There’s nothing The Amazing Race loves more than a frenzied sprint to the mat. A healthy percentage of the beloved reality show’s episodes end in a back-and-forth editing sequence in which the final two teams head for the finish line. That was certainly the case during last week’s episode, as viewers wondered whether Kishori Turner and Karishma Cordero could out navigate Derek and Shelisa and overtake them before the end of the leg. Upon further review, however, it turns out the finishing sequence wasn’t actually close at all.
Kishori and Karishma were, of course, eliminated during the last episode, but it wasn’t exactly as nail-biting as the show made it out to be. The cousins sat down for an interview with US Weekly after their elimination, and they were honest about how things really went down. Apparently it took Karishma several hours to put together that blasted skateboard, which put them way behind. Here’s a portion of Kishori’s quote…
It took her over four hours to complete the challenge, but [the episode edit] makes it look like we were super close to Derek and Shelisa, and we were not.
Now, anyone who watches The Amazing Race with critical thinking skills on a regular basis won’t be blindsided by hearing this. Provided there’s not one team falling so far behind it’s noticeably dark out, the show almost always makes it seem like the finish is close, especially since flight problems aren't as much of an issue. That being said, there’s still something jarring about hearing how long it took them to do the roadblock and assumedly, how big the gap was. We definitely got some footage of Karishma struggling, but it wasn’t clear how bad things got or how far behind they finished.
There’s nothing morally wrong with a TV show making a finish seem a little closer than it actually was. That being said, you also lose something by doing that too. When you make every single finish seem like it’s down to the wire, the ones that are actually down to the wire lose that extra WTF intrigue. We get the edge of your seat shock when two teams are within seconds of each other literally racing to the mat in the same camera shot, but because everything else is edited to seem close, from a viewer perspective, there’s no difference between a five minute victory and a five hour victory.
Personally, I would rather have a more accurate reflection of what happened, even if it removes some of the drama. I don’t need an oh my God, who is going to get eliminated moment to be emotionally satisfied with an episode. I would rather the show give us a few close finishes a season so they feel really impactful, but there may be others who would rather have a compelling finish almost every episode, even if they’re mostly using the same editing style.
Complaints aside, The Amazing Race is in the middle of its 36th season, and the show remains as fun and compelling as ever, thanks in part to longer episodes and some smart rule changes. There are a lot of capable teams and potential winners this time around, and the challenges are still unique and enjoyable to watch. You can check it out on Wednesdays on CBS after Survivor.
