Recap: The Amazing Race Canada 10, Episode 9 – “Forget about these stupid oysters.”

Recap: The Amazing Race Canada 10, Episode 9 – “Where Are You Mr. Oyster”

All teams are on the same flight from Montreal to Moncton, New Brunswick. Upon arrival, teams hop into 2024 Chevy Colorado ZR2 Bison and drive to this oyster farm in Neguac.

Teams will hop on a jetski and search 1300 oyster traps to find one of five gold oysters to exchange for the next clue.

On the way to Neguac, Michael & Tyson make a wrong exit and end up driving south toward the Nova Scotia border rather than north to Neguac.

Kevin & Gurleen end up finding the gold oyster first. Kevin asks if they should show the other teams what the oyster looks like, but Gurleen reminds him that this is the Penultimate Leg. They gotta go.

Colin & Matt and Lauren & Nicole are next to find the oyster. Michael & Tyson are able to catch up and end up finding one before Taylor & Katie.

After the oysters, teams will face the Road Block: Who will drop the ball? For this Road Block, teams will head to the French Ford Cove where they will zipline over the water and drop a ball into one of four targets, each with different point values. Once teams have scored five points, they’ll get the next clue. Colin, Gurleen, Michael, Nicole and Taylor must perform this Road Block.

Colin scores his five points first followed by Nicole and Gurleen. Michael scores five points on one try, leaving Taylor in last.

After the zipline, teams will encounter a Face Off where they will take part in the FireFit Relay, a series of firefighting drills which include spraying off two orange cones, putting out a fire and carrying a dummy across the finish line.

Michael & Tyson end up arriving second after Colin & Matt. But Colin & Matt win the first Face Off. Michael & Tyson beat Lauren & Nicole who then also lose to Kevin & Gurleen and Taylor & Katie. Both the twins are nursing foot and ankle pain.

After the Face Off, teams will head to Miramichi where they will take on the Detour: Footwork or Gumshoe. In Footwork, teams must learn and perform the Irish brush dance and the Filipino tinikling dance. In Gumshoe, teams must investigate a mock crime scene and figure out the Who, the What and the When to solve a crime.

Colin & Matt start the Gumshoe Detour first, while Michael & Tyson choose the dancing. Michael will take on the tinkling while Tyson does the Irish brush dance. They go for a first attempt. Tyson easily gets through the brush dance, but Michael gets tripped up with the bamboo.

Kevin & Gurleen and Taylor & Katie choose the crime scene and catch up to Matt & Colin at the testimonies. Lauren & Nicole catch up to Michael & Tyson at the dancing who are just getting the thumbs up after their third attempt.

After the Detour, teams must drive to Metepenagiag Heritage Park. One team member must memorize the names and pronunciations of months in Mi’kmaq while the other had to memorize the English descriptions. They must recite all 12 in order to receive the next clue.

Lauren & Nicole get through the dances on their first attempt and are right behind Michael & Tyson. Meanwhile, Kevin & Gurleen are the first to crack the case. Colin & Matt and Taylor & Katie are at the back of the pack.

While Lauren & Nicole and Kevin & Gurleen start memorizing, Michael & Tyson decide it’s the best strategy for them to quit the task and take the penalty.

After the task, teams will head to Middle Island for the Pit Stop and claim their spot in the Final Leg. Michael & Tyson arrive and Jon officially begins their two-hour penalty. They don’t think any team will be able to memorize everything in two hours, let alone them.

Lauren & Nicole get the thumbs up on their 2nd attempt and hurry to the Pit Stop where they officially check-in as Team #1. Michael & Tyson still have one hour and 14 minutes left in their penalty. The twins win an Expedia trip to Paris with $10,000.

Kevin & Gurleen fail their first attempt when Kevin unknowingly misses one month. Taylor & Katie pass on their first attempt. Colin & Matt pass on their 4th attempt. Kevin & Gurleen get it on their second attempt, but they are now in last.

The last three teams hurry to the Pit Stop. Taylor & Katie check-in as Team #2 with 23 minutes left in Michael & Tyson’s penalty.

