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spiderbraidsEp 5
- Next stop is Jaipur, India and the Amber Palace, to take sugar cane to a mahout (elephant handler), and all teams are on the same flight :-) During the taxi confessionals, sisters Morgan/Lena reveal they've never been to India, but love Indian food... same here LOL. The sugar cane carrying is also quite an uphill run, so it's pretty tiring... Anyways, the first clue is for the Roadblock: "Who's feeling balanced?" involving dancing with three pots on ones head, all laid on a "donut" (Annaleigh's terms!) (Texans Steve/)Annaleigh comments that Texas has its own dance called the "Texas two-step" (apropos of nothing, this is what I think of), and soon gets the clue after her 3rd attempt :-)
- (Brothers Liam/)Yeremi gets it done on the 5th attempt, and quips that he didn't know he could shake his tailfeather (his words) that well :-) Yeremi also comments in confessional that the donut didn't fit his head well, but Liam tries to note that no one else had any issues... But turns out (deaf dad/normal son Rob/)Corey is also having issues :-\ Meanwhile, (bearded guy/partner Joel/)Garrett quips at the cluegiver's mustache after finishing in 9th :-) And while Corey racks up his attempts, we learn that Rob was once a coach for a deaf football team... anyways, it takes him 15 goes to get out :-\
- Next stop: Panna Meena ka Kund, a very stair-laden place :-) There's no stair running to get to the Detour clue pick up though, between All Dolled Up, and Big Picture... Former involves making puppets and having them dance in a puppet theater, while the other is a bit more involving: compare a small pic to a big mural, grab cutouts of some missing people in the mural, and dress in costumes to portray the other missing people in the mural... Most are initially picking the Big Picture (but we'll see how that turns out anon), with the Texans, Beards and Rob/Corey doing dolls, with Annaleigh quipping to not break his head off :-)
- Turns out there's only 6 spots at Big Picture, so married couple Todd/Ashlie must do All Dolled Up... Anyways, after making the doll to the adjugator's satisfaction, the Texans show off their dolls at the puppet theater show before getting the next clue for the Pitstop: Gaitore ki Chhatriyan... While programmers Greg/John and Morgan/Lena are starting to find wrong details in their cut outs (the computer programmers of course call it "debugging time"), Todd/Ash arrive at the dolls, where Ash quips she won't be able to make the doll well and will rather buy one for their kid :-)
- Texans are 1st, and get $3k each, but Phil Keoghan reminds them that there will be the U Turn vote before the next leg, requiring the victim to do both detours... Philly friends Andrea/Malaina overtake Morgan/Lena at the murals, and speaking of Philly, Rob/Corey do their own mini-comeback at the dolls, jumping from last to 6th :-) Morgan/Lena had a rule intending to switch Detours after doing a task for 25 minutes (so... what about tasks where both are arduous?) but it turns out they've spent 2 hours by the time they actually do switch (!)
- Joel/Garrett get a podium finish in 3rd, and the next three teams all check in close succession, wherein the show decides to have a little fun with the check-in routine: Phil Keoghan has the Beards tell Philly they're in 4th before quipping about potentially losing his job, then Philly checks Todd/Ash in in 5th, replete with eyebrow, and all of them check in Rob/Corey in 6th, before Phil tells them about the upcoming U-turn vote (which Corey quips that it'll be "sneaky sneaky" :-))
- It's down to the engaged Joe/Ian at murals and Morgan/Lena at dolls for the final spot, and one of the sisters gets a needle in the face (ouch!) Joe/Ian and then Morgan/Lena finish their task in that order, but the sisters get to their tuk-tuk first, so it's a genuine tuk-tuk race through traffic to avoid elimination, and there are plenty of shots showing the two tuk-tuks in the same shot, so you know it's real :-) We get shots of Joe/Ian overtaking Morgan/Lena, then Morgan/Lena deciding to take a shortcut... and while all this is going on, Robbin/Chelsea and Liam/Yeremi claim 7th and 8th places :-) Morgan/Lena's shortcut sees them arriving in 9th ahead of the eliminated Joe/Ian, all with Liam/Yeremi still on the mat, and it looks like Joe/Ian's exit was snipped a bit before cutting to the others' applause :-\
Ep 6
- Still in Jaipur, teams start by looking through telescope across the street at the distinctive Hava Mahal palace, to find the next destination put up in a high window, and at said next destination, teams will then have to look for an electric rickshaw, and then push all the other non-electric rickshaws out of the way to ride to a spice shop, where the Texans quip that they've cut a Red Sea through there :-)
- At the spice shop it's revealed that (somewhat not surprisingly) the Texans have been voted for the U-Turn (ahead of of friends Robbin/Chelsea 5-4), and we get to see the teams who gave the votes... Detour is between Bundles (bundle up 3 types of marigold and roses in individual bundles according to the demo for each type, then deliver via cycle rickshaw to two temples and get receipts), and Bricks (get bricks, sand, gravel, then deliver via cycle rickshaw to construction site and get receipts) Liam/Yeremi talk about the fact this is the the longest time they've spent together in 7 years, which sounds like the TAR equivalent of a "death flag"... Anyways, turns out one of the temples for flower delivery is in the middle of the road (!)
