Amazing Race 16 Secret Scenes, Episode 7:  Details, Details…

After the abysmal performance this leg with the absence of coconut details, every team is claiming they’re totally going to focus on the next leg.  But with Caite & Brent still getting lost, brothers Dan & Jordan still squabbling about silly details, and Steve & Allie (pictured) leaving their bags in Africa, although they admit they’re happy about it, I’ll believe it when I see it!  Also, at Elimination Station, Joe is all ready to confront Louie & Michael as he just can’t let things go.  Read on for more of the gory “details!”

At the Pit Stop

Getting Stronger:  Phil asks Allie how they’re feeling?  She thinks they’re getting stronger and even the loss of their backpacks hasn’t phased either of them.  Steve has been especially good about rolling with the punches and helping to keep her calm.  She’s surprised the race has been as fun as it has as she was expecting it to be much more emotional.  Steve loves that this morning they were in Paris and now they’re swimming in the Seychelles.

Concerning their missing backpacks, Phil asks when they realized they were gone.  Allie tells him that it was after their long walk carrying the banana bunches and getting on the boat.  She saw Dan & Jordan with their bags and realized she thought that their backpacks were going to be picked up for them.  That’s when she realized that wasn’t the case.  It was too far to go back, unless they had left their money and passports in them.  Steve likes their predicament and it allows them to get some new things.  Phil is encouraged by their optimism and asks if they remember what happened to last season’s Zeb & Justin and their lost passports.  Steve said that it was because of them that he always carries his important money and documents on him.

Getting Along:  Formerly squabbling brothers Dan & Jordan confess that when they opened the clue, they read Seychelles as Say-Chilis.  Phil is amused.  Dan explains that they had no idea where the Seychelles were but deduced it wasn’t in South America since they had already been there.  They do like what the Seychelles turned out to be, as it is extremely beautiful and they want to come back to visit.  Phil is curious if their stress level is lower and under control.  Dan confirms that they’re doing good and Justin reiterates that even when they fight, it’s fighting like brothers always do.  But now they’re down here and taking their time, not panicking and just racing as well as they can.  They’ve managed to make headway even if other teams don’t approve of their racing style.

Louie Needs to Shape Up:  Phil admits that he’s worried about Louie’s aerobic condition, as he sees that Louie is definitely the biggest and strongest guy out there.  Louie admits his aerobics suck, but he’s not too worried.  Phil believes that there may be a problem if they have to run to the finish line.  They even got passed in the swimming portion here.  Michael confesses that he had to keep cajoling Louie to move and believes that his yelling will be enough to overcome any deficiencies in Louie’s cardio condition.  Louie promises Phil that they’re here to the end.

When asked who else will be there at the end with them, Louie & Michael gesture to the team next to them (Caite & Brent, off-camera) and mention the cowboys too.  They pledge to help out the models as much as they can even if it involves picking them physically up.  Phil wonders if maybe at the end of the race with all this extra cardio if Louie may actually be fit.  Phil notices that Louie is sporting two-pack abs which then causes Louie to flex his giant guns.  He then goes through the rest of his poses which confirms that Louie indeed is ridiculously strong.  But his cardio still sucks.

Carol & Brandy’s Word Association:  Phil wants Carol & Brandy to describe the other teams with just one word.  Louie & Michael: determined.  Brent & Caite: lucky, which sets Brandy into cackles of laughter.  The Cowboys: enigmatic, although neither of them are really passionate about that particular choice.  Father/Daughter (I think Phil suddenly forgot Steve & Allie’s name!):  strong, or consistent, and they’re both sure that they will end up first or second.  Themselves:  Brandy says surprising, while Carol admits that up until today she would have said consistent.  The coconut really threw them off today, but Brandy still stands by surprising.  She believes the other teams never gave them enough credit to handle the challenges thus far.  About Dan & Jordan:  crazy.

Phil reminds them that they’re seven legs into the race and here they are at the back of the pack, with five legs left to go.  Carol & Brandy are both confused if there really are only five legs left and Phil asks her if she remembers his Starting Line speech.  She obviously doesn’t but she does play on Phil’s vanity as she says that she’s seen so many seasons and sometimes there are 11 legs and sometimes 12.  Brandy calls her out for sucking up, but Carol then recalls Phil’s fear of Adrian’s calves and his insistence that no one can start the race until he drops his arm.

Cowboys Reboot:  A very exhausted Jet admits to Phil that he’s very tired.  Asked how he’s going to regroup, Jet tells Phil he just needs to sleep.  Phil laughs and points out that this could be the final mat and they could be the the third team to arrive and be in the final three.  But they’re not.  Cord explains that the Detours and Roadblocks are not easy and anyone thinking this race would be easy needs to reconsider that opinion.  Phil did see that after he pointed out that they weren’t supposed to be at the Pit Stop yet, they went off with gusto and weren’t down on themselves.  Cord confirms that until Phil tells them they have to stop, they’re not going to stop.

