Recap: The Amazing Race Canada 2, Episode 8 – "Freakin' right!"


Recap: The Amazing Race Canada 2, Episode 8 – I Said Yes!

TARC208

The 8th Leg of the Canadian Race begins with teams needing to sign up at the Bayeux train station for one of two trains departing for Paris arriving 58 minutes apart. Once there, teams must search the area around the Arc de Triomphe for their next clue.

TARC208 TARC208

But this first clue also warns of a U-Turn ahead. Sukhi & Jinder agree to U-Turn whoever is immediately behind them. At the station, Alain & Audrey and Pierre & Michel agree not to U-Turn each other.

Later at sunrise, the other teams are shocked to see Ryan & Rob have not been eliminated.

Now, the teams are off to Paris. On the first train are Natalie & Meaghan, Pierre & Michel and Mickey & Pete. On the second train are Sukhi & Jinder, Alain & Audrey and Ryan & Rob.

On the train, Natalie & Meaghan and Mickey & Pete are each looking at maps, figuring out the fastest way to the Arc from the Gare Saint-Lazare. Pierre & Michel, meanwhile, think about U-Turning Alain & Audrey, even though they had agreed not to.

TARC208 TARC208

The first train arrives in Paris and the teams open the next clue directing them to the Place du Canada where they will enter the Garden of New France and find their next clues with Samuel de Champlain and Jacques Cartier.

The second train arrives. Sukhi accidentally hits the taxi door on a street post and the driver refuses to take them. Alain & Audrey, meanwhile, enjoy the City of Love.

TARC208 TARC208


At the Garden, teams find the Detour.
In Haute Couture, teams must find the Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne where they will recreate a brand new look by precisely pinning together pieces of fabric onto a mannequin. When the head of the school approves of their fashionable creation, they’ll receive the next clue.
In Plat du Jour, teams must find three specifically marked chalkboards at traditional cafes in the Marais District where they will buy each marked menu item and deliver them to waiting patrons. Once they’ve recited each menu item perfectly, they will receive the next clue.

While Mickey & Pete get taken outside of Paris, while all the other teams choose the Plat du Jour Detour.

TARC208 TARC208

Natalie & Meaghan purchase all their food first and head to the waiting customers. They recite the three items: Fromage et Charcuterie, Croque Monsieur and Cafe Crème et un Croissant.

They get the next clue telling them to go to the Centre Pompidou where they will find the Double U-Turn.

While the other teams run around looking for the chalkboards, Alain & Audrey decide to switch Detours, but find the dresses aren’t any easier than running around.

Natalie & Meaghan arrive at the U-Turn board and decide not to U-Turn anyone. But when Pierre & Michel arrive, they decide to U-Turn Alain & Audrey. The twins say Alain & Audrey would U-Turn them in a second, so why not.

TARC208 TARC208

Teams must now go to Ile aux Cygnes under Pont de Grenelle for their next clue.

Sukhi & Jinder have one cafe left to find when they run into Ryan & Rob. Ryan & Rob ask if the siblings have found any yet, but Sukhi & Jinder say “No.” Even though, Sukhi & Jinder are each holding a bag of food. Ryan & Rob can’t believe it as Sukhi & Jinder run off.

While Alain & Audrey get the thumbs down on their creation, Sukhi spills the cafe in the bag.

TARC208

Natalie & Meaghan arrive at the next clue box and find the Road Block.


For this Road Block, teams will reproduce an art piece by artist Bastek using only Mentos candies.

Natalie loves candies so she decides to do the Road Block.

TARC208 TARC208

Meanwhile, Sukhi & Jinder finish the Detour and hurry over to the U-Turn board where they U-Turn Ryan & Rob, the team right behind them, wanting to ensure their spot in the Race. Ryan & Rob have a Speed Bump and now a U-Turn. They are done with Sukhi & Jinder. They wish they could pin the fabric onto Sukhi’s skin.

Pierre & Michel arrive at the Road Block. While Michel starts, Pierre laughs about U-Turning Alain & Audrey. This time, Alain & Audrey have an easier time finding all the cafes. But they end up spilling their coffee as well, so they run back.

Ryan & Rob finish the other Detour and head back to the Centre Pompidou.

TARC208 TARC208

Natalie asks Bastek for a check, but he says her artwork is incorrect. Natalie realizes she’s put in yellow Mentos instead of orange and after correcting her mistake, she gets the thumbs up. She and Meaghan can now make their way to the Pit Stop at the Pont de l’Archevêché

Sukhi & Jinder arrive just as Natalie & Meaghan leave. While Sukhi starts the Road Block, Jinder laughs with Pierre about their U-Turns.

TARC208 TARC208

Speaking of, Ryan & Rob find their Speed Bump where they must learn the traditional French song, ” Au clair de la lune,” on the accordion and perform it for the crowd.

