Okay, for the second time in a row, there's an episode with a personal connection to me. Let's see teams leave the Shetland Islands (where the name Arthurson comes from), take a ferry to Aberdeen and then fly to Copenhagen. Okay, I've been to Copenhagen but that's not it. Teams then have to drive to Sweden using a Ford C-Max. And I drive one of those! Not only that, when they drive it, they have to use less than .1 of gallons of gas. Which would be a piece of cake cause I know how to squeeze the efficiency out of my car. If you use too much gas, you have to answer a geography question.
Anyway, the Dentists are all keen on winning another leg so they make a smart move and book a flight using the internet. They're supposed to arrive at 4 pm. All the other teams decide to take their chances in Aberdeen, either at airport or a travel agent. Gord and I would probably try the airport. Why make an extra trip when you can make one? Although travel agents have more choices. But still, we'd do the airport. That choice works out for the Cyclists who get a flight that arrives at 2 pm, two hours before the Dentists. The other teams in line behind don't fare as well and get a flight that arrive around 5. At the travel agent, most teams get flights that arrive at 5:10 while the Flight Attendants get one just 10 minutes behind. But in the end, two flights are delayed so the Flight Attendants and Tim and Te Jar are arriving a bit later, especially the Flight Attendants who are almost an hour behind everyone.
Meanwhile, in Sweden, the Cyclists do an incredible job of driving and only use .01 of a gallon. Nice work. So they have to head back to Copenhagen for a Detour: Parking Space or Wedding Cake. In Parking Space, they have to recreate a parklet, a small domestic scene in a parking space. Cool idea, would be great to import that to North America. But they have to do it in 30 minutes or they'll have to move to a new one and start again. In Wedding Cake, teams have to finish a traditional wedding cake, then transport it to another using a freight bike without wrecking the cake. Then get the receipt signed and head back to the original bakery.
Since they are cyclists, the Cyclist take Wedding Cake. Building the cake is okay but looks pretty unsteady. So wisely, they take some icing along, split the cake in half for transport. And move across town. Not easy, and though the rebuilt cake is acceptable, they can't find the receipt. Yikes. Fortunately, they find the receipt on the ground by the bike. Back to the original bakery to get the clue. Head to Ida Davidson restaurant. The Cyclists are off. But before they go, they ask for some baking and get some. This is why I think these guys are great and continue to be my fav team this season. Last week, instead of waiting at the train station for a train, they went to a pub. Just like Gord and I would. And this time, they ask and get some free food. Again, just like Gord and I would. Great stuff.
Back at the airport, a bunch of teams arrive in batches and head across to Sweden. Some do well with the driving but some don't. The Dentists are solidly in second but fail the driving. But the questions - name the capitals of the Scandinavian countries - is very easy. The Dentists need help but I could have done that on my own. The Dentists pick Parking. The Surfers, the Survivors, and the Wrestlers take Cake but quickly only the Wrestlers stay behind. The other two join the Sweets and the Dentists in Parking. And though the Dentists are detail orientated, they just can't get it and their 30 minutes are up. Over to the next spot. The Sweets however, pass on their first try and are heading to the restaurant.
Over at the restaurant, it's a Roadblock. Get four orders of sandwiches, memorize the ingredients and recite them to the chef. Gord's better at memory so he would take this one. I jump out or off of things that are very high. So one of the Cyclists jumps in (sorry can't remember which one) and she struggles for a bit but in the end, gets it. Over to the pitstop and they are first, each winning a C-Max. Enjoy the car, girls, they are fun to drive. And I told you they were a good team. They had a solid leg and continue to step outside the box with the asking for food at the task. And I love the Great Danes on the mat with Phil.
So over to Parking and the Dentists are still struggling. They have their flower pot the wrong way. Soon the Survivors get done and head to Ida's The Surfers fail for the same reason the Dentists do but Jim's had enough. They quit the task and head to the cake. Whoa, tough move. Meanwhile the remaining two teams land, drive to Sweden and back for the parking. Although the Flight Attendants freak out on each other in the parking lot. That's not good.
Meanwhile, the Wrestlers pass the cake challenge and we got three teams at Ida's. I was quite impressed with Robbie's presentation. He may act dumb but wrestlers are in a sense, actors. They have to remember lines and moves so he uses his performance skill to recite his ingredients. He gets the first bunch wrong but it's a great way to remember. He'll get done but not before the Sweets do. Love how Maya falls on the floor with relief. And not just one, but twice. And not long after, the Survivors as well. And though the Sweets left first, something must have happened because they come in 4th preceded by the Wrestlers in second, Survivors in third.
The day gets worse for the Dentists as they lose a flag off their cake and have to go back. And the teams at Parking get done and move to Ida's. But the flag is found and there are four teams at the restaurant. But that quickly becomes three cause Te Jay is a server and blows through the task. They come in 5th. Not long after the Surfers are done and so are the Flight Attendants. Jim and Misti are stuck at Ida's because even though Misti is getting the ingredients correct, she hasn't read the clue and forgets to recite the number of the sandwich. Rule 1 of Amazing Race: Read the clue. Rule 2? Read the fucking clue. Finally she gets it but they are far behind.
But are they out? The Surfers and the Flight Attendants are lost. And though the Surfers finally make their way to Phil, the Flight Attendants have a total meltdown. Total. Melt. Down. They miss a turn and start to turn on each other. They switch drivers and the mom gets so passive-aggressive that even though she sees Phil at the mat as they are driving, she says nothing. Holy crap, if you're going to act like that, you might as well just go home. And I think they might soon. The meltdown continues on the mat and even though the daughter freaks out, she has every right to. Mom was so keen to prove her point, so keen to act pouty that she was willing to lose the race. Yep, call it quits if you're going to act like the kid and not like the mom.
In the end, despite all of Jim's bluster of being the most dominant team in TAR history, the Dentists are in last. And boy, is Jim defeated. He hands over the Save pass to Phil like he's been forced to make a deal with the devil for his first born. He looks completely crushed. But Phil hands it back. It's a non-elimination leg! And though he's full of bluster, I give Jim credit for realizing that he was humbled and for not blaming outside sources like the other teams for their failure in this leg. They made many mistakes in this leg, missing details, losing flags and not reading the clue that they are lucky to be still in it. Hopefully, some of that cockiness will be gone and they can move forward. Because I think Jim's an okay guy, even though he talks tough. He's confident but he's not mean to other teams and in the first leg, he even helped some with the compass task.
Next week, Morocco. And don't forget, go over to twitter and follow @EliseDoganieri. Tell her Wayne (@Waynthurson) sent you. Follow me while you're at it.