The Amazing Race Recap

By David Mumpower

February 25, 2009

How therapeutic.

New at BOP:
Share & Save
Digg Button  
Print this column
The ninth team to depart is Steve and Linda, one of the weakest performers overall last week. Linda seemed physically as well as mentally frail and Steve yelled at her in an unbecoming fashion at several points. They make up on camera as he honestly states that he got too excited by his surroundings and lost sight of what was important to him. Their tearful apologies to one another are a nice sentiment and they seem to have genuinely deep feelings for one another, but I still don't give them 15 minutes before they're fighting again. Steve is clearly here to win and his competitive streak will not mesh well with her lack of competitive advantages.

To his credit, Steve presses his taxi driver for a cell phone in order to attempt to secure tickets. The flight attendants do as well. The 7:10 flight is the one everyone covets, but the ladies are just out of luck. There is only one seat left, which is unfortunately one too few for their needs. The end result is that they are stuck on the 8:45 flight along with Mark and Michael. Every other team has an hour and a half lead on them now. To their credit, the men try to learn from the mistake that dropped them from third to tied for last, but they have to survive this leg for that to be of any use. Barring something unforeseen, one of these two teams appears likely to be eliminated from the competition.

Attorneys Tammy and Victor are the first to arrive at the mountain destination. Luck is on their side, too, as they just make a tram as it leaves for the top of the mountain. This is huge, because there is a 15 minute interval between tram rides. They now have a significant head start on the competition for the next challenge.




Advertisement



Paragliding is the magic word for today's challenge. Contestants are given the option of making a leap of faith off the mountain in such a contraption or they allowed to make a 60 minute hike down the hillside instead. There is no argument about which option is faster, but nature also plays a factor here. No one will be allowed to paraglide in heavily windy conditions. In such a scenario, the contestant must either elect to wait out the weather or hike down the mountain if they think the wind won't die down any time soon.

Right on cue, Tammy is informed that she has to wait for the wind to dissipate as the current conditions are not conducive to safe paragliding. Recognizing she has a 15 minute lead over everyone else and knowing that a quick decision to hike should keep them in the middle of the pack at worst, Tammy chooses to trek down the mountain. This proves wise as several other teams weigh their options at the top of the hill and decide to give the wind a chance to die down. Everyone has the same fear that the instant they leave, the wind will die down and their competitors will literally sail right past them. Plus, paragliding is a lot easier than an hour of hiking.


Continued:       1       2       3       4

     


 
 

Need to contact us? E-mail a Box Office Prophet.
Thursday, March 28, 2024
© 2024 Box Office Prophets, a division of One Of Us, Inc.