The Amazing Race Season 17, Episode 10
By Daron Aldridge
November 29, 2010
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Fun side note: The family did attempt our own unofficial Speedbump in the form of a Disney World scavenger hunt (Copyright 2010 Daron Aldridge) to find and photograph names tags of someone from all 50 states. Alas, we only found 43. There’s always next time.
Anyway, back to the race at hand. This week we start off with only four teams and I am pleased that I correctly picked two of the four during my initial introduction/predictions. If my schedule isn’t off, then there are still two weeks to go after tonight’s episode, so I am thinking we are looking at a non-elimination leg this week.
In light of that anti-climatic assumption, I am ready to dive back into the race that picks up in Bangladesh.
8:25 a.m. – Jill & Thomas are the first to leave and hope to continue to reap the benefits of a huge lead. Phil tells us that in order to get to their destination in Hong Kong, teams will be taking a plane, a bus and a ferry. It becomes clear that their lead will not hold up. And then, the travel agency confirms it. The next flight to Hong Kong leaves at “11:55…tonight.” So, they head back to their hotel.
1:29 p.m. – Nick & Vicki leave for the airport. The couple’s interview allows Nick to express that Vicki has taught him to calm down and be more responsive to people. For the sake of the couple, I hope the lesson sticks but for the sake of the race/drama, Nick has been the go-to guy for explosive comments.
4:05 p.m. – Nat & Kat follow the tattooed ones lead and head to the airport. Thanks to Kat having traveled to Hong Kong before, this could be their chance to get back on top.
5:15 p.m. – Team HSN leave in last and are looking for some sweet justice for Thomas U-Turning them. Claire then makes a boastful claim that they are the first team to ever be U-Turned and survive. I don’t think this is true (I must research this). If it is true, the accomplishment gets an * by it because there were two U-Turns handed out and only one team could be eliminated.
Now, it is time for my seasonal rant. U-TURNs ARE PART OF THE GAME. Teams should go into every leg knowing that they could face a U-Turn, a task that involves something you are afraid of, and the prospect that you are at the mercy of transportation (e.g. cabs and planes) beyond your control. And another thing. Should a team that has regularly appeared in the top places be surprised that they were viewed as a threat? At their encounter at the ticket counter, I am 100% in agreement with Jill & Thomas that it was based upon who they viewed as the bigger threat. I would have probably had to flip a coin between Team HSN and the doctors but I can’t argue with their logic.
Oh yeah, Brook & Claire basically tell Jill that she is a coattail riding non-factor when Thomas points out that Jill is on the team, too. They proclaim, “We know who the mastermind is.” Way to belittle a woman who is already struggling to prove herself worthy of this Fighting Irishman.
The teams hit the ground in Hong Kong and Jill & Thomas reclaim their lead briefly by being the only team on the first bus to the ferry. But just as Thomas feared/predicted, Team HSN and the doctors jump aboard the ferry at the last minute. Nick & Vicki are feeling the effects of how asthma can slow you down on the race. Vicki’s lack of breath kept them from joining the pack, so they are now 30 minutes behind. Nick reverts to more hostility when she apologizes. She is reduced to tears and he encouragingly tells her to “Quit crying.” Looks like the tears he shed during his interview at the beginning were of the crocodile variety.
As the first ferry docks, the footrace is really only between Jill & Thomas and Nat & Kat as Claire is having a hard time keeping up and frustration is mounting for Brook. The leading teams find the clue and are tied. They are directed to take another ferry back ashore and then locate Majesty Chinese Restaurant. Despite Claire being the albatross around Brook’s neck, the girls get the clue and are back with the other two teams on the ferry.
Back on the pity party ferry, Nick says he wishes they had never come on the race because it is the most stress he has ever had in this life. We just may have our first Amazing Race quitter on our hands, which is insane considering they are so close to the end.
Nat & Kat are the first off the return ferry and the first at the restaurant. Thank you, Amazing Race, for fueling the stereotype about the omnipresence of Asian karaoke. It’s time for a Roadblock that asks “Who is feeling a bit peckish?” On an enormous buffet table of food, the person must find one of only five pieces of fake food. The catch is that if they select a piece and it is real, they have to eat it. It’s like a needle in an edible haystack.
