Amazing Race 16 Secret Scenes, Episode 4:  Who’s The Boss?

Feelings are a little raw in this leg, as Jeff & Brent are ready and willing to partner up and leave Jordan & Caite to it alone, especially after Brent & Caite’s disastrous Start in which they lost their clue.  Joe is still batting a thousand in the popularity contest while Jet (pictured with Cord) and his cheeks are the victim of a walk-by pinching!  Read on to find out more.

At the Pit Stop

Joe’s Bad Knee:  Phil asks Heidi if she’s worried about Joe, because even though he’s got the motivation, he still does have one bad leg.  She’s sure it’ll be okay as Joe is her big strong husband.  They’re proud to have come in third and comfort themselves with the knowledge that if his leg was okay, imagine how good they’d be doing.  Even when they had to do both Detours, which they jokingly tell Phil they’re going to do on all the legs from here on out as they want to play all the challenges.  Phil asks if in a final three situation, what is going to happen if the leg still isn’t good.  Joe admits they’ll lose a footrace but he’s confident they will be able to out-think the others.  He also hopes there’s more eating challenges, which gets a laugh out of Phil.

Phil asks about the beer and Joe & Heidi are proud to report that there was no spillage of any beer.  Heidi even managed to drink more beer than the cowboys, although I would take that to mean Joe drank less than the cowboys as each beer was the same size.  Phil is impressed by Heidi and tells Joe he better appreciate her.  She brags that she’s in good shape and can help keep Joe moving along.  Joe & Heidi know that there are no excuses and they have to play with the circumstances they’re in.  Phil appreciates that sentiment.  Joe continues that he knows his kids will be proud of their parents and the example they’re setting on the race.  Hmmm, not so sure about that one Joe.

Carol & Brandy on the Mend:  Phil asks if the sauerkraut was a challenge but Brandy admits she absolutely loved it.  There was even plenty of polka music left to play as they ate their plate long before their time was set to expire.  Brandy ate a lot of sauerkraut while growing up that her grandma made her but this sauerkraut was much better than what grandma made.  Both Carol & Phil can’t believe Brandy sold out grandma so quickly.

As for the state of their relationship, Carol is happy to report that after her temper tantrum in the car, they had a long talk and worked things out.  Today was a day with none of the issues from the previous leg.  They do recognize that when they have a good grasp of the task at hand, they are able to support each other much more easily.  At the sauerkraut task Brandy was eating huge fork-fulls while Carol turned into a dainty eater.  Phil wonders who is the boss and both say that there isn’t a boss.  They’ll defer to the other when it’s the right time to do so.  But after talking this out, Carol realizes that the proper response to Phil’s question of who’s the boss is for each to raise her hand and say “I am.”

Extra Race Footage

Joe Offends Again:   Brandy, the former line-cutting alliance partner of Joe, can’t believe how absurdly aggressive he was today so far.  At the ticket window earlier, Joe apparently was in-your-face boasting about how wonderful his choices are on this leg and it was very off-putting to them, to say the least.  Heidi seemed to be embarrassed by Joe’s behavior but before she could try to smooth things out, Joe demanded that they both get going.  Brandy plans to just stay away from Joe and hopefully watch him burn himself out.

Back in the ticket area, Dan & Jordan look upset as Dan tells us that Joe made a jerk comment to Jordan.  Dan intends for Joe to pay for that statement.  The brothers had planned to continue playing nice, but now they will use the U-Turn at the next opportunity on Joe (& Heidi, who seems to be collateral damage in all this vitriol).  No one is mentioning what it was that Joe said.  Heidi came up to them and tried to apologize for Joe, insisting that he was a loose cannon.  What did Joe say? C’mon!

Carol & Brandy Unlocked:  At the trunk of their hatchback vehicle in Argentina, Carol & Brandy are at a loss as to how to lock the trunk up.  Amusingly, Carol heads to the front passenger side compartment to look for some sort of luck while Brandy heads to the rear-left back seat.  Because that’s naturally where a locking mechanism would be located!  Brandy then goes back to the driver’s door where the keyhole is located.  She tries turning the key to the left or to the right.  Sometimes it locks the front door fine, but the back door still opens regardless.  They’re not willing to leave the car unlocked as most of their belongings are being stowed in it.

Brandy claims to us that the locking failure is attributed to a “car-faulty” problem, not “my faulty.”  Both realize they should probably just take their bags with them to the internet cafe rather than advertising to strangers in the night that there’s a parked car filled with belongings ripe for the stealing.  They’ll feel safer that way as the city they’re in is an actual city as opposed to a humble town or village.

Jet & Michael’s First Time:  On the subway ride to the bungee jump Intersection, Michael recalls that he went to Las Vegas in 1993 and went up to the top of the tower (Stratosphere?  He doesn’t clarify but I’m pretty sure there isn’t a bungee jump off there, at least not anymore.  I remember seeing that done on Real World/Road Rules Challenge one year.  It was heart-stopping to see.).  At that time, he decided against jumping.  This time, he doesn’t have that luxury.  Jet admits he hasn’t bungee-jumped.  He hasn’t even been on anything tall.  There’s nothing tall in Oklahoma according to Jet.  Tonight, city and country are going to work together to get through it.