- Texans get to the 2nd Detour (bricks), and get told they need to deliver the receipts for bundles first... There's a scene of one of the bricks teams crashing their cycle-rickshaw into a scooter, which abruptly cuts to the next scene, victim of the 60-minute edit perhaps? Morgan/Lena started the leg in 10th, but are already at 7th at the U-Turn, while Liam/Yeremi quip that their rickshaw's top speed is 2-3 mph LOL.
- Joel is getting really thirsty while delivering bricks and the Beards end up needing to get water from a vendor for 40INR/bottle (that's 50 cents) It feels like they're using split screens to fit the scenes in 90 minutes, and most of them are over a blurred shot of a globe similar to the Bruckheimer credit background, though one gets a plain black background... Anyways, Morgan/Lena get up to 5th after the Detour, and after all their expectations of doom after having to double back to deliver their flower receipts, the Texans manage to finish the Detours in 6th...
- Next stop is the Roadblock at Jaipur Carpet Boutique: Who likes to play with blocks? Block print peacocks on cloth and get 9 to pass inspection, which will obviously involve making tons of extras, since the adjudicator will dramatically stamp the rejects with a giant red X :-) Meanwhile, Robbin/Chelsea are doing the bricks (and making comments about the camel standing at the task), and their confessional has them quipping that their significant others chose them "Because we can carry a barbecue up the stairs" LOL
- To give an idea of how strict adjugator guy is, Greg is at 6 after 1 go, and Rob has 3... After 3 checks, Greg has his 9, and a clue for the Pitstop at Badi Chaupar intersection :-) One of Lena's peacocks has too much red, prompting her to quip "This one looks like it was murd3red" :-) Of course this one is not among one of the 6 she has in her first go ("They don't like my murd3r-themed one" LOL) Meanwhile, Steve accidentally uses the wrong color for one batch of his peacocks, and the waiting contestants are having Survivor-style discussion with Annaleigh on who voted for the Texans (ooh!)
- Greg/John get 1st place and a trip to New Zealand ("My home country" says Phil Keoghan): Cave to coast walk! Nature sanctuaries! Food and wine tasting! Bike ride on rail! After getting their clue Joel hugs the adjudicator, and I've been remiss in noting that Garrett calls Joel by his surname Strasser, while Joel refers to Garrett as Smite (actually Smith) While they're riding to the Pitstop, they also quip that all the teams are riding electric rickshaws, but they don't weigh as much LOL. They finish 3rd, right behind Rob/Corey in 2nd, while Morgan/Lena get up to 4th thanks to a good performance from Lena on the RB, and Todd/Ashlie finish 5th just like last leg, which Phil notes :-)
- Heading into the business end, Robbin is struggling with the RB, and I suspect there was more than a little hint of an edited out ad-break cue here, as we have a Robbin confessional in which she likes the peacock symbolism of the task, as she got a peacock tat after surviving cancer and losing her hubby :-) Philly overtake the Texans on the Pitstop ride to take 6th, though the Texans are at least glad not to finish last... and Phil also tells Robbin/Chelsea they should also be happy not to finish last, as Liam/Yeremi get an emotional elimination :-\
Ep 7
- Next stop is Germany :-) First task is a Roadblock at a castle: "Who's ready for change?" Involves paying a robber baron (in reference to how these castles were used to collect tolls illegally) with ancient money called "witten", which of course they first have to get in the first place, by exchanging for a 5 modern euros from some bearded guy at a specific ferry pier (Quip from Robbin/Chelsea looking down bearded guy's pouch: "Is there more where that came from?" :-)) Then figure out how many coins they need to pay based on a provided sign, then rappel down the castle wall after entering and getting the clue... Meanwhile, Philly gets lost quickly :-\ (and quipping they're going on a deer hunt LOL :-)) And then end up getting to the wrong pier and exchanging their 5 modern euro note for 5 modern euros in coins :-\ (With a hilarious reaction from Philly as they're thinking they're first :-)) Morgan/Lena are first to complete the RB, as Morgan comments that she studied MBA at a world-leading university: "I know how to do math :-)" (though Lena isn't sure if how she came down the wall is rappeling LOL) OTOH, Robbin/Chelsea don't bother with the math, and just gradually increase their "witten" until they're correct LOL.