To keep Kat from violating her vegetarian palette again, Nat steps up for them. Jill &Thomas arrive next and Thomas is the one taking on the task. They are all quickly joined by Brook & Claire. The latter is performing the task and the former is performing her own dance club routine on stage with the karaoke singers. With her goading them, Kat and Jill briefly join in but Brook continues to do whatever she can to be the center of attention by running around the dining area.
No amount of “Claire” chants that Brook incites can change the fact that Nat finds a piece of fake food relatively quickly. The doctors are the first to leave the Roadblock. The next clue tells them to find a statue of Bruce Lee on the Avenue of Stars. With no complications, they get there and have a Detour to complete.
The options are Ding Ding, which involves riding a old train system’s route to search for three signs that will point to the pit stop (red and yellow signs read “Pit Stop,” Statue” and “Square”) but they have to repeat the route if they don’t get all three, and Sampan, which involves picking up a bird cage and riding a boat into a harbor to find the boat with the same number as the cage. Our surgeons go for Sampan.
Back at the Roadblock, Thomas has finally picked a fake shrimp correctly and gets the clue. At Bruce Lee, Jill & Thomas opt for Ding Ding. My taste would have been for the Sampan task but to each his/her own.
Claire continues to gorge on food and Nick & Vicki have caught up to her. Brook then tells the camera that Claire has been on a diet for her upcoming wedding. Yikes. This is totally the wrong task for her, then. The Amazing Race then devolves into Fear Factor with Claire sprinting to the restroom to make room for more food. Thankfully, the cameraman didn’t catch it on video but the sound guy came through for us.
The first attempt at the Ding Ding task proves unsuccessful for Jill & Thomas as they pass all three signs without noticing.
Apparently, all it took was some upchuck, because Claire finds her fake food soon after getting out of the lavatory. This means Vicki is the last one there. Meanwhile, the Ding Ding ding dongs (sorry) give up and head to the Sampan. They pass the doctors in the harbor still looking for their birds’ owner.
The utter failure of the train task is negated by Jill & Thomas quickly finding their boat. It’s too bad that this doesn’t carry over for them on finding a cab in the middle of the night, which allows Nat & Kat to reclaim first place at least for the time-being en route to the Pitstop.
Quick cuts between cabs create the illusion that it is very tight but Nat & Kat end up on the mat first again. I believe this is the fourth first place finish for them. That puts Jill & Thomas in second and they are probably regretting not U-Turning the doctors last week.
Vicki follows in Claire’s footsteps to the restroom and Nick suggests they take the penalty, which is four hours. This is only acceptable if this is a non-elimination leg but if not, there isn’t that much distance between them and the third place. Vicki vows to not quit. It pays off for her and they are now on their way to the Detour, which they select Sampan.
Team HSN is still searching when Nick & Vicki arrive. Nick is still singing the same song of wanting to quit. Vicki now has to deal with completing the task alone because Nick is sleeping on the deck of the boat. Team HSN completes the Detour while all the drama is unfolding on the anti-Love Boat and they head to the Pitstop. Of course, they get there as team number three.
At this point, I notice that Phil hasn’t congratulated any of the checked in teams on making it the final leg, so this has got to be a non-elimination, which would be good news for Vicki, who wants to stay, but bad news for Nick, who is taking a million dollar nap. Ultimately, Nick wins out and they take a six-hour penalty, so they can bail on the Sampan task. Phil confirms my suspicion that this is a non-elimination leg. But he points out that not only do they have a Speedbump and time-penalty but they are already several hours behind the leaders.
Next week, we have the leg that determines who will be in the finals and I will now revise my prediction. I think that the finals will be Nat & Kat, Jill & Thomas and Team HSN with Nat & Kat taking it all. Their hot streak is reminiscent of Meghan & Cheyne from last fall, who took first place several times throughout their season before claiming the top spot.
I hope you had a great November and see you next week.