Episode Report Card M. Giant: B | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT The Sprint of Our Life
By M. Giant | Season 19 | Episode 2 | Aired on 10.02.2011
Marcus is trying to hurry Amani along to the mat. Ethan and Jenna are also making their way back, but only one of those teams is going to survive this leg. And it's... Amani & Marcus, who get back in ninth place, still in the race. They high-five in relief.
Ethan and Jenna get back in tenth place, and Phil tells them that because it's double elimination, they've been eliminated. And they both look pretty embarrassed about it, to say nothing of the producers who must have thought they'd be such a casting coup, only to see them leave like this. "That's sad news," Ethan says. He interviews afterward, "Even though we're incredibly disappointed that it was such a short run, we can't fault ourselves for trying. You know? You gotta try. After I beat cancer, Jen and I made a promise to ourselves that we're gonna take advantage of every single moment." On the mat, he tells Phil, "After what we've been through the last year and a half, just to be here, traveling the world with Jenna by my side the whole time is really what matter the most." They leave the mat, Ethan calling it a blessing. You may have noticed that Jenna was pretty quiet during all that, but don't worry, she's remedied that since the episode aired.
Bill & Ron make it back to the orphanage for their second trip , and as they walk back, Bill natters at Ron's back, "We have more than you can ever win on a TV show. People would pay millions to have what we have." Ron knows, even if he's really not in the mood to hear it right now. "But we're gonna keep going," Bill says. When they get back to the mat, Bill tells Phil -- who's looking at them like they're standing outside an operating room -- that they can take it. "We're strong." Hey, nobody says they're not strong -- just slow. Phil says, "Ron and Bill?" Bill: "Yes, Phil? I know you don't want to say it." Phil says they're the last team to arrive. "And I know you don't want to say this," Bill adds. Phil nods and ruefully Philiminates them. Bill says it's been incredible. They interview that it was "Fun, exhilarating, amazing." And short. On the mat, Bill says this was just a chapter in their own race, "And it's been amazing and it will continue to be." He interviews about how they had an incredible time, and they walk away from the mat arm in arm. The show certainly went out of its way to demonstrate how cool the losers were with everything, didn't they?
M. Giant is a Minneapolis-based writer with a wife, a son, and a number of cats that seems to have settled at around two. Learn waaaay too much about him at Velcrometer, follow him on Twitter, or just e-mail him at M.Giant[at]gmail.com.