- Clue pickup at the Gurzenich convention hall in the main town: Time to horse around :-) It's a task inspired by Cologne's Carnival, in which both guys wear funny outfits, and one guy rides a horse bike around a short course while the other throws roses :-) It's such pure fun that Greg/John call it their favorite part of the race so far :-) and Todd quips that he was "born to ride that horse" :-) Next stop is Hohenzollern bridge, with locks on it, for a second Roadblock called "Who's feeling locked in?" As usual, the other half of the team has to do the task, which calls for them to find a marked lock, and unlock with the number of Cologne's favorite cologne: "4711" :-) (It's apparently written on the clue as the oldest cologne produced in Cologne)
- Roadblock #2 is followed by a Detour between Just for Kicks and Matter of Taste: The first one is a combination of Soccer and Darts, which calls for contestants to make exactly 66 in 4 kicks (2 per team), and the second calls for teams to taste a bunch of mustards, then re-identify them in German :-) G/J are eating mustard, and to them it "was like being in Baskin-Robbins" :-) (Also, beards get lost on the way to the carnival apparently :-\)
- Meanwhile, Philly are finally at the first Roadblock, and discover they've only got euros, so off to the ferry pier :-\ while Ashlie helps Rob with the number combo at the 2nd RB, and Morgan/Lena are doing the carnival task :-) We get to see Just for Kicks in action with Todd/Ash's attempt, and it turns out Ash can't even get the balls to hit the target, even as Todd is telling her to get her foot under it LOL... Eventually, they decide to switch to mustard :-\ Speaking of mustard, one of the mustards is called Knoblauch, like the baseball player LOL, but it actually means garlic, and indeed Morgan/Lena will later note it tastes garlicky :-)
- After getting all the mustards correctly, teams then get a slip to order a sausage with their favorite mustard (Greg/John like Weisswurst) and get the sausage along with a clue for the Pitstop at the Chocolate Museum :-) Meanwhile, Rob/Corey are doing the soccer darts, and Philly finally gets to the correct ferry pier and get their Witten, quipping that they "Don't look nothing like Euros" :-)
- Greg/John get 1st place at the Pitstop, edging out Robbin/Chelsea, and will get USD 4,000 each after the race :-) While the Texans are having problems pronouncing the word Meerrettich (horseradish), Rob/Corey finally figure out a good way to approach the task on the 5th go: No running start before kicking... and sure enough, they get their 66 on this attempt :-) Over at mustard, Texans order their sausage with Weisswurst and Edelpils, while Morgan/Lena order theirs with Bier :-) Beards are just now doing the second Roadblock, and Joel says in confessional that he's weak at needle in a haystack tasks, and are still in 7th after the task
- Texans are 5th with Morgan/Lena (coming to the mat still holding their plates of sausage/mustard LOL) in 6th... Joel/Garrett have decided to start having fun at the mustard Detour completely expecting to be in last, and they seem relaxed... and their reaction to the 7th place is a simple "Are you kidding me?" :-) Phil Keoghan has the carnival leave the room so he can eliminate Philly, though not without them making one last quip about the party ending without them :-)
Ep 8
- This week we're in Slovenia, where the first task is a Roadblock: Who wants a bird's eye view? (There appear to be extra notes on the clue title page suggesting some limitations, as seen in at least one shot of a contestant still holding the title page while doing the RB) Ride a light plane and use binoculars to find boats on a lake with numbers and Expedia arrow, which turns out to read 1991, which also happens to be the answer to the question "What year did Slovenia gain its independence?" The Texans are quick to get lost, and though they can see the planes, they still need directions to the airfield, and are completely expecting to get eliminated after this leg is said and done :-\
- After a correct guess it's 1991, the next clue is on an Expedia branded board LOL, leading to the Planica Nordic Centre (for skiing), and a double clue: There's a new Express Pass in play, which calls for contesants to climb 1100 steps to the top of a ski jump, then after getting the clue, ride the world's steepest zipline... Todd/Ash decide to go for it, and end up heading to the wrong ski jump, and by the time they get to the right one, Rob/Corey have also decided to go for it, and already gotten up a decent way (or at least that's what Todd/Ash must have thought, more anon) and eventually bail
- While the Texans at least get the 1991 clue on their first attempt (unlike Lena who originally thought the boats read 1976), Phil Keoghan reveals that during the non-snowy season, Planica Nordic turns their parking lot building into an indoor skiing training center (!) wherein skiers can get their laps in, and in TAR's case, contestants get to ski to the Detour pick-up box... and while Todd/Ash are bailing from running for the Express Pass, Greg/John show up to try for it as well
- Greg/John also end up bailing, as they see Rob/Corey too far ahead and close to the top of the stairs... but it turns out they still would have had plenty of time to overtake, since there was actually a second set of stairs (! This ski jump is the 2nd tallest in the world) Meanwhile, incompetent skiing gets underscored by funny music LOL.
