Recap: The Amazing Race Canada 10, Episode 6 – “You wanna try and blow?”

Recap: The Amazing Race Canada 10, Episode 6 – Caution Double Pass Ahead

Teams are informed of the Double Pass coming up in this 6th Leg. At the airport waiting for their flight to Toronto, Kevin & Gurleen approach Lauren & Nicole about the Pass and both teams hedge on Passing each other. The twins know they can’t trust Kevin & Gurleen, saying they can forgive, but not forget.

All teams arrive in Toronto and hop into 2024 Chevy Trax RSes to drive themselves to Guelph, Ontario to find McCrae House. John McCrae was a Canadian poet, physician, author and artist. As a soldier during World War I, he wrote the famous war memorial poem “In Flanders Fields”.

Teams read the poem and take a moment to pay tribute to John McCrae and Canadian soldiers who fought to defend the country’s freedoms during the war.

After finishing their tribute, teams will depart McCrae House in the order they arrived. And the next clue reveals a Road Block: Who can be letter perfect?

For this Road Block, teams head to Elora Quarry where they must paddle into the water, climb a rope ladder and search the forest for pouches containing Boost energy drinks. They will then use the drinks with letters on their caps to unscramble a word (NUTRITION) with the drinks needing to total 188 grams of protein.

Julia, Michael, Gurleen, Katie, Amari, Lauren, Colin all decide to do the Road Block. Julia and Michael work together and figure out the correct answer. After Amari gets the right answer, he tells Gurleen after she asks him.

After the Road Block, teams must find the Jack R. MacDonald Bridge in Elora where they will encounter the Pass. Both teams decide not to Pass anyone.

Taylor & Katie, who arrive at the Pass next, happily Pass Kevin & Gurleen.

After the Pass, teams must head to the Wellington County Museum and Archives. Here, they must search through newspaper pages on microform for one containing articles of their time on the Race. When they can relate the Amazing Race headline to the librarian, they will get the next clue.

As Michael & Tyson, Julia & Olivia and Taylor & Katie arrive at the museum, Kevin & Gurleen arrive at the Pass and decide to Pass Lauren & Nicole.

When the twins arrive, the two teams exchange some words before Kevin & Gurleen continue on the Race.

Back at the museum, Michael & Amari find the page and exchange the headline for the clue revealing the Detour: Flames or Frames. In Flames, teams head to Kitras Studio to blow glass and correctly make an orb. In Frames, teams head to Elora Center for the Arts to memorize the details of a painting which they must recreate in real life only from memory.

Taylor & Katie and Michael & Tyson find the headline next and they, along with Michael & Amari, choose Flames.

Julia & Olivia finish next and they give Lauren & Nicole a tip on what to look for. That allows the twins to find the headline immediately, passing Kevin & Gurleen who are then able to leave before last place Colin & Matt.

Lauren & Nicole choose Frames and they fail one attempt before deciding to use their Express Pass, which expires today. After the Detour, teams will encounter another Road Block: Who’s ready to meet their match?

For this Road Block, teams head to Dublin Street United Church where they will dress as wrestlers, learn and then properly perform ten wrestling moves with a pro in the ring.

Taylor & Katie get their orb approved and are excited about wrestling. Michael & Amari and Michael & Tyson are close behind them, leaving a struggling Julia & Olivia now alone at the blowing.

Meanwhile at Frames, Kevin & Gurleen have failed four times already when Colin & Matt get the thumbs up on their 5th attempt. Kevin & Gurleen fail their 8th and they grow frustrated. When they finally realize their mistake, Kevin drops the chess pieces and they have to look for it in the grass before finally get the thumbs up on their display. This puts Julia & Olivia totally in last place.

At the Road Block, Nicole aka Double Trouble Part 1 fails her first attempt. That allows Tiny Taylor to go next and of course has no problem executing the wrestling moves. Michael & Amari arrive and use their Express Pass.

Nicole gets the thumbs up on her next attempt and it is now a three-way Race to the Pit Stop at The Arboretum at the University of Guelph.

