Episode Report Card M. Giant: A- | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Eisenstein, Tchaikovsky, and Babushkas
By M. Giant | Season 17 | Episode 6 | Aired on 10.31.2010
Michael and Kevin are the next team to find Neighborhood Store, and Kevin decides to do this, thinking it'll be their chance to get ahead, although he regrets it when he learns it involves getting babushkaed. Claire asks Michael how proud he is. Kevin soon finds the potatoes and the wheelbarrows and starts shoveling poo, while Brook wanders the neighborhood in search of the marked field, contending with unhelpful neighbors and yet more barking dogs. And thus is Kevin the first to find his potato field. "Hello, beautiful ladies," he lies to the waiting babushkas. "I have your poop and your potatoes." In subtitled Russian, the matron gives him directions which can't be as helpful as the physical demonstration, given that Kevin probably can't read the subtitles on the screen: dig a hole, get some manure, put in the potato, and cover it with dirt. Kevin's glad to be learning the Russian words for "potato" and "dirt." And, even more encouragingly, "very good."
Back at the film studio, Gary's pretty much memorized the entire clip, although he seems to be complaining about it rather than realizing that this will help him find its twin among the piles. "Ooh, naked lady on that one," Nat says of one clip, draping it around her neck for later or something. "Hopefully Chad and Stephanie are still struggling with the damn pianos," Nick mumbles. Indeed they are, which Stephanie trying to rush Chad along, or at least get him to make a decision. "I feel like we should have left a long time ago," he says. Oh, good, the time-traveling solution. It's always helpful to propose that. He adds with a childish pout, "I feel like we're done." Well, then, perhaps you will be.
After the ads, Stephanie urges him, "Let's be more productive. We can't quit." They give it another try, and seem to feel more positive about their latest guess, but when Stephanie wants him to come listen to one with her, he refuses and insists on trying a guess of his own. And when that doesn't work, he gets so frustrated that he's just about ready to quit. Chad interviews that this was one of the top five or ten hardest things he's had to do in his life -- not the task itself, but letting Stephanie take charge. "Chad's not used to taking a back seat," Stephanie says. Chad agrees with that, "Sitting back and letting someone take the lead, especially my girlfriend." Especially his girlfriend? What the fuck is that? And honestly, what the hell is the point of being with someone smarter than you (as both Chad and I are doing) if you're never going to let her take the wheel? Might as well date an idiot, then (as Nick and Vicki are doing). Stephanie's with me on this: "God forbid!" she eye-rolls.