Episode Recap: Amazing Race 10, Week 11

Episode: We Just Won't Die, Like Roaches Original Air Date: November 26, 2006 The race is now down to four teams, none of them the least bit likable - Bickering Couple Rob and Kimberly, Pretty Boys Tyler and James, Alabama Single Moms Lyn and Karlyn, and the Doublemint Twins Dustin and Kandice. It's hard to root for any of them, due to a serious deficit in redeemable qualities. Picking a favorite team out of this herd would amount to rooting for the least of four evils. Time may be better spent trying to decide whom to hate the most. My choice - the Doublemint Twins, aka the Evil Barbies. This week the teams have to fly from Kiev to a certain town in Morocco. The Pretty Boys are the first to leave, followed closely by the Doublemint Twins, who are all smiles as usual. It's bad enough that these two are so evil. Do they have to be happy, too? The Doublemint Twins manage to get an earlier flight out of Kiev than any of the other teams, but they take a big chance, since there will be very little time to connect to their second flight. Sure enough, they miss their first connecting flight, but are able to catch another one leaving shortly thereafter. This turns out to have been a stupid risk to take, since all the teams end up on the exact same final connecting flight from Casablanca. Once their flight arrives, the teams are to drive to a certain antique shop for their next clue. The Alabama Moms are the first to find the place since earlier they had done something rarely done by any of the teams this season - they used their brains. They bought a map of the area at one of the airports during one of their layovers. Having studied the map, they were familiar enough with the area to find this particular shop. The other teams wind up having to ask for directions. At one point, a mob of local men appear to form around the Doublemint Twins as they stand outside of their vehicle trying to get directions. The girls are freaked out at first since it is the middle of the night, but it turns out the men are harmless. Apparently it's just a mob of men with too much time on their hands. The Doublemint Twins are the last to arrive at the shop. At the shop, each team is choose one of four good luck amulets, one of which will bring its team good fortune at the Pit Stop. Upon opening the clue, the teams find out that their next destination is Atlas Studios, where movies like The Gladiator were filmed. The teams also find out that a Yield lies ahead. This worries the Doublemint Twins since they are currently in last place. The Alabama Moms get there first, but it doesn't matter since the studio doesn't open for several hours. Hurry up and wait - that's the theme of this show. All of the teams arrive in time to take a snooze in their vehicles while they wait for the studio to open. The gates open at 8am the next morning, and all four teams race to the Yield. The Pretty Boys get to the Yield first, but choose not to yield anyone. Rob and Kimberly get there second and likewise choose not to yield anyone. That leaves the two teams who made no secret of their desires to yield each other. This being a foot race, the Alabama Moms don't stand a chance since they run like, well, girls. The Doublemint Twins run like girls as well, but unlike the Alabama Moms, they run like young girls. Thus, the Doublemint Twins beat the Alabama Moms and choose to use the Yield. The Moms have to wait by the Yield sign until the hour glass runs out of sand. Meanwhile, the rest of the teams arrive at their next challenge, which is a Roadblock (a challenge that only one team member may perform). In this Roadblock, the team member must dress in costume, board a chariot driven by a professional, and grab two flags as their chariot races around the track. The Doublemint Twins finish first. To show her support, Lyn, of the Alabama Moms, flips the Doublemint Twins the finger as she waits by the Yield sign. "Don't do that," Karlyn says, "That's ugly." "Sorry." Rob and Kimberly leave about the same time as the Doublemint Twins. Rob asks the girls if they want to work together to find their next destination, which is a certain cafe. Rob tells us that, "The Blondes are not to be trusted. But we use them at times." Doesn't that mean that Rob and Kimberly aren't to be trusted either? The Alabama Moms