Episode four of season twenty involved three major race concepts, one of which we've discussed before, the Travel Fail. That came up before when the second bus blew a window and re-shuffled the teams. This time, though, the Travel Fail was self-inflicted, with Mark and Bopper failing to read the part of the clue that told them that they need to get their plane tickets to Italy at a travel agent instead of at the airport. That costs them time. So much so that they end up on a plane an hour and change behind every other team. The big question to this leg of the race was whether or not they could manage to erase that deficit.
I'll save you the suspense, and anyway you should have already seen the episode or read the recap, right? No, they can't. To their credit they do manage to get within line of sight of one other team, but it's as that team is leaving the location of a challenge that the boys from Kentucky are just arriving at, and they never get even that close again. So our beloved boys from Kentucky come in last. I'll deal with the fallout of that at the end of the analysis.
The second concept we have to talk about is the Fast Forward. The Fast Forward is a game mechanic that allows teams to try to complete a side challenge. If they pull it off, they can skip all other tasks and head right to the Pit Stop. The catch? Only the first team to complete the challenge gets the benefit of the Fast Forward, and each team can only use a Fast Forward once per race. In the first few races there was a Fast Forward available on every leg of the race except the last one. When you used your Fast Forward was a big part of the strategy of racing. For the most part, the Fast Forward was used defensively. In other words, you saved it until you were in danger of getting eliminated. Then you gambled that no one else had tried to use it ahead of you. It was a moment of tense decision making for teams that added to the drama of the show.
Alas, that drama is dead now. Why? Because in the more recent races they've cut the number of Fast Forwards down to only a couple per race. That means that whichever team is in first place when they get to a Fast Forward just grabs it and pads their lead. Rather than an interesting strategic choice, the Fast Forward's been reduced to a reward that guarantees the team in first place will stay there. That's what happens here, letting Team Border Patrol surge to a second first place finish in a row.
So we know who came in first and who came in last. Was there anything else interesting going on? Not really. Both teams with Rachels in them had inter-personal breakdowns, showing once again why it's a bad idea to race with your spouse/dating partner. Other than that? No, not really.
At the end, then, Mark and Bopper came skidding into last place. There they got a couple of surprises. The first was Art & JJ, having heard that Bopper was racing for money for his sick daughter, deciding to split the cash they won for coming in first with the Kentucky boys. Which was cool of them, I have to admit.
The second surprise was today's third and final concept, the Non-Elimination Leg. You see, sprinkled tow or three times per race is a Non-Elimination Leg where coming in last doesn't kick you off the show. The first such leg in Race 20 was this episode. That means that Mark & Bopper live to race on. However, they will have to do an extra challenge on the next leg, called a Speed Bump, as their penalty for failure. That's well worth it to have a shot at staying in the race, though.
I should also point out that for a veteran race-watcher it was obvious that this was Non-Elimination when Phil didn't eliminate them right off the bat. The man's not an asshole. If you're gone, he doesn't drag it out to make you suffer. He gives it to you right to your face. If he tells you you're last and doesn't immediately follow it with "I'm sorry to tell you but you've been eliminated from the race," then either some other team fucked up worse than you did or it's Non-Elimination, as it was here.
It does lead to an interesting scenario, though. If Mark & Bopper manage to beat the odds and win the race and the million bucks, are they going to give Art & JJ their money back? Hopefully, we'll get to find out.
Episode four standings:
1st - JJ and Art (Border Patrol)
2nd - Blonde Rachel and Dave
3rd - Joey "Fitness" and Danny (Jersey Boys)
4th - Vanessa and Ralph
5th - Nary and Jamie (DEA)
6th - Red Rachel and Brendon
7th - Kerri and Stacy (Cousins)
8th - Bopper and Mark
OUT - Eliott and Andrew (Twins)
OUT - Dave and Cherie (Clowns) OUT - Misa and Maiya
With no team eliminated, we'll be skipping the Dead Team Obituary in favor of an updated look at the surviving teams.
Blonde Rachel and Dave
Alas, after a promising start, Blonde Rachel and Dave have degraded into bickering. Mostly, at least as far as what we've been shown, this is Dave's fault. The Army pilot keeps insisting that they need to "communicate" better, but what he seems to mean by that is "you do what I say." That's perfectly acceptable in the Army, less so with your wife. Likability: Medium. (And dropping fast if they don't quit fighting.)
Despite a terrible third leg where they came in 6th, we can't ignore the back-to-back first place finishes, and even with the in-fighting, they still came in second on this leg. Survivibility: High.
Bopper and Mark
They've done nothing to cancel their initial hero status, they don't fight among themselves, and they're friendly and interesting to watch. Likability: High.
On the other hand, they've been 9th and last in two legs, while 3rd and 4th in the other two. That's not a recipe for long-term success, but they're better off than some other teams. Survivibilty: Medium.
Nary and Jamie (Team DEA)
I've gotta say, I've been expecting more from this team. Certainly they've been pleasant enough for what little screen time they've gotten. They've done or said nothing to change my initial appraisal of them as people. Even the whole "going undercover as kindergarten teachers" bit is more cute than insulting. Likibility: High.
However, they might as well be kindergarten teachers for all their performance to date has shown. They've come in 4th, 6th, 5th, and 5th. That's a pretty middle of the road showing, so that earns them Survivibilty: Medium.
Brendon and Red Rachel
With the last couple of legs, this team has proven to be increasingly fragile. Unfortunately, that's manifested by Rachel whining and screaming at Brendon which in no way endears to me a team that I didn't much like in the first place. Likability: Low. (And if I had a more flexible system, I'd call it Non-Existent.)
That fragility has hurt them in the last leg in particular, with them threatening to quit. Those kinds of teams almost never survive for long, as a desire to quit makes you less likely to give the kind of effor that's required to stay in the race. Still, they do have a pretty impressive record with two 2nd place finishes to go along with a 4th and a 6th, so we can't count them out entirely, as much as I'd like to. Survivibilty: Medium
Joey "Fitness" and Danny (Team Jersey Boys)
To my surprise, I haven't found the Jersey shtick as annoying as I thought I would. Maybe they just look better in comparison to the Rachel teams, but they just aren't on the Hate 'Em List anymore. That doens't mean that I want them to win, though. Likability: Medium.
After a rough start, 10th and 8th, the Jersey Boys have picked it up lately, coming in 3rd for the last couple of legs. Split the difference. Survivibility: Medium.
Kerri and Stacy
Still haven't seen much of this team. Still seem nice, if uninspired. Likability: Medium.
Can't say I'm impressed with their performance, though. Coming in 7th, 5th, 7th, and 7th doesn't suggest you're long for the race. Survivibilty: Low.
Vanessa and Ralph
This team presents a quandary for me. On one hand, they seem to be petty people, fond of insulting other teams over things like dress sense and the way they wear their hair. On the other hand, the team they lash out against most is Red Rachel and Brandon, a team I don't care for either. Still, Ralph and Vanessa's behavior aggravates me. Likability: Low.
If trends continue, I won't have to worry about it for much longer. Coming in 5th, 7th, 8th, and 4th doesn't inspire much in the way of confidence. Survivibility: Low.
Art and JJ
They've cut down on the boorishness, and the offer of cash to Bopper and Mark was pretty redemptive. Not my favorite team, but they're rising in the standings. Likibility: Medium.
As far as actual racing goes, they've been awesome. Third, 2nd, 1st, 1st is a great record by anyone's standards. Survivibilty: High.
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