Neil & Kristin won the last leg of the race and are the first to depart at 8:41am and they're on their way to Halifax, Nova Scotia, the home of the Canadian naval fleet. This is also the last stop on a cross-Canada bicycle trip that my cousin is currently on. Gino & Jesse leave in second place with Nick & Matt once again in third. Since the teams are all flying Air Canada all teams will be on the same flight from Buenos Aires back to Santiago then on to a stopover in Toronto, and from there to Halifax. You didn't really think there was a direct flight from Buenos Aires to Halifax, did you?
Since Leilani is from Halifax this leg could easily move them up to the lead, but they'll have to keep an eye on Brent & Sean who are hoping to get that second Express Pass. While waiting for their next flight in Toronto, Gino & Jesse make their move to convince Hamilton & Michaelia to give them the second Express Pass. Not to be outdone, Brent & Sean make their play and Hamilton reveals to them that he's transgender. The designers seem genuinely shocked but honoured that Hamilton would trust them with such a big secret (not that it's much of a secret outside of the race now, but it was then). The kids had to give it to someone and the connection they feel with Brent & Sean closes the deal. Of course all the other teams think it's a waste of an Express Pass but they're just grumpy they didn't get it. From Toronto all teams are now on their way to Halifax.
As the teams arrive in Halifax they need to search the airport for the woman in the BMO kiosk who has their next clue. All teams are now off to the new, five-storey, Halifax Central Library where they'll need to count the correct number (134) of black & white images displayed on smart phone cards from a 5,000 piece art display designed by Cliff Eyland, right that number on an index card and race up to the fifth floor to present it to the librarian. If they get the wrong number they need to run back down to the first floor to get a new index card,count again and head back up to the fifth until they get it right.
Dujean & Leilani are first to the library with Brian & Cynthia right on their bumper. Both teams realize it's a little more difficult than they thought. Four more teams arrive and the pressure mounts. Dujean & Leilani think they have the right number and race up to the fifth floor but they're low, as are Brent & Sean right behind them. However, Hamilton & Michaelia and Nic & Sabrina get the right number and both teams are now off to find the Roadblock.
In this Roadblock; Who's Got An Eagle Eye, one team member needs to make their way to the top of the Angus L MacDonald Bridge, celebrating its 50th birthday. They need to climb over 340 feet up an internal ladder within one of the bridge's pillars and then they need to use binoculars to locate their next clue. Once found they can rejoin their partner at the bottom and head to that location.
Hamilton & Michaelia and Nic & Sabrina race out of the library to hail cabs as Brian & Cynthia and Dujean & Leilani get the right number and trail behind them. Brian & Cynthia were lucky enough that their cab driver actually waited for them, something none of the others requested. Once the first four teams have left the library Kristin decides the other teams need to work together so they all head down with different numbers on their cards.
Brian & Cynthia, thanks to their patient driver, are the first to the Roadblock and Brian gets into the gear and heads up. That pillar is pretty narrow, especially for a big guy like Brian, but he's the first to the top and quickly locates the marker and heads back down. Brian & Cynthia are now off to the Halifax Citadel, otherwise known as Citadel Hill, a former British naval fort which defended Halifax from invaders.
As Brian regains his breath in the cab, Michaelia and Nic are making their way up the pillar, and there goes Leilani. Once at the top all three have trouble spotting the marker, but Leilani beat the other two and back down she went. She already knew she was going to Citadel Hill so there was no miscommunication to the driver.
Meanwhile back at the library, Nick goes into teacher mode and assigns sections to each person. Hey, whatever works. I'm a detail person so this wouldn't be a big task for Wayne and I but apparently with 5,000 pieces it gets a little daunting for others.
While Michaelia is spotting the marker Hamilton realizes that he doesn't know where his passport is and without his passport they can't check in at the mat with Jon. Michaelia is less than impressed when she gets back down to Hamilton and he thinks he left his passport on the plane. There's a lot of understandable tears and Michaelia figures they should just go home because they're done without that passport. I'm sure Hamilton feels even worse when Michaelia points out that he may have cost them the race. More tears.
Hamilton decides to call back to the airport and hopes that someone finds it and they can pick it up before they check in but after they finish all the tasks. Personally I'd want to deal with it now rather than risk being too far from the airport, but then again I wouldn't lose my passport. On the other hand, Nic still can't find the marker and is all alone at the top of the bridge. Oh look, there it is, . . . maybe.
