Episode Report Card M. Giant: B+ | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Franked Again
By M. Giant | Season 21 | Episode 9 | Aired on 11.25.2012
The third plane carrying Trey & Lexi arrives in Amsterdam, and after a run through the airport, they're soon on the train going, "Sssuperstar!" Weren't they, like, in day care when that was a thing?
At the dock, Jaymes & James pick a boat driver and dig their ride up the canal. "We're going to enjoy this calm before the storm," James says. Or the calm before the calm, as the case may be. Behind them, Lexi quickly spots the clue box outside Central Station, and she and Trey wisely forgo the Fast Forward in favor of heading straight to their Route Info.
The Pit Stop is in a little Dutch country town, with houses and chicken pens in backyards and Phil standing by the mat next to a greeter dressed like an old-fashioned Dutch milkmaid. She says, "Hallo (Hello.)" as Natalie and Nadiya come rolling up, barely twenty minutes into the episode. The twins sing "Thank you" in harmony and shimmy expectantly as Phil tells them they're team number one, shimmying right back at them. "What was that?" he asks them before getting to the point: They each win five thousand dollars, which one of them says means "All the clothes we wanted." "Tot Ziens. (Goodbye)," the greeter smiles at them. Speaking of someone who probably wishes she were wearing something else.
Jaymes is asking for directions to Poffertjesboot from likely sources like covered tour boats and swans on the canal. But soon their boat is, with no guidance whatsoever from the racers, pulling right up next to what looks like a floating pastry stand where two chefs are at work. So clearly the only way to not find Poffertjestboot under the circumstances is to be Helen Keller. Each of the Chippendales is handed a little paper basket of fresh-baked goodies on a long-handled wooden paddle along with their clue, which Jaymes opens it to learn that they're headed for a Detour. Yes, we haven't found out the first actual task of the leg until one team has already reached the Pit Stop.
But here's Phil, outside an ornate museum with a Jumbotron-sized painting on the front, explaining that this is about "two cultural gems that are treasured by the Dutch." The choice is "Back in Time" or "Organ to Grind." To explain the first option, Phil is suddenly using a hushed inside-voice as he informs us about the large canvas hanging behind him. "This is Rembrandt's world-famous painting, The Night Watch." Wow, it's really big. I hope nobody is going to have to eat it. "Working with a group of live extras, teams must recreate this masterpiece exactly as Rembrandt painted it," Phil says. They'll not only dress as two characters themselves, but arrange the rest of the characters and their props in the correct order. And then a Rembrandt impersonator (who needs a little more chiaroscuro around his jowls, if you ask me) will inspect their work and hand them their next clue once he's satisfied. For "Organ to Grind," the racers have to find one of three giant street organs the size of hot dog trucks on one of three bridges. Then one racer will operate the crank while the other works to collect a total of 30 Euro in tips.