- Detour is between Field Work: Hang hay on a "Kosolec" (hay rack), or House Work: Assemble a bee house (replete with pictures) Meanwhile, with no one taking them down, Rob/Corey get the express pass, valid thru end of leg 10, as well as the zipline ride, which Rob calls his "favorite moment of the race so far" :-) Meanwhile, Greg/John are doing hay and sneezing, since they've always lived in relatively clean air... and even talking about it in the confessional makes them sneeze LOL.
- Texans get the Detour clue and decide to go for express pass, and apparently starts the climb some point after the start of the stairs, so doesn't notice the taken sign posted there (Todd/Ash also missed the front sign when they were trying to go for it as well) The Beards doing the bees (pretty sure an old season had a bearded beekeepers team as first boot) which involves assembling a beehouse, painting and putting pictures on it, and they note that there's no need to use nails to assemble: "It's an Ikea beehive" :-)
- At the hay, Todd/Ash are 1st to get a clue to return to Ljubljana and stair climb the Neboticnik bldg, to an outdoor cafe... and Rob/Corey manage to even overtake Greg/John despite their Express Pass excursion :-) Speaking of, Texans only find out the express pass has been taken when they react the top, oh boy :-\ But they still get to go ziplining, and there are even spectators to see them do it, and given that this side excursion has firmly placed them in last, the Texans just decide to enjoy it, before heading off to do bees with the Beards
- Beards complete their beehouse and quip "You've never seen a better beehouse than this" :-) They leave in 6th, and the camera lingers on some paper they left behind... A couple moments later (at least in the 60 minute edit) the beards realize mid-drive they're missing their notebook, and return to the task to get it, where the Texans are still at work, even providing a funny quip "Just can't get enough... We love leaving stuff places and having to come back and get it" LOL! The skyscraper task calls for teams to run up spiral stairs, so you'd imagine it could be trouble for Texans and Rob/Corey, who've already run up a buttload of stairs today :-\
- Texans finish with bees and are back on the road, hoping to catch at least one team... On cue, cut to Morgan/Lena getting into a bit of a quarrel while getting lost in the city :-\ As is often the case with quarrels like these, the segment ends on that dramatic note, and instead of returning from the break with more of it as the show normally would, it just cuts to B-roll of Ljubljana and T/A and G/J getting to the top of the building... Another effect of the 60 minute edit, perhaps? Phil Keoghan reveals that Ljubljana is known as the Dragon City, so the Pitstop is at the Dragon Bridge :-) Clue specifically mentions foot only, so Greg/John decide not to take the elevator down, because that's not legal (or so they think) Greg/John decide to tail Todd/Ash, before then overtaking them for the win, and a trip to Namibia (Dune walk and safari! Drive among big cats! Beer tasting in Windhoek!) Meanwhile, Rob/Corey check-in directly behind both of them :-)
- Over at the other business end, Texans manage to get ahead of Morgan/Lena to the skyscraper, and decide to take the elevator down, and I be like "uh-oh", as Morgan/Lena "correctly" take the stairs... It ends with a footrace with the Texans getting to the mat ahead of Morgan/Lena... and turns out there's no penalty for riding the elevator, as the Texans get checked-in in 6th to their amazement, while the sisters intersperse their exit with heavy breaths from exhaustion :-\
- Next stop is Jaipur, India and the Amber Palace, to take sugar cane to a mahout (elephant handler), and all teams are on the same flight :-) During the taxi confessionals, sisters Morgan/Lena reveal they've never been to India, but love Indian food... same here LOL. The sugar cane carrying is also quite an uphill run, so it's pretty tiring... Anyways, the first clue is for the Roadblock: "Who's feeling balanced?" involving dancing with three pots on ones head, all laid on a "donut" (Annaleigh's terms!) (Texans Steve/)Annaleigh comments that Texas has its own dance called the "Texas two-step" (apropos of nothing, this is what I think of), and soon gets the clue after her 3rd attempt :-)
