the ticket counter, Kandice & Dustin asked the agent to reserve tickets for Tyler & James, who were two places in line behind them. They didn’t purchase the tickets for them, and they didn’t push them to the head of the line. They simply asked that a reservation be made. Lyn & Karlyn (aka Dublyn) complained about it—as they do about everything—but Dustin & Kandice did not get sucked into the argument. They simply remarked that James & Tyler were with them, and proceeded to finish purchasing their own tickets.

Were the roles reversed, and Dublyn were first in line with another Six Pack team in third behind Kandice & Dustin, Dublyn would have done the same thing for their alliancemates. Dustin & Kandice took care of what they needed to do, and quickly left the area to avoid further confrontation.

Finally, Dustin & Kandice were the only team to initially choose Sea, which was the better of the two Detour choices. Just ask Lena & Kristy about searching aimlessly through piles of anything. And although they didn’t know it until they started working on Salt, this Detour task was made even harder by the decoy shakers containing pepper.

Kandice & Dustin correctly reasoned that they would have a skipper to navigate the boat, and made a great choice. They were already ahead of the other teams, and though they did not know what the other teams would choose, their choice gave them an even greater advantage when everyone else initially attempted Salt.

Instead of having to drive somewhere else and dig through endless piles of salt, they simply had to walk to the docks and relax on their boat on the way to the island. The task took a bit of time, but it was not labor intensive or overly difficult, and their choice enabled them to finish in first place.

So, Dustin & Kandice, for your smart racing, and for being a real threat to become the first-ever two woman team to win The Amazing Race, take your comfy leather seats in First Class. Kick off your shoes, sit back, and relax. Your performance has far exceeded what many people expected of you when this season started. Great job!

This week’s Cargo Class is going to be a bit crowded. I’ve decided to award it to the entire Six Pack alliance. Alliances can be a great way to get through the early legs, when all that matters is that you avoid Philimination. However, once it gets down to the later stages they generally weigh the stronger teams down rather than push the weaker teams ahead. Like a chain, an alliance is only as strong as its weakest link. Erwin & Godwin (aka ErGo), Dublyn, and Mary & David proved that in this leg.

ErGo especially is showing very poor race strategy by repeatedly sacrificing themselves and waiting around after they complete tasks “for the good of their alliance.” It’s admirable behavior but it’s not going to win them the million dollars. By every indication of what makes for a strong Amazing Race team, ErGo should be up near the top of the pack. Instead, they find themselves solidly in the bottom half of the remaining teams.

Helping other teams with directions, or even with ideas of how to better complete tasks, can be a great idea if it doesn’t take anything away from their own race. In this leg, ErGo waited for their alliancemates after completing the swimming task. Stupid move. Sorry guys, I like you but it’s just not good strategy to move yourself from the front of the pack all the way to the back when it was entirely in your control. This isn’t The Amazing Trip Around the World with Your Friends, it’s The Amazing RACE! Start acting like it.

Dublyn initially realized they needed to race for themselves, and didn’t wait for the rest of the Six Packers when they arrived in Mauritius. However, they too fell into the “let’s wait for our alliancemates even though it could cost us major amounts of time” trap. It’s time to cut the alliance loose, and while Dublyn initially seemed to realize this, by the end of the leg their good strategy decisions were all gone. I’m also awarding Dublyn Cargo Class because of their ridiculous whining in the ticket counter altercation. I kept wondering why they didn’t just move over to another agent. Bad decisions on this leg all around for Dublyn.

As for Mary & David, I can’t fault them for waiting for other teams because they were the team that others were waiting for. However, their decision at the Salt Detour to leave after everyone else had left was definitely bad strategy. They knew they were most likely in last place, and put themselves even further behind the other teams when they switched tasks well after everyone else had. They should have stuck with their task and hoped to find the shaker containing the clue while at least one other team was still working on Sea. Instead they switched, and are now marked for Philimination in another leg.

The Six Pack alliance members finished at the last three teams in this leg of the race. But for a wrong turn by Mary & David, all three teams likely would have arrived at the mat at the same time and had to either outrun each other, or try to decide on some “fair” order in which to step on the mat. Is it that difficult to picture all three teams arriving together and refusing to choose? I’d love to see Phil tell them all they are Philiminated! And how ironic that on the leg where they switched their name from the Back Pack alliance to the Six Pack alliance, they all finished in the back of the pack! So, under the plane with all of you. It’s going to be crowded, but at least you’ll have each other to keep you warm.

Next week, the Intersection! And a Six Pack team has to work with Dustin & Kandice. I’ll be back with more First and Cargo Class awards, and make sure you stick with RealityNewsOnline for full coverage of The Amazing Race 10!

If you haven’t already, be sure to check out these other recent Amazing Race 10 articles:

Sandy Lamparello is an Assistant Editor for Reality News Online a Legal Editor for a publishing company in Washington, DC. She did not get a single Halloween trick-or-treater. You may reach her at realitytvjunkie@gmail.com. Ciao!

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