If you look at it that way, did they really need to pick up any livestock in the first place.
As much of an asshole as Jonathan is (and he certainly was charming again this episode, especially in his skivvies), Victoria was annoying as all get-out this time. I told my wife that she had better have taken her hand off in the table saw to be squealing like that, and Victoria was apparently fine before the task was even finished.
As soon as I saw that the two of them had a child carrying bags and driving their donkey, I just felt certain that karma was coming. I did hope for more of a final blowout, but they were pretty much blowing out the whole episode. At the end, I had to agree with Victoria - the two did seem joined at the soul.
Rebecca and Erin stepped up into the dysfunctional spotlight. He was typically pathetic, and she deftly manipulated the conflict away from a competitive miscue on her part to his beastly behavior. I got much pleasure from the fact that they Yielded another team, and ended up finishing behind them. Erin must have walked at least half an hour away from where he needed to go.
Kris and Jon better step up. If they go, it just won’t be very interesting to watch.
Of course, by Erin in the above post, I meant Adam. Why I keep wanting to call him Aaron I don’t know.
Hey other Barbarian: Adam has the squiggly hair, Aaron is the tall one who is used to directing asses.
Best line of the night: You two smell really bad.
Second best line: Does he know where it is? It doesn’t matter.
I’m very surprised at Hayden & Aaron. They only survived thanks to the bunching points, and being able to beg a ton of money in Corsica.
I love that Team Star 80 got screwed by their own incompetance. This after Jonathan kept yammering for the whole series about how much smarter he was than everyone else. Not smart enough to count to 2, I guess! 
Word, Hentor, I said something similar to my wife.
This was an interesting episode from the ol’ character development standpoint…
Princess Kendra actually appeared human for a few moments this week. And hey, anyone who yells at Jonathon is a friend of mine.
Kris and John were great as always. Not much screen time, which I hope bodes will for them for the next couple legs.
Rebecca and Adam are dead to me.
I’ve always thought Aaron was pretty cool, but Hayden really won some points in this episode. She really seemed to pull it together. It’s nice to have one less team screeching at each other the whole time.
Lori and Bolo? You’re the strong team, remember? Pick up the dang roof.
The following response to the eliminated team will be ironic in light of the comment that follows:
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! . I couldn’t possibly have been happier about the outcome short of him getting eaten by a mule or something. (And how ironic that he was done in by a jackass)
That said, holy geez! Just when you think Adam couldn’t become a bigger pussy. Y’know on the Simpsons how you sometimes see gay guys (usually uber-macho gay iron workers) do the “Omigodomigodomigod!” thing as they mince about and wave their hands? It’s funny on the Simpsons because it’s a stereotype that (I thought) didn’t exist in reality. But Adam’s little hissyfit (“We were RIGHT THERE! We were RIGHT THERE!”) as he kept prancing about in a circle with that bizarre stiff-legged gait and waving his hands kept reminding me of that. Lamar was dead-on accurate with the “peed his pants” line. Also, A&R, stooopid choice of people to yield–you don’t yield the team that’s right behind you, you dumbasses, you yield the team that’s the furthest behind you–the purpose of a yield is to knock another team out of the race, not to gain a 15 (?) minute advantage and have a pissed-off team gunning for you. It’s obvious that they shoulda yielded * and Victimia. I can’t decide if I want these two to stick around for comic amusement value or if I’m just sick of 'em.
And what’s up with KKKendra? She’s getting even worse-didja catch the “Oh, they want to be poor!” comments?
And, again.
I was happy to see Hayden and Aaron do so well tonight. True, they’re not the most sympathetic team (that’s still Kris and Jon), but losing last week and going broke automatically made them the underdogs, which put me on their side.
And speaking of Kris and Jon, once they had also reached the Pit Stop I was happy no matter who got philiminated tonight.
Actually, “honey,” she was still pretty uppity about Africa, “honey,” even though she did allow that these Ethiopians looked like they chose to be poor, or something equally inane, “honey!” What, isn’t anybody “Baby” anymore?
But what a waste of a Yield! It was fitting that Freddie and Kendra actually arrived at the pitstop before Hellboy and Friend who Yielded them.
And finally, all our prayers have been answered and we don’t have to put up with * and Victimia any more. Whoever will we pick on now?
As soon as I heard the J&V voiceover talking about how they’ve maintained their relationship through this race, I knew they were toast. 
It’s not as satisfying an elimination as it could have been, but going from first to last at the detour really proved what mental magicians they are, lol. For what it’s worth, Victoria’s so whiny and useless she gets the special “Triple Flo Award” for this season. Jonathan totally deserves her.
Incidentally, I thought I saw Jonathan driving on the freeway earlier this week, but on closer inspection it was just some other asshole in a Ferrari. There’s so many of them out here, they keep breeding and breeding and breeding…speaking of which, is nobody gonna take Kendra to task for her comments? “It’s like a different type of poverty here, and they seem to choose to be poor.” Man, I nearly fell out of my chair laughing.