finally finish the challenge and all four teams are on the road. Rob and Kimberly, who have somehow managed to choose a defective vehicle on almost every single leg of the race, maintain their streak when their SUV gets a flat tire. Confirming their evil status to the world, the Doublemint Twins could not be happier about the flat tire and don't even try to hide their maniacal glee. In fact, they are the ones who point out to Rob that he has a flat tire, smiling the whole time they tell him. Rob pulls over and unbolts the spare tire but gets frustrated because he can't pull out the jack. I'm not sure, but it looks like his trouble may be that he's trying to pull out the rear shock, not the jack (I might be wrong about that, but that's what it looked like he was pulling when I paused this scene on my DVR). Eventually, they are able to flag down someone to help them. As a result of Rob and Kimberly's misfortune, the Doublemint Twins take the lead. The Pretty Boys soon catch up, however, and both teams arrive at the cafe around the same time. Upon arriving, they find that their next task is a Detour, which is a choice between two tasks. The choice this time is between "Throw It" (making two vases on a spinning wheel), or "Grind It" (grinding then bagging several pounds of olives in a giant grinding mill). All four teams end up choosing Grind It. The Pretty Boys actually started out towards the site for the "Throw It" challenge first, but changed their minds once one them figured out the challenge was to make the vases, not literally to throw them. The Doublemint Twins once again start out in the lead, but end up driving way past their destination before they realize they have to turn around. In the mean time, the rest of the teams arrive at the farm and start grinding olives. This is a problem for the Doublemint Twins, since there are only three grinding mills. They have to wait until one of the other teams finishes. The Pretty Boys finish first and head to the Pit Stop, which is near Marrakesh. The Alabama Moms finish not long after them. The Pretty Boys arrive at the Pit Stop area, jump out of their vehicle and start running down the long desert road towards Phil. They are almost at the mat when they remember they left their good luck charm in the car (they are supposed to have it with them when they get to the Pit Stop). The Alabama Moms arrive as the boys are running back to their vehicle, and start running down the road before the boys even get back to their car. But, once again, the Moms are running like, well, girls. The Pretty Boys are able to get back to their car, retrieve the good luck charm, and easily pass the Alabama Moms on the way to the mat. Because their good luck charm matches that of the local greeter, the boys win a couple of Sprint Treos. It's down to the Bickering Couple and the Doublemint Twins for last place and possible elimination. Both teams seem to be having trouble finding Marrakesh. Of course, Rob's and Kimberly's trouble might have to do with Kimberly mispronouncing "Marrakesh" whenever she asks directions, "Can you tell me how to get to MoROCKish?" But inspite of Kimberly's geographic illiteracy, she and Rob beat the Doublemint Twins to the Pit Stop. The girls finally arrive and find out that they are in last place. But, Phil tells them, this is a non-elimination round! They're saved from elimination! Didn't Phil say earlier in the race that there would only be two elimination rounds this season? Next week - Karlyn gets on Lyn's nerves, locals throw tomatoes at Rob and Kimberly.

Episode Recap: Amazing Race 10, Week 10

Episode: Lookin' Like a Blue-Haired Lady on a Sunday Drive Original Air Date: November 19, 2006 As we left the racers last time, Pretty Boys Tyler and James had just repelled down the side of the Olympic Stadium in Helsinki, thinking they were about to win another leg of the race. Once they reach the bottom they receive their clue only to find out they are just half-way through this leg of the race. I think the clue said something like "Psych! Ha ha, you losers!" Or maybe it was more like, "Keep racing!" Six of one, half-dozen of another. The clue also tells the racers to fly to the capital city of the country where Chernobyl is located. The racers are supposed to figure out that the name of that country is Ukraine and the capital city