Watching Reality TV

Oh boy, where were we? Sorry I missed last week, we were out of town and I was expecting to be able to watch the show and recap as usual. But a) we weren’t at my in law’s house when the show was on and b) the internet wasn’t working. Whoops! I hope everyone’s Christmas and New Years were as great as mine were. And now, let’s get back to the show!

To quickly catch you up (beyond this post, of course), last week TK and Rachel came in first and the Goths were eliminated. Sad to see them go, but their names were a pain to spell out every time. We’re getting down to the wire with the show here, which surprises me. Why do these finales always sneak up on me??

Teams are leaving Mombai, India (WHY do they insist on always sending these poor teams to India??) and are heading to Osaka, Japan! Can’t say that I’m sad that I missed a leg that took place in India, since it is almost always incredibly depressing. Anyhow, the teams leave, Nick and Don just behind the hippies. Ron and Chris leave after them and apparently Ron has had further trouble holding his frustration in where it concerns his daughter. Nathan and Jennifer leave and I’m a little sad that they’re still in it, since they are so dysfunctional. Anyhow, that’s it. Four teams left! Meanwhile, teams are scrambling for tickets and hoping to have the earliest flights available. (Meanwhile, I’m being distracted by the school closure/delayed start notices running at the bottom of my TV screen) Anyhow, all teams fly to Osaka, TK and Rachel are unsure if they’re in the lead or dead last. All the other teams are flying and they seem rather stuck so I’d go with dead last.

The second flight with the three teams on it lands first in Osaka and the teams hit the ground running. They find cabs that hopefully know where they’re supposed to be going. Ron and Chris are confident they’ll do well in Japan. Nathan and Jennifer get to the castle they need to search first and marvel at the beauty. They have difficulty finding the clue box, but eventually locate it and now need to take the cab to a train station. There they need to find a guy and ask him for a clue. Just… any guy? Ron and Chris arrive just as they’re leaving and also have difficulty finding hte clue. They get to it before Nick and Don, though. Nathan and Jen arrive and find their clue guy (who happens to be dressed in red and yellow) and find a Roadblock. Jen choses to do the task, which requires her to become a taxi driver. GAH. Hell no. And just after Christina said she wouldn’t want to drive in Osaka. And, sadly enough, Christina chooses to do the task and is horrified to find out what she has to do. Jen has difficulty deciphering where to take her couple, while Chris has difficulty figuring out how to drive the car. OY! Nick and Don arrive at the station and Nick choses to do the task. He accepts with gusto and also needs help finding out how to read his address. Back at the station, Don and Ron share snacks while waiting. Each driver has a strategy for finding their way to the post office, but ultimately Jen gets there first. She’s thrilled, now let’s see if she can get back again. Christina arrives next, followed by Nick. Jen makes it back first, and now they must take a taxi to a Buddhist temple and find their next clue. Christina meets up with her dad and they take off. Nick, sadly, is lost.

Nick? Still lost. TK and Rachel finally land and get going. Christina and Ron are concerned by their taxi driver’s health. Jen and Nathan take a moment to argue. They arrive at the temple and have a Detour: Sense of Touch or Sense of Smell. It’s either robot soccer or identifying a real flower amidst thousands of fakes. Nate and Jen and Ron and Chris go for the flower task (ugh!). Nick finally makes his way back to Don and they head to the temple at last. They get their clue and chose the robot soccer. Don isn’t wild about it, but Nick is enthusiastic. Nate and Jen bicker, Ron and Chris sniff. Nick and Don make one goal… score! TK and Rachel are still journeying to their first clue. Nate and Jen find their real flower and hurry to the pit stop which is at Tempozan Park. They want to finish in first place badly, as they haven’t yet. Nate and Jen have difficulty finding a cab that knows where to go. Ron and Chris finish as well and easily find a cab that knows where to go. Nate and Jen are frustrated.

Nate and Jen still search for a cab and Nate pushes Jen into a cab out of frustration. Oy. Ron and Chris, meanwhile, are getting along famously. He hasn’t lost his temper all day. Don makes his goal and he and Nick advance to the pitstop. Ron and Chris make it to the mat first and win a pair of electric cars! Wow! They are so happy to be in first place. It’s so cute to see them together and happy. Nate and Jen arrive in second place and are disappointed. But happy that they made it, if nothing else. At least Jen seems to understand that in order to come in first, they need to stop bickering. Nick and Don arrive shortly after and are happy to be still in the game. TK and Rachel, meanwhile, are WAY behind. We see footage of them completing the various tasks and finally making it to the pitstop. They are certain they are out of the game. HOWEVER! Non-elimination leg! Of course, they are considerably behind the other teams and with the speed bump in the next leg, they’re in a bad spot. I hope they can rebound (and get a handy “bunching” of some sort). So until next week…