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The firefighters are still lamenting the underhanded play of the sisters as they wait on the dock for their plane - the last plane.

But it doesn't really matter because no one really has an issue with the rock climbing and no one is gobbled up in the sea from the cliff dive. It's the Roadblock beach that will be the equalizer this leg as one by one the teams arrive and start digging: mom Shelley, candy scientist Amy, Keith, and blond Lisa (I think). With the arrival of Michael & Scott and the wrestlers, who somehow managed to sink their dingy, all the teams are together at a task, save for one.

And I do mean "save" because Misti & Jim hit the mat in first and Phil gives them a golden ticket to make any leg a non-elimination leg for themselves. I am pleasantly surprised that I don't hate them yet and they actually seem like a solid team, with Jim being very deliberate in reading every clue and aspect of a task. (My liking of them is subject to change at any moment.)

As each person digs haphazardly and with little luck, Robbie gets some help from Shelley on compass use and Lisa is schooled in the grade school mantra of "the sun rises in the east and sets in the west" to help her get her bearings. Even this tidbit doesn't really help the sister, who is also not helping dispel stereotypes about blonds.

Shockingly, the next person to find the clue is Tim, who started so horribly and was getting more and more frazzled as the other teams arrived. He is followed by the wrestlers?!? Yup, the team that was in last place has jumped up to third out of the Roadblock. That’s quite an impressive recovery, and they are another team that has been more entertaining to watch than I expected. With these two on their way to the Pitstop, cyclist Alli switches gears and finds her clue next.

While the others dig, we cut to Phil and see Tim & Te Jay claim second, with Kym & Alli sneaking past Brooke & Robbie for third, giving the pile drivers fourth.

Brawny Adam has his treasure chest in hand and he and Bethany run off to Phil. For some reason, they bring the entire chest and shovel with them to get crowned as team number five. I expected a bit more from them but a couple of minor mental slipups cost them higher placement twice this leg. They need to be more cautious.

We haven't seen or heard much from Team Candy Crush Amy & Maya but they are claiming a middle-of-the-pack spot as Amy finds her treasure and they get to Phil in sixth.

With a handful of blisters, Dennis and Shelley both get their clues next and race off to the Pitstop. Seventh place goes to dating Dennis & Isabelle and Shelley & Nici are happy to be in eighth and no longer on the beach.

That leaves three floundering teams on the beach: the firefighters, their pen-swiping nemeses, and Survivor's Keith & Whitney. The Nashville native Keith is completely exhausted and is going as fast as he can, which isn't very fast at this point. Meanwhile, blondie Lisa has virtually given up and openly debating taking the penalty and convincing the others to do the same.

As night falls and the limited amount of light in the beach becomes a factor, the penalty risk seems like a worthwhile gamble. The sisters are convinced that they can outrun the firefighters, so they begin selling the others on the plan.

As they discuss the fact that they have been out there for nearly four hours and they are now in the dark, the editors decide to show how close each team is to their treasure. I’m not exaggerating this at all when I say that all three of them were within 10 feet of their clue.

They collectively decide to take the four-hour penalty and all rush off to hail a cab. I guess I was wrong about delaying karmic satisfaction, as Michael is able to successful post up the entrance to a cab and prevent the sisters from stealing it. Of course, Lisa plays up the move and is claiming he caused her to get scratched up. I have to think that the producers or camera people would step in if there was a concern for a team's safety.

Regardless, all three are heading to Phil and...

...Keith & Whitney get number nine and Michael & Scott claim number 10. The first team eliminated is Lisa & Michelle. I have nothing really profound to say about them because I have no opinion of them beyond this 43 minutes. But since they probably would've continued racing that way, I’m glad they are gone.

This was a good start to a new season, but we didn’t really have any teams standing out on the great or horrible side just yet. Until next week, have a great one.

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