By M. Giant
The teams have to fly to Asuncion, Paraguay, but not everyone is able to get on the same flight, which burns up a good ten minutes of the episode. Other Rachel & Dave, Art & JJ, Bopper & Mark, and Nary & Jamie are on the first flight, and the Border Patrol Agents are the first to find the Detour clue in an outdoor yard store. Then teams have to either stack a giant pyramid of watermelons at a fruit market, or string (but not tune) a harp at a concert hall. The whole lead group goes with the melon-stacking option, and tensions rise between partners under the hot, humid conditions -- particularly with Other Rachel & Dave. But the pyramids slowly rise, and Art and JJ are the first to complete the Detour before anyone from the second group of teams even shows up -- and in their wake, the other teams' pyramids collapse before they're completed, prompting them all to switch Detours, although Other Rachel and Dave disagree about whether to use their Express Pass.
As for the second group, Kerri and Stacy don't even stick around at the melon market after they realize Team Kentucky not only lied about the melon-stacking being easy, but took their cab. Vanessa makes some catty remarks about Rachel that drives her and Brendon away. Soon most of the teams are stringing harps in an air-conditioned theater. At the Roadblock, Art has some difficulty mastering a dance with a bottle on his head, but he and JJ still the first team to complete the Roadblock, before anyone else has even finished the Detour. Sure enough, they win the leg handily, and are happy to tell you all about it.
Other Rachel and Dave skip the harp-stringing with their Express Pass, but Dave fails the Roadblock and they end up with a two-hour penalty. Brendon and Rachel are the first team to finish the harp-stringing, while Joey "Fitness" and Danny beat Vanessa and Ralph at the melon-stacking. Elliot's musical experience somehow proves not only unhelpful but detrimental to himself and Andrew, so they almost decide to switch to the melons -- which Ralph and Vanessa are totally screwed on.
Brendon and Rachel are the third team to arrive at the mat, with Team Jersey right behind them, but Other Rachel and Dave are still waiting out their penalty, so they're actually second and third. And then Team Kentucky shows up in fourth and Nary & Jamie team number five, while the last few seconds of Other Rachel and Dave's penalty ticks away, putting them in sixth. For the first time, a team fails to complete a task and stays in the race. Probably the first time an Express Pass actually saved someone, too.
As the leg drags on into the evening, Kerri and Staci come in seventh while Vanessa and Ralph and Elliot and Andrew limp to the ends of their respective Detours. Both teams are pretty surprised to see each other at the Roadblock. Ralph and Andrew go head to head for survival, and Ralph actually passes Andrew. But not by much, and it's only a few blocks to the Pit Stop. Vanessa and Ralph drag themselves to the mat just head of the Twins, who are Philiminated. Being a twin on this show is a rough gig these days, isn't it?