Kriti Mehrotra
Although CBS’ ‘The Amazing Race’ season 37 started out with 14 incredible teams determined to walk away with the life-changing $1 million prize money, only 9 teams are left after 4 grueling legs. It was best friends Bernie Gutierrez and Carrigain Scadden who bid this adventure goodbye at the end of episode 4, and now, episode 5 ‘It’s Not Personal, It’s Business,’ is transforming the game further. After all, in addition to rather standard franchise concepts like the U-Turn, Detour, and Roadblock, it features some much-needed yet intense face-to-face interactions as well as a live voting session.
The Teams Get Caught Up in a Twist Before They Even Get Their First Clue
While married couple Ana and Jonathan Towns are the first to depart for this next leg of the race thanks to their win in the previous one, their entire lead vanishes once they arrive at the first clue’s spot. That’s because the route led them directly to the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary in wondrous Ubud in Bali, Indonesia, at around 5:30 am., just for them to learn that it’ll open at 8 in the morning. By this point, all 9 remaining teams were standing at its entranceway, even though they had left according to the order they had finished the 4th leg in, so their time slate was essentially wiped clean.
However, what comes as a bigger surprise to them is that host Phil Keoghan is right there inside, where he reveals that the teams will only get their clues for where to go next after live voting. This poll, though, he explains, is not to choose a duo to eliminate or give some powers to but to determine which two unlucky ones would face the double U-Turn. In other words, he tells them to pick a fellow team they wish to hold back since the two most voted would have to finish both parts of the imminent Detour before being allowed to move forward.
It honestly appears as if Ana and Jonathan would be the first considered with how they have been thriving, yet the target also falls on the backs of married parents of 8 Lori and Scott Thompson. That’s because while they claim to be slow owing to their ages, their social standing amongst the group, as well as their speed in completing all challenges without any major issues, is undeniable. In the end, there are 4 votes against the latter couple, four against the former, and one against the brothers from Brooklyn, New York – Nick and Mike Fiorito.
The Different Aspects of Both Detour Tasks Are Revealed to the Teams
Lori and Scott are honestly so shocked by how many people voted for them that the former goes as far as to state that she no longer considers many teams to be her friends like she did before. Mark, who stepped into the world race alongside his fellow Vegas Performer husband Brett, did explain precisely why they, as well as the others, believe them to be threats, yet they don’t listen. Instead, Scott gets a bit emotional and expresses how this entire process actually made him feel as if his own 8 sons voted against him, which shattered his heart.
Nevertheless, as the show must go on, each team is subsequently given a clue instructing them to make their way down to Pantai Pandawa beach, where they would get their Detour tasks. Brother and sister Han and Holden Nguyen are the first to arrive, followed by Brett and Mark, Nick and Mike, friends Carson McCalley and Jack Dodge, and married nurse anesthetists Alyssa and Josia Borden. Then comes the mother-daughter duo Melinda and Erika Papadeas, Ana and Jonathan, father-son duo Jeff “Pops” Bailey and Jeff Bailey, and finally Lori and Scott.
Apart from the two teams selected for the double U-Turn — Lori and Scott as well as Ana and Jonathan — each is given the choice between coconuts and corals in the Detour challenge. If they pick the former, they have to deliver 60 coconuts from one side of the beach to a cafe on a bicycle, but if they choose coral, they have to make a cage of 5 species and plant it in the ocean. Apart from Mark and Brett plus Carson and Jack, everyone selects the physically demanding coconut task. For Brett, coral ecosystems are something he truly cares about, so doing some restoration is a no-brainer for him. As for Carson and Jack, they simply want to spend time in the water to cool down from the hot Bali sun. Lori and Scott also choose to do coconut first, whereas Ana and Jonathan go for the corals.
The Detour Takes a Heavy Toll On Many Teams
Ana and Jonathan expect to blow through their first task, yet the fact they fail to notice that the 5 coral species have to be tied to the cage in a particular manner takes up all their time. They keep on asking for checks to no avail, that is, until the latter notices the pattern in the example set before them, driving them to do over most of their hard work. All this time, the other two teams work quietly beside them based on the sample, so they quickly manage to focus on what needs to be done, get approval, and jump right into the water to set it on the seabed.
As for the coconut task, Alyssa and Josiah keep their previously found momentum going by piling on as many coconuts as possible on their bicycle before heading to the cafe at a slow and steady pace. However, the other teams focus a bit more on speed as well as stability than numbers, resulting in them having to do more trips, which takes up a lot of energy owing to the burning sun. So, while the couple finishes the task in just two trips, others take three or more, which tires them even further since they don’t get the next clue until they return the bikes to the original location.
Meanwhile, following trouble with the coral placement, Ana and Jonathan struggle a little with getting it into the ocean owing to Ana’s fear of water as well as swimming because of childhood trauma. She nearly drowned at the age of 5, so she has admittedly always preferred to stay away from bodies of water, but because this task was so crucial, she wore a vest and powered through. Little did she know the coconut task would not be any easier on them owing to the heat, the number of trips they’d have to take, her husband’s impatience turning into shattering hope, and his headaches. The only respite they unwittingly get is from Lori and Scott making the same mistakes they did with the coral placements.
The Roadblock Sets the Tone For How This Leg of The Race is Completed
The clue the teams receive upon completing the Detour leads them to Nusa Dua Bech, where their Roadblock challenge is to grab a surfboard with a unique decal, paddle into a group of surfers in the ocean, and find one whose decal matches theirs perfectly. Carson and Jack are the first to arrive here, almost immediately followed by Brett and Mark, yet there is little air of competition between them owing to how well they get along. Nevertheless, they focus on the task at hand, which ultimately results in Brett being the first to find his match and returning to shore, with Jack being less than 2 minutes behind. So, as they learn the location of the Pit Stop – the Taksu Art Stage – they rush to see who’ll make it first. The married couple eventually get there mere minutes before the friends, resulting in them bagging $10,000.
They are followed by Alyssa and Josiah, Pops and Jeff, as well as Han and Holden, who complete the Detour, the Roadblock, and arrive at the Pit Stop in the same order of 3rd, 4th, and 5th. As for Nick and Mike and Erika and Melinda, they complete the Roadblock in 6th and 7th place, respectively, yet they arrive at the Pit Stop in the opposite order mere moments apart. While all these teams complete their leg before going on to relax, Ana and Jonathan as well as Lori and Scott are at the Roadblock, where they arrive less than a few minutes apart, just for both of them to struggle.
While Jonathan can not find his mojo again owing to the heat, his headache, and the fear of elimination, Scott finds himself grappling with ocean waves to get the job done. Ana also breaks down, sharing they had lost a child from an ectopic pregnancy last year, so their wish was to come here in celebration of life, but it is hard to do on days like this when it feels like there is nothing to celebrate. Still, she powers through, just like Jonathan and Scott manage to, with the former even taking multiple breaks in between, resulting in both teams soon completing the leg. However, since Lori and Scott are the last ones to reach host Phil Keoghan at the Taksu Art Stage, they are eliminated, which makes them emotional yet proud of all that they have achieved. They admit that they now can’t wait to return home to their 8 sons.
Read More: The Amazing Race Season 37 Episode 4 Recap: There’s No Addresses in the Jungle
