The Amazing Race 25 Recap - Episode 2
When You Gotta Go, You Gotta Go
By Daron Aldridge
October 7, 2014
BoxOfficeProphets.com
And making it even sweeter was the elimination of the one team that I was guaranteed to hate – blonde sisters Lisa & Michelle.
Before the remaining teams depart from the U.S. Virgin Islands, here are my power rankings summarized:
1) Misti & Jim (Married): Team DDS
2) Tim & Te Jay (Dating): TNT
3) Kym & Alli (Friends). Psycho Cyclists
4) Brooke & Robbie (Dating/Wrestlers): Tag Team
5) Adam & Bethany (Married): Hang Ten or Soul Surfers (as we are being instructed to call me by the producers.)
6) Amy & Maya (Friends/PhD Students): Team Candy Crush
7) Dennis & Isabelle (Dating).
8) Shelley & Nici (Mother/Daughter).
9) Michael & Scott (Friends/Fire Fighters): Team Office Fire
10) Keith & Whitney (Engaged): Team Survivor(?)
A lead of a couple of hours over the non-first place finishing teams means nothing in the world of the Amazing Race, but Misti & Jim don’t care about that because they are still floating high with the Save in their pocket. Given how they raced the first leg, I suspect they will be holding onto it for quite a while.
The clue points them to the airport, where they will be on one of two flights to jolly ol’ England. London awaits with an hour and 20 minute difference in arrival times, which might seem like a decent padding, if you have never watched the Race before and aren’t aware that most of these tasks can take hours to complete. But if you haven’t watched the Race before, you probably aren’t reading this recap, so we’ll move on.
The flights will divide the teams into six and four. With the last two teams of the firefighters and the Survivor alumni getting dinged with the four hour penalty from the first leg, the only real question is which of the other teams will be on the second flight.
One by one the teams get in line and joining the dentists are Tim & Te Jay, the wrestlers, the cyclists, the scientists and the surfers. Showing that decency has a place in the Amazing Race and undoubtedly making her mama proud is Candy Crush’s Amy. Apparently at some point on the first leg, Bethany lost a shoe and is now sporting only flip-flops. Finding out that she wears the same size shoe, Amy generously gives the surfer the pair. This scores major karma points but that doesn’t always have much currency on the Race. It’s nice to see humanity outshine competitiveness.
So the teams for that flight are set, meaning that on the second flight and bringing up the rear will be Shelley & Nici (who have proclaim extreme fan status), Keith & Whitney, Dennis & Isabelle and firefighters Michael & Scott.
When the teams arrive in London, they are to head to Tower Bridge and find the "Pearly King and Queen," whose royal lineage I question. As the first flight lands, the teams navigate their way through the airport to get to the taxis and we get a better glimpse of the personalities of the teams racing. As expected, the surfers are polite with "Excuse me" constantly coming out of their mouths, as well as the same from the dentists. Team Nashville, on the other hand, has Keith simply yelling to Whitney to "Hurry up." I think we have the origin of this season's jerk/villain on our hands here.
As they ride the wrong side of the streets in London, Tim & Te Jay get to the clue first with Team DDS right behind them. Now on tap for the first time this season is a Detour. It's either About Face or Pancake Race.
For Face, the teams have to go to Somerset House and learn a marching routine that is used for the changing of the guard. Once they have perfected the routine or at least done it to the satisfaction of the drill sergeant, they will get their clue. For Pancake, the teams have to go to Victoria Tower Gardens and participate in a wacky parliamentary tradition. They must make one pancake each, then race around a course while flipping their pancakes and complete it in less than one minute and 15 seconds. Hey, I warned you it was "wacky."
For my money, I would definitely opt for Pancake. But that's just me.
Going in the opposite direction of my inclination are Teams TNT and DDS. There doesn't seem to be any hesitation on their parts, which is odd to me.
But Adam and Bethany, who show up third, do go for the Pancake Race. Depending upon how this task works out, the surfers will either be left in the dust or get a nice lead because Psycho Cyclists Kym & Alli, Tag Team Brooke & Robbie, and Amy & Maya all opt for About Face, with our adorkable food scientist and shoe giver Amy saying that she hopes her marching band experience will help with the task. See? Adorkable.
At the Somerset House, the Tim & Te Jay and Misti & Jim get suited up first after selecting their drill sergeant. Let the berating begin.
Meanwhile, over at the gardens, Adam & Bethany start with their their Union Jack flapjacks and we see a marked difference in the tone of the tasks. The chef/pancake judge is much more congenial (the anti-Gordon Ramsey) than the drill sergeant who seems to be trying to channel that Yank R. Lee Ermey. The surfers get a passing grade on their pancake and they start their course. Bless Bethany's heart she explains that after losing her arm, it was the little, simple tasks that really taught her to persevere. Flipping a pancake while running could fall into that category.
