The Third Leg

Adios, Bianca & Debbie!

Okay, how do you eat 4 POUNDS of meat? Seriously. How do you eat 4 pounds of meat? I was nauseous just watching that part of the show. I'm sad though. Bianca & Debbie were my favorite team and the one I was hoping would win. Alas, they made a HUGE tactical error when they didn't stop driving up the coast of Chile. I wonder how far 2.5 hours of driving was. What really is shocking is that they still managed to come in just shortly behind Patrick & Susan. Too bad their motivation was contagious and helped Patrick finish the food. Anyways, I don't think they're lesbians.

Santiago, Chile to Puente Viejo, Argentina

Rob keeps playing this game aggressively, that's for sure. He stole poor D&B's taxi, which while not very nice was Brilliant. I'm almost positive Rob & Amber are in the Final 3. Anyways, I had high hopes when D&B were planning and researching the journey. What the hell went wrong? And what's with Susan & Patrick staying lost in Santiago for almost 2 hours? I think I would have found help about 1.5 hours before that. Seriously. That was just stupid.

It did look beautiful though as the other teams were making their way through the Andes. That would be one helluva road trip to take. And then they got to go river rafting - excellent. And was I more than surprised to see Lynn & Alex blow by (sts) Rob & Amber? Yes. Same with Uchenna & Joyce getting by the Kmart version of Jonathan & Victoria (Amazing Race 6's crazy and seriously messed-up married couple), Ray & Deana. But of course the main event was still to come at Mendoza.

Argentina: Puente Viejo to Mendoza

Geez, we really didn't make too much mileage progress this episode. Looking at the map to the left, it almost seems like a cheap way to get an episode, as I'm so used to the producers sending these people back and forth across the world. But maybe they're trying to have less footage of people flying and more of people driving and competing. That's okay with me. Anyways, they got to Mendoza and it was time to eat, or in R&A's case, scheme. I was again impressed by L&A's ability to finish the task. R&A totally picked the right time to quit, just as R&D arrived. That meant the other quitters had to wait until S&P made it. Brilliant. I still can't believe people ate 4 pounds of meat. Insane.

Well, I'm hoping that the next episode takes us to somewhere outside of South America, but I think that Rio de Janeiro or Buenos Aires will be up next, if not both. I can't believe they've spent so much time on this continent!!!!

Others' Thoughts:

Robbie Returns to Hobiespace!

My two cents on LAST WEEK's episode...

This blurb from an Entertainment Weekly article about sums things up for me...

"Perhaps Rob has some kind of supernatural mind-erasure powers. The same thing happened in All Stars: No one remembered that he had broken all of his promises on Marquesas. He was one of the least trustworthy players to step onto the All-Stars island, and yet everyone trusted him, including Kathy, who had been on that previous season with him. How far does Rob's power to cloud people's mind extend? As an experiment, I would like to see Rob stand in a room holding a pencil; after dropping the pencil, he would ask someone to pick it up. When the person did so, he would kick them in the ass. Then he would apologize, take the pencil back, and drop it again, asking the person — still rubbing their own smarting ass — to pick it up again. I'm guessing that this would go on for about six hours straight, only stopping when Rob's pencil-holding fingers cramped up."

For a guy everyone considers to be a dope, Rob continually impresses me with his creative gameplay. More on that later.

Random Thoughts

1. It was pretty funny that Debbie & Bianca took the time to look at a map to get their bearings before taking off, but still ended up driving hours out of the way.

2. It was funnier still that Patrick & Susan drove around Santiago for nearly two hours trying to figure out how to get out of town. This the the stuff that makes this a truly Amazing Race. Season after season of idiots that can't read maps or ask for directions.

3. I don't think Rob & Amber's move to take the cab from Debbie & Bianca was all that. They might have ended up in a position later in that leg of the race where they needed the extra $ they spent to get that cab. Still, it was a fun move!

4. The detour was boring, but the roadblock rocked!

5. Four pounds of meat?! That's what, sixteen quarter pounders? I read online somewhere that Debbie is having stomach troubles to this day because of this challenge.

6. Rob's outside-of-the-box-play was fantastic. His ability to convince folks to take the "easy road" in order to take advantage of the situation was great. Would he have been able to convince Lynn & Alex to quit? I doubt it, but all he had to find was one team to make the penalty work for him.

7. I loved the look on Uchenna's face when the vomitorium started up around him - he's a focused eater, no?

Anyway - I think Byron picked a great time to start watching the show, even if he is a Rob Hater

Links:

Official CBS Amazing Race Website: Episode 3 (CBS.com)

Amazing Race, Ep 3: Meaty Madness (RNO)

Thinking Smart in Episode 3 (RNO)