Time for another recap. You remember that after the last episode, Terri & Henry were spared by a mugging at the mat, Non-Elimination Leg. So we still have six teams left. Who will be eliminated in this leg?
The last leg took us to Seoul, South Korea, one of the economic capitals of Asia and host of the 1988 Summer Olympic Games, and the pit stop for this leg of the race.
Teams will now leave 12 hours after they have arrived. They don’t know what’s in store for them and will travel to the next destination based on clues sealed in yellow envelopes (I miss Phil saying this from the early seasons of TAR).
Continuing our policy, we will not show the first place team nor will we mention them by name. In fact, for much of this recap, they will be called, The Annoying Team That Thinks It’s Funny, But Is Not And Shall Never Be Named. Every once in a while, I’ll call them something else, but we start with The Annoying Team That Thinks It’s Funny, But Is Not And Shall Never Be Named leaving Olympic Park at 7:48 a.m.
They’re instructed to go by plane to Frankfurt, Germany, the first time The Amazing Race Asia has gone to the European continent. Once in Frankfurt, they will make their way to the Old Opera House where they will find their next clue. Teams will receive $142 for this leg of the race. A quick aside, I notice in that freeze frame, that Avril Lavigne will appearing at the Opera House, certainly not what the architects of the hall had in mind, but I digress. The Annoying Team That Thinks It’s Funny, But Is Not And Shall Never Be Named make a comment that they want to go to the airline that has the hottest flight attendants. Yeah, sexually harass flight attendants. That’ll get you good service, you jerks.
Adrian & Collin are next to leave. They have been hot on the tail of the first team since the second leg and will hopefully find a way to defeat Bald Fuck and Jerkface, maybe not in this leg, but somewhere down the line.
When The Annoying Team That Thinks It’s Funny, But Is Not And Shall Never Be Named get to a ticket counter, they’re told that all direct flights to Frankfurt from Seoul are booked. This begins a series of Airport Drama that I dread to write, but I will because I am your humble recapper. The Annoying Team That Thinks It’s Funny, But Is Not And Shall Never Be Named get on a waiting list for Frankfurt, but the ticket agent laughs at them when he’s asked if their chances are good on getting on the flight.
So the first two teams start to look for ways to get one step ahead of the other, either through the internet or through a ticket agent. But thus far, it won’t be successful.
Essentially two hours after the first two teams, sisters Vanessa & Pamela and best friends Paula & Natasha leave the Pit Start. Maybe because I have this affinity for girl-girl teams, I hope one of these two or even both teams makes it to the Final 3. While Vanessa & Pam have had their problems, Paula & Natasha are the closest to the charming Zabrina & Joe Jer from Season 1. And they haven’t let too many things get them down on the race.
Ann & Diane leave next and due to the editing of the last two legs, they haven’t come across as nicely as in the first three episodes. While I still don’t consider them to be villains, I don’t like the way they kidnap locals as Charla & Mirna did in TAR All Stars. They’re a bit forceful.
Back at the airport, Paula & Natasha find out the predicament the other teams are in. The first two options for Frankfurt are full and with The Annoying Team That Thinks It’s Funny, But Is Not And Shall Never Be Named and Adrian & Collin still searching for options, it’s going to be a while until something opens.
Then Ann & Diane use the emergency card which never works. Ann tells a ticket agent that she has a sick relative in Frankfurt and she needs go get there by 5 p.m. that day. If a ticket agent got a nickel or dime for every time that line is used, that agent could retire at an early age. The problem is that Ann didn’t look too stressed when she said it so it was no go.
Some four hours and 49 minutes after the first team left the mat, Terri & Henry get their clue, but as Alan mentioned in the last episode, they will not receive any money. However, the other teams knowing their troubles leave some money so they can get to the airport. Natasha says hopefully they’ll be ok, or Terri will have pulled all of Henry’s hair out of his head, or something to that extent.
The sisters who took a subway to the airport to save money find out that the airlines are overbooking flights to Frankfurt on this date. Paula & Natasha are on standby for three flights.
Terri & Henry decide to use the Military Joint Reception Center as Henry is a retired Naval officer, but it doesn’t book flights so they’re stuck.
