The Amazing Race 31: Legs 4 to 8
Jun. 10th, 2019 11:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
spiderbraidsEp 4
1. We're staying in Ho Chi Minh this week, and the first stop is a clue pickup at Snow Town Saigon, where Chris/Bret's speed bump is to make a bucket full of snowballs from the fake snow... and according to confessionals, the polar bear costumed judge is very particular about the size and tightness of the snowballs (insert innuendoes here :-)) Meanwhile, everyone has issues trying to find a cab to their next stop, and notably, Corinne/Eliza and Rachel/Elissa have a bit of cabbie theft drama going on, and C/E decide that after the race they'll block them on social media (this show's been going on long enough, social media was much less of a thing when it started)
2. Local DMV for a scooter-themed Roadblock: Who's ready to drive themselves crazy? Drive within a figure 8 and then over a bunch of speedbumps to pass a driving exam (Phil Keoghan demonstrating: "Now this is a roadblock") without putting feet to ground or touching the yellow line... Floyd cheers on Becca calling her "real gangsta" LOL. Tyler/Korey are last to get a cab, and learn from their cabbie that there are 100m people in Vietnam and 100m motorbikes... Janelle hilariously runs into another scooter LOL while Colin knocks it out in one go LOL. Corinne/Eliza are struggling mightily with this one though, taking 10 attempts to get it done and leaving in last...
3. Detour at a local village between irritation and irrigation. Latter is about assembling a water wheel, obvious enough, but the former involves boating in local boats not unlike the ones that stymied Flo back in S3 (somewhat surprisingly, no clip of this) to grab a basket of fish (along with the basket, this will be important) The irritation comes from the local fisherman serving as obstacles, either making waves in the stream, or wielding their oars in a threatening fashion LOL. Colin grabs the fish and initially doesn't take the basket, but Christie has him double back after reading the clue, allow Nic/Vic to overtake them, but looks like C/C make up enough time that they're standing right behind Nic/Vic as they get their pitstop clue...
4. Pitstop is at a park near the river (our local captioning said "run to fill out the map" for "run to Phil on the mat"), and after a bit of footracing between Colin/Christie and Nic/Vic (ostensibly, we'll get to that in a moment), C/C win themselves a leg, and a trip to the Dominican Republic, and naturally it's pointed out it's been 15 years since they last won a leg, while Nic/Vic are noted to be the strongest non-TAR team so far, with 3 2nd places...
5. Back at the village, Corinne/Eliza get to the boats, and noticing one of the obstacle fishermen mistakenly think they're supposed to stand in them, while Rachel/Elissa are only just now starting to fill up their pot of water... as C/E's boat tips over LOL... The rest of the teams are checking in, and after taking what feels like forever wandering the streets, the Afghanimals finally finish in 6th place, leaving just a race between the two stragglers to avoid elimination, and R/E get the clue first... It comes down to a footrace (supposedly, I've been reading from other TAR boards that there was a badminton Head-to-Head edited out) and Rachel/Elissa manage to just get in before Corinne/Eliza (not exactly a photo finish but still), and whereas the eliminated team normally gently goes off into the good night, so to speak, here we get an extended scene of C/E crying near the river and a confessional of them complaining about what they consider as unsincere respect from R/E and threaten not to attend their parties (!)
Ep 5
1. After one week off, a double-ep... Next stop is Dubai, and the Afghanimals are excited about getting as close as possible to their motherland, while we get to see clips from Tyler/Oakley's previous trip there, while Colin is meditating in the cab LOL... Strangely (and I'm probably the only one who notices this) some of the taxi scenery B-roll in Vietnam is in the "full-motion" style of previous seasons... First stop is a tea party in the middle of the desert, where there are a bunch of really expensive cars... being used as glorified clue boxes (there's also a quip about possibly using teacups encrusted with actual diamonds at the party LOL) On the cab ride there, Team Fun has a rap approved by their cabbie LOL.
