What an amazing comedy of errors this week. On one hand, that’s kind of disappointing, because you’d think teams were Up to some minimum level of competence by week Seven. If not, they’d better step Up their game after week Seven. Up on the other hand, it’s kind of exciting to see the order change so many times as teams cede placement because of some screw-up.
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 and Jordan & Jeff - Still eliminated.
Flat Tire - or, not likely to get anywhere soon.
Brent & Caite (holding steady) - Maybe I’m being unfair, but Brent & Caite’s decision to grab airplane tickets from a kiosk is the first independently intelligent thing I remember them doing. But kudos to them: grabbing foreward seats meant they got out of the plane and to the cluebox ahead of everyone else, keeping them in the lead group of three all the way to the Pit Stop for their best finish yet. We’ll see how that affects their Race next week: with a bit of cushion and confidence that they can finish on top, they might do well. My guess, though, is that Brent & Caite are too fatigued now (and were never really good enough before) to do well over a long term; we saw that even this week with the string of temper tantrums by both team members. Next week will be telling, but I don’t expect much out of this teeam, and for now I’ll keep them ranked here at the bottom.
Stopping for Gas - or, not broken-down, exactly, but not a good sign.
Dan & Jordan (holding steady) - This week was also the first top-three finish by Dan & Jordan. This team isn’t so hapless as Brent & Caite, and also seem to be working together better, rather than worse, as the Race progresses. Moreover, Dan & Jordan were the only team not to screw soething up. “Not screwing up” is clearly an admirable character trait and highly useful on the Race, but here I suspect it was more luck than skill. Like Brent & Caite, we’ll see how Dan & Jordan’s sudden appearance on top at the start of the next leg affects their performance. I suspect that the minute things go off-kilter, we’ll see a reappearance of the frustrated versions of Dan & Jordan.
Jet & Cord (down from “Stopping”) - Last week I thought it would be enormously surprising for Jet & Cord to not make the final three. Now… let’s just say it wouldn’t be so surprising. After coming off last week’s leg with severe navigational problems, this week Jet & Cord make three critical errors: not gunning for a good airplane seat, dropping a coconut, and, worst of all, just leaving their bottle on the boat rather than bringing it to shore. They’re obviously lucky this was a non-elimination leg, but now they’ve got a second task to perform, and had better hope there’s a bunching point at some spot in the leg. Evern if they get through this coming leg without being eliminated, they need some mental readjustment: Jet & Cord aren’t making good decisions, and if that doesn’t catch up with them next leg, it will sooner or later.
"Rapido! Por Favor?" - or, making meaningless ineffectual comments from the back seat, but in no immediate danger.
Carol & Brandy (holding steady) - On the one hand, Carol & Brandy finished way back this week, after flubbing a Detour choice and messing up the task they did complete. And next week they’re going to have to hold off a determined Jet & Cord to stay in the race. On the other hand, if they can stay in for one more episode, they’ve got a decent chance of making it into the final three. So, despite their sketchy perfoemance this leg, I’m leaving them here.
In the Passing Lane - or, ahead of the pack, but not quite comfortably.
Louie & Michael (holding steady) - Louie & Michael missed being in the first three off the plane, but still ran the rest of the leg well and finished only seconds behind Brent & Caite. That’s not another first place, but it is pretty decent performance, especially compared to the other teams this week.
Steve & Allie (holding steady) - Steve & Allie nail their first first-place after a string of four top-three finishes. They do it, however, only after losing their backpacks. They could have gone back to get them; they knew the trailing teams were all an hour behind, and Steve & Allie could have probably made it back and forth in that time. So was that a good decision? Teams have Raced sans possessions before, but the the loss of critical items, like, say, clean underwear, might be felt later.
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]
They just seem like people I wouldn’t like IRL. (Not because they’re lesbians, of course; just that they seem like people I wouldn’t be able to stand to be around for very long.)