Amazing Race: Worst Tea Party Ever!

This episode was brought to you by Snapple and Zev’s silver pajamas. Now, I don’t mind product placement in reality shows, but that could be that I’m so used to ignoring it on Top Chef, but this episode was insane with its Snapple product placement. At one point, I thought the prize for first place at the pit stop would be tasting a new flavor of Snapple. Joy? Also, I laughed at Zev leaving the pit stop in his silver pajamas, but I really didn’t think he’d wear them the entire leg. I guess they were comfy!

Still in China?

I enjoy it when the teams stay in one country for a while, but apparently it isn’t the same for the contestants. The first clue told them to go to a tea shop and taste some teas before getting their next clue. Almost all the teams were so bummed they were still in China. Little did they know that the clue after the tea told them to go to Kolkata, India and find the town hall once there. Of course while they were tasting the tea, no one thought anything of it. You think these teams that had run the race before know there is usually a reason for doing any task, but most of them thought nothing of the task, including Zev who said, “That was pointless.” Oh, foreshadowing for later!

India is Crowded? WAT!

There was no airport drama since everyone was on the same flight to India. Once they got off the plane at midnight, it appeared the entire city welcomed them at the airport or maybe that’s just their idea of a good time. Once again, all the teams were shocked that India was crowded. Then there was the fun ride to the Town Hall. There were stop lights, but no one stopped at them. Multiple teams were almost hit by other vehicles while their driver drove them through the city.

There was a bit of a spaz moment when about half of the teams arrived at the Town Hall at the same time to find it didn’t open until 10:00 AM. When the second half of the teams arrived, the Globetrotters told them that the clue was down the road, which sent Gary & Mallory, Margie & Luke and Ron & Christina to go crazy running around looking for the clue box while the other ones sitting at the gate of the Town Hall just laughed and laughed.

Miles of Tea

When the teams got inside the Town Hall, it was a road block where one team member would have to try to find the same tea that they tried in China, which was papaya mango. There were hundreds of cups of tea for them to try. The trick with the tea was not just to taste it, but to start smelling them before you tasted them. That helped narrow it down for all the teams that got the clue really quickly. Ron was the first one to discover this technique and was handed a Snapple as his clue. Ron & Christina were wondering where the clue could be. He thought he might have to drink it so he took off the cap and found the clue under the lid. It directed the teams to find the Tiwari Tea Stall to get their next clue.

During the tea time, one interesting tid bit became apparent. Big Easy kept calling Flight Time “baby” which is usually what romantic couples refer to each other. It was a tad odd to hear over and over again while he was rooting on Flight Time trying all the tea.

Kisha remembered the color of the tea, so she kept taking up each of the teas of that color up and seeing if that was correct. Jet was trying to pick it out by sight too but after trying a few times, he just started smelling them. He got the right one right after that. While up at the judge, Jet said that the one he handed over smelled right so it had to be it. When he was handed the Snapple, Flight Time and Kynt were right next to them. I don’t know why they didn’t start smelling the teas after that since that was the key.

Mallory had tea dribbling down her chin and Luke was saying he was full. Kisha got lucky and had the clue next. Both Kisha and Jen held the Snapple bottle and wondered what to do with it. Neither one tried to open it. Kisha guessed that the Snapple factory might be in that country so they should ask to be taken to it. The sisters were off to parts unknown when someone said they knew where they should go. Kynt got the clue next except when the guy handed him the Snapple, he was asking where his clue was. When the judge pointed to the bottle, Kynt just looked around asking, “Where?” He was right next to the Jet when he got it right so he had to see there was no clue handed to him besides the bottle. Oblivious! Vyxsin figured it out when he handed her the bottle and they were on their way.

That left Zev, Mallory, Flight Time and Luke drinking tea. Justin said Zev was wearing his tea drinking pajamas, but they didn’t seem to be helping. When Zev didn’t get the tea right once, he threw the cup down on the floor and it smashed. I thought he should have received a penalty for that temper tantrum, but nothing happened with him. Mallory finally decided to start smelling the teas and got it right away after that. With three left, Flight Time was getting full, Zev was getting full and Luke was getting really frustrated. Zev finally got it and he calmly took his clue and moved on. Justin told Zev that they could get a cab and he could wet himself there. Only Flight Time and Luke were left.

Meanwhile, Ron & Christina realized their cab driver was way too lost, so they got out and found another one, losing their lead. The sisters realized their cab driver didn’t know if where they were going was where they make Snapple. They got out to find another cab driver. Jen said that she was about to drink the Snapple. If only she would, they would know where to go! The cowboys were lost too so that left the Goths to get to the tea stall first and find a detour.

