The Amazing Race 29: Eps 11 and 12
Jul. 1st, 2017 10:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
spiderbraidsBeen sitting on this long enough...
Leg 11:
1. After a scene of the Matt/Redmond (The Boys) planning their Costa Rice vacation on the Travelocity app (hey, gotta get that ad money, right?) the next stop is Seoul, as Redmond makes a "leg up" joke on the way to the airport before winking at the camera (LOL) Brooke/Scott point out that there have been a few winners that never won any previous legs (hello Beakman Bros!)
2. So anyways, in Seoul, The Boys take the subway, while the others take cabs to the first clue pickup in Gangnam, where the show puts up the text "Gangnam Style" on a banner while a bunch of K-Pop girls are dancing (not to that viral hit, though :-\) and waiting to give out the clues :-) Turns out that between missed connections, confusing maps, and having to walk from the subway to the pick up (and having to negotiate some wet cement LOL), the Boys are in an unfamiliar position... last place (!) And it gets compounded by their cabbie apparently getting confused by the order to go to the Olympic gym at Hanyang University... and after realizing his error, offering a discount (HEH!)
3. Roadblock at the gym: Who stacks up? Calls for completing a given speed stacking rotuine in 7 seconds, to which Phil adds: "By the way, the world record is less than 2 :-)" One of Brooke's cousins liked showing off cup stacking at parties, so for once Brooke can do this task without complaining. Brooke manages to get a 7.000 time on the dot (and they show this in a single continuous shot!)
4. Next task is to make kimchi (yum!) made with cabbage and various spices, and once they have 6 cabbages pass inspection (to make sure that all the spices cover the leaves well enough), they get put in a pot and buried in dirt for fermentation. Everyone gets a taste of finished kimchi after they're done, leading to the expected reactions to its spiciness, with Logan(/London, LoLo) comparing it to Cajun spiced soggy cabbage :-)
5. Next stop is the Seoul e-Stadium (which is actually a highrise rather than, well, a stadium) for a second Roadblock (with the same "other teammate must do it" restriction as usual): Who's ready to take control? It's a Street Fighter Roadblock where contestants go up against pro players, with the ringers playing with one hand after 10 rounds, and then with a blindfold after 20 rounds... And it sure looks like they'll need those handicaps, since everyone's getting themselves trounced hard (!) Of course, Tara's (/Joey, Mom and Dad) never played video games, and my dad laughed at that comment :-) and spends much of the task repeatedly bemoaning at the possibility of losing over a video game... Meanwhile, Scott's playing Chun Li :-)
6. We take a break from the frenzy of e-sports as The Boys finally get around to doing kimchi :-) The Boys tell the kimchi ladies that they'll "make the best kimchi you've ever tasted", and when their pot gets buried, they joke that the kimchi ladies must have been disappointed in their kimchi ;-)
7. Back to e-sports, and while LoLo and B/S get their wins in that order after the blindfolds, even a blindfolded one-hand player is still handily kicking Tara's virtual butt (we get a caption saying Round 31) as she rants that she was too busy dealing with bad guys in real life to have time for video games... as The Boys finally show up (!) There's a bit of minor comic relief where the locals refuse to give Matt tips on how to play to win (uh, duh) saying that he's already good, while Joey somewhat mocks the local player for beating someone's mom at videogames...
8. Pitstop is at a building at some islands in the middle of the river. In the cab Scott's hoping for the win, but Brooke believes in jinxes... Not today, though, since they manage to edge out LoLo for the win (it seemingly comes down to elevator vs staircase) leaving it to come down to Mom/Dad and The Boys... Tara finally gets one over her opponent, but there are delays for Mom and Dad in getting a cab, while Matt doesn't need the blindfold handicap to win (so the Koreans do have a point about him being good ;-))
9. Mom/Dad do get a cab as Matt is finishing up, and continue to worry about losing over a video game, before eventually managing to edge out The Boys for the final spot in the 2, and Red has a racemat confession about showing the world what he can achieve, which Phil agrees with (meanwhile, S21's Amy/Daniel would probably sigh at all this...) Of course, we finish the episode with the usual pre-finale confessionals (hilariously, B/S claim that they never argue... and that assertion is literally followed by a flashback clip of them arguing during the Vietnam mannequin task!)
Finale:
1. The final three teams are getting to go to Chicago on Korean Air's Prestige Class (replete with some bubbly to toast with :-)) before heading to the Chicagoland Speedway by cab, during which we find out that B/S are superfans and have gate-checked their main bags, and Joey is telling his cabbie to drive like Mario Andretti :-) "Ironically", the first task of the final leg involves an actual pitstop (HEH!) in which one person is to change a tire in 40 seconds (using actual pit crew tools), then the other is to drive around the circuit in 52 seconds... Naturally, two of the teams have their guy do the driving, with the lone exception being Tara... because she can't change a tire (LOL!)
