Amazing Race: Week 10

The Episode

The final four teams battle for a spot in the finals. Before the episode began, it seemed like a no-brainer. But this game is made for surprises.

The Beginning: Teams spent the entire leg in Moscow. There was a lot of travel from place to place to place. Combine that with a detour task that was essentially a choice between different types of public transportation, and this was probably the most travel-heavy leg of the season.

The four remaining teams left the pit stop headed to a park for their first clue. Andrew and Dan took a cab that drove for forty minutes before arriving at the wrong park, so it appeared that their fate was sealed. The right park must have been very close by, because they were soon in the thick of things with the other three teams.

From the park, teams went to a Russian submarine, where "an actor from the movie 'Hunt for Red October'" gave them their next clue.

In the opening stages, Nick and Starr established a small lead which appeared to be due to their hustle. Dallas and Toni were in second. Ken and Tina, in third place, were in bicker mode, which seems to happen whenever Ken is a little crabby and therefore disinclined to take all the crap that Tina constantly dishes out.

The Roadblock: This artfully-designed roadblock asked which member was good at solving mysteries. The participating members were asked to go through a park of retired statues and count up the representations of Stalin, and Lenin. They then had to travel to a bookstore and string the two numerals together to get a single number, which they gave to a bookstore clerk. If they were wrong, they had to wait 10 minutes before trying again. If they were right (6 Stalins + 2 Lenins = 62), they received a book, which had a clue to their next destination on page 62.

Nick took the task for his team, and sailed through without a single hitch.

Dallas took the task next, and he wound up at the bookstore just a little bit ahead of Tina. They each had the number wrong, and decided to try to work together to come up with the right answer. It just so happened that, after making this mutually beneficial decision, Tina was more of a help to Dallas than Dallas was to Tina. So she was sure to lord this over Dallas, telling him that he owed her. She then told Toni that she had helped Dallas, so that Toni would be sure to know that she, too, owed Tina. Ken gave her a hard time for helping another team at this critical point in the game (he called it "bullcrap"), and Tina, having already portrayed it as a saintly act of charity, was forced to own this and admit he was right. Of course, in reality, they both benefited by comparing numbers and utilizing each others incorrect guesses to get the right answer, but that doesn't fit Tina's worldview, I guess.

Anyway, Tina got out of there using 2 guesses, and Dallas left less than 10 minutes later with 3 guesses.

Somehow, Andrew and Dan were right behind Toni and Dallas at this point, which is very difficult to figure out. They seemed way behind at the end of the last task, and they also started out the leg with a drive to the wrong park. So I don't know how they wound up only minutes behind, but that is, indeed, the case.

Andrew, taking the roadblock for his team, had the great idea to recruit a local to help him with his task. The local came up with the wrong number of Lenins, but he also accompanied Dan to the bookstore and for the rest of the leg, which may have really helped them in the long run. Andrew got the number right on his second attempt, which put them just five minutes behind Toni and Dallas.

Toni and Dallas, meanwhile, had a big problem. Dallas accidentally left his bag, containing all of their money and his passport, in a cab. He said he remembered it just as the cab drove away, and there was some footage of him halfheartedly calling for a cab to come back, but he didn't seem to be in the state of panic that the situation called for. Also, it looked like the traffic was very thick at that time, and it seemed like he had at least a chance to run down the cab, so I'm not sure what happened there, either. In fact, this turned out to be a very mysterious episode, editing-wise. I'm left with a lot of questions.

Toni and Dallas were now left needing to beg money for each stage of the leg. The passport was a bigger long-term problem, but they could presumably work on that after arriving at the Pit Stop, which was right there in Moscow. The Russian people seemed very willing to part with the needed number of rubles, which may or may not have had something to do with the camera crews.

Teams now headed to another park where they had to track down a woman with a Shetland Pony (which Starr hilariously speculated might be a type of hairdo-- looks like Nick is the brains of that outfit).

Nick and Starr arrived and left first, Ken and Tina arrived and left second, and Andrew and Dan arrived in a dead heat with Toni and Dallas.

