The Amazing Race – Liz and Marie battle an umbrella-ella-ella

Now this is the kind of Amazing Race episode I enjoy! It’s about time they put the teams through some real physical challenges, and this week the producers just about wore them all out … except for Andy & Tommy, who seem to have boundless energy.

After a week where not much happened and team order basically stayed the same, I wanted to keep track of who the first and last teams to start the leg were: first was Andy & Tommy and last was Liz & Marie. Andy & Tommy and Laurence & Zak had a good lead on the other six teams as they boarded their flight to Thailand. The other six had a flight about two hours behind the first one … and they ended up getting into Phuket an hour earlier! Those first two teams were a little shocked, but instead of upending the order, the first clue was locked down until 8 AM the next morning so instead of an airport equalizer, we got a marina equalizer.

Andy & Tommy quickly regained the lead and basically blew threw every challenge, and there were some tough ones this week. At the Detour, teams had to help rebuild a coral bed or set up beach chairs and umbrellas according to a set already in place. Five teams went for the coral and three went for the prep, with Liz & Marie first at the beach … because they were lifeguards at one point in their lives (except they had other people who set up the chairs and umbrellas). Andy & Tommy had no problem with the coral bed construction, even with a strong current that kept pulling them off their mark. Even the season’s most dysfunctional team, Justin and Jennifer, managed to get everything in place even with Jennifer’s constant complaining. They were the only two teams to complete the challenge when everyone else gave up and tackled the beach prep.

Now, setting up chairs and umbrellas seems like an easy enough challenge … if you have some muscle and the ability to pay attention to your diagram. It’s bad enough everyone was in such a hurry that they didn’t seem to realize the chairs had to be placed on a specific rung, but trying to set up umbrellas in the wind ain’t no picnic. Just ask Liz (or Marie – they’re twins and I can’t tell them apart), who got conked in the back of the head, or who watched her umbrellas fly across the beach with every gust of wind. The poor girls just did not have the strength to plant those umbrellas into the sand to stabilize them. While they were first at the beach, they were last to complete the task.

On the way to the Road Block, Ernie and Cindy read their compass wrong and headed south instead of north, as directed, and on the way to the Pit Stop, Laurence and Zak had problems with their navigation … after Laurence proclaimed Zak’s worldwide naviagtional skills would help them get ahead of the others. Instead, they ended up following another team to the Pit Stop. Ouch. Once there, Amani and Marcus also had problems navigating their way to the floating arena … even though there were signs with arrows that said “This way to floating arena” as they arrived. Maybe the teams are getting too used to relying on cab drivers to get them around.

In the end, the equalizer may have affected the outcome of the leg, but with the Detour difficulties it may not. Andy & Tommy earned their third first place finish and won $5000 each. Justin & Jennifer came in second and Liz & Marie finsihed as they started … dead last. But they were surprised with a non-elimination leg (another one already?) so they will have a chance to redeem themselves if they can get past the Speed Bump in the next leg.

Andy & Tommy have really grown on me — even though I complained last week about them giving other teams the answer to the Buddah counting challenge — but they seem to be really good guys, physically strong but they don’t rub it in anyone’s face, and just people you’d want to hang out with. After this leg, they’ve become the team I’m rooting for. Who would you like to see win this season of The Amazing Race?

Clacked by Chuck Duncan
on Oct 16, 2011 @ 23:25 EST5EDT