2. Next stop is the Dubai Frame, and there are a couple clips of contestants pointing out that it's shaped like a picture frame (and one specifically pointing out it frames "new" Dubai through one side and "old" Dubai through the other) This is for a clue pickup for a Detour between jumping off the Burj Khalifa, and looking for glowing dinosaur eggs at a dinosaur park, both of which have their respective twists, which we'll get to in a moment, after Rachel/Elissa finally find their way to the Frame after their cabbie gets directions, and they're like "At least we get to see more of Dubai" LOL... Anyways, the jump is merely a VR experience, and the actual challenge is to answer 5 questions on a test; while the dinosaur egg search requires contestants to wear dinosaur costumes LOL. Afghanimals are doing the fake climb and while not exactly jazzed about it, still call it just like Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible (second time that movie's been referenced), while Janelle/Britney hilariously mistakenly bring their eggs to a broken egg display prop before finally wisening up and bringing them to the proper nest...
3. Next stop is the Soho Garden nightclub for a silent rave roadblock: Who can feel the beat? Get headphones from a DJ playing a dance mix (supposedly a dance mix of the show's theme music), and find someone whose headphones are also running the same mix solely via observing their dancing. Of course there's that guy who's extra good at rhythm and aces the task, in this case, former drum major Floyd of Team Fun, coming out in 1st :-) While Christie is looking around, Colin is dancing to the "silence" LOL. Despite being first at the Burj, the Afghanimals find themselves competing to avoid last against Rachel/Elissa, because one of the questions is how many antennae are on the satellite transceiver being used in the VR experience, and seems like one of them has mistaken an image of the satellite itself as the number of antennae they have to count... After finally getting it after several attempts, they're still ahead of R/E :-)
4. Last stop involves the world's longest open air zipline, so we have Team Fun, Nic/Vic, and Chris/Bret racing to the zipline start point, and placement will depend on when each team reaches the top platform.... and it's Team Fun in 1st, followed by C/B in 2nd, and N/V in 3rd, and after the zipline to Phil, Team Fun gets $5000 each, while Phil gets his very own Phil-o-meter after freestyling with Team Fun LOL... Victor has his hair down and Phil suggests he should do shampoo ads LOL. Colin gets 4th and makes a comment about "suck(ing) the juice out of every experience", and of course there's an obligatory "Superman" reference :-) The Afghanimals maintain their lead at the Roadblock, and there are plenty of clips of Rachel getting emotional on the cab ride over being in last place, and Elisse is rollling her eyes at her incessant babbling LOL, and they arrive in last and talk about how they're doing it for their children... But after that really long sob session, this is a non-elim, and that means a Speed Bump coming up...
Ep 6
1. Next stop is Uganda, and we're told by Chris/Bret that everyone's getting $180 for the leg... J/B and R/E (fellow BB contestants) fraternize at the airport and call themselves the Mom Squad, because they can all brag about having children... The Afghanimals note their recent placements thusly "8, 6, and 7 is 21 and that's a blackjack" (how random :-\) and there's some joker (I wanna say Victor) saying "U-ganda be kidding me" LOL. First stop is a mosque, where after a mandatory clothes change, everyone has to count the number of steps in a minarette to get a clue... T/K did their net research and decide not to count and just give the answer 304; turns out the answer is 272 (and seems like many of the contestants get it first go)... while Team Fun and J/B are bringing up the rear, as these teams get a first-hand observation of the terrible Kampala traffic (Team Fun are calling it Ho Chi Minh 2.0)
2. Really big Owino Market (covers 20 football fields says Phil), which is so big, there are more customers in it than the population of Nicole's 840-person hometown, for the Roadblock: "Who wants a Rolex?" Of course, Vic initially thinks it's the watch (this will be important later) but it's actually something called a Rolex sandwich, basically the Ugandan version of a breakfast burrito consisting of a chapati and some omelette with vegetables all rolled up... We're given a demonstration, and Vic realizes/explains that it's from the words "Rolled Eggs" :-) After getting the ingredients, contestants get to make their very own Rolex sandwich... and hilariously Vic gets hit by the stall's umbrella falling on him LOL. Vic still finishes 1st to get a clue to Ggaba Landing... Meanwhile R/E's Speed Bump is laundry, and they note that "Washing laundry in Uganda is no joke", not just for the washing itself, but having to find a place to hang it, before also quipping that Uganda moms look good because they work off their pregnancy fat by washing LOL. J/B misinterpret Rolex from the beginning LOL! and end up spending an hour looking for a watch stall, before doubling back to the stands near the cluebox and realizing that the clue wasn't referring to the watch
3. Ggaba landing has a clue pick up at a boat for the Detour: Salty Roll (marinate fish) or Move the Pole (carry logs and arrange them in a jenga pile) Most contestants go with logs, by piling them up on a bike and dragging it along the street instead of actually riding them over... T/K talk about how friendly the Ugandans seem (despite Uganda's treatment of the LGBT) and talk about the positive energy they exude, but many viewers have pointed out that they never actually said they're gay... The logs fall off C/C's bike... and instead of the expected Colin breakdown, the BG music goes all Zen on us, as we get a confessional about how S5 Colin would have had a breakdown, but not here. HUH.
