Recap: The Amazing Race 13, Episode 10 – “You’re Going to Get Me Killed!”

The Leg
PENULTIMATE
And so we are off on the penultimate leg of the 13th season of The Amazing Race.

Curiously, Toni & Dallas are off first, but we aren’t given any departure times.  Very unusual.

Their clue tells them to take a taxi to Severnoye Tushino Park and find a retired Russian nuclear submarine.  Inside, they must search for the sonar room where they’ll find an actor who played an officer in the film The Hunt for Red October who’ll hand them their next clue.

Dallas talks about how happy they are winning a leg and Toni wants Dallas to find that one great happiness in life.
Tina again talks about their relationship and that they feel better about it, but she’s looking for consistency.
Starr talks about how she always gets her way. 
Dandrew talk about their spotty performance, how they are “the comeback kids,” and how making the final 3 would be a miracle (Heh).

In their taxis, the teams draw little submarines to get their drivers to understand where they need to go.  It helped.

Toni & Dallas, Ken & Tina, and Nick & Starr apparently have to wait for Hours of Operation because they magically run into the submarine together.  They run around and find the guy who gives them their next clue.  

COUNTING LENIN AND STALIN ISN’T ROCKET SCIENCE
The clue tells them to travel by taxi to the “Graveyard of Fallen Monuments,” an outdoor museum at Park Iskusstv and search for their next clue.

Nick & Starr are in a taxi first while Toni can’t seem to keep up with Dallas in 2nd.  Ken & Tina are last to grab a taxi, but they grab one with GPS.Dandrew bring up the rear as they get splashed by a truck and a puddle.

Teams sit in traffic, Ken & Tina cough through their driver’s smoking and Dandrew’s English speaking driver takes them to the wrong park.When the teams finally make it to the park, they find the Road Block.

In this Road Block, teams must scour the park filled with Soviet era monuments and count the monuments of Lenin (6) and Stalin (2).  After getting the numbers to get 62, they’ll head to an antique book store on Stary Arbat (Arbat Street/Old Arbat) and tell the shopowner the number who, if correct, will give them a book.  If wrong, they must wait 10 minutes until giving another guess.  With the book, written by Mikhail Bulgakov, they must use the number 62 to look for their next location, the former apartment complex of the author on the street printed on page 62 of the book: Sadovaya Street.  There, they’ll find their waiting partner, and their next clue.

 Nick gets started and tries to figure out who’s Lenin and Stalin in the park. 
Toni & Dallas arrive, and an out of breath Toni says Dallas should do it.
Before Toni leaves, she entrusts the Race fanny pack with the money and passport to him.  And the foreshadowing begins.  

Ken & Tina arrive at the park as Nick finishes the Road Block and takes their GPS enabled cab.  After a little spatting over hoods and pneumonia, Tina gets to the Road Block.
Dallas tries to figure out who’s who as Nick get his book and makes his way to the apartment.  

When he runs to find a taxi, he passes right by Dallas who doesn’t notice him.  Meanwhile, Tina is right behind him.

Dallas (counting 3 Stalins) makes a wrong guess (36) and has to wait the 10 minutes.  His next guess is 46 which is wrong again.  Tina arrives.

At the Bulkagov Building, Nick & Starr get their next clue.  They must travel to Sokol’niky Park where they will look for a lady with a Shetland Pony who will hand them their next clue.Dandrew finally arrives at the Lenins and Stalins and Andrew gets going.

Dallas and Tina compare numbers.  He tells her what he guessed and she says she’ll tell him what she gets as she goes in to guess 52 which is wrong.

RUSSIAN RIDES
Nick & Starr arrive at the pony and get the Detour.

In this confusingly detailed Detour, teams choose between two forms of public transportation in Moscow; Ride the Rails or Ride the Lines. In Ride the Rails, teams make their way on foot to Sokol’niky train station where they will catch a metro to the Ulitsa 1905 Station.  There, they will find a marked snack shop where they’ll be given a traditional pastry known as a samsa.  On the wrapper, they’ll find their next clue directing them to Kitay-Gorod Station and then find a statue dedicated to the men who created the Cyrillic alphabet.  Nearby is a babushka who will hand them their last clue in exchange for the pastry.  The clue, also containing a picture of their next destination, tells them to then take the metro to VDNKh Park and search the station for the next clue. In Ride the Lines, teams makes their way to a nearby bus stop where they’ll catch a trolley bus to Krasndsel’skaya.  There, they’ll find a key maker who will hand them their next clue attached to a locker key which tells them to take another trolley bus to Rizhskaya Train Station.  At the station, they’ll use their key to open up a locker revealing their next clue inside with a picture of their next destination, VDNKh Park Station and search for their next clue.