is Kiev. It turns out that task is as simple as asking a ticketing agent, which is a good thing for the Doublemint Twins, Dustin and Kandice. One of them admits that the only thing she knows about Chernobyl is that it's "where the atom bomb went off". Now would be a good time to rewind a little bit and relate some of the highlights of the teams repelling down the tower. The teams are basically supposed to walk down the side of the wall, but one of the Doublemint Twins slips and slaps the wall with her butt. It looks painful. Poor Erwin and Godwin. They're both incredibly afraid of heights. It doesn't make the experience any more pleasant for them when Erwin flips around and starts repelling with his head instead of his feet. Seriously, his helmet can be heard scraping the wall the entire way down. Several of the racers start praying, like God is going to waste his time helping someone who purposely does something crazy. "Well, I think I'll help those starving orphan children... Oh, wait! Kimberly is walking down a skyscraper face first! I better help her out!" All of the teams make their way to the airport, with the Doublemint Twins and the Pretty Boys arriving first. They are the only two teams to make a flight which leaves at 8:25 the next morning, connects through Warsaw, and arrives at 1:35 pm. The other teams must take a flight that leaves an hour later, connects through Vienna, but arrives at exactly the same time. At least, it's supposed to arrive at the same time. The flight connecting through Vienna ends up being delayed by a half-hour, giving the Doublemint Twins and the Pretty Boys a lead over the other teams. Once in Kiev, the teams are to drive a marked car to a tank driving school for their next challenge. The Doublemint Twins do the smart thing and hire a taxi driver to lead them there. The Pretty Boys see this and offer to split the fee with the girls if they can follow. A little later, Rob and Kimberly arrive in Kiev and also hire a cab driver to lead them to the tank school. Brainiacs Erwin and Godwin and Single Moms from Alabama Lyn and Karlyn are last to leave the airport (big surprise). The Brainiacs see Rob and Kimberly hire the cab driver, but decide instead to get a map and some directions and find the place themselves. Since the Single Moms don't have a map, they decide to follow the Brainac Cho Brothers. This plan turns out about as well as expected. It's not long before Erwin is lost and makes Godwin pull over so they can ask for directions. No wonder these two teams are always in last place! ... And that was all before the first commercial break. The Doublemint Twins and the Pretty Boys arrive at the tank school and find they have a Roadblock (a task that only one team member may perform). For this Roadblock, they actually get to drive the tank through a muddy obstacle course! As if that weren't cool enough, explosions are going off all through the obstacle course, very close to the tanks. This is maybe the most awesome any racer has ever gotten to do on this show. They are so fortunate. Darn them! At first, James pulls ahead of Dustin and her tank, but starts to stall out his tank at one point. Tyler, watching on the sidelines with Kandice, is embarrassed at James "driving like a girl". It doesn't make Tyler feel any better when James crashes his tank into Kandice's tank. Once they finish this challenge, they find out they are to drive back to Kiev and find a specific apartment in a specific apartment building, where they will be handed their next clue. The Pretty Boys decide to follow the Doublemint Twins again, but stop briefly to point Rob and Kimberly (who have just arrived near the tank school) in the right direction. One of the Doublemint Twins ask the other why the Pretty Boys would do that. "Because they're friends with them," the other answers. "We don't have any friends," the first Twin says. What a shock. Rob and Kimberly arrive at the tank school and wisely ask the taxi driver they were following to stay so he can lead them back. The first two teams neglected to do this. Kimberly hops into the tank and finishes the course. Rob tells us that Kimberly is "superhuman" and that she "can do anything". These two aren't so bad. They just need to stop griping at each other. I think I might take them off the "Evil Racers" list. Meanwhile, the