The Amazing Race 13 Insider, Episode 6: “Everyone Loves a Comeback”

As teams scramble to explain why they finished in the rank they did, it’s almost unanimous who they want eliminated next (hint: it’s the team pictured to the right!). But who is the secret power player in Team Toni & Dallas and who fully admits that they are elimination-level bad luck for anyone to align with? Plus there’s a new Phil’s Video Diary from India. Read on for the whole story!

With no one eliminated, there were no sad “woe-is-me” videos this time, but there certainly are a lot of Dan & Andrew videos this week! To be fair, each week there seems to be a team with more videos than others, as last week it was definitely the Kelly & Christy show. It was also a welcome return of Phil’s Video Diary as he shows us around an Indian spice market. But you didn’t come here just for the atmosphere, it’s time for some recaps!

At The Pit Stop

A Better Day Tomorrow: Last-place (!) Ken & Tina blame their placement on their horrible cab drivers during the leg. Phil reveals that India is beautiful but is definitely the most challenging country to race through. Both agree and were also hoping that other teams were having as bad as luck as they were.

Phil wants to know if the communication was bad this leg, and both think that actually wasn’t the problem this time. Ken recognizes Phil is probably talking about when he yelled for Tina to get into the mini-cab. He explains it was just so close to the end that it wasn’t worth Tina’s desire to go find another ride. Phil isn’t satiated so easily and wants Ken to recreate the tone of his “get back in the cab” bellow. Ken knows he’s been busted. Phil asks Tina if she was okay with that and also if she yells back at Ken frequently. She doesn’t think so (oh, boy!). Ken begs to differ but Tina clarifies that she just has things to say.

Is there anything they can each improve upon? Tina thinks that they could have decided to change cabs immediately when they realized their cab situation was dire. It turns out at one point they did change cabs, but that guy wouldn’t stay after dropping them off at the wedding. Afterwards, they had to spend another 15 minutes hunting down another cab. No kidding, their downfall was definitely due to cabs!

Frat Boys Improve: Phil continues their talk from last week at the Pit Stop and asks Dan if Andrew’s performance improved. Dan compliments Andrew’s performance this leg and defends Andrew’s motivation too. Andrew looks a little defensive and Phil effectively disarms him with a jab at Andrew’s green nostrils. Phil wonders if the green look will do much for Andrew’s game.

Phil notices that they’ve done a bit better and are even getting buffer. He asks if they think their performance is a miracle. Andrew isn’t convinced it’s due to miracles … yet. But today was a great leg and they kept up a positive attitude. Phil recognizes that they kicked butt this leg and both agree that with what they were given, they did. Andrew brags about his Roadblock performance on finishing the painting first even when not arriving first. Dan discusses the Detour options and proclaims that neither ironing nor pinning flowers on a necklace are things a college guy should do.

Phil brings up India’s status as one of the harder legs in The Amazing Race. He’s surprised how well the Frat Boys have embraced the Indian challenges. Both agree but Dan then goes on this mini-monologue about India’s emerging place in the world and that it has nowhere else to go but up. Andrew and Phil both mock him. Ha!

Zen Free Zone: Phil wonders if Terence & Sarah are feeling the Zen in India. Sarah is definitely not and Terence notes there’s lots of chaos. Phil explains it’s beautiful chaos, with vibrant people and colors. Sarah gives Phil those points. Phil notes the color all over Sarah and she explains that she isn’t nearly as green as she was because she cleaned a lot of it off. The irony isn’t lost on Phil that while the challenge was to make things green, she ended up inhaling paint.

How does fourth place feel though? Sarah is happy with it but Terence gives Phil the mehhh vibe. Phil calls him out but Terence wants to do better and move up. If they have to wait until the last leg to be number one, Terence is okay with waiting.

