Episode Report Card M. Giant: A- | 1 USERS: B+ YOU GRADE IT The Curse of the Red Pearl
By M. Giant | Season 22 | Episode 2 | Aired on 02.24.2013
Idries or Jamil retrieves what can't possibly be only their second oyster, but ends up dropping it to the ocean floor. With their luck, it was one of the ones with a pearl inside. He comes up panting for breath, badly enough that one of the rescue swimmers hanging out in scuba gear has to come out and take hold of him, after most of them have done a pretty strong job of staying out of the shot. At least the guy's French accent is reassuring; if you're floundering in the ocean and need help, it must be nice if the guy providing it sounds like Jacques Cousteau.
Joey keeps falling off his stilts at the beginning of the course, which as you can imagine is impeding his progress somewhat. Beth's doing a little better, but Chuck is the next to finish the Roadblock. Joey's next and Meghan rushes him out of there, telling Joey that they can beat Chuck & Wynona. It's a footrace across the island and Team YouTube easily outdistances Wynona, if not Chuck, and are team number four. Chuck & Wynona are team number five and Chuck kisses Wynona happily. I'm actually starting to like them. Sure, she's deadweight, but they don't seem dysfunctional about it. But then in a post-leg interview she compares Joey to Richard Simmons, so now I'm not so sure.
Pam & Winnie are still trying to navigate. Winnie interviews, "Pam and I grew up really Asian-American, so I think our biggest fear is our fear of failure." The Amazing Race: using Asian Americans to reinforce Asian-American stereotypes since 2012. Pam adds that they didn't have terribly supportive parents; "It was more like, 'What's wrong with your hair? Stop getting pimples!'" Alas, that appears to have done little to prepare them to navigate a South Pacific Archipelago on a personal water craft in their underwear.
Under the ocean, Jennifer & Caroline are working together, silently by necessity. I would have thought that being bandmates means they have a lot of experience with nonverbal communication on the stage, but I guess their absent brunette member handles all that. Max admits to having been nervous, while Katie claims to have been enjoying herself looking for Nemo. Despite having started the Detour after the other team, the Newlyweds actually finish and return to their boat first. But not long before. Soon both teams are swimming for the jet-skis, now in eighth and ninth place respectively. Yes, that leaves Idries & Jamil officially in last place, still fishing up one oyster at a time. None of the handful they've retried has a red pearl in it. They interview about growing up and witnessing the struggles of their single mother, which means they can never give up either. In other words, it's time to give up on this and try the other Detour.