Recap: The Amazing Race Canada 3, Episode 5 – "I have buried my daughter semi-alive. "


Recap: The Amazing Race Canada 3, Episode 5 – “The Face Off”

Teams must now fly to Les Iles-de-la-Madeleine/Magdalen Islands, Quebec. They will only have One Loonie loaded onto their BMO Cashback World Elite MasterCard for this Leg.

Once in Les Iles-de-la-Medeleine, teams will choose a brand new Chevy Colorado which has their next clue. In that clue are photos that they will need to reference to pack the items needed for this Leg onto their Chevy.

Teams must then drive to Plage de la Dune du Sud. Caution! Double U-Turn ahead!

Gino & Jesse are first to the cluebox which has the Road Block: Who is the King of the castle?

For this Road Block, teams must build a replica of an existing sandcastle around their buried partners using some of the tools they loaded onto their Chevy Colorados.

Gino, Cynthia, Neil, Ope, Matt, Dujean, Brent do the Road Block.

Gino has no problem building his sandcastle and he and Jesse get the next clue directing them to Monument aux Pecheurs.

Nic & Sabrina finally arrive and Sabrina decides to do the Road Block.

Cynthia asks for a check, but gets the thumbs down. Kristin is struggling being buried in the freezing sand. Neil asks for a check, but also gets the thumbs down. Kristin suggests taking the penalty, but Neil says No. Sean throws up.

Cynthia asks for another check and this time gets approved.

Gino & Jesse arrive at the cluebox and find a Face Off! Teams must compete head-to-head and cannot move on in the Race until they’ve successfully won the challenge.

For this Face Off, teams must play a head-to-head game of kayak hockey. The first team to score two goals will win the next clue. The losing team must wait for the next team to play again while the last team will receive a time penalty.

Brian & Cynthia arrive to face off against the brothers, but Gino & Jesse easily win. Cynthia struggles to even stay on her kayak.

Gino & Jesse open the next clue revealing the Detour.
In Ride It, teams must complete an equestrian course in under 8 minutes to receive their next clue.
In Pull It, teams must roll a 75 lb hay bale to a barn and then each fill a 1 liter bottle of milk from a cow to receive their next clue.

Gino & Jesse choose Pull It.

Simi & Ope arrive at the Face Off. Brian & Cynthia win and they Pull It.

Nick & Matt take on Simi & Ope and the father and daughter struggle to even stay on their kayaks. Simi cries out of frustration.

Brian & Cynthia arrive at the farm first right before Gino & Jesse.

As Gino & Jesse start milking the cows, Brent & Sean face off against Simi & Ope and win. Dujean & Leilani have no problem beating Simi & Ope either.

Back at the sandcastles, Nic needs to pee and Neil & Kristin finally finish. But when Neil tries to help Kristin out of the sand, she screams in pain. Her legs have cramped from the pressure of the sand.

Kristin is taken to the hospital.

Back at the farm, Gino & Jesse finish the milking and must now make their way to L’escalier de la Pointe aux Meules where they must climb to the top to find their next clue… and the Double U-Turn.

Dujean & Leilani choose Ride It as Nick & Matt and Brent & Sean arrive at the farm.

Over at the Face Off, Simi & Ope are freezing as they wait for the next team that doesn’t seem to be arriving any time soon. They decide to take a 4-hour penalty.

Kristin has been released from the hospital and while still cramped, can continue the Race. They get to the Face Off and seeing what the challenge is also chose to take a penalty. They open the Detour and Kristin is disappointed. She grew up riding equestrian so this would’ve been perfect. They decide to see the horses anyway.

Meanwhile, Gino & Jesse are again passed by Brian & Cynthia as they arrive at the U-Turn. They consider U-Turning Gino & Jesse, but decide not to make waves.

They open the next clue pointing them to the Pit Stop at Pointe Old-Harry on Grosse Ile.

Gino & Jesse get to the U-Turn and consider Nick & Matt or Brent & Sean. They decide to draw out the Express Pass by U-Turning Brent & Sean.

Brian & Cynthia drive too far, so that allows Gino & Jesse to step on the Mat first. They win 2 tickets to any Canadian Air Canada destination as well as one year of free gas.

Brian & Cynthia settle for 2nd. Interestingly, both Gino & Jesse and Brian & Cynthia are running off with a clue envelope.

Nic & Sabrina arrive at the Face Off, but since they have no one to face off against, they can proceed without penalty.

Brent & Sean arrive at the U-Turn and decide to U-Turn Nic & Sabrina so they don’t have to use their Express Pass. They head to the horses where Dujean & Leilani have just finished. Brent & Sean ask if this is a hard task, but Leilani says they can definitely do it.

Neil gets dressed, but Kristin is having second thoughts about trying the Detour. She decides to give it a try despite the pain. Kristin has no problem getting through the course and she and Neil finish.

Simi & Ope and Nic & Sabrina finish milking. All three teams arrive at the U-Turn board.

Nick & Matt step on the Mat as the 3rd team for the 4th Leg in a row. Dujean & Leilani are the “4th team to arrive” while Brent & Sean are 5th.

