The Amazing Race 2020 Recap

Episode 10: Getting Down to the Nitty Gritty

By Kim Hollis & David Mumpower

December 9, 2020

The Amazing Race

New at BOP:
Share & Save
Digg Button  
Print this column
Previously on The Amazing Race, we said farewell to sisters Kaylynn and Haley, leaving us with only the teams known as the “Mine Five.” These five duos agreed to an alliance during the second leg, and it has shockingly held to the end. Now it’s all five teams for themselves - or more likely, James & Will, Hung & Chee and Maddison & Riley still together against Eswar & Aparna and DeAngelo & Gary.

We assume the football players are the prime target here, as Eswar & Aparna frankly aren’t very good at the Race, particularly when it comes to any task involving detail.

After winning the last leg (again), Riley & Maddison will fly to Siem Reap, Cambodia. It’s time for that portion of the race where the Roaming Gnome joins the teams for a leg, which means we get a lot of shameless promotion from a certain travel company who admittedly does match up nicely as a sponsor.

In this case, once they find their gnome, they’ll also find everything they need for their next clue.

As mentioned the “Mine Three” have DeAngelo & Gary in their sights. If any of the three allied teams get to a U-Turn first, they will use it on the football players. If the Mine Three were smart, they’d be trying to use it on each other, instead. All of them have dominated at various points in the race, while DeAngelo & Gary and Eswar & Aparna have struggled at times.

Then again, they may just not want the football players, who presumably made a hefty sum during their careers, to get the cash.

James confirms that DeAngelo & Gary are at the top of their “hit list,” which makes Will say, “Oh, God.” That’s even too evil for him.

Needless to say, all five teams are on the same flight to Cambodia. The boyfriends and the brothers find the tuk-tuk with their gnome first, followed by Hung & Chee. Eswar & Aparna are headed the wrong way, which means that DeAngelo & Gary are as well, because they follow the brother/sister duo for some reason.

Along with the gnome, the teams find a basket of donations that they are instructed to “keep with them until further notice.”

Eventually, DeAngelo & Gary break off on their own, which means they get ahead of Eswar & Aparna.

At the next clue box, teams are instructed to go to Chong Kneas Village, a fully functioning community on water. Once there, they will visit a floating Buddhist temple. (In all seriousness, this leg is AMAZING with regard to the culture and scenery thus far.)

Once the duos arrive at the temple, they’ll give their basket of donations to a monk, who will reward them with yet another clue.

Riley & Maddison point out that there are important instructions to follow upon entering the temple, ones that will indicate respect. They practice their actions on the boat ride over, wanting to be deferential here and not insult their host. The brothers have the perfect attitude for the Race.

BUT… their boat suddenly breaks down, causing Chee to say, “Oh that’s such bad luck.” We’re not 100 percent certain of his sincerity here, even though they’re in an alliance with the volleyballers to the final three.

After some tinkering, their driver gets the boat going, though. At the temple, teams may only enter one at a time. Hung & Chee complete their donation process first, and receive their next clue, which indicates it’s time for a Detour.

Since fishing is a primary form of industry in Cambodia, some of the workers have devised an ingenious spinning centrifuge of sorts to separate the fish they catch from their nets. Teams must haul in a net that is more than half a mile long and then gather about 30 kilograms of fish. Apparently, their gnome will help them in some way. Magic, presumably.

The other option involves a floating garden. Teams will have to mix soil and plant some local produce to obtain their next clue.




Advertisement



Hung & Chee choose to do the fishing task, while Will & James select farming. BUT the married couple’s driver takes them to the wrong task, so they adapt quickly. The other three teams head off to haul in some nets with fish.

The volleyballers note that the net task involves some strength, particularly in the triceps area. Gary & DeAngelo seem to find it easy, while the other two struggle. The football players are impressed that the workers have to do this EVERY day. The brothers finish *just* ahead of them, and both are weighing their fish at almost exactly the same time.

As expected, a Double U-Turn lies ahead. With Riley & Maddison finishing first, they have quite the quandary. They *can* go ahead and U-Turn the football players, but they will likely just follow up by doing the same to another team.

To their credit, Riley & Maddison recognize the problem right away, understanding that they have to go with Plan B. They will U-Turn Eswar & Aparna instead.

BUT…

DeAngelo & Gary arrive at the U-Turn first! Fortunately for the “Mine Three,” they choose to go with Eswar & Aparna. It really could have gone another way, but the football players have the goal of keeping one team well in the back of the pack to ensure moving to the next leg.

In order to preserve their alliance, Riley & Maddison burn a U-Turn on DeAngelo & Gary. The brother/sister team will not be able to use the U-Turn on the “Mine Three.”

It’s a huge bummer for Eswar & Aparna to realize they will be the only team U-Turned today. They’ll need a miracle from their gnome friend to get to the Pit Stop ahead of last place.

The brother/sister team are angry, but the strategy from DeAngelo & Gary makes some sense. They’re trying to pad their lead in case they get into trouble, which has certainly been known to happen.

Hung & Chee get the thumbs up on their garden on their first try, and the kindly gardener gentleman tells them to plant the seeds from their gnome’s satchel. Will & James follow right behind them, and both teams leave before Eswar & Aparna can arrive.

Next task is a Roadblock, which involves making an ornate tile that is used on some of the beautiful buildings in the country. Once they finish their mold/tile, their gnome will give them a key that allows them to unlock some puzzle pieces. Once they solve the slide puzzle, they get their next clue.

There are no instructions here; instead, players must watch the artisan to see how the process unfolds. Gary is frustrated with DeAngelo for not paying attention, though Riley doesn’t seem to be doing that much better.

Along with Riley and DeAngelo, Chee and Will will handle the Roadblock for their teams. The good news for all of them is that this task requires a lot of attention to detail, which neither Eswar or Aparna are good at. So, even if they get to the task, they will likely struggle.

After several failed attempts, Riley finally decides to watch the artisan carefully. This leads to success. DeAngelo watches for a second, but should have stayed for the whole show, because Will also moves ahead.

Riley quickly finishes the puzzle, and receives a clue that sends them to the Pit Stop at Anghor Thom. He and Maddison win the leg, and receive a trip to Norway. Will & James finish second.

While DeAngelo and Chee struggle with the task, Gary decides to take a little power nap. Aparna trash talks DeAngelo throughout the attempted making of the tile. Chee finishes first, proving that DeAngelo & Gary had the right strategy in U-Turning Eswar & Aparna. DeAngelo finishes his puzzle before Eswar can complete his tile.

DeAngelo & Gary struggle to find their Tuk-Tuk driver, and there’s some forced editing drama where we wonder whether the football players might lose. A tree has to be knocked down on the way, which makes it look like Gary & DeAngelo might be behind, but obviously they are not.

This theory is proven by the fact that the guys are gone by the time Eswar & Aparna arrive in last place. It’s down to the three-team alliance and everyone’s enemies, DeAngelo & Gary. Two legs remain!


     


 
 

Need to contact us? E-mail a Box Office Prophet.
Thursday, March 28, 2024
© 2024 Box Office Prophets, a division of One Of Us, Inc.