It was nice to read everyone's comments and FlowerPower, I appreciate your support and contribution.

When the recap told us that Lyn and Karlyn had been vindicated for having been yielded and we saw Dustin make her « smack-smack-smack » comment in close-up, we were prepared for the Blondes’ elimination.

Tyler and James continued with their obsession about the girls. James said “There’s a million dollars on the line. We’ll do whatever it takes to make the Final 3 so that we can make it all the way.” Tyler added: “We don’t care what place we come in as long as we knock out the girls. That is what we all plan to do. We feel the Blondes are more competition than Bama, so we’d rather have Bama in the final 3 than the Blondes.”

They reached Casablanca and the “Quartier des Abats” in first place and made their way to the “Boucherie” to pick up their pound of camel meat. (was that the camel that gave lip to Jeremy last season that was hanging from the store front? ) James, the glutton of the team, did the Roadblock. He quickly prepared his Camel-Kabab and started eating. They were surprised the BQs had made it there in second place but they left before Kandice had finished having her kababs cooked. They crossed Rob on the way out of the market place and told him to hurry up since the girls were already there.

On the way to the airport they said that the Blondes had a desperate look on their face. Tyler added that: “We’d love to knock off the Blonde. The Moms are the most unfit so we’d have the upper hand if they were in the final 3.”

The travel agency was where Dustin and Kandice caught up to them and pleaded for help:
-“If were running neck and neck, would you let us step on the mat first” asked Kandice. “You could…maybe…trip!”
-“You don’t have faith in your game” taunted Tyler.
-“We go with you all the way… Wouldn’t you rather have us in the final 3 than Rob and Kimberly” was Dustin’s response. The guys weren’t receptive.

The plane ride was a bunching point and the guys were right behind the girls coming out of the airport in Barcelona: “The girls have nothing but worry on their face” noted Tyler. “Since they have a 30 minute penalty, we’re going to tail them to the end and assure ourselves of the final 3.” They all get to the labyrinth together and have to wait for its opening.

Waiting for the labyrinth to open, they asked Kimberly, who had gone over to see what the Blondes were doing, to reserve one taxi for them also. The Labyrinth didn’t separate the teams but since only 2 taxis showed up, the models were left behind with the Moms while two teams left for the Detour.

After finally getting a ride, Tyler made the right assumption that the Blondes would be doing the physical detour. They got into the giant costumes and quickly caught up to the girls who couldn’t find the right direction. From there, they knew they were safe since they arrived at Montjuic at the same time as the girls. They could look around to figure out where was the mat and they arrived third.

At the end, Tyler said: “It is every man for himself and every team for himself.” “We have the most first place finishes than all the other teams” continued James. “I don’t think it’s going to be any problem taking the million.”

At no point was this season their story. They had another nice visual of the morning sun over the Sahara desert, much as they had in the Gobi desert. Their story simply seems to be about two nice guys who found a better way to enjoy life. They were dismissing the Moms at the start but after coming very close in the last leg, the moms did beat the guys this time. “Don’t count me out” had said Lyn. Isn’t that what the models have done? It would be even more ironic if Rob and Kimberly outrace them to the final mat. It would mean that they would have been better off going all the way with the girls.

Lyn and Karlyn left the pit stop amazed that they were so close to the lead for the first time. “It feels great” said Lyn. “In the last leg, we were yielded by the Barbies but they came in last and are marked for elimination” explained Karlyn. “We definitely have a plan to get them out.” “We have to get them out this time” agreed Lyn.

They got lost in Casablanca and were looking around when they ran into Rob and Kimberly. They finally found the Boucherie and “Café 11” and Lyn was happy to tell us she knows her way in the kitchen having to prepare meals for her kids. The Kababs were quickly prepared and Lyn started eating. Karlyn spent to whole time ranting on her team mate, reminding us of this team’s bad behavior.
-“If you shut the H*ll up, I could do this” said Lyn.
-“No, I don’t think so” replied Karlyn.

The airport and the labyrinth bunching points kept this team tied with the others. They even showed smarts in finding a quick way out of the labyrinth instead of running into dead-ends like the other teams did. Not having called to reserve a taxi left them in last place on the way to the detour.

They chose the Tomato fight detour and remained calm despite being pelted by the festive locals. They asked each other if they should change detours but suddenly they found a clue. There had to be many clues in the pile because they seemed to leave very quickly and were shown to be in second place.