While Nic & Sabrina go to the horses, it’s a race to the Mat between Simi & Ope and Neil & Kristin.

Neil & Kristin arrive at the Mat in 6th and Simi & Ope are 7th. Jon tells them both they must wait out their penalties.

Nic & Sabrina arrive at the horses Detour, but because it is already dark out, it is unsafe to ride through the course. They must wait a predetermined amount of time before receiving their next clue.

But Nic & Sabrina step on the Mat to officially “arrive” in 6th.

Jon calls both father and daughter teams to the Mat. Neil & Kristin are officially the 6th team to arrive while Simi & Ope are the last team to arrive.

BUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This Leg is not over. Jon hands them their next clues telling them to fly to Sudbury, Ontario.

Episode Thoughts

I should really stop checking Wikipedia while waiting for the TAR Canada episodes to hit the torrents. lol

I think this would’ve been an amazing episode for me had I not already seen the father and daughter teams taking penalties and this being a TBC Leg.

Thanks to all the extra drama, this was a really full episode. We didn’t even see why Nic & Sabrina fell so far behind arriving at the Road Block. I mean, Gino & Jesse finished before they even arrived.

The Road Block was alright. But since it was apparently freezing, TAR Canada must have been relieved Kristin only got cramps and was still able to finish Racing. And because of that same freezing weather, the Face Off could’ve potentially driven another person or team to the hospital had one needed to face off several times (as Simi & Ope did).

About that Face Off. From being intrigued while reading about HaMerotz LaMillion’s Double Battle to being annoyed by TAR Philippines’ Duel Duels, I was not sure how TAR Canada’s Face Off would come across. It turns out TAR Canada presented a whole other option. The Double Battle Duel Duel Face Off should be fine as long as it isn’t too physical or difficult which automatically puts certain teams at a disadvantage. Most of TAR Philippines’ Duel Duels were horrible while the best one was actually a Duel Duel masked as a Road Block.

This kayak hockey is actually a fine task on its own and maybe could’ve made for a good Detour or even Road Block option. But to force a team to do this several times is on the same level of insanity as forcing teams to run sprints. Or like TAR China’s episode last week, forcing teams to wrestle each other for flags.

The only good thing about this Face Off was that it came on what is basically a Non-Elimination Leg with a sure equalizer on the next one. If it were up to me (or like TARPHDME does), I would only include Duel Duels on Non-Elimination Legs or at the beginning of Legs and make sure they don’t decide a Leg’s results. TAR Israel’s Double Battles appeared to be more fun and amusing, if anything. Maybe foster some rivalry and drama, but not to the point that it comes off as a more powerful U-Turn or Yield.

The fact that Nic & Sabrina didn’t even have to serve any penalty for being the last one at the Face Off is another thing the TAR Canada probably didn’t expect either. They didn’t expect teams to struggle getting buried in freezing wet sand. They didn’t expect a team to have wait in the freezing cold while soaking wet for another team to arrive at the Face Off, but never come. They didn’t think a team would go all the way after dark for a task.

Anyway, the Detour was good, though typical TAR. And the inclusion of a U-Turn on the same Leg as a Face Off was strange. While it produced some good drama, it’s a little overkill and could easily appear on a different, less full Leg instead.

But at the same time, a nice full Leg and busy episode is better than a barebones, boring Leg.

My Subjective Team Rankings

I don’t appreciate quitting on The Amazing Race, but for both Neil & Kristin and Simi & Ope, I think an exception can be made. Both teams deserve kudos for continuing on with the Leg after two, maybe unavoidable situations. Kristin deserves the most credit for pushing through the Detour after needing to go to the hospital. But I would love both teams to recover in the next Leg and go far.

Brian & Cynthia are an interesting team. Brian is such a personality. He’s like an extreme combination of TARUS Ian (TAR3), Peter (TAR10) and Dave (TAR20). And Cynthia is like a straight man to Brian’s craziness. They’re very amusing AND they Race well too.

Brent & Sean shoot up my list after not giving up their Express Pass and actually going through with the Detour. Though I might assume they knew other teams were far behind them, so completing the other side of the Detour wouldn’t have eliminated them. But still, it was a good Leg for them all around.

Dujean & Leilani were lowkey this episode, which is understandable with everything else that happened. Nick & Matt as well and even Gino & Jesse despite winning the Leg.

But Nic & Sabrina, I don’t whether to love them or be annoyed by them. They are absolutely hilarious, but they are horrible Racers. They got two big breaks this Leg. Three if you count that this was a TBC Leg.

Episode Quotes

Kristin: “I’m a little…”
Neil: “Edgy?”
Kristin: “Squirrely!”

Jessie: “I was always in the hole.”

Neil: “I have buried my daughter semi-alive. Hasn’t stopped her from talking.”

Brian: “My ass muscles are clenched. I could crack a coconut with these.”

Nic: “You almost broke my arm.”
Sabrina: “Because I’m stepping on it?”

Jesse: “Come on Gino, work those nipples.”

Nic: “I have to pee so bad.”
Sabrina: “Then just pee love.”
Nic: “I can’t, there’s too much pressure on my bladder.”

Brian: “Okay hon, get on that tit.”

Brent: “Ready for some teets.”

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