Back at the library the teams are still working together. Neil & Kristin try 124 while Gino & Jesse try 144, both of which are wrong. Then Brent & Sean try 134 and get the next clue. They also called the others back with the correct number. Everyone is finally off to the Roadblock.
Having arrived at Citadel Hill to receive their next clue, it's now tIme for Brian & Cynthia to head off to the Halifax Public Garden where they'll find an Orange Julius kiosk featuring a line of smoothies. Teams will then need to correctly identify five of the ten premium smoothie flavours in a Dairy Queen/Orange Julius challenge. Brian & Cynthia are up for the challenge, but they blow their first attempt.
Not as bad as Nic blew the Roadblock when Nic & Sabrina find a yellow and red boat floating in the harbour instead of the correct marker on Citadel Hill. Back to the bridge they go as Dujean & Leilani hit the hill. When Brian & Cynthia see the other team arrive they go into overdrive and get all five flavours correct and receive their next clue.
Brian & Cynthia are now off to the Detour: Bubbles or Suds. In Bubbles, teams must locate the Aquatron at the Ocean Sciences Building on the Dalhousie University Campus and dive to the bottom of the tank where they'll each need to grab two lobsters and bring them to the surface where they'll need to band their claws and connect a locator beacon before receiving their next clue. In Suds, teams need to locate the Garrison Brewery delivery truck and then must deliver full beer orders and retrieve two empty kegs from three different pubs. This sounds like a job for Gord & Wayne. Brian & Cynthia would rather tag lobsters.
Dujean & Leilani correctly identify the five flavours and choose Suds before heading off to catch up to Brian & Cynthia who are just about to hit the water. Brian had no problem getting his lobsters in record time but Cynthia doesn't dive well at all. As Nic & Sabrina head back into town Nic sees the marker as they cross a bridge and . . . Eureka, he's found it.
Meanwhile, the other teams are all finding the marker, except for Jesse until Kristin spotted it without the binoculars and pointed it out while he was still looking the other way. Problem solved. At least he was nice enough to thank her. Everyone heads back down, grabs a cab and heads off to Citadel Hill.
Meanwhile, Gino & Jesse gave the worst directions possible to their cabbie at the base of the bridge and are soon about to be wandering around in the middle of Point Pleasant Park. Nice place, but wrong. Seriously? Couldn't you just have pointed to where you wanted to go? What kind of directions are "that cross thing that has the flags on it surrounded by grass"?
Hamilton & Michaelia pass the Smoothie task and chose Bubbles, while Dujean & Leilani begin Suds. They make their first delivery and off they go to deliver number two. Uh oh.
As Hamilton & Michaelia arrive at the Aquatron and suit up, we find Cynthia still trying to get to the bottom. Come on, it's only 14 feet. Cynthia dives like a soccer ball, not so much, and they decide to switch tasks. Brian is not impressed.
One team out, another one in. Michaelia's a little concerned that the lobsters might bite, and they might, but there's no time to waste with a missing passport still to retrieve. However, Once at the tank, Hamilton can't handle the depth of the water and wants to switch. Are you kidding me? There's no time to switch, kid.
Gino & Jesse have finally arrived at the wrong location to find some crosses and flags, just not the right flag. Back to the Angus L MacDonald Bridge they go. Jesse feels he's let his brother down, and at this point he has as they've dropped into last place.
Hamilton really wants to switch so they switch, while Dujean tells Leilani to be quiet . . . setting off her temper just a little bit, but she gets over it. Delivery two done and still no empty kegs picked up.Brian & Cynthia have started on the kegs and managed to get help from a local couple. As Nick & Matt arrive at the public gardens for the Smoothie challenge they find that Nic & Sabrina are lousy at determining flavours and getting worse as other teams start arriving. At least most of the other teams also find it a challenge, except for Brent & Sean who get the flavours correct and choose to do Bubbles. Nick & Matt choose Suds.
As Gino & Jesse are riding back to the bridge to try again they notice the marker out of the corner of their eye and have the cabbie back up so they can point to it and thus save themselves some time. Couldn't they have just done that in the first place?
Brian is finding the Suds task torture for a beer drinker, . . . all that beer and not a glass to be found, . . . But at least they're grabbing the empty kegs. Hamilton & Michaelia get started but make the same mistake as Dujean & Leilani who have made all their deliveries but . . . they failed to read the clue! They didn't pick up any of the empty beer kegs. Leilani decides she can carry two kegs at a time with her bare hands but she soon realizes how heavy an empty keg still is.
