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Next at the Roadblock are Rob & Kelley, who are equally uninterested in doing the Fast Forward. What is wrong with these people? Do they not get the point of the game? Anyway, Rob steps up and I have to agree with Kelley that since they do their one body repairs on their monster trucks, Rob may have an advantage.

So, three of the four teams are making progress. The lone struggler is Beefcake James, who can’t even get the can of putty open. That is not the demonstration of your abilities that you want plastered all over national television.

Heavy metal James & Abba are next on the scene and are the first ones to even crack open the Fast Forward. This Fast Forward also serves as a one-way ticket to PETA complaint-ville. Phil explains that in Bangladesh, rats destroy 1.5 to 2 million tons of food a year. As such locals are often killing the offending rodents. The team has to go along and collect dead rats from three different locations before they can get the clue, which will point them directly to the leg’s Pitstop. James & Abba keep their loner cred alive by being the only team to attempt the Fast Forward so far.

Boom…boom…boom. The remaining three teams all hit the Roadblock one right after the other. Assuming the duties of the Roadblock are Josh for Team Beekman, Trey for the Longhorns and substitute Gary. More importantly, I am apparently not the only one annoyed by the twins, as Abbie & Ryan are getting increasingly annoyed at Nadiaya’s “cheering” of her “twinsie.” Another reason for me to root for the divorcees: we have a common enemy.

Ryan is the first one done with the putty application portion of the Roadblock, but he hits a snag. Since he was using his hand to smooth out parts of the putty, his clue instructions are now mangled and illegible. Thinking quickly, he approaches Beefcake James about letting him see their instructions and he will explain how to apply the putty. Both live up to their agreement and Abbie points out that this is why alliances can be a good thing.

As for people who are opposed to alliances, Headbangers Ball is having a difficult time finding the first location – a restaurant – to claim dead rats. This Fast Forward is making my skin crawl and kinda makes me nauseous.

Back at the Roadblock, the judge gives Natalie a preliminary thumbs down but a thumbs up for Rob, whose handiwork Trey has been enviously watching. James recognizes the poor quality of his work and starts over. Now Natalie has completed the first portion of the putty part and is off to sanding.

To help squelch his frustration, Abbie talks James off the ledge and the Chippendales dancer credits her with getting him back on track. This is a new aspect to an Amazing Race alliance that we haven’t seen before. Usually, it’s the sharing of information or cab-following. I don’t recall someone from another team actually helping the allied team refocus mentally in the middle of a challenge.

James needn’t worry because Josh, Gary and Trey are all also having to scrap off their putty and start over.

“Long, strong and hard. Long, strong and hard. Long, strong and hard.” That’s the chant that Nadiaya has decided is the best motivator for her sister and the one that initially draws snickers from the other teams. Those giggles quickly devolve into irritation. Ryan is the first one to completely finish the putty portion and starts grabbing the bus seats.

Despite Nadiaya’s claim that everyone else is struggling, Rob is the next one done sanding and he grabs two sections of seats. The next clue, which Ryan gets first, points them to a market, where they must search through thousands of small, dead fish to find one painted with red and yellow Race colors. Even though Rob is second, Natalie isn’t too far behind him.

Back at the Fast Forward, James & Abba have collected the rats from their first location and are off to the second one. I have to give credit to the producers because this is a Fast Forward that actually makes the teams work for it. They must’ve learned from recent Fast Forward failures like the lame remote control helicopter one from last season.

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