Previously, it was the start of the tenth season of this show and quickly, twelve Teams are told to go to Beijing, China, where quickly Bilal and Sa'eed were eliminated for coming in last midway in the leg. Then it was on to the Great Wall of China where another Team, the Royal Masala, was eliminated. Two Teams down in one episode, and yet ten Teams remain. Nothing much changed then other than a quick introduction and then removal of Teams that make this season a little more diverse than usual, sigh. Philo wonders which Team will be eliminated at the end of this episode. I'll find out soon enough, won't I?

Philo "If I'm China, will you come to my Shangri-la?" Koughie steps out before the camera to explain that he's at Juyongguan, one of the eastern gateways of the Great Wall of China. This was the Pit Stop of the previous leg of the Race and therefore the starting point of this leg of the Race. Philo takes a moment to wonder whether the Androids will do well in the next leg despite SaR2D2's leaky artificial leg and whether the Coala Bears can overcome their lack of travel experience to get out of last place. What, is travel experience really necessary in this Race? Is Philo saying that these Teams will be required to actually book their own transportation in this episode? Please don't get my hopes up, dear Philo. My heart can't take any more disappointments.

9:04 pm. The Bennies, who came in first in the previous leg, get to leave first. Their clue tells them that they will be heading towards, to quote Philo, "the barren landscape" of Outer Mongolia. Outer Mongolia is the "country", by the way, while Inner Mongolia is part of China. Therefore, when someone talks about going to a country called Mongolia, he or she is actually headed towards Outer Mongolia. But let's not dwell too much on the inner's and outer's of Mongolia since this is not the place for such matters - back to the Race!

Since we don't do that "arrange your own transportation" thingie anymore, the Bennies learn that there will be transportation available to take the Teams to Outer Mongolia. Teams will travel to the capital of Outer Mongolia, Ulaan Baatar, and drop by the "temple" of Choijin Lama. Actually, that Temple has been converted into a museum that holds exhibits of Buddhist relics but I suppose calling the Choijin Lama a temple will make it seem more exciting on this show. At the Choijin Lama Temple, Teams will observe a "ceremony" before receiving their next clue from a man wearing a Tsam mask. Philo doesn't mention this on the show but the ceremony he is talking about is a Buddhist ceremony called the Tsam ceremony which revolves around a three-hour dance that are performed by masked dancers to exorcise evil spirits every year. If you're in that country on August 15, you'll get to witness the Tsam ceremony firsthand.

The distance to Ulaan Bataar is about 963 miles according to Philo and Teams will board first a bus and then a train to get there. Transportation is pre-arranged: the bus leaves at either 12:00 am or 2:00 am. We don't want anyone getting big ideas about becoming some modern day Marco Polo and getting lost in the Taklamakan Desert after all, do we? Back to Bennies, they head out to the bus station which is within walking distance. As they do this, once more they bring up the fact that they are recovering addicts. Do you know that they have lived on the streets, or "the streets and gutters" as Tyler puts it? Do you know that it is so amazing to be running the Race while sober? I wonder why they feel this need to constantly bring up the fact that they used to be junkies but now they are fully sober. Are they trying to hide something, I wonder? Anyway, they locate the bus station and sign up for the 12:00 am. They have three hours or so to kill so maybe they'll pass the time patting each other's back.

9:17 pm. The D&Ds are ready to leave. Duke tells the camera his best "Some of my friends are so-and-so" spiel that people always say when they know they are going to say something next that will paint them in a potentially negative light. In this case, Duke says, "I can accept gays and lesbians, but when it's my daughter, you think of it a little differently." I wonder what he is thinking about. Maybe he's now feeling guilty about all those girl-on-girl pornographic stuff he has in his video collection, I suppose. On her part, Lauren says that she hopes her father can look beyond her sexuality, which I suppose is why these two are here on the Race instead of sitting in front of a shrink. A million dollars sure beats any therapy. She can take half a million dollars and move far away from him - that may work better than a hundred sessions of counseling, I suppose.

9:22 pm. The Androids leave and it's more self-important vainglorious chest-thumping as SaR2D2 mentions that her artificial leg is busted. She can still get around - thanks, I'm just about to ask - but don't worry, all you people who are no doubt concerned about SaR2D2, she can still move even if it's like running with a flat tire. Like the D&Ds, they too sign up for the 12:00 am bus.