2. B/S are first to finish the task and get to visit victory lane (complete with confetti and champagne spray!) followed by Mom/Dad and LoLo... Next task involves picking up a clue at the Monroe underground El Train station (sounds like an oxymoron :-)) and after a few minutes of looking for a clue box, it turns out to be with the guy manning the platform :-) In an attempt to recall the classic style of TAR clue, they're given hints towards three locations in riddle form... one of which is the Chicago Water Tower as seen in season 6 (rather than 9 as Scott says) Each location has a postcard waiting to be picked up, with the complete set revealing the next location... Scott offers to let Brooke piggyback on him at one point :-D
3. Next location is a garden at the roof of Chicago City Hall with a clue pickup from a beekeeper (!) B/S still lead, while Mom/Dad drop to 3rd after confusing the Gothic spire mention in one of the clues for being The Chicago Temple... Next stop is Wrigleyville Dogs, and LoLo lose their brief hold on 2nd place because their cabbie doesn't know where that is (!)
4. At Wrigleyville, teams get to deliver hotdogs to a bleacher of fans on a building top near the iconic Wrigley Field, and they seem to be disappointed that it's not a hotdog eating task, and Joey jokes about eating one of the 'dogs he's supposed to deliver :-)... and teams get their next clue from no less than Chicago locals and TAR19 winners Ernie and Cindy (!) Boston native Joey: "Go Red Sox!" Cubs fans: "BOOOOOO!" :-D
5. After the visit to a nearby building... comes the visit to the actual ballpark (!) for the final Roadblock of the race: "Who's been keeping score?" In this case, one contestant goes to the broadcast booth, and tells the other via one-way radio receiver their placement in each leg so they can put it up on the park's iconic manual scoreboard... and in a minor twist, instead of going first leg to last, they're going in alphabetic order of the pitstop (!) And after that's been cleared by the judge, figure out a math riddle riddle based on those placements, to grab the finish line clue in a particular section of seats (shades of season 4) Meanwhile, in a nice touch, the show seamlessly transitions from Phil's piece to camera introducing Wrigley to an obviously well after-the-race voiceover mentioning the Cubs' (VERY) long-awaited World Series win :-)
6. And unlike in most of the other tasks not involving cup stacking, Brooke manages to identify their placement in each leg calmly, and more importantly, manages to get it correct on the first go, before Mom/Dad even arrive at the park... Not much suspense for the final race to the finish line at some park with a view of Lake Michigan, as B/S take the win, followed by Mom/Dad and LoLo, but still better than last time TAR finished a season in Chicago, as B/S talk about how winning the money was just gravy compared to their experience... plus the usual confessionals from the other
Leg 11:
1. After a scene of the Matt/Redmond (The Boys) planning their Costa Rice vacation on the Travelocity app (hey, gotta get that ad money, right?) the next stop is Seoul, as Redmond makes a "leg up" joke on the way to the airport before winking at the camera (LOL) Brooke/Scott point out that there have been a few winners that never won any previous legs (hello Beakman Bros!)
2. So anyways, in Seoul, The Boys take the subway, while the others take cabs to the first clue pickup in Gangnam, where the show puts up the text "Gangnam Style" on a banner while a bunch of K-Pop girls are dancing (not to that viral hit, though :-\) and waiting to give out the clues :-) Turns out that between missed connections, confusing maps, and having to walk from the subway to the pick up (and having to negotiate some wet cement LOL), the Boys are in an unfamiliar position... last place (!) And it gets compounded by their cabbie apparently getting confused by the order to go to the Olympic gym at Hanyang University... and after realizing his error, offering a discount (HEH!)
3. Roadblock at the gym: Who stacks up? Calls for completing a given speed stacking rotuine in 7 seconds, to which Phil adds: "By the way, the world record is less than 2 :-)" One of Brooke's cousins liked showing off cup stacking at parties, so for once Brooke can do this task without complaining. Brooke manages to get a 7.000 time on the dot (and they show this in a single continuous shot!)
4. Next task is to make kimchi (yum!) made with cabbage and various spices, and once they have 6 cabbages pass inspection (to make sure that all the spices cover the leaves well enough), they get put in a pot and buried in dirt for fermentation. Everyone gets a taste of finished kimchi after they're done, leading to the expected reactions to its spiciness, with Logan(/London, LoLo) comparing it to Cajun spiced soggy cabbage :-)
5. Next stop is the Seoul e-Stadium (which is actually a highrise rather than, well, a stadium) for a second Roadblock (with the same "other teammate must do it" restriction as usual): Who's ready to take control? It's a Street Fighter Roadblock where contestants go up against pro players, with the ringers playing with one hand after 10 rounds, and then with a blindfold after 20 rounds... And it sure looks like they'll need those handicaps, since everyone's getting themselves trounced hard (!) Of course, Tara's (/Joey, Mom and Dad) never played video games, and my dad laughed at that comment :-) and spends much of the task repeatedly bemoaning at the possibility of losing over a video game... Meanwhile, Scott's playing Chun Li :-)
6. We take a break from the frenzy of e-sports as The Boys finally get around to doing kimchi :-) The Boys tell the kimchi ladies that they'll "make the best kimchi you've ever tasted", and when their pot gets buried, they joke that the kimchi ladies must have been disappointed in their kimchi ;-)
7. Back to e-sports, and while LoLo and B/S get their wins in that order after the blindfolds, even a blindfolded one-hand player is still handily kicking Tara's virtual butt (we get a caption saying Round 31) as she rants that she was too busy dealing with bad guys in real life to have time for video games... as The Boys finally show up (!) There's a bit of minor comic relief where the locals refuse to give Matt tips on how to play to win (uh, duh) saying that he's already good, while Joey somewhat mocks the local player for beating someone's mom at videogames...
