THE AMAZING RACE “I Never Looked So Foolish in My Whole Entire Life” Recap

THE AMAZING RACE 18 “I Never Looked So Foolish in My Whole Entire Life (Outback)” season 18 Episode 2 – The second episode starts with ten teams continuing the Australian double leg, leaving Shelly Beach for Broken Hills, New South Wales while Jet and Cord finish decoding the nautical flags to move on in the “I Never Looked So Foolish in My Whole Entire Life” episode of THE AMAZING RACE 18.

Jet and Cord vs. the nautical flags:

I honestly wasn’t sure Jet was going to get this, but he finally tells the commodore “I am between the devil and the deep blue sea” and the cowboys get their next clue. During the skiff ride, I think they spend more time in the water than on it and I love how they crash into the buoy to get their clue, but wow are they happy to still be racing when they get to Shelly Beach.

Leaving Shelly Beach:

Teams must go back to Sidney and find “Sail to Stop,” which they need to figure out is a giant anchor next to City Town Hall. The first six teams to arrive there will sign up for the first of two charter flights to Broken Hill, a mining town in the Outback about seven hundred miles from Sidney.

Mel is not doing well at all and he collapses on the ferry. Mike is ready to quit, but Mel tells him he will be responsible for his own decision. I am very worried about Mel’s health and I’m wondering what kind of physical exam, if any, racers must undergo to be on the show.

Kisha and Jen and Zev and Justin are the first two teams to find the anchor and sign up for the 6:05am charter flight. Jamie and Cara and Margie and Luke, after cleverly getting help from a woman on the ferry, are third and fourth. Mel and Mike and Kent and Vixsyn finish off that flight. Flight Time and Big Easy, Ron and Christina, Gary and Mallory, and Amanda and Kris all sign up for the 6:30am flight as we see Jet and Cord are wandering around, “out of ideas.” They finally find a cab driver who gets them to the anchor and they are officially the last team on the second flight and should be thanking their lucky stars for the bunching.

Broken Hill:

Upon arrival, teams must drive themselves to The Living Desert to search for their next clue, which leads them to the Detour: Spirit World or Natural World.

In Spirit World, teams use traditional materials to create an aboriginal mosaic to match an example. When done, they must do a traditional dance to raise ancestral spirits. In Natural World, teams create aboriginal territory markers out of paint made out of water and clay-like pigment. They put the paint in their mouths and spit it out onto stencils to create four images. When the images are right, they get their clue.

Spirit World:

I’m not sure why all the teams choose this. Yes, spitting out paint looks gross, but this task is so much less involved. Anyway, the mosaics themselves are earthy and pretty but not overly complicated. Kent and Vixsyn finish the mosaic first but get stuck on the dancing. Kent’s “Vixsyn, please get me children” cracks me up. They dance all around their mosaic with the children for a while; making “Ring around the Rosie” stick in my head. Ron and Christina have the hardest time with their mosaic and their well-documented issues begin to reappear.

Zev and Justin are first done the detour, then Margie and Luke in second, and Mel and Mike third. Kent and Vixsyn land in fourth after figuring out they had to dance on not around their mosaic and that children were not in fact necessary. Kisha and Jen are fifth with Jaime and Cara sixth. Jet and Cord jump up to seventh place with Gary and Mallory in eighth and Flight Time and Big Easy in ninth. Amanda and Kris finish this task tenth but are U-turned so they must go do Natural World, allowing Ron and Christina to leave the Detour in tenth place even after having to pick up the “friggin’ market” Ron had dumped on the ground so he could carry the gravel for the mosaic.

Natural World:

This task is less than appetizing to watch, but it’s also remarkably simple and fast because the stencils are well-placed and easy to spit on. Kris and Amanda power through it but are still in last place out of the detour.

Home of the Magpies:

Teams must drive themselves back to Broken Hill and figure out that the Home of the Magpies is the Central Football Club stadium.

The arrival order: Zev and Justin (1), Margie and Luke (2), Kent and Vixsyn (3), Mel and Mike (4), Jaime and Cara (5), Jet and Cord (6), Flight Time and Big Easy(7), Kisha and Jen (8), Gary and Mallory (9), Ron and Christina (10), and Kris and Amanda (11)

Time for a Roo’d Awakening:

Dressed as kangaroos and armed only with hoppy shoes and the Periodic Table of Elements, teams must figure out that some streets are named for the elements and that the two elements highlighted on the Periodic Table (Hg and Bi) are the only two that cross each other. The next clue is at the corner of Mercury and Bismuth.

Zev and Justin and Margie and Luke work together and find a kind woman with a smart phone who tells them where the corner of Mercury and Bismuth is. Margie loses her kangaroo foot and goes back. While a few racers see it, Mel is the one who picks it up and gives it back to Margie.

Kent and Vixsyn and Jaime and Cara team up and Kent awesomely knows the elements, giving chemistry teachers an answer to the inevitable question, “But when will I ever use the Periodic Table?” Mel and Mike, Kisha and Jen, Flight Time and Big Easy, and Jet and Cord aren’t exactly working together, but they’re in a bunch for a while.

Gary and Mallory and Ron and Christina kind of team up but Ron doesn’t want to follow Mallory, calling her hysterical. Look, I’ll admit Mallory could tone it down and Ron isn’t wrong when he mentions how much her voice carries, but he’s rude and I’m beginning to remember some of what he said to Christina during their first race. Ugh.

Pit Stop:

The clue at the intersection of Mercury and Bismuth says teams must stay in their kangaroo suits and travel to Junction Mine where they will find the Pit Stop.

Zev and Justin arrive first and Phil says, “I’ll give you the bad news first. You look ridiculous.” The good news is that they win the leg and a trip to Cancun. Flight Time and Big Easy are second, Jet and Cord are team number three with Kisha and Jen in fourth by a tail. Margie and Luke are fifth, Mel and Mike sixth, Kent and Vixsyn seventh, and Jaime and Cara eighth. Gary and a “very hoppy” Mallory take ninth, which is kind of awesome after Ron’s complete dismissal of Mallory. Ron and Christina are tenth and Ron hilariously calls Phil “Bill.” Kris and Amanda arrive last, once again done in by a U-Turn.

Notes:

I’m not a fan of keeping exotic animals as pets, but I still really want a kangaroo. Since that’s not going to happen, I want one of those costumes, or alternatively the “I love turtles” shirt. Oh, and the cameraperson who got the shot of the animal control truck deserves a raise. Ha! Also funny-Margie’s expression when Luke calls Jaime and Cara his “race girlfriends.”

Ah, bunching. Yes it’s an Amazing Race tradition, and son of a buck I love the cowboys, but wow do they get a huge break with the charter flights because they seemed to be hours behind everyone else getting to the anchor. At least they take full advantage of it and find their groove. If only Kris and Amanda had made the first flight, they would still be in the race, but they couldn’t combine having to do both detours with getting there late and have a chance. I’m amazed how well Mike and Mel finish given his spell on the ferry but I’m very, very worried about his health.

Excellent New Zealand PSA. Thank you for that.

As far as the preview for next week goes: yay, Japan, and can I assume we would have heard by now if Jaime and Cara were arrested for a hit and run?

So, what did you think of the Outback leg? Any feelings one way or another on Kris and Amanda’s elimination from The Amazing Race: Unfinished Business? Is anyone irritating you yet? Hop on over to the comments and let me know.

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