9:36 am. The Christinas now depart for the bus station. Once again they remind everyone that they meet "randomly" at Miss America and they became fast friends as a result. A random collision of blondes that results in sparks and happy stars of friendship-forever thingies? Sounds like one of the cosmic laws of the universe to me. They too are on the midnight bus out of this place.

9:51 pm. Meet the Whatevers. It's the same old "where do we go from here" blah-blah-blahs from these two. It's the same old story, same old stereotypes, just a different hairdo on the guy. They get the last available seats on the midnight bus.

9:56 pm. The Debbies are ready to go. They are still chirpy at this point of the Race and they talk about how they motivate each other to go along and do things better. They end up being the first Team to sign up for the 2:00 am bus. The Bennies watch as the Debbies sign in on the departure sheet, maybe to make sure that the Debbies get their spellings correct, and go awww, those poor dears miss the bus. To give the Debbies credit, they don't go "Awww, and someone missed the boat!" in response.

10:02 pm. As they leave for the bus stop, the Russells talk about the Race being a place to build relationships as well as, you know, being a Race. Does this mean that those two guys have very few friends in real life or something? Himbos are representing, people, and all they want in return is some love, so you know what to do.

10:13 pm. The Merry Melodies leave as well, saying to the camera that this is the first time they are actually traveling together as a couple and they are learning to make decisions together as a couple. Am I suppose to think that outside the Race, these two prefer to go their separate ways? Hmm.

10:19 pm. The Wisterias leave and Karlyn says that she is on the Race to make her daughter proud of her. Let's see if we need to revise her goal later on during the season.

10:29 pm. The Coala Bears are the last to leave and they get to do so at this moment. David wants to run to the bus station but Mary sensibly points out that the last few Teams are going to end up on the 2:00 am bus so they may as well take it easy on their way there. Here, David tells the camera that Mary is an outspoken lady that will even tell off the President. If she does that, I hope they show it on TV so that I can watch. As Mary predicted, they end up on the 2:00 am bus with the Debbies, the Russells, the Merry Melodies, and the Wisterias.

As the Teams wait about the bus stop for their buses to depart, the Coala Bears make a run for the posts of Ambassadors of World Peace and Harmony when they look around the other Teams assembled with them. Mary tells the camera that since she has never traveled from her comfort zone in the past, she is meeting and befriending people on this Race that she will probably never meet in real life. She has never known any Asian before, she says, and here we have Godwin giving her a welcoming hug when she joins up with the other Teams. The Merry Melodies and the Debbies start a version of their cheerleading dance thingie that they started in the previous leg. The Coala Bears can only watch in fascination as they tell the camera that they have never been around gay people before. "But I like 'em!" pipes up Mary. Call me a sucker but I have to go "Awwww!" with these two. They are the anti-Whining Weevils that way: they are provincial folks, sure, but they are open-minded enough to appreciate things that they have never encountered before in their lives instead of screwing up their faces and saying that everything sucks.

The first bus leaves at 12:00 am, allowing Pe3P0 to crow about being at the head of the pack. Something tells me that this guy probably hasn't come in at the head of the pack in many things in real life so he's overcompensating big time on TV. As the Teams left behind wait for their 2:00 am bus to leave, they have fun doing what seems like silly team cheers and even games. It's nice to see Teams letting their hair down and having some fun on this show. I suspect that the Debbies and the Merry Melodies have a big hand in encouraging everyone to take things easy so that makes me like those Teams more. These Teams are still singing as they board the 2:00 am bus, with one of the Merry Melodies telling the camera that even if they are at the back of the pack and they are all competitors, they are still having fun despite knowing each other for only a short time. That's so nice to hear, really.

It is bright when the 12:00 am bus pulls in at the Erlian Train Station in Erenhot where the Teams learn at the ticket counter that the train to Ulaan Baatar only departs at 4:00 pm. Don't ask me why this show split the Teams into two buses when they should know that the train leaves at 4:00 pm and therefore everyone will end up on the same train. Anyway, the Christinas decide to look and see whether there are any other trains headed for Ulaan Baatar that will depart earlier. Hilariously, they tell each other that they must sneak off "conspicuously" - I can only hope the editors accidentally chop off the "in" before the "conspicuously" - and they manage to be conspicuous indeed, heh, since the Bennies notice the "blondies" sneaking off to talk to a staff at the station. When the Bennies confront the Christinas, the Christinas deny that they are up to something. This causes the Bennies to tell the camera that they don't trust the two ladies where the "game" is concerned. Are they trying to convince me that they honestly have no idea what the Christinas are doing or that they expect the Christinas to tell them what the ladies are doing? Some people, always trying to find drama where none exists.

