Richly Deserved: The Amazing Race : Analyzing the teams

With The Amazing Race approaching the half-way mark, it’s time to look back at the teams that have departed and look ahead to who we might be seeing at the finish line, as well as some thoughts on the race so far.

First of all, I haven’t minded the twist so far. The elimination of Bilal and Sa’eed, while unfortunate, was a eye-opening reminder that you have to race hard, to every checkpoint and every clue box. We didn’t get to see much of those boys or couple Vipul and Arti.

We saw just a bit more of cheerleaders Jamie and Kellie and dad-and-daughter combo Duke and Lauren. The leg where the teams didn’t receive any money provided another good twist. It forced the teams to interact with the locals beyond just their cab or bus driver, or someone who might know where a certain place is.

Tom and Terry were just plain annoying to watch. But their elimination was rather sad and a bit eye-opening as I now have just a bit more understanding and respect for these soulmates who were totally made for each other.

Now as for who’s left:
Mary is awesome. She and David have taken the right attitude to this race. Sure they bicker like normal couples but have generally been very nice to the fellow racers and very respectful of people from the cultures they have encountered. They reiterate they are doing this for their kids. Win or lose, probably the latter considering her aches and pains and the non-elimination obstacle that has been placed on them, their kids can be extremely proud of the way they have competed.

Rob and Kimberley are another matter. Not all that respectful towards the cultures they have been placed in (did I hear them utter some Freddy and Kendra-like comments when they first got to India?), and not all that co-operative with eachother. They are still here on their athleticism alone but their short fuses may be their downfall.

One team you never have to worry about their attitude is Edwin and Godwin. When the Chos stopped and slipped to last place to take a moment of silence to pay respect to the soldiers who fought in the Vietnam war, you knew these were two guys who totally get what The Amazing Race should be about. Not only that, they WON that leg. How priceless was the pretend cell phone in the last episode. And only B.J. and Tyle’s “Bowling moms” t-shirts could top the “wanted: Phil” shirts. It’s really hard not to like these guys.

Tyler and James appear to be having fun too. They’ve talked about their past and the drug issues that have plagued their lives but we really haven’t been beaten over the head by it. They’re in the top three.

It looks like Dustin and Kandace, and Lyn and Karlyn, are going to butt heads next episode. The beauty queens say they’re competitive and that’s great. But their general attitude is quite annoying and it’s not surprising that they have at least one run-in with another team every week. Yeah, it’s a competitive race but chill out, will ya’s?

Lyn and Karlyn look like they are completely out of their element, and should be eliminated soon. But again, great attitude. Having fun, thinking things through, and doing it for their kids. You certainly have to be cheering their success to this point.

Now we come to, concurrently my favourite and least-favourite team in the race. Sarah is great. She does whine a bit but her spirit is amazing. She also has two major disabilities. One is that her artificial leg isn’t 100 percent. The other is the jerk that she has to accompany on the race. Sarah is really getting fed up of Peter. And none of the other teams want to help them. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if the other teams take the same attitude towards them that the teams in AR 8 took towards the Weavers. Sarah does not in any way deserve that treatment but unfortunately, he’s creating that animosity.

Overall though, it’s been a fun season to this point and there’s a lot more pit stops, detours, road blocks, and Phil to come.

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