Sunday, December 2, 2012

Amazing Race 21 - Dec 2/12 Episode Recap

Not a Well-Rounded Athlete

Last week we said farewell to Ryan & Abbie in Amsterdam (b-bye) after they were ganged up on at the U-Turn.

Natalie & Nadiya, because they won the last leg with a fishy Fast Forward (herring is gross), are the first team to head out at 2:55am.  They read the clue and find out they are heading to Mallorca, Spain.   They will fly in to Barcelona, then take an overnight ferry to the island of Mallorca.  Once there, they will experience a traditional display of devils and demons playing with fire (what the..?) One of the demons will have their next clue. (Okay, that's just creepy - literally it's people dressed up like the devil swinging flaming stuff around.)

-The Twins get to the airport and get a direct flight leaving at 6am.  They fly out at the same time the next team, the Chippendales, start the leg.

-The Chippendales are still feeling awful about U-Turning Abbie & Ryan and they have no idea if they went home.  Anticipating the first awkward meeting with them, say they will just have to face the music (well, not for a while anyway, they did go home :)

-Trey & Lexi are the next team out at 6:38am - they know they are a strong team, he likes their chances of being in the final 3 - Lexi says they can face anything now (I think she's still angling for a ring there Trey.)

-Chippendales get on a flight heading out at 7:20am - they also take off before Trey & Lexi even get to the airport.
-Trey & Lexi get a 7:55am flight - apparently there are a ton of flights from Amsterdam to Barcelona (who knew?)

Barcelona - the Twins arrive at 9am and head for the ferry terminal - which doesn't open until 10am.

-Meanwhile, Brent & Josh are the last team to head out at 9:38am.  They have been playing catch up for the past 3 legs - they can't believe they are still there.  Between good luck, bad luck and dumb luck, they must have been doing something right - but Josh especially finds it hard to have fighting spirit when you're in last place all the time. Josh also had an ankle injury in the last leg and he's still feeling the pain.  He says there is always that one team that manages to stay in to the end and you wonder how & why they are still there - they rarely win but maybe this time they can.

-The Chippendales meet up with the Twins at the ferry terminal and it's hugs all around - they go to buy their tickets and find out the first ferry out is at 11:00pm (seriously?  Flights every hour but the ferry is at 11pm - what craziness is that?) 
- They run into Trey & Lexi on the street and it's more hugging - they are so happy to see each other and not Abbie & Ryan - Final Three!
-Since they have 12 hours to kill before the boat leaves, they decide to hit the beach and actually have a fun day away from racing.  (Oh, the boys are in bathing suits again - lucky me.)
-The fourth team is still a mystery when they head back to the ferry terminal and when they see it's the Beekman Boys there is running, hugging, jubilation all around.  They are so glad there strategy with the U-Turn worked and they were able to take out a stronger team.
-The Beekman Boys are just happy to be with the other teams again, after being behind and by themselves so much over the last couple legs,  they feel like they might actually have a chance again.
-They all board the ferry and are on their way to Mallorca.

Palma De Mallorca - the ferry gets in - it's 7am and they are looking for the devil.
The Beekman Boys cab driver takes them to the wrong place (and their bad luck is holding I see).  The other teams all find the devils dancing with fire - and it is scary. 
-They run up among the demons and don't know what they need to do for the clue - these things are all in their faces but finally they find the one with the clues and read that they are to drive themselves to Centro di... blahblahblah (yeah, it was in Spanish, whatever) it's a sports centre.

-Trey & Lexi, Chippendales and the Twins head out in the cars, they decide to stick together and they'll stop to ask directions on the way.

-Brent & Josh show up and get the clue from the devil (oh, you guys.) They are again alone bringing up the rear.

-Trey & Lexi and the Chippendales are driving along with no sight of the Twins in the rear-view... apparently, they can't drive a stick shift (sigh, there is one team every race - I don't drive stick either, but if I was going on the Race, I'd learn.)  The girls have lost the lead teams and Nadiya is doing the hurkey-jerkey in the car (uh oh, doesn't bode well.) Oh, and apparently they decided Nadiya was the one responsible for learning how to drive stick shift before they went on the Race but she the camera she took one class and figured it was easy enough (obviously not. Sheesh.)

-The Beekman Boys are confident now that they get to drive themselves and they know how to read a map - (master's of their own destinies for once.)