SaR2D2 is seated on the stairs outside the station to relax when she notices that there are people around gawking at her artificial leg. These locals actually go as far as to squat down next to SaR2D2 and stare at her leg. Not to be mean or anything but yes, my experience with the Chinese suggest that those people really don't find it rude to stare at people like that. It could be a cultural thing, really, like the Chinese spitting on the streets all over China. Some people from other countries won't take well to such behavior, but the Chinese on the other hand don't see anything out of the ordinary in their actions. SaR2D2 says out loud to Pe3P0 that perhaps she should do a little demonstration. She is good-natured about this situation as she hops a bit on the pavement on her artifical leg and laughing softly with the people watching her. Pe3P0 gives a really bizarre confessional where he actually says that it is "good" that SaR2D2 has a "disability" that they can use to their advantage. Bizarre takes a turn for worse when Pe3P0 starts telling the onlookers that for five renminbi they will get to see SaR2D2 dance. Those locals refuse to pay so Pe3P0 announces that there will be no show then. SaR2D2 says that hey, people pay money at the zoo though. I don't know what to say. These two have better not complain that people view SaR2D2 as some zoo animal after this scene.

The 2:00 am bus shows up at the train station so every Team is going to be on that 4:00 pm train. Won't it be easier if the show just packed the Teams in one bus instead of two? As the Teams meet up, Tom is pleased that they are all starting from "equal ground" again. I believe that is indeed the plan, Tom.

The 4:00 pm train departs, woo-woo, and as the Teams try to pass the time in the train, Tyler once more reminds everyone that he was a junkie. He nearly died, woah, and when he was arrested for the third time, that was when he finally received his "wake-up call" to go sober. Is someone sponsoring him to come on the show to tell everyone to stay away from drugs? I can only imagine what a conversation between the Bennies and GI Joe from the seventh season will be like.

And then the Teams are at Ulaan Bataar, woo-woo, where the Androids are the first to get a cab that will take them to the Choijin Lama Temple. The D&Ds are right behind them, but the thing is, when the Androids' cab turns in one direction, the D&Ds' cab heads in the other direction. Hmm, I hope the D&Ds' cab knows a shortcut rather than having no clue as to where he's supposed to take them. Meanwhile, the Whatevers are the next to get into a cab. As their cab hits the road, it's raining outside and the window at Kimberly's side isn't fully wound up so some rain ends up splashing onto her face. She quickly flinches and asks Rob whether she'll get some disease. Rob gives a "No!" that is part exasperation and part amusement. Call me crazy but I am starting to find him very easy on the eyes, especially when he smiles. The Whatevers' cab driver takes the same turn as the Androids' cab driver. The Bennies are right behind and to their bewilderment, their cab driver takes the same turn that the D&Ds' cab driver took. This should get interesting, heh. The Debbies and the Merry Melodies are the next Teams to leave the airport.

Ahead, Pe3P0 talks about how "this one paid off" while SaR2D2 says that they are in a "good position". What paid off, exactly? What is Pe3P0 talking about? The D&Ds hope that they can do their best in the upcoming tasks, the Whatevers are confident about their cab driver because he's smiling (he can't be smiling because he's on TV, naturally), while the Bennies cross their hearts and hope for the best when it comes to their cab driver. The Merry Melodies' cab driver is trying to overtake other vehicles despite what seems like a traffic standstill building up ahead and the Team is actually worried rather than overjoyed at having an aggressive cab driver. Meanwhile, the Debbies tell the camera that they had someone write down the name of the Temple earlier on and pass the name to the cab driver, so they are confident that they will end up where they need to be. Sure enough, the Debbies are the first to reach the Temple, with the Merry Melodies right behind them. The Whatevers show up next. Still, the Temple doors are closed and there is a sign right by the door that informs these Teams that the Tsam ceremony will take place every ten minutes. Yay, another bunching and it's only ten minutes or so into the show! We can never have enough of bunchings, that's for sure.

