After a week away from The Amazing Race Canada—I was off on my own adventures in Parry Sound and Sudbury, Ont.—I checked back in just in time as the final three teams were set up for next week’s season finale. (As an aside, I was disappointed Dujean and Leilani became bitter with each other last week and were eliminated while airing their dirty laundry.)
So, after a gruelling Leg in Edmonton jam-packed with drama and stolen cabs, Brent and Sean, Matt and Nick and Gino and Jesse will battle it out for the trucks, money and title in next Wednesday’s last episode. Eliminated on the mat at the Muttart Conservatory were Simi and Ope, who never gave up hope despite the fact they suffered from having two cabs stolen from under them.
I get that it’s a race, but I wasn’t impressed that Gino and Jesse stole that first cab from Nick and Matt at the Edmonton Waste Management Centre. That move forced the wrestlers to play dirty pool and grabbed Simi and Ope’s ride, something they clearly didn’t feel good about doing. Gino and Jesse made it a twofer when they then absconded with Simi and Ope’s cab after the curling Face Off. Again, I understand The Amazing Race Canada is a competition and calls for desperate times, but I was disappointed. I guess I’m just a sucker for fair play and the world just isn’t a fair place sometimes.
Still, kudos to the father-daughter team for ending the Race with their heads up and thanks to Ope for the inspirational words about this country.
“It’s amazin’!” he said tearfully in front of Jon Montgomery.
Speaking of amazin’, how about Brent and Sean? The brothers have emerged as perhaps the most unlikely of frontrunners after beating out their more physical competitors to land in first place for the week. They conquered garbage, curling, shopping for snacks and acting to emerge as bona fide contenders for the title. They also showed sportsmanship; after taking someone’s cab at Fort Edmonton Park they ordered a replacement.
Here’s how the teams finished this Leg:
- Brent and Sean
- Nick and Matt
- Gino and Jesse
- Simi and Ope (eliminated)
Notes and quotes
- That newlywed couple were in on the joke, right? They knew their big day would be interrupted by finalists, I’m sure.
- “Shopping. I mean, this is our task.” — Sean
- Nick and Matt may be tough guys, but jumper cables are NOT a snack.
The Amazing Race Canada season finale airs next Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CTV followed by After the Race.
Well, this episode of The Race was properly named! Cabotage! Gino and Jesse seem to be favorite to win based on challenge performance but I’m sure their (and the Wrestlers) standing is going to take a hit in the fan poll. Brent & Sean stole a cab too but said they called a replacement-they may have cut it for time but I don’t think Simi & Ope struggled to get to the Roadblock. Ope had a nice speech in the end.
I imagine Cabotage will be a topic of the second reunion show along with the relationship meltdown of last week.
I could think of the brothers struggling in the Curling as karma but even Natalie and Meghan struggled on an ice challenge last year. Maybe trying to do something fast just can’t work so well on ice.
Still not totally sold on the Face Off, in other versions the penalty is only 15 minutes for the losing team, but they never told us how long this one was. It didn’t cause a huge disadvantage though as Simi & Ope still caught up with two teams even after cab drama 2.0. While unethical it’s not exactly cheating and has been done on other Races. It also doesn’t look so great on the taxi driver industry either. As a viewer the drama is interesting but you still feel bad for the honest team that gets screwed over.
Welcome to Petro Canada, home of this season’s yearly Product Placement Challenge (successor to Dairy Queen of last year), that shouldn’t be a problem for most teams. Although maybe the Wrestler’s are so tough they consider jumper cables a snack!