They had to go across the Catalonian capital to Montjuic and their taxi was going nowhere fast as it was caught in traffic. The suspense didn’t last long as they soon found the stairs and saw Phil and the “pretty lady.” Phil finally recognized that this was the first all-female team to reach the final 3. Was that the extent of the foreshadowing or do they have another first in store? Lyn said: “We just have to seal the deal and be the first female team to win the million dollars.”

Lyn left us saying: “What propels us pass the other teams is that we remain calm. Both the 2 other teams are very emotional.” To prove their point, we see pictures of the other two teams from previous episodes having melt-downs. “We don’t look as physical as the other teams but we have plenty of brain power and we have more heart than any other team.”

It can be seen either way, but I don’t think their story culminates in a victory. Sure it would prove Tyler and James wrong for dismissing them but so would finishing 2nd in front of the models! Lyn has been shown in a much better light than her partner but Karlyn was too prominent and her verbal assaults were aimed at all the other racers. All that could remain to complete their story is to see if they’ll be gracious in defeat.

Rob and Kimberly have often showed their ugly side. They start out with a very positive confessional. Again they are the team from which we hear the two members more regularly. Kimberly starts: “Rob just continues to keep going for it. He hasn’t given up. He used to need a little push to get motivated. That was one of the things I was worried about going into this race.”
Rob told us: “I really want to make it to the final 3 right now and I have a certain belief that we will win a million dollars, we will get married and we will ride off into the Moroccan sunset.”

In spite of that, their arrival in Casablanca was similar to what we had seen at the start from this racer. Rob was lost and he seemed to be blaming everyone that didn’t rush to help him. They wandered around the market with Rob searching with his arm outstretched as if he had been the victim of a bad joke. They hooked up with the single moms and told them Tyler had said the Blondes had already gotten there. Then they saw the blondes and decided to follow them, not realizing the girls had also completed the detour and were on their way out. Rob got frustrated when the local who had helped the Blondes didn’t help him. Kandice told us “Rob has a little anger management issue.” (No kidding!) They were in last place and Kimberly was forced to do the detour since Rob had done his quota. Kimberly couldn’t catch up to Lyn but they soon found out that they had panicked for nothing.

In Barcelona, they managed to get to the “Lob it” detour first as Kimberly had noticed the girls’ ploy and had also reserved a taxi. Being hit by tomatos wasn’t to Kimberly’s liking and, twice, she walked away from the pile telling Rob that it was ridiculous to continue. They couldn’t be 30 minutes behind the girls, she argued, so they should have time to switch task. Finally, Rob relented but their taxi driver informed them that the location of the other detour was 20 miles away. They were back to the pile of tomatos, enduring the pelting and the laughter from the locals. It didn’t take much more time to find the message and they were soon on their way to the Pit Stop, the Fountain in the Palau Nacional of Montjuic. Normally, searching tasks are killers but the two teams that did this one finished in what appeared to be less time than walking a mile with the giant costume could take. Kimberly regained her calm in the taxi and explained that she was freaking out because she thought they’d never find it.

At the pit stop, Phil told them that they were the first team to make it in the final 3. Their hug showed that they stick together despite the difficulties encountered. Kim told Phil: “We have our relationship to build on. The other teams, they win the million and…they are friends.” Phil asked Rob how he felt being so close to a life changing moment. Rob broke down crying: “It means a lot to me…to win” he managed to say between sobs.

“I want to win the million to start a family with this amazing woman,” Rob said. “It would be a start to a life together.” His final words were: “I feel my confidence level is at a 10.” “We’re going to do everything it takes to keep it under control” promised Kimberly.

This team is certainly not a fan favorite, yet very few have shown the same growth in a race. They do argue, they do lose their temper but they get the job done most of the time. In this season where “The Race is Tough” they have been shown to go through more pain than the other two teams. The final story should be theirs.

Can we be a little mean and say that the final story will be:

The Boring, The Bad and The Ugly

wait…that wasn’t the title of the movie, was it?

The Single Moms make this Final 3 surprising but each had shown some longevity either because of the conflicts we had been shown or the physical abilities of the models. Lets see who makes it first to the mat!

I don’t usually comment on the eliminated team but here, there is the question of why did we think Dustin and Kandice would win. The second half of the season had been their story, how they had fun racing, how they defied the other teams and didn’t back down from any arguments. The other teams’ obsession in beating the girls was shown so that we could realize that a female team could win this race. They certainly appeared to be good enough racers.