Never give up, because you don’t know what will happen. It’s a mantra that’s repeated during The Amazing Race and it continues to be true. Look no further than Simi and Ope and Brent and Sean; the former team managed an impressive fourth place finish while the latter were saved from exiting the Race because it was a non-elimination Leg.

Fans knew there was one more non-elimination in the cards and I’d hoped it was this week in Delhi, especially after the east coast brothers fell into last place and stayed there all episode long. “Take Your Clue and Gooooo!” saw the remaining five pairs jet to Delhi and immediately traumatized as they transported live catfish from one end of the fish market to the other. (Can you imagine how everyone smelled by the end of that challenge? Woo.) Nick and Matt, determined to place first this week, got off to a “hot start” and whizzed through the fish and on to Turban Twist. Matt struggled a bit turning out three different turban styles on a trio of very patient men, followed in succession by Gino, Ope, Dujean and, eventually, Sean.

As for the Detour? It was a no-brainer, as Nick and Matt selected Slam It’s wrestling moves as the test for them. The editing made it look like the pro wrestlers got done a bare few minutes before Gino and Jesse, but that may not have been the case. What I do know is that Gino and Jesse’s tenaciousness went a long way to pushing Matt and Nick to a level that has eluded them to this point. They became so frustrated with having the Hamilton, Ont., siblings constantly within reach they shifted into another gear and finished the Leg in first place. Ope’s bad back, meanwhile, meant he and Simi had to drop out of Slam It and opt for Spice It, competing with Sean and Brent to grind 100 grams of hot peppers in the least amount of time.

We know what happened next.

Here’s how the teams placed at the end of this Leg:

1. Nick and Matt
2. Gino and Jesse
3. Simi and Ope
4. Dujean and Leilani
5. Brent and Sean (non-elimination)

Notes and quotes

• Eighteen million people call Delhi home. That’s just staggering.
• I’m not sure who I felt more badly for, the competitors of those catfish.
• I’m not sure who I felt more badly for, Sean for throwing up down the side of the tuck-tuk or the driver who had to clean the barf off the side of his tuk-tuk.
• CTV needs to put together a photo gallery of Matt’s “bar shirts” STAT.
• I’m always appreciative of the cultural information The Amazing Race provides. Learning Humayun’s Tomb was the inspiration for the design of the Taj Mahal was fascinating.

The Amazing Race Canada airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CTV.

Mission Interrupted indeed. I’m going to miss Brian’s pithy quips, his eye-rolling and, mostly recently, his attempt at Jedi mind-tricking Kolkata’s sculpture vendor. The police officers were the latest team to be eliminated from The Amazing Race Canada on Wednesday night.

During the last few weeks, tough challenges hampered the teams; this week it was the intense heat and crowded streets of Kolkata, India, that challenged everyone perhaps more mentally than physically. Gino and Jesse bitched at each other, Ope became frustrated with Simi and Brian was downright surly to Cynthia; all were the result of humidity and frayed nerves in packed neighbourhoods.

Brothers Sean and Brent—who enjoyed a season-best first-place finish and business-class seats to India—literally crashed back down to earth during the Roll Detour involving yoga. Poor Brent went head-first into the stone paving, injuring himself and bringing tears. This is the lowest we’ve seen the spunky pair, and admit I felt badly for them. Luckily, they turned things around and live to Race another day. Gino and Jesse tumbled down the standings thanks to having a hard time finding the shops to visit during the Tuck Detour and lost precious moments. I’m so used to seeing the pride of Hamilton in first or second it was a shock for them to be so close to elimination.

The Leg’s bright spot? Dujean and Leilani, who used their dance background to full effect during the yoga challenge and landed in front of Jon Montgomery on top of the world.

Here’s how the teams finished this Leg:

1. Dujean and Leilani
2. Nick and Matt
3. Brent and Sean
4. Simi and Ope
5. Gino and Jesse
6. Brian and Cynthia (eliminated)

Notes and quotes

• Those business class seats sure looked comfy.
• “Paramount Drinks and Syrups.”
• “Can you airborne shuffle it?”
• Sulking never won a Leg of the Race, Brian.

