Episode Recap: Amazing Race 10, Week 9

Episode: Being Polite Sucks Sometimes Original Air Date: November 12, 2006 Tonight was the first episode without Kentucky couple David and Mary, so this season is bound to be less entertaining from this point. What's more, three of the five teams left are all jerks. Spending a day with the Doublemint Twins Dustin and Kandice, Bickering Dating Couple Rob and Kimberly, or the Pretty Boys James and Tyler would probably be only slightly more fun than, say, dinnertime with the convicts at the local supermax prison. Of the two likable teams that are left, Single Moms Lyn and Karlyn have a chance of winning this race, as long as a bus hits all four of the other teams. Even then, it's iffy. That leaves the Brainiac Brothers Erwin and Godwin as the only team worth rooting for. Unfortunately, the three unlikable teams are all in the lead as tonight's episode begins. This week, the teams are to make their way from Madagascar to Helsinki, Finland, where they are to find a specific coffee shop and log into a marked computer to read some special email. Tickets are provided for all of the teams this time, but they are under no obligation to use them, which is good since that specific flight doesn't leave until 9:30 that evening. The teams all squeeze into very tiny taxi cabs to get to the airport. It kind of looks like when the clowns get into their little car at the circus. Tyler and James look especially uncomfortable. On the way to the airport, one of the Doublemint Twins (does it really matter which one?) asks, "Finland - don't they all wear wooden shoes?" Finland, Holland, they're all the same. I must applaud her for at least hitting the right continent. At the ticket counter, they're not much more impressive. Even though the agent speaks fluent English, the girls still feel the need to once again whip out their world atlas and point to it, "We need to get here, Finland." Maybe they would have a better time if they'd stop pronouncing Helsinki, "Heslinki". Still, they and all the rest of the teams are able to book seats on the same flight leaving at 5:00 am. All the teams, that is, except for the Single Moms from Alabama who are in last place. They arrive at 4:50 am and are told by the ticket agent that Check In is closed. But the Single Moms press the matter and are able to squeeze in on the flight. So, once again, all the teams start out evenly. The teams arrive in Finland and one-by-one find the cafe. They log into their AOL accounts (can you say, "product placement" boys and girls?) and are surprised to find they've received video messages from their families. Shockingly, there are actual family members who are willing to claim Dustin, Kandice, Tyler, and James. The Single Moms, who seem to be the only remaining contestants who have children, break down in tears when they see the messages from their kids. The next clue is given to the contestants by the owner of the cafe. They are to proceed by train to another city, then take a cab to another location where they will follow a marked path to find their next clue. All of the teams manage to catch the same train. Pretty Boy Tyler takes advantage of the long train-ride to do some much needed face moisturizing. "Moisurizing is important," he announces, "It's a way to say, 'I like my face.'" Dustin or Kandice (I swear I can't tell them apart), who is laughing at Tyler in the background, tells us that she goes to Tyler when she needs nail clippers or hair conditioner. The train arrives at its destination and the teams rush to catch cabs. While the Doublemint Twins and the Pretty Boys find two cabs that happen to be waiting right outside the depot, the other teams discover another location where there is already a long line of people waiting for taxis. Rob and Kimberly are decent enough to ask the person at the front of the line to let them cut, but later the Single Moms cut right in front of everyone, completely disregarding the poor guy at the front of line who politely tries to tell them there is a line. They push in front of him and take his cab. That now leaves the Brainac Cho Brothers as the only non-jerks in the race. Unfortunately, nice guys have finished last at this point as they've discovered they are the last to get a cab as a result of being polite. "Being polite sucks sometimes," Godwin observes. The Doublemint Twins and the Pretty Boys are the first to arrive at the destination and find that their next task is a Detour (a choice between two tasks). This time, they can choose between "Swamp This" (walking on cross-country skis over a kilometer in the mud), or "Swamp That" (traversing an obstacle course in mud that appears to be chest-deep at some points). The Doublemint Twins choose the skis while the Pretty Boys choose the obstacle course. The Pretty Boys are the first to finish. Getting to watch these hosers slosh and crawl through mud makes this definitely one of the most entertaining challenges so far this season. At one point in the obstacle course one contestant is supposed to carry the other. Tyler jumps on James' back, smacks his butt, and yells, "Giddyup!". These must be two of the gayest straight guys on the planet. After finishing this challenge, the teams are to travel by train over 100 miles to another city. They will then drive themselves over 70 miles to yet another city where they are to look for a limestone mine where they are to descend and find their next clue. The Pretty Boys and the Doublemint Twins are the first to arrive at the train station and manage to get seats on a train that leaves just minutes after they arrive. Rob and Kimberly get to the station just shortly thereafter, buy tickets for the same train, but get to the platform just in time to watch the train leave. The Pretty Boys are the first to reach the mine. Once there, they must ride a tram down into the mine and find the clue box. This time, they have a Roadblock(a task that only one team member may perform) to complete. This Roadblock consists of riding a miner's bike down a dark, steeply inclined tunnel to the next clue box, strapping a chunk of limestone to the bike, then getting the bike and the limestone back up to the top of the incline. Once at the top, the contestant must use a hammer and chisel (called a "pokey thing" by the Doublemint Twins) to break open the chunk of limestone and find a tube containing their next clue. The Pretty Boys are the first to finish, followed by the Doublemint Twins. They must now drive to the Olympic Stadium in Helsinki. Rob and Kimberly are initially ahead of the Single Moms and the Brainiac Brothers en route to the mine. But once at the mine site, they have trouble finding the correct building. Rob actually appears to start to drive into the mine itself. The Single Moms and the Brainiac Brothers are able to catch the tram at the same time, while Rob and Kimberly are still looking for the right building. Still, all the teams finish close enough to catch the same tram going back up to the mine entrance. Meanwhile, the Pretty Boys arrive at the Olympic Stadium way ahead of the Doublemint Twins, who get lost on the way. Tyler and James take what appears to be a long time to find The Amazing Race flag once in the stadium, but still manage to start their next task well before the Doublemint Twins arrive. Their next task is to reach the top of the 230 ft tower in the Olympic Stadium and rappel down face first. As he walks down the side of the tower, Tyler looks like Batman and Robin on the old Batman TV show when they would scale buildings using their "Bat ropes". Meanwhile, the Doublemint Twins arrive and find the clue that tells them to go to the top of the tower. The other three teams arrive a little later. The Brainiac Brothers find the clue and tell the Single Moms where it is. Rob and Kimberly are left scampering around in a panic looking for it. The Pretty Boys finish the task and receive their next clue. It says, "Keep racing!". This leg of the race is not over. Next week - The teams ride tanks, the Six Pack alliance gets dissolved.