Sunday (Oct. 5) night's episode reminded viewers that although there are countless ways to lose on The Amazing Race, most teams prefer to do it by simply failing to read their instructions.

I just finished recapping Showtime's Dexter, so I have "theme" and "subtext" floating around in my head. Do seasons of The Amazing Race have themes? If so, this latest installment's contestants might be developing a reputation as The Gang That Couldn't Read Straight.

In last week's premiere, we saw several teams goof on a clearly labeled ticket line at LAX and then we witnessed the already annoying Terence-n-Sarah fall from first after neglecting to follow the instructions on the clue.

One would expect that a Travelocity-prize-blowing gaffe like they had last week really would have taught Terence and Sarah a lesson, but the mismatched duo did it again on Sunday night's episode. The Detour clearly instructed teams to follow a path to taxies after completing their task. Every single team read that part of the clue, saw the sign and easily hopped into a cab, every team but Sarah-n-Terence, who decided to go for a long walk and promptly fell from first place into ninth.

They may not be learning from their mistakes, but at least the blunder taught them another important lesson. As they spun in circles waiting for a cab to magically appear in the small town square, Toni-n-Dallas took pity on them, with the beefy son stopping his cab and telling the bewildered pair to hike back to the cab-stand. Through this act of generosity, Terence discovered that there are advantages to teamwork in this game, not that he apologized to his partner for the browbeating he gave her last week when she decided to make friends.

So Terence-n-Sarah didn't learn from episode-to-episode, but they looked enlightened compared to Sports-Bra-Wearing Divorcees Kelly and Christy, who also got messed about by the Detour clue. Somehow the girls read down from Beach It (the boat-rolling task that every team but one decided to do) to Docket and integrated one part of the Docket clue -- something about an empty container -- into their own challenge. As one team after another rushed by them without a container in sight, Kelly and Christy started digging in the mud looking for the container that wasn't there.

They only noticed their error in the cab after giving up on ever finding an empty container, saying in unison, "We have learned to read the clue." They promptly ignored the clue's instruction to tell the cab to wait and lost several positions as a result.

"Today sucked in the arena of clue-reading," was all Kelly could say. I found myself liking the Gay Divorcees by the end of the episode and not just because I hope Kelly will take Sarah aside at one of the pit stops and tell the story of her failed marriage.

Actually, though, for all of the failures of literacy, the week's results had nothing to do with reading. In fact, for the second straight week, I'd be hard-pressed to explain to you what yielded the result. Anthony and Stephanie started the leg in last and ended up in last. After a taxi snafu, they were last leaving the airport and they were last finishing the Detour. I think they had opportunities to catch up at different points -- they ought to have been strong enough to capitalize during the Detour -- and the editors made an attempt to create tension at the end, but they lost because they were behind every step of the way. That's not the most dramatic of legs.

And the Roadblock that ended the leg may, in fact, be the worst task I've ever seen on The Amazing Race. There were words on a wall and the contestants had to find the right ones, but nothing in host Phil Keoghan's description of the task gave any indication of how it was supposed to be done. They were supposed to resist Brazil's laid-back beach lifestyle? What the blazes does that mean? Ultimately, I don't think a single team completed the task in the way that the producers had intended. Bill came up with the correct cheat right from the beginning, isolating 16 possible answers, writing them all down and reading a list to the clue-bearer. Did anybody succeed in a different way? I felt genuinely sorry for that poor clue-bearer, stuck listening to 10 Americans butcher 16 different locations in his native language.

Does anybody want to explain to me what was ideally supposed to have occurred during the Detour? The teams mostly finished in the order they recognized the cheat, with the exception of Dan and Andrew. The frat boys got a little jobbed, since Andrew had figured out the cheat and Nick told him they had to do it a different way. Eventually Nick got desperate and took the laundry list method, leaving Andrew to backtrack.

Last week I mentioned how I prefer Detours that reward teams who go to the less obvious option. Nine of 10 teams did Beach It, but Comic-Con Nerds Mark and Bill briefly moved into first because they went with Docket, a potentially frustrating task that asked them to find a single storage container in a huge shipping dock. Their lead lasted until Bill -- who won fans by quoting Yoda -- let Tina in on the Roadblock cheat. The ex-football player and his cuckolded wife then outran the nerds to the mat, picking up a set of dune buggies, a far more appropriate gift for a likely-to-divorce couple than a tandem vacation.

