The Amazing Race 29.4 “Another One Bites The Dust” and 29.5 “Have Faith In Me, Borski”

Last night, we had two episodes of the Amazing Race.  During the first episode, the racers remained in Tanzania and it ended with an elimination.  During the second episode, the remaining teams went to Norway and the episode ended with Phil announcing, at the Pit Stop, that the leg was only halfway over and, as such, the final team to arrive was not eliminated.

There was nothing that surprising about what happened in Tanzania.  It was a tough leg but, for the most part, the teams that have been doing well continued to do well and the teams that have been struggling continued to struggle.  I don’t think anyone was shocked when Sara and Shamir were eliminated.  Ever since Shamir’s breakdown in Brazil, that teams had been obviously doomed.  I felt bad for Sarah.  She seemed like a strong competitior but she got stuck with a terrible partner.  It definitely wasn’t fair to her.

The Norway leg of the race was a lot more fun to watch than the Tanzania leg.  Norway is a beautiful country and the detour with the trolls was really cute.  What was shocking about Norway was that, after working so well together, Liz and Michael had a complete meltdown.  They stopped communicated.  They started arguing.  Michael got his feelings hurt because he wasn’t in charge.  Even when they discovered that they had not been eliminated from the race, they stood at the mat arguing.  Will these two be able to continue?  I think they will, if just because they’re both racing for their families.  But they’ve got to get over being mad at each other or they’re doomed.

Here’s some thoughts on the racers, in order of their finish in Norway:

Tara and Joey — After coming in first in both Tanzania and Norway, Tara and Joey are suddenly the new front-runners.  Personality-wise, they’re still pretty bland but they’re running a good race.

Matt and Redmond — They came in fourth in Tanzania and second in Norway.  That first place finish continues to elude them but I still wouldn’t be surprised to see them win.

Becca and Floyd — Team fun is coming on strong!  Becca and Floyd did not annoy me as much as they usually do.  They came in 2nd in Tanzania and 3rd in Norway, despite doing the fast forward.

Vanck and Ashton — Team Unlikable.  After taunting Matt and Redmond about always coming in third, Vanck and Ashton came in 6th in Tanzania and 4th in Norway.  Vanck still seems to be off in his own little world most of the time.  Ashton has managed to annoy everyone and she is probably going to get her team u-turned.

London and Logan — They came in fifth in Tanzania and 5th in Norway.  They haven’t had any major missteps but they have yet to really show themselves to be the type of team that will make it to the end.

Brooke and Scott — They came in seventh in Tanzania and 6th in Norway.  With Shamir and Scott gone, Brooke and Scott are the new dysfunctional team.  Scott is regularly conquering his fear of heights.  Brooke had a nervous breakdown because she had to make a ladle.

Liz and Michael — Third in Tanzania and then 7th in Norway!  As soon as they got to Europe, Liz and Michael had an epic meltdown.  They stopped communicating.  They stopped working together.  They’ve got to get it together as they will be the next to go.  I put most of the blame on Michael, who can’t handle not being in charge.  He nearly sacrificed their race for his ego.

And finally…

Shamir and Sara — Eliminated in Tanzania.  No one was surprised.  Poor Sara.

That’s it for now!  We’ll see what happens next week,

Lisa Marie