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Penalty Time: An Anger-Filled Amazing Race Watch

Must. Restrain. Myself.

I was going to write a post about last night's episode of The Amazing Race ("I Hate Chinese Food") but I'm actually still too angry at contestant Nick to think clearly... and at the producers for keeping this buffoon around another week.

Quick recap: after shouting at his asthmatic girlfriend Vicki all season, making her do just about every challenge, and managing to avoid elimination several times thanks to Vicki, Nick decides that he's going to take a nap rather than help Vicki look for a boat registration number in the dark, even though he spent several hours sitting in a chair while Vicki gorged on Chinese food and puked her guts out.

Nice boyfriend.

Nick had given up and wanted to walk off the race when they opted to take the six-hour penalty for not completing a Detour and simply walked onto the mat. It had to be over for them, right? They were so far behind the first place team--Nat and Kat--and had that penalty on top of it.

But, surprise of surprises, it was a non-elimination leg, the second time that this team has been spared this season, leaving them still in the running to land in the final three, and thus have a 33 percent chance of winning a million dollars.

Kids, the lesson is: even if quit and don't want to play by the rules, and act like a total tool all the time, you too can still make a killing! (Personally, I wish that they would have dropped out of the race, only to learn after making their withdrawal official that it was a non-elimination leg.)

I do feel bad for Vicki. She might not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, but she's been horribly mistreated by Nick this entire time. Nick, who has no sympathy for her asthma or the fact that she's the one keeping their team racing week after week. Nick, who says that Vicki taught him that other people's feelings matter... because being mean doesn't get YOU anywhere.

TAR has had some selfish, awful contestants in the past but I haven't felt this level of anger towards a race participant in quite some time. Nick, you really do take the cake for being just so woefully awful. And, Vicki, word of advice for you: run as far away from this loser as you can.

I'm curious to know what you think: am I being too hard on Nick? Or are you as turned off by this clown as I am? Head to the comments to discuss.

Next week on The Amazing Race ("I'm Surrounded by Ninjas"), the teams head to Seoul, where one team will be eliminated while the others compete for a final chance at the million dollar final prize.

Comments

2muchtv said…
You aren't out of line at all. I don't understand how nice girls end up with d-bags.
Sue said…
I wanted to strangle Nick. Vicki is my hero because I would've been screaming at him to STFU. She kept her cool & I loved her comment in one of the "commentary shots" about not wanting to hear any more "I'm sorries". How can you be in the top freakin' 4 on TAR and NOT give the leg everything you've got?! It's kind of a payback to Nick that he has to start one more leg & not get to go home (or wherever they go when eliminated).

On a side note, Brook was seriously getting on my nerves at the eating challenge. She irks me with her continuous chatter.
Rae said…
Oy. Replace one letter in Nick's name and that's what I kept calling him last night. If these two get into the Top 3, I'll be REALLY annoyed. I mean, I wanted them gone ages ago but this is the last straw. I'm not necessarily a Vicki fan either but she should definitely kick Nick's sorry arse to the curb after his behavior in the Race.
Chris said…
It's a sign of how wretched this season's couples have been that I find Nick to be the least offensive of the three men in the couples. I can't get past Thomas's "I went to Notre Dame and she went to cosmetology school" and Chad/Stephanie were horrendous. Nick manages to look slightly better in comparison, although that's probably because Vicki's kickass in a way that Jill and Stephanie aren't. (For example, the rappeling challenge, schooling her former BMXer boyfriend in the biking, actually just about anything that didn't involve the humid heat that flared up her asthma.)
Karen said…
I couldn't watch him emotionally abuse her. Call me a wimp, but after the ferry fiasco I fast-forwarded any time he started acting like a complete tool. I'm absolutely rooting for the doctors.
LizzieJ said…
I am in complete agreement, and I, like Rae, was calling him a dick (Nick the Dick has a nice ring to it) the ENTIRE time. From beginning to end he whined and complained while doing absolutely NOTHING to help his team. Continually threatening to leave Vicki behind when she has an asthma attack is mean, not to mention non-sensical -- you can't very well do a challenge without her and not be disqualified. Idiot. I was absolutely livid when it was a non-elimination leg.
Unknown said…
You are not out of line at all. I, too, was livid that it was a non-elimination leg. Nick deserves to go home.

And while I might at one time have rejoiced at him being forced to endure another leg of the race, that time is long past. The TAR producers are relentless in creating bottlenecks that negate almost any time differential between teams.

A sufficient bottleneck could be all that stands in the way of Nick and Vicki making the finals. And while Vicki deserves something for putting up with this tool all race, he and we deserve an end to our respective miseries.

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