Other thoughts on this week's episode:

After last week's recap, a few commenters said things like "I can see why Ken cheated on Tina." Now I'm a fan of fidelity, so I don't subscribe to that sortta rhetoric, but after watching Tina's "I got the airline to give us a bigger airplane so that we could all fit. You owe me!" power trip... I may not be able to see why Ken cheated on Tina, but I also can't see why he's so eager to get back together with her either.

Why was the episode titled "Do You Like American Candy?" Marisa's plan to win friends and influence people via handfuls of sweets never had much to do with the episode. Instead, we mostly saw how dumb the Southern Belles are. They're no Dustin and Kandice, I can tell you that. They were also the most relentless of the attempted Spanish speakers blundering through Brazil.

But I still like them much more than Terence. I'll just ignore Sarah. But Terence whining and begging his girlfriend to blow on his boo-boo was comical, especially followed by his pout-fest with Tina. Ken giving Terence a kiss-on-the-cheek accepting his apology was a nice cherry on top of Terence's tantrum.

My pick for the episode title would have bee Anthony's "If they learn how to fix a car, they'd probably make it rich." At least Anthony and Stephanie's pity for the poor Brazilians stopped short of real Ugly Americanism. They were sorry for them, but they weren't afraid of the poverty or disgusted by it.

What'd you think of this leg? And seriously, what was the point of the Roadblock? I acknowledge that I may have been paying more attention to the Red Sox game...

Comments

I agree that the challenges this weak were pretty lame. Usually, I watch this show wishing I could participate in some of the fun things these guys get to do. Tonight, all I could think of was how hot and sweaty everyone must feel, and wonder if they'd at least get to stay in a nice hotel at the pitstop.

Also, I've yet to find a team I can root for. The brother/sister team turned out to be rotten this week, and the divorced team seems bitter. and sorry, but quoting Yoda ceases to be cute around age 12.

Cornelius | Oct 5, 2008 9:10:47 PM | #

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Yoda rocks! I'm rootin' for the geeks!

BethO | Oct 5, 2008 9:43:06 PM | #

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I like The Geeks, too, but I think the Mom & Son team might just be the sleepers of this year's race. They are so under-played right now, they just might be in the wings for greatness later on. (Oh, and mark me down in the I-Hate-Sarah-and-Terrance column. I suppose that means they'll ultimately win.)

Anne | Oct 6, 2008 6:38:14 AM | #

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FYI: The language in Brazil is portuguese, not Spanish. Although some Brazilians may understand Spanish. The language is portuguese.

I too love the Geeks! They are smart and keep their cool throughout the race.

I'm over Terence and Sarah and both all-girl teams. Not very bright. Mom and Hunk are good also. They're playing well so far. But I can see how Mom can drag the team down in future challenges.

Peace.

JVice | Oct 6, 2008 7:34:10 AM | #

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JVice- In case you were correcting me, that's why I was mocking the Southern Belles... I know what language they speak in Brazil...

-Daniel

Daniel | Oct 6, 2008 8:35:27 AM | #

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Got it! :-)

JVice | Oct 6, 2008 8:42:39 AM | #

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Go TEAM YODA. We are really grasping at straws to like the teams when a bad Star Trek imitation is what wins us over - but that's this season - sooooo....I'm 100% behind Team Yoda.

I tend to love teams that actually seem nice to one another. Therefore, I'm still liking Mom/Son, Aja and Ty? (dating black couple) and I still like the siblings. They are at least nice to each other.

Terrance...man...what is there to say. Run Sarah! Run!

romana118 | Oct 6, 2008 9:25:12 AM | #

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I swear, the luckiest two dudes in the universe have to be Kelly and Cristy's exes! They must be sooo happy to be free of those two!

Ginny | Oct 6, 2008 11:14:05 AM | #

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Here's what I'd like to see: TAR pull a Survivor-like team switch, and team up Terrance and Tina! Those two would rip each other's faces off!!!

