The Amazing Race Season 17 Episode 9 Recap

['The Amazing Race' - 'There's A Lot of Nuts and Bullets']

With only five teams left, the pressure is on for teams to make power moves. Unfortunately for Chad and Stephanie, their power move this episode was to carbo-load by eating what looked like McDonalds at the airport. Nat and Kat should have been at a big disadvantage starting almost four hours behind the leading team, but they manage to catch up with the other trailing teams.

Chad and Stephanie were the first of the teams headed out of Oman with their clues directing them to Dhaka, Bangladesh. Their first task was to press sugarcane at the Sundarban Square Supermarket. Luckily this week, they didn't oversleep. Most of the early drama occurred at the airport.

1) Chad & Stephanie 11:10AM
2) Jill & Thomas 11:27
3) Nick & Vicki 12:57PM
4) Brook & Claire 1:36
5) Nat & Kat 3:37

One lesson racers should definitely keep in mind is to always keep looking for better flights. Chad and Stephanie found a flight that arrived the next day at noon and they settled and went to eat. Jill and Thomas arrived and though they had guaranteed seats on the noon flight, they continued to look and found tickets that arrived at 5AM the next day. Eventually all of the teams arrived and looked for flights as Chad and Stephanie stuffed their faces. Nick and Vicki managed to squeak past Brook and Claire and got the last tickets on an 8:30AM flight. Brook and Claire panicked a bit thinking they were the only team left, but were relived to find that both Chad and Stephanie and Nat and Kat were on the same noon flight.

Jill and Thomas arrive around five and could never be caught the whole leg. They pressed the sugarcane without much hassle, other than Thomas' loudmouth comments to Jill. Luckily, Thomas took one for the team and drank the fresh juice. Jill did decide to take a sip for herself just to see what was the problem. They were handed their next clue which was the detour. Their options were Balanced Meal (Hoist 30 Meals up a ship) or Balanced Bricks (Deliver 100 unbroken bricks via their heads). Surprisingly, they pick Bricks.

It really makes no sense for Jill and Thomas to pick bricks. They knew they had the lead or at least a seven hour advantage on Chad and Stephanie. Jill almost immediately drops her bricks and the couple struggled veering around the chaotic streets. Obviously, they finished before the last flight left Mumbai, they arrived at the double U-Turn and decide to U-Turn Brook and Claire.

Jill and Thomas arrive at the Roadblock which was to assemble a rickshaw (The main points were: Wheels, Seat, Canopy, Bell, Tassels, Pedals, Backseat, and Chain). In a smart move, Jill did the roadblock. Even if Jill took an hour, Nick and Vicki just showed up. Jill struggled with figuring out that she didn't do the chain, but wouldn't it be obvious if you were doing the pedals to look a few inches next to the pedals?

As Nick and Vicki get thirty meal tins, the last flight started to land with Brook and Claire as the last team to find a taxi out of the airport. Chad and Stephanie consider that if they make it to the U-Turn first, they will U-Turn Nat and Kat. As Jill fixed the chain and Nick and Vicki started to transfer the meal tins, the three teams in the back quickly pressed the sugarcane with Chad narrowly finishing first. All three teams in the rear pick Balanced Meal. It's to no ones' surprise as Jill and Thomas arrived in first and received a $15,000 gift card.

Nick and Vicki were at a good wavelength as they finished the detour without bickering. They decide not to U-Turn anyone and head to the roadblock where Nick, being bicycle friendly assembles the rickshaw, forgetting the chain. At least he admits that the chain was never in the box, which led to the false sense of completion.

Nat and Kat were the first of the trailing teams to find the man with the meals and they used some straps that was in their bags. Brook and Claire arrive next and don't have many issues with the metal holders. After getting lost Chad and Stephanie rush to catch up. Nat and Kat finish first with Brook and Claire behind. They see Chad and Stephanie on a small boat headed to the large ship.

Nat and Kat see that Brook and Claire were already U-Turned, they decide to U-Turn their only other option: Chad and Stephanie. I'm sure their friendship with Brook and Claire also influenced them to U-Turn Chad and Stephanie to give the other all-female team a chance. Nick and Vicki check into the pitstop in second place.

Brook and Claire found out that they were U-Turned and Brook turns on her afterburners, overly excited about the whole situation. This annoys Claire who couldn't breathe as she trailed behind. Chad and Stephanie finally finished the detour, but couldn't find where the U-Turn was. Nat and Kat arrived at the roadblock and Nat took the task comparing it to Ikea.

Brook and Claire do a decent job but wonder what happened to Chad and Stephanie. They knew that they were also U-Turned and they saw them on the boats. There was a small logic that Chad and Stephanie did the bricks first and headed to the boat when Brook and Claire were leaving. Alas, that wasn't true and Chad and Stephanie found the U-Turn and headed to the bricks. Brook and Claire finished before Chad and Stephanie even arrived. They arrive at the roadblock with Brook using all that energy to assemble the rickshaw. They were shocked to see that Nat was still working on the rickshaw. Eventually Chad and Stephanie arrived at the roadblock and Chad tried his best to psych out Nat who was still there.

Nat finally realized her issue was the back tire and the team headed out. After the commercial break Brook's struggles with the bell and Stephanie's backseat troubles were fixed, but Brook and Claire were the first out. They headed to the main road. Nat and Kat managed to find a taxi, which the other two teams fail to do. Nat and Kat arrived in third. As night hits Brook and Claire and Chad and Stephanie wandered the streets with creepy men touching Brook's hair. Brook and Claire arrive as team four. Chad and Stephanie arrived last and were eliminated.

Detours

Balanced Meal
Nick & Vicki
Nat & Kat
Brook & Claire
Chad & Stephanie

Balanced Bricks
Jill & Thomas
Brook & Claire [U-Turned]
Chad & Stephanie [U-Turned]

Roadblock: Jill, Nick, Nat, Brook, Stephanie

Leg Placement

1) Jill & Thomas
2) Nick & Vicki
3) Nat & Kat
4) Brook & Claire
5) Chad & Stephanie Eliminated

I think that the double U-Turn is probably the best way of having the U-Turn because it makes sure that there are two teams in the back fighting. The detours on this episode were also not too difficult to accomplish and catch up with other teams. Seeing Brook and Claire catch up with Nat and Kat proved that, since they were neck and neck during the detour.

I'm quite happy that Chad and Stephanie were eliminated. Chad was loud and brash at all the wrong times. If there was any way that Thomas and Nick were both eliminated next week I would be overjoyed.