Fortunately — unlike the previous week — last night my DVR chose to work properly and I got to see the 9th episode of the Amazing Race All-Stars. As always, if spoilers aren’t your thing, head somewhere else, because this recap is filled with them. REAL spoilers, unlike that April Fools joke I played that people still read and comment on thinking I was serious. Anyway, let’s go!
Last week the “beauty queens,” Dustin & Kandice, arrived first in Kuala Lumpur, while Uchenna & Joyce got the boot, Malaysian-style. Only four teams remained as we learned our next destination would be a Hong Kong, the Sun Wah Kiu Laundry house to be specific, where the teams would find their next clue.
The race becomes much easier to follow now that we’re down to only 4 teams, and they’ve all congregated at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, where they’re looking for the quickest flight to Hong Kong. Unfortunately it’s late, and none of the airline offices are open. However, most of the teams learn that a China Air flight leaving at 8:00 am is the quickest, followed by a Malaysian Air departing at 9:15. Both flights are full, however, so the teams are forced to wait for the offices to open so that they can be placed on a waiting list. Here’s where the drama begins.
Oswald & Danny and Charla & Mirna break off to find a hidden China Air office where they wait for an employee to arrive to place them on the waiting list. Meanwhile, Dustin & Kandice are standing in line with Eric & Danielle at the proper ticket counter, and they both get their names on the 8:00 am list after Oswald & Danny.
After Oswald & Danny learn they’re the only teams to secure the 8:00 am flight, the others rush off to Malaysian Air to figure out where they stand in the wait list. Mirna — god I can’t stand this woman — and Dustin & Kandice fight to figure out whose at the top of the wait list, but we find out it doesn’t really matter when both teams are awarded a spot on the flight, leaving Eric & Danielle (who were off trying to exchange Polish złoty) on a flight that puts them an hour behind.
Landing in Hong Kong first, Oswald & Danny make their way to Sun Wah Kiu Laundry with their bankroll running on fumes. They negotiate a cheaper fair with the taxi driver, and receive their next clue which contains the second of two fast forwards in the race. They choose to take the fast forward, which allows them to skip all regular tasks and instead perform just one and then head to the pit stop. The fast forward takes place at a Hong Kong movie set, where they both don protective gear and get driven around in a stunt car. The tasked seemed weak at first, but it quickly got much more serious when they actually drove the car up a ramp and flipped it (on purpose). It’s a good thing they were wearing all that protective gear. The Travelocity gnome makes an appearance this episode as Oswald & Danny get the next clue and head to the pit stop, gnome in tow.
Meanwhile, Charla & Mirna arrive at the laundry house and get their next clue, skipping the fast forward under the correct assumption that “the boys” would take it. Instead, they’re faced with a detour: “Lost in Translation” or “Kung -Fu Fighting.” Charla & Mirna chose the former, and hail a cab. As they’re en route to “Lost in Translation” they change their minds and have the cabby turn around and head towards “Kung Fu Fighting,” where Dustin & Kandice have already arrived. The task involves climbing up an 11-story building on bamboo scaffolding while ninja-looking people swing around and fight each other. Nobody has a problem with this task — Charla included — and we learn from the next clue that the teams have a roadblock ahead: one team member must kick down doors in an abandoned police headquarters to find a clue hidden inside of a room. This task looked fun; nothing seems more satisfying than kicking through a door, especially when they’ve been pre-configured to go down easy. Kandice flies through this task and receives the next clue, taking them to the pit stop, where they arrive in second place. Charla isn’t as quick, but still has minimal problems before finding the clue and heading to the pit stop in third place.
Eric & Danielle, however, continue to have problems — both with the race and with each other. They lag behind, and despite the clever editing tricks from the AR people, the differences in sky color show that the team is pretty far behind the others. Eric & Danielle arrive at the pit stop last, but Phil is happy to tell them this is a — gasp! — non-elimination round.
Can Eric & Danielle dart ahead to thwart elimination? Can Oswald & Danny hold their lead? Will Mirna ever shut up? Stay tuned next week to find out!