Right now, The Amazing Race is sucking me in more than any show on television. Roommate Joe and I had an online chat about last night’s episode, and it turned into a conversation about shady bitches and the series’ moral code.

There are spoilers ahead, but there are also promises of chocolate chip cookies.

Mark: Did you see The Amazing Race last night?

Joe: I did!

Mark: Sam and Dan are shady bitches. They are dead to me.

Joe: THANK YOU. Also, Prague is a country?

Mark: Exactly! And maybe they speak Spanish there?

Joe: I can put up with treacherous, but not treacherous and dumb.

Mark: Honestly, no matter who took the cab, I would’ve been pissed… but the idiocy made it worse.

Joe: Yes.

Mark: I’m glad we’re in agreement here.

Joe: We will not be in agreement on Cheyne/Flight Time, I fear.

(Note: Joe and I have been disagreeing all season about Flight Time and Big Easy. I’ve been pulling for them. Joe… not so much.)

Me: As I was falling asleep, I was full-on imagining scenarios in which Brian and Ericka U-turned the brothers,
and Ericka said, “Take a taste, you shady bitches!”

Joe: That’s right! Have we seen a U-Turn yet?

Mark: I think we saw one, ages and ages ago. The people who U-turned didn’t have to announce that they had done it. Was that this season?

Joe: Maybe?

Mark: I think the poker girls used it. Oh, and as for the remaining teams, my allegiance to Flight Team and Big Easy has pretty much come in line with Megan and Cheyne. And M/C may even have a slight edge, since Megan seems really nice. She was worried about Cheyne being rude to the Trotters, which I appreciated.

Joe: Here’s my thing: I think Flight Time WAS goldbricking it down that ladder, but even if he wasn’t,
you can’t say, “I don’t play like that” and then also say, “But once they gave me the idea, I totally did it.”

Mark: I agree. Frankly, if I didn’t think they were funny, the Trotters would be off my list altogether.
In the last two weeks, they’ve shown a real lack of generosity, what with the ladder thing and the childish theats about “getting physical” with Sam and Dan.

Joe: Yes

Mark: Meanwhile, Megan is trying to play fair, and Brian is, like, a saint.

Joe: Brian is a dream. Kind of naïve, but in a sweet way.

Mark: When he said that playing fair was the best way to win? Cutest ever.

Joe: I loved when Brian was like, “The brothers are probably feeling really guilty right now.” And Ericka was like, “But maybe they’re not!”

Mark: I know! Brian is the type who would have shared a delicious batch of fresh chocolate chip cookies with the brothers—because he wouldn’t want them to feel left out—but before he shared, he would have said, “Think how much sweeter these would taste if you weren’t cheaters.”

Joe: Hee.

Mark: This is another reason I like The Amazing Race. Season after season, the finals always include people who seem to be doing their best and who seem to value fairness. That, plus the focus on teamwork as a vital strategy, makes me feel like this game show reinforces good cultural habits.

Joe: And usually, I have no time for the “fairness” people, but Brian seems to be doing it in this very self-focused, non-judgy way which, while I am more on Ericka’s wavelength, I can respect.

Mark: And see, for me, I think I’m TOTALLY like Brian. Like, I’ll just own that. And I like seeing him do well.
And I like how he and Ericka clearly love each other.

Sigh. I’m getting way too sentimental for a Monday.