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spiderbraidsTime to bring this supersized season home :-)
Ep 9
- We're in the Dominican Republic, and for today's (first, more anon) Roadblock, find rocks with given symbols in order during yet another canyon diving task and match them at the end... Juan (/Shane, fighter pilots) tells Rod (/Leticia, football couple) that there's a pic on both sides of the rock, and the pics have very small differences, like a bird having 2 or 3 legs (!) (Boyfriends Ricky/)Cesar is doing it with (girlfriends Yvonne/)Melissa, and Amber(/Vinny, paramedics) is going it alone :-) Cesar is first after 3 checks, while Melissa is still wrong even after Cesar's advice :-\ Next stop is a ride with a local farmer to a cacao ranch, and R/C pejoratively asks the other cars to go slow, even saying Despacito for some reason :-) Juan gets 2nd after 5 attempts, and the cam gets pretty shaky as he and Shane are running LOL. Melissa is still wrong as Rod and Amber get out in 3rd and 4th after 2 and 3 checks respectively, and it's only after 8 attempts that Melissa gets out, and they're hoping to make up the 10 minute deficit...
- At the cacao ranch, Phil Keoghan reveals that the task involves harvesting yellow or orange cacao pods and remove the seeds (used to make chocolate) to cover on a mat :-) While Ricky/Cesar have a good "assembly line" going with the nice smelling seeds and are comparing it to getting the good candy from trick or treat, Rod goes into Superman mode (his words) and jumps to grab the pods from the tree, while Vinny climbs up the trees to get the pods, as he liked climbing trees as a kid based on the picture of young Vinny they include... R/C are still in first with clue (and a piece of chocolate of course!) R/C wanted to try the raw cacao beans, but they say "The last thing we wanna get in the race is to get sick" (Lets just say I can relate *cough*) Amber/Vinny and Juan/Shane are fighting over a single tree with lots of fruit (J/S talk of it being lit by a beam from the heavens LOL), while Amber is still concerned over Vinny climbing the trees (also, they're calling Y/M the burgundy team for some reason)
- Next stop is Bartolo Colon Baseball Stadium for another Roadblock, called "Who wants to play ball?" There are more active MLB players from Dominican Republic than any other nation outside of the USA, and one player from the DR, Bartolo Colon, funded this stadium :-) Throw a 2nd base groundball to first, catch a highfly in center field, and hit a thrown bottle cap with a broom stick, as part of a game called Vitilla... Plus, Bartolo himself's even here to present the clue (a year or so before heading off to the Middle East to play baseball, not making this up :-)) Although they're thrown off by getting two RBs, Ricky's played ball before and manages to nail the first two tasks in one go (!)
- During the ride to the baseball stadium, we learn that before he ended up with football, Rod got scholarship from baseball in high-school beacause of fast pitching :-) Meanwhile, Ricky has also played stickball, and knocks the bottle cap the required 25 feet on his 3rd attempt before running home, and getting the clue from Bartolo for Paseo de Dona Blanca, an incredibly pinkish red corridor :-) While Juan/Shane's talking about their cabbie Giovanni driving past his house, Rod is bad at the groundball drill, airmailing the ball over the first baseman, because he hasn't been playing baseball since they dated (and perhaps is used to having to throw high in football?)... It turns out he took four attempts, but that's still about three more than he would have liked, as he tells viewers "Don't k!ll me" in a confessional... Turns out he's also weak at stickball as well :-\
- J/S arrive at the task and Juan managed to get all three tasks knocked out in one go, while Rod finally gets the stickball task done after 14 attempts, so there's a roughly 30 second difference, though Juan takes a few seconds to meet with Bartolo :-) Anyways, while Rod/Leti's cabbie has to get directions to Paseo Dona at a garage, Amber/Vinny show up and Vinny gets to play ball... which is bad news for Amber since she played softball in college, and (despite being from one of the more baseball-crazy countries in East Asia) Vinny has never played (has played video games a lot, though)... and then he gets lucky at his first stickball swing (!) Yvonne, who Melissa has been calling Bobo, is the last to play ball
- While Rod/Leti overtake J/S on their way to the pinkish red corridor, R/C get a clue for the pitstop, at an amphitheater at the ocean, with merengue dancers, and they borrow some guy's cell to get directions :-) As Amber/Vinny and their cabbie are still looking for directions to Paseo Dona Blanco, Yvonne gets the stickball done in about 14 attempts, so it's down to A/V and Y/M... Ricky/Cesar get first place, and it feels like local broadcaster has been editing down R/C's fuller reactions to their first place finishes, as they get a trip to Seoul: Korea cooking! Palace tour! Market tour! Wine tasting! The remaining four places are decided by footraces, with Rod/Leti narrowly edging out Juan/Shane in a close footrace, and Amber/Vinny edging out Yvonne/Melissa in a slightly less closer footrace... In their final confessional, Yvonne/Melissa calls the race their relationship boot camp, and as we have just 4 teams left, they run the usual pre-final leg package for each team, ending with Rod pushing his car from last week and quipping that's what being strong does :-) (Wait, aren't those usually reserved for the final 3? You'll see why next)
