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The first team to arrive in at the pre-flight shuttle are friends Ron & Tony, followed shortly behind by dating couples Chad & Stephanie and Jill & Thomas. Ron & Tony are officially the first team on the first flight. We then cut to an ear-piercing sessions yammering for the shuttle to leave from Mallory (with dad Gary sitting quietly by) and Team HSN’s Claire. Grating is the best word to describe this instance.

Thanks to Stephanie’s near catastrophic decision to wait in the big long line of passengers as opposed to Chad’s insistence to look for the flags, Jill & Thomas claim the second set of seats on flight one and Chad & Stephanie narrowly beat volleyballers Katie & Rachel for the last seats. The girls head to their flight, where all the other teams have arrived except Connor & Jonathan. Whether I get anything else right on this season, I accurately named these guys Team Glee, which the other teams also labeled them. I will wear that as a badge of honor.

Everybody is in the air and we make the first airport departure without either flight being delayed. After flight one touches down, Jill & Thomas are in the car and out the garage first. Ron & Tony wisely stop to get a map and their bearings before heading out and Chad & Stephanie are living up to my snap judgment that his hotheadedness will be their downfall. They are still circling the airport aimlessly, which appears to nullify their 30-minute lead, as we see the next plane full of teams land.

It’s time for a little more team insight: Team HSN’s Brook praises Claire for her ability to just adapt quickly to new situations. Meanwhile, we learn that doctors Nat & Kat must accommodate the complication that Nat is a Type 1 Diabetic on an insulin pump and its irregular schedule will be a huge obstacle for them.

I think I may have used the word “scramble” inaccurately to describe the teams in Massachusetts but scrambling is exactly what they are doing in London. Body art enthusiasts Nick & Vicki are lost, friends Ron & Tony are going in the completely wrong direction, and Chad & Stephanie are stopping by McDonald’s for directions.

And then we have Perfect Strangers Andie & Jenna, who are hoping that the ability to drive a manual transmission isn’t a hereditary trait. Bio-mom Andie’s skill at destroying a clutch on a new car leaves their team stranded in the middle of a London street. Refreshingly, Team Glee stops to see if they can get the car started again but unsuccessfully, so they head out. After a dramatic commercial break, Andie finally figures out to let out the clutch, which I believe is about the only extra step involved with driving a stick.

First flight team and dating couple Jill & Thomas overshoot Stonehenge by about ten miles (by the way, I love how the Englishman who helps them doesn’t bother giving them the distance in kilometers), which allows doctors Nat & Kat to arrive first at the cluebox. So, folks, that first flight advantage doesn’t mean squat if you can’t navigate your way to the destination.

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