May 9, 2009, Ep 11: “Who Do We Think We Are?”

The Amazing Race 14 Insider, Episode 11: “Who Do We Think We Are?”

AR14_Ep11Jen & Kisha may be eliminated now, but in this batch of videos, we’re treated to a lot of their humor – especially at Kisha’s expense. Yet now the final three are sharply focused on the win, even if none of them can believe they’re actually in the running for a million dollars!

 I have to say I’m probably in the minority, but I’m bummed that Jen & Kisha got eliminated. Their sense of humor and competitive streak were great and if Jen had been willing to wet herself for a million dollars, I think they’d still be in it! There are a few good clips this week of these two along with the rest of the teams as they gear up for the final leg. It should be a good one.

At the Pit Stop

Catching Up With Phil: Phil immediately asks Tammy & Victor about their water experiences, referencing the swimming debacle. Tammy explains about her lack of swimming ability, her coordination, and the overall fear of water. Victor still gives props to Tammy for her willingness to plow forward. They elaborate on trying both water tasks and the overall frustration with the diving task as even with their best efforts, the diving challenge was too hard.

Phil is impressed with their performance and their attitude. Tammy agrees because they didn’t have a great leg previously and their language advantage really didn’t help them out. They could now understand cab drivers when they didn’t know where to go. The rest of the race challenges were still tough and the water challenges were especially a factor.

Concerning using the U-Turn, Phil is very happy that Tammy & Victor used it. It’s a race for a million dollars so you have to play hard. Tammy was so afraid of a foot race against Jen & Kisha. She really likes them but their physical strength needed to be removed. Phil reminds them that they now have a 33.33333% chance of winning a million bucks. Tammy is finally ready to play to win – so is Victor.

A Tough Loss: Jen tells Phil she most respects Kisha’s strong will. It’s not something she appreciated and understood but does now after racing with Kisha. With respect to the future, Phil wonders what they’ve got planned next. Kisha is excited about the Barbados trip they won, but basically it’s back to work.

To rub a little salt in the wound, Phil asks how it’ll feel to watch the teams cross the finish line and know they were “that” close to being there too. Kisha admits it’ll be tough. Through tears, Jen admits she feels guilty as hell and that if it was a matter of a few seconds, it’s on her. Phil thinks Kisha needs to let Jen know it’s not something she’ll hold a grudge about. Kisha is confident Jen knows she won’t do that. Jen has been a monster competitor and was key for them getting as far as they did, so their loss today isn’t only on one person.

Phil asks who they would like to see win. Kisha can’t answer the question, but Jen would like to see Tammy & Victor win. They’ve played an intelligent game and were good sports throughout. Kisha agrees but also remembers they were U-Turned by them. Phil explains the rationale on that move and that it was due to Jen & Kisha’s athleticism. So they did expect it, but obviously it’s a huge factor for why they lost.

For what they’ll remember about the race, Kisha will remember it all – all the things they saw, their improving racing skills, everything. Jen agrees that it all was awesome. Phil ends with a motivational pep talk about the fact that no one can say Jen & Kisha ever gave up.

A Lucky Break: Jaime & Cara just arrived at the mat and Phil mentions that he is aware that Jen is in the bathroom right now, meaning that because of that, they made it before them. Out of breath, the girls hug and are laughing with relief. Cara chastises Jaime and tells her that she always tells her there’s always hope.

Phil asks if they thought they were really out of it and Cara explains that she started eating at the food Roadblock as Jen & Kisha were leaving. Jaime is amazed they made it and Cara says she has to use the bathroom too but figured she could throw up on the mat if she had to. Phil tells Cara that she was one of the fastest to get through the Roadblock, which doesn’t surprise Jaime as Cara was eating like those things were filet mignon. Apparently, Cara only took seven minutes while other teams took a half hour.

Mom’s Dream Too: Recalling how far they’ve come and everything they’ve done, Phil wonders how Margie & Luke feel. Ever the fashion diva, Phil interrupts and points out Margie’s mascara is running. After laughing, Margie remembers at the beginning their hope was not to get eliminated and now they’re final three!