Ep 10
- Just like the megaleg a few weeks ago, they're consolidating two hours' worth of stuff into 90 minutes for the two-leg finale (just like old times, eh ;-)) We're still in Dominican Republic, and while Juan/Shane and Amber/Vinny are doing a drink-mixing task with a pirate-dressed dude at a bar, the other two teams are doing a windsurfing Roadblock called "Who wants to take a stand?", and despite having the board hitting her head after attempt 1, Leticia continues with her next go without much of a break... As suggested by the name, it's more like standing on a windsurfing board for a whole minute without falling off... and go figure that after that head trauma, she gets it done on the 2nd attempt (!) Next stop is Olympus Beach where the next clue is waiting on beach buggies :-)
- Ricky's attempt count balloons into double digits, and he's having a hard time getting past the first few seconds, to the point where Juan overtakes him, so it'll be down to Ricky and Vinny, who's done normal surfing before... Ricky finally gets it done on attempt 21 (!) but Vinny's not far behind with his 3rd attempt... Over at Olympus Beach, teams get to drive a beach buggy to kayaks, then kayak to the next Pitstop after crossing the river, a place called Wilson's Bar :-) On the way Shane apologizes for yelling at Juan, and he follows it with "Now you say..." Juan responds with "I love you" LOL. After Rod pushes the kayak back up after capsizing, he and Leti get 1st and a trip to Rome, Italy (Pasta! Tiramisu! Coliseum! Forum! Wine tasting! Borghese Gallery!) After J/S's check-in, A/V were hoping that the dragon could be slayed (TM their words), but R/C haul @ ss in the kayaks to land 3rd and make the final while A/V are still crossing, but it's not a total loss for A/V... because Vinny gives Amber a racemat proposal, and Amber quips about coming home with a ring LOL.
- On to the final leg in Philadelphia, home of the first computer, hospital, library... and Rocky, where the iconic steps are where teams find out their first stop is Lincoln Financial Field, aka the Eagles' field, with $20 in the envelope... We learn that one of R/C actually grew up in SW Philly, but hometown's never been that much of an advantage... Roadblock at football stadium: "Who's got team spirit?" Become a TAR mascot (with globe head), do training drill, with help from other mascots... and Ricky's done mascotting twice :-) Leticia goes with the Phillies' Phanatic, Ricky goes with the Eagles' own mascot, while Shane is going with the Flyers' hockey mascot Gritty... Drill consists of high stepping, jumping through a paper hoop, and shooting a shirt at a target: Ricky gets it in 4, Leti gets it in 8, and Shane only needs two but are still in last, as the next stop is between Geno's and Pat's, two rival restaurants that serve the Philly specialty cheesesteak sandwich, though there's no eating task... and in fact they're not even told they're cheesesteak restaurants, since J/S are thinking they're pizza shops, and are eventually shown arriving at Pat's Select Grill and Pizza... over in New Jersey (! and one of many branches at that)
- The other teams are heading to Headhouse Square to recite the preamble of the Declaration of Independence ("All men are created equal" and all that), of course ratified right here in Philly :-) Teams are being provided with scrolls that have the preamble printed in alternating red and black paragraphs, and one will do red, the other will do black... R/C get pretty far on the first go, before getting it the next attempt, prompting a "Yea, hip hip huzzah!" from their adjudicator :-) while Rod is having a problem with his parts
- While R/C are heading to Betsy Ross House, J/S are just now arriving at the cheesesteak restaurants, sarcastically expecting their clue to have them drive to NJ LOL. R/L are on their 6th attempt, and Rod says his memory isn't as good at his age as it used to be, before he's eventually shown walking off with scroll to memorize his parts again :-\ Over at Betsy Ross, it's another Roadblock titled "Who wants to earn their stripes?" where contestants get to listen to lectures from historical figure cosplay: Betsy Ross, George Washington, and Ben Franklin, and assemble the US flag with the states in order of ratification... Complicating things is that George and Ben are identifying the states out of order like, state A is above state B, state C is 4 rows above state D etc. Cesar also grew up in Mexico so he expects not to do so well on it :-\ and you probably get the feeling that it'd be much more interesting without that sidetrip to NJ :-\ :-\
