Thoughts on Episode 9 and Outlook for Episode 10

Thoughts on Episode Nine

Airport Shuffle Deals TK and Rachel a Bad Hand!

The first three teams were bunched fairly closely together, something like 20 minutes separating them as they left the Pit Stop. Jen and Nate started nearly an hour behind third place Ron and Christina. Unlike Episode 6, Amazing Race 10 leaving Chennai, India, no mention this time that they had to use a travel agency--different area, different laws. Pilot Nicolas and grandfather Donald, hightailed it to the airport, having pounced on that "clue". TK and Rachel snag worse flight out of Mumbai to Osaka, Japan. While it left an hour and a half ahead of the other teams, it arrived about 3 hours later, due to travel through two intermediate airports, New Delhi and Beijing, rather than one. Beijing Capital Airport, PEK, is known for delays due to fog and lots of inconvenience for international travelers. Worse, the first flight was apparently on a regional flight, as they had to go out onto the tarmac to board the plane. TK finally admitted that he had a bad feeling about his choice while doing the plane change at New Delhi. The other teams picked the same flight going through Hong Kong's sleek, modern airport to Osaka, and landed at 2:30 the next day. Unfortunately for TK and Rachel, there were no equalizers at the other end, only ominous darkness and places that looked like they were closed to warn them of being too late.

Roadblock

Teaser Clue: Who's a backseat driver?

Paraphrased from the website: One team member had to put on a hat and white gloves as local taxicab drivers do. Then they had to transport a Japanese couple five miles through a maze of confusing, often one-way streets to a specific name and address, that turned out to be the main Post Office for Osaka, though the name and address was entirely in Japanese. They could not invite a local to lead them or join them in the car and the couple could not help them in any way. Upon arrival at their destination, the couple would hand them their next clue. However, the drivers would also have to make their way back to their teammate at the JR Kanjosan Noda train station before they could read what was inside.

The trick was to look carefully at and then quickly parse the teaser clue to separate the operative words from the distractors before declaring for the Roadblock and ripping open the rest of the clue. As those NFL referees say, "By rule..." The keyword was driver, and at least two teams fell for the cliche of backseat driver.

Detour

Sense of Touch: From the website: Teams made their way on foot to the Shimojima Building. Once there, they had to use miniature robots which are controlled by cell phones to play a game of soccer against two robotic defenders. Once each Team Member had scored a goal the referee would give them their next clue. At first, playing a game with robots may seem like fun, but accurately controlling the mechanical creatures could become frustrating, and Teams without a delicate sense of touch could wind up kicking themselves instead of goals.

Sense of Smell: From the website: Teams made their way to the Saera Flower Shop inside a shopping mall, where only artificial flowers were sold. Once there, they had to use their noses, and only their noses, to identify one real flower hidden among thousands of artificial ones in the two-story flower shop. When they found a real flower, the Shop Owner would give them their next clue. The task of finding real flowers in this store could initially seem impossible, but only the real flowers had a scent, and Teams who could put their olfactory senses to good use might surprise themselves by quickly sniffing out a winner.

Pit Stop

Tempozan Park in Osaka, named after Mount Tempo, the lowest mountain in Japan. It is located in the Harbor Village area of Osaka on the bay, Minato Ward , and features a man-made miniature mountain. After they receive their clue to go to the Pit Stop at Tempozan Park, Jen and Nathan have trouble finding a cab driver that knew way to Pit Stop, partly because of the language barrier, allowing Ronald and Christina to get a cab and the lead for good. TK and Rachel were nearly 3 hours behind the team ahead of them.

Outlook for Episode Ten

This leg is likely an elimination, as TK and Rachel are faced with completing the Speed Bump. The other slight possibility is the dreaded To Be Continued with Phil telling the racers to keep racing. Nate and Jen argued and fought their way to a disappointing second place, after leading almost all the way in Osaka. Don was dehydrated, costing them first or second place. Donald has been seen always with the right wisdom for the situation, and runs just well enough, when Nicolas carries his bag. But, Don is fatigued and both have become dehydrated. Ron corrected some of his meanness, and did not complain much of his hernia, helping his team to earn first place. Reflecting their tendancy to make poor decisions, TK and Rachel made a huge mistake with the flight to Osaka. Choosing to go through New Delhi on what appeared to be a regional carrier, and then connecting through Beijing Capitol Airport (PEK), notorious for delays, put them 3 hours behind instead of ahead as they hoped. They are in genuine trouble, and even an equalizer would be enough by itself. They would need major help from another team. As a measure of trouble, little more than the airport portion of the next episode appeared in the preview of Episode 10 at the end of the last episode.

What will Episode 10 reveal about the racers, and will TK and Rachel escape elimination? Watch Sunday, January 13 at 8PM Eastern/Pacific, before the premiere of Lonesome Dove: Comanche Moon.

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