Phil notices that they’re holding hands and wonders if love is in the air in India. There’s a slight hesitation on Terence’s part but he states that there’s frustration and love. Working together also was the theme and Sarah notes that Terence was supportive of her efforts at the green challenge (funny, supportive wasn’t the word I was thinking while watching him yell at her!). Phil wants Terence to tell him how much of Sarah’s love he wants and Terence exclaims he wants it all and plants a kiss on her. Phil is satisfied and feels the love.

Mom Keeps Pushing: Are Toni & Dallas surprised to be in third place this far into the race? Surprisingly, they actually expected to be in first at this point. Phil really wants to know how Toni truly feels and she persists that she expected to be higher. It turns out she’s the one pushing the team and expecting better results. Dallas is just going with the flow. Yet he is proud of his mom’s performance thus far in the race and how she is pushing herself to the limit. Toni reciprocates the compliment back to her son.

Phil asks about how the teams are mixing together so far, and Toni & Dallas admit they are good with other teams. They tell Phil that they did have to leave the Frat Boys at the ironing Detour though. Phil wonders what’s up with those boys and if Toni could deal with them being her sons. Nope, Toni replies as she bear-hugs Dallas. What would Toni tell Dan & Andrew? She would’ve taught them how to iron, that’s for sure. Dallas actually is the main iron man of the family. She’s proud that she’s raised the perfect man, well, nearly perfect, she admits. She does make sure to screen any potential mates because of all her hard work.

What Makes Them Run: Kelly & Christy are looking very chipper to Phil, as if they’re about to break into a cheer. Ha. They tell Phil that it’s their competitive spirit which they’ve had since college that is really the key to their race. Of course their good spirits are important too as is shown in their improving rankings. Yet Phil cuts right to one of their blind spots as he asks what their interactions were like with the other teams during this leg. Flying solo was the theme this leg and that’s just fine for them. It used to feel like segregation in previous legs but they don’t have or want any alliances.

Phil can tell they’re excited about being in second place and asks what their other positions have been. Kelly has it memorized: fifth, sixth, eight, third, fourth, and now second. The awkward small talk continues and he asks how they’re feeling about the race. Both are confident and want to be number one when it counts. He used to ask many more questions of these two. I wonder if he’s gotten tired of them too?

Top of Their List: Both Nick & Starr are doing great, even if Starr is green and burned, which happened when she accidentally rested her hand on some hot coals. Ouch. While they had a fun day, they know that the other teams are right on their heels. Phil compliments their performance and then asks their feelings on the other teams. He basically admits he wants some scoop on who they consider strong teams and who they want eliminated.

Starr bites and says that in terms of strong teams to go, Ken & Tina, Terence & Sarah, and Toni & Dallas are in that category. Of course the conversation turns to Kelly & Christy and they’re classified as the annoying team who aren’t even competition. (Don’t look now, but they’re about to be second place!)

Phil wonders what it is about Kelly & Christy. Nick & Starr have just found them annoying from the beginning and it’s a case of two different mindsets. What’s Kelly & Christy’s mindset? After a few moments of Nick & Starr looking at each other trying to find something polite to say, Nick comes up with how he’s never met anyone like them before. It comes down to their attitude toward others and especially to Nick & Starr. Phil asks what they think Kelly & Christy think of Nick & Starr. Starr believes it’s just a personality clash and doesn’t really answer the question.

Both mention again that there are two groups of teams that get along. Nick highlights Terence & Sarah as a team that is both competitive and consistent and a team they can get along with. Why? Because Terence & Sarah can let the game fall away at times and be people. Kelly & Christy don’t, or can’t.

After The Leg:

Terence & Sarah Are Bad Luck: Sarah reveals that she & Terence are bad luck to anyone they make alliances with. First it was Mark & Bill, then Aja & Ty, both of whom were eliminated. They started working with Ken & Tina and sure enough, they come in last place. Terence spins it a bit different that each of those teams had insurmountable obstacles: Mark & Bill with the time penalty, Aja & Ty with the flat tire and subsequent delay, and Ken & Tina with the non-elimination last-place finish.