During an idle moment, Paula & Natasha talk about the Final 3 with the sisters and also yielding Ann & Diane. Why not talk strategy while you can? It’s not a bad idea and there’s always strength in numbers. Remember in TARA1, the teams decided to gang up on Andy & Laura after they stole SanFran’s cab so it’s never a bad idea to talk about the Yield when there’s an opportunity. They should yield The Annoying Team That Thinks It’s Funny, But Is Not And Shall Never Be Named but they’re always ahead of them and when you can knock out the Dancing Moms, you had better do it while you can.
Finally, the teams are getting their flights. The Annoying Team That Thinks It’s Funny, But Is Not And Shall Never Be Named get their tickets while Ann & Diane complain. Paula & Natasha get seats aboard one flight as
do the sisters. Terri & Henry continue to go to various airline ticketing offices to see if they can find a flight. But they find out that only one seat is available and they must travel together as stated by the TARA rules.
So Bald Fuck and Jerkface are able to get a direct flight from Seoul to Frankfurt which will arrive by 5 p.m. local time, a journey of 8,088 km. Natasha & Paula have a flight which will get to Frankfurt at 5:35 p.m. Adrian & Collin, Ann & Diane and Vanessa & Pam are all on the same flight which will arrive in Frankfurt an hour after Natasha & Paula. Terri & Henry are still in Seoul looking for standby. They finally get a flight leaving at 3:25 p.m. via Hong , but they’ll be way behind the other teams.
The Annoying Team That Thinks It’s Funny, But Is Not And Shall Never Be Named arrive in Frankfurt first and promptly get a taxi to the Old Opera House. They’re on the famous Autobahn and make some stupid, unfunny one liner while mugging for the camera. Shut up, please! They arrive at the Opera House and find that their stay in Germany is only brief. They’ll be heading by train to Prague in the Czech Republic.
Once there, they will make their way to the historic 15th Century Charles Bridge to search for their next clue. So the Annoying Assholes get to the train station and find that the next train to Prague won’t leave until 11:38 p.m. which will leave enough time for everyone except Terri & Henry to catch up. So the Inane Idiots decide to hang out in Germany and see some sights before they leave for the Czech Republic.
The next two flights carrying Paula & Natasha, Adrian & Collin, Vanessa & Pam and the Dancing Moms all in prompt succession. The best friends, gym buddies and sisters all find transportation quickly. Ann & Diane promptly steal someone’s cab and head to the Old Opera House. They’re definitely Charla & Mirna Deux in that regard.
Because the cabs are quicker than the subway, Vanessa & Pam and Adrian & Collin get to the clue box before Paula & Natasha who took the train from the airport. Pamela was surprised to see that they would not be able to stay in Germany for long. When Paula & Natasha arrive at the clue box, they’re surprised to see so many clues taken. Once Ann & Diane get their clue, they all find that it will be a long wait at the train station. Again, the Dancing Moms rudely cut the line at the ticket counter, jumping some 20 people. They did ask if they could go to the front, but this is really reprehensible in my mind. If you can do it, more power to you, but if I’m in line, I say no. And they find out that they have a long wait for their train, so did cutting the line help in the long run? No.
So it’s another bunching at the train station with everyone except Terri & Henry waiting for the same train. And it gives me the opportunity to show Paula’s lovely legs.
While waiting for the train and realizing they’re low on cash, the Big Time Jerks go to a strip club and Bald Fuck gets on the pole to make money. I wish the AA’s had been arrested for lewd behavior, but it was not to be, plus I’m sure the producers encouraged this somehow.
So the five teams board an overnight train for Prague, a journey of 412 km. As we see them disembark the train, Terri & Henry are just arriving in Frankfurt and are on a train heading to the Old Opera House.
All five teams have now made it to the Charles Bridge, looking for one of the Baroque Statues with the clues inside a hole. Because the teams overthink their clue, they take a long time to find the right statue.
Terri & Henry get to the Old Opera House and are the last team to find out that they’re going to Prague, so just after arriving in Frankfurt, they’ll be visiting the Czech Republic as well.
Now I’ll give credit to The Annoying Team That Thinks It’s Funny, But Is Not And Shall Never Be Named. Baldie tells Crackhead to look inside holes in the statues and he promptly finds the clues. It was smart of Bald Fuck to think of that because it will take a long time before the other teams to realize that the clue does not mean a religious statue or shrine.
After running away from the bridge and from the other teams, the Pitiful Penguins find out they have to go to a puppet shop on Karlova Street to get their next clue.