- (Brothers Liam/)Yeremi gets it done on the 5th attempt, and quips that he didn't know he could shake his tailfeather (his words) that well :-) Yeremi also comments in confessional that the donut didn't fit his head well, but Liam tries to note that no one else had any issues... But turns out (deaf dad/normal son Rob/)Corey is also having issues :-\ Meanwhile, (bearded guy/partner Joel/)Garrett quips at the cluegiver's mustache after finishing in 9th :-) And while Corey racks up his attempts, we learn that Rob was once a coach for a deaf football team... anyways, it takes him 15 goes to get out :-\
- Next stop: Panna Meena ka Kund, a very stair-laden place :-) There's no stair running to get to the Detour clue pick up though, between All Dolled Up, and Big Picture... Former involves making puppets and having them dance in a puppet theater, while the other is a bit more involving: compare a small pic to a big mural, grab cutouts of some missing people in the mural, and dress in costumes to portray the other missing people in the mural... Most are initially picking the Big Picture (but we'll see how that turns out anon), with the Texans, Beards and Rob/Corey doing dolls, with Annaleigh quipping to not break his head off :-)
- Turns out there's only 6 spots at Big Picture, so married couple Todd/Ashlie must do All Dolled Up... Anyways, after making the doll to the adjugator's satisfaction, the Texans show off their dolls at the puppet theater show before getting the next clue for the Pitstop: Gaitore ki Chhatriyan... While programmers Greg/John and Morgan/Lena are starting to find wrong details in their cut outs (the computer programmers of course call it "debugging time"), Todd/Ash arrive at the dolls, where Ash quips she won't be able to make the doll well and will rather buy one for their kid :-)
- Texans are 1st, and get $3k each, but Phil Keoghan reminds them that there will be the U Turn vote before the next leg, requiring the victim to do both detours... Philly friends Andrea/Malaina overtake Morgan/Lena at the murals, and speaking of Philly, Rob/Corey do their own mini-comeback at the dolls, jumping from last to 6th :-) Morgan/Lena had a rule intending to switch Detours after doing a task for 25 minutes (so... what about tasks where both are arduous?) but it turns out they've spent 2 hours by the time they actually do switch (!)
- Joel/Garrett get a podium finish in 3rd, and the next three teams all check in close succession, wherein the show decides to have a little fun with the check-in routine: Phil Keoghan has the Beards tell Philly they're in 4th before quipping about potentially losing his job, then Philly checks Todd/Ash in in 5th, replete with eyebrow, and all of them check in Rob/Corey in 6th, before Phil tells them about the upcoming U-turn vote (which Corey quips that it'll be "sneaky sneaky" :-))
- It's down to the engaged Joe/Ian at murals and Morgan/Lena at dolls for the final spot, and one of the sisters gets a needle in the face (ouch!) Joe/Ian and then Morgan/Lena finish their task in that order, but the sisters get to their tuk-tuk first, so it's a genuine tuk-tuk race through traffic to avoid elimination, and there are plenty of shots showing the two tuk-tuks in the same shot, so you know it's real :-) We get shots of Joe/Ian overtaking Morgan/Lena, then Morgan/Lena deciding to take a shortcut... and while all this is going on, Robbin/Chelsea and Liam/Yeremi claim 7th and 8th places :-) Morgan/Lena's shortcut sees them arriving in 9th ahead of the eliminated Joe/Ian, all with Liam/Yeremi still on the mat, and it looks like Joe/Ian's exit was snipped a bit before cutting to the others' applause :-\
Ep 6
- Still in Jaipur, teams start by looking through telescope across the street at the distinctive Hava Mahal palace, to find the next destination put up in a high window, and at said next destination, teams will then have to look for an electric rickshaw, and then push all the other non-electric rickshaws out of the way to ride to a spice shop, where the Texans quip that they've cut a Red Sea through there :-)
- At the spice shop it's revealed that (somewhat not surprisingly) the Texans have been voted for the U-Turn (ahead of of friends Robbin/Chelsea 5-4), and we get to see the teams who gave the votes... Detour is between Bundles (bundle up 3 types of marigold and roses in individual bundles according to the demo for each type, then deliver via cycle rickshaw to two temples and get receipts), and Bricks (get bricks, sand, gravel, then deliver via cycle rickshaw to construction site and get receipts) Liam/Yeremi talk about the fact this is the the longest time they've spent together in 7 years, which sounds like the TAR equivalent of a "death flag"... Anyways, turns out one of the temples for flower delivery is in the middle of the road (!)