Rebecca’s a total bitch. Adam needs to get as far away from her as possible. Why he doesn’t, I can’t fathom. Oh yeah, he’s an idiot. And not altogether sane, it would seem! I really thought he was gonna pull a Richard Blake right there in the ferry terminal, with cameras rolling and everything.
Of course, if I were in their place, I’d tell J&V that I’m yielding the other team, and then yield J&V instead. 
But then I guess I’d find my tires slashed every week…
From the Leaderboard:
Hayden/Aaron: Hayden was redeemed this episode. First, by the show reminding us that she took blame for her part in the bad turns the team had taken, and by showing such genuine respect for the local importance of the church area. Wow! Accountability! Humility! After the Rice hearings today, I’d almost forgotten what those looked like! It seemed like the old Hayden and Aaron were back at the Pit Stop, and I was happy to see them there. (Or was something else just making me happy?)
Lori/Bolo: I don’t really like these two at all anymore (and how did they beat Kris/Jon to the Pit Stop, anyway?), but they raced hard and well this leg, so kudos to them. (Or is some other development increasing my sense of charity tonight?)
Kris/Jon: Don’t see what made them finish third, would have like to see the old one-two punch of Hayden/Aaron and Kris/Jon at the top of the field, but what can you do? (Hmmm, it’s as though some change in the wind has eased my sense of anxiety about the show, I wonder what it could be?)
Freddy/Kendra: Kendra almost became human tonight. Almost. Unfortunately, she still would have scored quite high on the asshole meter. But I’m not using it tonight. Just don’t feel like it. (Why is that?)
Adam/Rebecca: Team Drama Queen is going to collapse and burn soon. Kind of a shame really. Hate to see two people who want to give it a second chance fail at it. (What’s making me so charitable tonight? Can’t quite put my finger on it…)
********/Victimia Aaahh, THAT’s it! It’s morning in America again, not to mention the rest of the world! I had the worst feeling Phil was going to say the worst, and my faith in the integrity of the show would have been destroyed forever. I would know that the producers just had a knack for what makes controversial television, and knew where to place the non-elim rounds to keep the evil teams in. How glad I am to be wrong.
You realize what we have to do now? AR 7 is already a loss, I’m sure they looked at the numbers for the earliest eps of AR6 and cast three or four Jonathans, but maybe there’s still hope for AR8. We need to do everything within our power to boost the ratings now that * is gone so they get the hint.
Didja see the smile on Phil’s face?
I did see the smile on Phil’s face, although it was practically a blur because I was busy doing the happy dance.
When Phil told them they were eliminated, and * started saying, “That’s OK”, my husband finished for him, “I can berate her just as easily at home as I can here.” Although I do have to agree that she was getting worse and worse with each episode, to the point where I didn’t know if I could continue to watch if they didn’t go.
[Martin Luther King]Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty we are free at last.
[Lou Gehrig]Today-ay-ay, I consider myself-elf-elf, the luckiest man on the face of the earth.
[Gerald Ford]Our long national nightmare is over.
[Doc Holliday]Oh. Johnny, I apologize; I forgot you were there. You may go now.
[Homer Simpson]You suck diddly-uck Flanders!
Ya know, nobody was happier than Mr. singular and I to see * come in last, and I did point out Phil’s smile to him, but after rewinding and watching the scene a couple times, I think he might have been smiling at the parade of kids that accompanied them to the Amazing Bath Mat, including the kid with *'s blue hat. It was a pretty cool sight. And of course, that’s only part of the reason - I do think he was happy to see them come in last. I thought there were two ways to take Victimia’s “disappointment” - partly because they lost, and partly because she’s married to such a dick.
Most Satisfying? I really think that was him sobbing at the end!
And one of the funniest moments was the worshiper that cheated for Lori. If you looked carefully, just as Lori says her last perky optimistic statement about the task, on the far left of the screen you can see one of the guys waving his arm and pointing at the guy with the matching medallion. It was hysterical!
And it looked like Freddy had hurt his hand worse than Victoria did. He has a lot more blood from what we saw, and he just kept on going.
Word. (Heh.) I am totally dragging my sorry ass to church this week. Although I did notice, LORD, that you have a wicked sense of humor. Banish the Wicked, but give the Not-So-Nice a free trip to Mexico. (Heh.) I have a feeling you and the Virgin of Guadalupe are going to have some words about that.
By the way, would I be pushing my luck to ask for your help with the Eagles on Sunday? I’ll drop an extra dollar in the basket …
An elimination leg, and a great episode, finally! TIme for this week’s
Taxi Assessment
Stuck in the Desert and Officially Detained - or, Philiminated with extreme prejudice.
Avi/Joe - We’re partying…
Meredith/Maria - all night long…
Lena/Kristy - down at the…
Don/MJ - railroad station…
Gus/Hera - in Pliliminationtown!
