Seriously--who knew that wrestling an alligator or crocodile or whatever that reptile was could be so tame? The detours in this ep were pretty meh, but I thought all the travel was great, especially everyone's various, ever-changing flight itineraries. Also, while I know the Junkies are, like, ex-junkies, I never thought we'd hear about their former exploits in such vivid detail. It's not every day that you turn on the TV at 8 p.m. and hear some guy talking about his days shooting heroin in the gutter. Sigh. Family hour takes yet another hit (Pun not intended, but recognized).
I'm beginning to think that "Ivy League Grads" Erwin and Godwin are one of the dumbest teams this show has ever seen. Well, maybe not the dumbest, but they sure do lack common sense. First, there was their brilliant decision in the opening leg to shoot their fellow racers with water guns. . . in the airport. Is it just me, or are airport security types a bit touchy about guns--even plastic guns--these days? I bet if it wasn't for the camera crew they would have been bounced out of Sea-Tac on their asses. And this week we witness another boneheaded stunt, namely the hi-larious fake phone gag. Yes, it was funny to watch creepy Peter squirm when he overheard the brothers "booking" tickets with the phone. Funny until Peter had a brainflash and borrowed a real cell phone to book actual plane tickets. Now that was funny. So, smooth move, WINners. Way to stay ahead of the competition. From now on, their official motto is, "Joke's on us!"
Besides their backfiring practical jokes, the WINners missed an opportunity to bring some strategy to a game where it's hard to do much in terms of manipulating your opponents in a way that helps you gain an advantage (Whatever you do, you still have to beat them to the finish line). That said, I think the WINners had a chance to hurt a strong team by helping the two weakest teams. The Hillbillies and the Moms are not serious threats to win. The other remaining teams have a decent shot at it, and the WINners are looking pretty middle-of-the-pack within this group. So they should do what they can to keep the weak links in the race long enough to knock out a couple strong teams.* Thinning the heard, if you will. Sharing flight info with the weak links would be a great place to start such a strategy. Sharing that same information with teams that are a legit threat to beat you in any given leg is a quick (and stupid) way to finish your strategy. In short--start using your so-called brains, boys. You're likable enough guys, but I have a hard time rooting for stupid players.
As for the rest of the race, too bad the Hillbillies missed a golden opportunity to put the Junkies behind the 8-ball (pun totally intended this time). If only they'd done the alligator thingy! Oh well. I think the new rules for a non-elimination last place finish is an improvement over the "lose your money and your stuff" rule that never seemed like much of a setback. The penalty is strong enough to create urgency and tension, but not so bad that it will be impossible to overcome. At least that's how I hope it works. I always enjoy the agonizing countdown as someone waits out a finish line penalty.
*Yes, I know it was a non-elimination leg, so even if ErWIN and GodWIN hadn't shared information with the Beauty Queens, Sarah and Creepy Peter nothing would have come of it, but the principle still holds true: Help people who can't hurt you. Leave everyone else to their own devices!
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