Phil bets that anyone who can last eight seconds on a bull is tough, but Jet laughs and says that swimming 300 meters is a lot worse.  Cord would rather swim for eight seconds just so it would be over.  Jet strangely says that the altitude is killing him.  Cord patiently explains that they’re at sea level and Phil is intrigued as to what Jet means.  They just laugh.  Cord is thrilled to just have all the experiences he’s had so far on the race, million dollars or not.  He’s happy to be here and Jet agrees as he’s especially happy to be doing this race with Cord.

Phil reminds them that the race comes down to managing details and it can be won or lost on your detail skills.  He remembers that they were doing well in the early legs but this leg they made a lot of mistakes.  Cord recalls that on day one of the race, he & Jet saw that one of the other team members had the word “details” written on his hand.  They now understand that as they realize they have to focus and regroup as if they do so, they may just find themselves up at the head of the pack again.  But it does all come back to details.

Extra Race Footage

Off to a Bad Start:   A frustrated Brent who is behind the wheel tells us that they were supposed to be driving the other way.  He’s upset and Caite just stays quiet so as not to antagonize him any further.  Plenty of silence follows as Brent anxiously looks for a place they can turn the car around.  Caite bets there’s probably a “fliparound” somewhere and Brent angrily asks what the heck a fliparound is.  Brent is exasperated as he realizes they’ve been driving the wrong direction for hours.  He gets frustrated with Caite’s claims that they “just have to” do things as she doesn’t seem to understand there’s no where for him to just do anything.  Caite admits she doesn’t know where she is and that sets Brent off again as he wishes she would have looked at the map and told him the right path to take when they were at a split in the road.

Brent reminds Caite that this mistake is the same exact thing they’ve been doing all race which has resulted in their frequent missteps.  Caite defends herself and that these mistakes are normal but Brent isn’t convinced.  He is upset that even though she didn’t know where she was going, she insisted on a certain path.  He wishes she would admit when she doesn’t know something as that would save them loads of time in the long run.  She blames him for trying to make himself look good but Brent lets her know that all he looks is lost at the moment.  Caite refuses to admit there’s anything to admit to, and more awkward silence ensues.  The highway exit appears and Caite claims victory.

Brent & Caite Enjoy the View:  On their sailboat journey in the Seychelles, Brent & Caite are amazed at the beautiful scenery they’re racing through.  Brent would love to sit on the beach and have some drinks.  Caite feels that she’s blessed to be there and they’re still having a great time.  Suddenly Caite notices something out of camera view and speculates that it’s an animal.  Brent looks and reassures her that it’s just a dinghy.  Caite isn’t convinced and continues to keep her gaze locked on that distant target while Brent goes on about continuing on.

Joe & Heidi Return:  Standing outside the French Airport terminal, Louie & Michael tell us that there was a bomb scare and everyone was evacuated.  They admit they started getting nervous but then they realized that this is probably Joe & Heidi’s revenge as they probably called in the bomb threat.  They’ve probably figured out morse code and sent the message via the morse code beeps.  Ha!

Race on Hold:  In their helicopter ride, Steve tells us that they’re currently in second place.  He bets that all the parents out there are jealous as he as a father is getting to spend this amazing experience with his daughter.  He recommends that the parents take the opportunity now as you only live once.  Allie is just surprised that this is her first experience in Africa as she would have expected a safari atmosphere.   Instead, here she is an a tropical paradise.

Feeling Left Out:  Carol & Brandy are driving through the French countryside to the airport and are uncertain as to why the cowboys don’t acknowledge them.  At the beginning Cord was fairly friendly but over the last two legs, the cowboys have gotten less friendly.  Brandy speculates the tension is there because Carol & Brandy are finishing near or in front of the cowboys.  Both confirm that Jet doesn’t say anything to anybody but Louie and the guys, but they confirm that it seems he just doesn’t talk to the girls, even Caite.  They don’t understand why he is like that to them and they find it a little odd and annoying.

Dan & Jordan in Harmony:  Jordan believes that he & Dan have considerable respect and goodwill towards all the remaining teams on the race.  He admits that he didn’t like the team of Joe because they loved Heidi, but they don’t miss Joe at all.   Louie & Michael are from Rhode Island as are the brothers, so they love having that connection.  Steve & Allie are hilarious.  The cowboys are nice and can be sketchy at times, but they do their own thing and they’re good at what they do, so Jordan wishes them the best of luck.  Brent & Caite are nice individuals and mean well.  That leaves the lesbians and Jordan admits that some days they don’t like them, but most days they really really like them. Dan & Jordan both admit that if they were not able to win the race, they’d want to see Louie & Michael win it all without a doubt.

