After last weeks adrenalin packed and emotional episode maybe it's time to slow things down for the racers this week. Nah, let's not. Mark & Mallory are gone, the YouTubers are once again back in last place (I predict an early dismissal for these two), and BigBrother is bright eyed and bushy tailed as they get ready to leave the Shamian Island Pit Stop at 6:22pm, . . . followed immediately by just about everyone else about one minute behind each other.
Everyone rips open their clue to find they're all on their way to Sabah, Malysian Borneo but there's only room on the first flight for six teams which will leave the other three teams three hours behind. That's never good and it's crucial to be on that first flight. Once the teams arrive in Sabah they need to find the Kiansom Waterfall.
Thanks to all the traffic in Guangzhou (and a great choice of cabs) Dave & Connor arrive first, then Margie & Luke, then the Cowboys, the Globetrotters (who saw the Cowboy's hats and knew exactly where to go), the Country Singers and finally the Afghanimals. Bad news for BigBrother who came in right behind Leo & Jamal, but at least Rachel's not in tears over it . . . yet.
The second flight has BigBrother, the YouTubers and John & Jessica, who now have a few hours to bond. That's all fine and good but not where any of them want to be. As Wayne and I have said time and again, if you pick the wrong cab you could be done. Still think the YouTubers are gonna be bringing up the rear again but being three hours behind it could be any of these.
The first six teams are out of the airport in Sabah and off they go to find the waterfall. When they arrive at the waterfall they find the Roadblock. This leg's Roadblock has one member of the team grab the Travelocity Gnome and rappel down the Kiansom Waterfall to get their next clue. Dave goes down, followed closely by Jamal, and grabs the next clue . . . Make your way to the Kampong River to get the next clue.
Cord goes down but misses the clue, which is a mistake Luke doesn't make. Cord goes back to the top and has to wait to redo his descent until Jennifer goes down for the Country Singers, Back in China the second flight is just taking off with the last three teams while the first six teams finish up the Roadblock and everyone receives the next clue to make for the Detour.
This leg's Detour is River Delivery or Jungle Run, both of which require teams to build a raft and head down the river to complete a task and then continue to their next clue, . . . in River Delivery they need to load a crate with food, load the crate on their raft and deliver it downriver to the local chief waiting on the dock, . . . while in Jungle Run they need to make their way past the Delivery Task until they find the Marut hunters waiting for them on shore where they will get their blowgun and darts and then run into the jungle to hit two artificial bird targets.
Dave & Connor decide to do River Delivery, as do the Afghanimals and Margie & Luke. When Jet & Cord arrive they choose to do the same. Given the choice I'm pretty sure Wayne and I would have tried the Jungle Run as it eliminates having to balance an additional 50 pounds of food on the raft. Margie & Luke can't seem to tie a knot and that doesn't bode well for their upcoming raft trip.
Apparently while assembling their raft, the Country Singers want to be Huck Finn & Oliver Twist. Really? That would be an interesting mashup but I'm pretty sure Oliver Twist has never seen a raft. Maybe they should read a little more. I recommend The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. They choose to do Jungle Run.
The Afghanimals manage to take the lead when Dave & Connor mistake the first sign and float on past their delivery point. This goes back to the number one rule of Amazing Race, . . . Read The Clue. When the Cowboys see Leo & Jamal on the bank they ask the Afghanimals which Detour it is. Time to decide what kind of game they're going to play this season and it looks like they could go either way but in the end Jamal tells the truth. I guess they've decided not to be thought of as the lying team this season.
Dave & Connor eventually end up at the Jungle Run before they realize their mistake. Not sure if they had the option to just do the other side of the Detour or not, but they decide they need to take the food back by foot. That's gonna take some time but the other flight hasn't even arrived yet so this is the time to screw up.
Leo & Jamal are lazing down river when all of a sudden they get stuck in exactly the spot they're supposed to avoid. They end up in the water trying to keep together their collapsing raft and stop it from drifting away with the current while the Cowboys just float on by in the center of the river.
Margie & Luke had a few issues once they were on the water and it had nothing to do with their poorly tied raft. When you can't see your deaf teammate and they can't see you it's a little difficult to sign to them. When Luke tried turning around on the raft it caused the raft to start spinning on the water which was causing it to further collapse, but they eventually make their delivery,
The Country Singers get stuck on a rock when their raft runs too close to shore and Jennifer almost loses a finger when it gets stuck between the bamboo poles. It's not helping when Caroline keeps shifting the other end of the raft and squeezing the poles together.
