The Amazing Race 9, Episode 8: It’s Getting Hot in Here

Previously on Greece Frightening: Six teams left Sicily, but they didn’t leave their tensions behind (especially not Michelle & Lake). In Greece, Eric & Jeremy broke plates and found the fast forward, leaving Monica & Joseph to return to their regularly-scheduled leg. Ray loved the bungee-jumping roadblock, but Fran, not so much. Lake & Michelle argued all over Greece while BJ & Tyler drove all over Greece. Fortunately for the hippies, the bickering couple raced even worse than them, arriving last even after Tyler & BJ drove two hours out of their way and were the last team to do the detour. Five teams are left:

Eric & Jeremy - Friends/Probably would have been first even without the fast forward

Monica & Joseph (Mojo) - Dating/Race better when they’re calm

Ray & Yolanda - Dating/Sentimental favorites/Would be second if they’d read the clue more closely

Fran & Barry (Frankenberry) - Married/Sentimental favorites/Probably the next to go

BJ & Tyler - Friends/Sentimental favorites/In trouble for the first time

Phil greets us from the Fortress of Rion in Greece. I want to go to Greece; every picture I’ve seen of it has been beautiful. Will Jeremy & Eric keep beating everyone? Will Tyler & BJ get out of last place? Eric & Jeremy are the first to leave at 11:54 p.m. Their clue sends them to Muscat, Oman, 2,300 miles away. There, they will have to find a giant incense burner. Oh, no. We’re back to oversized items. Jeremy & Eric read more of the clue than Phil shared with us; they’ll have to go to a visitor’s center and sign up for one of two charter buses. The guys say that the other teams have gotten used to being behind them. They’re just faster and navigate better. The two are the first on a 9 a.m. charter bus.

Mojo are off next, noting how frustrating it is to have bad luck. Monica says they have to do this on their own and not rely on the others. Ray & Yolanda are the third to leave and head for the bridge they have to cross to get to the visitor’s center. Yolanda interviews that there’s a lot of joking in their relationship, but a lot of jokes that most people wouldn’t say. That means that it’s harder to tell when people get serious. As per example, Ray swears (saying they’re crossing the “damn bridge”) and Yolanda takes more offense than she probably should. (He wasn’t swearing at her; he was calling the bridge names.) She tells him seriously to stop swearing and to think about what he’s doing. He shuts up, mostly because I think he wants her to talk herself out until she’s ready to listen. Then she accuses him of giving her the finger. He reminds her that he’s a grown man. You guys! Be nice! You’re my favorite team now; you can’t fight!

Guess what? The visitor’s center doesn’t open until 9 a.m. It doesn’t really matter, though, because the teams on the second bus can’t leave until the bus leaves, so it’s not technically an equalizer. Frankenberry leave fourth and Fran calls Oman “Omen.” No, no, no. She’s never heard of Oman? With all of her traveling? Fran interviews that their goal is to move up at least a spot. They’re not as physical as the other teams, but they have the endurance. They’re the fourth team on the first bus. BJ & Tyler leave fifth, happy about their second chance.

The first bus leaves at 9 and the hippies aren’t on it. The other four teams spot them crossing the bridge and the hippies run to the visitor’s center, yelling, “Wait for us!” Alas, they can’t leave until 10. At the airport, Frankenberry get a flight through Bahrain that lands at 10:50 p.m. They won’t tell Eric & Jeremy anything but everyone follows Frankenberry anyway. Eric & Jeremy and Mojo figure out which flight they got and get tickets to it as well. Barry interviews that they’re past being the kindly grandparents. I never thought they were.

Tyler & BJ are all alone on the 10 a.m. bus and are entertaining themselves by pretending that the “ghosts of [their] fallen comrades” are with them. They say hi to Lake, whom BJ impersonates with, “Hey, you guys think there’s gonna be an early flight to Oman? You guys find out about one, you better tell us, okay? We’re partners.” He says Dave & Lori are kissing each other and “the pink girls” are wondering if Oman is in China. Hee. The hippies arrive at the airport and decide to find out what flight the others are on. Eric & Jeremy and Mojo play dumb, but the hippies catch on. “Crap, that was my dumb face, wasn’t it?” Eric asks. So many jokes, so little time. The hippies find out that the earliest flight is the one Frankenberry are on, but it looks full. Eric & Jeremy and Mojo think the hippies are mad that they didn’t help.

Jeremy & Eric, Mojo, and Ray & Yolanda all get on the same flight as Frankenberry. Tyler & BJ get a flight that lands at 11:45 p.m. Flying. Muscat. Call to prayer. The first flight lands and the teams look for the parking lot. Eric & Jeremy are surprised by how clean Oman is. They think McDonald’s looks like a temple. Monica says that Americans think they’re rich but the people in Oman who are wealthy are “crazy rich.” Ray isn’t sure what language people speak in Oman (that would be Arabic), but he can’t read the signs.

At the airport, Tyler & BJ have picked themselves up a local who is taking them to the park where they’ll find the incense burner. Eric & Jeremy are there first, but the gates don’t open until 6 a.m. Mojo are next, followed by Yolanda & Ray and Frankenberry. The hippies pull in last and are happy they haven’t lost any time. In their car, Yolanda is confronting Ray about their argument, saying that she was just teasing him and he “flipped the script.” Ray interviews that they’ve never spent more than four days together, so they’re seeing new sides to each other. Yolanda says that they’re not communicating well, but they’ll have to work on things and get through this.