Episode Report Card M. Giant: B | 2 USERS: B YOU GRADE IT Go Jump in a Lake
By M. Giant | Season 19 | Episode 7 | Aired on 11.06.2011
Justin and Jennifer calmly, if not competently, reach the canoes out in the lake and paddle around before heading back to the shore. But Jeremy and Sandy have already found the Jamaica shop. They see Marcus and Amani's faces on the U-Turn board, decide not to U-Turn anyone, and get their clue in sixth place. Back to pay their cabbie.
Laurence and Zac look pretty worn out (especially Laurence) when they reach the mat on the beach and Phil says they're team number five. "Ouch," Laurence says as Phil tells them they're still in it. Unfortunately he doesn't tell them they came in behind the team they U-Turned. I would have liked to see Laurence's reaction to that news.
Jennifer and Justin get back to shore, accompanied by a small fleet of other canoes. I guess the other canoeists don't really need to be out there any more, and after all they probably have to pee. The siblings look pretty sweaty as they get their clue in last place. And then Jeremy and Sandy make it to the mat as team number six. "You cut it close," Phil exaggerates. Jeremy says they're doing their best but "it's really tough. We're just trying to work together and not go in circles." And failing at both.
We skip the siblings' search for Jamaica Shop and the hotel and cut right to their arrival at the mat. Phil tells them that they're the last team to arrive and Philiminates them, to their total lack of surprise. Jennifer takes it well. "We had a good time. It would have been nice to go all the way but it was just a silly mistake on my part." Afterwards, she interviews that she'll feel guilty about this for a while, at least until they get to come back for another "Unfinished Business" season. "We've been talking about following our gut from the beginning and I didn't do that and it cost us the game." Justin says she did her best and tried really hard and they're a team, which, given how they were interacting at the beginning of the race, if this had happened then they'd be redlining the audio equipment. He adds that their relationship is stronger after a rough start to the race, but they became "a hardcore racing machine." Bold claim considering where they are right now. "Money or not, this has still been an amazing journey," Jennifer says. And now they can go home and get as far away from each other as possible.
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.