4. Last stop before the pitstop is the "first" head to head (to actually be shown that is) which involves arranging colored drums "Tower of Hanoi" style, and while we're waiting for T/K and C/C to do their duel, we get to see Rachel/Elisse doing the fish, because we learn that their dad taught them how to gut fish, and later their BB cohorts J/B also do the fishies... T/K win their duel and win a trip to Singapore, and although J/B are grateful for the H2H, turns out that every single team ends up finishing in the order they've arrived at the H2H (that is, no overtaking by H2H win), including J/B, so we get a nice emotional farewell between R/E and J/B
Ep 7
1. Next stop is Switzerland, but first, R/E hang out with C/C and Team Fun at a pub in Uganda and there's stuff about alliances and not U-Turning each other... Once in Switzerland, a good chunk of screentime is spent on the train to their first clue pickup with R/E talking with other teams (especially Nic/Vic) about potential U-Turn targets, to the point where other teams think they're trying to play all 3 sides of the fence (actual quote, leaving T/K to make a pun rhyming the word with "offense") and Colin forming a Kumbaya circle LOL. After getting off the train, it's another 3 km run to the actual clue pickup, and all the TAR teams get to the box ahead of their non-TAR counterparts, with a great comparison between T/K taking the run in stride, and Chris tiring out and having Bret carry his backpack, and quipping that the Boston Police Department will probably have that picture put up on the walls (slight shades of Art/JJ?)
2. Roadblock is up first this time: Who wants to take the scenic route? This turns out to be a Kevin/Drew-style swing through an Alpine gorge, and as the teams ahead of Nic/Vic (5th place at this point) take the swing in stride (before then grabbing a clue from a nearby net) there's this sense of ominous dread building up in Nicole... Sure enough, at the preparation area Nicole's being told that she will have to get to the back of the line if the she doesn't go ahead and jump... so she does, but not without adding that she wouldn't be jumping it it weren't for $1m :-) Surprisingly, Nicole doesn't scream on the way down, from which according to a confessional, she felt like she died and came back to life...
3. Next up is a helicopter ride to the Detour clue pickup, leading to nice scenery shots, R/E wondering if it can still be called the Alps if the snowy tops have melted LOL, and Colin pretending to hold up a rifle after getting off LOLx2... Detour is between Water Power and Water Down: Former involves riding up a funicular, trying to memorize the names of reservoirs and their capacity posted at the side of the track, and matching them up, while the latter is a canyoning task, one part of which involves rappeling (cue Becca confessional about being comfortable, and the Afghanimals calling today "The best day in the world" LOL), another involves jumping to grab the clue, which reminds T/K of the finale of their original season (cue flashback!), and the last part involves a zipline where contestants have to let go midway through to fall in the water (LOL) T/K also provide some minor comic relief moments with talking about their canyoning guide, and hilariously trying to conceal their LGBT... then later spotting a topless Colin (and apparently his butt) after completing the task while driving off and they're all "Keep your eyes on the road" :-D And note that there's no U-Turn, leaving the whole U-Turning issue up in the air for now...
4. Over at Water Power, the Afghanimals mnemonize the names and volumes, and manage to nail it in the first go (and are first to get their Pit Stop clue), but still have to wait for the next downward funicular to proceed, while despite already having done the gorge swing, Nicole still seems afraid of getting up the funicular... and when Nic/Vic (using the same tactic) finally get to the top, they encounter the Afghanimals (and of course they briefly consider the possibility of them lying as they're told they have to run a bit to get to the task) before then also nailing the task in one go (!)