Childhood Flashbacks:  Dan & Jordan knew that it was inevitable that they would end up riding an ox.  When they were kids, they would play the videogame Oregon Trail and in that game, sometimes their virtual oxen would get sick and die.  These virtual deaths would affect them sometimes moreso than the virtual people in their cart getting sick.  So now that they’re riding a real ox, it’s a dream come true although instead of the Oregon Trail, they’re in paradise.

After the Race

Not According to Plan:  Dan gives Jordan huge credit for his performance in today’s leg.  The order they’ve taken the challenges on, especially the Roadblocks, have almost made it seem as if they planned it out.  Dan notices that in the beginning there were more extreme and more athletic challenges to accomplish.  He never gets to say that he took care of those as Jordan gives a look that Dan sees and accurately comprehends that Jordan begs to differ.  He’ll give Dan that the challenges were more extreme in nature, but bungee jumping isn’t athletic.  Dan asks Jordan how is lassoing considered an extreme sport and Jordan responds that he didn’t think that it was a challenge that Dan had to do.  Jordan gets offended and asks if Dan thinks that rappelling down into the wine vault was something more suited to Jordan and Dan falls into the trap and agrees.  Oh boy.

Now that he realizes that he’s stirred up a hornet’s nest, Dan tells Jordan that Jordan is too competitive.  Dan tries to make a point that he is indeed doing all the athletic challenges and he’s surprised Jordan doesn’t admit that.  Jordan obviously doesn’t agree and points out that Dan did do the more extreme water and food challenges, but they weren’t necessarily more athletic.  Dan persists that their arrangement was that he’d do all the athletic challenges as he obviously more athletic.  Jordan shakes his head.

Amazingly, Jordan now tells us that they are getting along great on the race and that when they do fight, it’s always about stupid things and they get over it very quickly.  He admits they butt heads frequently but they are aware enough to catch themselves and remember why they’re here in the first place.  They both realize that now isn’t the time or place to have stupid fights.  Duh!?

Getting the Job Done:  Carol admits that she & Brandy do still squabble during the race but for the most part, they quickly move past it and focus on racing.  When they get a chance to talk about it later, they realize that during the race, they can’t take in the scenery and appreciate it.  But later when thinking about it, they finally realize how amazing it all is.  Their bickering never reaches a point where it affects their decision-making skills, but Brandy rolls her eyes at that.  Carol remembers that on the boat ride she was sure that they were in last place.  At that time, she told Brandy how great she was doing and even at that point of possible despair, their team was still strong and the decision for Brandy to do the Roadblock was effortless.  Carol is just amazed at how motivated Brandy was during this leg.  So they hope that they can continue to keep in good spirits and maintain minimal bickering, as Brandy remembers that their game was nearly devastated by Carol’s South American meltdown.

Jet Bites His Tongue:  There have been moments on the race where Jet wanted to say something or do something, but he thought that saying or doing them wouldn’t have helped the team’s gameplay in any way.  He thinks that’s how it is in life as well, as the people who can hold back from saying whatever is on their mind will typically be better off.  He cryptically mentions that especially during this leg he wanted to do other things but he held back.  What’s he talking about?  Anyway, Jet is sure that there wasn’t another team that could have swam as much as they ended up swimming today.  He knows that they’re still a threat to the other teams, even if those other teams have now counted them out.

First Place, No Bags:  Allie thinks that you learn something every leg, but they were rushing too fast obviously this leg as they ended up losing their backpacks.  So maybe you end up learning in some areas but not in others.  Steve admits he just got cocky and that it was a bad mistake.  He’s just relieved that he has his Oakley sunglasses as he can’t see in the bright outdoors without them.  He even has his reading glasses still.  Alone without Allie, Steve knows that she’ll hold up fine without their backpack belongings.  Once the next leg starts, they can purchase more clothes but he isn’t too worried as at least down here, all she’ll need is her bathing suit.  But he will make it a priority to buy her new clothes, such as a jacket and some thermals in case one of the next destinations is colder.  He’s actually glad that all her makeup is gone as she doesn’t need as she’s already a beautiful woman.

Negative Influence:  Michael finds Carol & Brandy to always be negative about everything, no matter where they are.  He’s just happy to be here so he can’t understand their negativity.  He also thinks that Carol & Brandy rag on Brent & Caite a lot, and they’re such nice people.  Okay, I have to interject.  I think Carol & Brandy made one off-hand comment about the tiara and it wasn’t that catty.  Someone else got all gossipy and told Caite.  Now she won’t let it go.  You don’t see any further antagonism from Carol & Brandy towards Brent & Caite than you’d see between any of the other racers.  So move on!  And that ends my rant for this article!  Louie tells us that indeed Carol makes a lot of comments towards Caite though, and he doesn’t understand why a 40-year-old woman would let a kid upset your life so much.  Michael gives the 18-year-old “kids” some leniency as they will of course make mistakes, so just lay off and leave the kids alone.  Ohhhhkay.  I guess there must be even more super secret scenes we don’t get to see!

