The Amazing Race Season 20 Recap
The Amazing Race Season 20 Recap
Daron Aldridge
May 1, 2012
Team Justified shouldn’t take this descriptor as an insult (I actually like the guys) but last week proved they are the cockroaches of the Amazing Race 20. In that, they just seem impossible to eliminate. They were spared earlier on the fourth leg due to nonelimination and the same merciful fate was given them last week even after a marathon Bollywood session for Mark.
Let’s jump right into the rankings heading into the tenth leg.
- Army of Two Rachel & Dave - At this point in the race, there are only two teams that have shown they can win this thing without casting an incredible pall over the season. This (not necessarily) happily married couple is one of them. They reclaimed the top spot from Bopper & Mark who went from first to last in a gloriously choreographed flameout. Rachel & Dave still amaze me that they race so well, since they operate in only two gears – angry with one another and almost angry with one another. Passive aggressive may be the best way to describe how they interact with one another but aggressive (in a good way) is the best way to describe their competitive side. I simply don’t think they can be beaten, which is what I used to think about…
- Team Border Patrol Art & JJ - You’d think that three consecutive third place finishes would put them in third in the rankings. That would be the case, if the other remaining teams weren’t so dreadful. Back to Border Patrol. These guys lost likability with their middle-school ranting about Dave not using the U-Turn and that seems to have translated into them losing focus on the race. Hence the three third place finishes. I blame that type of misplaced focus on their shortcomings as of late. For example, Art seemed more concerned with not being out done on the Cricket Detour by Bad Rachel than just getting done quickly. If they readjust their strategy, they could still get back in first or second.
Big Brother’s Brendon & Rachel - It pains me to do this but Big Brother continues to perform as a middle of the pack type of team and unfortunately, the middle of the pack at this point is third place. If I was doing recaps way back in the third season when Zac & queen of emotional breakdown/threatening to quit Flo won, there isn’t a snowball’s chance in the fiery underworld that I would have picked them to make it to the end, let alone win. Well, that’s how I feel about Brendon & Rachel. They don’t deserve to win or even make it to the finale, so they probably will get to the final leg. Even with this week’s teased breakdown by Bad Rachel at the prospect of shaving her head for a Fast Forward (I assume), I think they will not be eliminated. I predict she backs out of the Fast Forward (the episode’s title “I Need Hair to be Pretty” supports the idea) but they somehow prevent me from being happy and are not eliminated.
Anti-Big Brother divorcees Vanessa & Ralph - I had such high hopes for this team at the start but with their blindness to clues right in front of them and Vanessa thinking this is the Amazing Insult Rachel Race, they have let me down. Just like Big Brother, they haven’t exactly excelled on the race and sadly, haven’t even done as well as Big Brother. It’s for that reason that I put Anti-Big Brother on the fringe of the rankings but they are still ahead of…
Bopper & Mark - Team Justified struggled through an epically awful leg last week and I am still not sure if they really finished the leg properly. While they seem to have nine lives on the race, I think it may finally be over for them this week. Consider these FOUR reasons: Mark’s ill from dehydration, Bopper’s knee isn’t doing them any favors, they are facing another Speed Bump, and they must be several hours behind the team immediately in front of them. Such a significant time difference was too much for the able-bodied/healthy Team Un-Fed Nary & Jamie to overcome, so I don’t think our sickly Kentuckians will fare much better.
Let’s get the fun started.
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