Recap: The Amazing Race 4, Episode 9 – “We’re Not at Charm School Learning How to Be a Gentleman, We’re Racing”

With $130 for this Leg of the Race, teams must take a boat back to Kota Kinabalu and then hop in a taxi to Poring Hot Springs which will open at 6:30am. The first four teams are able to enter before Kelly & Jon arrive and they hurry across hanging bridges to the next clue.

That clue tells teams to drive themselves to the Trushidup Palm Oil Plantation.

Jon has to take a pee break outside the hot springs before he and Kelly run in just as the others are already running back. Kelly & Jon, however, struggle to find the cluebox. The other teams, meanwhile, are struggling with foggy windows and being sleepy.

Kelly & Jon, knowing they are far behind, decide to go for the Fast Forward. To win this Fast Forward, teams need to go to the Sepilok Orangutan Sanctuary, hike into the forest and give orangutans some durian.

Reichen & Chip, who have gotten lost, realize they are going in the direction of the Fast Forward. So they decide to just go for it instead of turning around.

Jon & Al move into the lead as they arrive at the plantation and encounters the Detour: Chop or Haul. In Chop, teams must use local tools to chop down palm nut bunches with clue envelopes. However, only some have actual clues. In Haul, teams must use a wheelbarrow to haul 25 palm nut bunches to a corresponding truck.

The Clowns choose Haul, but find it is not as easy they thought. David & Jeff arrive, but can’t see the clue in a wheelbarrow. Jon & Al are kind enough to point it out to them.

Jon & Al finish and can now drive themselves to Gomantong Caves.

Elsewhere, Millie & Chuck are completely lost and growing more and more frustrated with each other, made even worse by sleep deprivation. They arrive at the plantation and initially choose Haul. But Chuck doesn’t think they can do it. They switch to Chop, but Chuck can’t even get one bunch off so they go back to the wheelbarrow.

Kelly & Jon can’t imagine any other team would go for the Fast Forward. Little do they know Reichen & Chip have already won it and can now head to the Pit Stop at Sepilok Nature Resort where they check in as Team #1 and win a trip to Latin America.

Kelly & Jon arrive at the sanctuary and are shocked to see the sign saying the Fast Forward has been taken. Kelly believes they are done and both of them say some hurtful things to each other out of frustration.

As Millie & Chuck take a wrong turn on the way to the caves, Jon & Al have just arrived and find the Road Block: It’s time for the ladder part of the Race. For this Road Block, teams must climb a rattan ladder up to where they will dangle to retrieve a clue from a hanging basket.

Jon finishes the Road Block just as David & Jeff arrive and David chooses to perform it. Jon & Al finish the Leg as Team #2 with David & Jeff as Team #3.

Kelly & Jon arrive at the plantation and start with the Haul, but don’t see the number 5 on the truck. So they switch to the chopping and get it on their second try.

Millie & Chuck realize they went one hour in the wrong direction. They arrive at the caves just seconds before Kelly & Jon.

It’s now down to Jon and Chuck climbing the ladders and it’s a Race to the Pit Stop.

Kelly & Jon are first onto the road with Millie & Chuck on their tail. Chuck decides to just follow Kelly & Jon. They are neck and neck.

But it is Kelly & Jon who step on the Mat As Team #4. That means Millie & Chuck are last and eliminated. They say that the Race has made them realize that maybe they are not the right ones for each other.

Episode Highlights

Recap: The #AmazingRace 4, Episode 9 – "We're Not at Charm School Learning How to Be a Gentleman, We're Racing" – https://t.co/2XEDyrmMvg pic.twitter.com/xb4RUm3NbZ

— DryedMangoez (@dryedmangoez) March 19, 2021

Episode Thoughts

OMG! Racing right from the start of the episode! How strange and different! Lol

This might have been the best episode of the season so far. So much going on. So exciting. And a legit edge of your seat ending. I actually still remember when it first aired. Kelly & Jon were my favorite team of course. So watching this episode was really the first time, up to this point, that I was on pins and needles watching TAR.

Imagine this storyline. Kelly & Jon and Millie & Chuck. Rival teams (though perhaps more with editing rather than actual face-to-face confrontations). And it all comes down to them two. The bickering couples. In a series of circumstances you would never be able to script better.

You got zero airport drama since the Leg was still in Malaysia. Most teams bunched up. Self-driving in a difficult to navigate area. Actually great tasks. Everything really fell into place.

What more needs to be said. This is the kind of Leg that I think would be atypical on early TAR. And definitely uncommon on contemporary TAR. A Leg and episode where just everything comes together for a perfect recipe. This might end up being my favorite TAR4 episode.

My Subjective Team Rankings

After a few good Legs, these last two have been horrible for Kelly & Jon. Thankfully, they have a lot of luck and Millie & Chuck were so sleepy. Otherwise, they would’ve been done.

Jon & Al are peaking at the right moment. The opposite of Kelly & Jon, the Clowns have had two great Legs. And they’re definitely positioning themselves well. David & Jeff also are doing much better now. And they might have been lying low a little bit in the earlier Legs. But they’re proving they deserve to be here now.

Reichen & Chip can get frustrated and upset easily. They’re actually a little high strung in certain situations since they’re always Go Go Go. But they also are able to think on their feet. I doubt they would’ve been in danger even if they didn’t go for the Fast Forward. But they definitely helped make the exciting ending happen!

Millie & Chuck‘s journey on the Race felt a lot different watching now than it might have been originally. Before rewatching the season, I seemed to remember an epic collapse of their relationship. But now, I feel like it was just a gradual realization. And I definitely didn’t remember they were sleep deprived. And how that contributed to their fatal mistake here. They were certainly an interesting team and a unique one too.