Recap: The Amazing Race Canada 4, Episode 3 – “Toads! Are You Kidding Me?”
Teams are told to fly to the Mekong Delta in Vietnam! Jon explains that Canada welcomed lots of Vietnamese refugees and today has “open doors.”
At the airport, Steph & Kristen lie about having the Express Pass.
After connecting through Vancouver and Hong Kong, teams arrive in Ho Chi Minh City. They take taxis to Cai Be where they must find the tourist dock and sign-up for morning water taxis which will leave in the order they sign-up.
Joel & Ashley end up being last on the list.
In the morning, teams are given a list, written in Vietnamese, of four supplies which they must pick-up in the floating market and deliver to Mr. Tam at the Tan Phong Island Ferry Dock.
Non-eliminated Kelly & Kate manage to finish the task first, followed closely by Stephane & Antoine. They must now take a ferry to Cai Be and search for their next clue at the Ben pha Cai Be qua Tan Phong.
That clue reveals the Road Block: Who has all their ducks in a row?
For this Road Block, teams must herd 20 ducks into a pen.
Kate and Stephane decide to do the Road Block. Kate is afraid of feathery things, but she’s happy she doesn’t have to touch them.
Jillian & Emmett, Rita & Yvette, Anne & Tanya and Joel & Ashley finish their deliveries, but instead of taking the ferry, they hop back into their water taxis. Oops! Steph & Kristen also hop into their water taxi, but realize their mistake and quickly correct.
Jillian, Yvette, Tanya and Ashley decide to do the Road Block. For some reason, Stephane ends up helping Ashley quickly finish the task.
Joel & Ashley must now take two ducks and deliver them to the Cai Be land market. Kelly & Kate are close behind. Kate wants nothing to do with the ducks so Kelly holds both.
At the market, Joel & Ashley receive the next clue revealing the Detour: Vibrate or Hydrate.
In Vibrate, teams must learn and perform a traditional Vietnamese drum dance.
In Hydrate, teams must load a sampan with 60 coconuts, row down the river, unload them and deliver them to a nearby htu.
Joel & Ashley choose Vibrate.
Elsewhere on the Delta, Frankie & Amy and Julie & Lowell suddenly pop up, still trying to finish the first task. They hop on the ferry.
Back at the market, Kelly & Kate deliver the ducks and find their Speed Bump.
For their Speed Bump, Kelly & Kate must hand deliver 20 toads across the market.
Back at the Road Block, Antoine does not understand why Stephane keeps opening other teams’ pen doors and helping them get ducks while he has none. He is starting to grow tired, especially as all the other teams have an easier time completing the task. That includes Julie and Amy who were trailing after the first task.
Stephane was very close to finishing, but all the ducks end up waddling out of the pen. After a few more tries, he ends up deciding to take a 4-hour penalty.
While Jillian & Emmett choose Hydrate, Kelly & Kate, Riya & Yvette, Anne & Tanya choose Vibrate. Steph & Kristen arrive at Vibrate, but quickly decide to switch. Anne & Tanya choose to follow them. Julie & Lowell choose to Hydrate as well.
Joel & Ashley get the thumbs up after their first performance attempt and can now make their way to the Pit Stop at the Mekong Lodge. Jillian & Emmett finish with the coconuts, after some testy exchanges. Kelly & Kate are next to conquer the drum performance with Steph & Kristen quickly finishing the coconuts.
Joel & Ashley step on the Mat, but Jon tells them they need to wait out a 30 minute penalty for taking a water taxi instead of a ferry. Though Jillian & Emmett, Kelly & Kate and Steph & Kristen bunch up on the way to the Pit Stop, Joel & Ashley’s penalty runs out before any of them arrive.
Joel & Ashley are officially Team #1 and win a trip to Tokyo, Japan. Steph & Kristen are Team #2 and Kelly & Kate end up as Team #3 while Jillian & Emmett wait out their own penalty before eventually checking in as Team #4.
Rita & Yvette finish the Detour just as Stephane & Antoine arrive. The father and son decide to switch Detours.
As Stephane & Antoine get to the coconut delivery dock, Tanya suddenly feels weak. Anne calls for a medic to check her out while she continues the Detour herself. When Tanya feels better, she helps Anne and they finish.