Mickey & Pete arrive at the Road Block and are surprised to have been able to catch up to the other teams even after visiting the Paris suburbs.

TARC208 TARC208

Michel asks Bastek for approval, but he is incorrect. Two hours and 23 minutes for Sukhi, 4 hours and 3 minutes for Michel. Michel again gets the thumbs down. Alain & Audrey arrive and are happy to see the twins still there.

Audrey starts the Road Block and hopes karma is a bitch for Pierre & Michel and Sukhi & Jinder.

Across town, Natalie & Meaghan arrive at the Mat and Jon officially checks them in as Team #1. They win Premium Rouge seats to any European Air Canada destination and $3000.

TARC208 TARC208

Back at the Road Block, Sukhi is running on 3 hours and 6 minutes when Ryan & Rob arrive. Ryan does not even want Jinder to look at him and he high fives everyone except Jinder.

Michel again gets the thumbs down, but Sukhi finally gets approval from Bastek. She and Jinder run to the Pit Stop and officially check-in as Team #2.

It is five hours and 28 minutes for Michel. Still incorrect. Audrey and Pete are also not done, but they decide to help each other. They can see each other’s mistakes, so they point them out for each other. That’s when Bastek approves Pete’s art.

TARC208 TARC208

Mickey & Pete head to the Pit Stop as Team #3.

Three hours and 40 minutes for Audre, 2 hours and 7 minutes for Rob and 6 hours and 40 minutes for Michel. And it is Audrey who gets approved first. Alain & Audrey hurry to the Pit Stop and check-in as Team #4.

But Alain has something to say. He gets down on his knee and proposes. With an actual ring! Audrey says “Yes!” and Alain & Audrey are now engaged.

TARC208

Back at the Road Block, it is 2 hours and 28 minutes for Rob when he gets the thumbs up from Bastek. They head to the Mat and check-in as Team #5.

That leaves Pierre & Michel in last. 7 hours and 52 minutes after arriving at the Road Block, Michel gets the approval and they head to the Pit Stop to be eliminated.

TARC208

Episode Thoughts

It was a good Leg and actually, great Leg design.

I’ve always thought U-Turns should never be right before a Pit Stop. It really diminishes any possible drama and just dooms the U-Turned team to elimination. Here, it was great to see a long Road Block after the U-Turn.

The Detour was alright, both simple tasks, I think. But the Road Block was basically a detail and patience-oriented task that apparently people not named Natalie just can’t deal with. (lol)

Having a full Leg in Paris was also awesome. But the forced separation with the trains, again, was completely unnecessary.

It was a solid Leg and episode, but overshadowed by TARAu’s awesome first episode this week. (For me, at least.)

My Subjective Team Rankings

Sukhi & Jinder finally Racing very well. It was great to see them work their way to the front and stay there. Though Sukhi at the Road Block was getting kinda iffy for a little bit. Their decision to U-Turn was fine, especially if Sukhi ended up sucking as much as Michel. But she didn’t and they got 2nd place.

Natalie & Meaghan appear unstoppable. It would be a huge upset at this point if they don’t make the Final Leg. It is really strange how them dominating and winning all the Legs doesn’t really bother me. I don’t necessarily love them, but I definitely am in awe of how well they’ve Raced. It’s not like they are helped by linear Legs like on TARUS. They have been on equal footing with other teams numerous teams and just simply manage to do tasks faster and better.

Mickey & Pete staged a little mini comeback this Leg which was good on them. They were otherwise subdued this Leg, probably because they were in last for a good chunk of it. Alain & Audrey were alright and congrats on their engagement. They definitely made up great time. But Audrey’s hoping karma striking Sukhi & Jinder in addition to Pierre & Michel was odd. I really think there’s some drama we haven’t seen between the teams involving why some are just so negative toward Sukhi & Jinder. (As evidenced by the episodes and the awkwardly interesting back and forth on the halfway reunion.)

Pierre & Michel‘s elimination was hilariously cruel, but they really caught a bad break on the Road Block. Actually, it was Michel’s doing, but they otherwise ran a solid Leg. Their decision to U-Turn Alain & Audrey would’ve been okay if they hadn’t made that promise at the train station. It wasn’t necessary for them to promise it in the first place, but at the same time, they must have seen Alain & Audrey the biggest threat (not Natalie & Meaghan) left.

Ryan & Rob still managing to be so blah in a Leg where they were U-Turned and Speed Bump’d and just surviving is a huge accomplishment. Like, really. Where is their personality!?

Episode Quotes

Natalie: “We are running around like crazy women.”

Sukhi & Jinder: “Freakin’ right.”

Natalie: “Quebec just blew up!”

Audrey: “Je savais.”

Share your thoughts!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Back to top