5. Final stop is at a church, and T/K get the win and a spa day to relax before the next leg, but it's the other end of the order that gets more attention: For much of the leg, it looks to come down to C/B and R/E as they're trying to find their way to the pitstop, including a scene of both teams getting directions from some local... and it turns out that Nic/Vic are also struggling with navigation as well and getting directions from a different local on a motorbike, and as it happens, R/E's narrow footrace "win" over C/B is pointless since it's Nic/Vic who are last... and after a protracted shouting match at the mat between the three teams about the whole U-Turn discussion on the train, they're finally told that this is non-elim, which is awkward... and the ep ends with a confessional with Rachel (who as per Phil's announcement at the mat, has now completed the most legs in TAR history, 31) telling Elissa to stop interrupting her LOL
Ep 8
1. We're staying in Switzerland, as we begin with a bunch-up at Ballenburg, and Phil Keoghan himself dropping a bombshell as they're gathered in the community hall that they're in the world's oldest democracy, so in a race first, everyone will get to openly vote for who they want to U-Turn (i.e., the belated payoff for last week's discussion!) T/K call this vote the most important vote since 2016, and it eventually results in Rachel/Elisse and Colin/Christie being U-Turned... (Honestly? Not a fan of this voting business) Also in an unusually upfront move, Phil also reveals that there are no more non-elims going forward (!) Speed Bump for Nic/Vic is folding the flags in the community hall, also giving them an opportunity to hash out the issues with their vote :-)
2. The Detours are 1: Cutting grass (with a Grim Reaper-style scythe) and raking and putting the cuttings on a sculpture of some sort for making hay, and 2: Creating a floral headdress and placing it on top of a cow before leading it to some sort of festival (when C/C are doing this one, of course there's a flashback clip of the "My ox is broken" incident, before showing Colin having Christie pick the cow) At the former, T/K seem bemused that Becca is taking the scythe portion of the task in stride, even singing her own version of "Old McDonald" LOL (according to a confessional, she's dabbled in landscaping, though not with a scythe, and she even manages to use that exact word even :-)) At the latter, Colin ends up quoting his younger self (the part after "My ox is broken" to be more specific ;-)) as he's struggling to get his cow moving (to make it clear, his confessional directly mentions thoughts of "My cow is broken" running through his head), while R/E "found the gas pedal": i.e. grabbing it by its tail LOL. At R/E and C/C's 2nd Detour, there's a bit of a to-do about R/E having left their clue behind at the headdress task and other teams at grass-cutting refusing to let them see theirs, but the real factor here is Colin beasting (R/E's words) through the task to get their clue while they're only half-done :-)
3. Roadblock: "Who wants to be a bigshot?" It's a William Tell memorial crossbow shoot with a scarecrow dummy with an apple on top of its head (Phil's demonstration is accompanied by the expected musical score :-)), replete with the dummy losing its arms whenever contestants hit it in the head (which is pretty often) and the contestants having to reassemble their dummy (Becca, taking the task based her performance in a similar task in Panama: "Speak to me in the language of juice")... Sergeant Bret hits his apple 1st and T/K soon follow, but while this is going on, the Afghanimals get lost driving after their Detour, ending up on the wrong side of the lake, such that C/C AND R/E show up at the RB before the Afghanimals (!) Christie notes that the Roadblock is made for Colin, and Floyd is like "Just like every other Roadblock" LOL Becca does a selfie-style pose with the dummy while Colin quips about his arrows bring affected the gravity from the lake LOLx2
4. Pitstop is at Grand Hotel Giessbach, to be reached by crossing the lake by boat, then either funicular or footpath... We have T/K and C/B in a boat race to the mat for 1st, and at the hotel, C/B try to take the funicular while T/K run... turns out the funicular won't run for another hour plus, so Tyler/Korey win themselves a third straight leg, plus a Vietnam-Cambodia river cruise (and based on last leg's 3km run, I just don't see C/B beating T/K anyway even without the useless funicular detour) C/C manage to overtake Fun by avoiding getting blocked by a train and finding the boat landing ahead of them, before Colin uses a mock accent all the way to the mat in 3rd place :-) Back at the RB, it's Afghanimals vs. R/E for the last spot... The Afghanimals hit their apple in 6th, prompting Rachel to make a sarcastic "Really? I didn't notice" reaction to the realization they're in last LOL before hitting their apple seemingly moments later... Nic/Vic arrive at the hotel in 5th, and are soon joined moments later by the Afghanimals, meaning R/E are finally out, but not before Rachel gets to talk about bragging to her kids about the things she's done in 32 (!) legs of TAR (eh, whatever :-))