Not surprisingly, this strong team completes the course in less than a minute. They're in first place and heading to Paddington Station. Watch out, guys, I've heard that place can be a real bear. (Rimshot.)
Adam must be tapping into whatever intuition told him to bypass the marching task because he (accurately) feels they are in first place.
Speaking of About Face, DDS is awkwardly going through the routine and decides to give it a whirl. For their efforts, they get a thumb down and barrage of insults. This fellow playing the part of drill sergeant is loving his role. The married pair heads back for more practice.
All of the teams from the first flight have had their time in the square, with the worst-looking march of the bunch being Brooke & Robbie. As their instructor points out after a rigid and poor walk through by Robbie, "God gave us knees...use them."
Kym & Alli flub their attempt within the first five marching steps...literally. They have to go through the motions anyway, just to be shunned away for more practice.
The dentists give it another shot and receive a satisfactory judgment. They are sent on their way and Jim feels confident in their first place position. Too bad he's wrong.
Because in actual first place are Adam & Bethany, who have arrived at a boathouse at Oxford. The next task is Drop Back and Punt. Phil explains that one person on the team must stand on the Cambridge side of a flat-bottom boat and propel the boat with a long pole (this is called punting), while the other person stands on the Oxford side waving a British flag. They will circle an island and return together for their clue.
The choice is pretty obvious that Adam will do the punting and Bethany will do the waving.
Next out of the Detour are Kym & Alli. They trot off the square with the clue and try to catch up to Misti & Jim, who are boarding the train in Paddington Station. Lucky for them they make the same train. I must say I am liking that these two teams are validating my rankings this leg...so far.
While they ride the train and the surfers are at home on the water (Bethany even notes that the punting is way easier than surfing), the other flight has arrived and the Detour choices are the opposite for his group: Shelley & Nici are the lone team to select About Face. That means Michael & Scott, Keith & Whitney and Dennis & Isabelle head to pancake racing.
The mom and daughter explain that both of them are ex-military so this should be natural for them. Their instructor simply points out that the bar is much higher for them now, knowing this autobiographical tidbit. As they practice, Team Candy Crush's marching band résumé doesn't seem to be helping them.
But the most pathetic team remains the wrestlers. Our lovable Tag Team is struggling collectively but it's mainly Brooke who is more emotional about their shortcoming. For the boisterous meathead that he's usually assumed to be, Robbie is even-keeled here and quite rational in keeping his partner calm and focused. But with four teams still on the square, hope remains alive.
Oops, spoke to soon. Tim & Te Jay are now done. Three remain. Let's check in with the Pancake racers.
The one-time Survivors (or so they claim) get a passing grade on the frying and head to the course as the other two teams arrive. The dating reality show vets take a very leisurely/cautious pace and they run about five seconds too long on their attempt. Of course, Keith immediately blames Whitney for going too slow yet it was both of them that really failed. I bet she's glad they delayed their wedding to be yelled at in a foreign country for not running fast enough while flipping a pancake.
As they head back to make another batch, Dennis & Isabelle start their race, but they are even slower than the Nashvillains, which causes Keith to cackle with delight and proclaim "I don't have to be nice."
At the square, Shelley & Nici once again cite their super fandom as a reason for them to succeed. They have been watching the show together since the beginning and been trying to get on for years. Mom says she doubts anyone is as much of a Super Fanny as them. I think they have a nickname now, folks.
Speaking of which, Dennis & Isabelle are making a similar argument for the super fan status. Judging by their failed attempts on the Detour, fandom doesn't translate to success.
Back at the square, the Willy Wonka wannabes march themselves to the next clue and the Super Fannies finally get the steps down too. Both are heading to the train.
Meanwhile, a-punting Adam & Bethany go with no issues at all; they finish up the task as Misti & Jim arrive. The surfers are now heading to Christ Church College to pick up a bowler and an umbrella and a chance for an Express Pass. Just when we thought the Save replaced the Pass, they throw it back in the mix. Team Hang Ten is destined for the Express Pass at this rate.
The dentists load up the boat and strong man Jim punts away.
Keith & Whitney conquer the pancake run on their second attempt but not before witnessing the truly pathetic pancake making skills of firefighters Michael & Scott and a couple of dropped cakes on the course by Scott.
During a head-to-head race between the daters Dennis & Isabelle and Team Office Fire, the aforementioned Scott doesn't drop his pancake but fails to actually flip it, so they are denied their clue while the other team gets theirs.
This means there is still one team each left at the Detour tasks. Brooke & Robbie get direct/blunt advice from their drill sergeant that the only thing lacking is the "about face" in their About Face task. They try yet again and Brooke admits that she forgot the other parts while focusing on the about face. Denied again.
On the same train to the boathouse are Super Fannies Shelley & Nici, Keith & Whitney, Dennis & Isabelle and Team Candy Crush.
