The Amazing Race 12: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, Episode 7 – One Team, Two Categories
by David Bloomberg
-- 12/28/2007
While Jen & Nathan have received frequent mentions in this column previously, this week it’s TK & Rachel (right) who seem to be all over the place. But those mentions appear in more than one category. Is the team Good & Bad, Good & Ugly, or – heaven forbid – Bad & Ugly?
In some past episodes this season, I have had a bit of trouble finding good, bad, and ugly moments to discuss – not so this week! We have plenty to talk about, so let’s get to it.
The Good
TK & Rachel found good information on the fastest way to get to Empoli, and didn’t share it. Anybody could get the best info, but it seems all too often teams are eager to play nice and share. So Good for TK & Rachel for being selfish!
More kudos to TK & Rachel for staying calm under pressure. No matter what has happened to these two, they have been the model of level-headed behavior. No yelling, name-calling, threatening to end the relationship – just teamwork.
Speaking of name-calling, yelling, and threatening to end the relationship, I’m going to give Jen & Nathan a Good mention for not being in the Ugly category, below, this week! Miracles do happen!
Finally, a tip of the cap to Don & Nicolas for arriving in first place this leg. I know they’re not the best racers ever and they got there via a Fast Forward, but how can you not like these two? They don’t fight, they’re fun to watch, and they just seem like two nice guys.
The Bad
Unfortunately, just as I mentioned TK & Rachel above for keeping a secret, I have to mention them here for not keeping one. When all the other teams ran past the clues in Ancona, TK & Rachel saw them – but alerted everybody else by running to them. They were behind the other teams and could have just sauntered along, allowing everybody else to run willy-nilly past them while they casually picked up the clue. Alas, they were too excited and gave it away.
Of course, that pales in comparison to TK & Rachel losing the clue. At least they kept a cool head about it and retraced their steps, luckily finding that their clue had not just been tossed in the trash. Otherwise, things could have turned quite Ugly for this team.
Speaking of TK (as I seem to be doing a lot this week), I felt bad for the poor guy during the Roadblock. I really don’t like needle-in-a-haystack Roadblocks, as we’ve seen them devastate good teams before just due to bad luck. TK was getting frustrated and I don’t blame him. I prefer tasks based on skill, strength, logic – anything but luck.
The Ugly
Kynt & Vyxsin have been very supportive of each other throughout the race. So I found it that much more uncomfortable to see them fighting in this leg. I know they were tired, but the meltdown was not pretty to watch.
The other Ugly item this week is the idea of having to get a tattoo for the race. It’s one thing, as Don noted, to have to shave your head – hair grows back. But tattoos are pretty much forever. Some people would have had a serious aversion to this and it could have cost them the race for no good reason. Making a permanent change to your body is a bit much, in my opinion.
The Unknown
We’ll keep an eye on the Speed Bump next episode, but I already have a good feeling about it. Just as I liked the U-Turn because teams had to do something to affect their own fate rather than just standing around, I also like the concept of a team having to perform an extra task rather than just losing their money or having a time penalty if they don’t come in first. Let’s hope it lives up to my expectations!
It’s nice to have more Good things to report than Bad or Ugly. It was nicer to not have to listen to Nate & Jen bitch and moan! (Hey, maybe that could be their new team nickname: Bitch & Moan.) We’ll see if it continues into next week.
If you haven’t already, be sure to check out these other recent Amazing Race 12 articles:
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