- Texans get to the 2nd Detour (bricks), and get told they need to deliver the receipts for bundles first... There's a scene of one of the bricks teams crashing their cycle-rickshaw into a scooter, which abruptly cuts to the next scene, victim of the 60-minute edit perhaps? Morgan/Lena started the leg in 10th, but are already at 7th at the U-Turn, while Liam/Yeremi quip that their rickshaw's top speed is 2-3 mph LOL.
- Joel is getting really thirsty while delivering bricks and the Beards end up needing to get water from a vendor for 40INR/bottle (that's 50 cents) It feels like they're using split screens to fit the scenes in 90 minutes, and most of them are over a blurred shot of a globe similar to the Bruckheimer credit background, though one gets a plain black background... Anyways, Morgan/Lena get up to 5th after the Detour, and after all their expectations of doom after having to double back to deliver their flower receipts, the Texans manage to finish the Detours in 6th...
- Next stop is the Roadblock at Jaipur Carpet Boutique: Who likes to play with blocks? Block print peacocks on cloth and get 9 to pass inspection, which will obviously involve making tons of extras, since the adjudicator will dramatically stamp the rejects with a giant red X :-) Meanwhile, Robbin/Chelsea are doing the bricks (and making comments about the camel standing at the task), and their confessional has them quipping that their significant others chose them "Because we can carry a barbecue up the stairs" LOL
- To give an idea of how strict adjugator guy is, Greg is at 6 after 1 go, and Rob has 3... After 3 checks, Greg has his 9, and a clue for the Pitstop at Badi Chaupar intersection :-) One of Lena's peacocks has too much red, prompting her to quip "This one looks like it was murd3red" :-) Of course this one is not among one of the 6 she has in her first go ("They don't like my murd3r-themed one" LOL) Meanwhile, Steve accidentally uses the wrong color for one batch of his peacocks, and the waiting contestants are having Survivor-style discussion with Annaleigh on who voted for the Texans (ooh!)
- Greg/John get 1st place and a trip to New Zealand ("My home country" says Phil Keoghan): Cave to coast walk! Nature sanctuaries! Food and wine tasting! Bike ride on rail! After getting their clue Joel hugs the adjudicator, and I've been remiss in noting that Garrett calls Joel by his surname Strasser, while Joel refers to Garrett as Smite (actually Smith) While they're riding to the Pitstop, they also quip that all the teams are riding electric rickshaws, but they don't weigh as much LOL. They finish 3rd, right behind Rob/Corey in 2nd, while Morgan/Lena get up to 4th thanks to a good performance from Lena on the RB, and Todd/Ashlie finish 5th just like last leg, which Phil notes :-)
- Heading into the business end, Robbin is struggling with the RB, and I suspect there was more than a little hint of an edited out ad-break cue here, as we have a Robbin confessional in which she likes the peacock symbolism of the task, as she got a peacock tat after surviving cancer and losing her hubby :-) Philly overtake the Texans on the Pitstop ride to take 6th, though the Texans are at least glad not to finish last... and Phil also tells Robbin/Chelsea they should also be happy not to finish last, as Liam/Yeremi get an emotional elimination :-\
Ep 7
- Next stop is Germany :-) First task is a Roadblock at a castle: "Who's ready for change?" Involves paying a robber baron (in reference to how these castles were used to collect tolls illegally) with ancient money called "witten", which of course they first have to get in the first place, by exchanging for a 5 modern euros from some bearded guy at a specific ferry pier (Quip from Robbin/Chelsea looking down bearded guy's pouch: "Is there more where that came from?" :-)) Then figure out how many coins they need to pay based on a provided sign, then rappel down the castle wall after entering and getting the clue... Meanwhile, Philly gets lost quickly :-\ (and quipping they're going on a deer hunt LOL :-)) And then end up getting to the wrong pier and exchanging their 5 modern euro note for 5 modern euros in coins :-\ (With a hilarious reaction from Philly as they're thinking they're first :-)) Morgan/Lena are first to complete the RB, as Morgan comments that she studied MBA at a world-leading university: "I know how to do math :-)" (though Lena isn't sure if how she came down the wall is rappeling LOL) OTOH, Robbin/Chelsea don't bother with the math, and just gradually increase their "witten" until they're correct LOL.