-Chippendales and Trey & Lexi get to the sports complex and read the clue to the ROADBLOCK: Who wants to get smashed?
-One player must choose a tennis pro and a basket of balls.  They must head out to the clay courts and successfully return 20 balls shot by a serving machine and they must land in-bounds before the basket of balls is empty.  (Oof, I would be there all day - not so good with the tennis.)
-Trey and Brown James are doing this one.  Trey plays tennis and is very confident in his athletic ability - then the machine starts up and it's set fast and it's sending the balls all over the court - Holy Crap!
-Trey is doing pretty well, James on the other hand... has one to Trey's... now 20 returns.  Trey & Lexi get the next clue.  They have to drive to the Coves of Campanet and follow the music through the caves to find their next clue (couple of guys are in there playing the guitar, among the stalactites.  (That place looks really cool.)

-James runs out of balls with only 6 successful returns, he's got to start over with a fresh basket of balls.

-Brent & Josh are on their way to the tennis place and Josh is saying his ankle feels much better after keeping it elevated on the ferry overnight.  So it's not an excuse anymore... (total foreshadowing there.)

-The Twins are still going nowhere fast - Nadiya is stuck on a hill and they have to laugh or they'd be crying - it will take them all day to just get to the place at this pace.

-Back at the Roadblock - James gets 20 successful returns this time and they head out for the caves just as the Beekman boys get there.   Josh is going to give this one a try - Brent says neither of them have played tennis in the last 25yrs and Josh said his ankle felt better, so we'll see.
-Then the balls start coming and Josh rolls his ankle - "Oh Brent, this is not going to go good."  Brent is telling the camera Josh has been working on controlling his anxiety levels on the Race, of course he hasn't been able to do it in 42 years of life so he doesn't know how successful he'll be on the race.  After the first bucket of balls is done - Josh returned 4.  Second attempt, he got 10.  Neither of them think he's ever going to get this (nice.)
-The Twins finally get there and they figure they are both the same in tennis so Natalie gets her way and Nadiya is going to do it (I'm starting to understand their dynamic - Natalie calls the shots and Nadiya goes along - it seems to me anyway.)
-Nadiya is on the court and the balls start coming - Oh My Godt! (think of it in their accents) it's much harder than they thought.  They tell the camera that their parents tried to make them take tennis lessons to be the Venus and Serena Williams of Sri Lanka but they used to jump in the pool in their tennis clothes so they weren't allowed on the clay courts - and that's how they got out of tennis lessons. (Bet you're kicking yourselves now. Ha ha.)
-Nadiya only get 8 on her first attempt.
-Josh is still resting - he's ready to give up.  Brent is trying to get him up and trying again but the ankle is now the excuse.  Josh finally focuses and he gets 20 across in-bounds! YAY!  "I feel like I just won the Olympics."
-Nadiya finishes right behind Josh and the Twins ask the Boys in the parking lot if they know where they're going.  They say they'll have to ask for directions.  As Natalie jumps in the car she says to Nadiya, "They have a map book - how do they have a map of this place?"  "I don't know, they're super prepared. They're gay." (Ha ha LMAO).

-Trey & Lexi finally arrive at the Coves and the Chippendales get there right behind them - they all decide just to do this together.  Walking through the caves Blond Jaymes says, "This is cool y'all.  This is nature right here.  It's like something out of a theme park." (Yeah, he's pretty. Theme parks are so natural.)
-They are listening for music but they don't hear it... finally they get faint strains of the guitars and find the musicians and the clue to the DETOUR: Spin It or Bull It.
In Spin It - they must repair one of the 400 yr old windmills on the Island.  They must properly attach two of the huge blades to the windmill tower - so that means climbing the tower and bolting it on by hand - once the millmaster decides it's ready to spin, Don Quixote and Sancho Panza? (okay, never read the book) will give them the next clue.
In Bull It - they must enter a 1000 yr old bullfighting arena and become a bull.  With both of them in the bull costume, they have 2 minutes to hit 8 bullfighter capes and then hit the bullseye on the 9th bullfighter, launching the dummy into the air.  If they can beat the clock, the picador will hand them their next clue.
-Both teams decide to do the Matador one - seems easier to find.  They head out.  And the Chippendales go the wrong way - they turn off onto the freeway when the signs say to stay straight.  Trey & Lexi go along the right way and just shrug, what can they do.

