This week we witnessed yet another "Amazing Race" first as the teams made their way to the Arctic Circle for the first time in the show's history. The much-hyped Express Pass was also actually used, and we bid adieu to the sometimes annoying, but mostly-endearing team of Princeton glee club members on the day of their college graduation.
It was also demonstrated once again that "The Amazing Race" producers (I'm looking at you van Munster) have to come up with a better twist for non-eliminated teams than the speed bump, or at least better challenges since they seem to get lamer every season (exihibit A: go casually sit over on that cold chair for ten minutes).
Photos: Cast of "The Amazing Race" season 17
We open with our group of money-grubbing, adventure-seekers doing a good deed for once: they all chip in to help renovate the Ghana school we saw in the last episode, while the Glee Boys expectedly sing a song about it. They're really nice guys, but sometimes they make it so hard to root for them.
Team Glee are the first to depart at 10:15am. All the teams are headed to Kiruna, Sweden in the aforementioned Arctic Circle. Possibly the comedic highlight of the episode (besides the contestants repeatedly falling off their sleds during the detour) comes when tattooed dolt Nick asks their taxi driver to take them to the Arctic Circle, while still in Ghana. “We’re more a physical couple than mental,” Vicki later admits. You don't say...
The rest of the teams seem excited about getting out of the scorching Ghana heat, save for Team HSN (Claire and Brook "The Ice Princess") who (jokingly) lament the fact that they'll actually have to wear more clothes now, which is sure to disrupt their whole flirtatious, lets-make-out-with-as-many-locals-as-we-can strategy (which, admittedly, has worked well for them so far).
Phil narrates that tickets for all nine teams have been booked with a connection through Frankfurt, Germany, but they are under no obligation to actually take the reserved flights. Team YouTube (Kevin/Michael) are the first to call ahead to see if they can catch an earlier flight in Frankfurt. This is especially important for them since they are anticipating an extremely difficult, virtually impossible speed bump coming up that is sure to take them hours. They find out there is an earlier flight that would give them a two hour lead on the other teams, BUT they only have an hour to catch it once they arrive.
At the airport, Team YouTube informs Mallory and Gary about the earlier flight. They admit they have a connection with them since they too carry the burden of having an old person on their team. Mallory uses her blonde charm to get tickets booked for both teams.
The Doctors (Nat/Kat) use their brain power by looking for other tickets at the internet cafe. Team HSN follows them, and the two teams, suddenly overcome with girl power, decide to work together since they're the only all female teams on the race (besides the non-existent blonde volleyball players).
By the time Team Glee and the Volleyball girls figure things out, all the seats are booked, so they along with the three dating couples will be on the later flight. Once they arrive in Frankfurt, Team HSN, the Doctors, Mallory/ Gary, and Team YouTube all scurry through the airport to catch their next flight. We get a brief commercial break fake-out where it seems that Kevin and Michael aren't going to make it, stuck on what seems like a 20-minute elevator ride. Suddenly, the doors open and everything is alright in the world once again as they make their way on the plane.
Once the first group lands in Sweden they head to the awesome looking Icehotel (or rather the warehouse where the Icehotel is stored during the summer months), where their next clue is etched in a block of ice, instructing them to go to Fjellborg's Lodge. But first....
Speed Bump: Sit on chairs made out of ice for ten minutes in front of a fake fireplace. Seriously, that's the best they could come up with?? I'm sure it wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world, and I get not wanting to put the non-eliminated team at too much of a disadvantage, but stuff like this doesn't add much to the excitement of the episode besides giving us the title of the episode. Anyone remember that Sauna Bus Speed Bump? This arguably surpasses that on the lame meter. KevJumba did have some difficulties since he made the not-so-bright decision of wearing shorts, but he quickly got through it by rotating each butt cheek. Now that qualm aside, the rest of the leg did make for good television, providing us with the two reasons viewers tune in in the first place: the beautiful scenery and contestants humiliating themselves. The first came during the...
