I really enjoy it when The Amazing Race Canada explores smaller communities. The big cities are fine, but the opportunity to go to less-travelled spots in the country, I think, makes for a more enjoyable Leg. So when I learned the final four were headed to Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., I was chuffed. Not only would we be offered a peek at the city, but it would play a role in determining which teams would advance to next week’s season finale.

The place of the rapids was in fine fettle, boasting the rugged terrain that is the hallmark of the Canadian Shield. Sam and Paul were on top of the world with four first-place finishes this season, but would that all come crashing down in the Soo? The remaining teams all began the Leg with a trip I had the pleasure of doing when I was a kid: a train trip to Agawa Canyon. While on the train on a truncated voyage, teams had to match up and memorize the titles and descriptions of 14 paintings done by the Group of Seven. The teams had just 30 minutes to complete the task correctly or be nailed with a 30-minute delay via another loop of the train. It looked like Sam and Paul’s directional challenges meant they’d miss the train, but they arrived in the nick of time.

Sam and Paul missed just one painting in their first attempt but were correct the second time around—Paul had said “lake” instead of “land”—and were off to the races. (Pardon the pun.) The other three duos were stuck with another half-hour ride, leaving Sam and Paul a chance to widen their lead. Kenneth and Ryan completed the task next, followed by Karen and Bert and Ivana and Korey.

The Leg’s Detour hearkened back to the area’s dependence on fur and fish, as teams could either guide two alpacas through an obstacle course in three minutes or go fly fishing and hit three floating targets. Sam and Paul went for the alpaca test, as did Kenneth and Ryan while Karen and Bert and Ivana and Korey opted for fishing. I would have chosen the alpaca test, which looked like a ton of fun. Watching the animals gamely following Sam and Paul was a treat and the foursome completed the challenge with time to spare. Meanwhile, Korey revealed he’s an expert fisherman; minutes later he and Ivana had cast their flies and were departing. Team Giver had major issues with one alpaca and had to swap it out for one that was a little more energetic. (Maybe it got tired of all the yelling.)

The Amazing Race Canada‘s Face Off placed teams on ice competing head-to-head in the hybrid game of crokicurl. The game—a mix of crokinole and curling—involved the curling button and poles and a centre-hole score of 20 points. The last team at the Face Off would, of course, incur a time penalty. While Sam and Paul waited to see who’d they’d play against, we learned Sam’s grandfather competed in The Brier (very cool) and his aunts and uncles all play too. The dating couple were shocked when Korey and Ivana showed up to play; Sam and Paul took the early lead and it was down to the last rock thrown by Ivana. She nailed it, winning the Face Off and leaving Sam and Paul behind to play Bert and Karen. After 13 attempts, Kenneth and Ryan and their alpaca pals were successful and they headed to the rink in last-place. Sam and Paul beat Bert and Karen, leaving the married couple to contend with Team Giver. Ryan brilliantly aimed for the button, nabbing them 20 points and removing the rock from the game. Thanks to Karen’s errant shot that pushed Team Giver’s rock into the button a second time, they best buds were on their way to getting buggy.

The Leg’s Road Block was a creepy crawly affair, as one team member was tasked with counting the number of four species of cockroaches … as they crawled over their partner’s head. (The look on Korey’s face when he realized the bugs would be on him was priceless, as was Ivana’s remark, “The more you talk the more chance they have to get in your mouth.”) Paul was as unenthusiastic as Korey, Ryan seemed downright angry and I’m pretty sure Bert needs therapy; Paul and Sam got the count right their very first try and wrestled the lead back from Ivana and Korey. After more than an hour of counting, re-counting and guessing, Ivana finally got the right number and she and Korey were off. Bert begging the other teams to give Karen the numbers fell on deaf ears; I genuinely felt badly for Bert, but freaking out and shaking his head made it harder for Karen to count the cockroaches.

It was off to Top Sail Island for the Pit Stop, where Sam and Paul checked in first to score a spot in next week’s season finale and a trip for two to Cape Town, South Africa. With five Leg wins under their belts, Sam and Paul are the team to beat. The trouble for other duos is that even when the dating couple fall behind, they’re able to make up ground in another test. Ivana and Korey have shown amazing growth this season and, if the right challenge is given to them, they could win it all. Kenneth and Ryan have the skills to win any challenge and take out any team and their positive attitude has gotten them out of plenty of jams. Sadly for Bert and Karen, this was the end of their Race and their tearful apologies to each other outside the bug challenge gave me a lump in my throat.