The Amazing Race Canada airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CTV.

Almost every week of this season, I’ve remarked at how difficult The Amazing Race Canada challenges have been. It’s made for some pretty compelling footage, but after this week and last I have to wonder: did the producers make things too hard?

For the second week in a row—this time in Saskatoon—more than one team chose to take penalties rather than stick with the challenge at hand. And in the case of Neil and Kristin, it meant they were eliminated. I may make a similar decision in the heat of the moment—after frustration or thirst has set in—but from the safety of my couch I’d rather keep going rather than rely on other teams to stumble along the way.

One need only look as far as Ope and Simi for proof of that. Rather than team up with the other pairs at the airport to work out the 25-hour flight formula, they figured it out themselves. Rather than get frustrated with each other, they played cheerleader. The result? They came in second-to-last place and continue, proving to the other Racers that they’re a team to contend with.

Meanwhile, birthday boy Brent and his brother Sean celebrated the big day with a first-place spot. The siblings smartly played their Express Pass to skip the flight-time challenge and dry-heaved their way to the mat in front of Jon Montgomery. This was Brent and Sean’s first-ever top spot, though not for lack of trying. They gamely soldier on, scoring consistent Top 5 finishes.

As for Gino and Jesse, the Race‘s strongest duo to date blew through this Leg’s tests with flying colours and placed second to Brent and Sean.

Here’s how the teams finished this Leg:

1. Brent and Sean (used the Express Pass)
2. Gino and Jesse
3. Dujean and Leilani (penalty)
4. Brian and Cynthia
5. Nick and Matt
6. Simi and Ope
7. Neil and Kristin (penalty, eliminated)

Notes and quotes

• “I gotta take off my shoes to count past 10.” — Brian
• I wanted to hear more of Ope’s story about wanting to be a pilot.
• Cynthia and Brian’s plan to have more fun sure backfired, didn’t it?

The Amazing Race Canada airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CTV.

In the end, Alex Trebek only hung around long enough to welcome the first five teams to the mat during Wednesday’s adventures in his hometown of Sudbury, Ont. I’m guessing he had a plane to catch or the bugs got to be too bad. Either way, despite his early exit, several teams were in jeopardy, with Nic and Sabrina seeing their luck on The Amazing Race Canada run out.

The pair have been travelling with horseshoes in their back pockets since Week 2, and Nic’s frustration during the Analyze Detour and CPR Roadblock took them off their game.

“Who is Alex Trebek?” served notice to Brian and Cynthia—despite landing third-place—that just because you have prior experience at something doesn’t guarantee instant success. Like Nic did during blind soccer a few weeks back, the police pair assumed their experience in law enforcement would serve them well during the forensic challenge at Laurentian University. Instead, they saw wrestlers Matt and Nick complete the task first. Then Cynthia beamed as she entered the CPR Road Block, thinking her past as a paramedic would mean an early triumph. Not so. Still, they did land in third place for the week.

Meanwhile, Gino and Jesse replicated last week’s success with another first-place finish thanks to nabbing the Fast Forward clue 10 minutes ahead of their nearest competitors. They paused for just a moment while feeding their turtle bugs before agreeing to nosh down on the same crunchy critters; Jesse scarfed them down in one mouthful and they were off to the Bell Park Gazebo to check in with Jon Montgomery and Trebek.

Here’s how the teams finished this Leg:

1. Gino and Jesse
2. Nick and Matt
3. Brian and Cynthia
4. Brent and Sean
5. Simi and Ope
6. Neil and Kristin
7. Dujean and Leilani
8. Nic and Sabrina (eliminated)

Notes and quotes

• It got a little dusty during Alex Trebek’s emotional speech about the relationship he shares with his daughter.
• Sudbury is one of the happiest places in the country? Even during blackfly season?
• Kudos to the Race editors who intercut Nic and Sabrina talking about how age doesn’t matter while showing them bickering.
• “We were in a little bit of jeopardy in that one part.” Oh, Sean.

The Amazing Race Canada airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CTV.