- R/L finally get the yea after like 8 attempts, and are leaving as J/S are showing up... With J/S, one of them recites his part fluidly and the other guy be like "Bro, really?" LOL! Back at Betsy Ross House, Betsy's lecture reveals that she suggested 5 point stars rather than Washington's 6 points... which unlike Betsy's original, Cesar gets to attach with metal buttons instead of sewing LOL... and he gets it done first check, go figure :-) Meanwhile, Leti shows up and gets confused by a reference to "The state you're in" in one of the lectures LOL. Next stop, Arch Street Meeting House for a Liberty Bell 3D puzzle for the final clue :-)
- Back at Betsy Ross House, looks like it's race a for 2nd between J/S and R/L... and J/S get out in 2nd, while Leticia's still busy using 6-point stars before finally noticing the Betsy Ross lecture about using 5-point stars instead... Meanwhile, cut back to R/C finishing up with the Liberty Bell puzzle, hanging it on a bell holder thingy, and getting a clue from some really old inspection guy for the finish at the Glen Foerd estate :-) R/C even show that the clue for the final pitstop says "GO GO GO" right to the camera :-) While R/C are struggling with navigation (they've apparently misplaced their maps or something), J/S and R/L show up for the Liberty Bell puzzle, where Juan is good at puzzles, while Rod/Leti are thinking of the puzzle like Tetris
- R/C get directions from a hotel to get to I-95, and have a quip about checking their hair... before finishing 1st for the 7th time and getting all the marbles after traveling almost 12,000 miles :-) (Hometown curse? What hometown curse? ;-) And this time, local broadcaster has no choice but to show them hugging :-)) Juan/Shane come 2nd and quip that "If you wanna go to another state, no one's stopping you" as Phil Keoghan also quips they're the first team to see two states on their way to the finish line :-) Rod/Leti take so long with the bell puzzle they're only finishing up as the other two have checked in, and quip to the checking guy to apologize for how long they kept him out LOL. Once they get to the finish, they talk in their final confessional about how the key to a good relationship is learning to forgive and apologize :-)
Ep 9
- We're in the Dominican Republic, and for today's (first, more anon) Roadblock, find rocks with given symbols in order during yet another canyon diving task and match them at the end... Juan (/Shane, fighter pilots) tells Rod (/Leticia, football couple) that there's a pic on both sides of the rock, and the pics have very small differences, like a bird having 2 or 3 legs (!) (Boyfriends Ricky/)Cesar is doing it with (girlfriends Yvonne/)Melissa, and Amber(/Vinny, paramedics) is going it alone :-) Cesar is first after 3 checks, while Melissa is still wrong even after Cesar's advice :-\ Next stop is a ride with a local farmer to a cacao ranch, and R/C pejoratively asks the other cars to go slow, even saying Despacito for some reason :-) Juan gets 2nd after 5 attempts, and the cam gets pretty shaky as he and Shane are running LOL. Melissa is still wrong as Rod and Amber get out in 3rd and 4th after 2 and 3 checks respectively, and it's only after 8 attempts that Melissa gets out, and they're hoping to make up the 10 minute deficit...
- At the cacao ranch, Phil Keoghan reveals that the task involves harvesting yellow or orange cacao pods and remove the seeds (used to make chocolate) to cover on a mat :-) While Ricky/Cesar have a good "assembly line" going with the nice smelling seeds and are comparing it to getting the good candy from trick or treat, Rod goes into Superman mode (his words) and jumps to grab the pods from the tree, while Vinny climbs up the trees to get the pods, as he liked climbing trees as a kid based on the picture of young Vinny they include... R/C are still in first with clue (and a piece of chocolate of course!) R/C wanted to try the raw cacao beans, but they say "The last thing we wanna get in the race is to get sick" (Lets just say I can relate *cough*) Amber/Vinny and Juan/Shane are fighting over a single tree with lots of fruit (J/S talk of it being lit by a beam from the heavens LOL), while Amber is still concerned over Vinny climbing the trees (also, they're calling Y/M the burgundy team for some reason)
- Next stop is Bartolo Colon Baseball Stadium for another Roadblock, called "Who wants to play ball?" There are more active MLB players from Dominican Republic than any other nation outside of the USA, and one player from the DR, Bartolo Colon, funded this stadium :-) Throw a 2nd base groundball to first, catch a highfly in center field, and hit a thrown bottle cap with a broom stick, as part of a game called Vitilla... Plus, Bartolo himself's even here to present the clue (a year or so before heading off to the Middle East to play baseball, not making this up :-)) Although they're thrown off by getting two RBs, Ricky's played ball before and manages to nail the first two tasks in one go (!)
