Episode Report Card M. Giant: B | 53 USERS: B+ YOU GRADE IT Opposites Repel
By M. Giant | Season 24 | Episode 2 | Aired on 03.02.2014
While driving down a busy street, Mallory starts talking about wanting to check the car in the trunk behind them to make sure it's still secure. Mark gets out while they're stopped and looks it over, and assures her it's fine. But before he gets back in, Mallory asks him all innocent, "Is your backpack back there?" Which of course it isn't, which she knows damn well. In fact, I suspect that she's already realized she might have forgotten it, and this whole car-checking thing is just a pretext for a Hail-Mary look to see if it somehow found its way into the trunk. "You didn't leave it, did you?" Mark asks her. Mallory quickly says that she has his passport, which is kind of a sign that she's been thinking about this for at least a few seconds already, and claims that she thought he had it. Which is crap, because after she put it down on the sidewalk, it is highly unlikely that she thought about it at all until after their taxi left. Mark reminds her that he had his hands full with the car, and complains that now they have to go back for it. "No, do we?" Mallory says. Mark says he's got nothing, and wonders where Mallory even left it. "It was on the ground by your feet," Mallory claims, even though she left it nowhere near his feet. In fact, it was by her feet. Of course Mark never saw it near him, because if he had he would have picked it up. This is a tough one, because Mark is ultimately responsible for his own backpack, and he should have made sure it was on board before the taxi left. On the other hand, he probably assumed that since Mallory had assumed responsibility for getting it out to the car, that she would make sure it got into the car. Mainly his mistake is putting too much trust in her, while the normally sunny Mallory is suddenly acting shady as hell.
At least they're not having the problem that the Afghanimals are, which is that Leo is leading Jamal up an empty street while Jamal carries the car upside-down over his head, unable to see anything. But they are both able to see an equal number of available taxis.
Caroline comes over to Jennifer to whine about how bad she is at assembling things, like there's anything they can do about it, and Jennifer says she sucks at it too anyway. As Caroline gets back to "work," Jennifer confides to Cord that she's worried about Jennifer not being able to finish, on top of already in last place. She comes right out and asks Cord, "Can I have the Express Pass?" Cord says he doesn't have it on them. They're both laughing, but this is dead serious to her. Jennifer presses the issue, saying Cord can give it to them secretly, and that she and Caroline need it as "the most unassuming team." I would actually give that honor to Joey & Meghan, but Jennifer's trying to make a point here. Cord is red-faced at being worked like this, and the other teams are starting to pick up on what's going on. So much for giving it away secretly. Jessica is sympathetic to Cord's plight, interviewing, "I didn't like the feeling of people sucking up to us when we had it." Brendon finishes his car in fifth place, prompting Rachel to call out, "You're gonna make the best dad!" If having children with Rachel didn't instantly disqualify him from that honor, maybe.