-The Chippendales happen to drive right by the windmills and decide why not try this one since it's right here.  Blond Jaymes, "It's like a big giant ceiling fan, can't be that hard." (Famous last words?)  They get suited up with safety harnesses, tool belts and hard hats.  Being Chippendales they may have swung a styrofoam hammer or two in their construction worker costumes (Ha ha, so they are experienced.)  Blond Jaymes has always taken things apart, he's thinking this was probably the better task for them anyway.

-Trey & Lexi get to the Matador challenge and Lexi says she wants to be inside, she's the head and Trey is the back with his head out so he has to direct them... she can't see anything but they are doing alright until the final bullseye at the end - she hits it hard and goes down and cuts her finger... then the tears start, "Look at my finger" (wah, suck it up buttercup.)

-Josh & Brent get to the caves and even with a warning Josh trips on the steps (just shaking my head, that guy is almost as uncoordinated as I am.)  They find the guitar players and they are going to do the windmill detour.

-Speaking of which - the Chippendales are enjoying the manly work of windmill repair - they finish up and all is good - Don Quixote gives them the clue to the Pit Stop: Castell De Belver which means the castle with the lovely view - once a royal residence, it was used as a prison for more than 200 years. (Wow, nice looking prison.)

-Natalie & Nadiya are in the caves and they find the clue and decide to do the windmills. Natalie, "Now don't get bloody lost." "I know right."

-Trey & Lexi apparently have to go again with the bull - I guess they didn't hit the bullseye on the last one when Lexi hurt herself so they have switched up positions and he's the head this time.  Oh, they could have gone overtime too - I forgot they only had 2 minutes.  This time they completed it cleanly and they get the clue to the Pit Stop.

-The Beekman Boys are getting suited up at the windmill place as the Twins drive in.  Josh said his competitive juices kicked in when he saw them pull up - he knew in his heart of hearts that they would be better at this than the girls. (I don't know, the girls are pretty kick-ass... except at driving haha.)
-The Beekman boys have a small windturbine on their farm but nothing like this - though Josh is finding it simple, as long as you have the bolts and the nuts lined up, you're good to go.
-They can't see the Twins but they know they are strong and are probably doing well... Wrong!  Natalie drops her wrench and hits Nadiya, they can't line up the holes... do they have it on backwards?

-Chippendales and Trey & Lexi are driving to the castle up on the hill... who will get there first??

-The Beekman boys and the twins are still working those wrenches - the Beekman's don't second-guess themselves on this one, they just get it done and head off for the Pit Stop.  The Twins see their dust as they drive off, "The Gays are done!" (Those two are definitely not politically correct.)  They are still struggling with the windmill.  "Hurry up!  We Suck!"
-Natalie & Nadiya know they had the chance to beat the Beekman Boys at this task and they didn't do it.  If they get eliminated, they only have themselves to blame.  They finally finish the windmill and head for the Pit Stop.

Here's How They Finished:
1) Trey & Lexi - they won a trip to Riviera Maya (oh, nice.)
(And Phil has a headless man waiting with him on the mat... seriously, someone sitting in a chair wearing a suit with the shirt done up over their head... there are some strange artsy types in Spain.)
2) Chippendales - James & Jaymes - they think you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone that's more motivated to win than them - when you have the health of your loved ones on the line and being able to help your family, nothing pushes you harder.
3) Brent & Josh - Phil's seen them limp, faint, fall down but they are still there. They are like the little engine that could.  They believe they could still win.
4) Natalie & Nadiya - Phil asks what went wrong today?  "Couldn't drive a stick shift, couldn't get the directions straight and couldn't get the damn nuts and screws in."  Phil says he'll put them in a better mood - this is a NON-ELIMINATION leg!

-Everyone is still in it for another week but the Twins will face a Speed bump next week.  They were really depressed but now they know they have to bring it next leg - "hopefully there is no bloody driving." Nadiya, "No, I have it now." Right.

Next week is the two hour finale of the Amazing Race (Oooh, 2 hrs.) and the gloves come off.  Dream team alliance against the ultimate underdogs.  Looks like there is some smack talk and Lexi gets smacked in the head by a falling flag bracket. (Ouch - that poor girl has been having a rough time.)

Since it's the finale, let's recap who is still in the running for the Pool:
Trey & Lexi: Nenad M, Donna P, Lynne B, Katie L, Karen F
Jaymes & James: Alexis G, Kim K, Bernice R, Lois L, Shane B
Josh & Brent: Kim A, Drew C, Krista H, Denise R, Patty F
Natalie & Nadiya: Fred & Gary M, Rachel R, Bob L, Vikki M and Laura W.

Have a great week everyone,

Coleen

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