Last week we said goodbye to David and Mary. Whether you thought they should have been in this cast or not, it was great to see them back.
This week, they started in Punta Arenas, Chile, either built sign posts or navigated the streets, then flew to the southern tip of Argentina, saw the end of the world, and saw some notes of (mostly) encouragement from teams they competed against on their seasons.
Here’s how they finished.
OSWALD AND DANNY
Great leg. Chose the right roadblock (the navigation), got the first flight, got the first ferry to Isla Redonda (the end of the world), enjoyed their letter from Blake and Paige (AR2), and won a trip to show their sense of style in Maui. A first and two seconds. These guys came to play.
ERIC AND DANIELLE
Basically went side by side with Oswald and Danny, a solid leg where they stuck to the route, got encouragement from Jeremy and Dani (Their respective partners in AR9), and ended second.
TERI AND IAN
A bit of a misstep finding a clue, otherwise the beneficiaries of choosing the right detour and a quick road block (to sort 1600 pieces of mail for one of two letters addressed to them from a competing team on their season. S3 winners Zach and Flo sent their regards), and a third place finish was theirs.
JOE AND BILL
On the last plane to Punta Arenas, they were able to pass Rob and Amber and Dustin and Kandice, ran really a flawless leg, and climbed from last to fourth. Frank from their season sent his regards.
DUSTIN AND KANDICE
Remember that crack last week about Rob not being Jesus. The BQ’s forgot that and it cost them a bit of time at the detour. They had a solid run otherwise and got mediocre best wishes from the Lyn half of Alabama from their season. An o.k. 5th.
UCHENNA AND JOYCE
Chose the wrong detour and that cost them a lot of time. Seemed like they were getting beat in travelling. They were paired with Rob and Amber on the boat ride and the showdown was on. However, they found their letter from Susan and Patrick and finished sixth. I wonder how Rob felt watching the episode and seeing them help Charla onto the pit stop mat and cheering them on?
CHARLA AND MIRNA
Once again a whole lot to say about them. They were on the last flight to Punta Arenas. They switched detours mid-stream which cost them. They also found new people to bicker at, each other. They didn’t get too confrontational after Amber lied to them, twice! But in a road block that was all about luck, they still had some, getting an interesting letter from Marshall and Lance (the pizza guys from AR5). Charla needed every last bit of energy to get to the pit stop sixth ahead of …
ROB AND AMBER
Biggest collapse since Greg Norman at the 1996 Masters. Let’s break this down.
They do a good job searching the internet while waiting for their flight. At the detour, it starts to unravel. Rob gets all the cities of Magellan’s voyage right at the sign post but spells Philipeans, uh, I mean Philippines wrong. He never notices and decides to change detours. Then he thinks he knows the place to go but is mistaken so that costs him more time. Amber does a great job throwing Charla and Mirna off to the whereabouts of a clue box then covers up later telling them that she was talking to Rob. Their luck runs out and though they get an interesting letter from Susan and Patrick, they can’t overtake Charla and Mirna for sixth. Rob and Amber took the loss gracefully and say they’re very lucky in their life (their fans and detractors concur).
With that, possibly the end of the line for Rob and Amber’s reality TV career as they are looking to slow down and start a family. I can fully understand that some people are tired of their overexposure. I know a lot of people were turned off by their manipulative ways (though we saw far less of that this time around, this episode notwithstanding). Yet Rob is undoubtedly the greatest mastermind in reality TV history and we have enjoyed several years of sheer brilliance. And Amber, who I still believe should never have been cast for Survivor: All Stars, nonetheless became a tough, confident, mature woman right in front of our eyes and that was never more evident than these past few weeks (The 81st Reality TV Honor Roll spot is finally hers). There was never a desire to see them win. After all, they’ve won before and only added to their riches this time around. However it’s sad that the best team in this All Stars edition had to bow out this soon.
Next week, a confrontation NOT involving Charla and Mirna. Till then.