Terence moves on to game play and recognizes that their team needs to step up their game like everyone else has. Better communication, rest, and focus are key, and it has to come from both Terence & Sarah agreeing on the tactics used. Otherwise it’s doomed to failure.

Not As It Seems: Starr notices that Ken is getting tired and wants to enjoy the race. But Tina doesn’t want to let up. Nick compares that relationship to his & Starr’s, as Nick is like Ken and Starr is like Tina. Both Tina and Starr are always on and will do things that neither Ken nor Nick have the motivation to do. Starr will happily beg for food and encourage a cab driver to go faster, while Nick lies back knowing his teammate will take care of those things. Nick notes though that while it’s a harmonious relationship for him & Starr, it’s definitely not that smooth with Ken & Tina.

Nick recalls once when Tina came over to him and told him that she & Ken had a fight and that they were no longer going to speak. He believed it to be a joke until he realized there was tension between Ken & Tina. It was such a difference from their initial impression of Ken & Tina being a happy, loving couple. He even thought it was Canadian! Nick finally attributes the relationship cracks to stress of the race which isn’t affecting him & Starr at all.

Divorcees Break It Down: Kelly explains that both Dan & Andrew had a crush on Marisa, mainly because the three of them are all Jewish. Ohhh-kay. But Dan had the bigger crush than Andrew. Christy isn’t sure if Marisa had any return feelings for Dan. Apparently Christy knows from Dan that he can’t wait to find out from Marisa what the real story is. Suddenly Christy starts rubbing her nose furiously while Kelly obliviously carries on the tale. Christy reveals a bug went up her nose. Dan & Andrew aren’t the kind of guys that they would have dated in college, but it doesn’t mean they don’t like them. Kelly’s sure that Dan & Andrew attract a certain kind of girl and that they’re fine. Nice.

Relationship On The Brink: Ken sees the dire status of their relationship and their current dire placement in the race as opportunities to be galvanized. If they can get it together in both of these areas, they can go from the bottom to the pinnacle. Everyone loves a comeback, and the dire situations described are all-encompassing for them. At this point, Ken starts to get emotional and Tina smiles and pats his cheek. Quite a few moments pass with Ken looking down while trying to compose himself. Meanwhile, Tina appears to be a bit bored and waits for Ken to resume.

When Ken does, his voice and eyes are full of tears and emotion. He says that they both want to come back. Once they’ve settled on a course of action, they’ll accomplish it. They want to win the race as a legacy for their family. Tina mentions that it sometimes takes being at the bottom to make you get to the top.

Extra Footage

Terence & Sarah Want More: In a hotel lobby, Terence explains that during every free moment, they’re always doing research and trying to find maps and information. Sarah chimes in, “there’s nothing productive about sleeping.” Uh, what? She continues on that it’s essential to understand the destination you’re headed to. Ironically Sarah discloses that most of the hours of research have been useless, but at least she’s felt comfortable.

Terence thinks the race is a reflection of how the racers live their lives. While they are hard at work and not allowing the comfort of the Pit Stop to distract them, others are probably relaxing and sleeping. Both are very proud of this fact, yet in my opinion their race performance hasn’t shown results that would reflect this arrogance!

Ken & Tina’s Wild Ride: After getting out of the plane first but immigration in India last, Ken & Tina know that two teams are currently ahead of them. Ken recognizes that a washing-machine effect is in play with the placements. The prepaid taxi with air-conditioning appears to have been a lie, but they’re just happy to be going. They notice that Indian drivers are crazy and it’s ten times worse than in New York. Tina thinks it’s a bit like Bangkok. It’s just wild to Ken.

