Amazing Race 15: Episode 3
By Daron Aldridge
October 13, 2009
BoxOfficeProphets.com
With Ron and Marcy eliminated, the race is full of a bunch of 20- and 30-somethings, save for dad Gary. Will this lack of age diversity make it less entertaining? Probably not. We also have to see who will lose their passport as promised in the previews. I am still holding out hope that Keri does and Lance's head explodes from sheer rage.
The last leg kicked off with the first and last teams separated by only an hour and a half. This time as the teams leave Vietnam, there is less than 40 minutes between first and last. I am digging the fact that each leg is actually more than "anyone's game" than some previous seasons turned out to be.
There isn't much variation in the formula as all the teams must head to the airport to book a flight to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. One by one, they caravan to the airport.
During their interview, Brian and Ericka dubbed this season's race theme as jungle because in the first leg there were ducks (I didn't know that there were ducks indigenous to jungles) and then a zebra statue. They are trying really hard to work in a Jungle Fever reference and then they do. Way to go, guys.
During their cab ride to the airport, Zev and Justin butcher the name of the destination city to comical effect and rename Phnom Penh Sean Penn, which leads us to the episode's title "Sean Penn Cambodia here we come." Score for Justin and Zev. I wager that photographers aren't welcomed in that part of Cambodia, so the cameramen should beware.
Much to Flight Time and Big Easy's dismay, the first flight to Phnom Penh isn't until 12:25 p.m. So, not only does a good 18 hours of airport waiting lie in their future, this guarantees that the teams will be on the safe flight. This is true until Lance and Keri and Zev and Justin show up as the last two teams and are promptly informed by the ticket agent that the 12:25 flight is full and they will have to take the 2:15 p.m. one. So much for my enjoyment of the lack of separation of teams into groups that are disproportionately spaced out.
I must say that both of these teams were surprisingly calm when dealing with the Vietnam Airlines ticket agents. While somewhat defeatist but uncharacteristically mature, Lance observes, "That is not really good but what are you gonna do?" Exactly, sir, there is no good in getting in the ticket agent's face or causing a scene. I am shocked that Lance made this revelation.
Both teams book 2:15 tickets but put their names on the waiting list also. The first flight's teams pile onto a shuttle and head to the tarmac to board. When it looks like the first flight will be sans Lance/Keri and Zev/Justin (thank you strategically placed commercial break), both teams get their standby requests fulfilled. When their shuttle arrives at the plane, the other teams are boarding and with a classy "No cheap win, bitches," good ol' Lance has shown back up.
Once they land in Cambodia, the teams race out of the airport to the Foreign Correspondents Club, where they must locate an assignment editor and in a whisper ask for their "next assignment" to get the clue.
Fortuitously, Zev and Justin get their cab driver named Terry to agree to stay with them for the duration of this leg. They are the first ones at the club, followed immediately by the brothers and old friends/new couple Meghan and Cheyne. Their clues instruct them use an old photo of an unidentified lady to determine which hotel has a suite named for her and then go there for the next clue.
The photo is of Jackie Kennedy Onassis on a trip to Cambodia riding in a convertible in a parade. Personally, I think it is a rather dark choice considering other photos of her in a similar setting but that just might be me.
Terry comes through for Zev and Justin and knows exactly which hotel it is, as does Sam and Dan's cabbie and the people on the street who Meghan and Cheyne ask for help. It's not too challenging of a clue so far but with Dan's "we need to find out who this lady is," the producers are setting the stage for something.
At the Foreign Correspondents Club, all the teams follow the clue's instructions to "ask for my next assignment" except for Mika and Canaan ask for their next "task" and get nothing. He admits that sometimes the little details are important and that is where they tripped up. Like I said last time, if you are on the Amazing Race, Read. Your. Clue!! Sorry, Brian and Ericka, I contend that this season's theme is, "Watch at least one team each week mess up by not reading their clues."
All the teams pretty much get the destination right but we are then treated to the ignorance of the racers. The American educational system will likely not be using this episode as a mark of its merits. Only three people recognize the woman in the photo as Jackie Kennedy Onassis: Gary (who is old enough to remember JFK), Zev and Lance (who likely just pulled the old "I was just about to say it was her", when a local identified her as Kennedy). Flight said it was one of the queens from Cambodia. Sam and Dan declare her a queen or princess but they likely make that conclusion because the name of the hotel is Hotel Royal and the clue says that a suite is named after the person. We can cut them a little slack but not Mika and Canaan.
They get to give the state of Tennessee a bad name. First, Canaan says that it was Queen Elizabeth and then Mika counters with "this is definitely someone of Cambodian descent. She looks like the people of Cambodia." With Canaan's agreeing nods to Mika's statements that means Canaan believes that Queen Elizabeth is Cambodian. I feel sorry for any Tennessean who may be judged by these fools.
Zev and Justin are the first at the hotel and learn about the detour, which voiceover Phil explains as Cover or Wrap. For Cover, they must take four helmets and sell them to a family of four for $10 to get their next clue and Wrap involves teams going to the Russian market and getting a scarf from a stall, then locating a lady wearing a matching scarf and return both scarves to the stall for their clue. Zev and Justin head for Wrap.
