Questor
2018-02-15 19:38:13 UTC
Warning: contains spoilers
Another minimalist summary.
The penultimate episode was another two hours comprised of two more race legs.
I think the first leg was uniquely structured (although I may be corrected by
learned TARologists) -- there were no Detours or Roadblocks, only a series of
tasks required to get the next clue.
Teams leave Zimbabwe and fly to Manama, Bahrain, yet another international city
that seems more open to innovative architectural designs than most in the U.S.
Although it appears as if the Yalies are considering an alternative, everyone is
shown boarding the same bunching point -- er, uh, I mean flight.
But there's trouble in Dubai -- Lucas has lost his mittens. No wait, it was his
passport. The Lifeguards cannot continue. They must find a consulate office
and attempt to obtain an emergency temporary replacement.
The first of four Route Info tasks is to move three hundred pounds of timber in
a dhow shipyard.
Next they look for a particular sweet shop and ask for the King of Halwa. It's
a food that teams must sample, and they discover that it's a tasty desert treat
and comes in three colors.
It's on to a pottery shop, and racers must search hundreds of different clay
pots to find the ten different trinkets that match the ones in their sample
collection. The process is slowed by the provision that only one potential
match can be validated at a time by the judge.
In the final task, teams must milk a camel. Drinking it is apparently optional
unless you are a Marine. From here they head on foot to the pit stop at the
nearby Tree of Life.
In a commendable effort, the Lifeguards obtain a temporary passport for Lucas
and catch a flight to Manama, arriving the same evening. Although the other
teams have had slightly more trouble navigating roads signed in Arabic than they
had navigating the roads in France signed in French, it's not enough of an
impediment. Phil meets them at the shipyard to inform them they've been
eliminated.
finish order:
1. Indy Racers
2. Pro skiers
3. Yalies
4. Big Brother
5. Lifeguards -- eliminated
In this episode's second leg, teams head directly to Bunching Point, otherwise
known as the flights to Chiang Mai, Thailand. At the Royal Park Raja Pruek, a
garland found among a herd of elephant statues can be given to a lady strolling
near the Royal Pavillion in exchange for the next clue.
It's a Detour: Size It or Seize It. For the first, teams must make accurate
measurements and calculate the weight of an elephant on an elephant rescue farm.
They then get treated to a short elephant ride. For the second, teams must
catch twenty frogs in a muddy rice paddy. Frogs can be slippery little buggars.
Elephants are big and wonderful; riding one must be awesome. Sorry frog
wrangers, you lost out on this one, even if the elephant detour took longer.
On to a restaurant, and a Roadblock: Thai Something New. One racer must eat
three crispy scorpions and a frog. While waiting for their partner to finish
this snack, the other racer must stand while four live scorpions crawl on them.
The pit stop is at Wat Chedi Luang, a Buddhist temple.
finish order:
1. Indy Racers
2. Team Cody and maybe somebody else
3. Pro skiers
4. Yalies -- are spared; this is a non-elimination leg.
Next week: Ouch! Aah! Ow! Wah! The two-hour finale heads to Hong Kong and
finishes in San Francisco.
Another minimalist summary.
The penultimate episode was another two hours comprised of two more race legs.
I think the first leg was uniquely structured (although I may be corrected by
learned TARologists) -- there were no Detours or Roadblocks, only a series of
tasks required to get the next clue.
Teams leave Zimbabwe and fly to Manama, Bahrain, yet another international city
that seems more open to innovative architectural designs than most in the U.S.
Although it appears as if the Yalies are considering an alternative, everyone is
shown boarding the same bunching point -- er, uh, I mean flight.
But there's trouble in Dubai -- Lucas has lost his mittens. No wait, it was his
passport. The Lifeguards cannot continue. They must find a consulate office
and attempt to obtain an emergency temporary replacement.
The first of four Route Info tasks is to move three hundred pounds of timber in
a dhow shipyard.
Next they look for a particular sweet shop and ask for the King of Halwa. It's
a food that teams must sample, and they discover that it's a tasty desert treat
and comes in three colors.
It's on to a pottery shop, and racers must search hundreds of different clay
pots to find the ten different trinkets that match the ones in their sample
collection. The process is slowed by the provision that only one potential
match can be validated at a time by the judge.
In the final task, teams must milk a camel. Drinking it is apparently optional
unless you are a Marine. From here they head on foot to the pit stop at the
nearby Tree of Life.
In a commendable effort, the Lifeguards obtain a temporary passport for Lucas
and catch a flight to Manama, arriving the same evening. Although the other
teams have had slightly more trouble navigating roads signed in Arabic than they
had navigating the roads in France signed in French, it's not enough of an
impediment. Phil meets them at the shipyard to inform them they've been
eliminated.
finish order:
1. Indy Racers
2. Pro skiers
3. Yalies
4. Big Brother
5. Lifeguards -- eliminated
In this episode's second leg, teams head directly to Bunching Point, otherwise
known as the flights to Chiang Mai, Thailand. At the Royal Park Raja Pruek, a
garland found among a herd of elephant statues can be given to a lady strolling
near the Royal Pavillion in exchange for the next clue.
It's a Detour: Size It or Seize It. For the first, teams must make accurate
measurements and calculate the weight of an elephant on an elephant rescue farm.
They then get treated to a short elephant ride. For the second, teams must
catch twenty frogs in a muddy rice paddy. Frogs can be slippery little buggars.
Elephants are big and wonderful; riding one must be awesome. Sorry frog
wrangers, you lost out on this one, even if the elephant detour took longer.
On to a restaurant, and a Roadblock: Thai Something New. One racer must eat
three crispy scorpions and a frog. While waiting for their partner to finish
this snack, the other racer must stand while four live scorpions crawl on them.
The pit stop is at Wat Chedi Luang, a Buddhist temple.
finish order:
1. Indy Racers
2. Team Cody and maybe somebody else
3. Pro skiers
4. Yalies -- are spared; this is a non-elimination leg.
Next week: Ouch! Aah! Ow! Wah! The two-hour finale heads to Hong Kong and
finishes in San Francisco.