The Amazing Race headed to Oman this week, in what was a bit of a downer episode for me after KevJumba and his dad, the team I had been rooting for, got out last week. But this episode had no shortage of thrills, even though the two dysfunctional couples with obnoxious men ended up being successful.
Obviously this was a big episode for Chad and Stephanie. The two South Beach muscle-people had a rough start after oversleeping two whole hours, but they quickly made up the time after getting to Oman, and Chad made the headline of the show by proposing to Stephanie. This is reality TV, so of course she said yes, but I could not understand why. Chad has been nothing but a brute to her this whole season, and he is rarely not obnoxious. However, he definitely stepped up to the plate this week. They couldn't have run a better race and they ended up in first place.
On to some other things about this week's race. It took less than two minutes to make the obvious joke (Nat: "Oh man, we're going to Oman!"). When Chad proposed to Stephanie, the intolerably bubbly Mallory (and of course I'll get to a lot more on her in a bit) seemed even happier and more excited about it than Stephanie was. I was a little disappointed in Nick this week. I've thought for a while (ever since the "Are you a battlement?" fiasco in episode 1) that despite their apparent lack of intellect, Nick and Vicki were my favorite couple because, despite some tantrums, they seemed to have a warm relationship. Well, Nick had one of those setbacks this week with that meltdown in the gas station. This was sad to see because I thought they had been making some legitimate growth as a couple, but they're still definitely my favorite team at this point. And then there's Thomas. The Thomas-and-Jill team finished second this week, and they really need to get out. Thomas is just too much of a douchebag, and I feel really badly for Jill for having to put up with him.
So of course at the end Gary and Mallory got out, and I can't say I'm too upset about it. Mallory seemed like a spoiled brat, and although her positivity was occasionally enjoyable, most of the time she was absolutely insufferably annoying. Her dad Gary did always seem like a good guy, though, but while I wish they had gotten into his character a little more while he was on the show, I definitely don't miss this team.
Predictions!
Gosh this is hard to say. Not one of the 5 remaining teams has really set themselves apart consistently. If I had to pick a winner right now, it would probably be Brook and Claire. They might have the best relationship of all the remaining teams, and they seem to be able to handle the physical stress (I still go back to episode 1 where Claire was hammered in the face by a watermelon and popped right back up), and they seem to be mostly finishing well. As for the next team to get out, I would probably say Jill and Thomas. It's only a matter of time before their personal deficiencies catch up to them. Nat and Kat should also be on the lookout; other teams are going to start next leg with a big head start over them, and while they have good teamwork I don't think their guile can get them very far.
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