Travel
Teams traveled from Krakow, Poland to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Uchenna and Joyce decided to take a risk by connecting in Frankfurt with a short connection, while the other teams played it safe and took flights with larger connection windows. And it ended up blowing up in the married couple’s faces, as they ended up stranded in Frankfurt, which effectively took them out of the leg.
In Malaysia, teams had to figure out how to get to the Batu Caves, and they all seemed to have different ways of getting there. Charla and Mirna took a bus, The three teams in the middle took different combinations of trains and busses.
Yield
The first of two Yields appeared here, and being in the lead, Charla and Mirna declined to use it, which was smart because they knew that other teams were behind them. The Beauty Queens (who apparently double as dirty pirate hookers), knowing that teams were bunched up and not knowing where Uchenna and Joyce were, decided to Yield Eric and Danielle – a smart, strategic move, and unlike last season, one that didn’t backfire on the girls. Eric and Danielle, per the “unofficial rules on being Yielded”, felt like they were slapped in the face and insulted that someone would DARE do such a dastardly thing. Danielle, by the way, became the fifth person to be Yielded twice (the first four being the eternally popular Weaver family).
Detour – Artistic Expression or Cookie Confection
The Detour tasks were about equidistant, so the question was whether teams were willing to use skill or chance a needle/haystack task. The cousins decided to try the cookies but found that biting into 600 boxes of cookies was a bit too much. The Cha Chas were hesitant in quitting the task, and it cost them time as they switched at the same time Eric and Danielle’s Yield penalty was completed. Eric and Danielle also chose this task, and as we often saw in the ninth season, Eric once again completed a luck-based task relatively quickly (although it was Danielle that found the clue)
Beauty Queens decided to do art. As with the piano tuning task, they took the time to see how to perform the task, and it paid off for them as they moved into first heading into the Roadblock. Other teams had more trouble, but overall it seemed that the teams had an easier time with this task.
Roadblock – Part-Time Job
Kandice had no problems finishing the task. As noted, a hot chick asking for paper had no problems getting paper for recycling. The other three teams had more problems, having to make a second trip to finish the task. Danny even resorted to buying papers to complete the task, while Danielle recruited help to push her broken bike.
The Reality of Reality
One thing that people love about reality television is the fact that people often say one thing in confessionals, but are caught on tape doing the exact opposite in the competition. For example, Mirna notes that she and Charla don’t play dirty games, but of course they use the internet and don’t allow other teams to use either computer. Now, that’s not super dirty, but gamesmanship? You bet. But just admit that you’re willing to do what’s necessary to win, y’know?
12 Hours or So Later…
The only previous winners in the Race are told to go directly to the Pit Stop, and get the bad news that they’re Eliminated. Which means that, for the second consecutive season, an all-female team will be headed to the Finish Line.
