Here we are down to the last episode before the big finale... and if it isn't Jen's Birthday. You know, of course, that this means it will be a special day for our very special girl. If you read my comments last week you know that they are the team that I am rooting for this week.(sarcastic ok?)Things start out rough for TK & Rachel, who are fighting back against a 3 hour handicap and know that they have to do the dreaded Speed Bump during this leg of the race. After finding the building with a hole in it and the garden in the sky, our teams bunch up a bit at the airport, where Ronald & Christina snag the first tickets to Taiwan, sending Nate & Jen into meltdown mode. Christina smiling smugly and asking the ticket agent to tell the other team that there are no more seats left left me with a huge smile on my face as it is so nice to see our bitchy team get their come uppance. The goofy grin on Christina's face was hilarious and showed me her sneaky dangerous side, which is not necessarily a bad thing.
Our teams arrive in Taipei, where they have to go to Taichung. Ronald & Christina have a lead since they left Osaka, and at this point all the other teams have caught up to each other, much to the chagrin of Nate & Jen. Except for a small freak out at the beginning, Tk & Rachel are calm, cool and collected and continue on their merry way, slowly making their way to the front of the pack until they get to the Roadblock. This week it was a ride in an acrobatic Jeep (freaky but fun looking) that everyone zips through, and then TK & Rachel are off to do their Speed Bump, which means running a course while being zapped with fireworks which they quickly do, and catch up with the bottom 3 teams at the high speed train terminal.
This is almost too much for our birthday girl, who can not, for the life of her, figure out how this other team can do so well when they are trying so hard and the other team doesn't even seem stressed. We, at home, are laughing our asses off watching the continued drama and freak outs as our calm, cool and collected team of TK & Rachel continue along and get to drink their tea and meet the clown that gives them the clue to the Detour.
This week it was a choice between earth and fire. The fire (lantern) Detour looks really cool, but no one chooses it and they all opt for the earth detour where they have to walk down and back a 220-foot path made of jagged stones. Ronald & Christina are always in the lead, and finish first and are off to the Pit Stop. TK & Rachel arrive just after Nick & Don yet manage to finish quickly and arrive in second place (yippee!) and our dysfunctional team fights all the way and end up last. No surprise really, they are so negative and have such a meltdown getting to the final Detour that you just want to slap them. I don't think that we have ever been this excited at home watching a team get eliminated, and shed no tears at their departure nor their apparent relationship problems.
I am not sure if I should use the same tactic for who I want to win (choosing the team I want to lose seems to work better), but out of the 3 remaining teams I see TK & Rachel first, Ronald & Christina second and Nick & Don arriving last. If there is any kind of major foot race at the end I see my groovy and relaxed team taking it all, but stranger things have happened in the race.
