Beyond the half-way point, the Race could use a spat

Season 28, Episode 7 preview:

France/Armenia – Starts and stops. Starts and stops. After a three-week, NCAA basketball-induced layoff, the Amazing Race returned last week with Episode 6 offering up (spoiler alert) a non-elimination leg.

Bummer. I've never quite understood non-elimination legs. Does host Phil Keoghan declare them on the spur of the moment as he looks into

Sheri takes a break during the oil change

the pleading eyes of a last-place duo desperate for a second chance?

Or are non-eliminations pre-determined by the Race rule makers, a committee of representatives from Travelocity, Ford and other sponsors who declare when Phil can extend the hand of mercy?

Whatever. Sheri and Cole came in seventh and last in Episode 6, mostly because she lost tons of time on the change-the-oil-filter challenge. “This is what my husband does,” she explained. “This is his job.”

Actually Sheri had been doing quite well before that, pretty much carrying her goofy son Cole on her back, so maybe Phil just couldn’t pull the trigger when the pair staggered to the line.

Nonetheless, it’s safe to assume that Sheri and Cole aren’t long for the Race. Indeed, they could even go out in Episode 7, if Tyler and Korey don’t leave before them.

Tyler changes a Lada's oil

Tyler and Korey?? Yes, Tyler and Korey. The once dynamic duo, a pair that always finished a charming first or second, has proved to be human.

They made a rookie mistake while looking for the clue in an empty opera house (hint: ask a guy who is vacuuming in plain sight) had cab trouble, got to the oil change place late, just weren’t on their game. The Race won’t be much without them, but I have a feeling that something’s wrong.

Meanwhile, Brodie and Kurt easily took episode, their third win overall, a triumph that got them an Express Pass for use later.

Brodie and Kurt bake

Good for them, but I worry that we’ve got another show-killer here, an invincible team that’s athletic, likeable and a little boring, though they did acquire at least one fan along the way, the cheerful Armenian woman directing the cooking challenge.

On the romance front, Brodie and Blair (the kind-hearted Scott’s daughter), may be cooing again, though not much was done with that plot line other than few snickers here and there.

Let’s keep the love fires burning, but please, please, could one couple fight? The season needs a spat, big time. Dana and Matt, step up to the plate.

Overheard:

Phil: Are we allowed to talk about race romance?

Brodie: It’s been a really good conversation

Cole: We’re getting first in this round, easy.

Tyler: I took a lot of time in college making friendship brackets so I really took to that loom. I was really the fruit of the loom.

Brodie: We do feel like we have a little bit of a target on our back already.

Blair: It took me a while to learn how to get my gas cap off my car.

Scott: You can’t really not help Sheri.

Order of finish:

1 Brodie and Kurt

2 Burnie and Ashley

3 Zach and Rachel

4 Dana and Matt

5 Scott and Blair

6 Tyler and Korey

7 Sheri and Cole