The Amazing Race - Season 21 Episode 2 - Recap
Here’s my recap for the second episode of The Amazing Race’s 21st season. After Rob and Sheila—we barely knew ye—were eliminated in Shanghai, the ten remaining teams will now fly to Surabaya, Indonesia and travel to the Alun Alun Stadium. The winner of the leg will receive the Express Pass, a tool that a team can use before or during a task to forgo the task.
If you have just started watching this season, don’t fret! Catch up on all of the action with my recap of last week’s season premiere.
Abbie and Ryan are the first team to depart, at 5:35 a.m. Amy and Daniel leave at 5:36 a.m., Caitlin and Brittany at 5:41 a.m., and the rest follow. "Some people are scared of the beggars,” one of the twins says as she describes the other teams’ potential reactions to Indonesia’s poorer areas. “Those guys are our homeboys.” And thus begins the Natalie and Nadiya Show. Sit back and enjoy 43 minutes of the twins sass it up, to hilarious results.
All teams except Rob and Kelley go on the same flight that leaves for Jakarta, Indonesia after 10 a.m. and then connects to Surabaya. The monster truckers decide to break apart from the group and choose an earlier flight that leaves for Hong Kong at 8:20am. However, there’s a 4-hour layover in Hong Kong. Bold move. But will it pay off?
At Jakarta, James and Abba get on the first flight leaving for Surabaya while the other eight are on a later flight. Rob and Kelley are waiting all alone at the Hong Kong airport.
James and Abba arrive in Surabaya first. They take the first number at the stadium, and the other eight teams arrive after. "Personally, I think we're in the lead right now," Rob says confidently. Then, when they arrive at Alun Alun realizing that they're last, he says, "We like to be the last team… so we can slide under the radar." Team Optimism right here!
“Race with the Bulls”
In the morning, teams go to the stadium where they must hop on motorbikes and race against bulls. And with a shout of "I AM SPARTACUS!!" the teams are off! Those bulls are fast; they’re pretty much flying across the field. Red Bull gives you wings? /inadvertent product placement.
"We have been dieting, so we might get some more horsepower," Brent says. "Or some cowpower," Josh suggests. Ba-dum chh.
James and Abba leave first, followed by Amy and Daniel, Abbie and Ryan, and the Chippendales.
Roadblock: “Who Likes to Party?”
Teams travel to Genteng Kali where one member must make eight pieces of balloon art while pedaling an Odong-odong machine that drives a ride for four kids. RockerJames likes to party! So do Abbie, Jaymes, and Amy. They have to make one balloon animal and one balloon hat for each kid. I'd enjoy this task. Those kids are so cute!
When Natalie reads the task description, she immediately thinks, "I like to party!" "But since we knew that it was the Amazing Race and we wouldn't be downing 30 bottles of tequila,” Nadiya interjects, “ I did it.”
Lexi, a self-proclaimed pro at multi-tasking, finishes first. Amy, Nadiya, Jaymes, James, Abbie, and Josh finish after. “There are some things gays are naturally better at, and balloon animals are one of them,” says one of the Bleekman boys.
Meanwhile, Will is sweating so many buckets trying to make his balloon animals that the liquid can probably churn a water turbine that could power the kids’ ride better than him. He’s pretty much driving the Struggle Bus right here. “THIS IS ONE OF THE HARDEST THINGS I’VE EVER DONE IN MY LIFE,” Will laments. “You think this is hard? Try being waterboarded, THAT’S HARD!” screams Glee’s Sue Sylvester from the other side of the world.
Detour: "Ice By the Pound" or "Fish By the Barrel"
Teams travel to the Wijaya Motors shop where they must choose between two tasks.
Ice by the Pound: Teams deliver 10 65-pound blocks of ice to a truck and use a cart to deliver their cargo to a store at the Pasar Pabean Market.
Fish by the Barrel: Teams sort through thousands of dead fish with their hands and set up a vendor stall at the same market.
Trey and Lexi, the Texans, go with Ice while Natalie and Nadiya go with Fish. All of the other teams do the ice task.
Thank you, TAR producers, for giving the twins so much screen time this episode. They’re hilarious. And with that, let’s re-visit several more of their best quotes this episode:- “Diva is the opposite of what Nadiya and I are,” Natalie quips. “We're just badass. We're the most badass Sri Lankan girls you'll ever meet.” And clearly the sassiest as well.
- As they move the fish from barrels to the stall: "Only thing is, all my sweaty makeup is going to be in this fish."
- “I want to take the fish and rub it on my face, it’s so hot!”
Pitstop at the Pasar Pabean Market
The twins and Texans are neck and neck but the team who arrives at the pitstop first is… Natalie and Nadiya! “You guys stink!” Phil exclaims as the twins pounce on him upon arrival. “Thanks for sharing your smell with me.” They win the express pass! The greeter has really long nails. Whoa.
Trey and Lexi finish in second. They're glad the twins won, since they like them a lot.
Amy and Daniel arrive at Wijaya in last place but still persevere through the task. "Our hope is that someone else is having as much trouble as we are," Amy says as Gary and Will’s ice cart crashes to the ground. Though “David and Goliath” get to the ice drop-off location before Amy and Daniel, they decide to not run and instead walk to the pitstop because they think they’re in last place. Amy and Daniel sprint as they finish dropping off their ice. Can they pull out the come-from-behind win? Or is this just another instance of sneaky TAR editing?
Yes to the latter. Amy and Daniel, you have been eliminated from the Race. Amy cries. That’s disappointing; they were a really promising team, and they could have gone far in this race if not for their navigationally-challenged taxi driver. (Yes, maybe the taxi driver isn’t the only person to blame; Amy and Daniel probably should have found a new driver sooner.)
Here’s the complete order of finish:- Natalie and Nadiya (Express Pass winners)
- Trey and Lexi
- James and Jaymes
- Abbie and Ryan
- Josh and Brent
- James and Abba
- Caitlin and Brittany
- Rob and Kelley
- Gary and Will
- Amy and Daniel (ELIMINATED)
Next week, there’s a double U-turn! Those always make for great television.
