Recap: The Amazing Race Canada 8, Episode 2 – Proud to be Canadian!

Recap: The Amazing Race Canada 8, Episode 2 – Goatageddon

The 2nd Leg of the Race begins as Brendan & Connor depart at 8:53am. They open the first clue telling teams to now fly to Calgary, Alberta. On the way to the airport, Catherine & Craig want to form an alliance with Franca & Nella ad Court & Ali. Franca & Nella want to make their mother, who immigrated from the Philippines to Canada as a single mom, proud.

Upon arrival in Calgary, teams must hop into 2022 Chevy Blazer RSeses for the next clue. That clue tells teams to drive to Lethbridge, Alberta and find the rattlesnake statue at Indian Battle Park. The Blackfoot people will welcome teams with a traditional Siksika dance. With a Golden Eagle feather, teams receive their next clue which reveals the Detour: Hoot or Herd.

In Hoot, teams will head to the Helen Schuler Nature Center. One team member must listen and learn seven owl sounds. The other team member must read descriptions of each owl sound. They will then reunite and match the owl calls to their descriptions.
In Herd, teams must head to the National Historic Site at Fort Whoop-Up. Teams will choose a colored bandana and then search amongst the goats for ones with matching bandanas. Each bandana has a number which teams must memorize in order to add them up.

Brendan & Connor choose Hoot and immediately fail their first attempt. They regroup with a new strategy and when Cedric & Tychon arrive, they decide to work together. The father and son want to repay the brothers for helping them in Tremblant last Leg. But they also hope to get an Express Pass. Cedric & Tychon get the correct matches first and tell Brendan & Connor.

Everyone else is at the goats and have a bit trouble with their new friends running all over the place, making their counting difficult. Jesse & Marika are first to figure it out and first to complete the Detour with Franca & Nella close behind. Beverly & Veronica move into 3rd with Catherine & Craig in 4th.

Teams must now find a Subway in town and memorize a shopping list of vegetables: 22 tomatoes, 15 bell peppers, 18 onions, 27 cucumbers. They will then look for farm stands outside Lethbridge where they will collect the ingredients to deliver to the restaurant in exchange for a sandwich and the next clue.

Jesse & Marika get directions from hockey legend Ron Sutter.

Jesse & Marika try to ask Franca & Nella some information, but the sisters wave them off. #TeamFranella then pass the siblings on the way to the next farm as the two teams remain neck and neck.

After delivering the vegetables, Franca & Nella open the next clue revealing the Road Block: Who’s up for a slice? For this Road Block, teams must head to CTRL V where they will play VR game Rythmatic. When teams score 90% or better, they will be given the next clue.

Franca starts the Road Block with Marika close behind.

Franca scores 90 and she and Nella can now make their way to the Pit Stop at Prince of Wales Hotel in Waterton Lakes National Park.

#TeamFranella are able to reach the Mat to claim their win. Jon tells them they’ve won a trip to Lima, Peru and a $5000 gift card from Marshalls and a $5000 gift card from Subway. They are emotional thinking about their mother.

Siblings Jesse & Marika step on the Mat as Team #2.

At the Road Block, Beverley passes on her 4th attempt just as Brendan starts the game. Cedric and Catherine arrive next.

Brendan & Connor and Catherine & Craig are next to leave.

Beverley & Veronica are Team 3 with Brendan & Conner in 4th and Catherine & Craig are 5th.

Durrell and Cassie are next to go at the Road Block. But Cedric finishes next and he and Tychon head to the Pit Stop to check-in as Team #6.

It’s down to three teams. Dennis & Durrell and Cassie & Jahmeek head to the Pit Stop as Teams 7 and 8. Court & Ali are right behind them in last and Jon tells them this is their lucky day. Teams need to Keep on Racing as he hands them all their next clue.

Episode Thoughts

This was a pretty above average episode. What’s above average for TAR Canada? A well-designed Leg with tasks that aren’t recycled from last season and teams who are able to be fun, yet competitive.

That’s definitely what this episode was like. Even though we got hints of my TAR pet peeves like alliances forming and the familiar uber-patriotism of TARC. But it’s okay because they were very small, passable doses of each in comparison with the better parts of the episode.

The equalizer with the wonderful welcome ceremony was good and I think played the biggest part in allowing this to be a competitive Leg. We always want to see teams neck and neck throughout the Leg.

The Detour was enough to separate the teams though. And both tasks were good and well-matched. The goat Detour was a good, fresh take on the usual Chasing Animals task as the math definitely provided a new challenge. The owl Detour was totally a TARPHDME Double Road Block though! lol And it had its own unique challenge as well.

The Subway task was better than previous sponsored-tasks on TARC and TARAu that had more to do with the restaurant. This task was just getting teams to drive around more. And while no teams got lost, there was definitely that possibility.

The Road Block was okay as well. I don’t seem to remember a VR task recently. So it’s a good task to contrast with the more rural tasks of the other half of the Leg.

This being a KOR Leg instead of a Non-Elimination Leg is okay. Saves money and I guess logistics-related as well to get teams to continue moving.

Overall, this was a pretty solid episode and Leg. Something I don’t usually say for TARC in recent years. But definitely enjoyable.

My Subjective Team Rankings

I don’t have a favorite team so far. Of course, Franca & Nella have the edge for me though just being Filipino. And it’s wonderful to see them honor their mother while Racing.

I would love to see the sisters develop a rivalry with Jesse & Marika. A good rivalry can keep things interesting. They seem like well-matched teams.

Brendan & Connor and Cedric & Tychon were a group of goofballs this episode especially at the Detour. They were fun and kept things lighthearted while still Racing hard as well.

I had a feeling Court & Ali were safe considering the nice moment they had earlier in the Leg. And I think that’s a good thing as I expect they have a lot to offer.

Beverley & Veronica are Racing well so far. Dennis & Durrell and Cassie & Jahmeek were kind of under the radar even with being close to last.

And Catherine & Craig bringing up alliances right at the start of the day definitely triggered me. So just because of that, they’ll be at the bottom of my list this week. lol They’re fine though and it’s really great to see how they really exemplify the idea of enjoying every day of your life.

Episode Quotes

Durrell: “Watch those holes.”