On the way to the Hotel Royal, Brian and Ericka and Matt and Gary both end up at the king's palace thanks to their cabbies only identifying the king in the photo and not Jackie O. Sam and Dan are second at hotel, followed by Flight and Easy, Meghan and Cheyne, and Mika and Canaan. All opt for Wrap with Mika pointing out that Cover takes it out of their hands because they would have to rely upon people to actually buy the helmets. So, despite her glorious inability to identify possibly the most recognizable first lady in American history, her race logic here is sound.
At the Russian marker, Zev and Justin up their reliance upon cabbie Terry by bringing him along for the challenge itself. I really hope they tip this guy something fierce.
As the last teams show up at the Hotel Royal, Lance and Keri are the only ones to take Cover. This could be shades of last week's Marcy and Ron branching out at the Detour that essentially eliminated them. We shall see. Also, we're halfway through this episode and we haven't seen any lost passport action come into play. What gives?
Zev and Justin find their scarf lady and the clue says to travel on foot to Wat Toul Tak Pong. I love it when the producers throw in specific travel directions, which are basically there to make careless teams stumble. Zev and Justin follow the clue's walk instructions but smartly ask Terry to drive, so they can follow behind the car and keep their trusty cabbie.
Sam and Dan get to the market and get it over with quickly. Flight and Easy, along with Mika and Canaan and Meghan and Cheyne, are all wandering the market looking for a match. While they're no cabbie Terry, Flight and Easy find a pair of girls from Philadelphia that help them navigate the narrow rows of shops to find their scarf match.
At Wat Toul Tak Pong, this leg's Roadblock awaits and it amps up the silliness factor. The person must perform a monkey act with three maneuvers while wearing a monkey mask and tail. Zev is on deck for his team and does the first couple moves quickly.
Brian and Ericka and Gary and Matt have recovered from the palace delay and end up at the market for the Wrap, while those rebels Lance and Keri are at Cover and starting trying to peddle their wares.
In what might be a record-setting time, Brian and Ericka get their scarf and seconds later find the match. This is the quickest I recall ever seeing anyone do a challenge on this show.
Zev is struggling to get the last move which requires him to be crouched down and walk with hands and feet across a log. Justin says Zev has the body of an 80-year-old and he is clearly drained of energy. Wow. Justin is right but Zev also has the stamina of an 80-year-old. On the other hand, Dan rips through the Roadblock and the brothers are on their way to Phil.
It's time for intentional comedy from a team's interview. Describing why they chose Wrap, Matt explains, "We are used to hunting and spotting animals. I can tell the difference between a male ‘peasant' and a female ‘peasant'." You know what, Matt, I can too because ‘peasants' are people. I am fairly certain that you meant PHEASANT as in the bird and not the commoners during the Middle Ages.
Zev finally picks his exhausted self off the ground, finishes the Roadblock and jumps in Terry's cab. As more and more teams Wrap up (yeah, I said it) the Detour and start on the Roadblock, Lance and Keri are still hawking helmets. They finally make the sale and head to the Roadblock.
Flight and Ericka are the next ones out of the Roadblock and their respective teams are on their way. As we see Meghan and Gary embrace their inner monkey, it is clear that Zev is only one to have problems with it. Keri is the chosen one for her team and she is getting the usual encouragement/yell session from Lance.
Bringing up the rear, Maria and Tiffany and Mika and Canaan finally complete the detour.
Phil greets an enthusiastic Zev and Justin as the first team to arrive at the pit stop with Dan and Sam as team number two and Flight Time and Big Easy as team number three.
Next we are given the pay off of someone losing their passport and it is...(drum roll)...Zev and Justin. But wait, didn't they just get checked in at team number one???
Apparently, they left the interview with Phil and realized that Zev's passport was missing. Justin sums up the rollercoaster of a day, "We went from last to first to losing a passport." The boys then must approach Phil to let him know of the situation. Our stoic host informs them that without their "travel documents" they won't be able to continue in the race, so if they don't find them before the last team checks in, they will be out of the race. So, it is looking like Cambodia is DQ country and sadly, that doesn't stand for Dairy Queen but rather disqualification. That puts Sam and Dan as now number one and Flight and Easy as number two.
Logically, Zev and Justin speculate that it must be in Terry's car since he was with them all day. They get a hold of him and ever the accommodating man, Terry obliges their request but I am thinking that this fruitless search is like a needle in a haystack. I hope it works out for them, as they are one of my favorite pairs this season, but assuming all the teams are only separated by an hour or so, that is a tall order.
Back to the Roadblock. Maria is pulling a Zev and keeps falling off the log as Mika and Canaan arrive and finish it with ease. Team after team checks in: Brian and Ericka as number three, Matt and Gary as number four, Meghan and Cheyne as number five, Lance and Keri as number six, and Mika and Canaan as number seven.
There is not a lot of tension in the editing as we see Maria and Tiffany show up as the last team but we haven't seen a big discovery by Zev and Justin to let us think that there could be a chance they survive this leg. Alas, Maria and Tiffany are spared elimination once again...they are lucky and probably in the right profession as gamblers.
Phil lets Zev and Justin know that they are no longer in the race. For the first time in Amazing Race history a team is disqualified and I am bummed it was a team I liked.
Reflecting on the race experience, Justin concludes, "I think we will be better friends." And Zev, who is hasn't let his Asperger's syndrome hinder him on the race, feels he got so much out of the race. He says, "This was my dream to be on the race and it proved to me that I am capable of changing and I don't have to do a daily routine day-by-day and do different things and succeed at them."
Next week, the teams get to traipse through the desert and slide down a snow ski slope all on the same leg. Intrigued? I am. See you then.