Nick & Matt don't make the same mistake. They make a delivery, they pick up the empties. Well done boys, there's hope for you yet.
Back at the tank, Sean panics when he reaches for his first lobster and has to resurface for air. He eventually gets over his fear and he and Brent have their lobsters. They feel a connection to their lobster fishing ancestors now more than ever.
Gino & Jesse have arrived at the Smoothie task and realize they're still in it. Their arrival motivated Neil & Kristin to pass the Smoothie task and they're off to tag lobsters as Brent & Sean band their lobsters at the Detour. Easier said than done.
Gino & Jesse and Simi & Ope both solve the Smoothie task before Nic & Sabrina who are still struggling, and probably getting sick of smoothies. Out on the street Hamilton & Michaelia are making the same mistake as the dancers and not picking up the empty kegs. This is not helping them any as they continue to compound one mistake on top of another. They don't even notice Nick & Matt as they pass by them with a delivery.
Dujean & Leilani complete the Detour and are now off to the Pit Stop at the Halifax Seaport Farmers Market, the oldest market in North America, with Brian & Cynthia close behind. Hamilton & Michaelia finish their deliveries but are now informed that they haven't completed the task, which is when they finally Read The Clue. Rule Number One, dammit. Off they go in search of empty kegs as Nic & Sabrina finally figure out the flavours of all five premium smoothies.
Dujean & Leilani arrive at the Seaport Farmer's Market and are Team Number 1. They have also won a flight to any one of Air Canada's Caribbean locations and they each get 2.5 million PetroPoints to trade in for 6 months of free gas. Today was the anniversary of Leilani's mom's passing and she pushed through for mom. Nicely done, and in her home town to boot. Brian & Cynthia have come from the back of the pack and are Team Number 2.
Hamilton & Michaelia finished their deliveries and retrieved all the empties and are now heading to the airport in search of their missing passport as Neil & Kristin dive for lobsters. As they exit the tank with their lobsters they find Brent & Sean are just leaving in search of the Pit Stop. However, not before Nick & Matt, who are Team Number 3.
Hamilton & Michaelia arrive at the airport and the fact that the guy says "you must be Hamilton" is a pretty clear indicator that somebody found it. That, or he was the guy that Hamilton talked to earlier. Every second counts at this point and it's not looking good.
Gino & Jesse arrive at the Ocean Sciences Building, just ahead of Nic & Sabrina, but Nic is afraid of water. Nic thinks he can overcome his fear by diving into a tankful of lobsters. So much for that idea when he gets to the tank, but he still thinks he can do it. No fear of water from the brothers as Gino & Jesse make quick work of grabbing their lobsters and getting back outta that tank. They know they're in the back end and they need to start to focus.
Brent & Sean are Team Number 4, while Neil & Kristin have completed Bubbles and are moving on just as Nic & Sabrina finally decide to switch. More wasted time. Neil & Kristin are off and running, leaving Gino & Jesse behind.
Back at the airport Hamilton is still waiting for his passport and as it gets handed back he swears to never let it out of his sight again. It may be too late to worry about that. They head back out of the airport and hope they're not last.
Simi & Ope are Team Number 5 and right on their tail Neil & Kristin are team number 6, while Gino & Jesse are Team number 7. Bringing up the rear will be Hamilton & Michaelia returning from the airport and Nic & Sabrina who just finished deliveries and it's looking like it'll be a close race to the Pit Stop.
Nic & Sabrina wandered around the main floor before heading up to be Team Number 8 and that makes Hamilton & Michaelia the last team to arrive and they have been eliminated from the race. Jon congratulated Hamilton on behalf of all Canadians and himself for being brave enough to be himself. I didn't think they'd make it to the end but I had hoped this was a non-elimination leg. Alas, it was not. They had a good run but this was a terrible leg for them.
It was a really good episode this week. It just raced by with a lot of quick edits as the teams spread out more than usual. We appear to be seeing a lot of repetitive tasks this season that are the same as last season, or worse the flip side of this season's tasks but hopefully this will become less obvious. Granted it has to be difficult to come up with original tasks for every episode but it wouldn't hurt to try. Next week teams are off to Quebec and we're all looking forward to the first ever FaceOff and the dreaded Double U-Turn. Until that time.