Brent’s Speed Dating:  Brent believes that the race rapidly increases the amount you know the person you’re dating, no matter how much time has been spent together previously.  As a team, you’re thrown in to the mix and a whole lot of crap is thrown at you, so you can see how the other reacts to both good and bad things.  How will the other treat strangers?  He is very happy to have this opportunity with Caite and thinks it’s a good thing for them.  The perfect end of the race would be of course if they won and to also keep their relationship at the point it’s at now.  He hopes there isn’t a situation down the line that could potentially tear them apart.  Brent doubts that is going to happen.

He wants to win the million dollars and start their life together right.  Brent tells us that Caite has mentioned a wedding ring but he knows that they’ll need a bit of down time after the race so he doesn’t want to make any immediate changes.  He’d like to relax a bit before something else huge hits their relationship.  Brent admits marriage is on his mind and he loves her to pieces.  He’s seen all the she can be on the race and he still loves her.  Awwwww…

Elimination Station

In the pool, Joe grills Jeff about his knowledge of what get he & Heidi eliminated.  Let it go, Joe!  Privately, Adrian explains to us that when Jeff arrived, he had more insight as to why Louie & Michael U-Turned Joe & Heidi.  Jeff asks Joe what he thinks the reason for his U-Turn was.  Was it due to Joe’s performance or was it personal?  Joe reasons that it must be that Louie & Michael considered them a competitive team and hence a threat.  Jeff admits that he thinks it was probably a more personality based decision.  Privately, Jeff reasons that Joe wasn’t a performance threat, especially with the condition of his knee.  So he figures it must have been a personal thing.  Adrian agrees with Jeff’s assessment because obviously Joe’s bad knee prevented that team from being a true threat.  It had to be personal.

Not sure how Joe is honestly taking their assessment, but he remembers a moment at the beginning of the race where Michael apparently told Joe that he & Louie were going to follow Joe & Heidi to the airport.  Joe told them no and that they were two grown men and can find their own way.  Both Jeff & Adrian laugh as this only confirms their suspicions.  Joe thinks that’s all just part of the race.  He is adamant that he’s going to eventually talk to Louie & Michael and confront them on why they’d U-Turn an injured man and his wife.  Wow.  This guy is a piece of work.

In the afternoon, Shawne is decked out in some very colorful threads and tells us that there are some Mexican dancers coming over to teach them how to dance.  At the pool, we see a parade of very colorful Aztecs stream in.  Adrian doesn’t want to do any more girly stuff and Joe is ready to use his knee to get out of it if he feels like not dancing.  The Aztec dancers start their ritualistic tribal dancing and the group sits in the shade and watches the performance.  At a certain point, the dancers gesture for the group to join in.  Jody & Shannon jump right in, as do most everyone.  You can even see Jeff boogeying away in the background.   Heck, he even puts on one of the giant headdresses!

Everyone chants for Jordan to jump into the limelight, so she dutifully dons one of the giant headdresses and watches the moves she’s supposed to mimic.  Her face clearly reveals that she has no idea what to do.  Jordan admits that to us and tells us that she was terrible at the dancing.  As the dancing continued, Dana suddenly noticed that Jody was doing a drum solo on one of the bongo drums.  Jody is beating the heck out of them and having a blast.  Shannon is suitably impressed.   Most everyone participates in the festivities and Shawne comments that this very diverse group of people is being brought closer together through these great shared activities.  Jeff admits that while he still wishes he was racing, the positives at Elimination Station are outweighing the negatives.

Privately on their room’s balcony, Joe tells Heidi about the conversation he had with Jeff and Adrian.  He tells her that the consensus was that Louie & Michael U-Turned them because they didn’t like them.  Joe asks Heidi if she thinks Louie & Michael didn’t like “them.”  Joe, I don’t think they liked you!  Funnily enough, Heidi also says that because she’s sure that they didn’t dislike her.  She believes it’s because Joe is too confrontational or in-your-face but she is sure it’s all about him and not her.  Wow, I’m impressed that she’s saying that to him.  Joe tells Heidi that he plans on confronting Louie & Michael still as he wants to hear from them why they were afraid of a one-legged man and a PTA mom.  Give it a rest, Joe!  Have I said that already?

Hobie Barnes works in NYC at 30 Rock (the building, not the show). While not conquering Midtown, he might be found watching DVR’d reality TV, learning the guitar (I’m not afraid of you anymore, C chord!), or getting lost on the subway. He can be reached at hobiewan76@gmail.com.