But here's something else I don't understand. The woman with the pony refused to give Toni and Dallas their clue! They had accidentally taken a cheaper subway rather than the more expensive cab ride that the clue specified, and so they had to return to their previous location and get a cab.

I've never seen that happen in the race before. Any other time, the punishment is that Phil assigns a time penalty at the Pit Stop. The time penalty seems to be designed to eliminate any advantage that the rule-breaking team gained by using a different form of transport, rounding up so that the rule-breaking is never advantageous.

But in this case, Toni and Dallas probably gained next to no time by taking a subway instead of a cab. And instead of getting a 15 or 30 minute penalty, they were essentially wiped out of the game. They now had to beg for money to get back to where they started, and then beg for money to get a cab back to the park. That seems really unfair, and it destroyed a very good team.

While they were doing this, Andrew and Dan encountered their Speedbump, which turned out to be performing a traditional Russian dance. They looked absolutely ridiculous while attempting to perform it, and didn't seem to get it even remotely right. But the task judge took pity on them (possibly because they were complaining loudly), and she gave them their next clue.

The Detour: Leaving the park, teams had to choose between "riding the rails" or "riding the line." It was basically a choice between taking a trolley or a subway to a train station. The subway was faster, but more confusing, while the trolley was simpler, but prone to heavy traffic considerations.

Nick and Starr took the subway, and sailed through the task again. Ken and Tina had a little difficulty with the trolley, and wound up neck and neck with Andrew and Dan at the train station. Somehow, Andrew and Dan got the clue directing them to the Pit Stop, while Ken and Tina bypassed the clue and headed directly to the Pit Stop.

Right around here, Tina ran into traffic and announced that it would be Ken's fault if she got hit by a car. Interesting.

The Pit Stop: Nick and Starr arrived in first, where they were greeted by an enthusiastic, wooly-mustached Cossack soldier in full ornamental uniform.

Andrew and Dan arrived a step ahead of Ken and Tina, and Phil checked them in in second place. He then sent Ken and Tina back to find the clue they had bypassed.

The editing tried to make it look competitive between Ken and Tina, and Toni and Dallas, but the plodding, discouraged pace of Toni and Dallas made it clear that they were not in contention.

1st: Nick and Starr (+2 = biggest improvement)
2nd: Andrew and Dan (+2 = biggest improvement)
3rd: Ken and Tina (-1)
4th: Toni and Dallas (-3 = biggest slide)


The Elimination: Toni and Dallas were probably the most likable team left, and they also ran a very good race, all season long. To me, their elimination is tarnished by the weird rule-enforcement method, which seemed to turn a tough situation into an impossible situation. However, at least the initial problem of losing their money was an actual mistake, made by the boneheadedness of Dallas. So, we can say that the elimination is at least partially their own fault.




The Pool

Dawn had the best week of anyone, climbing into second place over Carl. Pool leader Mike lost ground ot Dawn and Carl, but he's still sitting on a very comfortable lead going into the finale.

Mom had the worst week of anyone, dropping 60 points for having predicted that Toni and Dallas would be one of the first teams out.

Yet hope springs eternal, as we now enter the bonus-laden season finale. With 3 eliminations, a double Fastest Team bonus, and some finale bonus picks worth 75 points apiece, this is still anyone's game, at least in theory. Mike has a strong advantage going in, but his mistakes could be our gains. And even if we don't get first place, there's still some pride to be gained by climbing the rankings in this final episode.

1st: Mike 1030 (-60 +8)
2nd: Dawn 923 (-10 +8)
3rd: Carl 914 (-40 +8)
4th: Jen 840 (-20 +0)
5th: Mom 796 (-60 +0)
6th: Matt 779 (-30 +8)
7th: Kim 708 (-30 +8)
8th: Paul 654 (-30 +8)

For next week, please send me your FT pick (worth double), and the order in which you think the three teams will cross the finish line. Each correct pick will be worth 75 points.