Where was I? Oh yeah, the beginning. Which for this episode was Kolkata. And now teams are heading off to Delhi, which is an even bigger city. All teams on the same flight and must find some fishing market (Sorry no notes this time) where each team member must carry 20 large catfish from one holding tank to another. Oh yeah, did we mention they have to do it the traditional way, carrying baskets on their heads? Oh yeah, did we mention the catfish are still alive? First to arrive are (surprise, surprise) Simi and Ope who figure out very quickly that you can't grab the fish one at a time, you have to use the basket to scoop them in. You also have to cover the basket with another one or the fish will jump out. The fish will jump out anyway, so as all the teams arrive, you got racers chasing after fish. Especially Dujean, who was jumping all over the place trying to grab errant fish. Also, there's lots of slime dripping all over the racers and with the heat, I really pleased there's no such thing as Smell-O-Vision.
First place for Simi and Ope doesn't last long because it's Nick and Matt who get done first and jump into a tuk-tuk to head across this huge city for some small village on the outskirts. I really like when teams take tuk-tuks. There are great vehicles to ride in. I'm curious why teams didn't ride in tuk-tuks in Kolkata. You could see they were all over the place. For some reason, probably some legal or production reason, everyone was in taxis last week. But plenty of tuk-tuks this week.
At the village, it's a Roadblock and one racer has to correctly wrap three different styles of turbans over three different dudes who are preparing for a party after a wedding. Well, that's the story they're sticking to. But any wedding I've been to, including my own, would consent to allow strangers with no experience with the local dress to help guests get reading. Maybe it's like last year's DQ birthday party at 7 in the morning. All the other teams are right behind the Wrestlers, save for Brent and Sean, who despite their Maritime roots, don't like fish. At least Sean doesn't. Go figure. You'd think I'd have more trouble telling other racers apart from each other, like Gino and Jesse, who are almost like twins. But nope, took me only nine episodes to realize I've been calling Brent Sean and Sean Brent. So Sean hates fish (that'll ruin your Maritimer cred in an instant) and constantly screams like a design student in Toronto as the fish flap all around him. No, he doesn't scream like a little girl cause I'm a dad of a little girl and she don't scream like that. More laughs for the locals, who have been enjoying watching the previous racers freak out over the fish. Sean histrionics about the fishies take up way too much TV time. It's funny for a bit but after awhile, time to move on.
At the Roadblock, Matt, Gino, Simi and Dujean are on the turbans. Or was it Jesse? Hard to tell since the slime from the fish washed away the gel from Gino's head. I think his racer fact sheet should be changed from Can't leave the house without saying goodbye to my dogs to Can't leave the house without carrying a backpack full of Dapper Dan pomade. I wonder if he sleeps with a hairnet? Both the remaining female racers are a bit worried cause they figured they could have done the job faster than the men. They're probably right cause turbans ain't easy to wrap. Just be glad it wasn't a sari wrapping task because that's a lot more fabric. But the boys are game and try their best.
Speaking of best moments, the Designer Bros finish the fish tasking with a bit more screaming and then it's off to the village. They see a bit of poverty and then say how lucky they are to live in Canada. Man, I get annoyed when teams say stuff like that. Smacks of a first world superior attitude. Sure, we have some things that folks in India don't have, there's lot of poverty, but heck, it's an incredible country with cultures several thousands years old. We should not look down on them. Beside, we've got plenty of poverty here. And I guess I wasn't the only one annoyed with Brent and Sean. Their tuk-tuk driver was not very pleased to be cleaning the puke off the side of his vehicle after Sean was barfing his guts out like some fratboy cowboy after a night of Whyte Avenue debauchery. Anyway, the Designer Bros arrive at the turban task and Sean decides to wrap because he likes wrapping presents. I don't think it's the same thing.
All the racers struggle with the turban wrapping, Ope doesn't read the clue and has to start over. But based on the editing, they didn't struggle long. After a couple of tries, Matt is done and the Wrestlers are off, heading to a park in the M Market, hoping to remain in the lead and finally hit the mat before anyone else. Right behind them are the Italian Boys, looking to catch up and grab their fourth first place finish. And despite his lack of clue reading, Ope gets done, and does a quick impression of Elvis doing karate. In response, the roadblock judge does his own impression of Russell Peters and tells Ope to "take it and go." Instead of rushing away, Ope and Simi take a moment to engage in a celebratory dance of joy. I'm really glad to see these guys get more airtime. I'm pretty sure they were just as engaging now as they were earlier in the race; they just seemed to be edited too bland in the beginning.
