We open episode two with a quick recap of Gino & Jesse's first place finish and Max & Elias' unfortunate elimination before Jon recaps the prizes and then . . . We're back in the heart of Toronto where Gino & Jesse are the first to depart at 1:32pm. That's the way to start your race day, right after a leisurely breakfast and a cup of coffee, none of this up at five stuff.
Teams are now on their way to Santiago, Chile (over 8,600kms away) and Teams are also racing for a pair of Express Passes that will be awarded at the end of the leg. Gino & Jesse race off to find a cab and I'm beginning to wonder about these two when they question if Chile is a part of Europe. Seriously? Why are people so geographically challenged?
Nic & Sabrina are off at 2:51pm, over an hour behind the lead, but I have a sneaky suspicion they're all going to end up on the same flight to South America. I really like this team and with four languages under their belt (English, French, Italian and Spanish) they're going to have the upper hand in communications which should keep them at the front of the pack.
Brent & Sean are the third to depart at 3:34pm and are two hours behind the lead with Hamilton & Michalia close behind. When they meet Gino & Jesse at the airport, Brent & Sean congratulate them on their first place win and this is a great game move because it shows a good attitude while fully understanding who their competition is. So far there's no talk of any alliances but watch for it, it'll happen. All the other teams are heading out pretty closely packed and in last place are Susan & Sharnjit, leaving at 4:41pm, just over three hours behind.
As I predicted they're all on the same flight to Santiago and upon arrival need to grab a cab and make their way to the Geoventura Parque Outdoor on the outskirts of the city to find their next clue. There's the usual mad dash out of the airport and Nick & Matt are the first to grab a cab.
As the cabs all head out of town it becomes fairly apparent that cab drivers in Santiago are about as observant as anywhere else. If Nick hadn't seen the sign for the Geoventura park there cabbie would've overshot it and just kept going, . . . pretty much the same as Simi & Ope's cabbie did even after Simi pointed out the sign.
The Flatliners are first to the Roadblock, "Who Wants A Better View?" This Roadblock has one member of the team pair up with a professional paraglider and then Paraglide over Santiago before reuniting with their partner to receive their next clue. Nick & Matt rock, paper, scissors to decide who gets to glide and Matt wins as Dujean & Leilani arrive on the scene. What happened to Simi & Ope? Leilani chooses to get the view, but begins having second thoughts after reading the instructions.
Matt gets suited up first, runs down the hill and off he goes, leaving Leilani stressing about her decision. That's one heck of a view. Leilani is terrified of heights and probably deafened her guide when they launched but she calmed down quickly once she realized she was safely strapped in. If we were in this season, either Wayne or I could do this task but he'd probably prefer it as I already have a better view.
Most of the other teams eventually arrive and Nic is a lot quieter heading into the air, . . . as is Brian. Unfortunately Simi & Ope, Dana & Amanda, and Brent & Sean have all caught the wrong cabs and are currently lost on the outskirts of Santiago. Why Simi didn't demand her cab turn around is beyond me as she saw the sign when they drove past. They eventually convince their driver to head back the other way.
With their feet back on terra firma Matt & Nick (and all the others) receive their next clue. They need to make their way back into Santiago to the working class borough of San Miguel to find the mural "Sanación Equilibrio" (Healing Balance) at the Outdoor Museum to find their next clue. Everyone runs back to their cab and I really like Nick & Matt's cab driver's attitude "Número uno, let's keep it that way." This guys a keeper.
The last three teams finally make their way back to the park and hopefully they're not too far behind. In the meantime, Nick & Matt have located the next clue and now need to find five specific murals spread out over a ten block area in the borough in the first half of this challenge. Once they find the murals they need to take an old school "selfie" using the cameras provided (no smartphones here) in front of each of them before the museum curator will give them a wooden briefcase that will direct them to the second half of the challenge for their next clue.
Nick is 35 and has never "selfied" before. How is that possible as a professional wrestler? They both need to be in the picture and their first one was a little tight but it worked. Off they go in search of another mural as Dujean & Leilani arrive and with them, the drama. Brian & Cynthia arrive, followed closely by Nic & Sabrina and it's about to get crowded. Sabrina complains that she can't run because she's not fit and I'm sure Wayne's thinking, neither is Gord.
Back at the paragliding Sean wants reassurance that all he needs to do is live through the experience and not actually do anything. I'm pretty sure he'll live through it. Down the hill and into the air he goes, followed by Simi and Amanda. Out on the streets Hamilton & Michaelia start taking "selfies" while Brian & Cynthia struggle to get both of themselves in the frame. Apparently as police officers they're not trained to take selfies. They're kidding, right?
I wasn't a big fan of the selfie tasks in the U.S. Dating version and I'm still not keen on it. I think the teams should've had to redraw the five murals, but maybe it's just me. As Sabrina saunters along behind Nic when he asks if she can jog I realize why she said "no," her backpack is bigger than she is. When Dujean starts snapping at Leilani to run she decides to just walk to upset him and I wonder why these two would agree to be on the race together. We all know why they were cast but even the local dog wonders why they're together.
Everyone is now on the "selfie" task and somehow Susan & Sharnjit have fallen into the back of the pack again. Not a great place to be after their performance on the first leg. Brian & Cynthia and Hamilton & Michaelia are the first to complete the selfies and are now looking for the curator, who is found first by Hamilton & Michaelia just ahead of Brian & Cynthia. Must be those teenage legs. They're both given the wooden briefcase and are on their way to the next location, the Centro Cultural Angela Davis Recoleta, followed soon after by Nick & Matt who apparently had some issues finding the murals.
