I am shocked. Just . . . shocked. With two legs in Siberia, I really figured that one would be a non-elimination leg. But when Amanda & Kris gave their confessional how sure of themselves they were (being young and fit and all that), I had a feeling that this leg might be an elimination leg. And then, Margie & Luke got worried about how strong and fast Kris was, and I had a feeling that they'd get U-Turned. Finally, Amanda & Kris bitched about getting U-Turned, and I knew they were toast.
And my thoughts? Good. I liked them okay, but they really were the last generic team left. So now that we've got seven really unique teams left in the race, I'm definitely going to be happy with whomever takes the big prize in the end.
Oh, and Christie & Jodi winning the leg? FINE BY ME! They really earned it! Kisha & Jen would've had Kisha not botched the Roadblock and then missed the entrance to the theater. This is the first time since All-Stars that two women's teams have taken the top two spots on a leg (as Dustin & Kandice and Charla & Mirna had three one-two finishes)! Excellent episode, indeed!
And yes, Poo. The women's teams did do well this week (Jaime & Cara's Detour struggle notwithstanding). Really amazing that they all made it through four legs unscathed! But I think that's as far as they're going before the first one takes a hit.
Okay. Team analyses:
Christie & Jodi: Well-earned victory, indeed. They thought smart in their Detour choice and stayed calm despite Christie's Roadblock struggle. They were also smart to look up flights ahead of time and got ahead because of it. I enjoyed seeing them own this leg, and I hope it's the start of them turning their performances around.
Kisha & Jen: Another really solid leg after last week's great leg. They did just as well as Christie & Jodi save for Kisha's Roadblock brain fart. I think if they'd just run to the right entrance of the theater, they'd have won the leg, for sure.
Tammy & Victor: Nice recovery this week. They made good time with the Detour, Victor did well with the Roadblock, and they made up for their near-elimination the greatest of ease. Congratulations to them. I actually liked Victor a lot better this week, too.
Margie & Luke: Good job at the Detour, and it was smart to U-Turn Amanda & Kris since, as they said, they are strong and threatening (especially Kris). Luke really had trouble with that Roadblock, but good on him to try writing down different combinations of letters. But I hope they don't become the villain team next week.
Jaime & Cara: Jaime really panicked at the Detour when their wall started to fall, but good on Cara for staying as calm as she could, and keeping Jaime from going over the top. But girls, please stop the "no need for boys!" thing. It was cute in your Insider videos, but it could get old here.
Mel & Mike: Lowest finish so far, and all because of a.) messing up at the Stack Detour and b.) messing up at finding the delivery location of the Construct Detour. Mel cleaned up at the Roadblock, though, so of the bottom three teams, they deserved to finish ahead of all of them.
Mark & Michael: They could've easily nailed a place in the top three if they'd just started over with the stacking or just not messed it up. Switching Detours slowed them down, and failing to find the house slowed them down even more. Michael also failed to pay close enough attention at the Roadblock, but good job figuring out the answer right away upon getting all seven letters. I'm sure losing all their money will hurt them going forward, though. They're very lucky Amanda & Kris got U-Turned, or they would've been toast.
Amanda & Kris: Switching Detours was the catalyst for their demise. Not finding the house location in time made things worse for them. Getting U-Turned by Margie & Luke was the clincher. I'm okay with this ending, though. They were a strong, solid team, but also very, very, very generic, and, to be honest, kind of boring. So I'm not sad to see them go.
Oh, and I'd have probably done Stack for the Detour, but wouldn't have been opposed to doing Construct, either.
So . . . after episode four:
LOVE: Christie/Jodi, Kisha/Jen, Tammy/Victor, Margie/Luke, Jaime/Cara, Mel/Mike, Mark/Michael
LIKE: No one
NEUTRAL: No one
DISLIKE: No one
HATE: No one
Oh, my God! What a great season indeed! For me, only loves are left!