Johnathon/Victoria (downgraded from Fast, fast!) - First let me say this: Hahahahahahahahahaha! Also, hahahahahahahaha. And hahahaha. There. This team has really decreased my enjoyment of this show, and I couldn’t be happier that they’re finally, finally Piliminated. I admit, though, that I was hoping for some sort of comletely self-destructive tizzy wherein they both froth at the mouth, spin in circles, and eventually get splashed with water and melt away into nothingness. However, anything that removes these two from my television screen is satisfactory to me. Plus, Johnathon did practically gift the entire nation with his clue-reading mistake, enabling the punchline, “but they did bring two asses!” so, uh, there’s that, too.
Anyway, simply poor task management by this team – luckily for us, all of Johnathon’s negatives as a racer occured all at once. He tends to avoid hard work, so they took the wrong Detour option. He gets into spastic mode, so they burned time looking for the donkeys. And he’s too sure of himself, so they didn’t reread the clue. I grudgingly give them credit for taking advantage of another team’s stupidity (Adam and Rebecca, I’m looking at you), but in the end, it was all for naught. Good riddance.
Flat Tire - or, not likely to get anywhere soon.
Empty this week, but ready to accept the next team to fall from grace.
Stopping for Gas - or, not broken-down, exactly, but not a good sign.
Adam/Rebecca (downgraded from Stopping for Gas) - Uh…what the Hell? I thought this team was on its way up, but they completely lose it this week. The in-fighting is bad enough, but now their in-race performance, especially at the end of the leg, completely went to pot. First of all they Yield the wrong team. Hey, dummies – if you’re gonna Yield someone, you Yield the last place team. For heavens sake, do I need to teach you how to play checkers, too? Then Adam goes running off somewhere else in the middle of the Roadblock, and Rebecca doesn’t even try to warn him. And then, Adam’s spastic little “I-can’t-think-Mommy” pee-dance? What on Earth?
Fast, fast! - or, making meaningless ineffectual comments from the back seat, but in no immediate danger.
Lori/Bolo (holding steady) - A nearly flawless leg on their part – the only mistake being their incomprehensible decision to take the mud-packing Detour option. Why would anyone, especially big strong rasslers, not choose the roof-raising option? I mean, you just let other people do all the work! How hard could that be? Still, they turn in a strong second-place finish. After thir disasterous showing in the not-elimination-but-not-non-elimination leg a few weeks ago, this team has come on strong. If Bolo can keep reading a map correctly, they could go all the way.
Freddy/Kendra (holding steady) - Another team that chose the wrong Detour option. They eke out a fourth place finish due to Team Stupid and Team Asinine, but the Detour choice could have been costly. To their credit, they didn’t really panic after being Yielded, and seem to have remained relatively calm through the entire leg. Not up to par with the leaders, but they have potential.
In the Passing Lane - or, not too bad, just not top-speed.
Hayden/Aaron (upgraded from Stopping for Gas) - Back into the passing lane, this team is. Y’know, the performance of this team is pretty consistantly tied to Hayden’s attitide. Last week Hayden was near-useless, and they were just about eliminated. This week, she pulled it back together, and they come in first place. If she keeps on an even keel, they’re looking good for the final three. (And by the way, when did Aaron become such a funny-man? He sure didn’t learn it from Hayden.)
Cruisin’ with Earl - or, drivin’ on the shoulder, takin’ shortcuts, and generally kickin’ butt.
Kris/Jon (holding steady) - Again, not a dominating performance by this team, but neither are they showing any liabilities, so they remain in first place. See, the key though the first ten episode or so isn’t comin in first, it’s not coming in last. All the other teams have potential to flame out on any given leg and stick themselves in last – Adam and Rebecca could have a knock-down drag-out, Lori and Bolo could get lost, Kendra could get squicked out, Hayden could go all banshee on Aaron’s ass. Kris anf Jon don’t seem to have those liabilities, so the smart money is on them to be final three.
[sub]Props to Mullinator and his Raj Ratings.[/sub]
[Loud Booming Voice]
Oh My daughter! Did I not cause Her muzzy, just-woke-up-in-the-airport countenance to be shown upon national television? Did I not whisper in the ear of Aaron, causing him to liken Her unto the hindquarters of a donkey – the ass of an ass? Have I not set them up high, so that they may later be cast down low?
Push not thy luck, My daughter, lest I get all Old Testament upon thy ass.
[/LBV]
Sweet Jesus, yes!
And the best line of the season (maybe the entire show’s history) was uttered by Jonathan last night:
“Victoriaaaaa, have some self respect!” – Jonathan, standing in the middle of a manure field wearing nothing but his underwear and shoes.
I’m kind of glad that Adam & Rebecca Yielded Freddy & Kendra instead of Jonathan and Victoria. Tactically stupid, yes, but I’m not sure I’d want to see how J. would react to being Yielded. Last season, Colin just sat there, stewed, and held a grudge, but he didn’t start screaming at Christie about it. Assathan would probably have started screaming or worse at Victoria, blaming her for putting her in the position where they could be Yielded. Enough is enough. Order and honor is restored.