As the Androids and the D&Ds are headed... hopefully somewhere, the ceremony begins for the Whatevers, the Debbies, and the Merry Melodies. The Debbies let it be known that they haven't been out of the country before so they are having an "interesting" time seeing "cultures" and people that they don't encounter back home. Isn't that the truth? They, the Merry Melodies, and the Whatevers soon receive their clues from the man wearing that cute Tsam mask. They learn that they are to use what Philo calls "an old military Russian jeep" to a riverbed in Terelj. Philo doesn't mention this on the show but Terelj is part of the Gorkhi-Terelj National Park and is famous for its natural rock formations including the Turtle Rock. That explains the shots of many pretty rocks in this episode every time Terelj is mentioned. Terelj is about 43 miles away. Once Teams reach the riverbed, "a Mongolian nomad" will be waiting with horses. Teams will get on these horses and the nomad will lead them to a meadow where their next clue stand awaits. The three Teams head over to the car park where the jeeps await and sure enough, the first time the show lets the Teams drive themselves in a while is the time when the jeeps in question are those old things that will break down at any moment. Non-spoonfed transportation is only relevant when we need some drama on the Race! The Merry Melodies take off first. Next are the Whatevers with Kimberly saying to Rob, "I love how you're grinding." No, there's nothing dirty whatsoever in that scene, she's referring to how Rob is grinding the brakes. Rob goes hey, it's not him, it's the "car". Yup, when it comes to any issues with the grinding, the man always blames the tool, doesn't it? The Debbies stop at a travel agent called Mongolia Expeditions to ask for directions - fortunately the staff speak good English - but even with the directions they are starting to find it confusing to determine which way they should go.

Ahead, the D&Ds and the Androids finally show up. It looks like both turns will lead to the Temple and it's a matter of which cab driver knows the better shortcut there. In this case, the D&Ds and the Androids turn out to have equally shortcut-impaired drivers, heh. Eh, the Christinas and the Coala Bears are here too. And here I am thinking that they are still stuck at the train station or something! This leaves the Bennies unaccounted for. Where are they? Oops, it looks like they are unlucky this time in the cab driver lottery since they end up at the wrong place. Back to the four Teams that have showed up at the Temple, they watch the Tsam ceremony and get their clue. All of them then dash off to get locations. The Androids go to Mongolia Expeditions while the Coala Bears actually find a local willing to follow them all the way to Terelj. He gets a hug from Mary in the jeep. Ah, the things people do to be on TV. Then again, maybe he doesn't have anything better to do that day. The Christinas locate a helpful fellow who must be either an expatriate or a fellow tourist, who, alas, only goes as far as to tell them the directions to Terelj.

Ahead, the Merry Melodies can only hope that they are not, as they put it, "on the road to nowhere". Behind them, Kimberly gets worried when Rob decides that he knows a better route and takes a different turn from the Merry Melodies but he tells her not to worry because hey, he just knows, you see. "That's why I'm on the Race with you," he tells her. That has to be reassuring. The Debbies meanwhile have stopped at what seems like a convenience store to get directions. Back at the Temple, the Russells and the Wisterias show up, eventually joined by the Bennies just in time to watch the Tsam ceremony. On the road, the Androids are the first Team to show up at Terelj, impressive, followed by the Christinas and the Coala Bears. It says a lot, doesn't it, about the importance of navigation skills in situations like this? If only the show doesn't get so fixated on making sure that Teams come in in about the same order as they leave via artificial methods like charter transportation, I tell you. Anyway, now all the Teams in Terelj have to do is to locate the riverbed of Terelj River.

The trailing three Teams get their clue from the man wearing the Tsam mask back at the Temple. The Russells think the dance is "far out" but it will naturally be further out if they aren't trailing at the back of the pack. Meanwhile, the Wisterias pick up an English-speaking fellow, possibly a tourist, who even travels for a short distance with them, causing them to say that if one asks God for an angel, God will send an angel indeed like the fellow they meet. Let me try if this really works. God, I want a trillion dollars! Ooh, I can't wait for God to send me what I want. Meanwhile, Terry hops out of the jeep at an entry point booth and asks for directions by calling "horse-riding" and doing a cute pantomime of horse-riding, complete with butt-grinding on imaginary saddle action. He seems to have plenty of experience with such pantomimes. He'll be a killer to have on one's team when it comes to party games. He gets rewarded for his actions with a vague direction of "Left!" For all I know, the people at the booth could have simply said that to get what they see as a crazy tourist off their backs. Elsewhere, the Wisterias are starting to worry that they have either misunderstood their angel's directions or the angel has given them wrong directions. Oh dear, if it's the case of the fellow giving them wrong directions, does this mean that the devil sent him to the Wisterias? The Whatevers hit a dead end despite Rob's confidence and I hope this scene isn't a metaphor for their relationship. Rob tells Kimberly that she is "absolutely right" and he's mucked things up. She laughs. See? I can't help liking them even if I am sure they will be edited as the feuding Team even if they may not be as dysfunctional as the casting directors would like them to be. Meanwhile, the Debbies are still struggling to get their bearings.