So now, you have four teams looking for the clue and Terri & Henri speeding to Prague on the train. Terri says she hopes for a disaster to happen to one of the other teams. Her wish is halfway coming true as teams are taking a long time to find the clue on the bridge.
At the puppet shop, The Annoying Team That Thinks It’s Funny, But Is Not And Shall Never Be Named find out that it’s a dreaded “Hours of Operation” and the store won’t open until 11 a.m. which means there will be some bunching here.
Ann & Diane say they searched 2 hours for the clue and I can totally see that. It can be frustrating, but Paula & Natasha are able to find it and head for the puppet shop. They get there and see The Annoying Team That Thinks It’s Funny, But Is Not And Shall Never Be Named waiting and totally frustrated that they could not have opened up a lead on the other teams. But this is what happens in The Amazing Race. You just never know when you’re going to bet bunched. Adrian & Collin are the next to find the clue and join the other teams waiting for the puppet shop to open. Finally, the Dancing Moms take the clue out of the statue and they’re at the puppet shop when it opens to get their next clue.
The teams find that they have to walk to Kinsky Palace in the Old Town Square of Prague to get their next clue. And once the teams get to the clue box, they find that they’ve reached a Road Block.
As long time fans of The Amazing Race know, a Road Block is a task that only one person may perform.
In this task, teams have to become a Knight in Shining Armor and rescue a damsel in distress.
Team members will don a Knight’s suit, take a key and then walk to Old Town Square where they must locate a Damsel in Distress standing on a balcony. Once they find the Damsel, the team member must exchange his/her key for the next clue.
So the four teams that have reached Kinsky Palace have all found the clue box in quick succession and decide who will do the Road Block. Inside, they get fitted for their suit of armor which is very heavy and since the teams went to Prague in the summertime, most likely was hot inside. Of course, when you have four people dressed as knights walking through the streets of Prague with cameras following behind, you’re likely to draw attention and all teams certainly did in this particular task.
Back on Charles Bridge, Vanessa & Pamela are still searching for their clue and they know the other teams have left. They say they lost track of time. They just don’t think that the clue could be actually inside the statue instead of having a clue box. They eventually find the clue, but not after wasting a lot of time overthinking what they were supposed to do.
Of course, the Jerky Boys are the first to find the Damsel and to get their clue. They rip open the envelope and find they have to make their way to the train station and go to Beroun, some 30 km outside of Prague. Once there, they have to find a marked car and drive to the Town Square where they must look for a local townsperson carrying a (dreaded product placement ahead) Nokia phone with their picture on the screen. Teams must play the video message on the phone to receive their next clue.
At the Road Block, The Annoying Team That Thinks It’s Funny, But Is Not And Shall Never Be Named finish this task first followed by Adrian & Collin, the Dancing Moms and Paula & Natasha. What delays all of them is taking off the suit of armor. Once this is done, they can head for Beroun. This is where we finally get some separation.
The Annoying Team That Thinks It’s Funny, But Is Not And Shall Never Be Named along with Adrian & Collin and the Dancing Moms all get on the same train. For whatever reason, Paula & Natasha got on a different train to Beroun that did not leave for 40 minutes. This put them behind the other teams in Beroun.
The trailing teams, Vanessa & Pamela and Terri & Henry are seen next. The sisters get their next clue at the puppet shop while the married couple are just arriving in Prague. Vanessa & Pam arrive at the Road Block where Vanessa decides to the Knight in Shining Armor.
At Beroun, the teams find their cars which they discover are not first class. While The Annoying Team That Thinks It’s Funny, But Is Not And Shall Never Be Named can figure out how to drive theirs, Diane has trouble just trying to start the car and Adrian & Collin find a local who will go with them to Town Square. The Annoying Team That Thinks It’s Funny, But Is Not And Shall Never Be Named go into a hotel to get directions.
Vanessa finally dons her armor and starts to walk towards the Damsel in Distress. She correctly asks a local if there’s something named Prince and is told the Prince Hotel where the Damsel is waiting. Vanessa finds her and is able to get her next clue.
Meanwhile, Terri & Henry have made it to the Charles Bridge and they could have left right away as Henry looks briefly at the statue that has the clue, but inside the hole and had he taken a longer look, he would have found the envelopes, but he didn’t so we’ll have to endure some yelling from Terri. Oh well.
