Social Game Costs Kent, Vyxsin on 'The Amazing Race'

COMMENTARY | This week on "The Amazing Race," teams showed once again just how important it is to have a strong social game.

We've seen teams help each other over and over again throughout the season, with Zev and Justin repeatedly helping Flight Time and Big Easy, Flight Time and Big Easy helping Ron and Christina in China, and last week when teams shared the answers to a task while excluding the cowboys.

Although Kent and Vyxsin made a rookie mistake by not reading the final clue carefully, their social game may have cost them the race overall. The last clue specifically instructed them to make their way "on foot" to the next pit stop, but the "Dating Goths" chose to take a taxi instead. That alone was an egregious oversight on their part, because it resulted in a costly 30-minute penalty. However, Mallory saw the pair in the taxi and chose to say nothing.

The Goths' social game cost them the race because nobody liked them. No team was willing to lend them a hand when they got off track. Last week, Kisha and Jen, Flight Time and Big Easy, and Gary and Mallory got lost biking in Liechtenstein, but Zev and Justin saved them by giving them the correct answer. Meanwhile, Kent, Vyxsin, Jet and Cord were left to fend for themselves.

Being the social outcasts of the season cost Jet and Cord last week, and Kent and Vyxsin this week (albeit for very different reasons). Teams found the cowboys intimidating because of their ability to wage improbable comebacks, while Kent and Vyxsin just got on everyone's nerves.

Karma seems to play a crucial role this season on "Amazing Race" as well. While everyone saw the cowboys as threats, nobody seemed to come after Zev and Justin, despite their consistent first place finishes. Of course, Zev and Justin have much more of a social game because they are always seem to be helping the other teams.

When Flight Time accused Vyxsin of stealing his Travelocity gnome, Big Easy observed that karma would come back to haunt them. Although the footage was inconclusive about what really happened to that gnome, it looked like bad karma finally caught up to these goths.

Kent had certainly put out quite a bit of ill will throughout the season by continually whining like a baby, attacking Vyxsin, and lying to Gary a few weeks ago. Poor Vyxsin had been pulling the weight for her team the entire season, only to be continually berated by Mr. Positive Kent.

"Amazing Race" seems to have evolved (or devolved?) into a social game, where karma and likability play as much of a role as physical and mental strength. For the past few weeks, I've had to wonder if I was watching "Big Brother" or "Survivor" instead.

This week's episode of "The Amazing Race" is available at cbs.com.