Brainiacs have managed to get lost a second time, but somehow find their way to the tank school. Erwin finishes well ahead of Lyn (who admits she was "lookin' like a blue-haired lady on a Sunday drive"), but the Brainiacs inexplicably decide to wait for the Single Moms before leaving for Kiev. Even the Single Moms don't know why the guys waited for them. The Doublemint Twins and the Pretty Boys are well on their way to Kiev when the girls try to lose the boys by running a red light. Undaunted, the boys run the red light too. In the mean time, the car Rob and Kimberly are driving breaks down. Another car is eventually provided for them, but the clutch keeps sticking. Do The Amazing Race producers look for cars with mechanical defects, or what? This little delay would usually knock a team down to last place. But fortunately for Rob and Kimberly, they're being followed by the Single Moms and the Brainiacs, who feel compelled to stop and ask for directions every five minutes. Evidently, Erwin and Godwin couldn't find their way out of a paper bag, even if it were open at both ends and someone was pointing them in the right direction. The girls get fed up and leave the boys, causing the Cho Brothers to feel betrayed. It's hard to feel sorry for these guys, even though they've been loyal to their alliance since the beginning. But there's a line where being loyal turns into being a sap. The boys crossed that line about three episodes ago. The Doublemint Twins and the Pretty Boys arrive in Kiev and discover their next task is a Detour (a choice between two tasks). The choices for this detour are "Make the Music" and "Find the Music". In "Make the Music", the teams are to find a dance club, compose a rap containing the names of all the countries they've visited, and perform that rap in front of the crowd in the club. In "Find the Music", the teams are to find the local music conservatory and search through several stacks of sheet music to find a specific piece. The Doublemint Twins choose "Make the Music", while the Pretty Boys choose "Find the Music". Rob and Kimberly arrive in Kiev and choose "Make the Music". The Doublemint Twins arrive at the club and compose what has to be the Whitest rap in history. You can always tell a rap has been composed by a un-hip person when it begins, "My name is [insert name], and I'm here to say..." The Pretty Boys finish their challenge at about the same time. Both teams head towards the Pit Stop, which is located at a Ukrainian war memorial. Tyler and James are the first to arrive and win a trip to a resort in Mexico where they will get to swim with dolphins. Poor dolphins. Rob and Kimberly have convinced a young couple to guide them all around Kiev. This couple even waits for them outside of the club. Kimberly has done an uncharacteristically smart thing and composed her rap in the car on the way to the club. Her rap doesn't sound too bad, either. Once they are done performing they run out of the club, where their newly acquired friends tell them they'll be happy to guide them to the war memorial, too. Try to find two Americans who will do that for somebody they don't know. In fact, try to find two Americans with enough free time to do that. In the mean time, the Brainiacs spot the Single Moms and decide to follow them. They get to the apartment building at about the same time and receive their clues. The Brainiacs choose "Find the Music", while the Single Moms choose "Make the Music". Like Kimberly, Karlyn also composes her rap during the ride to the club (Where did these people find all of this common sense all of the sudden?). The Single Moms are ready to perform as soon as they get to the club. I give them a C- for the rap, but an A for Spunk and Attitude while on stage. Both of the last place teams finish and head for the Pit Stop. Erwin is about ready to stop for directions again when he and Godwin are pulled over by the cops. It turns out Godwin unknowingly turned down a closed street. Not satisfied with letting the boys turn around, the cop makes them get out of the car and show him all of their documents. As a result, they don't reach the Pit Stop until after dark. Erwin and Godwin are eliminated. Next week - A chariot ride for the Pretty Boys becomes out of control, a Yield comes into play.

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.