Meanwhile the Afghanimals are still floating in the water like drowned water rats as the final three teams arrive at the airport. Lots of time boys, you might even be dry by the time the last teams get to the river.
Dave & Connor made it all the way back to the dock carrying the crate of food down the trails and roads and over the bridge and now they need to return to their raft to continue on to the next clue. That's a long walk but they probably had no choice. Not like they could paddle up the rapids.
When Caroline & Jennifer make it to the jungle these girls are ready to hunt, followed closely by the Globetrotters. First shot, first hit . . . just like her grandpa, John Wayne. He'd be so proud, although I'm not sure the Duke would approve of reality television. The Globetrotters also hit their first target and pass the girls as they search for the second.
Dave & Connor and Jet & Cord get the next clue and must now make their way to Tianjin Aru Water Village, which is the pit stop for this leg and the final team may be eliminated. I'm thinking it's a little early for a non-elimination leg so somebody's going home tonight. Feel free to place your bets now.
Having finally arrived at the Kiansom Waterfall Jessica, Rachel and Joey descend the falls, grab their clues and they're out of there. The YouTubers unfortunately failed to hold their taxi . . . Big mistake, because now they need to walk, . . . and walk, . . . and walk. At least it's drier than swimming as Margie and Luke finally end up in the water when their raft falls apart. Not really a big surprise, except maybe that it lasted as long as it did. At least now they can see each other.
It's a foot race through the water village but Dave & Connor are Team Number One and win a 5 night trip to Budapest, Hungary. Just a guess but I bet Connor gives his spot up to Mom. The Cowboys are Team Number Two and The Afghanimals are Team Number Three.
The YouTubers are still walking in search of a taxi but they finally find one. Too late? Probably but we've only had three teams to the Pit Stop so they could still be in it. I doubt it, but stranger things have happened.
Margie and Luke finally make it to shore as the Country Singers And Globetrotters continue hunting. Globetrotters move into fifth place when they hit their second target and then have a little party with the locals before getting their clue. Just after they leave the girls get their second bird and are close on their tails.
John & Jessica and BigBrother arrive at the Detour, but John & Jessica have their raft falling apart before it even hits the water. Rachel's making fun of the other raft but I'm thinking she might want to focus on her own.
Margie & Luke arrive at the village and they are Team Number Four.
Despite having a better raft when they left shore, BigBrother's raft falls apart once it hits the rapids. Meanwhile, the Globetrotters are Team Number Five and Caroline & Jennifer (the Country Singers) are Team Number Six and still have all their fingers.
John & Jessica have made it to the jungle and Jessica has no problem hitting her target, but John's not as good with a blow dart. Despite his claim that he's better with a gun, I kinda doubt it. He always comes across a little cocky and that always backfires on him.
When BigBrother hits the rapids, Brendon ends up downstream, which of course causes Rachel to panic and fall off the raft and . . . there goes the raft. Cue the tears. Brendon grabs Rachel before she floats by and then they try to salvage their raft but part of it has already floated away. They manage to rebuild their raft and they're back in the race.
John finally hits his bird but as they race off it's decided that, if they're ever stuck on a deserted island, John will collect berries and Jessica will hunt. That's probably a good call John. They head out of the jungle as BigBrother heads in and Brendon gets his bird. Now it's all up to Rachel.
Jessica & John are Team Number Seven, while the YouTubers have finally hit the river on another faulty raft just as Rachel gets her bird. Rachel figures that they're in last place after all the problems they had on the river but Brendon & Rachel are Team Number Eight. It never ceases to amaze me how a team can go from first to worst in the course of a leg and we saw it once again when Brendon & Rachel picked the wrong cab in Guangzhou.
Cue sad music for the YouTubers as they enter the jungle for their hunt, they are the last team to arrive and they have been eliminated. Meghan & Joey leave with a smile on their face and a song in their hearts (unfortunately it's not "We Are The Champions"). They're sad to be out but they said they had a fun time. It's too bad, I was just starting to like them too.
Next week Jessica suffers damage to her foot during a task while Luke has one of his usual tantrums when he can't complete one. I wondered how long that would take. See you next week . . . Unless, of course, you follow my Survivor review . . . In which case I'll see you soon.