Nick & Starr, thinking Nick’s New York subway experience will help, choose Ride the Rails.
At the Road Block, Andrew just about finishes up with his driver helping, while Toni and Dallas try to figure out their findings.   She tells him to guess 63 while she goes to pay her taxi, but Dallas is wrong and waits.  He tells Tina when she comes back, and she goes in to guess 62 and gets the next clue leaving Dallas at the store.Before she leaves, she yells to Dallas that it is “the next number down” and that he “owes” her.

Andrew thinks he’s got the right answer and goes to the store while Dallas finally answers correctly to get his clue.
Tina arrives at the apartment building and tells Toni she helped Dallas which prompts Ken to say that it was bullcrap.  

BAD LUCK CATCHES UP
Dallas gets out of his taxi in front of the apartment building and then realizes he’s left his Race pouch in the taxi.  He walks into the complex and breaks the bad news to his mother.  They realize they can’t get to their next destination because they have no money for a taxi.  They walk back to Dan, but then remember he doesn’t have the money. Toni says they’ll push on while Dan says he really wouldn’t help them even if he had money.  He points out that mother and son are stranded.

They walk and try to find out where Sokol’niky park is.  Two men tell them where it is and then they give them some money.  Toni repays them with a kiss on their cheeks.  The men tell them the metro is 20 rubles while a taxi might be 400 rubles.  With the little money they have, they choose to take the metro.  *cue rattlesnack/doom music*

Meanwhile, partner Andrew finishes the Road Block as Nick & Starr begin their Detour.  Ken & Tina arrive at the Shetland pony lady and get their clue.  They choose Ride the Lines.  They initially get on the wrong kind of bus, but are pointed in the right direction.

Toni & Dallas arrive at Sokol’niky Park and look for the pony.  They turn around and Dandrew are running towards them.  They all pick up their speed but Dandrew have to stop at their Speed Bump first. 
In this Speed Bump, Dandrew has to take part in one traditional Russian dance number, following the steps of the dance group.  When they have done the dance correctly, they’ll get their next clue.

Toni & Dallas on the other hand approach the lady with the Shetland Pony, but she refuses to give them a clue.  They realize that they took the metro not the taxi and they have to go all the way back to where they came from.  With no money, they approach another two men who reach into their pockets to help them as well.

THE FINAL 3 REVEALED
Nick & Starr complete their Detour and get their next clue, to head to the Pit Stop at VDNKh Park.  It is no surprise, the siblings finish 1st and win a trip to Anguila.   More importantly, they are one of the final 3 teams running for the million.

Dandrew, at their Speed Bump, as expected from last week’s craziness with marching, have trouble at first, but seemingly get it on their 2nd try.  They get the Detour and also choose Ride the Lines.

Toni & Dallas take the bus back to the apartment complex and then the taxi to the pony.  They ask a lady on the street for info and she happily gives them 50 rubles.     

Meanwhile Ken & Tina and Dandrew head to the last destination of the Detour, VDNKh Park Station for their next clue.  While Ken & Tina wander around the station, having no idea what the picture means, Dandrew find the last clue and head to the Pit Stop.  Ken & Tina see Dandrew running towards the Pit Stop and they follow.

Both teams arrive at the mat, Phil declares Dandrew 2nd (2nd!!!), but tells Ken & Tina they have not completed their Detour.
They backtrack and eventually find the clue near the station and Phil checks them in 3rd, completing the final 3 teams racing for the million in the final leg.

Toni & Dallas continue on their Detour, but Phil appears out of nowhere, walking out of a building to stop them in their tracks to let them know they have been eliminated from the Race.

Overall
Well, I guess I’ll get it out of the way.  As soon as Dallas walked in, head down into the little plaza of that apartment complex, Toni encouraging him that they were still in I knew it was over.  And then he tells her what happened and their faces stayed long the rest of the episode.  It was a little depressing seeing them look so miserable the rest of the leg, but still pushing forward and hoping for the best.

It was an otherwise excellently planned and complicated leg. 

I wonder why there weren’t any departure times at the beginning of the episode?  Usually, even if the Pit Stop is more than the mandatory 12 hours (and is some strange 18, 24 or 48 hour Pit Stop) they usually show us something, but they didn’t.  Weird.

It was also a little off putting seeing the teams just magically run through the gate at the submarine together.  Strange editing there.

But the Road Block and Detour was well-planned and pretty clever.  How in the world did they manage to figure out the number of Stalin and Lenin statues would somehow correspond to the page in a book?  Special print maybe?

And the Detour… whoever put together that scavenger hunt… much kudos.

So 10 episodes done, 1 left (I miss the 13 episode seasons, more teams, more non-elims, double legs…).