- Clue pickup at the Gurzenich convention hall in the main town: Time to horse around :-) It's a task inspired by Cologne's Carnival, in which both guys wear funny outfits, and one guy rides a horse bike around a short course while the other throws roses :-) It's such pure fun that Greg/John call it their favorite part of the race so far :-) and Todd quips that he was "born to ride that horse" :-) Next stop is Hohenzollern bridge, with locks on it, for a second Roadblock called "Who's feeling locked in?" As usual, the other half of the team has to do the task, which calls for them to find a marked lock, and unlock with the number of Cologne's favorite cologne: "4711" :-) (It's apparently written on the clue as the oldest cologne produced in Cologne)
- Roadblock #2 is followed by a Detour between Just for Kicks and Matter of Taste: The first one is a combination of Soccer and Darts, which calls for contestants to make exactly 66 in 4 kicks (2 per team), and the second calls for teams to taste a bunch of mustards, then re-identify them in German :-) G/J are eating mustard, and to them it "was like being in Baskin-Robbins" :-) (Also, beards get lost on the way to the carnival apparently :-\)
- Meanwhile, Philly are finally at the first Roadblock, and discover they've only got euros, so off to the ferry pier :-\ while Ashlie helps Rob with the number combo at the 2nd RB, and Morgan/Lena are doing the carnival task :-) We get to see Just for Kicks in action with Todd/Ash's attempt, and it turns out Ash can't even get the balls to hit the target, even as Todd is telling her to get her foot under it LOL... Eventually, they decide to switch to mustard :-\ Speaking of mustard, one of the mustards is called Knoblauch, like the baseball player LOL, but it actually means garlic, and indeed Morgan/Lena will later note it tastes garlicky :-)
- After getting all the mustards correctly, teams then get a slip to order a sausage with their favorite mustard (Greg/John like Weisswurst) and get the sausage along with a clue for the Pitstop at the Chocolate Museum :-) Meanwhile, Rob/Corey are doing the soccer darts, and Philly finally gets to the correct ferry pier and get their Witten, quipping that they "Don't look nothing like Euros" :-)
- Greg/John get 1st place at the Pitstop, edging out Robbin/Chelsea, and will get USD 4,000 each after the race :-) While the Texans are having problems pronouncing the word Meerrettich (horseradish), Rob/Corey finally figure out a good way to approach the task on the 5th go: No running start before kicking... and sure enough, they get their 66 on this attempt :-) Over at mustard, Texans order their sausage with Weisswurst and Edelpils, while Morgan/Lena order theirs with Bier :-) Beards are just now doing the second Roadblock, and Joel says in confessional that he's weak at needle in a haystack tasks, and are still in 7th after the task
- Texans are 5th with Morgan/Lena (coming to the mat still holding their plates of sausage/mustard LOL) in 6th... Joel/Garrett have decided to start having fun at the mustard Detour completely expecting to be in last, and they seem relaxed... and their reaction to the 7th place is a simple "Are you kidding me?" :-) Phil Keoghan has the carnival leave the room so he can eliminate Philly, though not without them making one last quip about the party ending without them :-)
Ep 8
- This week we're in Slovenia, where the first task is a Roadblock: Who wants a bird's eye view? (There appear to be extra notes on the clue title page suggesting some limitations, as seen in at least one shot of a contestant still holding the title page while doing the RB) Ride a light plane and use binoculars to find boats on a lake with numbers and Expedia arrow, which turns out to read 1991, which also happens to be the answer to the question "What year did Slovenia gain its independence?" The Texans are quick to get lost, and though they can see the planes, they still need directions to the airfield, and are completely expecting to get eliminated after this leg is said and done :-\
- After a correct guess it's 1991, the next clue is on an Expedia branded board LOL, leading to the Planica Nordic Centre (for skiing), and a double clue: There's a new Express Pass in play, which calls for contesants to climb 1100 steps to the top of a ski jump, then after getting the clue, ride the world's steepest zipline... Todd/Ash decide to go for it, and end up heading to the wrong ski jump, and by the time they get to the right one, Rob/Corey have also decided to go for it, and already gotten up a decent way (or at least that's what Todd/Ash must have thought, more anon) and eventually bail
- While the Texans at least get the 1991 clue on their first attempt (unlike Lena who originally thought the boats read 1976), Phil Keoghan reveals that during the non-snowy season, Planica Nordic turns their parking lot building into an indoor skiing training center (!) wherein skiers can get their laps in, and in TAR's case, contestants get to ski to the Detour pick-up box... and while Todd/Ash are bailing from running for the Express Pass, Greg/John show up to try for it as well
- Greg/John also end up bailing, as they see Rob/Corey too far ahead and close to the top of the stairs... but it turns out they still would have had plenty of time to overtake, since there was actually a second set of stairs (! This ski jump is the 2nd tallest in the world) Meanwhile, incompetent skiing gets underscored by funny music LOL.