1. We're staying in Ho Chi Minh this week, and the first stop is a clue pickup at Snow Town Saigon, where Chris/Bret's speed bump is to make a bucket full of snowballs from the fake snow... and according to confessionals, the polar bear costumed judge is very particular about the size and tightness of the snowballs (insert innuendoes here :-)) Meanwhile, everyone has issues trying to find a cab to their next stop, and notably, Corinne/Eliza and Rachel/Elissa have a bit of cabbie theft drama going on, and C/E decide that after the race they'll block them on social media (this show's been going on long enough, social media was much less of a thing when it started)
2. Local DMV for a scooter-themed Roadblock: Who's ready to drive themselves crazy? Drive within a figure 8 and then over a bunch of speedbumps to pass a driving exam (Phil Keoghan demonstrating: "Now this is a roadblock") without putting feet to ground or touching the yellow line... Floyd cheers on Becca calling her "real gangsta" LOL. Tyler/Korey are last to get a cab, and learn from their cabbie that there are 100m people in Vietnam and 100m motorbikes... Janelle hilariously runs into another scooter LOL while Colin knocks it out in one go LOL. Corinne/Eliza are struggling mightily with this one though, taking 10 attempts to get it done and leaving in last...
3. Detour at a local village between irritation and irrigation. Latter is about assembling a water wheel, obvious enough, but the former involves boating in local boats not unlike the ones that stymied Flo back in S3 (somewhat surprisingly, no clip of this) to grab a basket of fish (along with the basket, this will be important) The irritation comes from the local fisherman serving as obstacles, either making waves in the stream, or wielding their oars in a threatening fashion LOL. Colin grabs the fish and initially doesn't take the basket, but Christie has him double back after reading the clue, allow Nic/Vic to overtake them, but looks like C/C make up enough time that they're standing right behind Nic/Vic as they get their pitstop clue...
4. Pitstop is at a park near the river (our local captioning said "run to fill out the map" for "run to Phil on the mat"), and after a bit of footracing between Colin/Christie and Nic/Vic (ostensibly, we'll get to that in a moment), C/C win themselves a leg, and a trip to the Dominican Republic, and naturally it's pointed out it's been 15 years since they last won a leg, while Nic/Vic are noted to be the strongest non-TAR team so far, with 3 2nd places...
5. Back at the village, Corinne/Eliza get to the boats, and noticing one of the obstacle fishermen mistakenly think they're supposed to stand in them, while Rachel/Elissa are only just now starting to fill up their pot of water... as C/E's boat tips over LOL... The rest of the teams are checking in, and after taking what feels like forever wandering the streets, the Afghanimals finally finish in 6th place, leaving just a race between the two stragglers to avoid elimination, and R/E get the clue first... It comes down to a footrace (supposedly, I've been reading from other TAR boards that there was a badminton Head-to-Head edited out) and Rachel/Elissa manage to just get in before Corinne/Eliza (not exactly a photo finish but still), and whereas the eliminated team normally gently goes off into the good night, so to speak, here we get an extended scene of C/E crying near the river and a confessional of them complaining about what they consider as unsincere respect from R/E and threaten not to attend their parties (!)
Ep 5
1. After one week off, a double-ep... Next stop is Dubai, and the Afghanimals are excited about getting as close as possible to their motherland, while we get to see clips from Tyler/Oakley's previous trip there, while Colin is meditating in the cab LOL... Strangely (and I'm probably the only one who notices this) some of the taxi scenery B-roll in Vietnam is in the "full-motion" style of previous seasons... First stop is a tea party in the middle of the desert, where there are a bunch of really expensive cars... being used as glorified clue boxes (there's also a quip about possibly using teacups encrusted with actual diamonds at the party LOL) On the cab ride there, Team Fun has a rap approved by their cabbie LOL.
