There’s Phil to introduce the episode and tell us a little about Burkina Faso as a montage of images go by. The village of Bingo was the Pit Stop for the last leg, and Azaria and Hendekea are the first team out. As they read their clue we find that they must follow a marked path to the Tribal Chief who will give them a gift. Interestingly, they will have zero dollars for this leg of the race.
The chief’s gift turns out to be a live chicken for each team — which they must catch themselves and get into a bag. The clue tells them they must keep their chicken with them the whole leg of the race — “no chicken, no check in” at the Pit Stop. Their next step is taking a taxi to Bouda Pelegtanga for their next clue. The first seven teams (everyone except Jason and Lorena) seem to be pretty close as we see each team catch their chicken and then hop into a taxi one right after another. By the way, the Blondes are naming their chicken Phil because he’s cute and has spikey hair.
Michelle: Ooooh, I hope those blondes forget Phil the Chicken somewhere along the way — not that I wish anything bad on Phil!
Bex: The Bimbos show us more and more each episode how dumb they are. As one is trying to grab a chicken, the other says to her, “It’s not easy, Jen. They are gonna pluck you and everything.” Hey, dummy, chickens don’t pluck, they get plucked. Chickens peck, brainiac.
The teams arrive in Bouda Pelegtanga and their Detour is “Shake Your Pan” or “Shake Your Booty.” In “Shake Your Pan” they must mine at least one ounce of gold. In “Shake Your Booty” they must learn and perform a local dance. But here’s the hard part — they have to add their own creativity and impress the judges. If the judges don’t approve, the team gets a 10-minute penalty.
Most teams are picking “Shake Your Booty.” Jennifer (she and Nathan are now first) says she should be good at this because she danced for the L.A. Clippers. Grandpa Don has had some mining experience so he and Nicolas go for that choice. Despite Jennifer’s dance experience, the judges are not impressed with her and Nathan’s lack of creative moves and they receive a penalty.
Michelle: That judge in the middle seems pretty hard to please; he’s like Africa’s answer to Simon Cowell.
Bex: But this would have been the challenge I think we would have done. We know how to shimmy, don’t we?
Azaria and Hendekea don’t seem much better at shaking their booties but they get an approval from the judges and are back in first place. The clue tells them to get to the Pelegtanga Market but warns of a U-Turn ahead. What’s a U-Turn?! Don’t worry, Phil will explain — a team that U-Turns another team forces that team to go back and complete the other Detour before moving on.
Michelle: Wow, way to step it up, “Amazing Race.” The U-Turn is way more harsh than previous seasons’ wimpy Yields. Any team that gets U-Turned will demand revenge!
Bex: I love it when “The Amazing Race” springs up these new ways to make enemies.
Grandpa Don and Nicolas are doing well with mining and are done as TK and Rachel are arriving. Back at the booty-shaking task, Ron and Christina are putting a lot of effort into being creative, with interesting results, but fail to impress the judges.
Michelle: I actually thought the teams who got penalties had to wait 10 minutes and then had to try the dance again. But they just have to wait their 10 minutes and then can go — that seems too easy!
Bex: I thought the same thing. See, even if you can’t shimmy as well as Michelle and I do, this would have been the challenge to pick.
The Goths (or Team Eyebrow, as we like to call them) have the best moves yet. Kynt does some crazy twirling with the sticks that gets applause from the crowd that has until now just been laughing at and/or looking appalled by the previous teams. African Simon Cowell says they were wonderful! Next up are the Blondes, whose moves indicate they may have had some experience around a stripper pole. The judges like them, too.
Michelle: These judges are getting soft! Do you think everyone remembered their chickens?
Bex: I hope PETA isn’t watching.
When the Blondes reach the U-Turn they decide to use it, U-Turning Jason and Lorena because they are a really strong team and are right behind them, possibly fighting with them for last place. But we see that the team right behind them is actually TK and Rachel and that Jason and Lorena are still way behind the pack, just heading to the Detour.
Michelle: Do TK and Rachel look like Jason and Lorena? Hmmm, I guess they’re both couples with a kind of scruffy guy and a girl with dark hair. But TK has the dreads.
Bex: Have I mentioned before how much I hate The Bimbos? What a completely stupid move on their part. I can hardly wait for this to come around to haunt them.
All teams except Jason and Lorena are now headed to the Roadblock. “Who’s ready for a juggling act?” is the clue. The task includes strapping a bunch of stuff to a bicycle and delivering it to a vendor for their next clue. In order, Azaria, Jennifer, Vyxsin, Nicolas, Christina, Rachel and Shana volunteer for their teams.
Bex: As much as I hate carting around goats strapped inside laundry baskets while teetering on two wheels, I would have taken one for our team and volunteered for this challenge, Michelle.
Jason and Lorena are doing the “Shake Your Booty” detour and they get a pass from the judges. They are pretty positive despite the fact that they know they are far behind. Just wait until they find out they have been U-Turned!
Michelle: Finally someone starts making the “American Idol” jokes. I was wondering why no one said anything — was it just too obvious and no one wanted to be that lame? It didn’t hold me back. Nice job, Jason!
Meanwhile, Azaria finishes the bicycle delivery first. It helps that he knows some French and is able to ask the locals for help. But it doesn’t seem that difficult as most of the teams are just shouting out the name of the vendor as they walk and are all eventually finding the right person.
Michelle: Ronald is totally getting on Christina’s case for the shoddy way she is “packing” the bicycle. That’s such a dad thing.
Bex: He should just remember back to the last time he was on a bike and be thankful she is doing the challenge. Isn’t that right, Mr. Hernia?
The teams are traveling by taxi to the Pit Stop at Hotel De Ville. Jennifer is feeling bad about the U-Turn, saying it was Shana’s decision. Jason and Lorena arrive at the U-Turn and have to head back to do the mining task. Lorena is upset but Jason remains positive because anything can happen in this race.
The teams arrive in this order: Azaria and Hendekea, Nathan and Jennifer, Ronald and Christina, Nick and Don, Kynt and Vyxsin, Shana and Jennifer and TK and Rachel. All of the teams arrive with their chickens so there aren’t any surprises. Jason and Lorena get through the other Detour quickly, but with no flights or waiting this leg, they never really had a chance to catch up. They arrive last and are Philiminated.
Bex: I like how Jennifer the Cheerleader (I knew I hated her for a reason) thought it wasn’t fair that Azaria and Hendekea came in first again. “Everyone should get their time (to come in first) and they have already two times before this,” she whines at Phil. When she was a child, she must have been in all of those lame sports leagues and cheerleading camps where everybody got a trophy no matter how bad they sucked.
Michelle: Meh, another not so exciting leg. They never left the country and all of the tasks were pretty easy. No team meltdowns and the first and last teams to arrive were the same as last week. They can’t possibly spend another episode in Burkina Faso, so next week there should be some opportunity for a little shake-up in the order.
Bex: But I was on the edge of my seat, worrying if those chickens were gonna pluck someone to death.
