Episode Report Card M. Giant: B- | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Saw That Coming
By M. Giant | Season 20 | Episode 2 | Aired on 02.26.2012
In a hurry? Read the recaplet for a nutshell description! Finished? Click here to close.The second leg begins in the dead of night, as the teams drive themselves to the town square and wait until daylight en masse for the local postmaster. He hands out clues for a Detour in which racers have to either boil water using a solar collection dish or use a burro to transport fire-building materials for a mile. The Border Patrol agents, Art and JJ, are the only ones who opt for the former, only to get lost looking for it and fall to bickering. While the other teams struggle with the parts and bolts and lack of instruction (and team Jersey appeals to the Mississippi girls for help), Art and JJ eventually figure out what to do, although they can't seem to shut up about it. They end up making up time, though, finishing in second place after Mark and Bopper, while federal agents Nary and Jamie end up in last place. So telling everyone that they're kindergarten teachers doesn't seem to be helping them so far.
From there, it's an eighteen-hour ride to Buenos Aires on several different buses -- the second of which is temporarily halted by a broken window with the clowns, Jersey guys, twins, and Vanessa and Ralph on board. Once everyone reaches the city the next morning, a Roadblock requires racers to calculate the average weight of a pen full of cattle in the middle of a chaotic auction. Other Rachel and JJ team up and are the first two to finish while the two trailing buses are still on their way into town. Big Brother Rachel launches into one of her trademark meltdowns until she teams up with Mark -- and then has another one over her and Brandon's taxi. Rachel and Dave win their second leg in a row, with Art and JJ coming in second and Bopper and Mark in third before the last bus has even arrived. Team Big Brother comes in fourth and resolve to work on their communication. Again. The cousins take fifth and Nary and Jamie sixth while the four teams on the last bus scramble for survival. Vanessa is the next to finish, while Elliot and Joey "Fitness" pass up Clown Dave and his piss-poor math skills. The clowns finish the task after everyone's checked in, and are Philiminated with no regrets. Not even wearing their rubber noses onto the mat?
Want more? The full recap starts right below!Over shots of the mountainous deserts of Salta, Phil informs us, "Salta is a mountainous, desert region of Argentina that provides the perfect climate for growing grapes and is home to the world's highest vineyards." Unfortunately, that means they have to pick the grapes from a helicopter and stomp them with a skycrane. Phil's outside last week's Pit Stop and empanada contest venue, the Patios de Cafayate, which is of course now the start of the second leg. We're reminded that Other Rachel (the Rachel who wasn't on Big Brother) and her husband Major Dave (the Dave who's not a clown) won the previous leg, and thus they are leaving in first place, at 2:46 AM. They'll need to drive themselves to the Cafayate Town Square, which looks lovely in daylight and wait for the "chasqui." Although the clue doesn't define that word, Phil says it's a mailman on horseback who will give them their next clue. Rachel talks about their first leg victory putting a target on their backs, but on the other hand they still have the Express Pass. And it's not like anyone in a position to see that target can do anything about it. It's the target on your front you need to worry about. They hurry to their car like anything's going to happen at their first destination before daylight.
Brendon and Rachel are the second team to start the leg, at 2:48 AM. Rachel tells us that TAR is "super different than Big Brother. You're constantly on the go and you have to be super fierce competitors." As opposed to that other game, where you spend 167 hours of every week doing nothing. "I have to say, I think Amazing Race is tougher." And then she laughs at nothing, which is only number ten on my list of Annoying Rachel Habits.
Art and JJ are leaving at 2:49 AM, but before they leave the grounds, they find out from an attendant that the "chasqui" mentioned in their clue is a courier. Brendon ends up following them, more to their contempt than their surprise. "He's a UCLA student, what do you expect?" Art asks. So I don't think UCLA will be rooting for Art and JJ.
At the town square, Other Rachel and Major Dave find a tourist info booth and learn that the chasqui won't be showing up until sunrise. Naturally. Dave says their lead will be lost, but at least he knows better than to be surprised about it.
Nary and Jamie open their clue in fourth place, at 3:21 AM. In a pre-leg interview, Jamie explains that they haven't told anyone their real jobs. The subtitle identifying them as federal agents gets crossed out and the words "School Teachers" appear next to them as she says they're claiming to be kindergarten teachers. We see them telling Brendon and Rachel this in a flashback to one of the airports. They don't want anyone to think they're a strong team then decide to U-Turn or backstab them. How will they think the teams will react when everyone is hanging out and exchanging workplace stories and these two accidentally slip up with a story about the time they arrested a six-year-old in a meth house?