2. Next stop is the Dubai Frame, and there are a couple clips of contestants pointing out that it's shaped like a picture frame (and one specifically pointing out it frames "new" Dubai through one side and "old" Dubai through the other) This is for a clue pickup for a Detour between jumping off the Burj Khalifa, and looking for glowing dinosaur eggs at a dinosaur park, both of which have their respective twists, which we'll get to in a moment, after Rachel/Elissa finally find their way to the Frame after their cabbie gets directions, and they're like "At least we get to see more of Dubai" LOL... Anyways, the jump is merely a VR experience, and the actual challenge is to answer 5 questions on a test; while the dinosaur egg search requires contestants to wear dinosaur costumes LOL. Afghanimals are doing the fake climb and while not exactly jazzed about it, still call it just like Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible (second time that movie's been referenced), while Janelle/Britney hilariously mistakenly bring their eggs to a broken egg display prop before finally wisening up and bringing them to the proper nest...
3. Next stop is the Soho Garden nightclub for a silent rave roadblock: Who can feel the beat? Get headphones from a DJ playing a dance mix (supposedly a dance mix of the show's theme music), and find someone whose headphones are also running the same mix solely via observing their dancing. Of course there's that guy who's extra good at rhythm and aces the task, in this case, former drum major Floyd of Team Fun, coming out in 1st :-) While Christie is looking around, Colin is dancing to the "silence" LOL. Despite being first at the Burj, the Afghanimals find themselves competing to avoid last against Rachel/Elissa, because one of the questions is how many antennae are on the satellite transceiver being used in the VR experience, and seems like one of them has mistaken an image of the satellite itself as the number of antennae they have to count... After finally getting it after several attempts, they're still ahead of R/E :-)
4. Last stop involves the world's longest open air zipline, so we have Team Fun, Nic/Vic, and Chris/Bret racing to the zipline start point, and placement will depend on when each team reaches the top platform.... and it's Team Fun in 1st, followed by C/B in 2nd, and N/V in 3rd, and after the zipline to Phil, Team Fun gets $5000 each, while Phil gets his very own Phil-o-meter after freestyling with Team Fun LOL... Victor has his hair down and Phil suggests he should do shampoo ads LOL. Colin gets 4th and makes a comment about "suck(ing) the juice out of every experience", and of course there's an obligatory "Superman" reference :-) The Afghanimals maintain their lead at the Roadblock, and there are plenty of clips of Rachel getting emotional on the cab ride over being in last place, and Elisse is rollling her eyes at her incessant babbling LOL, and they arrive in last and talk about how they're doing it for their children... But after that really long sob session, this is a non-elim, and that means a Speed Bump coming up...
Ep 6
1. Next stop is Uganda, and we're told by Chris/Bret that everyone's getting $180 for the leg... J/B and R/E (fellow BB contestants) fraternize at the airport and call themselves the Mom Squad, because they can all brag about having children... The Afghanimals note their recent placements thusly "8, 6, and 7 is 21 and that's a blackjack" (how random :-\) and there's some joker (I wanna say Victor) saying "U-ganda be kidding me" LOL. First stop is a mosque, where after a mandatory clothes change, everyone has to count the number of steps in a minarette to get a clue... T/K did their net research and decide not to count and just give the answer 304; turns out the answer is 272 (and seems like many of the contestants get it first go)... while Team Fun and J/B are bringing up the rear, as these teams get a first-hand observation of the terrible Kampala traffic (Team Fun are calling it Ho Chi Minh 2.0)
2. Really big Owino Market (covers 20 football fields says Phil), which is so big, there are more customers in it than the population of Nicole's 840-person hometown, for the Roadblock: "Who wants a Rolex?" Of course, Vic initially thinks it's the watch (this will be important later) but it's actually something called a Rolex sandwich, basically the Ugandan version of a breakfast burrito consisting of a chapati and some omelette with vegetables all rolled up... We're given a demonstration, and Vic realizes/explains that it's from the words "Rolled Eggs" :-) After getting the ingredients, contestants get to make their very own Rolex sandwich... and hilariously Vic gets hit by the stall's umbrella falling on him LOL. Vic still finishes 1st to get a clue to Ggaba Landing... Meanwhile R/E's Speed Bump is laundry, and they note that "Washing laundry in Uganda is no joke", not just for the washing itself, but having to find a place to hang it, before also quipping that Uganda moms look good because they work off their pregnancy fat by washing LOL. J/B misinterpret Rolex from the beginning LOL! and end up spending an hour looking for a watch stall, before doubling back to the stands near the cluebox and realizing that the clue wasn't referring to the watch
3. Ggaba landing has a clue pick up at a boat for the Detour: Salty Roll (marinate fish) or Move the Pole (carry logs and arrange them in a jenga pile) Most contestants go with logs, by piling them up on a bike and dragging it along the street instead of actually riding them over... T/K talk about how friendly the Ugandans seem (despite Uganda's treatment of the LGBT) and talk about the positive energy they exude, but many viewers have pointed out that they never actually said they're gay... The logs fall off C/C's bike... and instead of the expected Colin breakdown, the BG music goes all Zen on us, as we get a confessional about how S5 Colin would have had a breakdown, but not here. HUH.
