Amazing Race Recap - "Oh Man, Oman"

Last week I pointed out that Nick and Vicki were not forced to do a Speed Bump. One of the commenters here and on Spoiler TV explained that the reason this happened is because the previous week, in the Piano Detour, apparently they gave the correct answer but were told it was wrong. So they ended up being last, even though they should have arrived at the mat much earlier.

While I understand the logic, I think that it was inexcusable that CBS did not offer an explanation for this situation instead of assuming they could sneak this by their loyal, regular viewers. This was all anyone was talking about last week, and it’s insulting that it wasn’t addressed on the show.

For this week’s episode, the teams were off to Oman. Would the long-awaited proposal from Meathead Chad finally happen? Would Mallory get help from the heavens, as she seems to ask for every week? And on a scale of 1 to 10, how happy do you think I am that I live and watch The Amazing Race in Canada, where I can happily view the episode at 8:00 ET every Sunday, without waiting for football delays?

My Random Thoughts:

- After last week’s near-elimination for Chad and Stephanie, don’t you think that would have been a HUGE wake-up call for them to be on their game and make sure not to miss any details. I mean, after Phil tells you that you’re the last ones to arrive, AND you have a penalty…and then you find out that someone messed up even worse, and you’re still in the Race, how on earth could you possibly miss the start of your next leg? I know that their two hour sleep-in only resulted in them being behind by 10 minutes on their flight, but it’s still idiotic.

- So how does Chad decide that they should deal with this turn of events? The penalties, the near-elimination, and then missing your scheduled race start by 2 hours? He decides that NOW is the perfect time to propose…in the romantic hotbed of Oman? (and was the commercial break mid-proposal really necessary, when it had already been teased in the preview this week) Ok, I’ll drop the harsh exterior and give Chad some credit for using his mom’s ring, but any warming of the heart that I may have started to feel was immediately removed the moment the ‘Dating’ descriptor for Chad and Stephanie changed to a sparkly ‘Engaged.’ Gag.

- I loved how Chad talked about the fact that “no one has beat us”, because they’ve been causing their own problems that are preventing them from winning. What a horrible analogy. If you’re running in the 100 Meter Dash at the Olympics, and you fall coming out of the starting blocks…you know the guy that finishes first? He still beat you. And he still gets the gold medal.

- Brainiac Nick declared that “it takes just as long to look at the map and try to get an understanding of it, as it does to ask a local that, for sure, knows to where to tell you to go.” That actually made me laugh out loud, to think that some random local is a better directional option THAN A MAP. The problem is that Nick can’t read maps, and…some people out there in our nation…don’t have maps. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist) If you can’t read a map, then yes, the ‘talk to a local’ method is your best option, but don’t try to tell the world that the map is a bad idea. Nick then classily followed up his map ineptitude by doing what he always does: having a tantrum and yelling at Vicki, threatening to go home if she did anything else stupid, and saying that he was “ laughing at (her) dumb ass.”- How hard did you laugh when you saw that there was a second rappelling task on this season…and that Thomas the Master Rapeller wasn’t going to get to do it? And while we’re on the subject of classy boyfriends, did you love how he felt he had to correct Jill on the pronunciation of ‘rappel’?

- Jill: “I definitely do have a fear of heights. Just in a really high area.” Um…ok.

- Nick and Vicki encountered a flat tire, and Nick took his rage out on the tire iron, kicking it to loosen the nuts on the wheel. I absolutely loved the shot of Nick under the vehicle working to change the tire…because he was actually pumping the jack DOWN instead of up. I’m serious…go back and watch it again!

Earlier this season, I had a discussion with a fellow Amazing Race fan who reads and comments here, about the number of flat tires on the show. He suggested that the show, and vehicles, were rigged so that there would be flat tires on the show periodically. I said I didn’t think so, and he said to me “How many times have you had to change a flat tire?” I told him that I had to change 2 in the past year…and since we had that conversation in early October, I’ve had to change a third now.

- When Chad and Stephanie saw Jill and Thomas already pumping water from their water truck when they arrived at the Detour address, Stephanie said that she was pissed. Ok, forget about the near-elimination and oversleeping (covered above), but if I was Stephanie, I would be more pissed about the fact that my truck was equipped with a blurry camera, and that I have a water truck driver who is checking his blackberry as he’s driving!

Then Stephanie talked about how when she and Chad find a way to make it up front in the race, someone else finds a spot to “weasel their way in” to pass them. Ok, let’s use the 100 Meter Dash analogy again: if you’re leading the race, and then you’re not…nobody ‘weaseled’ their way in…they just beat you. And once again, they get the medal, not you.

- In last week’s recap, I wondered if the “you can’t pay a taxi to lead you” rule was across the board, or just a single instruction. I guess Jill and Thomas found out the hard way. No Belize for you.

- Upon finding out that they were Team #1, Chad did the most awkward girlish scream/jump on the mat. I’m sure his football buddies won’t mention it at all.

- The “Ali Baba In A Suit” challenge was significantly easier for trailing teams Nat and Kat and Gary and Mallory because the shop that Ali Baba was located in, was the only one open at the time they were at the market!

- Gary and Mallory arrived at the location from their first clue at 8:43 pm viewing time, after driving for nine hours. They never had a shot in this one, even though Mallory apparently turned into Flavor Flav, dropping a “Yeeee-uh” when she thought she saw another team. Did Gary really say Mallory was the “boy I never had?” Wow, way to tug on the heartstrings, dad.

Next week: Bangladesh stinks, and the premiere of the Double U-Turn.

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Related Posts:
Josh Wolk’s Amazing Race Recap
Darren Franich’s EW.com Amazing Race Recap

Spoiler TV Recap