The Amazing Race Review: No Baby For You

At the top of the show, we find out that Justin, OF my new favorite team The Siblings, is gay and he first came out to his sister Jennifer. It’s a nice story for the Siblings to tell, but it gets me thinking - why is The Amazing Race just now sharing this personal anecdote? If I was paranoid, I’d be worried that whenever the show prominently features a specific team in an episode it usually means their time is up.

But that can’t be the case, can it? I’m just being silly. Justin & Jennifer have been racing so well lately, there’s no way…oh, they were just eliminated. Well that’s a bummer.

The Amazing Race loves to get viewers to relate to the contestants, and then, once you’re trapped into feeling for them, BAM! They boot them off the show. They do this until the teams you have come to hate and/or feel complete apathy for are the only ones left.

I still love the show though.

The Race is still in Malawi, and for the first time that I can recall it shows where the racers stay for the night following last episodes Pit Stop. They sleep in tiny huts with the beds they have to carry. It’s refreshing to witness a rarely seen side of the Race.

The teams then headed out very early the next morning to catch a bus. They’re warned there will be a dreaded Double U-Turn this leg of the race, in which a team can force another team to do both challenges of a Detour.

Marcus and Amani are the last ones to arrive to the bus station and they have to tell a little white lie to get on the bus with the rest of the teams. During the cross country trip Marcus takes a moment to reflect on the Malawi landscape and what it means to be African-American. The Ex-NFL star and his wife also have to complete a Speed Bump, in the form of a slide puzzle of the flag of Malawi, once they reach their destination. I don’t think I ‘ve ever solved a slide puzzle in my life, and I’m pretty sure this “speed bump” would have taken me hours to complete. They, however, finish it just fine and move on to the next challenge.

At the Roadblock, one team member became the driver of a bike taxi, with a passenger riding on the back carrying some fresh fish to deliver to nearby residences. People have trouble balancing their bikes, especially people like Cathi who can’t seem to keep her balance while just standing in place. Sandy and Laurence both go the wrong way before turning around and getting on the right track. Cindy does really well and even finds time to complain about the local kids saying, “This is nuts, I don’t know what these kids are doing not in school,” Snowboarder Andy’s bike literally falls apart, but with some help from some locals he’s able to kind of fix it well enough to finish the task.

Jennifer is already in last place when she realizes she left her clue back with her brother, Justin, and doesn’t know what she has to do to complete the Roadblock. So she does what everybody watching the show, screaming at the TV, urges her not to do, and just waits for another contestant to come along with the information.

She ends up waiting a LONG time. Why she didn’t automatically go back on her bike, I don’t know. Why she didn’t do anything else but wait around confused is beyond me. Watching her wait like that  might have been the most frustrating point in the entire season. She later apologizes for her mistake, but it ultimately costs them the race and I was really rooting for them.

Gigantic Lake Malawi is the next destination after the bike taxi challenge. The teams arrive to find a large group of people singing and dancing by a crystal clear lake with mountains in the distance (quite a sight). Ernie and Cindy get there first with Andy and Tommy close behind. They then find out they either had to “Dugout” or “Lugout.” For “dugout”  they have to participate in a traditional dug-out canoe race. For “lugout” the teams have to wade through the lake and unload a ferryboat by carrying items and people on their shoulders to the beach.

Andy and Tommy choose the canoe race and quickly become experts (remember they are good at everything). They also have the best time, which is also unexpected at this point.

Ernie and Cindy struggle with the canoe, and freak out a little about the other racers using the U-Turn, deciding to use the Express Pass they earned by winning the first leg of the race. This lets them skip the challenges and go directly to the Pit Stop. Their reasoning for using it was good, but they did have five other teams still behind them at this point They are just a very wound up couple that doesn’t handle pressure well.

Jeremy and Sandy start off the canoe race by going in circles, but they eventually get the hang of it. Even though they argue and snap at each other the entire way. Sandy mentions how team Ma and Pa, also doing the canoe, are embarrassing them with how well they’re performing, and I have to agree. Bill and Cathi are really impressive in the race. Lawrence and Zac also canoe, but aren’t as good as sailors should be.

Amani and Marcus decide to unload the boat, which I thought was a good choice for them because of Marcus’ strength.  Marcus carriea passengers on his shoulders while Amani hauls wood, an oscillating fan, and other items to shore. At one point,  tired of carrying grown people, Marcus aska if there are any babies on the boat for him to carry back. A passenger responded, “ No baby for you.”

I wish this was the title of the episode.

After the detour, the teams have to find a race marker that contains the Double U-Turn and clue that tells them to check in at the Pit Stop. Several teams get lost trying to find the marker including, Ernie and Cindy, who waste so much time trying to find it they end up in a foot race with the Snowboarders  to check in at the mat and Phil. Andy and Tommy narrowly beat them, winning their fifth leg of the race. Cindy and Ernie aren’t happy about it at all, especially after using their Express Pass. Cindy seems really bothered by not being first.

All the teams decide not to use the U-turn, except for Laurence and Zac who use it on Marcus and Amani. They didn’t know that Marcus and Amani were ahead of them already, so it didn’t matter, but this shows the difference between the teams. The other teams didn’t feel the need to U-Turn anybody, which was smart because Justin and Jennifer were way behind everybody else, but Laurence and Zac used it anyway not thinking of the consequences.

Bill and Cathi came in third followed by Amani and Marcus, Laurence and Zac and Jeremy and Sandy. Jennifer and Justin were the last team to check in and were eliminated from the race. Justin talked about their rocky start and how they were able to turn things around and run a good race. He’s right and I’m sorry to see them go. Just one mistake can cost you the race.

Quote of the Episode: Sandy (after riding the bike taxi with a very uncomfortable seat) “I’m not going to be able to have kids.”

For another opinion on this episode, read “A Hope Renewed” by Keshaunta Moton.

Season 19, Episode 7 “Move Goat” (original airdate November 6, 2011)

The Amazing Race airs Sunday nights at 8/7c on CBS

Images courtesy of Robert Voets and CBS Broadcasting.