4. Last stop before the pitstop is the "first" head to head (to actually be shown that is) which involves arranging colored drums "Tower of Hanoi" style, and while we're waiting for T/K and C/C to do their duel, we get to see Rachel/Elisse doing the fish, because we learn that their dad taught them how to gut fish, and later their BB cohorts J/B also do the fishies... T/K win their duel and win a trip to Singapore, and although J/B are grateful for the H2H, turns out that every single team ends up finishing in the order they've arrived at the H2H (that is, no overtaking by H2H win), including J/B, so we get a nice emotional farewell between R/E and J/B
Ep 7
1. Next stop is Switzerland, but first, R/E hang out with C/C and Team Fun at a pub in Uganda and there's stuff about alliances and not U-Turning each other... Once in Switzerland, a good chunk of screentime is spent on the train to their first clue pickup with R/E talking with other teams (especially Nic/Vic) about potential U-Turn targets, to the point where other teams think they're trying to play all 3 sides of the fence (actual quote, leaving T/K to make a pun rhyming the word with "offense") and Colin forming a Kumbaya circle LOL. After getting off the train, it's another 3 km run to the actual clue pickup, and all the TAR teams get to the box ahead of their non-TAR counterparts, with a great comparison between T/K taking the run in stride, and Chris tiring out and having Bret carry his backpack, and quipping that the Boston Police Department will probably have that picture put up on the walls (slight shades of Art/JJ?)
2. Roadblock is up first this time: Who wants to take the scenic route? This turns out to be a Kevin/Drew-style swing through an Alpine gorge, and as the teams ahead of Nic/Vic (5th place at this point) take the swing in stride (before then grabbing a clue from a nearby net) there's this sense of ominous dread building up in Nicole... Sure enough, at the preparation area Nicole's being told that she will have to get to the back of the line if the she doesn't go ahead and jump... so she does, but not without adding that she wouldn't be jumping it it weren't for $1m :-) Surprisingly, Nicole doesn't scream on the way down, from which according to a confessional, she felt like she died and came back to life...
3. Next up is a helicopter ride to the Detour clue pickup, leading to nice scenery shots, R/E wondering if it can still be called the Alps if the snowy tops have melted LOL, and Colin pretending to hold up a rifle after getting off LOLx2... Detour is between Water Power and Water Down: Former involves riding up a funicular, trying to memorize the names of reservoirs and their capacity posted at the side of the track, and matching them up, while the latter is a canyoning task, one part of which involves rappeling (cue Becca confessional about being comfortable, and the Afghanimals calling today "The best day in the world" LOL), another involves jumping to grab the clue, which reminds T/K of the finale of their original season (cue flashback!), and the last part involves a zipline where contestants have to let go midway through to fall in the water (LOL) T/K also provide some minor comic relief moments with talking about their canyoning guide, and hilariously trying to conceal their LGBT... then later spotting a topless Colin (and apparently his butt) after completing the task while driving off and they're all "Keep your eyes on the road" :-D And note that there's no U-Turn, leaving the whole U-Turning issue up in the air for now...
4. Over at Water Power, the Afghanimals mnemonize the names and volumes, and manage to nail it in the first go (and are first to get their Pit Stop clue), but still have to wait for the next downward funicular to proceed, while despite already having done the gorge swing, Nicole still seems afraid of getting up the funicular... and when Nic/Vic (using the same tactic) finally get to the top, they encounter the Afghanimals (and of course they briefly consider the possibility of them lying as they're told they have to run a bit to get to the task) before then also nailing the task in one go (!)
