"Amazing Race:" Boston Boys Out
After earning a reprieve last week, Boston detectives Michael and Louie were eliminated after the tenth pit stop on Sunday night's episode of "The Amazing Race."
The two entered this week's competition in last place, but were optimistic about winning. Having been saved from elimination last week, they were promised to receive a "Speed Bump" of some kind while in Shanghai. This ultimately cost them a slot in the finale.
The first clue asked the teams to make their way to the Garden Bridge, which proved to be a struggle for everyone. The language barrier was the main hindering factor since the locals only know the bridge as Waibaidu Bridge.
Cowboys Jett and Cord were initially in the lead but were directed to the wrong bridge by a local. Brent and Caite surpassed them by asking a young Chinese girl to search "Garden Bridge" on her cell phone. This successfully gave them the right directions to their next destination and the first place lead.
Brothers Dan and Jordan grew increasingly frustrated and practically gave up when they couldn't find the bridge. Their motto "never be alone and in last" forced them to piggyback on Michael and Louie, which was a plan that eventually proved success since the brothers knew Michael and Louie still had to overcome a speed bump later. After a few mishaps, the four of them eventually made their way to the bridge and were en route to the second roadblock.
While at Longhua Temple, the site of the second roadblock, one person from each team needed to count all the golden statues in the room in order to receive the next clue. If they did not get 523, they would have to wait 10 minutes in order to count again.
Determined to prove a point, former Miss Teen USA contestant Caite volunteered herself to count the statues for her team. It took her three tries to finally come up with the right answer.
"She's got it upstairs, she's not as dumb as everyone thinks," her team partner and boyfriend Brent said.
Both Jett and Dan received single count victories, but Michael and Louie first had to complete their unpleasant speed bump before entering the temple. Their chore was to toss one coin each into an opening mouth of a towering incense burner. Louie scored first but it took Michael several tries before they were able to move on.
Interestingly enough, all four teams picked the same detour: pork chops. This required them to find an Art Stone shop in a crowded market. Once inside, the teams had to systematically look under each stone stamp and find the one that bore their names, quite similar to looking for a needle in a haystack.
Brent and Caite come out first after this detour but Jett and Cord were in a close second. It takes a while for Dan and Jordan, partly because they were battling with discouragement. Louis and Michael finally made their way but still leave the store in last place and eventually lose their chance at competing in the finale.
While crossing the finish line, the teams were greeted by host Phil Keoghan and China's tallest man, Bao Xishun. Brent and Caite came through and won this week, while Jett, Cord, Dan and Jordan are the other four that will compete in next weeks season finale.