It's been so long...an Amazing Race post!

I can't believe I haven't posted about the Amazing Race this entire season. My only excuse is that I have been busy. Sorry (and spoilers ahead).

I have been enjoying this season, although it lacks some of the big personalities of years past. Even the couple everyone hates, Jen and Nate (at least, I assume they are the couple everyone hates) isn't quite as hate-worthy as some couples past (Jonathan and Victoria, anyone?). Of course, that's not to say they aren't annoying. Jen seems incredibly jealous whenever Nate mentions other women, which is understandable considering we know he cheated on her. Regardless, at some point they are going to have to get past the cheating and she is going to need to be more trusting. I wonder how long ago the cheating happened. They really aren't very nice to each other, and I wonder whether they even like each other at all anymore, or if they are just in their relationship out of habit.

I am a big fan of TK and Rachel, mainly because they are so nice to each other. When Rachel messed up, forgetting to take the clue with her, it was obvious T.K. was frustrated. But he didn't scream at her or call her names. They put their annoyance aside and moved on with the race. What a concept! I'm definitely pushing for them as the ultimate victors.

As for our other pairs, I'm not the biggest fan of Nick and Don. Don just annoys me and can you believe that Nick is actually two years older than T.K.? He looks like he's 16! As for Christina and Ron (who sounds exactly like Mr. Wasanasan from King of the Hill), I doubt my opinion that Ron treats his daughter poorly and she seems like a nice person who has been putting up with his behavior for years is a novel one.

Which leaves us with the now-departed Kynt and Vyxsin. First off, I wonder if they have something against vowels. Or maybe a particular affinity to the letter y? Is this a goth thing about which I am unaware? Is the only reason the female half of the team doesn't spell her name "Vyxsyn" is the fact that with an i she can have the word "sin" in her name? And am I the only one out there who doesn't believe they are an actual romantic couple? I know many have questioned Kynt's sexuality, but I wouldn't be surprised if he were straight. Rather, they just don't seem like they are anything but platonic friends to me. I don't think we ever saw them kiss and even when they hugged it was usually a squeeze around the shoulders. It could just be that they aren't into PDA (I'm with them on that), but they really seemed to lack chemistry.

Unfortunately, they also lacked brains in the last leg of the race. I like the new speedbump addition to the race--it seems to be the best punishment for coming in last in a non-elimination leg that they have come up with. It gives the team a bit more control of their own destiny than the 30 minute time charge if you don't come in first, and taking their clothes and money always seemed pretty ineffective. And Kynt and Vyxsin managed to complete their speedbump quickly and even got ahead of Nate and Jen after the speedbump, beating them to the yield.

Which is where the stupidity came in. When Kynt and Vyxsin caught up to Nate and Jen after completing their speedbump they were shocked that they weren't way behind all of the other teams. So when they got to the yield they chose to yield...Don and Nick? Huh? I just don't understand why they thought Don and Nick were behind them. And even if they thought there was a chance that was the case, they acknowledged that they didn't know for certain. So why not yield the team they knew was trailing them?

Of course, Nate and Jen ended up passing them and Kynt and Vyxsin came in last. They were a good team and rarely got annoyed with each other. I thought Kynt leaned on Vyxsin a bit much, but the dynamic worked for them and they didn't seem dysfunctional. But they made a really dumb mistake, and so they deserved to go home.

I can't believe the season has gone by so quickly. Phil mentioned there were two non-elimination legs this race, so I am guessing the next one comes next week. We'll see!