Cord Carries the Weight:  At the airport, Jet explains that they can only check in bags up to five kilos each.  Jet’s bag is 9.5 kilos while Cord’s weighs 10.7 kilos.  Cord amusingly takes this time to make sure that Jet realizes he’s been carrying the weight of the team.  Jet did manage to convince the ticket agent to let them combine their weight so they can check in one bag and carry on the other.  He realizes it’s not going to save them that much time (I’m surprised they’re checking in luggage at all, to be honest), yet he realizes that if that one bag gets lost, they’ll still have at least one bag left.  At this time, a hand comes in from off-camera and pinches Jet on his adorable cheeks.  It turns out to be Jeff as he & Jordan and Brent & Caite stroll by.  As Jet quickly regains his composure, Cord admits that if his bag is lost, he won’t have to lug it around anymore.

No More Sauerkraut for Jordan:  As Jeff & Jordan’s cab begins its epic journey to the outer reaches of the Hamburgian territory, both of them are looking a little squeamish.  Jordan finally voices that she wishes that she could throw up the sauerkraut.  Jeff quickly agrees.  He realizes they wouldn’t have been able to finish regardless but it was made worse by the fact that Jordan kept making gagging noises.  Jordan couldn’t stand the music but really couldn’t believe how nasty the sauerkraut was.  It was the grossest stuff ever.

Jeff had told her that you put sauerkraut on hot dogs, which Jordan does like.  She naturally assumed from that that it would be something good.  Needless to say, Jeff was wrong.  He is kicking himself that he didn’t push for the soccer challenge as he knows that Jordan would only ravenously eat cookie dough.  A girl after my own heart!  Jeff was hoping that everyone would choose the soccer Detour, that it would be difficult, and that the sauerkraut challenge wouldn’t have involved so much of the stuff.  Then Jordan would have praised Jeff’s smartness as they quickly finished.

Jeff is Over It:  In a hotel lobby, Jordan is getting grilled by Carol & Brandy and Dan & Jordan on where they’ve been, what flight they’re booked on, and what internet features they had found.  Jeff motions to leave but Jordan doesn’t follow.  Jeff finally calls her over to him under the guise that they’re double-parked.  Outside, Jeff chastises Jordan for being too nice to them especially since those teams haven’t said one word to them except to get information.  Jeff is mighty annoyed as he mentions that Brandy makes him sick.

In the driver’s seat, Jordan recounts what just happened in the hotel lobby to us.  She can’t remember Carol & Brandy’s name and Jeff attributes that to his earlier assertion that those teams never talk to them except to get info.  Jeff is tired of these plays to use each other and he admits that he’ll usually help other people up to a point.  That’s over though and it’s everyone for themselves now.

Steve’s Good Girl:  While driving, Allie admits she’s never pulled an all-nighter in college.  She likes to get a full night’s sleep, so when she doesn’t she gets quiet and zones out. Steve confesses that he has done many all-nighters so this pace isn’t that big of a deal to him.  He realizes that it’s probably all adrenaline that’s keeping him going now and that he will crash at some point.  He’s counting on the upcoming travel-to-Germany time to help him catch up on some rest.  Steve is happy to hear that Allie’s not pulling all-nighters, although the way he puts it makes it sound as if he thinks all-nighters are always about partying.  In my experience they’re usually in conjunction with procrastination for an exam that’s happening the next day.  But maybe that’s just me.  Allie actually points this out to him and tells him that she just takes care of things on time.  He’s still proud that she’s a good girl and doesn’t do party-style all-nighters.

A Map for Steve:  Steve & Allie are mapping out their route to where the travel agency is located.  As Allie diligently researches, Steve begins chatting to us about how on the bus ride in the previous leg, he casually asked if anyone spoke English.  A man said yes and Steve found out the guy was from California and went to Long Beach State.  Steve was amazed that by chatting up the locals he was able to find him.  Plus, the man gave them a little pocket map of the area they’re now headed to.

Brent Makes Skittlebrau:  If this video involves putting Skittles into beer, ewww.  With only about a half boot’s worth of beer left to drink, Brent asks Caite if she has any gum left.  That fell out of her bag earlier, so no gum.  Brent then brings up the idea I was hoping wouldn’t come up and finds Skittles in his pocket to change up the flavor.  Blech.  Apparently it works for them as they both continue taking big gulps from the boot.  As a way to combat the beer after-taste, Brent discovers you can then eat one of the Skittles and the beer flavor disappears.  Ah, I see, the Skittles stay in his mouth and don’t go into the boot.  Whew.  The Skittles run out and there’s still beer to drink.  Brent anxiously asks if they have any other candy left but Caite realizes they only have chocolate left.  Even she knows that the chocolate should not mix with the beer.

