The Amazing Race 25 - Episode 8
Hot, Sexy Knights
By Daron Aldridge
December 4, 2014
BoxOfficeProphets.com

We're not sure what they're so happy about.

When we last saw our intrepid Racers in Sicily, they had been the victims of another disappointment-inducing nonelimination leg. Admittedly, it was only disappointing for the the viewers and actually welcomed by the teams, especially Tim & Te Jay who were spared.

Picking up where we left off in familiar territory, dental powerhouse Misti & Jim were leaving in first and hot on the trail as usual were cyclists Kym & Alli.

Team DDS rips into the clue and gets the news that their next destination is Malta. We soon see that none of the teams have a clue were Malta is or that it's its very own country. Malta Tourism Board...time to put in some extra hours and marketing dollars to educate us dumb Americans about your homeland.

The teams are pointed to use the ferry, which means that they are in for a long boat ride and it didn't matter one iota what the order they left the Pitstop was. There will be clumping. Once they land min Malta, they must proceed to the Bridge Bar for their clue. We also see that food scientist Amy has apparently jacked up her leg and is not really able to run with any speed or grace. Honestly, it looks like her leg will give out on her at any moment.

Particularly, telling at this juncture is the ferry ride itself. The cyclists are once again hanging by themselves and choosing to not socialize with the other teams. From what we have seen, they aren't mean to the others, they simply want to run their own Race. That's how Cowboys Jet & Cord raced every time they did and nobody lashes out at them. I will blame sexism and a double standard because there is a how lot of contempt being directed to the ladies.

The ringleader is Tag Team's Brooke. The wrestler is quick to rally all the others around and point out that they have isolated themselves from the rest of the teams. She doesn't like that and thinks they should be the target of a U-Turn. She explains to the camera though that the cyclists are just too big of competitors and seem to just breeze through the challenges. It's funny that she fails to note that the same 'criticism' couple be levied on the dentists and the surfers as well.

The teams seem to rally behind her mean girl mandate with Adam & Bethany seeming to only play along because they are trying to be nice. A new alliance must get cutesy nicknames, right? Brooke dubs herself Viper and Robbie claims Sniper. When Misti tries to give Jim a 'cool' Top Gun-inspired name of Maverick, even Jim recognizes the silliness of this all and says he could be Molar, which makes Misti Cuspid. Enough of this, the moral of the story is that you have a five against one scenario that will use the U-Turn on Team Quicksilver. Also, that you can't give yourself nicknames.

We'll see how this shakes out this leg or down the line but alliances on the Amazing Race don't typically have much impact and the 'social game' of Survivor is not a necessity on this show.

Docking in the Malta at night and the teams rush to grab cabs to the Bridge Bar. First out of the chute are the surfers with madness in the wake because everyone is scrambling. Adam & Bethany get there first and get instructions for this task, which is neither a Roadblock or a Detour. The teams have to carry a tray at shoulder height with two wine glasses, a bottle of wine and some utensils from the bar to an balcony with a table full of 'knights,' which is quite a walk. Plus there is a substantial number of stairs between the two destinations. If they drop anything and it breaks, they have to go back to the bar to get a broom to clean up the mess and then start all over. Later the wrestlers would estimate that there are 500 steps, which might be a bit of an exaggeration coming from the queen of overreacting and histrionics this season.

The lords of the surfboard should be great at this one since balance plays such a key role in the task. Slow and steady they begin making their way. As expected after so many legs, the newlyweds keep their cool and make significant progress before the others have arrived.

Tag Team gets out next and in a not-the-least-bit-shocking of a development Brooke yells "OH MY GOD!!!" three dozen times and complains about the distance. For a person in great physical shape, she sure takes issue with any task that requires some physical component. The cyclists aren't far behind, which undoubtedly gets under Brooke's skin. Luckily, they missed the logjam that occurred at the bar, which Tim & Te Jay were hoping would be the site of their Speedbump. It is not.