8. Pitstop is at a building at some islands in the middle of the river. In the cab Scott's hoping for the win, but Brooke believes in jinxes... Not today, though, since they manage to edge out LoLo for the win (it seemingly comes down to elevator vs staircase) leaving it to come down to Mom/Dad and The Boys... Tara finally gets one over her opponent, but there are delays for Mom and Dad in getting a cab, while Matt doesn't need the blindfold handicap to win (so the Koreans do have a point about him being good ;-))
9. Mom/Dad do get a cab as Matt is finishing up, and continue to worry about losing over a video game, before eventually managing to edge out The Boys for the final spot in the 2, and Red has a racemat confession about showing the world what he can achieve, which Phil agrees with (meanwhile, S21's Amy/Daniel would probably sigh at all this...) Of course, we finish the episode with the usual pre-finale confessionals (hilariously, B/S claim that they never argue... and that assertion is literally followed by a flashback clip of them arguing during the Vietnam mannequin task!)
Finale:
1. The final three teams are getting to go to Chicago on Korean Air's Prestige Class (replete with some bubbly to toast with :-)) before heading to the Chicagoland Speedway by cab, during which we find out that B/S are superfans and have gate-checked their main bags, and Joey is telling his cabbie to drive like Mario Andretti :-) "Ironically", the first task of the final leg involves an actual pitstop (HEH!) in which one person is to change a tire in 40 seconds (using actual pit crew tools), then the other is to drive around the circuit in 52 seconds... Naturally, two of the teams have their guy do the driving, with the lone exception being Tara... because she can't change a tire (LOL!)
2. B/S are first to finish the task and get to visit victory lane (complete with confetti and champagne spray!) followed by Mom/Dad and LoLo... Next task involves picking up a clue at the Monroe underground El Train station (sounds like an oxymoron :-)) and after a few minutes of looking for a clue box, it turns out to be with the guy manning the platform :-) In an attempt to recall the classic style of TAR clue, they're given hints towards three locations in riddle form... one of which is the Chicago Water Tower as seen in season 6 (rather than 9 as Scott says) Each location has a postcard waiting to be picked up, with the complete set revealing the next location... Scott offers to let Brooke piggyback on him at one point :-D
3. Next location is a garden at the roof of Chicago City Hall with a clue pickup from a beekeeper (!) B/S still lead, while Mom/Dad drop to 3rd after confusing the Gothic spire mention in one of the clues for being The Chicago Temple... Next stop is Wrigleyville Dogs, and LoLo lose their brief hold on 2nd place because their cabbie doesn't know where that is (!)
4. At Wrigleyville, teams get to deliver hotdogs to a bleacher of fans on a building top near the iconic Wrigley Field, and they seem to be disappointed that it's not a hotdog eating task, and Joey jokes about eating one of the 'dogs he's supposed to deliver :-)... and teams get their next clue from no less than Chicago locals and TAR19 winners Ernie and Cindy (!) Boston native Joey: "Go Red Sox!" Cubs fans: "BOOOOOO!" :-D
5. After the visit to a nearby building... comes the visit to the actual ballpark (!) for the final Roadblock of the race: "Who's been keeping score?" In this case, one contestant goes to the broadcast booth, and tells the other via one-way radio receiver their placement in each leg so they can put it up on the park's iconic manual scoreboard... and in a minor twist, instead of going first leg to last, they're going in alphabetic order of the pitstop (!) And after that's been cleared by the judge, figure out a math riddle riddle based on those placements, to grab the finish line clue in a particular section of seats (shades of season 4) Meanwhile, in a nice touch, the show seamlessly transitions from Phil's piece to camera introducing Wrigley to an obviously well after-the-race voiceover mentioning the Cubs' (VERY) long-awaited World Series win :-)
6. And unlike in most of the other tasks not involving cup stacking, Brooke manages to identify their placement in each leg calmly, and more importantly, manages to get it correct on the first go, before Mom/Dad even arrive at the park... Not much suspense for the final race to the finish line at some park with a view of Lake Michigan, as B/S take the win, followed by Mom/Dad and LoLo, but still better than last time TAR finished a season in Chicago, as B/S talk about how winning the money was just gravy compared to their experience... plus the usual confessionals from the other
