‘The Amazing Race 26’ episode 8 review: Did Aly & Steve catch up in Namibia?
Anything can happen on “The Amazing Race.” That is a part of the fun. Going into the two parts of Friday night’s new episode, we felt like Aly & Steve were most likely going to be the likely contenders to win the entire season. They were athletic, competitive as Olympians, and capable of doing almost anything.
However, there are little things that are hard to predict, such as getting flat tires, being lost, or simply just making the tiny mistakes that can doom you. It seemed like their last-place finish in the first part of the episode (read more here) was at least close. However, their last-place finish this time around was anything but. Even without being U-Turned by Laura & Tyler, they still were more than likely going to be going home. They had a rough journey from the start, with Steve not paying close enough attention to where the briefcase dropped during the Roadblock. He instead exhausted himself completely searching in the wrong places. Even Mike, who we’re pretty sure almost died on the way back, seemed to finish it faster. This was after the Olympians already did the Speed Bump.
For the most part, we don’t feel like the U-Turn game was that strong on the episode as a whole. We understand Laura & Tyler’s decision, but U-Turning Jenny & Jelani here was somewhat petty on the part of Matt & Ashley. We get the need for revenge, but when you remember the Speed Bump and the fact they have an Express Pass, you know already that there is very little likelihood that they are going to be going home anyway. Why tick off another team that will stay in the race for no reason? We understand wanting to keep Hayley & Blair around along with Mike & Rochelle, so we would’ve made sure the Olympians went home (big threats) and moved forward.
Given that this leg was so predictable, here’s a few random thoughts:
1. Did anyone else think for sure Team Truck Stop was going when Rochelle mentioned that Mike is now allowed to meet her son?
2. Was Laura & Tyler’s date night hanging out in a tent? Also, how chummy are they with Matt & Ashley based on that finish? The latter team was actually happy for them getting their first win.
3. For some reason, we typically love the Roaming Gnome product placement. We guess we’re used to it, but it may also be that the show at least finds fun ways to implement it that are different every time the gnome returns. Episode Grade: C+ for predictability.
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