Lauren & Nicole arrive just before Michael & Amari and they run around campus looking for Jon. But it is Taylor & Katie who arrive first and win an Expedia trip to Iceland and $10,000. Michael & Amari take 2nd with Lauren & Nicole in 3rd.

Tyson aka Senor Deafton goes into the ring next and passes on his first attempt.
Matt aka Poppa John P fails his first attempt, allowing Kevin aka Killer K-Mart The Bone Cusher to go up next and get through.

Michael & Tyson and Kevin & Gurleen finish as Teams 4 and 5, respectively.

It’s now down to the last two teams. Poppa John P passes on his third attempt while Olivia aka Rambunctious Rough-Hours appears to get it on her first try.

However, Colin & Matt safely finish the Leg in 6th, leaving Julia & Olivia officially last and eliminated.

Episode Thoughts

Not gonna lie. With the week off and the Olympics going on in the time since the last episode, I almost forgot The Amazing Race Canada 10 even existed. Lol

Anyway! Lol. Let’s talk about the absurdity first. I’ve never been a fan of the Pass. I’ve always thought it was a lame, nonsensical twist. And I think this episode kind of highlights once again why that is.

So let’s look at this scenario. If Kevin & Gurleen Passed Colin & Matt, then who would Colin & Matt wait for before they could continue in the Race? Isn’t the whole point of the Pass being the “Passed” team would need to wait until a teams passes them, then they can continue on the Race? So who would Colin & Matt have needed to wait for?

Crazier than that, shouldn’t both Kevin & Gurleen and Lauren & Nicole have waited for Colin & Matt. Because technically, Lauren & Nicole have not passed Kevin & Gurleen yet. So Kevin & Gurleen technically are not allowed to move on yet because no one went ahead of them.

Whatever. The Pass sucks, simple as that. And really one of the worst and lamest features on any Amazing Race.

Oh well. Moving on to this Leg, it was a very full Leg. Probably a Leg worthy of TARUS’ 90-minute episodes. But maybe also better as a regular-length episode because it kept the episode moving at a fast pace. No need to dwell on any one task like TARUS needs to do to fill its extra time.

Lots of actual tasks that really shuffled the teams all day.

First, the tribute at the beginning of the Leg was nice. And definitely a TARC thing to do.

The first Road Block was alright. Thank you Boost for your advertising moneys. But it’s a good kind of active task that gets teams paddling and climbing and in the outdoors.

The microform task was a good extra task for the Leg. Thank goodness no team just blurted out the answer to another team. Certain TARUS and TARAu seasons probably would’ve had teams do just that. Ewe!

The Detour were a pair of familiar tasks. Glass blowing, whenever available, is an easy task to have on the Race. (I definitely know that from doing TARPHDME lololol) The real life painting side of the Detour is also something TARPHDME has done too. Not even sure if a real TAR has done it lol But both solid tasks that definitely facilitated the major placement shifts of the Leg.

The wrestling Road Block was fine. It was just a learn and perform task. But the first come, first served task at the end of the Leg is kinda meh.

This Leg was probably one of the few times the Express Pass was actually consequential and added to the episode and Leg’s drama and unpredictability.

Overall, I would say that even with the Pass, this was one of the season’s better episodes and Legs.

Team Thoughts

Right now, I think I am rooting for Taylor & Katie the most. They get a well-deserved win. And I appreciate them having no qualms about Passing Kevin & Gurleen lolol

Lauren & Nicole are a close 2nd and have been such a strong team. I hope they get their win soon.

Michael & Amari kind of lost some points for me when Amari blabbed the answer to Gurleen lol Michael & Tyson have had a tendency to do that too. So they’re just alright for me instead of teams I am actively rooting for. (I really judge how likeable a team is by how much alliancey they act lolol)

Colin & Matt are alright. But they’ve been struggling a bit the last few Legs.

Lol at Gurleen saying the twins are nasty people. Lol Okay. I guess Kevin & Gurleen really are just reality show-ready characters. Not my cup of tea.

Too bad about Julia & Olivia. But after this episode, I kinda feel like it’s the perfect time for them to go. They were kind of annoying this episode, for some reason. I dunno. But at least they won last Leg.