Roadblock: One team member must lead a pack of sled dogs through the woods, while grabbing a total of five flags. This challenge was more difficult on the dogs than the contestants, but it was still great to see how much fun all the teams had with the task. Michael seemed particularly giddy: “I am enjoying!” I too must admit I have always wanted a husky, and this just further cements that idea.
None of the teams have difficulty with the roadblock, except for Mallory who misses the first flag and must take a penalty lap before getting the clue. Still, the teams remain in basically the same order as the flights arrived. From there they head to the Vassejaure train station.
Detour- Sleds or Beds: Team YouTube arrive first, choosing Beds since Kevin maintains that his dad could never successfully ride a sled due to his crippling disability of being old. In Beds, the teams must build a tent in the style of the indigenous Sami people, matching the replica nearby, complete with bedding, a fire, and rocks. In the first group, only Kevin and Michael go for Beds, while the rest try their hands at the tech sleds.
In Sleds, both teammates must ride down a hill on a sled, finishing in under 1 minute and 58 seconds, otherwise they both must repeat the course. The three teams to arrive first (Team HSN, Gary and Mallory, and The Doctors) all finish it with relative ease. Even Kat, who flies over the boundary fence on the first try, makes it look relatively easy compared to the teams to come. This was surely the faster choice since they all arrive at the pit stop before Team YouTube.
Chad and Stephanie are the first couple from the back of the pack to arrive, and choose Sleds. Seems that Chad is a bit of a winter sports enthusiast, but the same cannot be said for poor Stephanie who wipes out a few times before quitting. She begs Chad to switch tasks, as the douchey-side of him reemerges. He swears and berates her a bit before agreeing to go on to Beds. Meanwhile, Jill & Thomas go back and forth about whether to use the much-discussed Express Pass since they're currently at the back of the pack. They arrive at the Beds challenge, but decide to leave and use the pass instead. I understand their thinking, but I have no doubt they could have easily done either task and still made it out alive, given the other teams' poor performances.
With the exception of physically-strong, mentally-weak Nick & Vicki, all the other teams failed miserably at sledding, to hilarious results. I know someone could have been seriously hurt, but no one did so it's ok to laugh at them. Jonathan of Team Glee (Harry Potter look-alike) particularly struggles with the task, toppling over multiple times before moving on. I'm sure at some points he was really wishing he was at his graduation instead. The volleyball girls see their sled nearly go off the edge of the mountain, before following suit and going on to Beds. Chad & Stephanie are the first to finish, and make their way to the pit stop. The volleyball girls are rejected on their first try, but eventually get it, leaving only Team Glee behind. They make it seem like they're neck-in-neck on the way to the pit stop, but we know the result is a foregone conclusion.
Pit Stop:
1. Nat and Kat, won a trip to Belize
2. Gary and Mallory
3. Brook and Claire
4. Michael and Kevin
5. Jill and Thomas
6. Nick and Vicki
7. Chad and Stephanie
8. Katie and Rachel
9. Jonathan and Connor - Philiminated
Naturally, Team Glee arrive at the pit stop performing an a cappella version of "Pomp and Circumstance" to a befuddled Phil and his Swedish companion. It is actually sad to see them go, especially given the fact that they were eliminated on their graduation day. They were nice guys with a lot of enthusiasm, but I don't think they had much of a shot at making it to the end, despite how well male teams usually do. They lacked coordination, and didn't perform well in the physical challenges. They lacked common sense, evidenced by the fact that they didn't look for other flights despite being at the airport an hour ahead. They also didn't demonstrate much of their smarts, since they couldn't find Ghana on a map during the last leg. I can't say that I'll miss their constant harmonizing, but I do wish them well.
Were you sad to see Connor and Jonathan be eliminated?
Related Articles:
'The Amazing Race' teams for season 17 revealed by CBS (PHOTOS)
'The Amazing Race' season 17 episode 2 recap: 'A Kiss Saves the Day'
'The Amazing Race' 17 preview: Contestant accidentally smashes a watermelon into her face (VIDEO)
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