By Jim Memmott
Amazing Race All
Stars, Season 24, Episode 5
Malaysia/Sri Lanka – The sagebrush sage has spoken.
“In this race,
the travel can make or break you by far,” proclaimed Cord, the black-hatted half
of the team of Cowboy brothers.
 |
| Robert Frost |
Thus he set the
theme not just for this episode but also for all 24 installments of American’s
favorite reality show.
Break you? Make
you?
The
mother/son team of Margie and Luke were faced with a choice immortalized in the
Robert Frost poem about a traveler who has to decide between a standby
reservation on a direct flight or a guaranteed reservation on a flight with a
tight layover.
Margie and Luke
chose standby. The newlyweds, Brendon and Rachel chose the layover flight. And
that made all the difference.
 |
| Margie and Luke |
Margie and Luke
lost their bet, didn’t get a seat, waited hours for the next flight, and were
eliminated from the race, taking their pool supporters, Cindy and Jim, with them.
Brendon and
Rachel won their bet, made the second leg of their flight, caught up with the
other racers, survived an extra challenge, their punishment for surviving a
non-elimination last week, and survived.
Yes, it's about travel.
Yes, it's about travel.
Who won?
Dave and
Connor, the father/son team who, you may have heard, had to leave Season 22
early after Dave ruptured his Achilles, took first in this
season featuring competitors from seasons fast.
season featuring competitors from seasons fast.
 |
| Dave and Connor |
“I don’t have
any plans to self-eliminate,” Dave said early in this episode in a statement
that could have been misunderstood.
Some more questions:
Some more questions:
What’s the Amazing Race connection to
Sri Lanka? According to
Jamal of the Afghanimals, Sri Lanka is the Twinnies’ motherland, a reference to Natalie and Nadiya Anderson, the first duo eliminated.
(OMG! What if they were
still in!!)
What about those Afghanimals, are they upbeat or what?
Yes. As he
struggled to sew a shirt in the Trendywear shirt factory, Leo did all he could to cheer up
the Sri Lanka workers, even jokingly (surely he was joking) offering a 1,000
rupee bribe to anyone who would help him.
 |
| Trendywear factory |
What about the Globetroppers, are they upbeat or what?
You bet. While Big Easy struggled with the sewing machine, Flight
Time put on a ball-spinning demonstrator to the delight of the Sri Lankans. “That kind of re-energized
me,” Easy said, getting his mojo back.
Can Jessica and John fish?
No. They bailed
on a Detour that asked them to catch two fish while sitting on a pole stand.
John looked as if he had been asked to split the atom.
 |
| Filler |
Are country musicians Caroline and
Jennifer shameless flirts?
Yes. Forget the Battaglia Brothers, their heartthrobs from Season 22. Now
they’re hitting on the Cowboys. Have they no shame?
At any point did Rachel break down,
bemoaning her fate?
Alas, no. Her
mellow mood, introduced last episode, has endured. She’s supportive, unrattled
and empathetic.
At any point did Luke break down,
bemoaning his fate?
Alas, no. Last
week he was smashing glasses and getting a dressing down from his mom. This
week, when he had every reason to crack, he was cool hand Luke, smiling,
positive, grateful. People can change. Write that down.
Overheard:
Margie: Today our game plan is not to let the
stress get to us.
Cord: It ain’t nothing to be proud of, but it’s a fish.
Connor: This is going to be a rough roadblock; I
took sewing in junior high, and that’s about the extent of my sewing ability.
Big Easy: (It’s) mission impossible, but I’m Tom Cruise.
Jessica: John is not the strongest dancer.
John: Jess, you can do this, just don’t freak out.
Brendon: We’re done with being in the back of
the pack. We’re going to turn it up a notch.
Order of finish:
1) Dave and Connor
2) Caroline and Jennifer
3) Jet and Cord
4) Leo and Jamal
5) Jessica and John
6) Flight Time and Big Easy
7) Brendon and Rachel
