The Amazing Race 9 – Episode 8 Recap

The Amazing Race – Season 9 – Episode 8

THIS WEEK – 1st
LAST WEEK – 4th, arrived at 6:20am
Old Couple (Fran and Barry) – What?! 1st place?! Did you see the look on Phil’s face when they came up to the mat? I have to give it to them, though, they played a solid race. On the roadblock, he didn’t find the prize quickly – he had to work on it, digging in the excruciating hot sun. So, I won’t chalk this up to pure luck. Their navigation skills this week really kept them at the front of the pack – well, that plus the fact that he didn’t run into anything with the car again. I think the equalizers, where everyone groups back together to wait for a place to open or a flight to depart, helped to make sure nobody else got *way* ahead of them, but that played to everyone else’s favor just the same. There’s some solid retirement mojo going on here! Hippys are still my fav but I think I’d like to see these guys get second place. 🙂

THIS WEEK – 2nd
LAST WEEK – 2nd, arrived at 4:31am
Mo Jo (Joseph and Monica) – Speaking of retirement mojo… If the Frat Boys weren’t still in the race, I’d be voting for this team to retire next. Maybe it was the camera angle. Maybe it was the editing. But when they came in second place, he just looked pissed. It’s down to the wire folks! Be happy you aren’t eliminated! I don’t care how whiney she can be, it’s like he has the spirit of last week’s loser Captain Redneck when he talks to her. I think there’s a lot more pressure in the race than I ever thought. It’s always the silent ones that crack really hard.

THIS WEEK – 3rd
LAST WEEK – 3rd, arrived at 4:41am
Ray and Yolanda – Are they dating or are they brother and sister? The way they bicker lately, I just can’t tell. Advice to him: Stop being so macho and ignore the cameras and your supposed image. There were places you were just plain disrespectful to her and you *knew* but didn’t want to back down for your pride. A simple “I’m sorry” and maybe a hug would have made almost all of your arguments go away. Advice to her: He’s being a man-child. You didn’t get to this age as a woman without knowing how stupid men can be. Let up with the full-court press and give him a chance to save face. You’d like the apology and the hug, but teach him how, don’t clobber him on a national television show. Ray and Yolanda, you edged out team mojo for my Dr. Phil award of the week! Congrats! I predict these two will solve their crap in the dark hours of the night when the cameras are turned off and come out strong next episode. Old Couple, you are going to have to work *extra* hard next week.

THIS WEEK – 4th
LAST WEEK – 1st, arrived at 11:54pm
The Sickening Frat Boys (Eric and Jeremy) – Bwahahaha! Being in 1st place, there’s nobody to follow and you can get lost. Aside from that, my evil laughter is a bit hollow, because they didn’t really do all that bad. Don’t get me wrong, it would have been great to see them stranded in the desert deliriously coming upon a mirage of two barely clothed dancing girls, only to wake up the following morning next to a couple of spitting camels. However, they did seem somewhat subdued this episode when they reached Phil at the mat. For once, I think they really had the fear that they might be last. With the equalizers this leg of the race, the fast forward they took last time did them *no* good whatsoever. I’m still hoping that will play into their demise.

THIS WEEK – 5th – SAVED BY NON ELIMINATION ROUND
LAST WEEK – 5th, arrived at 8:51am
Hippies (BJ and Tyler) – VERY *VERY* LUCKY! If I hadn’t been 100% sure this was a non-elimination round, I’m not sure I could have watched this episode. With their personalities I don’t think they’ll have too much trouble getting money from the locals, but it’s going to cost precious time. I think the time spent digging in the heat at the roadblock really affected BJ. It was the closest this team has come to aggravation with each other. Paraphrasing BJ, “I had to dig for gnomes. I have to dig in the sand. *YOU* got to bungee jump and swing!” Yeah, he should have been drinking water but someone passed him the sour-grapes juice instead. He got over it and I think maybe when you are elbow deep in 100-degree sand and get passed by EVERYONE, then you just gotta vent. They hugged and made up and all way well in hippy-ville once more. My greatest sadness with them this week? I think they lost their “Bowling Moms” t-shirts. 🙁 My last comment goes out to the network execs – maybe it’s not a sitcom you need to give these guys, it’s a permanent segment on Dr. Phil, or let them sub for Ty Pennington on Extreme Home Makeover. Hmm… or a game show. Where you do horrible things to Frat Boys. That would be good too. 😉

End Notes
Notice that the Old Couple and the Frat Boys switched spots from last week to this week. Otherwise, everybody is in the exact same order. Possible AARP world conspiracy going on here.