At the market, the Wrestlers find the clue box before the Italian Boys, but don't rip and read at that moment. Nick tucks it under his shirt and they walk around looking for a secluded spot to read it. Classic Gord and Wayne move. It's a Detour. One side is to grind hot peppers into a fine powder, while the other is to grind your teammate into the dust. More specifically, it's a Wrestling task. Wonder where Nick and Matt are going? Just check under the heading No Shit Sherlock. I believe Gord and I would take the spice side. We've done enough cooking that grinding a bunch of peppers would be no problem, no matter how spicy. Just don't touch the peppers with your hands or get any in your eyes. So Nick and Matt are off to Wrestle while Gino and Jesse are still wandering around the market looking for the clue box. Guess they didn't read the clue. They realize their mistake quickly and they too take on the wrestling task.
Other teams finish the turbans and I'm surprised Simi and Ope took wrestling. The Dancers, not so much cause in the end, it's a choreography task. And there's been a plethora of choreography tasks this season (along with water ones) and they've done well with those. Much to the chagrin of the rule that tasks relating to your profession will mess with your head. And that's what the Italian Boys are hoping for, that the Wrestlers will mess up so the Italian Boys can pass them and rub another first place into the noses of Nick and Matt. Which is pretty much was Leilani is doing to her ex-boyfriend at the Wrestling task. You could tell she was having a great time tossing Dujean into the dirt over and over again. But also good on Dujean for being a good sport and going along with it.
So the Wrestlers nail the task on their first try. Imagine the howls of laughter and derision from their wrestling compadres if they fucked up this task? Off they race to some dude's tomb (again no notes) for the pitstop. Right behind them are Gino and Jesse who also pinned the wrestling task to the mat on their first try. Before this, though, Simi and Ope realized the error of their ways and switched task. They, along with Brent and Sean, are grinding hot peppers. And doing it badly by touching the ground peppers with their hands and blowing on the peppers to clear out the bigger pieces causing the spicy dust to fly into the air. No surprise that Ope doesn't do a lot of cooking at home. And I bet that after the end of this leg, both Simi and Ope, and Brent and Sean, are going to feel some burning on their hands for a day or so.
At the grounds near the tomb, the Wrestlers and the Italian Boys are looking for Jon at the pitstop. And though we get a shot of Jon waiting as a team comes in, at least he doesn't pull a Phil Keoghan point like he's done in the last couple of legs. Maybe there's something in the Amazing Race contract; if you buy the rights to another edition of the race, your host must point at the mat at least twice during a season. Maybe Phil gets some kind of royalty payment for that. And the winners are...
...The Wrestlers. Finally, the streak of seconds and thirds are broken. Nick and Matt win a trip to Amsterdam and some free gas. I'm sort of pleased that Nick and Matt finally get a first but at the same time, the writer in me wishes it didn't happen. Pathos always makes for better storytelling. Gino and Jesse come in second but as they walk away, they vow to get rid of the Wrestlers. Cue the dramatic music.
Back at the wrestling pit, the Dancers finally conquer the task and race out. Over at the pepper pits, Sean and Brent get done before Simi and Ope. It's a three way race not to be last, and it looks like Ope and Simi will run out of luck this. Traffic plays into their hands, or the editing, who knows. Ope and Simi are not last, they are third. Just ahead of The Dancers in fourth. At the back of the pack are the Designer Bros. Jon tells them they are last, asks if they are disappointed. The boys cry, not realizing that if Jon's going to eliminate you, you'd be eliminated already. The dude doesn't mess around. If he talks to you, you're fine. And it is, the first, and possibly only official non-elim leg. More crying and histrionics. A bit overdone for my tastes but Sean's a sensitive guy. So's his stomach.
Next week, back to Canada, to Penticton, BC for more water tasks, speed bump and a double U-Turn. No interview this week but we'll have our video recap hopefully up on Friday. See you then.