Nic & Sabrina decide to have their cab drive them up and down the streets to save time. Based on Sabrina's speed that's probably not a bad idea. The second half of this challenge has teams help local kids paint a new mural for their community centre. Seems like a really Canadian task as Jon points out how much Canadians like to help. They'll need to have the marked colours translated from Spanish with the help of some of the local kids and then paint their section to receive their next clue and this is definitely up my alley. The breifcases are filled with much needed art supplies and will be presented to the children at the end, and the completed mural will be hung in the Centro to inspire other children in the community.
Hamilton & Michaelia get a helping hand from Victor. Nick & Matt arrive and Nick, as an elementary art teacher, has trouble staying within the lines. Everyone else is finishing up their selfies as Hamilton & Michaelia finish up their mural section and present Victor with the case of supplies. When they open their next clue they find they have a choice . . . just do the Detour or choose the Express Pass to Patio Bellavista to find the couple performing a traditional Chilean dance who will hand them the pair of Express Passes, one for them and the second to give to another team before the end of the fourth leg. Hamilton & Michaelia decide to go for the Express Passes, which is exactly what Wayne and I would have done.
Brian & Cynthia and Nick & Matt also decide to try for the Express Pass as other teams arrive to paint, . . . with the exception of Susan & Sharnjit who are walking in circles in search of murals. The kids had no problem getting to the Express Passes first and are now on to the Detour; Motion, or Emotion. In Motion, teams must locate a statue, get into costume and then perform a dance with the Rapa Nui, natives of Easter Island off the coast of Chile, to receive their next clue. In Emotion, teams must locate the national historic library and each member will need to learn a verse in Spanish from the poem "Vallee de Chile" then head down to the courtyard to recite their verse and receive their next clue.
Hamilton & Michaelia choose Motion but when they find out how revealing it is Hamilton decides there is no way he's getting into that revealing a costume at this stage in his crossover so they decide to use their Express Pass. They are now on their way to the Pit Stop at Cerro San Cristobal the second highest and most visited peak in the city where they'll find Jon waiting for them.
Back in the borough, Susan & Sharnjit finish their "selfies" while Brian & Cynthia get into costume for the dance, as do Nick & Matt who feel this is a lot skimpier than their wrestling tights. Neither first attempt is good enough, but it's probably better than Gino & Jesse who have chosen Emotion.
Hamilton & Michaelia arrive at the Pit Stop and are Team Number 1, they also win a trip to Delhi, India and 6 months of free gas. When Jon asks if they feel using the Express Pass so soon will be a problem later on Michaelia believes it was the best time to use it. Nicely done.
Brian & Cynthia's fourth attempt got them their next clue, while Nick & Matt had to wait until their seventh. Way behind, Susan & Sharnjit have just started painting as other teams depart. They're still in it but it's looking pretty tight. Meanwhile Gino & Jesse have decided to switch Detours only to find that their cabbie didn't wait for them so they decide to run to the other task where Dana & Amanda were done on their second attempt and looked pretty good doing it.
Brian & Cynthia are Team Number 2, while Nick & Matt are Team Number 3. Watching Dujean race out in his costume while covering his crotch was kinda funny. As a dancer you'd think he'd be used to skimpy revealing costumes. Nic & Sabrina had no problem nailing their recital, unlike the subtitle guys who messed up on just four lines of text. Come on guys, you can do better than that.
Dana & Amanda had the misfortune of having their cab drop them at the bottom of the hill to the Pit Stop and with no other cabs in sight started hiking the 2.5 kms up the road. Meanwhile Neil & Kristin nailed the dance on their fourth attempt while Susan & Sharnjit finally finished their painting. As cabs start passing Dana & Amanda they start falling further and further behind. Damn. Maybe they'll grab one on the way back down.
Nic & Sabrina are Team Number 4, Dujean & Leilani are Team Number 5, Neil & Kristin are Team Number 6 and . . . Dana & Amanda are Team Number 7 and seriously out of breath. As it gets darker Brent & Sean are Team Number 8, while Simi & Ope are Team Number 9. Gino & Jesse are on their sixth dance attempt but they nailed it just as Susan & Sharnjit arrive.
After their last taxi experience Gino & Jesse decide they can run to the Pit Stop and that may be the only thing that will save Susan & Sharnjit who also completed the dance on their sixth attempt. It's a race to find a cab when the brothers realize their mistake and we all know how this is going to be edited regardless of how close they are.
In the end Gino & Jesse managed to catch a cab first and they are Team Number 10 and realize they had a lot of bad luck this leg. Just goes to show how easy it is to go front the top to the bottom. That leaves Susan & Sharnjit as the last Team to arrive and they have been eliminated from the race. Look forward to our exit interview coming up real soon.
Overall this was a really good episode with a lot more coverage of all the teams. There are still a few Teams that aren't quite making a connection on screen but it's still early and it has to be difficult to ensure every Team gets enough coverage without omitting any of the others. Obviously if you do something that stands out to production you'll get airtime, but if you continue to just plod along, not so much.
Next week the remaining ten Teams are off to Buenos Aries to find their passion and lose their balls. Sounds like it should be a fun episode. If you're looking for more from Gord & Wayne HQ be sure to check out our video review of this week's episode. Until that time.