Greetings everyone and a HAPPY VETERANS DAY to our former and current members of the United States Armed Forces. Thank you for your service.
Our members of the armed services go through intense training and physical and mental abuse. And while it may not fully compare, the contestants of The Amazing Race face heavy challenges. After all, it does lead to a possible million dollar prize. You don’t get there without challenges.
Last week one team quit their quest to win the million dollar prize. The pressure and hard work of being a contestant on The Amazing Race was too much for Maria & Tiffany. This leaves us with 5 strong teams and the possibility of intense competition over the next few episodes.
So this episode starts with openly gay brothers Sam & Dan in first place and leaving the 7th pit-stop at 9:33pm, Meghan & Cheyne at 9:48pm, Flight Time & Big Easy at 10:32pm, Gary & Matt at 11:08pm and the last team was Brian & Ericka who left the pit-stop at 1:38am. Teams had to fly from Holland to Sweden but as usual the thing I call the “Great Amazing Race Team Equalizer” was in effect as all teams found themselves waiting together at the airport for flights leaving at 6:25am. However only the first three teams were able to get on the first flight. Gary, Matt, Brian & Ericka had to settle for a flight leaving 3 hours later.
Once teams arrived in Sweden they had to travel via train and ferry boat to an amusement park. Of the first three teams on that first flight, the Harlem Globetrotters “Flight Time & Big Easy” missed the train leaving the airport, giving some relief to the leading two teams Sam & Dan and Meghan & Cheyne who admit that they feel a competition threat from the very athletic Globetrotters but the Globetrotters didn’t take very long to catch up. Later when the last two teams arrived in Sweden, Gary & Matt got left behind after taking an elevator instead of the escalator. Brian & Ericka boarded the train in time. The train left while Gary & Matt were still buying their train tickets now having them in last place.
Once at the amusement park, teams had to look for a route marker arrow from the top of a parachute type ride. The arrow pointed toward the location of the next clue box which sent them to an amusement park game where teams had to toss rings to win their own (show sponsor) “Travelocity Gnome” which would contain their next clue and they would have to carry the little statue for the remainder of this leg of the race.
The clue on the Gnome had teams drive themselves to this episode’s “detour” choices of “Nobel dynamite” where teams had to use explosives to expose a box containing their next clue or “Viking alphabet” where teams had to decode a message using the ancient Viking Alphabet. Most teams chose the more physical “nobel dynamite” task.
After completing the “detour” teams had to drive themselves to a farm where one of the most difficult tasks ever on The Amazing Race occurred. It was the return of a “roadblock” task from a previous season where teams had to find one of only 7 route marker flags among 186 rolled bales of hay. This was after teams had to park their car nearly a kilometer away and run to the farm field.
This “needle in the haystack” task was both physically and mentally demanding for all involved. Team relationships tend to strain under the pressure and it could take hours for one team member to roll so many bales of hay to look for a small flag. When this task appeared on a previous season, it took one team over 10 hours to complete and they were stopped a few hours after the last team checked in having never found their clue.
The top three teams held their positions up to the “roadblock” and gay brothers Sam & Dan began to yell at each other during the roadblock and Meghan struggled with minimal complaints at first then after a several failed attempts we saw her in tears. But the Harlem Globetrotters easily completed the task and left for the pit-stop which was right there at the farm. That added to the stress of the other teams still looking for their flag in many rolls of hay.
For their first place arrival at the pit-stop, “Flight Time & Big Easy” turned in their “Travelocity Gnome” for a vacation package from the show sponsor Travelocity. It was also “Big Easy”s birthday, so a good present for him.
So while the Harlem Globetrotters already made the pit-stop, the three hour gap between flights came to a close as Brian & Ericka arrived at the farm closely followed by Gary & Matt. Gary & Matt had problems with directions along the way but managed to catch up and it was revealed by Meghan that she had worked on the “roadblock” task for more than two hours. Also Sam & Dan were still yelled at each other as Sam also hadn’t located the clue. After a while they calmed down and Sam focused and eventually they found the flag. Gary & Matt was the last team to find their flag in the hay but it didn’t take anywhere near as long as the contestants in season six.
The official arrivals were
FIRST: “Flight Time & Big Easy”
SECOND: Meghan & Cheyne
THIRD: Brian & Ericka
FOURTH: Sam & Dan with Dan crying in regret over how he treated his brother during the last task.
FIFTH: Gary & Matt
And this was a NON-ELIMINATION leg of the race which means Gary & Matt are not eliminated (blowing my prediction last week) but they will have to face an additional task (the “speed bump”) during the next leg of the race. I honestly don’t think they will be able to catch up especially if the tasks get any more demanding. The other remaining teams are stronger and more capable. So I will have to repeat my prediction for next elimination by saying that I think Gary & Matt was given a reprieve allowing them one more leg of the race.
While my prediction for next elimination remains the same, the predictions for the FINAL THREE have changed slightly. I believe “Flight Time & Big Easy” and Meghan & Cheyne” are DEFINITELY going to be in the final three. They are the two strongest teams on the race, relationships are good and their physical and mental ability is strong. However I must change my predictions between Brian & Ericka and the brothers Sam & Dan. I see Sam & Dan breaking down in terms of their conduct and focus. With Sam & Dan yelling at each other, Sam having the older sibling authority complex and the both of them feeling the threat of the Harlem Globetrotters in competition are having an effect on their focus on performing in the race. It appears they may have a conflict in the previews for the next broadcast. If the tension escalates then Sam & Dan are not going to make the final three. So I predict the Brian & Ericka will make the final three for their better attitude and focus along with ability.
Whatever happens, we will have good competition that’s not as focused on stardom or good looks. We have exactly what we should with this season. The weakest teams have dropped off in good order, we have the strongest teams remaining and its going to be a good finish.
And so we shall see what happens next week! See you then, same Amazing Race Time (depending on the NFL on the East Coast) and of course the same Amazing Race Channel.
Have a good week!
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