Amazing Race, Season 32, Episode 2
By Jim Memmott
Bogota, Colombia – The Amazing Race offers lots of life lessons
Be nice to taxi drivers; don’t lose your passport; But perhaps the most useful lesson is: If you are handed a set of clues, give them a read.
Which, of course, was the lesson that seemed to be ignored by about half the racers in Episode 2 of the long-awaited Season 32.
In Bogota, the racers were tricking out some dump trucks, adding banners and decals and floor maps, but forgetting to read the clue that told them to hook up the truck’s horns.
Duh?
“I can’t believe, of all people, Will and James forgot to read their stinking clue,” said Will Jardell, becoming the first person this season to refer to himself in the third person.
They should have known, as they’ve seen every season of the Race since Alexander Graham Bell invented the color television. Or something like that.
Will and James Wallington, one of two dating couples this season, finally read the clue and finished a fairly solid sixth.
Not so lucky were the hurdlers Kellie Wells-Brinkley and LaVonne Idlette, who had another bad outing, took far too long to hook up the horn and finished last and were eliminated, taking Team Walkworth out of the pool.
The Olympians had blazing speed, which would have helped them down the line. As it was, they, like most teams that are out early on the Race, noted that the competition had brought them closer together.
You have to feel sorry for them, though, as, sworn to secrecy, they must have been sent home in November 2018 in the early days of filming this season. Everyone who knew them probably kept asking how they did. “You won? Right? You won?” Ouch.
Other than driving home a life lesson, it was a fairly typical early episode, all taking place in Colombia, the teams having flown from Trinidad and Tobago right after the first episode ended. Host Phil Keoghan made a big deal about the immediate exit. Has it not happened before? Does it matter? Don’t know.
The personalities of the racers, rough edges and all, haven’t really emerged, and the challenges, other than the truck tricking, seemed pretty easy.
Even a tightrope walk that would have terrified this writer, didn’t cause that much trouble to anyone other than Alana of the nerd-proud team of Alana Folsom and Leo Brown. She rallied and saved the day by walking on the tightrope sideways. Take that Wallendas.
Hung Nguyen and Chee Lee, who made it clear at the start that the Race is offering them quality time away from their kids, won again.
They were followed by the former NFLers and quipster kings, Gary Barnidge and DeAngelo Williams, their time at the finish line made memorable by DeAngelo’s backflip.
Mostly the teams were kind to each other, everyone turning down the chance to impose a Yield, that would send another duo into Time Out for 10 or 20.
Alana and Leo did tell Kaylynn and Hayley Williams about connecting the horn, a bit of insider trading that helped the sisters. But other teams overheard them, so, in a sense, all the remaining teams benefitted.
The Racers are now headed to the Amazon, a Race first, the next episode featuring the dreaded double U-Turn. Bring it on.
Overheard:
DeAngelo: Gary, you owe me big time, because red lipstick is not my color.
Will: The queens have come to give Claudia (their truck) a makeover.
Hung: I’ve been insecure about my size.
Kaylynn: We owe Leo and Alana our lives.
LaVonne: We even hugged like four times.
Kellie: And we never hug.
Order of Finish:
Chee and Hung
DeAngelo and Gary
Riley and Maddison
Eswar and Aparna
Michelle and Victoria
Will and James
Leo and Alana
Kaylynn and Hayley
Frank and Jerry
Kellie and LaVonne