Partner Swap:  Brent proposes that he & Jeff become teammates as he can’t deal with Caite anymore because she snaps at everything he does.  Jeff concurs that he’s feeling the same way.  Earlier in the morning while leaving the Start point, Brent asked Caite to give him the clue, but she gave him just the envelope.  She had dropped the clue back at the Start but she claimed to have given it to him.  He hadn’t even see the clue let alone been given it.  This has apparently kept Brent wired the entire time as you can hear that Caite is resigned to riding this out until he calms down.  Brent & Jeff commiserate some more on their lady troubles and finally Caite tells Brent that he just likes to hear his own voice.

Off to a Rough Start: Ah, here’s the incident mentioned in the Partner Swap video.  As they’re driving along, Brent asks Caite where the clue is as he can’t find it in the bag.  She mentions that he had the clue.  She’s adamant that he had it.  He immediately tells her to stop the car and look in her pockets.  She’s certain she doesn’t have the clue and that he had it.  He shows her that he only had a letter and that the yellow envelope is empty.  After the car is stopped, the first thing we hear is Caite telling Brent that she can’t believe he lost the clue.  Ha!  After he explains that she never gave him anything, the dawn of awareness starts to glimmer in her eyes.  A quick check of the trunk also reveals no clue.  They head back to the Start.

At the very dark ranch, they retrace their steps lit only by their headlamps and the camera crews’ lighting.  Their fast walk turns into a jog as they continue running along the path looking for their clue.  He bets that she dropped it when she was getting her water bottle which sets her off.  As she is in full yell, Brent finds the clue on the ground.  While running back to the car, Caite apologizes but Brent just wants her to remember this the next time that she tries to blame him for something she did.

After the Race

The Screaming in Jet’s Ear:    Jet can distinctly remember that he & Michael were both under the impression that the bungee jump would be individual.  As they neared the tower though, they began to speculate it may be a tandem jump.  Michael was certain that couldn’t be the case as if the two jumpers happened to split off, they’d end up slamming into each other at the bottom of the bounce.  When they found it was indeed a tandem jump, Michael was dumbfounded that it could actually be done.

They were required to hold onto each others’ harnesses in order to prevent from falling apart.  Cord isn’t buying that as the reason they had to hold onto each other though!  Jet starts giggling while Cord grins his trademark mischievous smile at us.  When the jump actually happened, Michael was screaming like a little girl right in Jet’s ear.  Fortunately it worked out though as Jet was screaming in his ear right back.

Jordan’s Competitive Spark:  Jordan has always wanted to bungee jump so she was glad she got to do it, even if it was a little scary.  She then explains that she & Caite were so worried about catching up with Brandy & Dan that even a snide comment from Brandy directed at the girls wasn’t affecting Jordan’s demeanor.  When Caite got put off by the snark, Jordan helped keep her focused.  This competitiveness makes Jeff happy as he loves to hear that Jordan can handle herself well on her own.  He’s just used to her complaining about things when they’re together.  Jordan is competitive, but for the most part the drive only comes out when she has some motivation to show someone they’re wrong.  In this case, Brandy’s comment provided the fuel to Jordan’s fire.

Elimination Station

Cue the sad music because at Elimination Station, Shannon is feeling pretty lonely as the only twenty-something in the house.  She keeps to herself reading and journalling like any self-involved twenty-something is supposed to do.  Her actions are not unnoticed as Dana sees her writing in the journal all the time.  She would love to see what she’s writing in there.  Everyone but Shannon is sitting around the balcony table discussing Shannon’s predicament.  They do empathize and understand that she’s fresh out of college and they remember that feeling.  Even Jody knows that in Shannon’s place, she wouldn’t want to have been hanging out with her grandmother either.

Shannon just misses having someone her age to talk to.  She’s even more upset that they have this great house on the beach yet no one has even gone to the beach.  It’s totally sad.  Coincidentally enough, the “olds” out on the deck decide that it is time to take Shannon out to the beach.  Dana knows what is most important though, as she hopes Shannon (as well as all of them) can see some hotties out there.

Beach time!  Shannon leads them to a crowded area on the beach where there are beach umbrellas set up.  Vendors flock to you when you’re out there, so Shawne got a foot massage and Shannon got cornrows in her hair.  It seemed this beach excursion was just what the doctor ordered, as Monique & Shawne noticed that Shannon seemed to come alive.  They taught her some flirty eye tricks including the classic lowering of the sunglasses just a bit to allow your eyes to be seen.  She pulls it off like a pro.  Adrian reminds Shannon that the ladies are going to get her in trouble as all of them have babies.  So be careful!

As they’re out there near the water, Shannon thinks she sees a guy in the water wearing a thong.  Actually, he’s not wearing anything.  The blurred video confirms that.  This amuses Adrian to no end as he keeps laughing and looking.  Everyone keeps sneaking a peek but all realize that it’s a fitting end to their afternoon at the beach.  It seemed to end the occasion perfectly and it looks like Shannon finally broke out of her funk.  Shannon even admits that it was a great bonding moment.

Hobie Barnes works in NYC at 30 Rock (the building, not the show). While not conquering Midtown, he might be found watching DVR’d reality TV, learning the guitar, or getting lost on the subway. He can be reached at hobiewan76@gmail.com.