Phil is aware this was Luke’s dream, but he now sees that it’s become a big deal for Margie too. She agrees and knows it started off where she was getting dragged along but now she’s racing as hard as Luke is. Luke signs how excited he is they made it into the final three. Phil brings out their 33.333333% chance of winning and Margie isn’t ready to think about it yet.

Thinking back about the tension from the past two legs, Luke recalls they just had to keep working hard to make it through. Phil asks Luke if everyone underestimated Margie. Luke believes everyone thought they’d be eliminated first. He still can’t believe they’re in the final three.

Phil has told everyone that Margie was the bionic woman and recalls Luke thought she was just a little bit of a bionic woman. Has Luke changed his mind? Luke tries to defer answering to Margie, but she points out Phil asked Luke, not her. Luke thinks maybe Margie is a bionic woman and Margie isn’t sure how she feels about that label herself. They’ve just tried really hard and raced as best they could.

After the Race

Sisters Say Farewell: Free of her Chinese Opera makeup, Jen tells us that her goal was not to be so brash. She usually says what she feels most of the time, so on the race, she tried to bite her tongue. The race definitely helped her learn to approach things with more tact and sensitivity. The situation usually guides which way she’ll be. At only 23 years old, Jen tearfully boasts that she is proud of her performance and will brag about it her whole life.

Kisha really found the experience a chance to travel as she never has had the opportunity before due to work and school. Traveling has broadened her life and has helped her to appreciate the world and what she has at home. The poverty she saw in India has reinforced her mission to help. As someone who helps children now in her current career, she’s motivated to continue and do even more because of all she saw.

One Regret: Luke signs that he wishes he had the opportunity to actually look and absorb the places they were racing around in. There’s just no time to do so, although occasionally there were chances such as from boats or in the Swiss train or in long cab rides. But once the actual racing begins, the blinders go on.

Margie is really excited about going into the final three. At the end of every leg, they’re blown away when hearing they’re not in last place. Sometimes you just don’t know where you are in the pack and it’s a surprise to hear you’re in a good position.

A Surreal Experience: Jaime feels the entire race has been surreal. They’ll be in their beds at a Pit Stop and look at each other thinking, “Who do we think we are?” They’ll just start laughing and occasionally re-enact in their room some of the actions they’ve done in the prior legs just to make it seem more real. Until Phil actually tells them they’re not in it anymore, the surreal feeling persists.

On the last plane ride, Cara sat next to Luke and told him about her studying in law school and the school willing to let her defer a year to do the race. She has no regrets doing that as the race has truly been amazing. Cara finds that people mistakenly think The Amazing Race refers to amazing things they do, but what’s amazing is the entire experience and how far-fetched the things are you are doing. Cara can’t believe some of the things she’s done on the race and would have called someone crazy if they told her she’d be doing something like bungee jumping. Jaime agrees and finds the experiences have empowered her way beyond how she used to be.

Extra Race Footage

Jen’s Lovely Lunch: Jen reveals the worst part about the Roadblock were eating the larvae. Apparently, the guts inside would spill out and weren’t cooked, so it tasted like flesh. Blech… I hate these challenges and would fail miserably if I had to do them! Jen continues and sums it up succinctly as “gross.” She also hates fish so when eating the starfish, it was really tough. Kisha laughingly teases her by saying she’s surprised starfish taste like fish. Jen responds that not all fish really taste like fish. Kisha disagrees, but Jen knows that this tasted like a bad taste of ocean water.

Further, the food tasted like a big ball of grease, and then you’d get to a part that tasted like poop. Kisha laughs. Jen reaffirms that it tastes just like she’d expect poop to taste like. This discussion is gross. Jen jokes that when people state, “this food tastes like $#!t,” she now knows what they mean.

Awkward Moment Averted: Victor tells us that independently, he & Tammy agreed to U-Turn Jen & Kisha because of how they fast are. Tammy feels they have a shot at least of running with or at the same speed as Margie & Luke and Cara & Jaime. Tammy knows it’ll be awkward if Jen & Kisha survive the U-Turn, as they’ll be understandably upset about it. That’s why Tammy hopes they’re getting eliminated. Victor hopes Jen will understand as Jen herself from day one has made it clear she’ll U-Turn who she has to. Tammy is just glad that they didn’t get U-Turned as they got there first.