As Team DDS is trying get out the door, with Candy Crush and TNT right there too, Jim has a rare slip-up and drops his glasses before even leaving. They load back up and head out as does TNT. Sadly, little Maya can't quite get it together in the balancing act and immediately drops. And that was just the beginning for their troubles on this task.

The sure-footed surfers have made it all the way to the destination but Bethany literally drops the glasses as she is just feet from completing the task and gets berated by the head knight for making a mess. These actors the show hires sure do stay in-character. She and Adam now have to hustle back to the bar for clean up. As they run, the wrestlers try to pump them for information about where it is located but they just keep on running. By now all of them are making progress and getting closer to the...um...never mind. Tim & Te Jay just dropped their glasses and Amy runs into her teammate when Maya stops abruptly. I am more surprised at TNT whose waiting experience served Te Jay well on a previous task. Maybe he only takes orders and doesn't have to deliver the food.

Boom...boom...boom. The wrestlers, the cyclists and the dentists all successfully complete the challenge and get their clue. (I take issue with the fact that many of the racers didn't really keep the tray at or above shoulder height but weren't penalized for it...but that's just me.) They are directed to a boat launch. Since it's the middle of the night, the next task will be to find a cab to take them there. If you have paid attention to this season at all, then you know which team will have the worst luck getting a cab. That's right...Brooke & Robbie. Sorry, Viper and Sniper but you need to rethink how you go about finding taxis because you are quickly slipping from the front of the pack to the back.

TNT has made up their time and gotten their clue also. They join the other three teams (minus a cab-less Tag Team) en route to the next clue. Making up significant ground, the college sweethearts get to the clue just behind the cyclists. The teams will have to wait until morning for a boat to pick them up. Three teams will leave first and then the remaining ones will leave 15 minutes later. YAY...more clumping.

Misti & Jim pull the final early time and settle down for some sleeping on the street with bugs and rodents. Again, Malta Tourism Board...you might want to address this issue. The cab-less wonders have finally flagged one down and follow Adam & Bethany. Very much in the caboose of this Race train are Amy & Maya who took several attempts to get it right. They are awash with relief upon seeing the others waiting 'til the break of dawn.

The sun rises and the teams get their clue. This Roadblock takes one team member to the top of a stone arch overlooking a blue lagoon. They have to rappel down several hundred feet to the water and then swing into a grotto to retrieve their clue. For the first batch, we have Tim, Misti and Alli taking the Roadblock duties. And away they go.

It's rappelling time and Misti gets off to an early lead, which makes Jim's smile shine even brighter with pride or it just may be the reflection off the water. But Alli doesn't seem too keen on having a beauty queen dentist best her in a physical challenge. She catches up to and passes her. Then there's Tim. Rather as Te Jay asks, "Where's Tim?" While the ladies are more than half way down to the water, Tim has yet to crest the rocky top. I think we can assume that they will be the third team to leave this task. In the water, Alli retains her lead and takes off to and from the clue grotto. They are being sent to a nondescript alley location for their next clue.

Surprisingly the water was somewhat of an equalizer for Tim as he is much closer to Misti than when they were suspended in air.

While all three are heading back, Kym & Alli are clearly leading.

As they motorboat off the grotto, the others have started to arrive. For this batch, Bethany, Robbie and Amy are the doers of the Roadblock. Probably very smart to have Amy do this one since it doesn't require any real leg action.

Similar to the last group, the ladies take the lead with Bethany blazing through it. Sorry Big Brother's Caleb but this girl deserves to be called Beast Mode. Again, you can't give yourself a nickname.

You would think that the laws of gravity would helped the much heavier Robbie descend quicker but that is not the case in the rappelling department. It does appear to be the case in the swimming though as he is much slower than the others. As Maya points out, muscle is just heavier.

Back on land, Kym & Alli have found the clue box and it is a cryptic Detour. The choices are Flag or Shine. And that is all the descriptions the teams are given. They must decide blindly which task to head to and then full instructions await them at the task. The cyclists opt for Flag. Phil informs the viewers though that Flag requires the teams to run onto a pole (about the size and length of a telephone pole or a ship's mast) that extends out over the water. Each team member must grab one of two flags (one is about 10 feet closer). And the pole is greased about five feet before the first flag. For Shine, the teams have to each don a tarnished knight's helmet and chest plate and polish it to the satisfaction of the judges.