A Sacred Cow Sighting: In their Indian cab, Christy explains that she just saw livestock in the road. They’re a little weirded out by it all. Christy notes that cows are the holy animal of India, which Kelly just makes an “oh” face to. Christy thinks that must be why the livestock have survived on the roads. Kelly wonders why the livestock aren’t fed better. Christy then notices a bunch of people standing unsafely on the side of the road and is amazed. More livestock pass and they just can’t believe the livestock are so blasé about the traffic.

Tina Takes Charge: Nick resurrects the analogy of Ken & Tina to Nick & Starr before launching into a story from the travel agency in Cambodia. First Dallas & Toni got there and waited patiently. But when Tina arrived, she was pacing anxiously all around making everyone tense. Even as Nick & Starr were being handed their physical airline tickets, Tina was already in the agent’s face to get help. Starr is frustrated because the fact they’re in an alliance sometimes will lead Tina to think that Nick & Starr will let them pass.

At the Angkor Wat Roadblock, Nick had faked out Tina once he had the next clue. She figured that out and was upset he did that. He wonders if she could really be upset because it is a competition and the Pit Stop was coming up. Both reveal that the friendship will not impact their racing performance.

Toni & Dallas Take a Break: Toni & Dallas head into a liquor store in Cambodia. Dallas finds some delicious junk food like Pringles and Milano cookies. They find other Asian junk food but can’t figure out what they are. Dallas ends up picking the Pringles and Milano cookies (I love those) and begins doing the dollar conversion in his head so he can determine the haggling tactic.

Frat Boys’ Study Break: At the airport book shop in Cambodia, Dan & Andrew are scanning India travel books. They know they want a small book and Dan finds one on Delhi with phrases while Andrew found a Hindi phrase book. Dan’s is $25 while Andrew’s is $8.99 and now both are thinking which route to go, much like Terence & Sarah in last week’s extra footage. Andrew realizes he can just write some phrases down from his book and suggests getting Dan’s. He finds some good directional phrases and remarks to us that Hindi isn’t something you can just pick up or fake like Spanish.

Andrew & Dan’s Fine Dining: Dan & Andrew are eating at a Thailand fast food restaurant in a connecting airport. Dan is introducing Andrew to his favorite Thai dish, Pad Thai. Andrew calls out that Dan is stingy with the money but Dan rebuts that it pays to be stingy. Especially because now they can afford the luxury of getting some good Thai food. Dan overreaches now as he explains that even though they’re still only in the Bangkok airport, they’re sampling local cuisine. And that’s important to do. Andrew is liking the Pad Thai, and we get to watch ten seconds or so of their consumption of food. Gripping. Dan notices this silence and points out it’s a good thing as that means they’re enjoying their food. Andrew agrees and sarcastically tells the cameramen to stop bothering them.

Wasted Time?: On the way to the Cambodia airport, part of Dan thinks that the other teams do too much research but he recognizes those are the teams that are beating them. He isn’t sure that would help his & Andrew’s place in the race. It’s working for the other teams though. Andrew agrees it wouldn’t help them. Dan lays out that the only research you can really do is on the first destination you’re heading to. Researching every city in the destination country is silly. The most important thing after that is how well you can execute the tasks. Andrew figures that at the airport they’ll find out what the other teams researched anyways.

Andrew & Dan’s Wish: Out of all the other teams, Dan would like to see Kelly & Christy gone. He believes he & Andrew are better racers than them. All the other teams are top-tier teams that Dan & Andrew have never placed ahead of in any of the other legs. Dan notices that’s not a good trend and that things have to change. Andrew realizes that the pressure of currently being in last place is similar to the first leg pressure of not getting eliminated first.

Andrew & Dan Anticipate India: Dan is anxious about heading to India, as it was never a place he expected to go. Andrew comments it’s the most populous nation in the world, even more than China. Dan anticipates having to deal with the massive amount of poverty there, yet hopes there’s plenty of beauty to see still.

Dan notices that as the race progresses, the destinations have become more exotic. It’s both exciting and refreshing but it’s also tougher to get used to. Andrew points out that the least unique place they’ve been to is New Zealand and is glad the race hasn’t taken them to generic cities like London or Paris. Everyone’s seen those places while the places they’re in now have been seen by very few.