Tammy doesn’t think that Jen & Kisha should feel totally isolated as they’ve raced together the last leg or two. Victor reminds her that of the four teams remaining, three were on the same Lufthansa flight in the first leg. Those three teams have raced together from the beginning while Jen & Kisha are the last member of Team Air France. Further Jen & Kisha have raced on their own more so than others and have been outspoken.

A Good Laugh: Jen & Kisha talk about their three-hour search for the clue after the opera house. They realize sarcastically that of course the clue was within the opera house. In the meantime, it’s awesome to have them walk around the city for three hours in drag. Calling it drag makes Kisha crack up and Jen rightfully explains she’s a Chinese gentleman right now. Jen feels sexy and is as sexy as a Chinese gentleman can get.

Kisha can’t believe she’s got this makeup and crown on. Jen looks up and that’s all it takes to get her laughing. Kisha knows she’ll never live her appearance down as she’s gone from leotard to swimsuit to Chinese opera singer. The whole time Kisha goes on, Jen is dying of laughter. Every time Jen looks at Kisha again, she starts a new burst of laughter. Jen tells her that if the roles were reversed, Kisha would be crying of laughter too. Jen wants Kisha to look in a mirror but Kisha has no desire to see what she looks like.

Elimination Station

On the Way to End City: Oh yes, we’re no longer in Thailand. The opening intro is total Hawaii! The teams arrive by plane and everyone is thrilled to be in such a beautiful place. Even better is that it’s sunny, as there wasn’t much of that in Thailand. The teams get settled in at their hotel, which is right on the beach in Maui with a view of the big island.

After getting settled in, everyone is down on the beach. Mel tells us that it’s a secluded beach that also happens to be a black sand beach. Some of the guys head into the water to snorkel while the girls hang out on the shore, Jodi almost literally…

As Mel heads in with a snorkel, Mike plays the annoying kid role of wanting to use the snorkel too. After Mel makes sure it’s “safe,” Mike goes in too, wondering if he looks like a professional snorkeler. Steve can’t believe how beautiful the sea life is.

Mike apparently saw way more than sea life under the water – he saw a unicorn, the Travelocity gnome, and Reichen & Chip from The Amazing Race season four. That’s some amazing snorkeling!

In someone’s room, everyone is gathered together. Brad wonders if the race is won by skill or by luck. Steve thinks you could have all the skill in the world but one bad break can do you in. Mel thinks they’re all evenly matched as teams but luck plays a huge role. Jennifer says it’s a 60/50 split… She catches herself as everyone looks at her funny and they all crack up.

Before the phone rings, Jennifer tells us that she thinks it’ll be the Red Heads calling, but she doesn’t really care as long as it’s not Jen & Kisha. She thinks everyone is really pulling for them to win. The phone rings and there are chants of “please don’t let it be them.” Of course, after they answer the phone, everyone hears that it is indeed Jen & Kisha. A groan ensues from the teams. Jennifer is noticeably upset and Mel tells Jen & Kisha that they were 100% rooting for them to win. That makes Kisha sad.

Kisha lets them know where they are and what happened. Amanda commiserates with getting U-Turned. Mel asks who they want to win and Kisha tells them either Cara & Jaime or Tammy & Victor. Jennifer lets them know they were the team they felt deserved it the most, which Kisha appreciates. Meanwhile, Jen hasn’t talked at all. The phone call ends.

The group discusses the U-Turn with a love note. Jodi thinks it’s an okay tactic and understands why Jen & Kisha were U-Turned. Jennifer never would have guessed in a million years that Cara & Jaime would be in the final three. Mel is insulted that happened. Brad remembers their discussion of luck having a huge effect. Linda sweetly interjects that maybe someone could give Cara & Jaime credit for making it so far. Jodi begrudgingly gives some credit, but Mike will find it amusing if Cara & Jaime win.

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