Recap: The Amazing Race 12, Episode 4 – “My dad is a wild dancer.”


EPISODE 12-04: LET’S NAME OUR CHICKEN PHIL

The Leg

Azaria & Hendekea depart at 7:58 am and look for Daki Saga, the tribal chief, to get their next clue and a customary gift of generosity. The teams get $0 for this leg.

The siblings find out they must catch a chicken and take it with them everywhere they go on the leg. “No Chicken… No Check In.”

The teams’ next destination is the town of Bouda Pelegtanga, where they will search for the next clue.

The siblings arrive there first, but Hendekea has to use the bathroom, allowing for other teams to pass.


Nathan & Jennifer open their clue to reveal the Detour, Shake Your Pan or Shake Your Booty. In Shake Your Pan, teams have to mine at least one ounce of gold in a mining pit. In Shake Your Booty, teams have to learn a traditional local dance and infuse their own creativity in a performance for three local celebrities who will judge them. If they impress the judges, they get their next clue. If not, they will incur a 10-minute penalty.

Meanwhile, back at the last Pit Stop, Lorena & Jason finally leave, about an hour and a half behind Shana & Jennifer.

At the Detour, Nathan & Jennifer go first and the head judge says they have “no creativity,” so they get a 10 minute penalty.

As TK & Rachel give up on the dancing and get lost switching Detours, Azaria & Hendekea easily get a pass from the judges.

The next clue is waiting at the Pelegtanga Market… BUT there’s a surprise!


“Caution. U-Turn Ahead.”
The U-turn, similar to a Yield, gives the teams the ability to slow down another team after having completed the Detour. This time, the team that has been forced to U-turn must go back and complete the other side of the Detour that they did not choose. There are only two on the race, and teams can only use their U-turn power once in the Race.

As teams opt not to use the U-turn, they find out they must make their way to the Tampouy Goat Market outside of Ouagadougou.

Nicolas & Donald easily finish the Shake Your Pan Detour, as Ronald & Christina’s “creativity is not very good” and wait 10 minutes. Kynt & Vyxsin do some kind of martial arts thing and get a “wonderful” from the judges.

The local men love Shana & Jennifer’s “sexy” rendition of the dance while TK & Rachel finally finish and are right behind them.

Shana & Jennifer apparently believe it is Lorena & Jason behind them, and thinking they were fighting for last place, they decide to use the U-Turn against them.


At the Goat Market, the teams learn about their Road Block. They must load a bike with supplies, including a tied up goat in a basket, and deliver them to a specified vendor.

Azaria and Jennifer finish neck and neck by walking through the market looking for their person, and they soon find out that they must find the Hotel de Ville, the City Hall, which is the Pit Stop for this leg.

With Lorena & Jason still far behind, Vyxsin, Christina, Nicolas, Rachel, and Shana arrive and work on the Road Block and in Ouagadougou, Azaria & Hendekea and Nathan & Jennifer have a footrace to the mat.

Azaria veers off to the left, but realizes Phil is right in front of him just in time to edge Nathan & Jennifer for 1st by a foot. Jennifer expresses her annoyance at the siblings getting first again.

Nicolas, Christina, and Vyxsin finish the Road Block and on the way to the Pit Stop, Vyxsin has an emotional moment reflecting on the people of Burkina Faso.

Ronald & Christina sneak past Nicolas & Donald for 3rd as Kynt & Vyxsin finish 5th.

Shana and Rachel have trouble, but finish the Road Block at the same time. Then Rachel takes a wrong turn and gets lost as the blondes drive away. Eventually, Shana & Jennifer finish 6th and TK & Rachel finish 7th.

Lorena & Jason couldn’t recover from being hours behind at the start of the leg, and with the U-turn, their fate was sealed, and they say goodbye to the Race.


The Teams
Thank goodness Ronald & Christina are sticking with their awesomeness instead of diving back into vacillation and chaos. Their dance was great, they had fun, and Ronald was spouting off some hilarious stuff. And they are 3rd!

Nicolas & Donald aren’t slowing down either. A combination of pacing themselves and not making any mistakes are helping them a lot. Grandparent/Parent/Child teams for the win!

Nathan & Jennifer are shaping up to be competent enough Racers. With Jennifer’s random quotes and Nathan’s PG-rated swearing… I’m liking this team!

Kynt & Vyxsin had an eye-opening experience this leg, especially Vyxsin. Still liking her more than him, and I think she’s done all the hard Road Blocks so far. That could be a problem for them later on, depending on how far they go.

Azaria & Hendekea kind of annoyed me this leg. There are hints of cockiness starting to show.

TK & Rachel just make one mistake after another. It’s unbelievable. They should be lucky and very thankful the blondes thought wrong, otherwise they would’ve been the victim of the first U-turn of the Race.

Speaking of… Shana & Jennifer, they were okay in this leg. While I probably would’ve U-turned a team that was right behind me and both us were last, Karma, regardless of whether or not it’s justified, will definitely be a bitch to you sooner or later. And for them, it looks like it’ll come in the form of a huge bus. Ouch!

And finally Lorena & Jason. The first four eliminations, I’m happy with, I don’t think I’ve been able to say that before. Especially after watching Elimination Station at CBS.com, I can honestly say I’d probably get really annoyed at the teams who have been eliminated already if they were still in the Race. Unfortunately for Jason (who, by the way, is a friend of TAR2 winner Alex Boylan) and an almost Flo-lite Lorena, they just couldn’t catch up. Oh well.


Randomly
I think the U-turn is okay. I don’t hate it as much as I did the Yield when it was first introduced (and believe me, I HATED the Yield when it was first introduced). I think the producers will probably choose legs where teams will most likely be close together and have Detours that are not very far apart whenever a U-turn appears in a leg. I would be surprised if they implemented U-turns in a leg where Detours are miles away from each other.

And while animals are always awesome on TAR, I felt so sorry for the chicken and the goat! Especially when Jennifer was apologizing to her goat, then asking it if it was too tight, and the goat (contrary to what Nathan apparently understood) replying with a nod and a “Yeeeessss.” Oh, that got me.


QUOTES FROM EPISODE 12-03
Christina: “You’re really good at shaking your booty.”
Ronald: “Yeah I am.”

Christina: “My dad is a wild dancer.”

Jennifer: “We’re going to win this Race like freakin’ men.”

Christina: “Daddy, don’t scare them.”

Ronald: “We choose not to u, u the used-turn because we’re not dead last…”

Jennifer: “Can’t touch… okay, touch me, touch me.”

Ronald: “Bon voyage!”
Christina: “Merci beaucoup daddy.”
Ronald: “ May the force of good fortune be with you.”

Jennifer: “He’s not gonna bite.”
Shana: “How do you know that?”
Jennifer: “Because they ram you, they don’t bite you.”


EPISODE CAPS UP NOW @
https://s163.photobucket.com/albums/t304/xangatheamazingracecaps/The%20Amazing%20Race%2012/Episode%204/

TEAM RANKINGS FOR EPISODE 12-04
1. Ronald & Christina
2. Nicolas & Donald
3. Nathan & Jennifer
4. Kynt & Vyxsin
5. Azaria & Hendekea
6. Shana & Jennifer
7. Rachel & TK
8. Lorena & Jason

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