At Beroun, the top three teams have now arrived at Town Square. Ann & Diane have gone into a shop while The Annoying Team That Thinks It’s Funny, But Is Not And Shall Never Be Named run past them to look for the locals carrying (dreaded product placement ahead) Nokia phones with their pictures and video messages. Just shortly behind are Adrian & Collin.
Finally arriving in Beroun are Paula & Natasha. This is where we get a little bit of comedy as Paula drives and after having just one lesson on a stick shi
ft finds the driving a bit hard. Natasha tries to give her a refresher, but it just doesn’t work. A couple of times, Paula almost gets into accidents, but she manages to stop before any damage is done. Considering the damage Natasha caused in the last leg, this is quite admirable.
And the search for phones is not going well for The Annoying Team That Thinks It’s Funny, But Is Not And Shall Never Be Named and Adrian & Collin.
Making their way to Beroun are Vanessa & Pam via the train. Vanessa & Pam talk about the holes in the statue and say they weren’t looking for them, they just saw the fingers.
Henry correctly surmises that the statue they’re looking for may not be religious, but full of holes, but they do not go back to the one he saw earlier. They just keep walking. Not good. Then Terri starts to yell again and then pouts telling Henry to look, but she can’t do that. They have to be together. She says it was hot and she was thirsty, but that’s still no excuse to yell.
The Annoying Team That Thinks It’s Funny, But Is Not And Shall Never Be Named finally find the right phone and they watch their messages to get their next clue. Adrian & Collin do the same so after they get their clue, the male teams are once again, one-two. And they’ve reached a Detour.
As we all know, a Detour is a choice between two tasks, each with its own pros and cons. In this Detour, teams must drove to the town of Nižbor and choose between Blow or Bow.
In Blow, teams have to go to RÜCKL CRYSTAL and each team member must cut a design on the bottom of a glass cup. The town of Nižbor is known for producing high end Bohemian Crystal. Once both members have successfully cut the design, they’ll receive their next clue.
In Bow, each team member must take a crossbow and hit a colored target. Once they achieve success, they’ll receive their next clue.
The two all-male teams decide to shoot arrows and take off for Nižbor.
Ann & Diane finally make it to the Town Square and start looking for phones. After a frantic search, they find a local who has their picture and they listen to the messages. Diane sees her brother, then Ann’s husband comes on and this is where we see Ann get impatient saying he’s longwinded. Ann wants to go past the message, but Diane says they can’t so they have to watch. Ann really doesn’t look good here. She blows some kisses to him, but she appears not willing to watch the rest of his message. And after getting their clue, they originally decide to do Blow, but after Diane tells Ann she wants to do the Bow, they change and head for the crossbow task.
Vanessa & Pam have finally arrived in Beroun and head for Town Square. They don’t like the car. And Vanessa has trouble as the manual transmission doesn’t have power steering.
At Town Square, Paula & Natasha have arrived and are looking for the phone with their picture on it. They go to a person who apparently is not part of the production and he’s puzzled why two Asian girls are trying to look at his phone, so he walks away. Funny stuff. But they eventually find the right phone and the guy who’s been waiting for them gets a hug from two hot chicks. I’m sure that made his day. They see Natasha’s mother and brother and Paula’s cousins on the screen and thus get their clue. They decide that they will do the glass cutting task.
Wow, back at the Charles Bridge in Prague, Henry goes to the statue he looked at earlier, sticks his hand inside the hole and finds a clue. Hallelujah! Had he done this when he had first arrived, we would have been spared of Terri’s bad behavior, but then again, we’ve come to expect yelling so why should this episode be different?
Arriving at Nižbor and the Bow task are Bald Fuck & Crackhead and closely behind, Adrian & Collin. They’ll once again go at it for the top spot in this leg.
Both teams have difficulty at first adjusting the aim of the crossbow. They both comment on how each team pushes the other. And everyone seems to shoot their first arrow above the target. The Annoying Team That Thinks It’s Funny, But Is Not And Shall Never Be Named hits the target and they have to do it one more time in order to get their clue.
Back in Prague, Terri & Henry have found the puppet shop on Karlova Street and it’s the Road Block that will be next for them.
The Annoying Team That Thinks It’s Funny, But Is Not And Shall Never Be Named hits the target a second time and they get their clue. These First Class Jerks are instructed to go to Karlstejn Castle which is the 8th Pit Stop of the race.