In the water now, Misti & Jim have a bit of the wind taken out of their confident sails thanks to them not being in the correct spot on their boat. They mixed up their Cambridges and their Oxfords. Man, I hate when that happens.
Also up a creek without a paddle - just a punting pole - are Tim & Te Jay, who can't quite get the navigation down.
As Misti & Jim regroup and return to the start, they encounter the cyclists, who question why they are starting over. They beauty of this exchange is that the dentists don't want to tell them because the girls have made the same mistake but at the same time, the girls don't blame them for not saying. Kym & Alli realize their mistake in their own and turn around.
I love when the teams recognize that this is a competition but that doesn't mean that have to be insufferable jerks to one another.
Speaking of jerks, Keith & Whitney are at the task and passing the dentists. But the boats have a little bump and into the drink goes Whitney. If only it had been Keith.
All the teams travel the stream except the leaders (the surfers) and the Detour losers (the firefighters and the wrestlers).
On their sixth attempt, it's unclear whether the drill sergeant gives them mercy or they actually did a good job but they have their clue. Similarly, Michael & Scott beat the Pancake Race, even ending up on the same train. This gives a tinge of hope to both teams.
Adam & Bethany hit the college scene and get their bowler and umbrella. They pop open the umbrella to see instructions to go to the Bear Inn to claim the Express Pass. They of course go for it because that is more valuable than a first place finish on the second leg.
Without any hiccup they find it and claim the Pass. The final clue is located in the bowler's lining, which is "Churchill's Birthplace." The kind folks of London point them to Blenheim Palace.
As they head to Phil, strength has paid off for the teams punting. Team DDS finishes next and heads to the college with the cyclists hot on their heels.
Adam & Bethany are greeted at the Pitshop by a guy relishing in his role at Winston Churchill and our lovely host Phil, who for the second leg was with the teams as the leaders arrived at a task. This week it was at the punting and last week at the treasure dig. The newlyweds are officially number one.
Stuck in the river is everyone else but Keith, who is making steady work of steering their boat, yet Whitney falls in the water a second time immediately after saying, "I've only fallen in once." I think the karmic universe is missing its mark by punishing her and not Keith. They finish up next regardless of how waterlogged Whitney is.
Tim & Te Jay are faring better than some of the less physical teams, scientists Amy & Maya, Super Fannies and Dennis & Isabelle. Tim is able to fight through the strong current at a fork to get them to the dock.
At the college, Dr. Jim assumes that the surfers claimed the Express Pass so they just tip their cap and go to the Pitstop destination. The cyclists, on the other hand, don't quite get the clue on how to get the clue. They repeatedly tip their hat to the gentleman standing their thinking he will tell them. He finally gestures to the hat subtlety and the light bulb turns on.
As Team DDS is checked in as number two, Kym & Alli stroll up with faux-Chaplin mustaches and waddling like the little tramp to get third. They are subsequently followed by Keith & Whitney in fourth and Tim & Te Jay in fifth.
I said it before, but it's worth repeating: strength is key to the boat task. We all just saw how badly the wrestlers and firefighters performed at the Detour. So badly that they should be scrapping it out for last place but nope. They are plowing through the river past the scientists, the mom and daughter and the dating couple.
This is quite a notable recovery. So with this progress, they don't face elimination but rather Michael & Scott take sixth place and the Tag Team takes seventh. I still say that I am the most pleasantly surprised at how much I like the wrestlers and the cyclists.
If the townsfolk were concerned about the river being low, those fears were put to rest thanks to the copious amounts of tears and...other fluids that Shelley & Nici and Dennis & Isabelle put there. While they cried about how badly they wanted this Race because, remember, both teams are superest super fans that ever super fanned a show, Team Candy Crush Amy & Maya finish up, head to the college and ultimately Phil for eighth place.
All the tears and stress must have gotten to Nici because she is now insistent that she has to go pee and there is no way to stop her. To the nervous, appalled laughter of another boat of non-racers, Nici hangs her Super Fanny over the side of the boat and pees. Yes, she just did that. Couldn't she have at least acted like she fell in and do that while in the water? That would've been a little more discreet. I will just apologize to all of London now on behalf of America.
Anyway, the currents of the river, presumably before Nici added to them, have been the bane of their existence and made navigating to the finish dock their undoing. Alas, there can be only one losing team eliminated and both shed more tears than a newly crowned Miss America. I hope their cabbies stocked up on tissues.
Who will it be? The edit makes it look close and in ninth place is...
Shelley & Nici. The Super Fannies live to fight or urinate another day on the Amazing Race.
Phil tells the sobbing daters Dennis & Isabelle they are indeed eliminated. Personally, I have no attachment, opinion or nickname for this team so I will just bid them farewell.
Until next week.