The Amazing Race 9, Episode 10 Insider: Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport

And take me Mojo back, Jack! Seriously. Anyone else sick of their whining? Fortunately, there is a bit of a redemption in the Insider clips, for which I am glad. Basically, of the final four remaining, I’m okay with any of them, but I’d really like to see it be a hippie/frat boy race to the finish.

I must also add, though: DAAAAAMMMMMNNNNN! Was that an awesome ending last week or what? Sure it was a NEL (non-elimination leg), but talk about edge-of-the-seat racing. Usually, it’s just the producers effing with me, so I don’t care. This time, though, it was real drama (the kind we like) and not faux drama (the kind, DEAR producers, we don’t like), so I was cheering at the TV screen, vanilla vodka-spiked hot chocolate and all.

Before I get right into the clips, I just must say: frat boys, canceling the cabs was hysterical. Down and dirty, but totally hysterical. Somewhere, Boston Rob is watching and thinking, “Why didn’t I do that?!”

Hippies Got a Brand New Bag: At the airport, Eric & Jeremy present BJ & Tyler with some plaid plastic bags with handles. They all joke around about what a fortune the Frats spent on them and how it will make it hard to yield them. Heh. It almost matches Tyler’s shirt. Eric & Jeremy tell the Hippies they definitely are going to make out with them. Snicker. These four’s unapologetic sense of fun and competitiveness is great. Well, three. Tyler is a bit apologetic about things. He’s an Odie! Tyler tells the Frats they can cancel their taxi any time. The Frats explain they’ve hired a car for BJ & Tyler, but if the driver takes them somewhere wrong, it’s really not their fault. More good-natured humor from my favorite four.

Calm & Collected: BJ & Tyler drive towards the yield, and BJ eerily predicts what will happen almost to a T. He says they will follow Mojo to the yield area and then make it a footrace to the yield, where BJ & Tyler will win, and they will yield Mojo. That’s pretty much exactly what happened. Sheesh! They also say Mojo will freak out. Check. BJ explains it is purely entertainment to yield Mojo, because Joseph will freak. BJ & Tyler would be all calm about it, but they know Joseph will go bonkers. They joke he’ll take a plane and just start smashing it. Apparently, BJ shot the breeze with Joseph and Eric one night while those two shared stories of the fights they’d been in. He gives a few examples of Joseph talking about kicking someone around on the ground because of calling him a redneck. Heh. If the shoe fits, Cinderella… BJ is flabbergasted. He goes to bars to drink a few drinks and talk to ladies. Joseph apparently goes to fight.

Make a Wish: This is more the old Ray & Yo, laughingly getting along. Of course, Yolanda doesn’t stop talking. But she never does, does she? They are at a fountain at night, and she is going to make a wish with a coin they can’t exchange into local currency anyway. She explains that she doesn’t really believe in it. Positive thinking is what makes wishes come true. Ray questions why she is doing it then. Pretty much, it comes down to superstition. She’s doing it just in case! She doesn’t express it that succinctly, but that’s what she means. You know how bad you are when I can be more succinct than you?! She tosses the coin and makes some sort of special effect sound like, “Bim!” Yeah. Bim. I have no clue either.

Trash Talk: Ray & Yo talk with BJ & Tyler, who mention they gave the money back. Good! Some people were snarking on message boards that the Hippies probably didn’t do that, and how icky that is, etc. I’m glad we know for sure, and those naysayers can go on to snark about things they KNOW rather than idle speculations. So there. Yolanda calls the boys out, though, and lets us know that they are much different animals when they are in last place versus even just one slot ahead of Ray & Yo. She also says they were embarrassed to be last. Tyler clarifies. They were embarrassed not to have been last and lost their stuff, but to have to beg. She acknowledges that, then yammers some more about how they are more into trash talking if they are ahead of someone. This is all very good-natured, fortunately.

Coming Clean: Mojo remarks at the airport that everyone lies in this game. We see that all the teams are there. Eric admits the Frats cancelled the taxis and explains that karma worked out because theirs didn’t show up either. BJ & Tyler are more amused than anything. Ray, however, is less than thrilled. He claims it to be dumb, since they are all bunched at the airport. Eric & Jeremy rightly defend that it was not dumb, but it was wasted. If it delayed someone enough to miss a flight, then it would have been useful. Yolanda remarks that Jeremy is a good guy, but Eric isn’t. Eric claims he’s a good guy, too; this is game, and nothing is personal.

Side note: I just finished reading a book entitled I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell by Tucker Max. If you are politically incorrect and have a good sense of humor, read this book. I say this now because I think Tucker Max is probably the Frats’ hero. Being non-PC and possessing more than the average sense of humor, I laughed until I cried reading this. When the other half demanded I read funny parts out loud, there were times I literally could not speak. I have not enjoyed a book this much in ages. So there, your book recommendation for the week.