Episode Report Card M. Giant: A- | 2 USERS: A+ YOU GRADE IT Philimination, Where Is Thy Sting?
By M. Giant | Season 13 | Episode 1 | Aired on 09.28.2008
As the teams close in on LAX, there's some jockeying for position on the freeway. Tina tersely coaches Ken, who I'm sure is not allowed to argue with her ever, about anything, so it's good that he isn't. Aja coaches Ty to take the carpool lane. Nick and Starr pull up next to Ken and Tina, who they refer to as "Mom and Dad." Well, that's a little presumptuous. Don't believe me? They interview that they've decided to "be adopted by Mom and Dad" to make up for their lack of travel experience. Kids, even discounting the fact that "Mom and Dad" are about to become a Tammy Wynette song, you're a bit late for the Family Edition. They end up right behind Ken and Tina on the freeway. But Aja and Ty pass Ken and Tina in the carpool lane, stealing the lead. "That won't happen again," Ken promises Tina, as if there was anything he could have done to block Team Long-Distance when separated from them by a concrete barrier. "I've heard that before," her expression says. Her face is rather more eloquent than I would have initially given it credit for being.
The riot of lanes and ramps and signs entering LAX is cause for some confusion. The Frat Boys resolve this by just following Nick and Starr and hoping for the best. "We're following the cute chick and the...guy," Dan explains from the back seat. Wonder what the first draft of that remark was. Aja and Ty find a parking spot and dash for the shuttle taking them to the terminal, still in the lead. The next shuttle picks up Ken/Tina, Kelly/Christy, and Mark/Bill, but when Toni and Dallas arrive, there's no shuttle to be seen. They'll have to wait for the next one.
Aja and Ty arrive at the American ticket counter first. Ty's confident they've found the right place, but Aja is doubtful, as she doesn't see a red-and-yellow Amazing Flag anywhere. Still, they're staying put. Out on the service roads, the Frat Boys realize they're following Nick and Starr in circles. Team Divorced (Kelly and Christy) and Team Not-Divorced-Yet (Ken and Tina) hit the terminal, scrambling around. Also inside the terminal, Bill calls to fellow Geek Mark, "I think it's gotta be in the other area." And so the Geeks lead a dash through the building, closely dogged by Tina and Ken. "Gotta stay with me, babe," she scolds Ken as he arrives, having carried all their luggage. Not everyone on the internet seems to agree with what she just said in a larger sense, by the way. Bill and Mark are glad to hear they're the first to arrive at the right counter, and Tina is even more so. Ah, my favorite species of racer: the kind who is always happy and excited, as long as nothing is going wrong.