Colin & Matt step on the Mat as Team #3 with 13 minutes left in Michael & Tyson’s penalty.

Kevin & Gurleen, however, are unable to reach the Mat before Michael & Tyson’s penalty is complete. Michael & Tyson officially check-in as Team #4 and are the last team in the finale.

A few minutes later, Kevin & Gurleen arrive and are officially eliminated.

Episode Thoughts

I must say, this is probably one of the better, if not the best Penultimate Canadian Leg ever. We’ve had some absolutely horrible Penultimate Legs on TARC. Some regrettable Legs and episodes too. I think mostly because of horrible Face Offs and some trashy, literally, tasks.

But this Leg had good tasks. A balance of luck (at the start) and skill. The Face Off was well-placed and the Leg was designed well overall. That’s a big deal considering sometimes, TARC (especially this season) has been quite iffy in that area.

I’m sure there was some stuff left on the cutting room floor to maybe better explain the many placement changes throughout the Leg. But even so, each of the tasks were challenging enough to really allow teams to compete and Race and fight for that spot in the finale.

The oyster farm task was perfectly placed at the start of the Leg. A needle in a haystack task, but not one that is impossible. And not a deciding factor in elimination. It set the tone for the Leg.

The Road Block is definitely a familiar task. But instead of just one target, it’s actually great to have a few with different point values. It allows for a more unpredictable result rather than a mere processional task.

The Face Off with the firefighting drills might be one of the best Canadian Face Off/Duel/Double Battles ever. Physical, yes. But again, not impossible. And placed in the right spot during this Leg.

The Detour was good as well. It’s one of those tricky Detours where one of them seems easier than the other. Not so much unbalanced, but more one that definitely caters to specific skills and a drive to push through.

The two teams who chose the dancing could have just as easily done the crime scene task. (A great refresher of the crime scene task too! Let me steal that for TARPHDME lololol) And the three teams who did the crime scene Detour could’ve easily struggled worse with the dancing. So it’s a good pair of tasks.

Speaking of TARPHDME, the dance side of the Detour was very much like a Double Road Block. (hehe another task to steal? Lol) Also funny how Lauren & Nicole had feet pain and they chose tinikling. lol

Finally, a memorization task is also similar in that it’s really up to the teams on whether or not they’re good at it. It’s fair for all. And the added cultural aspect of course is great.

Now! TAR Canada loves their quitters. I have no idea why.

So my issue with quitting on the Amazing Race is pretty simple. The blame is shared by both the teams and the show itself. If it is easier and more advantageous to quit a task rather than actually complete it, then that means there’s something wrong with how the task was designed. That is very much the case with all the worst instances of quitting (and answer sharing) from other seasons of TAR around the world. Quitting, of course, happening too often particularly in Canada and in the last civilian season of TARAu.

For the teams, it’s such bad sportsmanship. You don’t take shortcuts in other competitions. Why disregard and belittle the Race so much to basically treat it like it’s so trivial. Why should the Race go through the effort of putting together a task if it doesn’t need to be completed anyway.

But even with that blemish on this Leg and episode, again, this was one of the best Penultimate Legs in TARC’s ten seasons. Exciting and fun to watch. Perhaps even the best episode of the season itself.

Team Thoughts

On one hand, I’m happy Kevin & Gurleen have been eliminated since they’re my least favorite team. But at the same time, I wouldn’t be totally upset if they had made it in. Especially after the disappointment with the quitting. No question they were a solid team. Probably better at making TV-ready moments than as Racers. But either way, the less of them, the better for me. Though there’s only one episode left. Lol

I guess I’m rooting for Lauren & Nicole the most, followed by Taylor & Katie. Two strong, but never dominant teams. I think the twins were a bit stronger overall. But it would be nice to see either of them win.

Colin & Matt are a consistent team that would be okay winners. Nothing memorable though.

And Michael & Tyson, just really disappointed in their quitting. And definitely makes me root for them a lot less than I had been. But they certainly have a good shot too because they’ve had instances of really great Racing at times.