Amazing Race Recap: "I've Never Looked So Foolish In My Whole Entire Life"

Last week’ s season premiere of The Amazing Race ended with the teams still racing, and no one being eliminated at the Pit Stop mat with Outback Phil. This week, all 11 teams continued on their trek through Australia. Would the Cow-bros be able to overcome the huge gap that was created last week? Who is on the verge of passing out? And why are the teams dressed like Kangaroos?

My Random Thoughts:

- First of all, I need to point out that I have an issue with this season being called "Unfinished Business." Yes, I understand that all of the teams are back for a second shot at the million dollars, but only one of these 11 teams are going to "finish" their "business" by winning the race. Know what I mean?

- I fully expected that at some point in the race, there would be some sort of language barrier between a team and a cab driver, but I certainly didn't expect it to be with an Asian cab driver...in Australia.

- Why were we seeing so many blurred faces while the teams were in Sydney? I know that CBS has to get people that appear on the race to sign a release to use their image in the show, but why were so many people in Sydney saying no? Is it a hotbed for the Witness Protection program?

- I had read last week that someone called the alliance of Luke & Margie with Jaime and Cara as "The Evil Alliance", and initially I jumped on board, but then I realized that it wasn't really fair. None of the 4 of them are really evil: Luke is a crybaby, Margie is an enabler, Jaime can sometimes be rude, and Cara is quite likeable. Maybe "Luke and The Gals" would be a better nickname, although his description of them as his 'race girlfriends' was cringe-worthy, especially after the awkward jumping up and down the 4 of them did after finding out they would be on the first flight. Did you see Luke making sure he had the redheads on either side? The look on his face was like, "Touch me, touch me." Creepy.

- I'll say that I'm incredibly impressed that Mike is 70 years old and running the race with his son, but if you're cramping up and nearly passing out on the first leg, then the future isn't looking too bright for Mel and Mike. Although Mike does get some Caring Son Points for telling Mike "I don't want to kill you for some joyride."

- Jet and Cord in wetsuits just looked awkward. I'm not sure if I've seen anything that looked so wrong on this show before. But hey, at least the City Slickers music is back when something good happpens with the Cow-Bros.

- At the Detour, the teams had to choose between Spirit World and Natural World, and all 11 of the teams picked Spirit World, which initially bothered me because, let's be honest, who doesn't want to see some good old Spit Art? But then I remembered that Amanda and Kris had to do it anyways because of the U-Turn, and I wondered how I could have forgotten that after being reminded about 13 times in the first five minutes about the U-Turn...again.
The Spirit World detour was pretty straightforward, with the teams having to complete a stone mosaic and then dance on top of it...all while accompanied by what appeared to be a homeless guy sitting cross-legged and blowing into a didgeridoo. (And if you want to hear some awesome eclectic music featuring the didgeridoo, check out my friends from Australia, Oka.) Kent made the easy part of the challenge more complicated by insisting to his partner "Vyxsin, please go get me children!" I like Kent and Vyxsin too much to make the obvious joke here.

Ron's master plan to Christina was to speak Chinese to each other so that the other teams couldn't understand them. I'm not sure that really mattered once the 10 other teams had left and they were the only ones there. Maybe they should have found that cab driver.

- Amanda and Kris breezed through the Spit Art, and as out-of-place as it was too watch a boyfriend teach his girlfried HOW to spit (sorry, couldn't resist), I had to wonder if it was so quick to complete (and it appeared to be...not just due to editing), then why didn't any of the other teams choose it?

- Do you think the teams this season were coached in advance on the use of "freakin'" and "frickin'" this season, because we're hearing it a LOT more than usual?

- I have to say, I really liked the task the teams had to do by solving a clue from the periodic table. I was thoroughly impressed that Kent (from his A in chemistry) was immediately able to identify the elements as Mercury and Bismuth (and not Bitunia or Business, as Ron suggested), while other teams resorted to the lame-ass strategy of "find someone with a Blackberry or iPhone."

- The Kangaroo suits were absolutely ridiculous...and awesome at the same time. I had to wonder if the Big Brother costume department, who has used unitards, Banana costumes, and Penguin costumes, was responsible for those outfits. To be fair, I'm sure that Kisha & Jen, Luke & Margie, and Jaime & Cara all had no problem with them, because at least they weren't running around St. Petersburg in their underwear in the winter like last time.

And the Globetrotters in the Kangaroo suits looked more ridiculous than anyone. Let me amend what I said a little earlier about the Cowboys in the wetsuits being the thing that looked the most wrong on the show.

- At the end of the Kangaroo task, the teams were given their Route Info directing them to the Pit Stop, which suggested "you may want to put on other shoes before driving." May? MAY? Are you telling me this isn't a specific requirement? How could it possibly be legal for them to drive without taking them off?

- Zev and Justin came in first on this leg, and how can you possibly not like these two and want to root for them? When I initially saw the cast list for this season, I wasn't too interested in seeing them back because, let's be honest, other than losing their passports, there wasn't really anything that memorable in their 4 episodes during their season (other than Zev the Duck Whisperer, which was pretty funny), but I'm getting on board with Zev and Justin now.

- Amanda and Kris were unable to overcome their 2nd U-Turn, and although they declared that they had won the lottery (Really? Being eliminated first is like winning the lottery?), it was another forgettable season for them. I suggest they embrace their Amazing Race legacy, and just get matching tattoos of the U-Turn symbol.

- Last week, I implemented a season-long “Goth” count for Kent and Vyxsin, and an “Oh My Gravy” count (currently at 1) for Jet and Cord. Well, earlier this week, Kent actually contacted me and playfully asked how many times they said it in the first episode. I must admit, it was a grand total of ZERO, and the Goths were obviously a victim of TAR editing in Season 12, since nobody really thought they walked around saying things like "We're the Gothy Gothersons from Gothville." Your point was very valid, Kent. Glad you're enjoying the blog.

Although, after tonight, I thought it may be a better idea to institute a whiny "Mommmmm" count from Luke, but I'm not sure I can count that high.

Next Week: Japan, Mudslinging, and a Fire-Headed Fender-Bender.

Amazing Race fans, feel free to bookmark the site or add your name as a Follower on the sidebar to the left. You can also add me on Facebook or Twitter, where I post all of my recaps (and other Random Thoughts) as soon as they go up. Don’t forget to mouse over the pictures for captions, and please leave a Comment in the Comments section if you’re so inclined. Also, if you’re a Survivor fan, be sure to check back on Wednesday nights for weekly recaps on Survivor: Redemption Island.

Also, a special hello to my new friends at TV Clubhouse. Looking forward to getting to know you all better in the coming weeks!

Related Posts:
EW.com Amazing Race Recap
Spoiler TV Recap

Photo credits: Reality Fan Forum and CBS.com