Over at the Pit Stop, Frankie & Amy are able to take 5th place over Rita & Yvette who waited out their penalty to check-in as Team #6.
It’s a footrace to the Mat between Anne & Tanya and Julie & Lowell. While Lowell slams into the shrubbery, he and Julie are able to check-in as Team #7 while Anne & Tanya have to wait out their penalty.
Stephane & Antoine arrive at the Pit Stop. Jon calls over Anne & Tanya and informs the teams of Stephane & Antoine’s four-hour penalty. That means Anne & Tanya are Team #8 and Stephane & Antoine are eliminated.
Episode Thoughts
That was a very solid episode. It wasn’t ZOMGAMAZING. But it was definitely enjoyable and full. #StillBetterThanTARUS
So I watched the premiere of The Amazing Race China 3 over the weekend and LOVED it. The teams were all great and Jin Xing is an absolute All-Star. I think that might be a reason why I wasn’t as excited about this episode as I might have been.
The teams, for the most part, were the weakest aspect of this episode I think. My favorite aspects definitely relate to actually having a Leg in Vietnam. The whole TAR22 controversy over the Vietnam Leg has made me look forward to the next visit to the country. (At least, a non-TAR Vietnam visit.) And in that sense, I think this Leg delivered.
It was a different Leg from any of the previous Vietnamese Legs from TARUS. It felt fresh since it was a rural-focus, even though the duck Road Block was a simplified version (if I remember correctly) of TAR15’s Road Block.
But as we saw, it helped make the Leg feel very physical. The searching and delivering followed by learning choreography and more searching and delivering all helped to challenge teams and really get them to work. The tasks were the kinds of things that may be tedious for teams, but that makes for nice drama and competition.
The Speed Bump, more delivering, was okay as well.
The teams, on their own, weren’t overly exciting or fun. Their mistakes and penalties were cringe-worthy. But the Leg itself and the tasks made up for it.
Overall, a good, solid Leg and episode in Vietnam.
My Subjective Team Rankings
Only a few teams really stood out this Leg, if even.
Kelly & Kate definitely had a great Leg. They were able to take an early lead and keep it the rest of the Leg, even with a Speed Bump. Thinking about it, they might have even taken 1st if they didn’t have a Speed Bump. They were funny and Raced very well. Definitely hope to see more of that in the future. Just almost going from Non-Elim to first. That would’ve been amazing.
Joel & Ashley are 2nd on this list, but they were sort of quiet this Leg, despite winning it. They had an okay Leg, able to also grab an early lead and keep it. And that is despite them being last on the departures in the morning. But they were also one of the teams who didn’t read their clue. Or worse, just followed the other teams who didn’t read their clue.
Anne & Tanya showed some great spirit at the end. Anne continuing the Detour while Tanya was getting treated was good while Tanya quickly getting back on her feet and finishing was awesome. It was a nice little feature for them after being mostly quiet the first two Legs. Hope to see them step it up even more.
Julie & Lowell‘s puns last Leg were okay, but this week they felt very tiring. Julie had one scene at the Road Block and then Lowell’s slamming into the shrubs at the end, but they were otherwise invisible. I mean, they just suddenly appeared during the first task out of nowhere. The same with Frankie & Amy who had a fun Leg last week. This week, they fell behind for some reason and ended up even more invisible than Julie & Lowell.
Jillian & Emmett‘s psuedo-meltdown was very funny at the Detour. That’s the kind of entertainment I want to see. Rita & Yvette, especially compared to last week, also had a very quiet and invisible Leg save for some random comments here and there.
Steph & Kristen remained in that “racebot”-type of mode this Leg even when falling behind and especially as they slipped into 2nd place. And Stephane & Antoine quitting the Road Block and taking the penalty and then later basically resigned to the fact that they were eliminated was just sad to see.
Episode Quotes
Kate: “I think she looks like a mother. A lovely mother.”
Kelly: “I thought you were going to say I look like a model.”
Kate: “I am so proud of myself.”
Jillian: “Don’t get water in your mouth.”
Lowell: “I feel like a basket case.”