Episode Recap: Amazing Race 10, Week 8

Episode: He Can't Swim But He Can Eat Cow Lips! Original Air Date: November 5, 2006 It's 3am in Mauritius and the Doublemint Twins, Dustin and Kandice, are the first to leave the Pit Stop since they won the last leg of the race. Their next task is to drive to the airport and catch a flight to Madagascar. But wait! The girls' car looks all ugly now since they wrecked it the day before. No problem! They decide just to take one of the other teams' cars. An actual human being would feel guilt at this point, but not the Doublemint Twins. "That's what you get for showing up at the Pit Stop last!" one of them giggles. Apparently, their cosmetic surgeons drained them of their humanity to make room for the silicon, collagen, and Botox. Rob and Kimberly and the Pretty Boys Tyler and James are the second and third teams to leave, and have formed an alliance. "We weren't looking to make an alliance," James says, "The Six Pack forced us to form an alliance." Yeah, like the Kentucky Couple is such a threat to them. Those two couldn't cross the street without help, let alone win a race around the world. The other two teams in the Six Pack alliance (the Single Moms from Alabama, and the Brainac Cho Brothers) aren't much better. Speaking of the Six Pack, the Brainiacs wait for the Single Moms and the Kentucky Couple before leaving. But the Single Moms decide to take a different route to the airport. On the way, Mary from Kentucky tells us that everything she knows about Madagascar she learned from the "cartoon with the animals". I wonder if she thinks the animals in Madagascar really talk. Once again, all the teams rush frantically to the airport only to find themselves all on the same flight. Once on the plane, Kentucky Couple David and Mary argue about who gets to sit by the window. "I never get to sit by the window," David says, "It's my turn!" I will really, really, miss these two once their eliminated. The teams arrive in Madagascar and run to catch cabs to their next destination - a statue called "The Black Angel", which, unbeknownst to the racers, has recently been painted white. The Kentucky Couple is the first team to catch a cab, followed by the other two teams in their alliance. During the cab ride, Kimberly notices the local pollution problem. "Breathing in exhaust is really bad for you, right?" she asks her boyfriend Rob. "Yeah" "So how do these people like..." "Babe, they die a lot younger than we do. That's what happens. Most of them don't get enough protein, so their brains don't develop as much. The brain needs protein." With that kind of knowledge, Rob should get a job as a Social Studies teacher. All three teams in the Six Pack alliance lose their lead as their cabbies get lost en route to the Black Angel. The other teams arrive at about the same time and discover a new type of task for The Amazing Race, called an "Intersection". When a team comes upon an Intersection, it must combine forces with one of the other teams in the race and perform all tasks and make all decisions with that other team until further notice. If a team arrives at the intersection and no other team is there at the moment, they must wait until the next team arrives. In this instance, the Bickering Couple Rob and Kimberly and the Pretty Boys are the first two teams to arrive. Since they don't trust the Doublemint Twins and have already formed an alliance together anyway, they decide to join forces. The Doublemint Twins, on the other hand, have to wait for the Six Pack to arrive. The Bickering Couple and the Pretty Boys open their envelope and discover that a Fast Forward is available. A "Fast Forward" is a task that allows the first team (in this case teams) who accomplishes it to go straight to the Pit Stop without performing any other tasks. "You know," Kimberly says, "we could do the Fast Forward and take the easy win here, but David and Mary from Kentucky need this much more than we do. We should let them have it." "You're right," James replies, "they've played much more honorably than we have. They deserve it more than we do." Rob hugs Kimberly. "I'm so proud of you, Honey," he gushes, "What a selfless gesture. Once again, you are the Voice of Reason." Yeah, right. In reality, the two teams decide right away to perform the Fast Forward. In this instance, the Fast Forward entails finding a certain stand in a meat market, then eating a plate of cow lips. This is even more disgusting than it sounds. When the teams arrive at the stand, they find that the lips still have hair and even some teeth attached. Rob and Kimberly have to hold their noses to keep from tossing their cookies. Meanwhile, the Kentucky Couple and the Single Moms arrive at the Intersection. The Doublemint Twins know exactly how loved they are by these two teams and don't even bother trying to partner with either of them. The Brainiacs are the last to arrive and find they have no choice but to partner with the Doublemint Twins. The racers find themselves presented with a Detour (a choice between two tasks). They can either choose "Long Sleep", which involves assembling eight foam mattresses, then delivering them to a specific address, or they can choose "Short Letter", which involves hand-producing then