- Detour is between Field Work: Hang hay on a "Kosolec" (hay rack), or House Work: Assemble a bee house (replete with pictures) Meanwhile, with no one taking them down, Rob/Corey get the express pass, valid thru end of leg 10, as well as the zipline ride, which Rob calls his "favorite moment of the race so far" :-) Meanwhile, Greg/John are doing hay and sneezing, since they've always lived in relatively clean air... and even talking about it in the confessional makes them sneeze LOL.
- Texans get the Detour clue and decide to go for express pass, and apparently starts the climb some point after the start of the stairs, so doesn't notice the taken sign posted there (Todd/Ash also missed the front sign when they were trying to go for it as well) The Beards doing the bees (pretty sure an old season had a bearded beekeepers team as first boot) which involves assembling a beehouse, painting and putting pictures on it, and they note that there's no need to use nails to assemble: "It's an Ikea beehive" :-)
- At the hay, Todd/Ash are 1st to get a clue to return to Ljubljana and stair climb the Neboticnik bldg, to an outdoor cafe... and Rob/Corey manage to even overtake Greg/John despite their Express Pass excursion :-) Speaking of, Texans only find out the express pass has been taken when they react the top, oh boy :-\ But they still get to go ziplining, and there are even spectators to see them do it, and given that this side excursion has firmly placed them in last, the Texans just decide to enjoy it, before heading off to do bees with the Beards
- Beards complete their beehouse and quip "You've never seen a better beehouse than this" :-) They leave in 6th, and the camera lingers on some paper they left behind... A couple moments later (at least in the 60 minute edit) the beards realize mid-drive they're missing their notebook, and return to the task to get it, where the Texans are still at work, even providing a funny quip "Just can't get enough... We love leaving stuff places and having to come back and get it" LOL! The skyscraper task calls for teams to run up spiral stairs, so you'd imagine it could be trouble for Texans and Rob/Corey, who've already run up a buttload of stairs today :-\
- Texans finish with bees and are back on the road, hoping to catch at least one team... On cue, cut to Morgan/Lena getting into a bit of a quarrel while getting lost in the city :-\ As is often the case with quarrels like these, the segment ends on that dramatic note, and instead of returning from the break with more of it as the show normally would, it just cuts to B-roll of Ljubljana and T/A and G/J getting to the top of the building... Another effect of the 60 minute edit, perhaps? Phil Keoghan reveals that Ljubljana is known as the Dragon City, so the Pitstop is at the Dragon Bridge :-) Clue specifically mentions foot only, so Greg/John decide not to take the elevator down, because that's not legal (or so they think) Greg/John decide to tail Todd/Ash, before then overtaking them for the win, and a trip to Namibia (Dune walk and safari! Drive among big cats! Beer tasting in Windhoek!) Meanwhile, Rob/Corey check-in directly behind both of them :-)
- Over at the other business end, Texans manage to get ahead of Morgan/Lena to the skyscraper, and decide to take the elevator down, and I be like "uh-oh", as Morgan/Lena "correctly" take the stairs... It ends with a footrace with the Texans getting to the mat ahead of Morgan/Lena... and turns out there's no penalty for riding the elevator, as the Texans get checked-in in 6th to their amazement, while the sisters intersperse their exit with heavy breaths from exhaustion :-\