Allan tells us that Karlstejn Castle is located 30 km south of Prague and was built in 1348 (that’s old!) and was once home to the Czech Coronation Jewels. And yes, t
he last team to check in, may be eliminated, but do we believe this? I don’t think so.
Adrian & Collin are next to leave so they’ll chase Bald Fuck & Crackhead to the mat. Notice the clue and the instructions? I like how the producers allow us to see that. You MUST park in the Marked Parking Area. You MAY leave your bags in the vehicle. You MUST leave your keys in the vehicle. I WISH the US version of TAR would do that.
At Kinsky Palace, Henry decides that he will be the Knight to rescue the Damsel in Distress.
Vanessa & Pam have reached the Town Square in Beroun and look for phones. They have to run around a bit, but finally find the correct one. This message has their mom and Vanessa says it was nice to hear from her because it gave them encouragement to push on and it came at the right time. But they choose Bow and Pam says they always choose the task which they think they have skill but don’t. They’re really funny girls.
Back with Henry, he’s donned his armor and is ready to find the Damsel.
The Dancing Moms have arrived at the Bow task and Diane is off target. She finally hits the colored area so it’s now up to Ann. She hits the target after several tries and now, the Moms can leave and head for the Karlstejn Castle.
To Paula & Natasha and Paula again almost gets into an accident. Stick shifts and Paula definitely do not mix. She eventually gets righted and they get to the the Glass Shop. They look at how the expert cuts the design into the glass so they forge ahead with their Detour. Natasha cuts her design into the bottom of the glass, but the guy looking over says it’s not correct so she has to do it again. But Paula takes over and hers is wrong as well. Natasha tries again and gets thumbs up and once Paula finishes up, her glass is also approved and the girls are now heading out to the Castle and the Pit Stop.
Henry has finally spotted the Damsel, exchanges his key for the clue and he and Terri are now on their way to the train station to get to Beroun.
The Annoying Team That Thinks It’s Funny, But Is Not And Shall Never Be Named is driving to the Pit Stop, passes the Karlstejn train station with Adrian & Collin close behind, but in a scene reminiscent of TAR6 when Freddie & the racist Kendra won while Jon & Kris were stopped by a train, Adrian & Collin are stopped right at the tracks by a crossing train. This allows the Annoying Assholes to reach the mat in first … again and they get another Standard Chartered Bank credit card with an obnoxious amount to spend.
This means that Adrian & Collin are second. Again. And we have the same one-two finish for the sixth straight leg.
Vanessa & Pam have reached the Crossbow challenge and are shooting arrows. Terri & Henry have reached Beroun where she proceeds to yell “THAT WAY!” instead of telling Henry what direction to turn while driving to the Town Square. She’s in the back seat and he can’t tell where “THAT WAY!” is. No communication. But they eventually reach the square where they look for cell phones. They find the right guy and they see their friend on the video message. Once they receive their clue, they decide to do Bow.
And the Dancing Moms arrive third. Boo. That’s all I have to say.
At the target, Pam hits the target first followed by Vanessa. They get their clue and head for Karlstejn Castle.
Speaking of Karlstejn Castle, Paula & Natasha check in 4th smiling all the way. They’re so delightful and it’s hard not to like this team.
Vanessa & Pam arrive in 5th relieved that they’re still in it.
And once again, bringing up the rear, Terri & Henry. They reach the bow task, finish up there after a long time of shooting arrows into the ground and drive for the Pit Stop in the dead of night where they are told once again, it’s a Non-Elimination Leg.
Unlike the last leg in which their money was taken away, this time, Terri & Henry are Marked for Elimination meaning they have to finish first otherwise incur a 30 minute penalty which could mean the end.
Henry then says something that could mean some foreshadowing. He says, “The person that wins this Amazing Race should be an athletic team. They should have great communication, great cooperation amongst the team… so if we were to win this it would kind of be a fluke.” So do we get that fluke with Terri & Henry? Hmmm. We shall see.
Our order of finish:
1. The Annoying Team That Thinks It’s Funny, But Is Not And Shall Never Be Named – winners of a $5,000 Standard Chartered Credit Card … again. Sixth straight first place finish.
2. Adrian & Collin – sixth straight second place finish
3. Ann & Diane – another 3rd place finish
4. Paula & Natasha
5. Vanessa & Pamela
6. Terri & Henry – Marked for Elimination
In the next episode, we’re still in Europe. See you soon.
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