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

1. Sam and Paul (trip for two to Cape Town)
2. Ivana and Korey
3. Kenneth and Ryan
4. Karen and Bert (eliminated)

The Amazing Race Canada season finale airs next Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CTV.

Images courtesy of Bell Media.

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The first week of a new Amazing Race Canada season is a bit of a learning curve for everyone, Racers included. They’re getting the gist of what they’ve gotten themselves into while viewers are sussing out the teams they want to support. And it looks like, with a mere one week under our belts, Kenneth and Ryan—a.k.a. Team Give R—have quickly become fan favourites because of their can-do attitude and Canadianity.

This week, Kenneth and Ryan’s support for each other never wavered while the stress got to other squads in the hunt for three Express Passes. Team Give R was the first to depart for Fort McMurray, AB. As Jonny Harris did with Still Standing, The Amazing Race Canada spent much of the episode recalling the awful wildfires that ravaged the area just over a year ago while celebrating the strength of community in rebuilding. (Aside from being entertaining, TARC is endlessly educational. I had no clue Fort Mac was Alberta’s oldest European settlement.)

Air Canada served as the great equalizer, as all teams were on the flight over the Rockies; Kenneth and Ryan grabbed the lead on the ground and took off to an adventure park with Andrea and Ebonie in hot pursuit. Looking at the burned trees hit Ivana especially hard, as she recounted her family’s escape from Sarajevo to Canada when she was young. At the Road Block, duos climbed over 50 platforms through a course, allowing them to limber up and judge each others’ physical fitness.

A few teams took wrong turns and hit up a roadside information booth where a friendly bearded gent gave them maps and pointed them to the right spot. One red light later and at least two cars were filled with folks who had no clue where they were going. (I’m not sure if this happens more often and it’s just not shown on-air, but this group of Racers appear to be the most directionally challenged so far.) That allowed for the bulk of the pack to acquire a huge head-start and Kenneth and Ryan to land all three Express Passes. They get to keep one of them and pass off the other two. This is where relationships are built and, to be honest, some pairs were annoyed by Kenneth screaming every time he found a pass. It’s one thing to be excited, but it’s another to be annoying.

With no Express Pass to find and with three cards in their pockets, Andrea and Ebonie departed the park first for this week’s Detour, “Pull It” or “Pump It,” choosing to fire at 15 clay targets or perform a fire training exercise using a water pump and 50 feet of hose to extinguish a controlled burn. (I would have chosen to fire at clay targets.) Ebonie and Andrea chose to firefight—as did Megan and Courtney, Kenneth and Ryan, Sam and Paul and Karen and Bert—while everyone else went shooting. Megan and Courtney were first to extinguish their flames, quickly tailed by Andrea and Ebonie; the teams swapped places on the road to the helicopter pad.

As soon as I saw teams would have to solve a math problem I knew we were in for a long night. Calculating fuel weight depending on passengers and gear on board? Forget it. Until Megan walked in. The biomedical engineering technologist was the poster girl for “don’t judge a book by its cover,” whipped off the answer and the cousins departed in first place via helicopter in search of Jon Montgomery on the 16th hole of a local golf course. Ebonie and Andrea went another route, working the formula backwards until they reached the right answer, leaving Team Give R scratching their heads. (I did wonder whether the previous teams erased their answers so others couldn’t steal it, or producers forbade that from being allowed.) Team Give R traded Karen and Bert their correct answer for an Express Pass, a really smart move.

Megan and Courtney were the first to find Jon and captured a trip to Aukland, New Zealand. The cousins were followed by business partners Ebonie and Andrea, couple Sam and Paul, married couple Karen and Bert, Team Give R, son-father squad Zed and Shabbir and siblings Adam and Andrea.

Ivana and Korey and Dan and Riya languished in the bottom, going head-to-head shooting targets until leaving within seconds of one another. Best friends Korey and Ivana sprinted to the mat ahead of YouTube stars Dan and Riya to claim the final spot on the mat.

What do you think of this season of The Amazing Race Canada so far? Let me know in the comments below.

Here’s how the teams placed after Leg 2:

1. Megan and Courtney (won trip to Aukland, NZ)
2. Ebonie and Andrea
3. Sam and Paul
4. Karen and Bert
5. Team Give R
6. Zed and Shabbir
7. Adam and Andrea
8. Korey and Ivana
9. Dan and Riya (eliminated)

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

Images courtesy of Bell Media.