Terence Looks On The Bright Side: Sarah feels bad about her performance in the last leg. Terence wishes Sarah would learn to let things go like he does. She just can’t get over the fact that before the time penalty, they were tied for second place. Terence is astounded that he can sleep that stress away while she just holds on to it. Both realize they live their lives that way too. Terence does his best to help her direct her focus on the beautiful scenery. Sarah promises to do better in letting things go.

Elimination Station:

Week 6: Everyone’s hanging out at the pool. Mark (in a wetsuit) comments to Anthony & Stephanie that he had called them “No Impression.” This was due to the fact that they were “stone” and never revealed anything about themselves to the others. Stephanie explains that they were doing that on purpose and their early elimination guaranteed no one ever saw true signs of personality. Privately to us, Stephanie is sure Mark & Bill met at a Star Trek convention. Both Anthony & Stephanie laugh and smirk.

The whole crew heads into the van and go out to the beautiful Acapulco beach. Marisa & Brooke are blown away by the size of the waves. A native doing yoga strolls up to where the ten of them are sitting around and tells them he is “part of the sea and part of the earth.” Anthony’s gaze speaks volumes. Yoga Man welcomes them to this lovely place and asks for them to enjoy the exhibition. He then dives into the ocean and swims out through the massive waves. He frolics in the water, falling into various waves. The crew just stares. Yoga Man comes back and declares he doesn’t believe in age, just the spirit.

They all clap for him and Anita is touched by it while Anthony continues gazing skeptically. Anita is impressed Yoga Man would be that comfortable performing for strangers like that. Ty is also entertained, but he’s certain not for the same reasons as Anita. It’s more that Yoga Man is creative and found a way to survive in Mexico.

Phil’s Video Diary:

New Delhi, India: Strolling through an Indian spice market, Phil is wearing a breathing mask over his mouth. He wears it because the spice market has bags upon bags of chilis in it and the dust that arises will cause you to cough uncontrollably. Phil admits to feeling like a wimp wearing the mask but all he can hear is the sound of people coughing. Yet when he stops talking so we can hear the coughing too, it becomes silent. No sooner does he mention this though does he start coughing a lot himself.

Phil moves into the spice market in order to help set up the shots for the upcoming Detour in Leg 7. Indian music plays as we see multiple cuts of Rob the Camera Guy and Phil coughing a lot. Rob is really getting affected by all the spicy dust and finally goes outside to get some fresh air. Rob’s eyes and head are killing him. Barry the Sound Guy is doing just fine though and is thinking about all the Indian dishes he could make.

Phil introduces us to Raj, who hosts a cooking show in India. He’s also been serving as a translator while they’re moving around the spice market. Raj cozies up to Barry and convinces him that he has to eat a red chili he’s got in his hand. Barry is hesitant at first and knows where this is going: The Amazing Mouthburn. Phil encourages him and Barry takes a small bite, but Raj isn’t impressed. Raj coerces Barry to eat more and Phil snickers that the best part is he isn’t having to eat anything.

Finally, Barry takes a big ol’ bite and is loving it, at least for a few seconds. Soon enough, Barry is sweating and his mouth is on fire. Raj tells him to wait until he has to go to the loo. Gross. Raj is enjoying the schadenfreude.

Now they all head to the shop that the teams will have to find and they meet up with a man there. He isn’t wearing a mask and isn’t coughing at all, to Phil’s amazement. There’s now a bowl of green crushed chilis that Raj is pushing on Barry and again Phil is stoked he isn’t having to eat it. Barry balks a bit so Phil joins in and samples the green chili. He has some and is fine, but shortly starts to cough again. Barry notes that after eating that first red chili he feels his bald spot is growing hair again. Phil believes they’ve found the cure to hair loss!