Effective navigation is most likely the reason for the the Russells ending up at Terelj next. Indeed, the D&Ds, the Wisterias, and the Debbies are still struggling on the road. The D&Ds breathe a sigh of relief when they spot the sign indicating the turn to Terelj and soon the Merry Melodies spot the sign too. The Bennies also spot the sign which means that they are in the right direction. And then the Bennies experience a flat tire. Pffft. And they can't figure out how to use the jack to change the tire. Pffft. The Whatevers show up on the road and Rob is willing to lend the Bennies the jack in the Whatevers' vehicle but he realizes that the jack in question is pretty hard to dislodge from the bottom compartment. At that moment the Wisterias show up on the road, prompting Kimberly to tell Rob that they really need to get moving. Rob reluctantly takes leave of the Bennies. Meanwhile, the Wisterias, bizzarely, stop only to have Karlyn say, "What's going on? Peace out!" before she tells Lyn at the driver's seat, "Go, go, go!" So the Wisterias speed off again, with Karlyn telling Lyn that the Bennies have a flat tire so they are "mad" as a result. "Screw them!" she tells Lyn, adding that they are just here to win. Is that attitude necessary? I wonder what happened behind the scenes that make those two Teams apparently so antagonistic with each other.

Somewhere behind, the Debbies realize that the vehicle ahead of them is stopping. Kellie who's driving has to apply the brakes a result while she and Jamie call the driver a dumbass for stopping while traveling uphill. As to be expected in situations like this, the Debbies realize that their vehicle cannot be restarted. Ahead, the Bennies curse their situation and Tyler thinks that they can't use the jack because the jack has to be broken. Yes, that's it, the jack is broken! James think that maybe the problem is due to the Bennies not knowing how to use the jack but Tyler, who is trying to use the jack, is adamant that the jack is the problem here. Meanwhile, Kellie is panicking, saying that she has no idea what to do while Jamie from the back tries to calm her down. Kellie however insists that they don't have any way out of this mess while the Bennies lament the fact that they too are "done". But then, as it always happen on this show, someone comes over to help the Bennies change the tire - it looks like the jack isn't broken after all, Tyler dear - while the Debbies manage to get moving.

Ahead, SaR2D2 gets ready for some horseback riding by changing her artificial foot - right now SaR2D2 is fitting on one that has a prosthetic foot complete with painted toenails so that she can steady herself on the saddle. They spot the horses waiting for them by the riverbed. Pe3P0 is really weird. When he parks the vehicle, he yells out, "Parking!" as if SaR2D2 or the audience have no clue as to what he is doing. When he sees the horses, he yells out, "Horses!" Maybe he's just a nice guy who is very awkward in his overzealous need to be seen as a macho and protective Captain America to SaR2D2 here but... yes, he comes off as really awkward here. They put on these big furry hats (trivia: such a hat is called a louz) as per instructions and are ready to go. The Christinas show up next and one of them announces as she dons the louz that she's a real Mongolian now so someone please pass her the barbecue. I have no idea what she is talking about or how barbecues become a punchline in Mongolians jokes. Maybe it's a beauty pageant top secret thing that only a select few people can know about. The Coala Bears show up next but unfortunately David drives them right into a muddy pit. No amount of Mary's heckling can get David to get the vehicle out of the pit. The wheels spin harder, mud flies everywhere, and the vehicle sinks deeper into the mud - the same old drill, really.

