No one wants to be eliminated from The Amazing Race Canada, especially when you have an Express Pass in your back pocket. It’s hard to know exactly when to use the pass. Do you waste it because you have it and might as well, or should you wait for a strategic moment?

Alas, Megan and Courtney found out the hard way on Tuesday night when they were eliminated from the Race without getting a chance to use the Express Pass that Kenneth and Ryan gave them. I felt bad for the friends from Newfoundland, especially because they’d been in first place during last week’s Leg and were a hoot to watch. It will be interesting to see how Kenneth and Ryan fare now that the girls are gone; they’d given them the Express Pass in exchange for help in challenges and that paid off in the tent test.

Speaking of Kenneth and Ryan, they were forced to use their Express Pass to ensure they finished the Leg ahead of other teams. Forget big cities; it was small B.C. towns Castlegar and Nelson that threw everyone for a loop with a detail-oriented camping challenge and map-related tests in Nelson. It was during this Leg that hidden talents and Achilles heels were revealed. Ivana and Korey may not excel when it comes to directions—they spent a long time wondering where the heck they were—but showed a gift for pottery when they arrived at the Throw It Detour and blasted past the teams who’d been struggling there for awhile. Andrea’s graphic design and arts background served she and Adam well during the tent and pottery tests, putting them in third place.

Zed and Shabbir hit their stride, literally, nailing every challenge in pretty quick succession on the way to a first-place spot on the mat and a trip to Chicago.

Karen and Bert—who are quickly becoming my favourites because of his cheesy dad jokes and her facial expressions—were confident using their Express Pass put them in first place and were shocked when Jon Montgomery informed them they were in the middle of the pack. That just illustrates to me how far apart duos were during this Leg; unless you were working with another team you were pretty much on your own and unaware of how others were doing.

Kenneth and Ryan, who dedicated the Leg to the memories of Will and Dave, two of Ryan’s college friends who died skiing in the area, struggled to make two hooks out of iron in the Strike It Detour and utlilized their Express Pass just to stay alive. There was a silver lining for them, however: they were awarded $5,000 from Chevrolet for being the most energy-efficient during the Leg.

Next week the teams go international for the first time this season as they jet to China.

Here’s how the teams finished Leg 3:

1. Zed and Shabbir (trip for two to Chicago)
2. Korey and Ivana
3. Andrea and Adam
4. Sam and Paul
5. Karen and Bert (used Express Pass)
6. Kenneth and Ryan (used Express Pass; won $5,000)
7. Andrea and Ebonie
8. Megan and Courtney (eliminated)

The Amazing Race Canada airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m ET/PT on CTV.

Images courtesy of Bell Media.

It really isn’t summer until The Amazing Race Canada is back on my television. When the weather gets hot and talk turns of summer vacations, CTV’s triptych is the perfect “Must Do” list of local and countrywide excursions. The series roared back for Season 5 on Tuesday night with Jon Montgomery welcoming the 10 teams to St. John’s, on a leg that took them across the country to Vancouver.

As with all first episodes, the first chunk out of the gate introduced viewers to the contestants, the stakes—a Next Generation 2018 Chevrolet Equinox True North Edition for each of the winners, a trip around the world for two and $250,000 in cash—and the fact this season will celebrate Confederation. At first blush, fitness trainers and best friends Ivana and Korey seem to be the perfect team of strength and focus, as do married couple Karen and Bert. Meanwhile, best friends Kenneth and Ryan (“Give R!”) appear to be the fun guys of the season, around for a few laughs and quips before being eliminated early on.

But appearances can be deceiving, and The Amazing Race‘s Episode 1 challenges were quick to expose some of them. It was brilliant planning by the producers to have the teams amped up and jacked with adrenaline to begin Leg 1, only to throw a Morse code thinking test at them. With everyone raring to roll, it was a reminder that they are never fully in control of their surroundings. The adrenaline and wanting to move on led business partners Ebonie and Andrea to make a ludicrous decision: they took a time penalty. Why would you do this just moments into the first Leg?!? Why not stick it out and gauge your competitors’ skill and patience levels?

Andrea and Ebonie were first to drive to the airport to jump on one of two planes to Vancouver, followed by father-son duo Shabbir and Zed who actually deciphered the Morse code message. Teamwork between Kenneth and Ryan, dating couple Sam and Paul and brother-sister team Andrea and Adam meant they filled the first plane, leaving the others far behind.

