The Amazing Race
Season 35, Episode 8
By Jim Memmott
Ljubljana, Slovenia – At the end of the episode, which started in Germany and went by train to Slovenia, Corey McArthur had one request: “Please, no more stairs.”
I’m with him. First there were those 1,100 steps along side a ski jump at the famed Planica Nordic Center (right), in search of an “Express Pass.”
Corey and his dad, Rob, made it, Rob struggling. Thus, they got a pass to skip a challenge down the line. It’s a big deal.
Most teams avoided the ski-jump stairs, but, later, they all had to climb a winding staircase that led up 20 or so stories to the top of Neboticknik Skyscraper.
Cue the wheezing, cue the complaining, cue the vertigo. Where is
The climb posed no problem for the in-shape and savvy Franklin brothers, John and Greg, who won the episode for their third victory in a row. Should we just give them the $1 million and resume watching Seinfeld reruns?
Their prize was a trip to Namibia, courtesy of Expedia.
Expedia, you say. Yes, Expedia. In a typically shameless bit of product placement, host Phil Keoghan labelled the whole episode an “Expedia-inspired adventure.” That’s OK, but I miss the Travelocity Gnome, a regular in previous seasons of the Race. Come on, Phil, bring back the Gnome.
Back to the stairs
The lure of the Express Pass, and their sense they were last and had nothing to lose, led Anna Leigh Wilson and her dad, Steve Cargile, to make the climb up the ski jump even though they ran right by a sign at the bottom that said, “Express Pass Taken.”
Thus, their climb was in vain. Time was lost; their spirits were devasted. It was a mistake for the ages. Obviously, Steve and Anna Leigh, who weren't getting along anyway, were doomed to finish last. Or were they?
In fact, they made up enough time building a bee house, etc., to pass the Franklin sisters, Lena and Morgan. Thus, the sisters were eliminated.
I’m not quite sure what Morgan and Lena, who are not related to the brothers Franklin, did wrong.
Maybe it was navigational problems (they had some). Lena (far right) got a clue wrong and she was airsick in the glider. Maybe the sisters did a poor job of hay stacking. Regardless, Phil sent them home, their departure taking the Wadsworths out of the pool.
Odds and Ends
The racers also had to do a little cross-country sking, indoors on some artificial snow. They weren't that good.
This was the first time the Race has gone to Slovenia. It was worth the trip.
Slovenia has it all, mountains, lakes, at least one skyscraper and Slovenians who will stop everything to give directions to a lost traveler. Great place. Thanks, Expedia.
I think this was also the first race in which hay fever has been a factor. Stacking hay made one of the Franklin brothers cough and wheeze. After the stacking, Corey McArthur had to take Benadryl to control his itching.
Overheard
Corey McArthur: We’re playing train roulette.
Anna Leigh Wilson: We should not be lost again.
Garrett Smith: The experiences that I’m able to experience here when I’m being forced to experience them have been great.
John Franklin: The parachute is making me nervous; apart from that, it seems exciting.
Corey: My dad is a history nerd, and I’m very happy about it.
Anna Leigh: I know it’s over...I feel like we just suck.
Steve Cargile: That was a long grueling climb that was a big mistake.
Corey: I don’t think I’m cut out for the hay lifestyle.
Rob: Stairs. My god, again, you’ve got to be kidding me.
Order of finish
Greg and John Franklin, brothers
Todd and Ashlie Martin, married, high school sweethearts
Corey and Rob McArthur, son and father
Joel Strasser and Garrett Smith, best friends
Robbin Tomich and Chelsea Day, childhood best friends
Steve Cargile and Anna Leigh Wilson, father and daughter
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