Does this edition of The Amazing Race have any non-elimination rounds?? I'm beginning to think that it doesn't. Last week completely psyched me out, but I was positive this week would be non-elimination, especially when I saw who was going to land in last place (more on that later). But, alas, it was yet another elimination round. Teams started out from the Pit Stop and learned that they would need to travel to Rome via train and ferry and find the Trevi Fountain. As usual, the train didn't depart until 8 a.m. the next morning, allowing all of the teams to catch up. Remember how I somewhat complimented Lake last week by saying that he was "a bit more tolerable lately?" And then I followed that up with: "I'm sure he'll go ahead and ruin it next week." Well, it seems that I have ESP (or just an uncanny ability to recognize jerks) because he was definitely back to his usual jerk-of-the-year form last night. He went as far as to call Michelle a b*itch when she insisted that she had handed him the clue and he refused to believe her and admit that he lost it. And this was only two minutes into the race! It's only going to get worse people. Moving along. When last place Ray/Yolanda arrived at the train station they remarked how they hadn't seen Team Slacker since Moscow. Really? Don't you guys all stay together at these Pit Stops?? Anyway, 8 a.m. rolled around and all of the teams made their way to Rome. Team Slacker found the fountain first and learned that they had to travel less than a mile to the Spanish Steps and find the horse-drawn carriages. Included in their clue was half of Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man drawing (a shout-out to the upcoming movie The Da Vinci Code), which they would need to piece together with the other half at their next destination and then present to Phil at the Pit Stop. Whichever team presented the completed "puzzle" first, won a prize. I say "puzzle" because it involved nothing more than placing two sheets of paper over each other until it read "You cracked the code." Team Slacker easily found the next clue, which instructed them to fly to Athens, Greece. And yes, even they easily pieced the "puzzle" together. In a related story, I heard that Robert Langdon is looking to recruit these two for his next Da Vinci encrypted murder case after seeing their stellar work on this extremely difficult decoding. Seriously, though, I was expecting this challenge to be way cooler. Moving on to Team MoJo, who was having a run of good luck as they reached the Spanish steps in second, and then made their way to the airport. All of the teams followed and they all boarded the 7:25 p.m. flight to Athens.
Once the teams arrived in Greece, they had to find the ancient Agora marketplace. Monica was especially excited to be in Greece because "this is where thinking began and the great philosophers are from here." I'm no expert like Monica, but I'm pretty sure people were thinking in other parts of the world before the Greek Empire. Otherwise, I have no idea how the wheel came about. All of the teams found the marketplace and they also learned that it wouldn't open until 8 a.m. When 8 rolled around, the teams made a mad dash for the clue box where they found the first of only two Fast Forwards this race. In this Fast Forward, team members would have to travel on foot less than a mile to a restaurant and participate in a traditional Greek plate breaking activity. One of those yellow and red TAR flags was hidden in one of the hundreds of plates, and the team would have to find it to get the Fast Forward that would allow them to travel straight to the Pit Stop. Team MoJo decided to take the Fast Forward, but unfortunately for them, so did Team Slacker. Fran/Barry also decided to go for it. I thought that Lake/Michelle would as well. After all, it had Lake's name written all over it. Travel 
on foot - check, destroy property - check, skip the rest of the leg and advance to the next leg - check. Team MoJo got to the task first, and this is when their run of good luck ran out. Team Slacker followed shortly after, and because they are the luckiest team to ever run this race, they quickly found the one flag and got the Fast Forward. I hate the fact that their slacker ways seem to be rewarded on this show. Team MoJo had to try to catch the rest of the teams who were following the clue that had them traveling by train to Corinth and exiting at the Isthmos Station for their next clue. No such luck in catching the other teams as we saw them all board the train. Fran/Barry finally reached the Fast Forward and learned that it had already been taken. Monica had another breakdown as she believed that she and Joseph were now out of the race. While they waited for the next train to Corinth, MoJo's spirits were suddenly lifted with the arrival of Fran/Barry. The two teams then boarded the train, 50 minutes behind the other three teams. For those keeping score (and who isn't, really?), Lake decided that Italy was better than Greece. So, that means that Russia and Greece are both bad and Italy and traveling by foot are both good. Meanwhile, Lake and the other two teams got off the train at the wrong station and hopped a bus to the correct one. When Michelle questioned the move, Lake told her it was fine in his usual gruff tone. Oh, this is so going to bite them!
