Recap: The Amazing Race Canada 7, Episode 2 – “I just hit her in the face.”


Recap: The Amazing Race Canada 7, Episode 2 – “Our Competition’s Not That Smart”

The Amazing Race Canada 7 Episode 2

Teams will hop into a 2019 Chevrolet Traverse and drive themselves to Revelstoke, BC. But first, they will find their next clue at The Last Spike in Craigellachie. And that clue reveals the Road Block: Who’s ready for the main course?

For this Road Block, teams must complete a dirt bike course at Glacier House Resort in under 1 minute and 50 seconds.

The Amazing Race Canada 7 Episode 2 The Amazing Race Canada 7 Episode 2

Meaghan & Marie arrive first and Marie gets started. She talks about having broken her neck two years ago. Dave, Sam, Joanne, James and Trish arrive next. While waiting, the non-participating partners laugh at the idea that Jet & Dave were eliminated first.

Dave clocks in at 1:51 while Marie falls off her bike and finishes with 2:02. The other teams are still practicing, so Dave and Marie go again and are able to pass this time.

They open the next clue revealing the Detour: Plant or Paddle. In Plant, teams must drive to BC Interior Forestry Museum and correctly plant 40 tree seedlings. In Paddle, teams must paddle tied-together kayaks in Williamson Lake and collect five flags.

Dave & Irina choose Plant while Meaghan & Marie choose Paddle.

The Amazing Race Canada 7 Episode 2 The Amazing Race Canada 7 Episode 2

Meanwhile, James finishes the Road Block as Sean and Aarthy arrive. Nicki & Aisha, however, are lost.

Dave & Irina have already 38 out of 40 seedlings planted when Anthony & James arrive and get started. But Dave & Irina realize they haven’t used the rope to correctly measure the required distance between the seedlings.

Back at the track, Aisha starts practicing with the bike as Sam, Sean and Aarthy get the thumbs up.

Aarthy & Thinesh, Gilles & Sean and Sarah & Sam all choose Paddle while Trish & Amy and Nicki & Aisha choose Plant. Lauren & Joanne, in last place, also choose Plant, but again get lost.

Over at the Detour, Meaghan & Marie collect their flags and can now drive to the Revelstoke Railway Museum. Here, teams must assemble a model train set.

The Amazing Race Canada 7 Episode 2 The Amazing Race Canada 7 Episode 2

Dave & Irina, Aarthy & Thinesh, Sarah & Sam and Gilles & Sean finish their Detours and head over to the museum. Thinesh uses his childhood experience to quickly assemble the tracks and he and Aarthy get the clue first. Dave & Irina are close behind.

Teams can now drive to the Revelstoke Mountain Resort and take a gondola to the Pit Stop. Aarthy & Thinesh step on the Mat as Team #1 and win a trip to Madrid, Spain. Dave & Irina are just seconds behind as Team #2.

But Jon also has a surprise. Aarthy & Thinesh have won an Express Pass!

The Amazing Race Canada 7 Episode 2 The Amazing Race Canada 7 Episode 2

Back at the museum, Meaghan & Marie have been frustrated as they have trouble even starting to put the tracks together. Sarah & Sam allow them to look at their completed track.

Gilles & Sean check in as Team #3, Sarah & Sam are 4th and Meaghan & Marie finish in 5th. Anthony & James take 6th with Trish & Amy finishing as Team #7.

It’s between Nicki & Aisha and Lauren & Joanne. Nicki & Aisha finish the tracks first, but don’t know how to get to the mountain. That allows Lauren & Joanne to step on the Mat as Team #8.

That means Nicki & Aisha are last and eliminated.

The Amazing Race Canada 7 Episode 2

Episode Thoughts

Wow! One of the best TAR Canada Legs in a long time! A truly well-designed Leg with all good tasks. And as we saw, it certainly allowed for some great competition between teams with lots of placement changes throughout the Leg.

While it was disappointing, but not surprising a few months ago finding out teams were staying in British Columbia for the second Leg, this Leg definitely delivered an exciting episode.

Assuming this season is all-Canada, we could be getting lots of driving. And that would mean the need for lots of maps and navigating. We’ve already seen that has caused problems for teams these first two Legs. So I wouldn’t mind seeing more in the coming Legs.

I love having teams deciding on the Road Block before getting to the location of the task. It helps keep teams from getting an idea what the Road Block could be just looking around at the location. The dirt bike task is certainly not new for TAR, but it was a good first task for this Leg.

The Detour choices were both straightforward, but challenging enough to trip teams. The planting was very detail-oriented while the kayaks being tied together could’ve taken teams a little bit of extra time to figure out.

