Amazing Race 10 and an impassable ROADBLOCK

Episode 2 - Beijing, China to Ulan Bator, Mongolia

At last, a task which CANNOT be completed! But more on that later.

Episode 2 of Amazing Race 10 started off as usual with a bit of summary commentary from Phil. The only real controversy he could come up with concerned Sarah’s artificial leg and her receiving preferential treatment on flights. True, the other teams did grumble a bit when they first saw this, but I think it was more from surprise than real concern. I doubt anyone could logically think it would give her and Peter a real advantage during the race. After all, most flights even the teams up – getting on and off is not going to make too much of a difference. But who knows? At some time it may make the difference – but so will falling behind from the handicap. It is what it is.

Again, I vote for Rob and Kimberly to lose. Their lack of communication and the drama they bring is more annoying than entertaining. (LEFT! LEFT! LEFT! Waaaa! Waaaa!) And when Kimberly got concerned about diseases when a couple drops of road/rain water in Mongolia got on her – well, that just enforces my opinion. Seeing Rob and Kimberly go would not be a big loss. I like to think that’s why tonight’s episode quote; ‘Can Horses Smell Fear?’ was from Kimberly. Maybe they won’t get many other chances to name the episode.

David and Mary – the Kentucky coal miner and wife – showed some game-smarts by picking up a guide. However, something has got to be explained. The rules in Amazing Race do state that if a vehicle breaks down or is inoperable, a replacement will be given. David and Mary managed to drive their jeep into thick mud and couldn’t get out. This was THEIR FAULT – not due to a faulty vehicle. They tried to take a shortcut and paid the price. I think they should have been required to get the jeep out on their own. Heck, their guide already set off to find a tractor before the replacement arrived.

On that note, Tyler and James got a flat and either could not figure out the jack or it was broken, and they were left high-and-dry. I just don’t get it. This sounds like more of an excuse to get a replacement than driving it into a mud hole. ??

By the way, driving the old Russian military jeeps through Mongolia to some random river banks to then ride horses to find the next clue was fantastic. This really put the teams out of their comfort zones and was entertaining to witness.

And both DETOURS sucked – which is good. Take It Down or Fill It Up were the choices.

Take it Down involved taking down the portable shelters used by Mongolian Nomads. The trick was in utilizing the proper folding and packing techniques to get the materials strapped onto a camel. Not hard, but detailed.

Fill It Up sounded easy, but knowing it involved managing a large ox-like animal called a hynik should have been enough to make the teams give it a pass. It’s the old Hollywood mantra about never working with kids and animals that should have been considered.

A couple teams, especially Peter and Sarah, found this out the hard way. It was kind of funny to watch their hynik bolt away from them and then see Sarah have a meltdown. To their credit, they did call themselves on it after they completed the task.

Dustin and Kandice hit a big bump in the road when they lost one of their Mongolian-hats and could not complete the detour until it was returned. The editing for the episode was odd as, at one point, it showed them just standing around and no longer looking for it. One of the Mongolain wranglers ultimately came to their rescue and found the hat.

My only criticism for Duke and Lauren involves his driving. Can he explain why a handful of teams simply passed them on the road? I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and assume his jeep was just in bad shape.

And again, Erwin and Godwin’s jeep broke down but they had to get it running with the help of the locals – and then almost the same thing happened to Lyn and Karalyn and Kellie and Jamie. No jeeps were given to them and if it wasn’t for the generosity of the locals showing them how to use the crank to get them running again, they would have been hosed. I’m just saying, this doesn’t seem quite right given the free jeep given to David and Mary after they selfishly drove it into a mud hole.

Now, about the ROADBLOCK that couldn’t be completed. This hasn’t happened too much in Amazing Race but should happen more. It involved shooting a flaming arrow into a target. It wasn’t difficult for everyone. In fact, Peter simply rocked at this. He nailed it on his second attempt and he and Sarah came in first and won a pretty sweet trip to Mexico.

However, Kellie and Jamie didn’t fare so well. They arrived last and tried forever but Kellie ended up losing strength and the Roadblock was impossible for them. I liked them as a team (other than the spontaneous bursts of cheering) and am bummed to see them go before Rob and Kimberly, but am glad to see Amazing Race 10 step it up a bit.

Next week, it looks like one of the twists involves not giving the teams extra money for part of the leg. This could be fun and will add a new bit of strategy for the rest of the season.

[tags]Amazing Race 10, Reality TV[/tags]

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