The Amazing Race 8 - Episode 2 Summary

'Spies Like Us' By GuessItRains

The episode of course starts out with a recap. If you really want to know what happened, I refer you to idiotcowboy's highly entertaining Episode 1 summary. But the quick and dirty is this:

• Ten teams started in New York City.

• The Paolo family, who happens to be from New York, got lost. They also yelled at each other. A lot.

• The Godlewski sisters, who will always wear pink, won the first leg of the race. They also screamed and jumped around. A lot.

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• A bunch of the teams had trouble pushing around Amish buggies.

• And the Black family, who happens to be black, got eliminated.

That’s pretty much all you need to know. Maybe next week's summary writer, JSlice will also do the preview, in which case, you can probably stop reading now.

The day starts in Lancaster, Pennsylvania at the Amish farm where everybody spent the night. Phil ominously warns us that the Paolo family has been having friction and the Linz family is currently in last. So for anybody paying attention, we know those two families ain’t going home for a while. Now we get to run quickly through the teams leaving for a big shoe house in the town of York, 15 miles away.

(1) The Godlewski sisters are psyched that they finished first and now feel confident they can stay there. They promptly stop for gas and fall behind.

(2) The Gaghan nuclear family (Nuclear both b/c it's a mom, dad, and 2 kids, and the mom and dad are clearly on something radioactive) think they will be viewed as more of a threat now. The parents, though, are still trying to keep their kids focused.

(3) The Widow Weaver is hoping that she will be able to take more of a leadership role with her family.

(4) In the Rogers family, son Brock points out that Pa Rogers is always in charge. This is supposed to be ominous foreshadowing but comes across as whiny griping.

(5) The Schroeder family is rather disorganized but still plugging along. Pa Schroeder even manages to pick out a shortcut on the map.

(6) Still no love in the Paolo family between Ma Paolo and her sons.

(7) Pa Bransen is worried they won’t do well, but his daughters are more optimistic.

(8) The Aiellos are still fired up and trying to make Pa-in-Law Aiello proud.

(9) The Linz family isn’t happy they almost got eliminated but are trying to learn from their mistakes.

The Gaghans show up at the giant shoe and find out their next destination is the reflecting pool outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC. This requires them to leave the shoe, taking 30 West to 83 South. The Schroeders use their shortcut to push into second, just ahead of the Godlewskis. The Weavers think the shoe is really cool, but can’t figure out at first what state Washington, DC is in. They finally settle on Maryland, which won’t win any Geography Bees but I guess is actually close enough for the purposes of this game.

The Rogers pull up next and decide to swap seats, with Brock now driving and Pa navigating. Pa immediately proves this to be a bad decision by ordering Brock to take 30 East to 83 South, which happens to be the wrong way. The other families all manage to avoid that mistake and make it out of Amish Land.

To highlight the Rogers family’s mistake we now get to watch all the other teams head onto 83 South. Meanwhile, Pa Rogers, still not realizing they are going the wrong way, tells Brock it is his responsibility to find 83 South. Talk about parents setting impossible goals for their kids. Finally, Pa checks the map again and realizes they are way off. Naturally, he blames Brock for missing the exit despite Brock’s claims that they never passed it. Pa and Ma decide Brock has failed them, and Pa resumes driving duties.
After a break, we are back with the Rogers family where the daughter finally realizes that Pa directed them the wrong way. Pa’s response: “Only one person can do so much.” Gee Pa, I think you’ve done plenty already. Yeesh.

Anyway, time for the DC leg of the trip. The trick here is that there are two reflecting pools on the Mall of our nation’s capital: one by the Lincoln Memorial and a smaller one by the U.S. Capitol. The Gaghans and the Schroeders show up first, but they are both at the wrong pool. The Godlewskis and the Weavers both pick the right one and race to the clue box. The clue says the teams have to get a briefcase from a man in a nearby limo and take that to the Jefferson Memorial. The Gaghans wander around the whole pool looking futilely for the clue, while the Schroeders finally wisen up enough to ask a ranger if there might be another pool and dash off without telling the Gaghans.

The Paolos make it to the Capitol pool next, although Ma Paolo is concerned they are about to run out of gas, while the Bransens and the Aiellos pick the wrong pool. The Aiellos quickly check a map and realize their mistake, but the Bransens join the Gaghans in their aimless walk. Meanwhile, the Linzes go to the right pool, showing up just after the Schroeders but just before the Aiellos.

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