Recap of Episode 5 "Who Designs These Torture Tests?" Amazing Race Canada

I don't know about you, but this has been an excellent season and this is only the 5th episode. If you knew what I knew about the rest of the season, you would say you ain't seen nothing yet.


The teams start the leg from The Macau boardwalk in front of the 20m high Kun Ian or Goddess of Mercy statue. Here are the start times:

Natalie and Meaghan 8:45 A.M.
Ryan and Rob 10:15
Rex and Bob 10:34
Cormac and Nicole 10:40
Pierre and Michel 10:50
Mickey and Pete 11:01
Alain and Audrey 11:20
Sukhi and Jinder 11:33

They must fly from Hong Kong to Whitehorse, Yukon and make their way to Sky High Ranch. They are given 1 lone loonie on their Scotia Bank card. What's up with that? Why bother? What's the service charge? They also get to use a Chevy Silverado when they get to Whitehorse.

The great Express Pass Debate of 2014 is settled when Natalie and Meaghan negotiate with Pierre and Michel. The girls want immunity from getting U-Turned AND want the guys to U-Turn a team who is on their (the girls') tails. Pierre and Michel take the pass and tell the girls, sure, we won't U-Turn you. They avoided agreeing to the second part of the girls' deal. Interesting. Natalie and Meaghan tell Alain and Audrey about their decision and rumour spreads quickly. Nobody likes it. Quite frankly, I don't think these teams would have been too thrilled about anyone getting that pass.

Oh yes, here we go. We get a little Duddley Do-Right flashback about the villainous Snidely

Pierre & Michel: Are they Snidely Whiplash X 2?

Whiplash-like Pierre and Michel (twirl mustaches) who totally deceived our heroes - the pure of heart Mickey and Pete, who were innocently minding their own business and picking flowers. Come on. Have Pierre and Michel really been that bad?

It's product placement time again, and we get to see the teams in Air Canada Premium Economy Class seating. At Sky High ranch, the teams discover they get to spend the night and have a big breakfast before they get their first clue. I have a feeling they are going to need a big breakfast.

First up is the Detour with a choice between "Ride a Sled" or "Make Your Bed". In Ride a Sled, the teams are given the names of 3 sled dogs. They must run 1.5 km to Fish Lake, find the harnesses for each dog, rig the dogs to the sled, then make 6 laps around the course. In Make Your Bed, the teams have to carry 2 heavy backpacks to a campsite, re-create a the set-up of a sample site, start a fire and defrost a key to unlock a provision chest. Here's what happened:

I guess I didn't read the clue right??? Duh.

Ryan and Rob jump into 1st place with the dog sledding.
Mickey and Pete pick the camp set up because they grew up in Muskoka, you know.
Sukhi and Jinder pick the dog sledding, bother Ryan and Rob about the harnessing but figure it out themselves. They can't get the commands right. They yell HA, HA, HA, then Sukhi tells Jinder to make them go more HA. They leave in 3rd place, with plenty of time to do the Speed Bump.
Natalie and Meaghan chose the dog sledding but misread the clue, remembering only 2 of the dog's names. They forgot "Dakota". They had to run back the 1.5 km to the station, then run back to the lake. Even so, they leave the Detour in 4th place.
Cormac and Nicole set up the camp site. Mickey and Pete ask Nicole if she would like to sleep with them. Cormac doesn't like the Dudes hitting on his ma. They are in 5th place.
Pierre and Michel pick the dog sledding but do the exact same thing as Natalie and Meaghan. So they decide to switch to the camp set up. They leave in 6th.
Alain and Audrey do Ride a Sled, but have a hard time rounding up the dogs. One even runs away. When they get going Audrey says it's kind of fun when the dogs listen to you.
Rex and Rob pick the camp set up but have a very hard time getting it right. There is more Rex vs. Bob "discussion". They are in last place.

Sukhi and Jinder's Speed Bump is actually very time-consuming. They must hitch a 20' trailer to their Silverado (blatant product placement), drive 12.5 km and back the trailer up into a marked parking spot. Sukhi takes command here, but Jinder has to take over backing into the space. When these two set their minds to it, they can get things done.

From here it's on to Grey Mountain. The clue is for a Roadblock and reads, "Who's Got a Steady Hand?" Yep. It's biathlon time. Only instead of cross country skiing, one team member must ride a mountain bike around a 1.5 km loop. They are given 5 rounds of ammo and must hit all 5 targets on the range. Holy crap! If they don't get it with the 5 rounds, they must return to the starting point and pick up 5 more rounds. Holy crap again!  When they are done this task they must make their way to Chadburn Lake. They must grab a canoe, portage to the water, then paddle along the Yukon River to meet Jon at the pit stop. Here's what happened, and hang on to your seats folks...

Alain decides to do the biathlon. He HITS ALL 5 TARGETS ON HIS FIRST ATTEMPT. I am in awe. He says he has never done it before. Audrey says she is never going to buy him a gun. They grab their canoe and you could hear the excitement and anticipation in Audrey's voice. They have a bit of a hard time on the river but hit the mat first. They win a trip to any sun destination on Air Canada Rouge and $3,000 spending money.
Ryan and Rob  spot a deer on their way to the range, call it Bambi and Ryan says, "Sorry about your mom." We need to see more of this, please. Ryan takes on the brutal course and they end up in 2nd place again.
Natalie does the course and the girls end up in 3rd place, their winning streak busted because they didn't read the clue!
Sukhi takes on the course. I don't know what I was expecting, but with the siblings reputation I am glad there were no mishaps. Sukhi, like Alain has never shot a gun before but she gets the 5 targets on 2 attempts. More hilarity with the paddling, but lo and behold, they end up in 4th place. Who'd have thunk? I think they just need to trust themselves and stop wasting time bugging people for help.
Pierre and Michel saved that Express Pass despite things looking bleak for a while. Pierre does the biathlon and they end up in 5th.
Pete elects to do the shooting because he has apparently had a lot of experience. His experience did not help but they still managed to come in 6th place.
Rex does the range. I am not sure why. After one attempt he yells out, "Who designs these torture tests?....Satan?" Never have truer words been spoken. They come in 7th.
Nicole takes on the task. She can't get it at all, and I think I am already starting to tear up. She made so many attempts that she probably biked the equivalent of half an Olympic Road race...on uneven ground. She absolutely refuses to give up. Nicole and Cormac end up in last place and sadly, are eliminated.

In my preview I outlined the two teams who I knew were facing elimination tonight (I won't spoil you by naming the other team) and I knew it was a 50:50 chance. I also believed that whichever of the two teams who would be eliminated tonight,  would go out with style. I was right on that count. For a while I believed it was going to be the other team who couldn't get the biathlon done, but when I found out this afternoon that Nicole and Cormac weren't having their weekly viewing party...it clicked. I dreaded the end, but Nicole's persistance, drive and strength have made her a winner.  #NeverGiveUpNicole trended on Twitter 5 minutes after the end of the show. I think we have our first team for The Amazing Race Canada All-Stars. What do you think?

And here's the real kicker...next week the teams head to Cormac and Nicole's home town...Winnipeg. How sad is that?