'The Amazing Race' season 17 episode 2 recap: 'A Kiss Saves the Day'

This week on "The Amazing Race": The teams made their way from the Eastnor Castle in England to Accra, Ghana where they find themselves hawking sunglasses in a crowded marketplace, installing rabbit ear antennas, transporting animal-shaped coffins, and facing death-defying taxi rides on the traffic-filled streets.

The first team to depart are dating couple Jill and Thomas, who were also the recipient of the brand-new Express Pass which allows them to skip one task along the way. The Express Pass was briefly mentioned by Thomas after Jill showed her lack of sales skills during the sunglasses challenge. However, they ultimately chose not to use it, so it remains in their back pocket whenever they need a get-out-of-jail-free card down the road. Their initial lead is lost when they discover there is only one flight per day so all of the teams will be making their way to Ghana on the same plane.

Photos: Cast of "The Amazing Race" season 17

Once they arrive in Accra, some of the teams are greeted by beggars during their cab rides to Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park. Only Andie is nice enough to hand out some change, but it's understandable since all of the teams have limited funds, and it obviously made for an uncomfortable situation.

Once they reach the memorial park, they are instructed to make their way to Makola Market., which is huge with an incredibly large amount of people walking around. Michael of father/son team Michael & Kevin (aka KevJumba), says that it reminds him of the crowded markets while growing up in Taiwan, while one of the interchangeable volleyball players remarks on the bad scent. That's really all we hear from Katie & Rachel for the rest of the episode, and perhaps it's best that way.

Roadblock:

At the marketplace, one member of each team must sell sunglasses to the locals totaling 15 cedi (about $10) before receiving their next clue. However, they cannot sell a pair of sunglasses for less than 3 cedi each. Luckily, English is the official language of Ghana so communication problems aren't a huge issue. Still, some teams have a varied amount of difficulty with the task.

Naturally, Home shopping host Brook is right at home with this challenge, using her sales experience and giving a few kisses along the way to finish the task first. Chad also seems to subscribe to this strategy as he explains that he's using "sex to sell." However, it's a lot creepier when that method is used by a dude.

Initially, Michael struggles with the task given his more timid nature, but things soon start to pick up and surprisingly Kevin and Michael are the second team to finish. However, Jill isn't so lucky, as Thomas becomes increasingly frustrated with her inability to sell even one pair of sunglasses. In a confessional, she tells him that she wanted to make sure each pair she was selling wasn't scratched because she knows they might not have a lot of money. Thomas, however, feels differently. He says it's a race and that feelings shouldn't come into play. While I tend to agree with him to a certain extent, I appreciate Jill's concern, and Thomas seems to be already giving off somewhat of a jerk vibe, but I'll hold off my full-on hatred of him for now.

Nick is just as bad if not worse than Jill at selling. A women even runs away with a pair at one point (after a brief booty-shaking dance number), but she eventually returns to pay for them. Nick and Vicki seem pretty dense, but at least they're able to laugh at their stupidity, which makes them kind of fun.

Kat, half of the doctor team, also struggles. Her calm and more laid-back nature just doesn't work well with this type of challenge. The more outgoing Nat does her best to cheer her team mate on and literally pleads for her to do better, but to no avail. They finish the task last, while all of the other teams have already headed off to the detour. Parent/child teams Andie/Jenna and Mallory/Gary join them at the back of the pack.

Detour:

Tune In- Find an electronic store where you must pick up and then install an antenna kit at a nearby home. Some teams struggled with getting a clear picture, but most eventually figured it out, with the exception of A cappella geeks Connor/Jonathan who just plain give up, opting to try the other detour instead. The Home Shopping hosts, Chad/Stephanie, Kevin/ Michael, Nick/ Vicki, and Gary/ Mallory all decide to "Tune In" with only minor difficulties. Brook/ Claire are yet again the first team finished. I expected Brook's personality to be grating, but her enthusiasm for each task makes her somewhat endearing (for the moment anyway). Claire also deserves respect just for the sheer fact that she took a melon to the face, and still continued on. They definitely have a good shot of making it far. First female winners, perhaps?

Check out- Transport custom-made coffins, in a variety of different shapes, to a nearby showroom. If you're going to be spending an eternity in one of these things why not make it fun? Katie/ Rachel get a piano, Jill/ Thomas get a camera, Nat/ Kat get a lobster, and both Jenna/Andie and Connor/Jonathan get a fish.

Pit Stop- Kaneshie Market:

The teams must find Phil somewhere in between the massive crowd of people to check-in. Brook/ Claire and Rachel/ Katie make it around the same time, but the Home Shopping host find Phil first, taking first place for this leg of the race. They win a 10-day trip to Hawaii, helicopter ride included.

The five teams at the tail end rely on the speed of their taxi drivers to avoid elimination. The doctors were second to last, but manage to jump ahead of some of the other teams when their driver swerves through traffic, nearly causes a few accidents, and creates a whole new third lane. I don't blame them for not wanting to watch anymore. Connor/ Jonathan's driver follows suit, as the two guys try not to soil themselves.

Pit Stop order:

1. Brook and Claire
2. Katie and Rachel
3. Michael and Kevin
4. Chad and Stephanie
5. Jill and Thomas
6. Connor and Jonathan
7. Nat and Kat
8. Nick and Vicki
9. Gary and Mallory
10. Andie and Jenna - Philiminated

Andie and Jenna give an emotional farewell. It was great to see how well they got along after being reunited all these years later. Unfortunately, they weren't long for the race. Their philimination was bound to come sooner or later.

Favorite teams: Brook/ Clair, Kevin/ Michael, Kat/ Nat, and Nick/ Vicki

Least favorite: Jill/ Thomas, Chad/ Stephanie, and Rachel/ Katie.

Which teams are your favorite/ least favorite so far?

Next Week: Nick loses his cool, while Michael struggles to continue on.

'The Amazing Race' 17 episode 4 recap: 'We Should Have Brought Gloves and Butt Pads' (Video)

'The Amazing Race' 17 preview: Contestant accidentally smashes a watermelon into her face (VIDEO)

Click here to watch the entire episode.

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