‘The Amazing Race 26’ episode 10 review: Llama lending and underdog stories
When we first saw the cast list for “The Amazing Race 26,” we definitely did not see things evolving in the way that they have. We have four teams remaining now, and of them three of them are blind dates. The remaining couple in a preexisting relationship had only been together seven months, and they were probably not, to be fair, the one you predicted to be the last standing. Yet, they are the underdogs, and therefore the easiest team to root for remaining.
We’re going to do something a little different here for this Peru episode (mostly because we feel like it), and go through all of these teams based on performance. Maybe that’ll give us a chance to mine some good stuff from a ho-hum episode. (We’re not even going to mention the Fitbit beyond right here.)
1. Hayley & Blair – We don’t know why it works, but it does. It is almost like these two are powered by dysfunction. They fight more than any other team, and yet they have two first-place finishes and could seemingly do very well once again going into next week’s episode, at least if the teams stay in Peru. Blair speaks Spanish. That’s a huge advantage. The same goes for being sharp enough to READ THE CLUE! and realize that while in Amsterdam, they could seek out an earlier flight. They alongside Jenny & Jelani were able to get an advantage.
2. Jenny & Jelani – Someone in either casting or production must have really thought that these two were going to be romantic, since there is almost zero other reason that they were put on the show. They’re likable in the moments that they are not screaming at each other (which is rare), but they are also about 85% boring and all about the game at all times. Once again, Phil Keoghan seems sad about the lack of chemistry.
3. Mike & Rochelle – All in all, a very good leg for them, and further proof that for the most part what they really need to rely on to make it at least to the finale is consistently. While they didn’t get the early flight, they were solid throughout and made no mistakes. Also, the Detour yet again this week seemed ridiculously unbalanced. Going grocery shopping for an old brewmaster feels about a hundred times easier than trying to haul and sort through potatoes before some angry person knocks them all over the street. They chose right.
4. Tyler & Laura – Not the best leg for the two. They got lost early on, overlooked a clue box, and then were brought to the wrong Detour by mistake. Still, they hung on mostly because the last-place team made worse decisions than them.
5. Matt & Ashley – We don’t take this finish as a sign that the Speed Bump is broken, since this llama loan thing (someone needed to call Tony Vlachos in for this, we hear he speaks llama) looked like it was done and over with very quickly. They overlooked a clue box much worse than Tyler & Laura did and really never caught up. Not being able to find the good Detour only compounded it. We’re sad to see them go. Having them in the final four would have been at least better TV, and they still could’ve come back from this.
Content-wise, this was hardly a great episode. The Detour wasn’t that exciting, and we don’t find chopping down sugar cane to be that compelling a Roadblock, either. Pretty scenery, but that was really just about it other than listening to Hayley scream and Rochelle reminding us that she and Rob are good people. Grade: C+.
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