“Beauty is Sometimes Skin Deep” spoilers below:

Things that happened

Oh man, Things even happened during the pit stop! Drew got really ill and was treated for altitude sickness. But he survived and the race is on! Teams need to fly to Santiago, Chile. Rob and Amber and Ozzy and Danny got on an earlier flight than everyone else. But during their stopover, they got delayed, losing their thirty minute lead. David and Mary tried to be sneaky on the plane with their luggage, but Kevin and Drew totally called them on it. Once in Santiago, teams had to go to the Codelco headquarters, which is the world’s largest mining company. Here, they have to do a roadblock, involving finding letters on the board members then unscrambling them to make a word. What the teams don’t know is that the word corresponds to one of the pictures on the wall. Dustin is super-fast at this, and the Beauty Queens jump ahead. Joyce and Eric are super-bad at it, and it takes forever for them. Everyone else is somewhere in between, but Mary, unsurprisingly, makes nice to Charla and Amber, surprisingly, makes nice to Ozzy.

What this roadblock teaches us: do your Sunday crosswords. They could come in handy some day.

Once completed, the teams must fly to Calama, where the world’s largest copper mine is, to get their next clue. I hope they have to make up all these carbon credits somehow. All this flying cannot be good for the environment. At the mine, it’s detour time! Teams get to choose between By Hand, where they screw a tire on a giant tractor, or By Machine, where they scoop gravel into a pile. Only Rob and Amber and Joe and Bill make dirt piles, the rest decide to wrench it out. This is the first time I see how crazy Charla and Mirna are. From the detour, teams must drive SLOWLY through The Valley of the Moon, then quickly to the Valley of the Dead, where Phil is waiting for them. Teri and Ian don’t know what they are doing, Kevin and Drew do not how to listen, Rob and Amber are just way better than everyone, half the teams go the wrong way, and tons of driving antics and drama ensues. In the end, Rob and Amber come first, and the deserve to. Kevin and Drew come last, and they deserve to, too. They even knew it.

Things that were good

• It’s nice to see teams helping each other out. While alliances are just silly, there is nothing wrong with co-operation to get ahead when there are still this many teams in it
• The roadblock was interesting and challenging and involved words! I love words! Plus, watching how these teams think and respond to situations is far more interesting when the challenges are less physical
• Oswald and Danny are hilarious! They are having a blast racing again, and it’s a blast watching them do it.
• Amber was nice! And helpful! And stood up to Rob!
• Joe and Bill are hilarious! They aren’t villainous this time around, but rather self deprecating old gay guys who are having a great time and like to wear funny hats.

Things that were not so good

• I was not prepared to the horrendousness of Charla and Mirna: freaking out at each other, freaking out at the cab driver, freaking out at the Beauty Queens, then patting themselves on the back for being moral and good was all unnecessary. Charla should kick Mirna every time she is condescending, then convince Phil to let her get a new partner.
• Amber’s victory dance made me lose any love that was building for her earlier.
• Mary thinking being helpful requires reciprocation. Helping out with clues does not mean they aren’t going to pass your ass on the road when it’s all on the line.
• While Drew was being a whiny spoilsport, he was apparently in a lot of pain, and in the end, I just felt bad for him and glad he was going home

Worth Watching if….

….you love racing drama! and mines! While Charla and Mirna could give Tyra Banks a run for her money in the crazy department, there was enough car trouble, lead changes, wrong turns and badly done detours to keep you wondering who was going home until the very end. For all of five minutes, even Rob and Amber looked like they were in trouble.

In Five Words

Too much mud and dirt

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