Johnny | Oct 6, 2008 11:33:23 AM | #

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My sister and I were laughing SO hard over terence and his boo-boo that we awakened her dog! That guy is a mess.
Anthony did everything so slowly ... there was just no way they could move out of last place. His attitude was NOT one of someone in a competition.
My favorites are now Aja and Ty and Mon & Son. The siblings lost ground a little on my personal "like list."
I could NOT believe those gals looking for their empty container ... and THEN not asking their taxi to stay.
Oh, yeah ... I now like the Comic-con Nerds much better. I appreciated their ability to do that detour task and thought it was kind of cute that the one couldn't "help" but share his knowledge at the roadblock.

Jan | Oct 6, 2008 12:11:57 PM | #

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We decided that we will play a drinking game next week and drink when anyone says andale or rapido to a cab driver.

Trevor | Oct 6, 2008 1:33:36 PM | #

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Good Gracious! In reading my earlier posting I realize that I said that Team Yoda had made a Star Trek reference when it is clearly a Star Wars reference! I will have to turn in my own Geek Membership card!

Go Team Yoda!

romana118 | Oct 6, 2008 2:03:58 PM | #

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I tape show last night but 60mins. ran over so I missed half the show! who got thrown off Help!!!!!

regina chippich | Oct 6, 2008 2:41:15 PM | #

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Yeah, this season of TAR is less than amazing so far.

The majority of the teams are not that interesting, unique or likeable, and some are just simply very stupid or lazy; the tasks have been kinda 'meh'; and the production values seem off.

Hopefully, things will improve as teams get eliminated and the show can focus on fewer players competing in tasks that are better designed.

And wouldn't everyone love to see Sarah smack that little girl Terence and yell at him to grow a pair and man up. What a wuss.

I'm with Jan and romana118 on the teams I'm rooting for: Aja & Ty, mom and son Toni & Dallas, and Team Yoda, aka Mark & Bill. Nick & Starr slipped down a notch on my list last night.

Doug | Oct 6, 2008 3:07:04 PM | #

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Go to the bottom of the wikipedia page for TAR for the latest results grid on which team is where:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Amazing_Race_13

Doug | Oct 6, 2008 3:09:28 PM | #

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Just watched TAR from last night. Whew! First comment: I have to agree that the Roadblock was one of the dumbest ever for the show. I am quite sure that the way it was solved was not reminiscent of how the Producers intended it...or maybe it was? The clue did say "don't overthink it"

Here's the Rundown:
Terence/Sarah: Terence is a big time wuss. "The rain was spraying joy and love all over us" WTF?!?!?!?! I think I almost threw up in my mouth a little bit. Who says that kinda stuff? No wonder Sarah's wandering around. She is kinda flaky her own self.

Ike and Tina: So, let me get this str8...Tina is responsible for getting an entire airline to change planes? I doubt it. I think thhis is something airlines usually do if demand is alot better than supply. And then she announces it to everyone that listens and says "Its not like I am asking for money or anything." That little spat between Terence/Sarah and Ken/Tina was a nice splash of drama. And I think Terence liked the kiss Ken planted on him a little too much. He was grinning from ear to ear after that!

Mom and Lunch (I mean Dallas): Their rapport is very sweet. You can tell they have a really strong connection and bond.

Team Superbad: A close second for Dumb Team of the Week. Here's a lesson learned. Don't take what another team tells you at face value, especially when you are trying to avoid elimination and are thisclose to the Pit Stop.

Starr and Nick: Nick likes to flirt with karma a little too much. I don't want this team to become the Ari and Staella (TAR 12) if this year. I like this team so I hope redemption comes soon.

Ty and Aja: My sleeper pick team. Not alot of airtime early means they might go far down the stretch (reference Alexis on Survivor 16).

Divorcees: Dumb Team of the week: Shocked they are not eliminated. Enough of you has said the same thing. Read the damn clue!

Geek Squad: This team is growing on me but there is no way in hell I would have chosen to scour through numbers on the Detour. UGH.

Anthony/Steph: Deserved to be eliminated. It was perceived that they were not even trying. At the end it did not look like Anthony was even running. I knew they were not gonna last long. Scarce screen time also = C-ya!

See you all next week on The Amazing Race!

djintheatl | Oct 6, 2008 4:15:48 PM | #

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I can't believe that the divorcees didn't get a penalty for not finishing their botched challenge!? Since when can you simply give up, and carry on?

Bev | Oct 12, 2008 9:12:46 PM | #

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