Finally, the model train set was a good puzzle. And being at the end of the Leg definitely ups the tension knowing the Pit Stop could be next.

One interesting thing this episode was we saw Meaghan & Marie reveal their Second Chance angle with Marie’s accident. This season was supposed to be about teams who experienced second chances. But we got no mention of it in the first episode. Either they couldn’t find enough teams with second chance stories or they didn’t feel like promoting that theme anymore. But still keeping interesting stories from teams to sprinkle in from time to time.

I haven’t heard or read anything about the “Double One Way,” but if it’s what I think it is, I’ve certainly seen similar ideas on fan-made Races in the past. I assume it forces a team to do one side of the Detour with no opportunity to switch? It should be interesting to see how it is implemented and how different it can be from the U-Turn. It will also depend on what the Detours actually are.

Overall, this was a great episode and Leg. I think better than any TAR31 Leg, tbh. And one of the most enjoyable TAR Canada Legs in a while!

My Subjective Team Rankings

A much better look at teams this week. And all are pretty good so far. As much as I love Jet & Dave, maybe it’s a good thing for the season that they were out first.

Dave & Irina are fun to watch. Definitely uber-competitive and kinda cocky, but in a totally fun way. They at least back up their bravado with good Racing. They fell behind, but still caught up and almost won another Leg.

Speaking of winning a Leg, I was so happy to see Aarthy & Thinesh come out of nowhere to win! They were able to take advantage of the opportunity to move ahead. I think they have a good shot to go far. (And no, I don’t know the boot order past Jet & Dave lol) Plus, they could be that fun bickering couple. But not intensely so. Kind of like playful banter only hehe

Sarah & Sam, I think, also have potential to be a fun, competitive team. They definitely stepped it up this Leg and I can find myself really rooting for them. Not too big of a fan of them giving other teams answers. But we’ll see.

A quieter Leg for Trish & Amy than Leg 1. They were trailing for most of the Leg, but I also think they can maintain a solid Race moving forward. They’ve definitely got the right attitude.

Anthony & James were also a little quieter this Leg. But I guess that comes with the show focusing on the other teams more after Anthony & James got some good airtime in the premiere. They started out very well this Leg, but kind of fell behind.

Gilles & Sean recovered very well this Leg. And especially as it was a self-driving Leg with no equalizer, it makes their jump up towards the top even more amazing. They could be a team to watch out for.

It’s too bad Nicki & Aisha succumbed to poor navigation. But that’s certainly part of the Race. I did wonder why the show was focusing on their singing all episode. I guess it was because it was their last. Too bad. I think they didn’t yet get into their stride. But it was a competitive Leg and one mistake can always cost a team.

Lauren & Joanne also suffered from poor navigation and falling behind early. But they worked it out when it counted. Just saving themselves in the end. I think they still have room to step it up in the next Legs.

Meaghan & Marie were shaping up to position themselves as one of the contenders, but they really collapsed at the train set. Who knows how much longer they would’ve stayed there had Sarah & Sam not given them the solution. It was a little disappointing to see, especially them considering taking a penalty for such a straightforward task. AND when they were in first place.

Episode Thoughts

Thinesh: “You’re going to kill me.”

4 thoughts on “Recap: The Amazing Race Canada 7, Episode 2 – “I just hit her in the face.”

  1. Since you have your list of favorite amazing race teams of all-time, how about in Big Brother? who are your favorites from every season you’ve watched?

    1. Hmm, not sure if I have a list like I do TAR. But Rachel Reilly might be #1 for sure. Then Janelle and Danielle Reyes. And definitely Jen Johnson from BB8.

      Going through the seasons, in no particular order, I also like:
      Will (BB2)
      Jun (BB4)
      Drew (BB5)
      Most of BB10’s cast
      Russell (BB11)
      Brendon (BB12)
      Britney, I guess (BB12)
      Shelly (BB13)
      Elissa (BB15)
      Helen (BB15)
      Didn’t watch BB16-19
      Kaycee (BB20)
      Haven’t been watching BB21

    1. Hmm… just on personal preference I guess and of things that happened post-BB:
      1. Rachel (BB13)
      2. Dan (BB10)
      2. Will (BB2)
      4. Jun (BB4)
      5. Kaycee (BB20)
      5. Drew (BB5)
      5. Eddie (BB1)
      5. Dick (BB8)
      9. Derrick (BB16)
      10. Lisa (BB3)
      10. Hayden (BB12)
      10. Jordan (BB11)
      13. Maggie (BB6)
      13. Ian (BB14)
      15. Andy (BB15)
      16. Mike Boogie (BB7)
      17. Adam (BB9)

      ??
      Steve (BB17), Nicole (BB18), Josh (BB19)

      How about you?

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