That non-elimination was pretty darn expected.
Taxi Assessment:
Stuck in the Desert and Officially Detained - or, Philiminated with extreme prejudice.
Hoskote & Naina and Rowan & Shane and Chester & Ephraim and Brandon & Adam and Tim & Danny - Already eliminated.
Flat Tire - or, not likely to get anywhere soon.
Ally & Ashley (holding steady) - So Ally & Ashley once again compete for last place, and again finish just out of trouble. This marks four episodes in a row where they’ve finished second-to-last. So maybe Nicky & Kim are in worse shape for next episode, but Ally & Ashley are just biding time until they go home.
Stopping for Gas - or, not broken-down, exactly, but not a good sign.
Nicky & Kim (holding steady) - Not a good episode for Nicky & Kim, who lose all the advantage they had from a comfortable second-place finish last week, and fall all the way to the back of the pack. Still, they’re saved from elimination this week, although they’ll have to do some kind of worthless sit-on-a-park-bench-type task next week, so they might need a little help to survive.
“Rapido! Por Favor?” - or, making meaningless ineffectual comments from the back seat, but in no immediate danger.
Leo & Jamal (holding steady) - Another good leg for Leo & Jamal. The decision to jump on the only-ten-minute-earlier flight could have been risky, just because of the vagaries of flight delays, but it wound up being a non-factor. (With the two direct flights taking off and landing at the same airport, and presumably following the same flight path, most of the reasons for delays would apply to both planes anyway. Still, moves that seperate you from the pack aren’t to be taken lightly.) Or, actually, the only-ten-minute-earlier flight maybe was a factor: Leo & Jamal seem to have kept about a ten-minute lead through the mosque and the Detour and onto the “luxury yacht,” so that may have been a direct factor in their win.
Tim & Marie (holding steady) - For all the yelling and over-hurriedness on the Detour task, Tim & Marie did finish ahead of both Ally & Ashley and Nicky & Kim. Not stiff competition, to be sure, but showing more attention to detail than I thought this team capable of.
In the Passing Lane - or, ahead of the pack, but not quite comfortably.
Jason & Amy (holding steady) - Jason & Amy seem to have this “always a bridesmaid” thing going on, where for the last five episodes running (save for the abortive Fast Forward attempt) they’ve been battling for first place, but not quite getting there. They did choose what I thought was the better of the two Detour options, but the advantage was only a few minutes.
Cruisin’ with Earl - or, drivin’ on the shoulder, takin’ shortcuts, and generally kickin’ butt.
Travis & Nicole (holding steady) - A slight amount of stressed peevishness from Travis & Nicole, which was either substantially not shown or given more consideration by the editors than it was worth. They fall to third, but this is also the sixth time in seven episodes that they’ve finished in the top three, so that bodes well for making it tho the final three.