What was a bit surprising was that it was detectives Louie and Michael who were the beneficiary of the non-elimination. The cops had a rough outing. It started after all the teams flew from Singapore to Shanghai and were instructed to take a cab to "the Venice of China," Zhujiajiaou, their taxi driver (along with that of brothers Dan and Jordan) got lost. The drivers consulted each other and then had to get help from passersby.
But first, a brief digression. At the airport, the brothers got caught up on the previous leg's U-turn of Carol and Brandy. They had no idea it occurred since they got the Fast Forward treatment directly to the pit stop. Team Moron bragged and the cops looked on, knowing that they egged the morons on. Caite was overly thrilled that she was the only girl left in the race. But in an interview, Jordan called it a poor decision, knowing that it would have been wiser to take out a stronger team such as cowboys Jet and Cord: "We’re all gonna look back on that and question that decision."
Once they arrived in the "Venice of China," the teams had to take boat rides to their next clue. The teams whose cabs didn't get lost went first, with Brent telling Caite, "I feel like I’m in, like, Sicily." Yes, they're morons. Meanwhile, the boat ride was described in an interview by Jet as "tranquil," to which Cord responded, "Tranquil? What is that?" Jet: "Peaceful. calm." Cord: "Oh, like tranquility?"
The next clue was a Road Block, where teams had to make 1000 grams (1 kilo) of noodles by hand to get the next clue from He Pingping, the world’s shortest man (who, as it turned out, died about a month ago -- "In Memory of He Pingping" was displayed on screen at the end of the show). The world's shortest man was a source of amusement to Caite ("He is so adorable...can I take him home with me?") and Jet ("If he jumped out of your trash can it would scare you to death"). They had a little trouble with the noodles but Jet got the hang of it more quickly than Caite, sending the cowboys into the lead. Caite gave Pingping a kiss when she finished.
Louie and Jordan, having arrived late, then took their turns at noodle-making. Louie finished and left Jordan behind. Increasingly frustrated at his noodles not being acceptable, and his hands freezing from the cold, Jordan began to get upset. Then came my favorite moment, when his brother Daniel walked over and hugged him, offering words of encouragement in a calm voice. (Contrast this to Team Moron -- Brent kept telling Caite it was taking too long and at one point she snapped back, "Brent, shut up!") While I do like the cowboys ("Oh my gravy!" heard twice, by the way), I'm rooting for the brothers from here on in.
Next, the teams had to go back to Shanghai, to the fashion district, where their next clue awaited. They had to walk into the Fashion House right where the clue box stood. In a room full of clothing, select the correct pieces in a design and give them to a model to dress in, only getting their next clue when the model was dressed exactly like the drawing.
The cowboys got there first and decided they needed to hurry because "when Jordan gets here he’s gonna catch us." (They finished quickly, as did the Morons, who sort of had an advantage, being models themselves.) Also with a comment about Jordan was Michael, who arrived with Louie to find Dan and Jordan already there: "Being the gay male that he was, he loved it. He was right in there shopping." Why did Louie and Michael get there after the brothers when they finished making noodles earlier? Because they ran around the fashion district looking for the Fashion House -- which, remember, was right where the clue box was standing. Methinks the detectives spent too much time with the morons. Stupid is as stupid associates with?
They finished at about the same time because the brothers' model was wearing gray stockings but their design called for black stockings, which were being worn by the cops' model -- who needed to be wearing gray stockings.
Next up was what was said to be a "Race" first: a second Road Block in a single leg -- and this had to be performed by the team member who sat out the first Road Block. At Hongkou Football Stadium, working from a small picture, the teams had to put together a puzzle of 96 large cards, distribute them to people seated in the bleachers, who would turn them over to reveal a seat location that held their next clue. Cord and Brent, having gotten to the stadium first, each laid out their puzzle pieces on the ground and were nearing completion when a gust of wind blew their puzzles apart. Cord scrambled to try and hold pieces down, eventually using things like his shoes and belt, while Mr. Moron issued a command to the wind: "Stop!" It didn't.
Both of them finally got the puzzles completed, and located their instructions to take a subway to their pit stop, the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum. The cowboys finished first, followed by the morons. It's the fourth time Jet and Cord finished first in a leg of the race. Gee, if only they had been U-turned in the last leg, they might not be around and in the lead!
In third place was my team, Jordan and Dan, after Dan completed his puzzle much more quickly than Michael -- he took so long that the stadium lights had to be turned on when it got dark. (Again -- spend time with morons and see what happens.) But, as I already knew, it was a non-elimination leg, which means in the next leg Louie and Michael will have to complete a Speed Bump in addition to the other tasks.
Since there are only two episodes left, one of these teams will be eliminated on Sunday. Please let it be the morons, and let the brothers win the following week. As the saying goes, bros before hos!
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