I like the less straightforward, DIY clues the teams got this episode. Now, it’s not like the clues were really strange and complicated–there’s not that many possible interpretations of a placename on a piece of paper–but minimizing the additional information = maximizing the chances a team will make a mistake. And let me tell you, mistakes were made.
Taxi Assessment:
Stuck in the Desert and Officially Detained - or, Philiminated with extreme prejudice.
Dana & Adrian and Jody & Shannon and Monique & Shawne and Joe & Heidi - Still eliminated.
Jordan & Jeff (down from “Stopping”) - There was no major bunching in this episode, and no chance for Jordan & Jeff to catch up to the rest of the teams. Or, actually, that’s not true: this whole episode was a comedy of navigational errors, which offered a golden opportunity for a trailing team like Jordan & Jeff to pull even with leading teams. Unfortunately, Jordan & Jeff made their own errors, and despite nearly every other team screwing up badly, there wasn’t a lot of suspense about who was going home. And, I’m almost afraid to admit, I’m sorry to see them go. I thought at the beginning of the season that newly-dating reality whores Jordan & Jeff would be grating. Turns out that Jordan’s as dumb as a stump, but actually seemed rather sweet about it rather than nasty and defensive. And who else could possibly give you the delightful vision of Ste. Joan gathering the animals two by two and driving them aboard an ark with her flaming sword as the Englsh inexorably advanced?
Flat Tire - or, not likely to get anywhere soon.
Brent & Caite (holding steady) - Who else could give you that delightful vision? Hum. Brent & Caite have been protected from last place the last few episodes by dint of being a little better than Jordan & Jeff. That wasn’t very impressive then, and it’s not going to help them in the future. An airport bunching scene is overdue, which will probably help them at the beginning of the next episode, but Brent & Caite are tired and cranky now, and weren’t very smart or talented to begin with. The chances of them surviving the next episode seem slim, although there’s always the not-so-slim hope that some team will do something incredibly dumb. Unfortunately for Brent & Caite, it’s odds-on that they’ll be that team.
Stopping for Gas - or, not broken-down, exactly, but not a good sign.
Dan & Jordan (holding steady) - Jordan (or was it Dan?) was right, in general, in that it’s almost always better to opt for the skill task than the needle-in-a-haystack task. However: [begin Philosophical TAR Discussion] needle-in-a-haystack challenges are bad, because you can spend X amount of time and make no progress at all. The champagne-glass task, despite being a skill task, is in the same league: IF you knock over the pyramid, you’ve made no progress at all; as we saw, knocking over the glasses is a high-probablity outcome. Both Jordan & Jeff and Brent & Caite got caught, and although Dan & Jordan didn’t knock over their pyramid, their slow careful build took way too much time, allowing.[/P-TARD] And their Detour decision, despite being intellectually defensible, landed Dan & Jordan behind teams that had literally gone to the wrong place. This team isn’t in as poor a shape as Brent & Caite, but they’re in the bottom half of the teams left.
"Rapido! Por Favor?" - or, making meaningless ineffectual comments from the back seat, but in no immediate danger.
Carol & Brandy (holding steady) - A second place is Carol & Brandy’s best showing so far. Although I’m still suspicious of their ability to make it through the whole race, Carol & Brandy have been doing better, not worse, the last couple episodes.
In the Passing Lane - or, ahead of the pack, but not quite comfortably.
Louie & Michael (up from “Rapido!”) - At the beginning of the season, it was really hard to pick out who were the favorite teams from the rest of the pack. Over the next few episodes, the cream and the dregs clearly seperated out. But now one of the dregs, Louie & Michael, have sailed to three first-place finishes in a row, while early favorites Jet & Cord have looked a lot more mediocre. I was skeptical of Louie & Michael’s turnaround at first, but they’ve been running strong and mistake-free for a long time now, and that’s enough to convince me that the first few legs were flukes, and the last three are the real Louie & Michael. They might not be the team to beat, but they are making a credible run for the final three.
Steve & Allie (holding steady) - Not a perfect leg from Steve & Allie by any means, but Steve shows his duct-tape resourcefulness, and how can you not respect that? Low in drama, high in competence.
Jet & Cord (down from “Cruisin’”) - Jet & Cord are still my favorites, but they’re looking a lot more beatable than they did during the first few legs. They’ve actually adapted to foreign countries suprisingly well for not having much foreign travel experience, but their occasional bout of naivete (heading to Champagne because it said “champagne” on a champagne bottle cork?) might sink them. Nevertheless, Jet & Cord have the best average placement, by for, of all the teams, and it would be enrmously surprising for them to not make the final three.
Cruisin’ with Earl - or, drivin’ on the shoulder, takin’ shortcuts, and generally kickin’ butt.
No one.
[sub]Props to Mullinator and his Raj Ratings.[/sub]