"Amazing Race 17": Chad Proposes and Gary & Mallory Finish Last

It was a big night for Team Chad & Stephanie on "Amazing Race 17". During the first part of the leg, as teams waited in line for the next place to open, Chad got down on one knee and proposed to Stephanie. With all the teams watching Stephanie said 'yes', and a squeal went up from Team HSN (likely from Brook). I'm sure both of their fans...er, I mean all, were overjoyed at the news.

Here is how the 8the leg of "TAR 17" went down:

Teams were off to Muscat in Oman for this leg of the race. Nat & Kat got started first, followed by Brook & Claire, Nick & Vicki, Gary & Mallory and Jill & Thomas. No word from Chad & Stephanie. Nat & Kat, Brook & Claire got on the first flight out, the rest (sans Chad & Stephanie) got on the second flight out.

Turns out, Chad & Stephanie overslept, and not just by a little. The couple slept an hour and 52 minutes past their time to leave. It was later that morning that Chad proposed... hmmm. They hit the starting line running and made it to the airport in time to find another flight out that arrived at the same time as the second group of racers.

The Roadblock was easy tonight, as long as you didn't have a fear of heights. One person from each team had to repel down a mountain side to search hundreds of Aladdin's lamps for one with a ring inside. Teams had to find it themselves and drive there. That seemed to be the game changer, as is often the case on the Amazing Race.

Gary & Mallory got completely lost trying to find the rock repelling Roadblock. After they finally got to the place Mallory said they had driven for nine hours. It seemed like that too. Dad Gary, a pilot, said he was sorry and embarrassed at not being able to read a map well.

Teams came out of the Roadblock in this order:
Chad & Stephanie (Chad repelled... not just me, the rock!)
Jill & Thomas (Jill repelled)
Nick & Vicki (Vicki repelled)
Brook & Claire (Claire repelled)
Nat & Kat (Kat repelled)
Gary & Mallory (Mallory repelled)

Teams headed off to the Detour. It was extremely one sided tonight. The Detour was called Wedding Table or Water Table. I did not hear exactly what Wedding Table was, but it involved cooking (so likely a traditional dis) and not teams took it. In Water Table teams filled a water truck and took it to a residence to fill their tank. Amazing what some countries still go through to get water to their home.

Jill & Thomas found a cab driver and paid him to lead their truck to the address of the home (a violation of the Amazing Race rules) They took a decent lead over Chad & Stephanie, but the two stayed their closest competition tonight.

After the Detour there was one more task. Teams had to go into the marketplace and pick up frankincense from a vendor and deliver it to a man dressed as Ali Baba. It must have been a nearby delivery, no one got lost.

All that was left to do was head to the Pit Stop where Phil Keoghan was waiting for them. The drama was not over though. As I said above, Jill & Thomas committed a rule infraction, so there would be a penalty. Did they miss last week when Michael & Kevin went home? Anyway, though they showed up on the mat first, Jill & Thomas had to take the walk of shame to wait off a 30 minute penalty. Chad & Stephanie were right on their heels.

Amazing Race 17: Eighth Leg Final Standings
1. Chad & Stephanie *win a trip to Belize* (Awwww!)
2. Jill & Thomas
3. Nick & Vicki
4. Brook & Claire
5. Nat & Kat
6. Gary & Mallory *Eliminated from the Amazing Race 17 tonight*

Only five teams remain. Jill & Thomas seem to be the overall strongest, except tonight's mishap on rules (those darn things!). The problem is we are running out of likable pairings on "Amazing Race 17". I do reluctantly like Brook & Claire (don't judge me), and for some reason I like Nat & Kat. There has never been a female team that's won the "Amazing Race". Maybe this is the year! Who do you want to see win?