But I get docked points from Logan (like I worry about that) for talking about non-episode stuff, so onto the race itself. (Hey man, the point of these recaps aren't always about recapping anyway, am I right Season 4?). As the episode starts, we go back in time from the ending of the last one and see Gino and Jesse, and then the rest of the teams land on the mat as Jon tells them it's an extended leg. Go grab a ferry to PEI and then fly to Sudbury. And boohoo, the ferry doesn't leave till 8 the next morning so everyone catches up. This would be great spot for some interteam drama, especially for those who were U-Turned. But there's nothing. Too bad, I like it when that happens. All we get is Brian telling Cynthia once again to "Punch it Chewie." Not sure if you noticed, there's been a few movie quotes this season, two "Punch it Chewies" and two Forrest Gump references. Does CTV or Insight have to pay for that? You probably don't care but it's stuff I think about it.
In Sudbury, teams must find the Vale Mining Company and wait for the miner. He won't get there till 10 so the teams are all waiting. And again, no interteam drama. Maybe they all worked it out in secret on the ferry. But the Italian Boys and Neil and Kristen are first in line. They have to head down 1.3 kilometres into the mine (cool), find a pile a ore, grab a rock and break it open to find a nickel pellet. The boys start bashing as does Kristen, who recalls an ex-boyfriend. And yikes, there's some kind of story in that relationship cause she hits the rock so hard she breaks the sledge hammer. But it's not enough. Gino and Jesse are off.
Their next clue is just a nickel. Of course it's Sudbury so everyone knows the giant nickel and off they go. More teams smash rocks and also chase the nickel. Once they get there, it's a Detour and a Fast Forward. Feed the Turtle says the Fast Forward. Seems relatively simple, go to the Science Centre, feed a turtle a bunch worms and bugs and move on. Not so fast; the turtle ain't dining alone. Both teammates have to eat a bunch of bugs, too. Yuck. Hate these kinds of tasks. Don't mind watching them but would hate to do them. Bon appetit boys.
No one else takes on the Fast Forward because they believe the Italian Boys are too far ahead. So it's Detour Time: Synchronize Or Analyze. In Synchronize, teams have join a synchronize swimming team and do a routine. Just like in Season 21 of TAR US. Not doing that. Analyze is check 10 bits of evidence in a crime scene, measure them and mark them accurately on a graph. As a crime writer, this is my kind of task. I've taken a couple of forensic courses. Although the Dr. Brett rule of tasks relating to your profession will always fuck you up may come into play. Especially since we have a couple of cops, Brian and Cynthia, in the race. They are keen to do this. And haven't told anyone their professions. Hate to ruin the story so early but their work on the crime scene won't convince anyone they are cops. The Wrestlers get done way before the actual cops do. Dr. Brett Rule Rules again.
Another great part of these Detours and another reason why TAR Canada is pushing past the US show in terms of quality is the limits on the number of teams (four each side) that can do the task. I like this a lot. Forces teams to second guess themselves. Makes them consider doing a task they might not like to do in order to get ahead. Or not fall behind. But in the end, all teams, save for Brent and Sean, do the Analyze task. And with varying degrees of success. (To be sure, Simi and Ope did consider the swimming task but the look of terror on Ope's face as he saw the water told you exactly what they were going to do. Those were classic sweat beads of fear. ) And while their indecision allowed the Dancers to pass them, they finished the task really quick and are off to the next clue.
Yep, I'm dancing around, jumping from place to place, from time to time in this recap. But if the race can jump in time, what's stopping me? Where the heck are we? Oh yeah, the boys are feeding the turtle and are given their meal? Surprise. Gino decides to keep feeding the turtle while telling his brother to eat the rooms. Nice move to get the kid to try first. If he pukes, it's not going to be good. But after some trepidation and some delicate eating from Jesse, Gino just downs the pile of bugs and they get the Fast Forward. Off to the pitstop, where they are greeted by Alex Trebek, a Sudbury native. Nice work. This is the best mat greeter ever. Only Phil's dad from Season 13 comes slightly close. The boys win a trip to California and free gas.
Back to the rest of the pack. After the Detour, teams must head to some health centre for a Roadblock: Who's Got Heart. They gotta properly do CPR for 2 minutes and save the patient. If not, they have to wait and try again. The Wrestlers are the first to arrive and while Nick is a certified CPR instructor, Matt has taken up the challenge. You know they don't know the task before they decide right? Okay, good. But nice miss of the Dr. Brett Rule. No wait. The Cops have arrived and Cynthia jumps in. She's excited because before she was a cop, she was a paramedic for 12 years so she's got this down pat. She's looks great, even plays the part, reassuring the patient's family that it will be all good, he's gonna be fine. And then he dies. So sad. Double Dr. Brett Rule for these guys. That's gotta hurt. She takes three or four tries to get it done right.
By then, Matt is done and the racers have to canoe across a lake to Alex, Jon and the pitstop. And the only folks who seem to know how to really canoe are the Cops. There is no need to switch sides to keep a canoe on a straight path! Man, I'm disappointed in these Canadians in this one of the most Canadian of tasks. Oh well, the Wrestlers finally get out of third and move into second. Cops in third. And though they didn't do as well on their professional task, they are a tough team.
Back at the pool, Brent and Sean are sputtering but working through the routine. They did that a lot better than the Beekman Boys did on Season 21. They move on. Final team at the crime scene is Nic and Sabrina. But the Dancers are lost so the Cute Couple make it to the Roadblock first. And what happens is one of the best bits of dialogue in Amazing Race history. "You do this, you're better than me," says Sabrina. "Why?" replies Nic. "Cause you know stuff," says Sabrina. That's just priceless. The Jeopardy line by the Designer Bros at the mat was good but it was so obvious, just sitting all day, waiting for someone to hit it. The moment at the mat with Simi and Ope, and Alex was also very nice. Alex is always so solid and stoic on Jeopardy so some great TV there. Although it seems Alex had to leave at a certain time because the last bunch of teams didn't see them.
In the end, it's between the Dancers and the Cute Couple. But Nic freaks out and Leilani saves the patient. Nic and Sabrina are gone. The luck finally ran out. Sorry to see them go, I enjoyed watching them. They were silly and cute but at the same time, made some smart moves, moves that a long time race fan like me never figured out. They will be missed.
Next week, Saskatoon. Some arguing, but make a teepee and hoop dancing. Great Plains Cree stuff. Tanisi.