The Amazing Race: Stuck In DubaiThe teams were obviously hoping to get out of the heat, but it was not to be during this episode. The Blonde Beachers, off their win last week, are the first to start in the morning. They pick up a locked briefcase. The first task is a roadblock: Row a boat out to a yacht to receive a watch. The watch has a time on it, which is set at 8:35. This of course is the combination to the briefcase, and everybody quickly realizes this. Except that the Harlem Globetrotters' Big Easy thinks the watch is telling him an eight and a seven, so he keeps trying the combinations of 8-7-1, 8-7-2.
I notice that one of the gay brothers is wearing a shirt that just reads "College". Didn't somebody else do that a few years back? At any rate, the teams are next faced with a detour: Gold or Glass? In Gold, they have to weigh out $500,000 worth of gold, while in Glass they must assemble a dozen hookahs. It seems transparent to me that the Gold challenge would be much easier, although the fact that the exchange rate changes every minute does make it a little trickier. The Blonde Beachers start out on Gold, but predictably neither of them is good at math, so eventually they decide to switch tasks. The Gay Brothers and the Poker Players both pick Gold, and the Gay Bros have a calculator. They again team up with the Poker Players and both teams pretty much breeze through the challenge.
Meanwhile, the Blonde Beachers finish their hookahs. Next up is the Leap of Faith. They have to ride a water slide down six stories, through a pool filled with sharks and into another pool (which is safe). The Beachers manage it with no problems. Next up: the Pit Stop, where they receive "personal watercraft"; no mention as to what kind of watercraft, but I'm guessing something like a Sea-Doo
Next come the Poker Players, and the Gay Brothers, then the Farmer and Son; in addition to his pink hair, the son's got a lot of tatts on him.
The big drama in the race comes next. Mika, one of the Christian Country pair is deathly afraid of heights and doesn't want to take the Leap of Faith. At moments, it looks like Canaan, her boyfriend is about to force her down the water slide. Eventually, the Harlem Globetrotters, who had been in last place, show up and discourage Mika from going down the slide. It's kind of sleazy, but you gotta do what you gotta do to win, and sure enough the time is up on Mika and Canaan and they have to yield to the Globies, who can't get down the slide fast enough. Canaan tries going down first, but predictably Mika is still too petrified, and slinks down the staircase. The Globies make it to the mat, while the Christian Country pair are Phil-Liminated.
Comments: It seems a big mistake not to have a bunching maneuver in this episode, as the Blonde Beachers had about a 90-minute head start on everybody, and are easily first to reach every challenge and first to complete them. I believe they have won three legs so far in this series, and definitely look like the team to beat.
Labels: The Amazing Race
