Episode Report Card M. Giant: A | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Thai'ed Up
By M. Giant | Season 19 | Episode 5 | Aired on 10.23.2011
Jeremy and Sandy have reached the water music Roadblock, which she is taking for the team. Laurence soon joins her to search the pool. Tommy asks his judge for approval of his arrangement, and gets a no. He reminds us that they worked together to take it apart, and he didn't pay attention to what Andy's side looked like. That's the kind of trouble that partners who try to be interchangeable can run into. After a few more tries, he realizes he has to go back and look again. He and Andy jump back in their taxi-truck. "I should have paid more attention and I knew it," Tommy says on the way. Well, now he knows it better.
Laurence and Sandy are still searching together in the water, but their rankings reverse when Laurence spots and dives for a clue moments before Sandy does. But then there's an elephant traffic jam with the fourth- and fifth-place teams arrive just as the second- and third-place teams are all trying to leave. "Nice day to travel on an elephant, eh?" Laurence remarks. Yeah, except for the damn gridlock.
Back at Spirit Houses R Us, Tommy uses the clue paper to draw a little diagram of a correct arrangement and runs back to the truck. They're still ahead of Bill and Cathi, though, who show up at the elephant hut at last. Bill chuckles incredulously to find himself riding one of them. Or maybe they're getting to the point where they're just periodically amazed to find themselves still in the race at all.
Speaking of unearned longevity in the competition, the eighth and final team is just now opening their clue at 1:35 PM. That would be the twins, Liz and Marie, who were even further behind than I thought. In their pre-leg interview, they happily inform us, "Today we're leaving in last place. We also have a Speed Bump. I don't know why we're smiling." They remind us that their dad recently died, and recall his lessons: "Keep going, be positive, be successful." I like the third one the most. The good news is that at least they have money now, which is new. They only had Indonesian rupiah that they never got around to exchanging for whole the last leg, remember that? At least that won't be an issue any more.
Amani and Marcus get their first Roadblock clue in fifth place, with Team Control right behind them, so soon Marcus and Cindy are both searching the pool beneath the impassive flautist. Tommy's back at the temple rearranging his miniatures, and this time he gets the judge's approval. So the snowboarders are still in first place when they get their next clue, directing them to take a bus to Bangkok. Phil says that's 550 miles, at the end of which they'll have to get to the Bangkok Noi Canal and feed the fish there to get their next clue. "I thought it smelled like fish food," Tommy says of the clue, which apparently has some in it. They tell their songthaew driver to take them to the bus terminal.