The Amazing Race 25 - Episode 10
By Daron Aldridge
December 12, 2014
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Singapore will soon be in the rearview mirror for teams, as the Fast Forwarding professional surfers, who nailed a surfing challenge, rip into their clue with the next destination being Manila, Philippines.
(I promise that I really like Adam & Bethany but c'mon, a surfing challenge for a Fast Forward event...that was just wrong. So I assume tonight we will get either a teeth cleaning task for team DDS or a chance for the scientists to recite the periodic table of elements. Probably not, which just further shows who the producers want to win. You're better than that, Phil.)
Anyway, the teams will be heading to a market flower vendor stand when they get to Manila. Now to get there.
Adam & Bethany head to a nearby travel agent for tickets, which now can't be switched after being ticketed per a new rule. It's probably a cost cutting measure for the show since they must lose quite a bit of money each season with unused tickets, or it could just be a way to make the teams put more effort into exploring travel options. The agent finds them a flight that puts them in Manila at 11 p.m.
Brooke & Robbie leave next and head to an agency as well for ticket options. Tag Team lands with the same airfare plans, and it looks like there will be no advantage at the airport.
But wait, Misti & Jim are still smarting from the last leg's ticket snag that put them near the back of the teams, which you know is not where Jim thinks they deserve to be. So, they opt to go straight to the airport.
We are now about two and half hours after the surfers left in first, and Amy & Maya leave the Pitstop in last. They have the idea of using their cabbie's phone to call a travel agent en route to the airport. Brilliant. They also snag tickets on the flight arriving at 11 p.m.
As the dentists are working with the ticket agent in the airport, they spy the wrestlers and scientists heading to Singapore Air's counter. Lo and behold, Team DDS is left in the cold. All the seats are full on that earlier flight and they will now be arriving nearly an hour later.
The other teams aren't aware of this and are speculating that Chompers got a better flight.
It's also worth noting that in the airport conversations, the wrestlers "play" dumb about lying to the Candy Girls about finding the clue. The ladies seem to buy their storyline and of course, Brooke revels in being a villain. She once again reiterates that they won't be beat out by a pair of scientists. This just makes me want to root for Amy & Maya in this resurrected adolescent battle of jocks versus nerds.
The first plane touches down and the teams speed through the darkness to get to Baclaran Church and the flower vendor first. Alas, it doesn't matter. The vendor won't be there until 6:30 in the morning. Welcome back to the pack, Misti & Jim, who are expectedly relieved to get the news that they will all be together again.
At dawn, the teams rip into their clues, which instruct them to take a Jeep Me (or type of communal taxi) to Rosario Municipal Plaza and a place called Salinas Specials.
After 10 legs, you can predict what the reactions of the teams will be to the third world conditions they experience: Brooke retches and complains about the smell and horrible conditions the entire ride; Maya loves the cultural immersion; and Misti & Jim gain a deeper appreciation for what they have back home, especially when they see little kids living in this environment.
So basically, it's shallow, deep and introspective, respectively. The surfers were riding together with the wrestlers so they also noted the smell but with more tact and downplaying.
The next clue is Detour time: Catch or Coach. For Catch, they head to the water and help a local fish vendor. They must wade out into the ocean, following a rope to a boat, and load a tub of fish to return to the vendor. They have to fill three buckets on shore (approximately 300 pounds of fish). For Coach, they go to a mechanic and assemble a sidecar of a trike taxi to the specifications of the completed example. The clue also tells them to secure their own trike taxi transportation to their chosen Detour location. Only Tag Team opts for Catch. Brooke explains that their plan the entire Race has been to always go for the physical tasks over the mental ones if given the choice.
Team Candy Crush gets pointed in the direction of Coach by a local, and they decide to start walking. As the other teams zip past in their taxi, they begin to question whether they should be walking. And Robbie says that he thinks they will get a penalty. I doubt it because they don't get the editing room slo-mo and gong that usually accompanies penalty-worthy mistakes by teams.
Yup, the girls pull out their clue and see the taxi note and head to the original Detour clue spot to get a trike taxi.
Catch was clearly the closest of the two tasks, so Tag Team starts their Detour first. And Brooke is still endearing herself to the locals by making exaggerated gagging noises the entire time. They venture into the waters and not only is the water extremely choppy but there is quite a storm brewing.