The Russells show up and as they get acquainted with their horses, the Coala Bears are still stuck in the mud pit. Their helpful local has disappeared, but they think that he's merely gone off to get a tractor. If that is the case, he is sure one helpful fellow to have traveled nearly fifty miles with a bunch of strangers and now going off to look for a tractor to boot. Maybe it's some united fellowship of people in hard labor thing that is at work here. The Coala Bears can only watch as more Teams show up for their horses. Here are the D&Ds and here are the Merry Melodies as well! Whoops, the Whatevers are here! The Wisterias too! For the second time in two episodes Duke is pleased that someone is stuck. There's nothing wrong with that attitude since they are in a Race, of course.

Kimberly wonders whether horses can smell fear. No, but they can bring disease! Run, Kimberly, run! Rob, channeling his inner fanboy, tells her, "Those are, like, bees and dogs or something." She tells the camera that she's not keen on horse riding because horses never listen to her. Is she talking from experience? Maybe she likes horses the way she likes her men, malleable and easy to ride. Oh maybe not, as Rob merely tells her to treat her horse like how she would treat a car as the two of them are on their horses and on the move. "Kick! Kick! Kick!" he tells her, which is never a good idea as it may startle the horse into doing something she is not capable of handling. Kimberly collides with a branch that is right in her way and falls off the horse onto ground. Rob, sitting tightly on the horse, merely goes "Oh my God, dude! I don't know what to do." Well, I can see what he's trying to do - he's obviously trying not to laugh in that scene. Meanwhile, the Wisterias are also on the move, with Lyn once more saying that her kids will be pleased and surprised to see her on the horse. I'm sure they will also think that Aunt Karlyn is a meanie but that's another story. Meanwhile, Rob, still on the horse and still not giving Kimberly a helping hand, tells her that the task supervisors are retrieving the horse that has wandered off while Kimberly's tush is saying hello to the ground. I bet she's happy to hear that they will be bringing back that naughty horse instead of a more steerable car-like one. She sobs about how horses and life suck in general while Rob merely says to the camera, "This is crazy, dude." I have no idea who or what "this" refers to, the situation or, heaven forbid, Kimberly.

The Debbies are still on the road and they hope to reach the riverbed soon. Meanwhile, the Christinas are on the move, wailing "I'm coming home, horsies! I'm coming home!" I think they're trying to do some Legends Of The Fall thingie only to mangle things up somehow in the process. They tell the camera that they intend to be the first all-female Team to actually win the Race. I can always get behind such an intention. They also say that they want to "break stereotypes" on their own. I hope such stereotypes do not include the one where blondes are smart because the more they open their mouths, the further they slip down the intelligence pole. One of them then falls off her horse but her leg is stuck in the stirrup so she ends up getting dragged along the grass for a few miles before her leg slips free. I think when she comes home to the horses, some horses are going to die.

Ahead, the Androids have reached the designated end point of their horse ride where they learn from their clue that it's now time for a Detour. Philo explains that the Detours reflect tasks "essential to the lifestyles of Mongolia's nomadic people". "Take It Down" will see Teams heading over to what Philo calls "traditional Nomadic shelters" called ghers and take down the canvases that cover the roof and the wall of the gher. They will then fold the canvases, tie them into bundles in a specific manner, and load them onto a camel. The Detour supervisor will check to see that the bundles are tied and loaded on the camel correctly before giving them their next clue. Philo says that this Detour will challenge a Team's "packing skills". Now I've heard them all. In "Fill It Up", Teams will load metal jugs onto a cart that will be pulled by a hainag, the Mongolian version of an ox, lead the cart to the river some 500 yards away, and fill four metal jugs with water. The water will then be transferred to a barrel at the starting point. Once the water level in the barrel reaches the designated point, Teams will get their next clue. Philo says that this Detour will test the Teams' relationship with hoofed animals. Or something like that.

The Androids pick the gher Detour because, as they start to take down the canvases and try folding them according to the instructions given to them, SaR2D2 explains that she isn't keen on the other Detour that involves dealing with animals. I wonder what she thinks a camel is. A plant? The Christinas reach the clue stand next and they opt to go for the water Detour. They are given only a ladle to fill their four jugs so one of them uses the ladle while the other uses her shoe. They may not say the smartest things but the Christinas are pretty smart in some aspects of the Race, I must say. One of them takes off her louz, a fact that comes into play later on.

