'The Amazing Race' Season 17, Episode 9 Recap

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

Every few seasons, 'The Amazing Race' tosses something new into the mix to challenge the teams. Initially, the main obstacles were Detours and Roadblocks. Since then we've had Yields, U-Turns and Speed Bumps, all of which have the sole aim of impeding team progress.

Tonight's introduction of the Double U-Turn, while not entirely a new concept, certainly had an impact on this leg. Using something like this is also very telling about the teams who employ it and who's considered a threat in the race.

When you stop and think about it, at this stage in the race, all of the teams should be considered a threat. It's down to five teams and only one of them strikes us as a "weak team": Nick and Vicki. Actually, it's not so much that they're weak, it's more that they have issues. First, they're not the brightest bulbs in the box. They're not worldly at all. Then there's the Nick Factor. He's way too excitable (and quickly agitated). He has no patience with Vicki, and compounds it all by having a foul temper.

On the other hand, I'm really liking Vicki more and more each leg. She's game for any challenge thrown her way. It's a shame that she couldn't be the third member of a team with Claire and Brook, also gals who throw themselves into the tasks. Usually I lean towards cheering on men for the win. This season I'm not too keen on the men who are left in the race. While I could take or leave Stephanie or Jill (which might have something to do with their men), I'm enjoying Claire, Brook, Nat, Kat and Vicki. This is the season of Women RULE on 'TAR'!

Tonight's leg had them flying to Bangladesh. From the start, it was obvious that one team -- Jill and Thomas -- with a seven-hour advantage, would hit the Welcome Mat first unless they made a horrible mistake. They're a strong team, and it was a bit of an anti-climax when they made it to the Pit Stop so far ahead of everyone else. They won a fantastic prize for their efforts -- a $15,000 Discover Gift Card. I want one of those!

But, back in Bangladesh, the teams were in for a culture shock: Chaos in the crowded streets, livestock both dead and alive, rickshaws and, apparently, quite bad smells. Oh, and it was hot, too. Their first task, in a hectic marketplace, was to crush sugar cane to make a drink and one had to drink a mug of it. Huh? That's it? With the exception of diabetic Nat, that wasn't a biggie at all.

The Detour choices were a bit more challenging. They either had to balance meals or balance bricks. The first had them delivering 30 canned cylinders of food while the latter had them delivering 100 bricks balanced on their heads. After Jill and Thomas finished, they reached the Double U-Turn and decided that Brook and Claire were a threat, and so they used it. Oy! Nick and Vicki, next to hit that point, decided to be nice and not use it. Well, Nick wanted to U-Turn Nat and Kat, but Vicki didn't think it was needed because they were already ahead of them. Nick actually caved.

Most of the teams chose to deliver the meal cylinders and most even decided to tie cans together to get them up on the ships for delivery. So they began to trickle towards the dreaded U-Turn spot. Sure enough, the next team used it -- Nat and Kat U-Turned Chad and Stephanie. At that point, although they didn't know it, Chad and Stephanie were already struggling. They were the Most Lost Team for this leg. The U-Turn ended up being a double-whammy.

Brook and Claire, though they did melt down a bit for just about the first time this season, put all they had in going back to do the second Detour task. There was no time and perhaps little desire to maintain their Kiss Count progress this week. They plowed on through. Chad and Stephanie had their own meltdown doing double task, but we expect that from them under pressure.

After the Roadblock -- assembling a rickshaw -- the only teams in the darkness of night were Claire/Brook and Stephanie/Chad. Now, I've made my feelings about Chad clear in previous recaps. I don't like him. I do enjoy Claire and Brook. And, oh my, things went my way tonight -- Chad and Stephanie were Philiminated. To give him some credit, Chad went out with grace and class. Maybe there's hope for him after all.

'The Amazing Race' airs Sundays, 8PM ET on CBS.