- During the ride to the baseball stadium, we learn that before he ended up with football, Rod got scholarship from baseball in high-school beacause of fast pitching :-) Meanwhile, Ricky has also played stickball, and knocks the bottle cap the required 25 feet on his 3rd attempt before running home, and getting the clue from Bartolo for Paseo de Dona Blanca, an incredibly pinkish red corridor :-) While Juan/Shane's talking about their cabbie Giovanni driving past his house, Rod is bad at the groundball drill, airmailing the ball over the first baseman, because he hasn't been playing baseball since they dated (and perhaps is used to having to throw high in football?)... It turns out he took four attempts, but that's still about three more than he would have liked, as he tells viewers "Don't k!ll me" in a confessional... Turns out he's also weak at stickball as well :-\
- J/S arrive at the task and Juan managed to get all three tasks knocked out in one go, while Rod finally gets the stickball task done after 14 attempts, so there's a roughly 30 second difference, though Juan takes a few seconds to meet with Bartolo :-) Anyways, while Rod/Leti's cabbie has to get directions to Paseo Dona at a garage, Amber/Vinny show up and Vinny gets to play ball... which is bad news for Amber since she played softball in college, and (despite being from one of the more baseball-crazy countries in East Asia) Vinny has never played (has played video games a lot, though)... and then he gets lucky at his first stickball swing (!) Yvonne, who Melissa has been calling Bobo, is the last to play ball
- While Rod/Leti overtake J/S on their way to the pinkish red corridor, R/C get a clue for the pitstop, at an amphitheater at the ocean, with merengue dancers, and they borrow some guy's cell to get directions :-) As Amber/Vinny and their cabbie are still looking for directions to Paseo Dona Blanco, Yvonne gets the stickball done in about 14 attempts, so it's down to A/V and Y/M... Ricky/Cesar get first place, and it feels like local broadcaster has been editing down R/C's fuller reactions to their first place finishes, as they get a trip to Seoul: Korea cooking! Palace tour! Market tour! Wine tasting! The remaining four places are decided by footraces, with Rod/Leti narrowly edging out Juan/Shane in a close footrace, and Amber/Vinny edging out Yvonne/Melissa in a slightly less closer footrace... In their final confessional, Yvonne/Melissa calls the race their relationship boot camp, and as we have just 4 teams left, they run the usual pre-final leg package for each team, ending with Rod pushing his car from last week and quipping that's what being strong does :-) (Wait, aren't those usually reserved for the final 3? You'll see why next)
Ep 10
- Just like the megaleg a few weeks ago, they're consolidating two hours' worth of stuff into 90 minutes for the two-leg finale (just like old times, eh ;-)) We're still in Dominican Republic, and while Juan/Shane and Amber/Vinny are doing a drink-mixing task with a pirate-dressed dude at a bar, the other two teams are doing a windsurfing Roadblock called "Who wants to take a stand?", and despite having the board hitting her head after attempt 1, Leticia continues with her next go without much of a break... As suggested by the name, it's more like standing on a windsurfing board for a whole minute without falling off... and go figure that after that head trauma, she gets it done on the 2nd attempt (!) Next stop is Olympus Beach where the next clue is waiting on beach buggies :-)
- Ricky's attempt count balloons into double digits, and he's having a hard time getting past the first few seconds, to the point where Juan overtakes him, so it'll be down to Ricky and Vinny, who's done normal surfing before... Ricky finally gets it done on attempt 21 (!) but Vinny's not far behind with his 3rd attempt... Over at Olympus Beach, teams get to drive a beach buggy to kayaks, then kayak to the next Pitstop after crossing the river, a place called Wilson's Bar :-) On the way Shane apologizes for yelling at Juan, and he follows it with "Now you say..." Juan responds with "I love you" LOL. After Rod pushes the kayak back up after capsizing, he and Leti get 1st and a trip to Rome, Italy (Pasta! Tiramisu! Coliseum! Forum! Wine tasting! Borghese Gallery!) After J/S's check-in, A/V were hoping that the dragon could be slayed (TM their words), but R/C haul @ ss in the kayaks to land 3rd and make the final while A/V are still crossing, but it's not a total loss for A/V... because Vinny gives Amber a racemat proposal, and Amber quips about coming home with a ring LOL.
