Episode Report Card Miss Alli: B+ | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Flowers And Robots
By Miss Alli | Season 12 | Episode 9 | Aired on 01.05.2008
TK and Rachel get to the airport and check in for their flight. He asks the ticket agent whether she's seen other people like them (probably meaning "with cameras"), but she says no. Ron and Chris arrive to check in at Air India, but their cab driver apparently doesn't drop them off right at the entrance; he drops them down the terminal a bit, so they wind up having to run. Ron, of course, launches into a whole tirade of frustration about the cab driver, which he can't do anything about and Chris can't do anything about, so what's the point? Yeesh. She tells him to stop wasting energy on the bellyaching, and he agrees. But it appears that instead, he continues whining the entire time as they head for the doors with their luggage cart. They, Nate and Jen, and Nick and Don all wind up at the same counter, and they all wonder about the whereabouts of TK and Rachel. Elsewhere, as TK and Rachel board their flight, he admits that they don't have any idea, really, whether they're doing well or poorly compared to the other teams. This is going to be something of a theme. To say the least. TK and Rachel are the Waldo of the episode, and it's not just because of the funny hats.
The Amazing World Map explains that TK and Rachel are connecting through New Delhi and Beijing. The other three teams are connecting through Hong Kong only. "Something just doesn't feel right about this," TK says as they pause in New Delhi. They seem to suspect that they're going to see other teams, and they're unhappy not to. As to why TK and Rachel weren't given the same flight everyone else got...who knows? The travel desk is apparently not expert at getting short-term travel arrangements booked, or isn't used to having it matter if they're off by a couple of hours. Certainly, if they left the pit stop at 1:30 and didn't leave until 6:55, that would seem to have left plenty of time for double-checking they should have done at the airport, but...again, who knows. Bad travel agents are everywhere.
When we return from commercials, we find ourselves at the Beijing Airport, where TK and Rachel are waiting out their second connection. As they get on the final flight, TK interviews that they really still don't know where they stand in relation to other teams. Did you get that? Because it might be unclear.
Osaka! Where an animatronic version of what looks like the Japanese Bob's Big Boy character winks at us, and I am not happy, because now I have nightmares. And here is the plane landing, and here is the expectant door, and here -- unsurprisingly, given the heavy-handed editing -- are Nate and Jen, because indeed, TK and Rachel are behind, not ahead, of the other teams. As usual, Nick is carrying Don's pack out of the airport, and Don interviews that Nick's been carrying his pack for much of the race. And then Don adds, "I mean, he's like a bitch for me, and it's perfect." Oh my God. Funniest grandpa of all time, that guy. I think -- and I don't mean this in any way other than with total respect -- he deserves a bitch.