Recap: The Amazing Race Canada 9, Episode 2 – “What happened to your eggs?!”

Recap: The Amazing Race Canada 9, Episode 2 – “My First Experience”

The 2nd Leg begins with teams learning they will fly to Smithers, British Columbia. Teams must head to Calgary Airport and sign-up for one of two flights departing 15 minutes apart. While waiting for their flights, the other teams try to butter up Ty & Kat in order to get one of the two Express Passes they need to give away.

The four teams on the first flight are Ty & Kat, Gracie & Lily, Derek & Jaspal and Jermaine & Justin. All the other teams will be on the 2nd flight.

The first clue in Smithers tells team to hop into a 2023 Chevy Silverado ZR2 and drive to Frontier Experience Lodge. Here, they must wade into the river to search for ten different species of artificial fish. When they collect all ten, they will get the next clue.

If needed, teams can use the Desjardin Assist which will allow them to identify five out of the ten species.

The second flight manages to catch up to the first flight at the task. But Derek & Jaspal finish the task first followed by Jermaine & Justin and Ty & Kat. Before leaving the river, Ty & Kat decide to give Tyler & Kayleen the Express Pass after having made a connection with them so far. Allie & Eddie, who get lost on the way, arrive at the river in last after everyone else leaves.

Teams must now tune into 93.9 FM and listen for their next clue which directs them to Bulkley Valley Museum. That clue tells teams they will participate in a special game of Who’s Your Partner? Jon will ask them up to five questions about their teammates. Using a Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and an S-Pen, teams will write down their answers. When they can match three correct answers, they will get the next clue.

As the other teams have no problem passing, Devan & Amanda fail their first quiz and must do it again. Allie & Eddie, meanwhile, do not see the cluebox outside the museum and are walking around inside.
After the Samsung Galaxy promo, the next clue reveals the Road Block: Who likes that new car smell? Teams will drive to the Coast Mountain General Motors dealership and must learn about the Chevy Trax 2RS and memorize 20 special features which they will need to include in a vehicle introduction to a prospective buyer.

Jaspal, Gracie and Ty do the Road Block, but Ty finishes first, followed by Gracie and then Jermaine. Jaspal goes for his first attempt and gets the thumbs up. Kayleen and Ben are next.

The next clue reveals the Detour: Fold or Stuff. In Fold, teams must fold their own egg carton using the original design by Joseph Coyle, who invented the carton in British Columbia in 1911. They will then use the cartons to deliver eggs to Two Sisters Café using a horse and carriage. But if they break any eggs, they must do it all over again. In Stuff, teams must head to the Sausage Factory where they must make a dozen sausages. They will hop into a horse and carriage to deliver it to Smithers Brewing Company.

Ty & Kat, Tyler & Kayleen, Ben & Anwar and Jermaine & Justin choose sausage, while Gracie & Lily, Derpal and Shayla & Joel choose the egg carton.

Ty & Kat are first to get their sausages checked and can now hop into a carriage to deliver them. They can now head to the Jollymore Ranch for the Pit Stop where they step on the Mat and secure another 1st place finish and a trip to Lisbon, Portugal. Tyler & Kayleen end up as Team #2.

Gracie & Lily finish their carton, but don’t think they need a horse and carriage to deliver the eggs. They walk to the café and get the thumbs down. So they must go back. That gives Derpal a chance to pass them, but they accidentally break an egg. So they also go back. Gracie & Lily end up missing the next carriage with Ben & Anwar and Derpal manage to hop onto.

Back at the Road Block, Deven and Eddie both struggle with memorizing the features. But Deven is a bit faster at getting it and he and Amanda are able to leave next, putting Allie & Eddie in last. Allie tries to encourage Eddie and tells him to have fun instead of stressing himself out. That does the trick and they can move on and try to catch up. Deven & Amanda choose the egg carton and Allie & Eddie do the sausages.

At the Pit Stop, Derek & Jaspal and Gracie & Lily check-in as Teams 3 and 4. Ben & Anwar take 5th. Jermain & Justin are 6th and Shayla & Joel finish 7th.

It’s down to the last two teams. But it is Deven & Amanda who step on the Mat in 8th. That means Allie & Eddie are last and eliminated.

Episode Thoughts

What an interesting episode. It’s like TARC decided to stuff all their sponsor features into one episode and get it out of the way. lol I don’t mind product placement because it helps pay the bills. But having two tasks in a row focusing on promoting a sponsor, it does feel a bit too much.

But that’s alright. This was an okay Leg overall. A typical TARC smalltown Leg. With the Samsung and Chevrolet tasks helping to fill it out. It’s actually a fuller Leg than most recent smalltown Legs. Even if all the tasks were straightforward and familiar.

The first task in the river was okay. It fits with the location of course. But I think the most interesting part of it was the Assist, sponsored by Desjardin. I guess the concept of the Assist is okay. Teams can use it, but only on specific tasks. I don’t know how much help that could ever be. Especially when sometimes, it might only be the first task of the Leg. But if it’s a sponsorship opportunity, then why not?

The infamous partner quiz! But done in a much different and less consequential way than the decisive uses on TAR11 or TARAu and TARPH, etc. It’s a good way to show off the S-pen and Galaxy S23 though. But the bad part about it was it being a processional task, thus almost dictating the rest of the Leg. The Detour helped to shuffle things a little tiny bit. But it could’ve been worse I guess.

Especially with the Road Block requiring teams to get in line too. It’s a typical memorization task. And it was a creative way to promote the Chevrolet which is of course one of the show’s most major major sponsors.

The Detour was a typical smalltown choice. BUT! It’s definitely very interesting to have learned about Joseph Coyle inventing the egg carton! That’s definitely a unique fact and having a task highlight it is good. I think that’s the only thing that was interesting about the Detour. But again, it helped to at least keep teams close.

Even though the ending was quite predictable! Nonetheless, the Leg was alright. I might even say above-average for TARC. Nothing too amazing. But an okay Leg and episode.

My Subjective Team Thoughts

Hmm… I don’t think I have a team I am favoring over others yet. They’re all alright so far again this week.

With two wins and the Express Pass, Ty & Kat already setting themselves up as the top contender. And so far, I don’t see any weakness from them. So they might just go to the end.

I think Tyler & Kayleen also have potential. And Tyler’s legs are certainly not going to be any more of a factor than whatever other teams’ might have trouble with. He is a strong person and you know his determination can definitely help them even more against other teams.

Derek & Jaspal were much more toned down this week, so that’s good. As long as they keep their attempts at humor in check, they should be fine and not annoy me any time soon. Hehe. Gracie & Lily though? That laugh might start to grate a little in a while lol They’re interesting also because they’ve done very well these first two Legs, though I would have never expected that.

Ben & Anwar are a steady team. I think they have the potential to be darkhorse candidates for the Final Leg. Laying low for a while and then zooming up to the front when they need to.

Jermaine & Justin are a fun team. But I could see them stumble a bit this Leg. If they can take care of their small missteps, their fun attitudes can take them far.

Shayla & Joel also have potential to be a sleeper team. But they’ll have to work their way out of the back of the pack first. Deven & Amanda were a bit quiet, even while they were fighting to stay out of last place. But I can see them emerge even more now that Allie & Eddie are sadly gone.

I liked Allie & Eddie actually. Their personalities are definitely the kind you want to see on TAR as they have to respond to the pressures of the Race. It’s the kind of fun reality TV moments that they actually already delivered a few in these first two episodes. Too bad they were eliminated, but they seemed to have an opportunity to survive. And it was great to see them not give up even when it looked hopeless.