- On to the final leg in Philadelphia, home of the first computer, hospital, library... and Rocky, where the iconic steps are where teams find out their first stop is Lincoln Financial Field, aka the Eagles' field, with $20 in the envelope... We learn that one of R/C actually grew up in SW Philly, but hometown's never been that much of an advantage... Roadblock at football stadium: "Who's got team spirit?" Become a TAR mascot (with globe head), do training drill, with help from other mascots... and Ricky's done mascotting twice :-) Leticia goes with the Phillies' Phanatic, Ricky goes with the Eagles' own mascot, while Shane is going with the Flyers' hockey mascot Gritty... Drill consists of high stepping, jumping through a paper hoop, and shooting a shirt at a target: Ricky gets it in 4, Leti gets it in 8, and Shane only needs two but are still in last, as the next stop is between Geno's and Pat's, two rival restaurants that serve the Philly specialty cheesesteak sandwich, though there's no eating task... and in fact they're not even told they're cheesesteak restaurants, since J/S are thinking they're pizza shops, and are eventually shown arriving at Pat's Select Grill and Pizza... over in New Jersey (! and one of many branches at that)
- The other teams are heading to Headhouse Square to recite the preamble of the Declaration of Independence ("All men are created equal" and all that), of course ratified right here in Philly :-) Teams are being provided with scrolls that have the preamble printed in alternating red and black paragraphs, and one will do red, the other will do black... R/C get pretty far on the first go, before getting it the next attempt, prompting a "Yea, hip hip huzzah!" from their adjudicator :-) while Rod is having a problem with his parts
- While R/C are heading to Betsy Ross House, J/S are just now arriving at the cheesesteak restaurants, sarcastically expecting their clue to have them drive to NJ LOL. R/L are on their 6th attempt, and Rod says his memory isn't as good at his age as it used to be, before he's eventually shown walking off with scroll to memorize his parts again :-\ Over at Betsy Ross, it's another Roadblock titled "Who wants to earn their stripes?" where contestants get to listen to lectures from historical figure cosplay: Betsy Ross, George Washington, and Ben Franklin, and assemble the US flag with the states in order of ratification... Complicating things is that George and Ben are identifying the states out of order like, state A is above state B, state C is 4 rows above state D etc. Cesar also grew up in Mexico so he expects not to do so well on it :-\ and you probably get the feeling that it'd be much more interesting without that sidetrip to NJ :-\ :-\
- R/L finally get the yea after like 8 attempts, and are leaving as J/S are showing up... With J/S, one of them recites his part fluidly and the other guy be like "Bro, really?" LOL! Back at Betsy Ross House, Betsy's lecture reveals that she suggested 5 point stars rather than Washington's 6 points... which unlike Betsy's original, Cesar gets to attach with metal buttons instead of sewing LOL... and he gets it done first check, go figure :-) Meanwhile, Leti shows up and gets confused by a reference to "The state you're in" in one of the lectures LOL. Next stop, Arch Street Meeting House for a Liberty Bell 3D puzzle for the final clue :-)
- Back at Betsy Ross House, looks like it's race a for 2nd between J/S and R/L... and J/S get out in 2nd, while Leticia's still busy using 6-point stars before finally noticing the Betsy Ross lecture about using 5-point stars instead... Meanwhile, cut back to R/C finishing up with the Liberty Bell puzzle, hanging it on a bell holder thingy, and getting a clue from some really old inspection guy for the finish at the Glen Foerd estate :-) R/C even show that the clue for the final pitstop says "GO GO GO" right to the camera :-) While R/C are struggling with navigation (they've apparently misplaced their maps or something), J/S and R/L show up for the Liberty Bell puzzle, where Juan is good at puzzles, while Rod/Leti are thinking of the puzzle like Tetris
- R/C get directions from a hotel to get to I-95, and have a quip about checking their hair... before finishing 1st for the 7th time and getting all the marbles after traveling almost 12,000 miles :-) (Hometown curse? What hometown curse? ;-) And this time, local broadcaster has no choice but to show them hugging :-)) Juan/Shane come 2nd and quip that "If you wanna go to another state, no one's stopping you" as Phil Keoghan also quips they're the first team to see two states on their way to the finish line :-) Rod/Leti take so long with the bell puzzle they're only finishing up as the other two have checked in, and quip to the checking guy to apologize for how long they kept him out LOL. Once they get to the finish, they talk in their final confessional about how the key to a good relationship is learning to forgive and apologize :-)
