The Amazing Race season 31 episode 8 review: The Race social game
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So did the teams actually make a smart move here? We’re not entirely sure. Personally, we would’ve put it on Nicole & Victor just to ensure that someone goes home. Who cares if you can take down a big threat? It’s really just all about trying to find a way in order to survive. Yet, Colin & Christie were identified almost right away as the biggest threat of the entire season, and that made them one of the two targets. Meanwhile, the other team ended up being Rachel & Elissa, mostly because Chris & Bret couldn’t bear putting another team in there. This is where the social game comes into play, and apparently, Chris & Bret weren’t friendly enough with them and that made things complicated.
This U-Turn decision led straight into a Detour, one that made it pretty clear that it was going to be between the Reillys and then Colin & Christie as to who was going to be in danger. While Rachel & Elissa started off a little bit ahead, they made a mistake — forgetting their clue at the site of the first Detour. Because of that, it seemed like they were going to be doomed.
Yet, were they?
This is the funny thing about this show — so much about it is about getting from point A to point B. Leo & Jamal struggled mightily when it comes to making that happen and, because of that, they fell behind even Colin & Christie and Rachel & Elissa. They weren’t so far behind that it was impossible for them, but they had their work suddenly cut out for them.
Really, this became a really tight showdown between the Afghanimals and Rachel & Elissa in order to see who finished it first and, ultimately, the Afghanimals pulled that off! Yet, they weren’t out of the woods just yet since Rachel & Elissa finished right after them.
There was a weird sense of irony to all of this — Rachel does now have a title as one of the most successful Amazing Race contestants ever, but she did lose this leg. Entertainment-wise, we are going to miss her but it’s interesting — Rachel & Elissa’s undoing tonight really just comes down to one decision made by Chris & Bret earlier on in the episode. Sometimes, it really does matter what you say and do to someone else. That can be the thing that either changes your entire Race … or at least makes it difficult on someone else to U-Turn you.
CarterMatt Verdict
Let’s give some congratulations to Chris & Bret, who almost got first place. (Tyler & Korey instead ended up being #1 for the third straight leg.) This leg felt very short, but we did at least get a fun task or two and also opportunities for variance between the teams.
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What did you think about The Amazing Race 31 episode 8? Be sure to share in the comments. (Photo: CBS.)