Thursday 4 September 2014

Recap of Episode 9 "How Are We Going to Explain This to Mom and Dad Amazing Race Canada 2

Or as I like to call it, "Keep Your Eyes Shut"

Rain, rain, rain and bad choices.

It was another very early morning start as teams set off from the capital of France to (as Jon describes) "what was once known as the capital of New France"...Montreal. Naturally from this intro we expect a bit of tip of the hat to Canada's early French settlers or at least some history on this leg. Sadly, we don't get it. Something was really lacking on this leg. I think there just wasn't anything that pointed out the charms of Montreal. I had the same reaction as the Vancouver leg last year...I think there should be a re-do! This doesn't mean it wasn't a good episode as far as the challenges or team dynamics are concerned.

Here are the departure times:

Natalie & Meaghan 3:26 am
Sukhi and Jinder 6:41am
Mickey and Pete 7:55 am
Alain and Audrey 8:08 am
Ryan and Rob 8:28 am

With the exception of showing us how they finished on the last leg, none of this really matters because they all get on the same plane back to Canada. They get 305 Euros to spend on this leg. While departing from the start line, Mickey and Pete stop to say "Bonjour" to a large group of girls. There's always time for flirting. They then lament how there are only four legs left. Time to kick it up a notch. No more Mr. Nice Guy. At Charles de Gaulle airport - or as Sukhi calls it, Charles da Gwallay, Audrey can't wait to tell someone about Alain proposing, so she finds Meaghan. The good news spreads like wildfire and there is much rejoicing. Audrey invites everyone to the wedding. That is, until Sukhi and Jinder show up and the festivities grind to a screeching halt. They can be a real buzz-kill sometimes. Ryan and Rob seize the opportunity to chew the siblings out for that U-Turn, and how it was so ridiculous because they had to do the Speedbump anyway. So true. It was just a move made out of spite, with no strategy involved whatsoever. Apparently Sukhi and Jinder believe they are immune from the karma thing that fell Pierre and Michel. Once they get to Montreal, they must get their next clue from the Air Canada check-in counter.

They must make their way to the old Mirabel Airport, now the site of Circuit Icar - a race training and testing facility. It's a Roadblock, "Who can turn on a dime?" One team member must complete two precision driving maneuvers: a quarter drift (without spinning-out) and a reverse 180. In a brand new Camaro SS no less, because we just have to have that product placement in there. Very cool challenge though. Alain and Audrey get there first and Alain explains he will do it because he is a stuntman...its his job. Oh, oh. You know what that means, don't you? Yep. Bad things. Very bad things. It's like a curse or something. And it's raining out to boot. Here's what happened:

  • Meaghan: the girls get here second, behind Alain and Audrey. Same old story...Meaghan makes a few attempts, but she is a fast learner, gets it done and they leave in first place. Yawn.
  • Jinder: he gets to do it because today is his birthday. They finish in 2nd place.
  • Mickey: Pete thinks he should have done it because Mickey drives like a Grandma. Well, if Mickey is a Grandma, he must be that little old lady from Pasadena that the Beach Boys sang about because he does fine. They arrived 4th, and leave in 3rd.
  • Rob: No problem. They got there last but leave in 4th place.
  • Alain: Although they were the first team here, the curse claims another victim. They leave in last place.

The next clue tells the teams to make their way to Atwater Market and find their next clue at the corner of Atwater Ave and Rue St. Ambrose. How hard can that be? Well very hard if you don't read the second part like Natalie and Meaghan, who just jump right in and start searching the market. The clue is for the Detour and comes with another Fast Forward. Thus begins all those bad choices I told you about. The detour is "Flamed" or "Grilled". For Flamed, teams must make - that's right...MAKE...5 glass beads exactly like the demonstration. Sure it would be simple for an ordinary person to do if the beads were all single colours. But no. They have a particular pattern that must be duplicated. In Grilled, teams must identity the cheese used in 10 different grilled cheese sandwiches. To win the Fast Forward, teams must be the first ones to model 3 life drawing poses for artists. But there is a trick. What the teams don't know is that after each pose, they must remove more clothes until they are completely naked. The Art Instructor/judge stands beside Jon. In the background we see a model who resembles John Belushi. As the camera swings around, the Instructor raises a strategically placed clue. I guess Jon isn't going to demonstrate this one. The thing is, this Fast Forward seemed more like a third, perhaps lazier choice in the Detour. I don't think it was necessarily faster than the grilled cheese task, and it certainly was no guarantee of winning the leg. Here is what happened at the Detour and who posed naked for the Fast Forward: 
No matter what happens, Sukhi, keep your eyes shut!!!


  • Sukhi and Jinder decide to go for the Fast Forward. They pose with all their clothes on, completely unaware of what a life drawing model really does. Jinder wonders how they will explain it to their parents when they are asked to take everything off except their underwear. Sukhi is upset because she wore a thong. I am surprised that they continued when they were told to take off their underwear. At least Sukhi was able to stand behind Jinder. Jinder refers to this being his birthday, and yes you guessed it, this is his birthday suit. They head directly to the Pitstop.
  • Mickey and Pete decide to do Grilled. They say it will be a cheesy challenge and they will do Gouda with it. When Natalie and Meaghan strongly suggest they should work together, the dudes say, "ah, not really." Finally a good choice, and finally someone has clued in. They leave the Detour first.
  • Natalie and Meaghan choose Grilled. They have a very hard time with this and heartburn almost got to them. They argue so much about it, that Mickey and Pete tell them they can't concentrate. They leave the Detour second.
  • Alain and Audrey go to Grilled, take a look at it then decide to do Flamed. This task is detail-oriented, not a quick task to do and the judge is kind of picky. I think they knew they make a bad decision, but they keep with it. They leave the Detour third.
  • No fair Jon, I thought YOU did all the demonstrations!
  • Ryan and Rob start off headed to the location of the Grilled challenge. They change their minds and decide to try for the Fast Forward. Bad decision #1: They see Sukhi and Jinder there, but decide to do it anyway. Bad Decision #2: Sukhi and Jinder warn the guys they are almost done, but they stay anyway. Of course the siblings complete the Fast Forward task first. Ryan and Rob decide to do Grilled. Bad decision #3: They can't get it after several attempts, so they switch to Flamed and soon discover how ridiculous this task is. They know they are last, but keep going.

From here, the teams must head to Square Victoria for their next clue, if for no other reason than to give the Fast Forward winners a bit more time and make it worth their while to get naked. They must then go to the Pitstop on the rooftop of Le Belvedere, where Jon is waiting with someone almost as creepy as the Paris mime last week. A pirate type performer from Cirque de Soleil who is wearing way too much makeup. I wonder what Jon says to these people in those awkward moments between team check-ins. Here are the final standings:

1st: Sukhi and Jinder
2nd: Mickey and Pete
3rd: Natalie and Meaghan
4th: Alain and Audrey
5th: Ryan and Rob

But it's a non-elimination. Ryan and Rob must complete another Speedbump on the next leg in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. This one looks to be a lot of fun, and I guarantee you, a team WILL be eliminated.