Enough complaining old man, off to the race. Doc and Nurse leave first out of the pitstop and never lose the lead. They push through every task, working well together, getting things done without any hitches. Well, mostly. I really like the way Blair jokes with Hayley about the loudness of her voice and she goes along with the joke in a very self-deprecating way. That tells me she's not as bad as some people say she is, and that actually do get along most of the time and those bits have probably been edited out.
Their first task is to head down to the coast, find a clown and then search a fantastic tile mosaic over two miles long for a tiny Amazing Race themed tile. At first I thought this was going to be an insane search but all teams are provided with a photo of the section where the mosaic is. In the early seasons of TAR, there would be no photo offered; they would have to search the whole thing! Hayley and Blair find it quickly and it's a Detour. They either have to make some bricks at an archeological dig or learn a dance routine. This brings up another one of Gord and Wayne's rules: if you have a choice, never take a dancing task. Not that I hate dancing, it's just that learning choreography would take so much time. I could do it but time would waste away.
Doc and Nurse take bricks. Team JJ are not far behind, find the mosiac tile and take dance. Meanwhile Mike and Rochelle are in the cabbie from hell, amazing that the guy is using his emergency brake to slow down as they fly down the mountain roads. Loads a fun. Breakdown allowing Laura and Tyler to pass. It's very telling what kind of season this is when I still have to look up Laura and Tyler's name. This positioning of the teams never changes through the rest of the leg, and we can all sense that, which takes away a lot of the drama. I admit to fast-forwarding through parts of this episode, especially as the teams screw up dancing. Too many dance tasks this season. One is enough.
At Bricks, Doc and Nurse work hard, struggle a bit but get done. Off to town to find some art piece (wow some great pieces of public art in this town!). And it's a Roadblock: Don't Rock the Boat. One team member must paddle a traditional one man fishing boat out to a marker, grab the clue and come back in. Blair jumps at this cause he likes the water and can paddle board. Meanwhile, J and J struggle with their dance not with the dance steps but with their presentation. It's obvious that there is no spark in their relationship and having to complete a courtship dance with someone you're not interested in makes things awkward. It's so obvious. Still they get done.
Laura and Tyler get the mosaic, but Tyler hates the clown. As a former semi-pro clown, you might think I'd be insulted but some clowns can be annoying. This looks to be that kind of clown. They take Bricks. Mike and Rochelle also finish the task and first try bricks but find it too hard. Over to dance. Bricks does look really tough, especially with the heat nearing 100 F, but I'd rather make bricks in the heat than dance in the heat. Especially with Gord as a dance partner; he's too tall. Give me a wheelbarrow full of brings over dancing with Gord any day.
Meanwhile, Blair is struggling on the water. The boat's not as stable as a paddle board. He's getting beat by the waves. But as per usual, it just takes awhile to get the hang of things and the clue is captured. Off to the pitstop with them in first place. Plainly, they are the team to beat because despite the arguing, they finish high most legs and are in the Top 3. Or is that 4?
J and J do the boat, with Jelani getting destroyed by waves as Jenny laughs at him. Although she catches herself and feels bad. Don't cause I think he probably laughed at you sometime during the race. They finish in second. Laura and Tyler finish bricks, do the boat and finish third. Then it's Truckstoppers. Normally, this would be the montage as they struggle, then overcome to find out they are eliminated. And yes we have that montage. And they are last. But Phil spends too much time talking to them instead of eliminating them. Obvious sign of non-elim. Or something. Guess Final 4 is the new Final 3. Anyway, we also find out that the race is still on (we didn't get that info when the other teams were at the mat). So Phil hands them a clue and they are off. Final leg is next. See you then.