Books, Check ‘Em Out

For the detour, teams had to pick between painting a Hindu statue so it matches the example or picking up some books at a book store and delivering them to a school house in a rickshaw school bus. The goths picked the art one. Gary & Mallory showed up next and picked the school books. The sisters finally decided to take the lid off the Snapple and discovered there was a clue there. Jen exclaimed, “Shut the front door!” They must have been nearby since they showed up at the tea stall right after Ron & Christina. Ron said they should do the art since they might get lost if they had to deliver books. The sisters also decided to do art. The cowboys were still lost.

Back at the tea room, it seemed that Flight Time was not using anything to narrow down the tea. He was just taking up random cups one at a time. Luke was probably doing the same thing. Neither one was smelling any tea.

Pretty in Pink

Back at the detour, the cowboys finally found the tea stall just before Zev & Justin arrived. They both decide to deliver books. Mallory & Gary picked up their books and piled into a tiny rickshaw to deliver the books. Over at the art task, Kynt was excited that they had to make the statue pink by saying it was “pretty in pink, much like Vyxin and I.” The sisters arrived and started painting. Ron & Christina showed up next. There were street musicians playing music very loudly but Ron was having none of it. He was wearing ear plugs but still complaining non-stop. When Christina begged him to just concentrate, he told her “It is easy for you!” Um, she doesn’t even have ear plugs to help block out the noise!

Finally at the tea task, Flight Time got the tea correctly. He really wanted to quit, but since the last time they ran the race, they were eliminated after they took the penalty for not finishing a road block. He refused to give up. It paid off when he finished before Luke. After that, Luke lost it. He went over to his mom crying saying it was too hard. He really wanted to quit, but she encouraged him to keep going. When he did finally finish, all the people in the room cheered for him. It was really nice.

Around that time, Gary & Mallory delivered their books and got the clue to the pit stop, which had them find the Fountain of Joy in the city’s biggest park. At the art task, Kynt said they had to paint on eyebrows that looked a lot like theirs. Their practice with painting on their own faces helped them finish the task quickly. I just know they need to not forget to put on their eyebrows or I’ll get scared! Christina and Kisha were wondering if the goddess was for fertility because she looked pregnant or if she just had a big gut. Ron finally decided to get with the music and started to dance while he painted.

The cowboys couldn’t find the book store, so Zev & Justin picked up their books first. They were on their way when the cowboys finally found it. One after the other, the goths, sisters and Ron & Christina finished the art and headed to the pit stop. The Globetrotters got to the tea stall and picked the art. Luke & Margie got there and picked the art too. Zev & Justin and the cowboys dropped off their books and headed towards the pit stop too.

The Globetrotters got to the statue and started to paint. Flight Time had paint on his head. They were almost done when Luke & Margie showed up to paint. Then Flight Time kicked the bucket with brown paint, which meant they had to fix all the parts of the statue that were splattered with brown paint that should have been white or pink. They started to paint to fix it, but it gave Luke & Margie a chance to finish. It was close, but the Globetrotters still finished before Margie & Luke. Then it was just a matter of getting to the pit stop before the other team. Flight Time did stop and give Margie & Luke a hug before taking off since they didn’t give up on the other task.

Pit Stop

Gary & Mallory checked in with Phil first. Phil blabbed a bit about Snapple and gave them some tea to drink, which I’m sure Mallory didn’t want to drink anymore tea. Then he told them their real prize was an Indian feast while watching a dance performance and getting over $20,000 to share between the two of them.

The other teams headed to the pit stop were all stuck in traffic. Obviously, the book delivery task did not take as long since the cowboys  and Zev & Justin arrived at the pit stop at the same time as Ron & Christina who started painting their statue well before they even started their detour. The goths showed up at the pit stop right after that group all checked in. The sisters got to the pit stop right after the Globtrotters left their detour task and just before Margie & Luke finished up that last task.

That just left the Globetrotters and Margie & Luke to get to the pit stop.  The Globetrotters got to the pit stop but Phil messed with them. He made them think that they were in last place. They were quite sad until Phil told them they were still in the race. Oh, so mean Phil! Then Margie & Luke checked into the pit stop in last place. They were both eliminated. There was more crying from Luke when that happened.

Pit stop order:

  1. Gary & Mallory
  2. Cowboys
  3. Ron & Christina
  4. Zev & Justin
  5. Goths
  6. Sisters
  7. Globetrotters
  8. Margie & Luke – eliminated

Questions

  1. Do you think that Zev should have been given a penalty for smashing the cup at the road block?
  2. What did you think of Big Easy calling Flight Time “baby”?
  3. Why are teams always shocked that India is crowded?
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