The Amazing Race 9, Episode 8 Insider: The I in Team

First off, thanks to all who sent recipes for vanilla vodka and limoncello. I plan on putting them to good use in the near future!

Why oh WHY the major bunching? Way to negate an awesome fast forward, oh Powers That Be. That’s as lame as a non-elimination leg that includes a yield. And, why oh WHY the addiction to needle-in-the-haystack tasks this season? We’ve had one like every frickin’ episode! One or two in a season is fine, but we’ve had TONS! Talk about penalizing the good racers. Oh, and CBS, while I’m bitching at you, one more thing. ENOUGH with the faux drama, hyped out build up at the end every single, goddamned time. Look, it’s okay to have someone definitively in last place. Don’t f*** with us for the sake of “drama” because if your show is good, the appeal lies in the show itself, not your falsely tense editing.

This week’s episode ended with my least-favorite team in first. I must give them kudos for being able to navigate well. Fran knows her way around a map, even if she can’t pronounce “Oman” properly. But, Frankenberry? You NEVER came off as the “congenial grandparents,” so don’t fool yourselves. I bet you’re awesome in real life, but in the game, you still annoy. And not in the “god I love to hate them” sort of way, but in the “why are you still here, you hapless fools” sort. Your double standards annoy me. It’s okay for YOU to be complete jackasses to people, but if Lake irritates you, you preach to the camera about playing the game nicely. Deal with it, ya know?

Oh, and CBS, your best clips weren’t working so blah on you!

Grand Tour: The hippies drive behind their guide, who decides they need the world tour, because he pulls over in front of a gorgeous mosque. The hippies get out to see why he’s stopping, and the guy explains they MUST go visit this very impressive place later. Back in the car, the hippies appreciate how awesome it is, but need to race. They hope he doesn’t do it again, but he does. It’s brief though.

Hit & Run: BJ & Tyler pull up next to a beat up little truck and BJ takes the map to the hood of their vehicle while the truck’s driver gets out to discuss directions. Tyler, in a moment of sheer blonde, puts his foot on the gas, lurching forward. Fortunately, BJ and the man jump quickly out of the way, and Tyler quickly hits the brake. Tragedy averted. They all get in vehicles and begin to follow the truck to the pit stop. In the car, BJ & Tyler joke about Tyler’s ditziness. Tyler snarks that it’s because BJ did the task so slow. Hah!

More of the Same: This was to be the extended edition of Ray & Yolanda’s fight, but it came up FILE NOT FOUND. Bah! I wanted to see what started it all, because what we saw did NOT constitute a worthy reason to argue for two frickin’ days.

Bad Attitudes: Yolanda & Ray argue. Well, Yolanda argues. Ray tries to race. Yolanda is totally pissy and claims Ray has attitude. Meanwhile, she RADIATES attitude. She says his attitude isn’t good for the team, and he snarks right back that she is the “I” in team, just like Terrell Owens. Cackle! He says something relatively sincere, and she jumps on it as having attitude. She says it back in a thoroughly nasty tone, which is NOT how he said it, but is how she obviously perceived it. Yikes. She wants to talk about yesterday, i.e. the fight on the bridge. He asks what she wants to hear about yesterday, and she tells him never mind. He says to just tell him how she wants to do this, should he just listen like he’s a student? Then tell him when he can talk. Let me tell you, that totally set her off. The dude’s got a point though. He chortles as he drives over the idiocy of it all. He seriously looks filled with disbelief over this, and I don’t blame him. She blames him for not taking responsibility for his actions, but I do not see her claiming any responsibility in this. He’s trying to race, and she keeps arguing.

Parting Shots: On the way to the pit stop, Yolanda, like a yappy terrier with a bone, pushes Ray’s buttons some more and states they deserve to come in last because they aren’t racing well together. She says they’ll try to fight through it, but then slams Ray some more. She says it’s hard to deal with someone with an attitude. GOOD GOD, WOMAN. Ray just laughs a bit deprecatingly and tells the camera that we’ve heard one version of the story. He’s just trying to get to the castle, but there’s been a communication breakdown. But, he explains, Yolanda knows it’s his fault. Heh.

Deep Thoughts: Eric & Jeremy cross the bridge towards the busses and contemplate the wisdom of jumping off the bridge. This is approximately two minutes of amusing guy talk as they discuss the logistics of how high they would jump off something into the water, and whether or not they would have to swim to shore. Being lazy, they envision a boat would be there to pick them up. Heh. I like these two.

Not So Friendly Faces: Eric & Jeremy let us know that Ray & Yolanda rarely talk to anyone, and they look too focused and miserable. They both agree that Ray & Yo are cool people, but are just overly focused. The Frats know how to balance, and they have fun no matter winning or losing. Yep, exactly. They do not know how someone can be miserable doing a race like this. They got to run through deep water in someone else’s car. How cool was that? Hah! Again, I like these two.