The Amazing Race - Season 21 Episode 4 - Funky Monkey

We're down to eight teams in The Amazing Race Season 21, Episode 4. The teams are getting quite a tour of the southern and eastern parts of Asia, spending time in China, Indonesia, and now Bangladesh. My recap is below.

Abbie and Ryan finished in first in the previous leg, so they're the first to depart Indonesia at 9:52 p.m. Teams will now fly to Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. When they're there, they must head to a bus repair shop to get their next clue. Everyone gets on the same flight, which departs the next morning at 10 a.m.

At the repair shop, teams have a choice between completing a Roadblock or a Fast Forward.

Fast Forward:

This is the first Fast Forward of the season. If a team is the first to complete the Fast Forward, then it can move directly to the pit stop and surpass the other tasks. For this Fast Forward, the team must fill a bag with dead rats from three locations. Once the streets have been cleared of rats, teams can proceed to the pit stop. James and Abba are the only ones who choose to do it. They finish it with no problems.

Roadblock: Who wants to fill in the gaps?

One team member must repair a bus by using putty to paint over a damaged side of a bus and then sandpaper another area. Then, he or she must remove three pairs of seats and deliver them to a refurbishing area.

Out of the seven racers completing the roadblock, Nadiya is the only female, and Natalie doesn't shy from reminding everyone else about it. She also doesn’t shy from reminding everyone about other issues:
• "We can't lose here, we're the only brownies, we have to win!"
• “Twinnie! Now sand your ass off! Sand it off!” Ouch, that sounds like it hurts.
• "Long, strong, and hard! Long, strong, and hard!" The that’s what she said just hit me over the head long, strong, and hard.

However, Natalie is getting on Abbie’s and Ryan’s nerves. Ryan compares Natalie’s voice to fingernails on a chalkboard, and Abbie makes a gun-to-the-head motion behind her as she’s screeching.

Let me just say this. Dear Twinnie #1, please continue your antics. You are making this season of TAR for me and probably millions of other Americans. Continue being you long, strong, and hard.

Ryan, Nadiya, James, Rob, Josh, Trey, and Gary are the ones doing the Roadblock.

The putty-spreading proves difficult for some. James has too many crevices on his wall, so he has to scrape it all off and start over and threatens to punch a hole in the bus wall. Josh and Trey eventually have to scrape off their putty as well but in a much calmer manner.

Ryan finishes the task in first, followed by Rob and Nadiya, the latter of who turns into Wonder Woman in the second part of the challenge. She hoists the bus chairs above her head with her red cape flowing behind her as she zooms to the refurbishing area. As she drops the last chair down, she places one long, exposed leg on the chair and puts her hands on her hips. “Of all people,” she states, “you know who I am, who the world needs me to be. I’m Wonder Woman.”

One thing I love about the Amazing Race is that teams are pretty much doing community service in each country. They're helping refurbish buses and cleaning up rats in Bangladesh!

After completing the Roadblock, teams must head to the Kawran Bazar Shootkir Market where they search through bags of smelly dried fish for one with race colors. Then, they’ll receive their next clue, which reveals the detour.

Detour: “Pound the Metal” or “Pound the Cotton”

No choice for "Pound the Alarm"? Oh well.

Pound the Metal: Teams must use sledgehammers to make a spike. Rob and Kelley, the twins, and Trey and Lexi choose this task.
Pound the Cotton: Teams must pound cotton, fill up a mattress with cotton, and sew it up. Abbie and Ryan, Josh and Brent, the Chippendales, and Gary and Will choose this task.

The Chippendales can’t believe they chose to do a sewing task. "If you get a mattress that says ‘Made in Bangladesh,’ make sure it doesn't say ‘Made by James and Jaymes,’" Jaymes says.

The twins finish the detour task first, followed by Rob and Kelley, Abbie and Ryan, and Josh and Brent.

Pit stop: Shambazar Chan Mia Ghat

Teams must take a certain boat to the pit stop. James and Abba arrive at the pit stop in 1st place and win a free trip to Antigua.

It’s a footrace to the finish mat between Abbie and Ryan, “the most psychotic couple here” according to the twins, and Natalie and Nadiya, “the most entertaining couple here” according to me. Abbie and Ryan reach there several seconds before the twins.

Rob and Kelley arrive at the pit stop in 4th place but missed a location on the way there, so Phil tells them they have to complete the course because he can check them in. Uh oh! That’s the second time they’ve messed up on directions this season. “YOU JUST COST ME A MILLION DOLLARS,” Rob yells at the boat driver. Well you just cost yourself my respect, Mr. Monster Trucker. Chill out.

By the end of the episode, Gary and Will are so behind that the TAR editors don’t even attempt to build suspense. Gary and Will come in last and are eliminated from the race.

Here’s the final order of finish:
1. James and Abba
2. Abbie and Ryan
3. Natalie and Nadiya
4. Josh and Brent
5. Rob and Kelley
6. Jaymes and james
7. Trey and Lexi
8. Gary and Will (ELIMINATED)

What did you all think of the episode? Not surprising at all that Gary and Will came in last considering they were almost eliminated in the two previous legs. Leave your comments below!