decorating 28 sheets of hand-crafted paper. All of the teams choose "Long Sleep". Kentucky Mary once again displays her complete absense of good judgement and objects to this choice. She believes her teams should've chosen the Fast Forward, even though the first two teams have already gone there and are way ahead. This discussion delays their departure for their task, giving the Doublemint Twins and the Brainiacs the chance to pull ahead. The Brainiacs and Doublemint Twins work together efficiently and assemble the mattresses quickly. They find someone to lead them to the delivery address and leave. In the meantime, the Kentucky Couple and Single Moms are doing their impersonations of The Three Stooges. After bickering their way through assembling the mattresses, they fall all over each other trying to figure out how to carry them. They finally come up with the bright idea of using their fanny packs to bind together all eight mattresses. This doesn't make the job any easier, but it does make it funnier to watch. Even though all four of them are helping to carry the mattresses, none of them can see where they are going on this busy crowded street and wind up steering the mattresses into passing cars and almost knocking a rider off of his motorcycle. Unable to control a stack of eight mattresses, they wind up having to set their load down several times. As the streets get narrower, they have to break their bundle up into fewer mattresses. But instead of breaking it down into two loads of mattresses, they decide that they will each individually carry two mattresses apiece. Eventually, all four racers start yelling at each other. "Come on, Mary!" "Wait, Karlyn!" "Dave, come help Mary! Don't just stand right there!" The other two teams find the delivery address, finish the task, and discover that they are now no longer bound together and can seperate. They leave in seperate taxis for their next task. The Brainiacs' taxi runs out of gas on the way and ends up being pushed by some of the locals. Meanwhile, Bickering Couple Rob and Kimberly and the Pretty Boys are still struggling with the cow lips. Rob, Kimberly, and Tyler are fighting nausea between bites (Kimberly loses that fight more than once), but James is just chowing down like he's working on a box of McNuggets. "Dude, he's chewing!" Tyler points out, "He can't swim, but he can eat cow lips!" The Doublemint Twins arrive to find their clue for the next task, which is a "Roadblock" (a task that only one team member can perform). In this instance, the Roadblock has one of them searching through town for four seperate vendors who sell rubber stamps. That team member must find the rubber stamps that match each of the four stamps found on the written instructions. The other team member must go straight to the Pit Stop and wait for his/her companion to arrive. Dustin takes this challenge while Kandice goes to the Pit Stop. The Brainiacs' taxi finally has gas and they arrive to see Dustin searching for the stamps. It takes them a while to find the clue. Godwin takes the challenge and Erwin heads to the Pit Stop. Dustin, who has a lead on Godwin, finishes first and heads towards the Pit Stop. At this point, the Kentucky Couple and the Single Moms are just now finishing the mattress challenge and have to go back to where they put the mattresses together, since they chose to leave their backpacks there. I don't think you'll see any of these four contestants on Jeopardy any time soon. Erwin finds his fourth stamp and heads towards the Pit Stop around the same time the teams eating the cow lips finish and also head to the Pit Stop. It looks like an easy win for the Doublemint Twins when suddenly Dustin's cabby stops for gas. Unbelievably, Godwin's cab also has to stop for gas. Dustin reaches the cathedral first and the Doublemint Twins win a trip to Hawaii. They excitedly hug Phil in a fit of gratitude. Phil looks a little frightened. Tyler and James, then Rob and Kimberly, then Erwin and Godwin are the next to finish this leg of the race. It has come down to the Kentucky Couple and the Single Moms. One of them will be eliminated. Even so, Mary is determined not to 'change who she is' and helps Lyn find one of the stamp vendors. Mary finishes well ahead of Lyn and steps on to the mat in front of Phil with her husband David. But Phil reminds them that they are under a 30 minute penalty since they were last on the previous leg of the race. The only way they can avoid elimination is if Lyn arrives over 30 minutes after Mary. Lyn finishes the challenges and finds a taxi. Incredibly, her taxi also has to stop for gas. Lyn still manages to arrive within the 30 minute window. Kentucky Couple David and Mary are eliminated. The two teams hug and express their feelings of friendship for one another. David and Mary reflect on the race. Mary said the race has made her appreciate that she doesn't "have to be stuck in one place, that I need to get out and take my kids to see the world... I want my kids to... experience life." Take it from someone who's grown up in the sticks, that is a lesson most rednecks live their whole lives without learning. Good for David and Mary. Next week - Single Moms Lyn and Karlyn receive a message from home, lots of rolling around in the mud.