Amazing Race, Season 32, Episode 4
By Jim Memmott
Asuncion, Paraguay – Apologies to all. This blog got distracted by another Amazing Race, the contest for the presidency that took, well, a little while to decide.
There were detours and road blocks, joy and sorrow, all of which were explained by Steve Kornacki as we waited, and waited for the Call to be made.
Of course, the Call was made, but it looks like one candidate will not be like eliminated racers on the Race. He'll not say good things about his partner, describe the experience as life-altering, shoulder his backpack and walk away.
While we wait for that to happen, we can turn our attention back to the Race, which returns tonight (Nov. 11) with Episode 5.
I won’t recap Episode 4 as it was a non-elimination race. The sisters, Kaylynn and Haley finished eighth and last, in part because Kaylynn had deep trouble creating a viola out of scraps. But host Phil Keoghan gave them a reprieve, as he sometimes does.
The boyfriends James and Will finished first, their knowledge of Race history helping them as they had actually practiced balancing wine bottles on their heads, a challenge that was brought up from the last time the Race was in Paraguay, in
Season 20.
Now that we’ve gone through four episodes, it’s time to pull a Kornacki and rank the racers, possibly giving a sense of where things are going from here.
The point system is based on a team’s finish in each episode, 1 pt. for 1st, 2 pts for 2nd, etc. Thus, the lower the total number of points the higher a team’s ranking.
Here’s the standings so far:
Chee and Hung (10): The married parents took the first two episodes and continue to do well. Only problem: Chee doesn’t talk enough and this peeves Hung.
James and Will (12) They won the last two episodes impressively and are students of race strategy. Only problem: At times they seem too clever for their own good.
Riley and Maddison (14): The volleyball playing brothers are remarkably consistent, getting nothing but thirds and fourths. May be favorites at this point to win it all.
Michelle and Victoria (14) The sisters say they didn’t get along before the race, but take away one bumpy outing and they might be in the lead.
Aparna and Eswar (22) The siblings are first in what we might think of as the second half of the entries. They’re self-declared brainiacs, but so far that doesn’t seem to have paid off.
Alana and Leo (24:) Speaking of brainiacs, the dating couple
who analyze everything wasn’t doing that well until a 3rd place finish in the 4th episode. they could be a sleeper team.
DeAngelo and Gary (24) Wow. They are athletic and likeable, every-ready with a quote, and they’re also up and down, done-in by challenges they should dominate, like watermelon stacking.
Kaylynn and Haley (27): They’ve finished eighth three times, third once. On paper they don’t have a chance. But they are spirited and have a compelling back story. The Race likes that.
Overheard in Episode 4:
Hong: Communication is something we have struggled with in our real lives.
Maddison: Volleyball is double-elimination. Here if you get last, it’s a pretty good chance you’re out.
Michelle: We know Uruguay is in Africa.
DeAngelo: My number one claim to fame is putting together things like Ikea furniture with no instructions.
Kaylynn: If I were to give up, I’d be letting myself down. I’d be letting Hayley down.
James: I think we’re surprising ourselves.
Hong: You need to talk to me. Do you hear me? You need to talk to me.
Gary: The watermelons are still falling. It’s getting dark. The bugs are coming out.
Order of Finish, Episode 4 :
Will and James
Michelle and Victoria
Leo and Alana
Riley and Maddison
Eswar and Asparna
Chee and Hung
DeAngelo and Gary
Kaylynn and Hayley
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