The dentists get to Coach first and Jim regales us with tales of his assembly prowess thanks to his profession and the instruments they use and putting together toys for their kids. The surfers show up next and Adam, who also says he loves building stuff, takes the lead. Bethany explains that the choice between the two Detours was easy because she was leery of the Filipino waters.
Finally, bringing up the tail are Amy & Maya. Petite little Maya tells us that this NOT her cup of expertise as the only thing she is used to assembling is her outfit. She lets Amy lead this one, but both girls understand the importance of precision and detail on such a task.
Back at Catch, the wrestlers have their first bucket full in the water and head back to shore. Then they get the instruction that all those fish have to be transferred from one bucket to the next by hand. There will be no dumping of the contents from one to the other. Robbie turns into a little girly man with each time he puts in hand in the fist bucket and gingerly picks up only two or three at a time. Brooke is more aggressive (shocker) but is actually getting cuts on her hands from the bony fish.
While the others work diligently, Jim, of course, thinks he is absolutely perfect and will nail this task on the first shot. I smile has he gets shot down and denied a clue because he failed to attach the shocks properly. The judge just says no without further explanation. Because it's Jim, he just "knows" it's something minute, so they re-snap a part of the canopy. Nope. Sorry, Dr. Jimbo.
The storm has arrived and is pummeling all the teams. Fittingly, the wrestlers are getting beaten up by the weather the worst. After a few more trips than they expected and many more arguments and fits than they probably wanted, Brooke & Robbie have finished the Catch of the day. They are now heading to a rice field.
By now the dentists have been denied a third time but it may have also been because of his offensive quip of "these are tighter than a fat girls socks." He's a charmer, ladies.
Adam & Bethany think they are done, too, and get an inspection. They fail on the first try also but quickly tighten a few bolts, which is all they needed.
With fears of the Copenhagen parking lot task that tripped them up badly resurfacing, Jim decides to giving closer inspection to the example and to his shock (rimshot...pun intended) he sees that he missed something major. The almighty Jim is fallible. They are now heading to the rice field in third.
As the Team Wilma Wonka keeps on building, Maya points to the rosary hanging on their bike and says they are blessed and God is looking out for them. And then Amy chimes in with the kind of wisdom that is missing from most reality show contestants: "I don't think The Lord cares what tuk tuk we have." Exactly, Amy...exactly.
After they too are denied a clue upon first inspection, the girls tighten the seat and get their clue.
The wrestlers are stunned that they arrive first at the next clue. This one is not a Roadblock as expected but rather the occasional Switchback, which revisits a particularly notable task from seasons before.
Tag team gets clue and it's a throwback to water ox plowing task from Season 5 when volatile Colin melted down during the ox-drawn plow Detour. This time is the same: the teams have to choose one of four oxen and a field to plow to find their clue. Brooke explains that she grew up around animals so she going to lead the beast. Based upon his fish reactions, Robbie is only going to be useful sifting their the muddy muck that has been plowed for the clue. Foolishly, the wrestlers pick that largest of the four pools of mud, even though they got first selection. And there is no switching.
As they start plowing, it becomes clear that this ain't just mud as their ox makes a healthy deposit of other materials. Now THIS is a time when it is okay to retch and gag, Brooke.
Their unsuccessful plowing opens the door for the others to catch up, which they do. First the surfers arrive and dive on it with Adam manning the plow. The dentists arrive next with the scientists right on their heels and the frustration grows for Tag Team. Brooke exclaims, "Watch them find it immediately," and they do. Once again, Team DDS is set for first place as they read the clue to find Phil on foot. Or are they?
Amy & Maya uncover their clue next and make a break for Phil. It is truly a foot race but the dentists edge out the candy girls. I have to give credit to Amy. For someone that seemed to be near lame status with a bum leg a few episodes ago, she kept up with Maya and they almost took first.
Jim was happy to proclaim they "got the thumb," meaning they have five first place wins which is by no means enough for him to claim the title of "most dominant team in Race history."
In the fields, the surfers get their clue next with the wrestlers finally finding theirs. It's nearly a repeat of what we just saw as both teams sprint to the mat with the other two still on it.
In third we get the surfers, which means that Brooke & Robbie are last and eliminated.
Just kidding...this is another (and please be the last) non-elimination of the season.
Only two legs left for season 25 and at this point, I just don't want Brooke to win. Let's see if they are felled by next week's Speed Bump.