The teams eventually found the correct station and the next clue: Roadblock! This Roadblock had one team member completing a 240-foot bungee jump into the Corinth Canal. Ray/Yolanda grabbed the first place number, and Ray easily completed the breathtaking jump and opened the next clue to find the Detour: Herculean Effort or It's All Greek to Me, which sounded suspiciously like a Frat Party from college. Too bad Team Slacker chose the Fast Forward because they would have been right at home. In Herculean Effort, teams would have to travel to an ancient stadium and compete in three original Olympic game competitions (discus, javelin and pushing a wrestler out of a 20-foot circle). In It's All Greek to Me, teams had to go to the same stadium and search for nine pieces of pottery with Greek letters on them. Then, with the help of the locals, they had to convert the Greek letters into English letters and spell out a location on a given map. Is that task not like the most ridiculous thing ever? So awesome! Ray/Yolanda chose Herculean Effort and began making their way there. Team Hippies was up next, and they too easily completed the jump. Meanwhile, Team MoJo and Fran/Barry arrived (at the correct station) and grabbed the number for their jump. 
Michelle completed her jump, as did Monica. Both teams began to make their way to the Detour. Fran was having a difficult time forcing herself to complete the jump. She started to have a huge breakdown on the bridge and the show went to commercial. You know the drill, though, it came back and she forced herself to jump. When she got back on the bridge she said it was the most scared she has ever been, which is saying a lot because this woman faced cancer and survived, so a big Yay! to Fran for completing the task! They got their clue and decided on It's All Greek to Me. Remember Team Slacker? Yeah, I was good without them as well, but they cut to the two silly boys arriving first at the map with their difficult decoding task in hand. For their hard efforts, the two won tickets to the premiere of The Da Vinci Code, and they both proclaimed that they are now celebrities. Riiiiiiight! Back at the Detour, Ray/Yolanda were getting to work. Yolanda completed the discus throw, but Ray couldn't get the javelin throw to go far enough. Team MoJo arrived and Monica completed the discus, and Joseph worked on the javelin. He completed it before Ray, and the two began pushing their wrestler out of his circle. Monica wasn't much help, but Joseph got him out anyway, and the two learned that they would need to drive themselves 107 miles to the next Pit Stop at the Fortress of Rion. Ray finally completed the javelin and he and Yolanda easily knocked their wrestler out of his circle.
Meanwhile, Fran/Barry began working on It's All Greek to Me. They found their pottery and got their letters translated, but couldn't figure out what they spelled. Lake/Michelle meant to go to Herculean Effort, but found It's All Greek to Me instead. They, too, found their pottery and began deciphering the letters and the word. Fran/Barry realized that the letters spelled Dimitsana on the map, and they got their next clue to the Pit Stop. Lake had only some of the letters deciphered, but decided to take a guess and he, too, got the next clue. The two teams began the trek to the Pit Stop, but not before Barry backed his Kia into a tree and shattered the back window and put a serious dent in the back door. Oh man, Phil is going to be pissed! They wrecked one of his cars! I would be very afraid if I were them. Meanwhile, remember Team Hippies? Remember how they usually dominate? Well, this wasn't their leg. The two fun-loving guys got lost and wound up traveling an hour out 
of their way, which put them two hours behind the other teams. They turned around and finally made their way to the Detour. Ray/Yolanda beat MoJo to the mat, but because they were one of the three teams that got off the train at the wrong station, they had to endure a 15-minute penalty. MoJo arrived shortly after and snatched the second place spot away from Ray/Yolanda, who then landed in third. Fran and Barry came in fourth, leaving a very lost Lake/Michelle and Team Hippies, who was having fun completely the Detour. Cut to Lake/Michelle who were freaking out and hyperventilating over their lost status (OK, so it was just Lake, but whatever). Michelle had to comfort him, and she also took over the wheel. Team Hippies arrived at the mat, but had to endure the 15-minute penalty. They still finished in fifth place, though. Lake/Michelle were the last team to arrive and they were eliminated from the race.What did you think about last night's episode? Were you happy to see Lake/Michelle go? Are you wondering when we're going to get a non-elimination round? Drop me a comment with your thoughts. And be sure to tune in later today for the regular edition jam-packed with thoughts on Lost. Plus, the Idol and Model moments and all the latest television news!
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