5. Final stop is at a church, and T/K get the win and a spa day to relax before the next leg, but it's the other end of the order that gets more attention: For much of the leg, it looks to come down to C/B and R/E as they're trying to find their way to the pitstop, including a scene of both teams getting directions from some local... and it turns out that Nic/Vic are also struggling with navigation as well and getting directions from a different local on a motorbike, and as it happens, R/E's narrow footrace "win" over C/B is pointless since it's Nic/Vic who are last... and after a protracted shouting match at the mat between the three teams about the whole U-Turn discussion on the train, they're finally told that this is non-elim, which is awkward... and the ep ends with a confessional with Rachel (who as per Phil's announcement at the mat, has now completed the most legs in TAR history, 31) telling Elissa to stop interrupting her LOL
Ep 8
1. We're staying in Switzerland, as we begin with a bunch-up at Ballenburg, and Phil Keoghan himself dropping a bombshell as they're gathered in the community hall that they're in the world's oldest democracy, so in a race first, everyone will get to openly vote for who they want to U-Turn (i.e., the belated payoff for last week's discussion!) T/K call this vote the most important vote since 2016, and it eventually results in Rachel/Elisse and Colin/Christie being U-Turned... (Honestly? Not a fan of this voting business) Also in an unusually upfront move, Phil also reveals that there are no more non-elims going forward (!) Speed Bump for Nic/Vic is folding the flags in the community hall, also giving them an opportunity to hash out the issues with their vote :-)
2. The Detours are 1: Cutting grass (with a Grim Reaper-style scythe) and raking and putting the cuttings on a sculpture of some sort for making hay, and 2: Creating a floral headdress and placing it on top of a cow before leading it to some sort of festival (when C/C are doing this one, of course there's a flashback clip of the "My ox is broken" incident, before showing Colin having Christie pick the cow) At the former, T/K seem bemused that Becca is taking the scythe portion of the task in stride, even singing her own version of "Old McDonald" LOL (according to a confessional, she's dabbled in landscaping, though not with a scythe, and she even manages to use that exact word even :-)) At the latter, Colin ends up quoting his younger self (the part after "My ox is broken" to be more specific ;-)) as he's struggling to get his cow moving (to make it clear, his confessional directly mentions thoughts of "My cow is broken" running through his head), while R/E "found the gas pedal": i.e. grabbing it by its tail LOL. At R/E and C/C's 2nd Detour, there's a bit of a to-do about R/E having left their clue behind at the headdress task and other teams at grass-cutting refusing to let them see theirs, but the real factor here is Colin beasting (R/E's words) through the task to get their clue while they're only half-done :-)
3. Roadblock: "Who wants to be a bigshot?" It's a William Tell memorial crossbow shoot with a scarecrow dummy with an apple on top of its head (Phil's demonstration is accompanied by the expected musical score :-)), replete with the dummy losing its arms whenever contestants hit it in the head (which is pretty often) and the contestants having to reassemble their dummy (Becca, taking the task based her performance in a similar task in Panama: "Speak to me in the language of juice")... Sergeant Bret hits his apple 1st and T/K soon follow, but while this is going on, the Afghanimals get lost driving after their Detour, ending up on the wrong side of the lake, such that C/C AND R/E show up at the RB before the Afghanimals (!) Christie notes that the Roadblock is made for Colin, and Floyd is like "Just like every other Roadblock" LOL Becca does a selfie-style pose with the dummy while Colin quips about his arrows bring affected the gravity from the lake LOLx2
4. Pitstop is at Grand Hotel Giessbach, to be reached by crossing the lake by boat, then either funicular or footpath... We have T/K and C/B in a boat race to the mat for 1st, and at the hotel, C/B try to take the funicular while T/K run... turns out the funicular won't run for another hour plus, so Tyler/Korey win themselves a third straight leg, plus a Vietnam-Cambodia river cruise (and based on last leg's 3km run, I just don't see C/B beating T/K anyway even without the useless funicular detour) C/C manage to overtake Fun by avoiding getting blocked by a train and finding the boat landing ahead of them, before Colin uses a mock accent all the way to the mat in 3rd place :-) Back at the RB, it's Afghanimals vs. R/E for the last spot... The Afghanimals hit their apple in 6th, prompting Rachel to make a sarcastic "Really? I didn't notice" reaction to the realization they're in last LOL before hitting their apple seemingly moments later... Nic/Vic arrive at the hotel in 5th, and are soon joined moments later by the Afghanimals, meaning R/E are finally out, but not before Rachel gets to talk about bragging to her kids about the things she's done in 32 (!) legs of TAR (eh, whatever :-))
