Amazing Race All-Stars Episode 11
By Stephanie Roebuck
May 1, 2007
We join our racers in Hong Kong, which if last week's episode is any indication, is home to nothing other than film crews and stuntmen. Having won the Fast Forward, Oswald and Danny are in first. After falling victim to the Yield, Eric and Danielle are in last place. Oswald and Danny leave first at 3:41 a.m. and are directed to take the turbo jet ferry to Macau, China. The mention of Macau makes me think about the Ed Asner – I wonder if we'll ever know how his big Macau project is progressing. Has much as Studio 60 infuriated me at times, it was still smarter and more engaging than three quarters of what's on TV. If a show comes back from hiatus in the dead of summer, does it really come back? But I digress...
As Team Cha leaves for the ferry, they talk about their lack of funds. As you'll remember, Danny bought old newspapers in Malaysia rather than continue collecting them. Accordingly, the boys were broke at the end of the last leg. Each team is given $73 for this leg; however, once they pay for the taxi to the ferry terminal and the ferry ride they're close to broke again. After getting off the ferry, they find their next clue, which directs them to the tallest building in the city. They are also warned that there is a Yield ahead. With little effort they find out that that is the Macau Towers. They find the Towers closed until 10 a.m.
Dustin and Kandice are next to leave and get on the ferry to Macau. After they receive their clue and realize there is a yield ahead, they are rightly concerned. They can't use it, and the smart move would be for Danny and Oswald to yield them. Mirna and Charla leave thereafter, and we are treated to a particularly ridiculous interview, wherein Mirna justifies all the horrible bitching she does to and about Charla. Essentially she says that because Charla doesn't want to be treated differently. She should treat her like an able-bodied teammate, which really doesn't make much sense. She's not able-bodied – she is tenacious, she is inspiring in what she attempts to do and ultimately achieves. However, she will always run slower and climb slower and not be able to do certain tasks. And it is here where Mirna's logic breaks down. She can't expect her to keep up all the time. And yelling at her to do so, and then patting yourself on the back because you are treating her the same as everyone else, well, that's twisted.
Dustin and Kandice get to the Tower and encounter Danny and Oswald. Welcome to Yieldgate – Are the beauty queens evil? Are Danny and Oswald ethical? Do Eric and Danielle deserve such treatment? Is Mirna crazy? Well, the answer to that last one was settled long ago. Anyway, the friendly duo from Miami, desperate for cash, proposes a deal to the beauty queens: they will use the yield on another team if Dustin and Kandice pay them. Under the rules of the game, Dustin and Kandice are prohibited from using the Yield themselves, as they exercised that choice last episode on Eric and Danielle. The blondes contemplate their options and reason that Oswald and Danny could Yield them if they refuse. Now you could quibble with this assessment, in that (a) it's unclear who would win a foot race to the Yield area and if the beauty queens get there first, they can't be yielded and (b) Oswald and Danny don't seem the type to yield a team who is right behind them. However, these are uncertain variables, and Dustin and Kandice decide, rationally, that paying $45 out of the $200 they have banked is worth it to insure they will not suffer the 30 minute penalty. Once they decide to enter into the deal, deciding that Eric and Danielle are the bigger threat to them is an easier decision. Oswald is queasy after the deal is sealed. He apparently doesn't have the stomach for the yield.
Eric and Danielle leave Hong Kong and interview about their precarious marked for elimination status. Charla and Mirna get to the Macau Towers and Kandice compliments Mirna's hair in a blatant "Don't yield us!" ploy. The teams seem to indicate that the task will involve a very tall jump off the towers. The three teams at the tower finally get in and take numbers – Dustin and Kandice are 1, Team Cha is 2 and the cousins are 3. They have to wait another hour before they can get their clue. Charla offers Oswald and Danny money, apparently without stings attached. They turn her down, but the quiet conversation worries the Beauty Queens. The teams at the tower head up 61 stories and Danny and Oswald yield Danielle and Eric. We are then treated to another brilliant Mirna interview where she essentially states that you should never yield a team at the beginning of a leg if they can catch you after the penalty is assessed. The logic is twisted. First, this is the last yield, so it is the last opportunity to deal another team a setback. Second, with Eric and Danielle marked for elimination, this puts them an hour behind in the aggregate. At this point in the race, it makes sense to take the chance and gain the advantage. But in Mirna's world, anyone who uses the yield is evil so I guess to her this makes sense.
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