Last night’s episode of The Amazing Race was, I think, the weakest one I’ve seen. There were a number of things that made it so: the seemingly endless focus on ostrich egg eating, the unusually strong emphasis on intra-team conflict, and, most oddly, the elimination of Charla and Mirna that was compressed into an anti-climactic minute or two at the very end.

The pacing seemed off for the entire episode, and what might have received emphasis didn’t, and vice versa.

Charla and Mirna were, argubly, the stars of Amazing Race 5 to date, for they brought the most interesting relationship, the quickest thinking, and the most “rebounds from certain defeat” to the table. Last night their departure was handled so quickly that it was as if they simply disappeared.

There were some good parts to the episode.

Chip and Kim, probably the most positive players, and seemingly the only ones paying any attention to their surroundings, had a good experience in the “deliver a chair” challenge, and took enough time away from the crazy race pace to make a small connection with the local family they delivered the chair to.

The variety of experiences the teams had with hiring a minibus in Tanzania was also interesting: teams that acted like rich North Americans and waved their money around were met with hostility and delay; teams that went with the flow did better (if I followed the proceedings correctly, one team payed as little as $3 for a ride that cost another team upwards of $100).

Edward Hasbrouck, who provides weekly commentary on each episode on vacation until September 1, so we’ll not hear from him again, I presume, on this or the next two episodes.