The girls are confident at first that they can do it and Alli goes first. She by sheer luck falls and grabs the closer flag. Kym, who is afraid of heights, is now charged with going farther onto the pole and subsequently, fall...a lot.

Tim & Te Jay happen upon the same location and just start doing it too. Completely bypassing the actual Detour clue box. After a couple of failed attempts by the boys, they realize they missed something and still haven't encountered their Speedbump. They stop and go searching for their clue. While they are gone, Kym continues to fail and the dentists show up making the same mistake as TNT. It's like we are on repeat here, with the married dentists also flubbing the task a couple times before it dawns on them that they didn't get the actual Detour clue. Away they go with the knowledge they will NOT be coming back to this task.

At the Detour clue box, the Speepbump waits for TNT and it's pretty straightforward but considering the trailing teams are only 15 to 20 minutes behind them, this delay could be enough to bump them from the Race. They each have to paint the Malta cross on a shield before proceeding to the Detour. As they paint, Team DDS has opted for Shine and get to polishing.

By now, the cyclists have bailed on the Flag task and head to Shine. Before the other teams get to the Detour clue next, TNT has already finished the Speedbump and surprisingly, return to the near-impossible Flag task. The wrestlers go for Shine and the surfers go for Flag but not really. As soon as they hit the task, Adam & Bethany pull out the Express Pass and play it. Wisely done because this is one of the last chances for them to use it. Off they go to the Pitstop and one Mr. Phil Keoghan.

Team Candy Crush goes for Flag also but soon realize that the speed needed to get to the flag will just not happen on Amy's bum leg. They quickly decide to head to Shine, which leaves TNT allow and failing. Te Jay has successfully gotten the closer flag but Tim is replicating Kym's lack of success.

As everyone gets to shining, the dentists are slowly pulling ahead and Brooke is just complaining about the task in general. Brooke: "My mom made us polish the silver growing up and it took forever." File this under first-world problems, Brooke. The cyclists appear to be next on the progress front but it's hard to tell. Finally, realizing that Brooke will not stop complaining, Robbie concedes that they can switch because they might be able to do the other one easier. She agrees and I laugh because they are destined for failure. (Clarifying, I really like Robbie and he is a funny, entertaining fellow. Brooke...I am not a fan of.)

For the record, Adam & Bethany are checked in as team number one.

With smiles shimmering in the sunlight, Team DDS gets a Maltese thumbs up from the judges and are now heading to the Pitstop. As is the case this season, the cyclists scrub and polish their way out of the task next, following behind the dentists.

For non-fans of Brooke, the montage of her failed attempts on the Flag task will bring a smile to your face but nothing was a humorous as Robbie lumbering up the pole and not even getting close to the flag. He is not the most nimble of fellows as this leg has proven. Seeing TNT with one flag in hand, the wrestlers decide they should return to the tedious Shine task that they actually have a chance of completing. Upon their return, Amy & Maya have made a lot of progress and get out of the Detour next.

FINALLY, Time & Te Jay decide they need to switch tasks, which puts a refreshing wind in the sails of Tag Team who know they aren't in last anymore. Forgone conclusion at this point is that TNT will be last and going home because even the Race producers have never sprung a back-to-back nonelimination on us.

In second, we have the dentists and in third, the cyclists. With way more energy than should be legally allowed, Maya sprints around the Pitstop in glee with news that they are team number four. Leaving the dating duo of Tim & Te Jay at the Detour and with no suspense, Brooke & Robbie are number five. Like that, the Speedbump claimed another victim...kind of. The guys could've avoided last place and elimination if they had not been so dead set on not switching tasks.

It's with nervousness that we head into the next leg with the threat of a double U-Turn and one of my favorite teams as the likely recipient. C'mon, Kym & Alli stay in the front of the pack to avoid a U-Turn.