The Amazing Race 9, Episode 4: First Class and Cargo Class Awards

Before I begin, I want to thank the readers who wrote to remind me about the time penalty that most likely would have been assessed against Wanda & Desiree if they had not completed the roadblock in last week’s episode. I forgot about that provision, so thank you for the reminder!

By now you have undoubtedly read Jenn’s scintillating recap, so you know who did what during this leg. So now, it’s time for the First and Cargo Class Awards.

I had a hard time with the awards this week. I didn’t really think anyone stood out either way. I wanted to give First Class to the Roaming Gnome, just because, but decided I had better give it to an actual racer. I mean really, which team’s Gnome would have accepted the award? I imagined a horrible Gnome scrum culminating in flying hats and legs, leaving the Gnomes resembling the halves in the field where they were hiding during the roadblock. Not pretty. And a potential mess for someone to clean up.

First Class this week goes to Dave & Lori, aka Team Frink. Had last week’s episode ended in Philimination they wouldn’t even be in the race any more. Dave properly realized how lucky they were, and that they needed to step it up to remain in the race. They ended up on the last flight to Germany, but were first to get a cab when they got off the train in Stuttgart. This allowed them to arrive at the Wall of Death task behind only the teams who were on the earlier flights.

Frink also started out this leg working with Monica & Joseph, aka Team Mojo. They shared a cab from the trolley detour to Red Square, and seemed to be working together again when they first arrived in Germany. However, Frink quickly realized that they needed to break off from Mojo and continue the leg on their own. They completed the bottle-breaking detour quickly, and finished the leg in fifth place, well out of danger of Philimination. They realized what they needed to do to pull themselves up, and they did it. Great job Frink, now head onto that plane and curl up in the oversized leather seats!

This week’s Cargo Class award is going to Dani & Danielle, aka Double D. Double D just seemed to be following everyone else on this leg, instead of taking charge of their own race. They followed Wanda & Desiree, aka Team Boricua, the wrong way on the Autobahn - not once but twice! After the first wrong turn I would have made an effort to find my own way instead of just blindly following them again. And even when Double D saw where Boricua were going the second time, they STILL followed them. I was literally screaming at my TV when they did that.

The final thing that led me to award Double D Cargo Class was that the one time on this leg that they DID take charge of their own race, they got lost anyway. They finished the Slap It detour quickly and were leaving as Boricua arrived. They should have been in no danger of Philimination. However, they ended up reaching the pit stop at the same time as Boricua, and but for the foot race their time on the race would be over. For these reasons, Double D will be riding under the plane.

So there it is. Next week’s episode involves laundry and meltdowns. Join me for next week’s awards, and stay with Reality News Online for all things Amazing Race. Ciao!

Sandy Lamparello is an Assistant Editor for Reality News Online and a Legal Editor for a publishing company in Washington, DC. You may reach her at realitytvjunkie@gmail.com. She doesn’t care whether you agree or disagree, she just wants to hear from you!

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