Falconry at the Capilano Suspension Bridge—with a mere clue pickup at that location—led to the city’s Gastown neighbourhood for the first Road Block of Season 5 at the storied Fairmont Hotel Vancouver. This was no gondola from last summer, but the outside tightrope between hotel wings still looked darn scary. (Having cameras attached to the Racers really adds to the freak-out factor for viewers, another smart decision by producers.) Ebonie and Ryan completed the task first followed by Kenneth and Ryan (I was regretting my flippant remark about them being mere fodder for comedy.) and sprinted to the Detour.

“Pedal” put teams to the test in a bike polo game while “Paddle” put them in Dragon Boats. Ebonie and Andrea weaved through Pedal as Kenneth and Ryan screamed across the water during Paddle. Teams were pretty evenly split between the two Detours—I would have chosen Pedal in case you were wondering—with Kenneth and Ryan the first to finish and meet with Jon in the beautiful VanDusen Botanical Garden … where they hollered their way into first place and a trip to Spain.

Meanwhile, as Ebonie and Andrea completed the Leg and sat out their two-hour penalty, other pairs quickly caught up and passed them. The business partners were lucky Megan and Courtney and Aaron and Deb had so many struggles along the way. It was mother and son duo Aaron and Deb who were eliminated in the first Leg of what promises to be another stellar summer of The Amazing Race Canada.

Here’s how the teams finished Leg 1:

1. Kenneth and Ryan (won a trip to Barcelona)
2. Korey and Ivana
3. Andrea and Adam
4. Sam and Paul
5. Zed and Shabbir
6. Karen and Bert
7. Andrea and Ebonie (penalty)
8. Riya and Dan
9. Megan and Courtney
10. Deb and Aaron (eliminated)

The Amazing Race Canada airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CTV.

Images courtesy of Bell Media.

Unlike the last two legs of The Amazing Race Canada, Tuesday’s third one had no clear leaders. I blame it on the stifling heat in the Mekong Delta for causing teams to make bone-headed decisions and failing to note a critical clue that caused a shakeup at the Pit Stop.

Among the nuttiness in Vietnam? First-place team Joel and Ashley, along with three other duos, all took 30-minute penalties for using a water taxi to traverse between sections rather than the ferry clearly listed on the card they received. Listen, I get it. My instinct would have been to grab the water taxi I’d just climbed out of too, especially with teams breathing down my neck. But while I understand the urgency to keep moving—this is a race after all—I’m having trouble understanding what Stéphane was thinking.

The father not only relinquished the lead he and Antoine had by helping Ashley complete the goose-herding challenge, allowing she and Joel to depart the test in first place, but he aided other squads too, moving he and Antoine further back in the pack. It almost seemed like he’d given up and wanted to go home, and the frustration and shock on Antoine’s face was understandable. The pair eventually departed dead-last and never recovered, finishing in last place thanks to the four-hour penalty they took when Stéphane gave up on duck-herding after two hours. You’d think knowing the last team would be eliminated would light a fire under his butt, but perhaps the heat of the day sapped all rational thought.

The heat affected everyone, but Tanya especially. She struggled mightily during the ironically-named Hydrate Detour and had to be tended to by the show’s medical team. She sat off to the side, taking in fluids, while Anne continued to carry 60 coconuts from their boat to the harvesting station, completing the task and showing she wasn’t about to give up and was all about teamwork. Speaking of teamwork, Jillian and Emmett continue to complete Legs of the Race despite spending precious time and energy bitching at one another. The former Big Brother Canada competitors are used to playing a singular game, but The Amazing Race Canada is about supporting the other person and they need to work on that. I hit the mute button every time they start to fight because it’s embarrassing.

The most impressive team of this Leg was easily Kelly and Kate. The best friends, on the cusp of exiting the show last week, aced their toad-carrying Speed Bump (and informing viewers 20 toads is known as a knot) and landed in a very respectable third place.

What are your thoughts on this latest Leg? Would you have helped other teams like Stéphane did? Comment below.

Here’s how the teams finished this Leg of the Race:

1. Joel and Ashley (30-minute penalty, won trip for two to Japan)
2. Steph and Kristen
3. Kelly and Kate
4. Emmett and Jillian (30-minute penalty)
5. Frankie and Amy
6. Rita and Yvette (30-minute penalty)
7. Julie and Lowell
8. Anne and Tanya (30-minute penalty)
9. Stéphane and Antoine (four-hour penalty, eliminated)

The Amazing Race Canada airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on CTV.