Snowed out in Switzerland

Amazing Race, Season 22, Episode 8

By Jim Memmott

Switzerland – Amazing Race veterans know the drill. A pair of racers leaves a train station, or a restaurant, not a care in the world.

In the Alps

As they go out the door, the camera swings to the bag they left behind. “Oh no,” the viewer says, realizing that those racers are in for a shock when they look at each other and say, “Where’s the bag?”

Where indeed? My bag, the one with the computer, was in Geneseo. We were in Albany, on our way to Maine. Long story short, we could watch The Amazing Race on Sunday night but had no way of sending a blog until our return today. 

So by now, everyone knows that Anthony and Bates, the hockey brothers, won for the fourth time, conquering the snows of Switzerland. Are these two guys invincible? Maybe so.

If they don’t win, it would seem that Roller Derby moms, Beth and Mona,

Mona and Beth

have the strongest chance, as they were second again.

Lesson learned: Some form of skating – on the ice or on the boards – prepares you for the rigors of the race.

And by now, everyone knows that Chuck and Wynona, the married couple from Alabama, were eliminated, thus ending the pool-winning dream for Team Walkworth

However, Chuck and Wynona could have remained in the race had they not incurred a 30-minute penalty because they “did not properly transport cheese” (that would be 50-lb. wheels of cheese) down a snowy slope. (They

Chuck pushes Wynona up a hill

rolled the cheese, not using their sleds, as they were supposed to.)

The real drama on the night was whether a) Wynona would fall off a cliff during a  “don’t look down” rock-climbing exercise that I couldn’t really look at or b) whether she would push Chuck off the cliff.

The pair exchanged harsh words and harsh looks throughout the hour, more than before (and it’s never been great between them), in part because she had trouble running, walking and lifting, and he couldn’t keep his mouth shut.

In fact, Chuck uttered what may have been the worst line ever spoken in Amazing Race history when just before Wynona climbed out on the ledge he said, “In case things go wrong, I won’t remarry for the first month.”

So probably it’s best they’re gone, heading, I imagine, for counseling.

In other matters of the heart, the hockey boys continue to try to make headway with country singers

Caroline and Jennifer

Caroline and Jennifer, though Anthony allowed, “We haven’t gotten anywhere yet.” Stay tuned.

And Max and Katie, the Buffalo newlyweds, seem to be getting along, and he may actually be turning likeable.

Joey and Meghan, the YouTube sensations, are compatible, but they may not be very good at this Race thing. They staggered to the finish line (why, oh why, didn’t they take a cab?), but Chuck and Wynona’s rule violation saved them.

Speaking of rules violations. Doesn’t the FCC have some sort of limit on product placement?  The Travelocity gnome was in just about every scene of the episode. Enough already.

Overheard:

Chuck: I want to get a … little more hustle out of her.

Wynona: That’s not egging me on. It’s pissing me off.

Joey: I saw pure whiteness, and I saw heaven.

Bates: I love the gnome. I can’t wait ‘til he’s beside my side.

Wynona: I wish for once you would say ‘Good Job.’”

Chuck: Good job. I’m glad you made it. The kids need a mother.

Max: Let’s go before I puke.

Order of Finish

1) Anthony and Bates

2) Mona and Beth

3) Max and Katie

4) Caroline and Jennifer

5) Joey and Meghan

6) Chuck and Wynona