The Amazing Race 8, Episode 8: "If You Live, Let's Go Out!"

Previously on Why Can’t We Be Friends?: Five families raced to Costa Rica, where Tony Paolos ran into problems of the watery kind. He survived, of course, and wound up singing on the detour. The Linzes gained a lead on the trip back to the United States, but the Pink Ladies, who started out in last place, grabbed an earlier fight and wound up in first. In Arizona, team members rode Super Karts around a track, which made the Weavers nervous. The Pink Ladies came in first and the Bransens came in last but, fortunately, weren’t eliminated.

In the next leg, team members flew planes in loops. The Paolos ran into a number of problems, including navigational difficulties. The Weavers annoyed the Pink Ladies and ticked off the Linzes. During a detour that involved more water, the Linzes pulled ahead, but getting lost cost them first place yet again. The Pink Ladies retained the lead and the Paolos were eliminated. Four families remain:

The Godlewskis (“Pink Ladies”): Michelle, Christine, Tricia, and Sharon - Sisters/I honestly can’t believe they’re still in this

The Linzes: Alex, Megan, Tommy, and Nick - Siblings/I think they’ll go all the way

The Weavers: Linda, Rolly, Rebecca, and Rachel - Mother and kids/The less said about them, the better

The Bransens: Wally, Lauren, Beth, and Lindsay - Father and daughters/Possible silent threats

The teams are in Lake Powell, Arizona. Will the Weavers’ alienation affect their racing? Will the Linzes finally get out of second place? The Pink Ladies are the first to leave, at 5:45 a.m. To quote Lorelai from Gilmore Girls, they have one of those in the morning now? The clue tells them to travel 136 miles to Monument Valley, Utah, where they will have to find John Ford’s Point, named after a filmmaker who made the area famous in old Westerns. Christine interviews that she thought she and her sisters would talk a lot and bond, but she’s the one who’s doing all the talking. Okay, she didn’t say that, but that’s what’s going on. Christine notes that she may have been fooling herself. Sharon complains about Christine’s talking and wonders if she has a word quota she has to reach every day. The sisters note that their new form of transportation will be a camper.

The Linzes leave second. They say that they keep expecting to land in first. I thought about introducing a drinking game where you drink every time someone says “first,” but you’d all be drunk by the second page of this recap. Tommy says that every time they fall behind, they just want first place more. They try to convince themselves that this is the leg where they’ll come in first. As they get in the camper, they say that this is another chance to win. The Linzes note that the Pink Ladies are going in a different direction on the highway, probably because they need gas.

The Weavers are the third to leave. Rebecca says that they’re not naïve about where they stand among the other families. Rachel says that everyone is against them. Linda says that they can’t let it bother them. In the Linzes’ camper, they say that they keep jinxing first place. Linda tells her kids that they need to just have fun. Rachel says that they’re not thinking about what the other teams are doing and, in fact, they don’t care.

The Pink Ladies fuel up and get a map. Christine is talking. Tricia tells her to be quiet. The Bransens leave and Wally notes that when there were more teams around, they could be more cautious with their racing because they could rely on the others to screw up. Now, though, they need to race more aggressively. Would you really want to win a race just because everyone screwed up more than you? The Linzes pass a sign and wonder if it was something they should have followed. With four people in the car, you’d think one person would be paying attention. They decide not to turn around. The Weavers are happy that they’re in front of the Pink Ladies. The Pink Ladies, of course, are not happy.

The Linzes get worried about where they’re going and decide to ask for directions. They learn that they did pass their turn. The Weavers pass the turn as well. The Pink Ladies do the same but realize their mistake and start to turn around. The Weavers see them turning around. Christine helps Sharon turn, shrieking the whole time. Christine would definitely get on my nerves, too, if I were stuck in a camper with her for a couple of hours. Her sisters say that she’s crazy. The Weavers turn their camper around. As the Pink Ladies are backing up, Christine sees the Weavers approaching. On the Linzes’ way back, they pass the Weavers.

In the Bransens’ camper, Beth says that they’ve noticed the tension between the Pink Ladies and Weavers and hope that it will benefit them. Wally says they’re neutral, like Switzerland. Always smart. The Weavers arrive at John Ford’s Point. The Pink Ladies park. The Linzes park. All three teams run. The Weavers reach the clue box first and receive a clue that tells two members to take a helicopter ride to Elephant Butte, a big rock summit. The copter will take two teams up at a time. What isn’t clear is that the teams have to pull numbers to determine what order they’re going in. The Weavers pull number 1, and though the Linzes get their clue second, they don’t pull a number. The Pink Ladies grab number 2 before the Linzes realize their mistake and get number 3. They’re unhappy that they screwed up.

Rebecca and Rolly will be doing the task for the Weavers, and Michelle and Christine will be going for the Pink Ladies. Neither family talks to the other in the chopper. The teams get their clues and get back in the copter. On the ground, the other Pink Ladies tell the Linzes that they overshot the turn. They hope that there’s a Yield coming up. The Pink Ladies assure the Linzes that they have a deal - whoever reaches the Yield first will yield the Weavers.

After the copter lands, the teams read the clues, which tell them to travel 180 miles to Moab, Utah. There, they will find a rock formation called Gemini Bridges. Linda helps Rebecca back the camper out. There’s a lot of footage of people backing up campers this week. It’s about as thrilling as it sounds. The Pink Ladies are upset that the Weavers have slipped ahead of them.