Amazing Race 14 Episode Recap: "He Made Me Look Like Alice Cooper"
When we last saw the four remaining teams, host Phil Keoghan told them that there was no rest for the weary at the Pit Stop. The action in the penultimate episode continues in Beijing with language still a barrier for some and food even harder to digest for others. But can one team rise above the demands of the race's second U-Turn, or will they fall when nature take its course?
Jaime and Cara, who finally get a turn to arrive first at the Pit Stop are surprised with Phil's announcement that this leg of the race is not over. Arriving last, Kisha and Jen had a most happy surprise realizing they were not yet going home.
It was nighttime in Beijing as the teams searched high and low through a row of shops for the Travelocity Roaming Gnome. Their clue, hiding under its base, directed them to go across a moat and then hop on electric bicycles. With the wind in her hair, Tammy is delighted to discover she doesn't need to pedal when she finds the gear that puts her bike on auto-pilot. It's a special moment for her and her brother when they witness a flag raising ceremony while riding past Tiananmen Square as the cold dawn breaks.
The race is beginning to wear on Margie, who is tired of Luke yelling "Mom!" The extra attention she gives to him has to use up extra energy, if not divert her concentration. Jaime continues to take out her frustration on an unsuspecting cabdriver who doesn't understand English, and the cabbie appears to fear she'll stab him with the pointed hat on the little gnome. But their frustration in this instance stems not only from a lack of communication, but by starting the Detour challenge when the others have finished.
Detour
The teams' options are titled Beijing Opera or Chinese Waiter. At the Beijing Opera House, players donned elaborate costumes and applied makeup to their partner in the image of a princess or a gentleman. Kisha thinks she looks like a "hot mess" in her get up. As the only male in the challenge — and obviously the one with the least experience — Luke was frustrated when Margie continually turned to look into the mirror to check his work. But Margie's concern was valid, as she notes his thick paint application and blurts the episode title: "He made me look like Alice Cooper." In the end, it didn't seem to make much difference how exact the application was.
Tammy and Victor, with their command of the language, were the only team who chose Chinese Waiter, which requires them to take dinner orders spoken in Mandarin and recite them back to the chef. With only one mistake, they wasted little time and became the first team to move onto the U-Turn location. Citing Margie and Luke as the most competitive team but Kisha and Jen as the most athletic, they slapped a photo of the sisters on the sign and added a mea culpa to it.
U-Turn
Except for Tammy and Victor, the other three teams had difficulty locating the U-Turn. As he and his mother began to wander, Luke wisely noted that U-turns are usually close to the Detour. They return to the opera house, and Luke's correct assumption was a time-saver for the team. Jaime insists that she's being ignored when calling for a cab. With the gnome in hand, they realize they are wasting a lot of time. So, they decide to retrace their steps and start over.
Favorite moment: Responding to her griping teammate, Cara makes a sarcastic comment and tells Jaime that if she's going to have a defeatist attitude then why try at all? Jaime snaps back: "Oh, as if you haven't been acting that way the whole time, Cara." But Cara hasn't. She's been very easy going. So, still wearing the colorful makeup, her wide-eyed expressions to the cameramen, and ultimately to us, were priceless!
Simultaneously, it appears Kisha and Jen are moving along while attending to the U-Turn. Still wearing their opera garb, the sisters eventually got through the task but not before ordering "Light Competition Red Dishes I've Played Before" and "Oil Comes Again to Please the Mouth" instead of "golden pork spare ribs" and "new taste beef" respectively.
Roadblock
One person from each team is required to eat a plate of fried delicacies such as grasshoppers, scorpions and starfish from a street vendor. Yum! Victor was hoping for a side of ketchup, and Margie ordered hers extra crispy. Having the hardest time munching is Jen, who takes a mouthful of water after each bite and occasionally stops to barf. The cheerleaders show up, having started the day in first place and apparently losing as much time as it took the sisters to perform the U-Turn. Cara is making up time by gulping down the crunchy treats while Jaime sits backs cackling at her.
Pit Stop
Tammy and Victor, who were ahead the entire leg, finish the day in first place. Margie and Luke are second. At the mat, Phil tries another fake-out, informing team number three "I'm sorry to tell you..." Jaime and Cara, who were behind most of this leg, pull ahead of the other all-woman team Kisha and Jen. The sisters did a great job overcoming the delay of the U-Turn but Jen drank so much water at the Roadblock and unfortunately had to stop for a rest room break right before to the Pit Stop. I'm sure Jen's situation was a tough call to make. When they finally meet up with Phil, he announces that they have been eliminated by mere seconds.
So who do you think will win the race? Will Jaime and Cara be the first all female team to finish first?
Return Trips
• Victor: "... I'm carrying a purse and a doll!"
• Kisha: "I think you should be the gentleman and I should be the princess. I've never been a princess my whole life, so maybe this is my opportunity..."
• Jen, to Kisha in makeup: "You're gonna scare a lot of children."
• Jaime, lost, tells Cara: "This is why I didn't want to go to China. It sucks."
• As you may know, Phil has been riding his bicycle across the US to raise money for the National MS Society. His last stop before reaching his destination of New York is Philadelphia, where I'm planning to join him this coming Thursday. If you'd like to send any cheers to Phil, leave them below and I'll be glad to pass them along. For more info on Phil's progress and to contribute to this worthy organization, follow the link to Phil Rides Across America.
Order of Finish:
1. Tammy and Victor
2. Margie and Luke
3. Jaime and Cara
4. Kisha and Jen
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