SaR2D2 and Pe3P0 have removed the canvases and each of them are now folding a canvas into a bundle. SaR2D2 has this habit of talking out loud to herself what she is doing, so she goes, "You know what? We folded it over, that's what we did!" Overhearing her and believing that she's talking to him (in the same way that he talks down to her most of the time, by the way), Pe3P0 tells her to stop talking and start focusing on her task. That's a little unnecessary since her talking doesn't seem to be getting in the way of her folding, really. She tells him that she's actually talking to herself so she can just "zip it" if he doesn't like it. No, SaR2D2, don't say such a thing - that only enables Pe3P0's behavior.

The D&Ds and the Russells are on their horses with the Russells moaning out loud to each other that their horses are so slow that they can't overtake the D&Ds who are ahead of them. "Freaking hell!" they say. Meanwhile, the Coala Bears have given up on help to arrive - and apparently, their local guide, heh - and tell the camera that they are waiting for a replacement jeep to show up. Here Philo explains that Teams can request for and receive replacement vehicles if their vehicle breaks down or "becomes inoperable" through no fault of their own. Then the replacement jeep shows up and the Coala Bears move on. Ahead, the Bennies approach the riverbed, saying that anything can happen and they can still be in the Race. Also approaching the riverbed are the Coala Bears with Mary pointing out that she can see some Teams on the horses on their way to the clue stand. The Bennies reach the clue stand first ahead of the Coala Bears.

Ahead, the D&Ds reach the end of their horse ride and decide to opt for gher Detour. They show up and start working just as the Androids are letting the Detour supervisors inspect their bundled-up canvases. SaR2D2 tells the camera that the D&Ds just showed up so clearly this Detour takes up a lot of time and she hopes that the Androids didn't make a mistake by choosing this Detour. Elsewhere, the Debbies have finished filling up their four water jugs and are heading their way back to the Detour site, trying to adjust the speed of the camel so that not too much water is spilled out of the jugs. Back to the Androids, apparently they have misbundled their canvases because the two of them have to rebundle everything all over again. Pe3P0 says to her that this is a horrible Detour to pick and SaR2D2 gamely apologizes to him. The Russells meanwhile opt for the water jug Detour. The Bennies mount their horses. "Aloha! Come on, boy!" one of them hollers while smacking his horse's rump. The Coala Bears are close behind - "Go, go, go!" hollers David as he urges his horse to go faster. Mary's horse is tied to David's horse so she too hollers when her horse goes faster as a result. The Merry Melodies are just behind, not too pleased that the Coala Bears and the Bennies have overtaken them. "Oh shoot!" goes one of the Wisterias as they too hit the pastures with their horses. "This sucks!" goes Rob as he too sits on his horse while Kimberly, opting to walk beside her misbehaving horse, complains that the Whatevers are clearly last. They're not, but the Debbies have already reached the riverbed and are happy to see that they've caught up with the other Teams, so the Whatevers really should hurry.

Back to the gher Roadblock, Pe3P0 is talking out loud what he is doing, so SaR2D2 is not the only one who has that habit. Of course, in his world, only he can do it while SaR2D2 should be quiet and focus on the task at hand. Pe3P0 is soon complaining to SaR2D2 that he can't figure out the kind of knots he's supposed to make and poor SaR2D2 once more rubs her hand against her forehead. Poor SaR2D2, she has only one leg and now she's stuck with a whiny Race partner. Lauren is getting frustrated with the knotting as well but Duke sweetly reassures his daughter who seems to be at the verge of tears not to worry by giving her a kiss on the forehead. He's so sweet. Back to the Androids, Pe3P0 decides that they have to switch Detours. SaR2D2 says that she hates quitting. Pe3P0 just claps his hands at her in his own way of urging her to get moving but his action ends up making it seem like she's his dog. He tells her that they'll just rebound, adding that they aren't quitting, just, er, changing things, I guess. Why is it that if SaR2D2 is the one who wants to switch Detours, I feel that Pe3P0 will be giving her a hard time for quitting?

The Bennies reach the end of their horse ride and they decide to fill it up. This is a good time for them to remind me that they used to be drug addicts but of course they never do. The Coala Bears also decide to fill it up. Ahead, the Androids already have their water jugs loaded on the cart but SaR2D2 realizes once the cart gets moving that the water jugs can easily fall off because the jugs aren't secured on the cart. She hollers for Pe3P0, her "baby", to stop the hainag. Mary, on the other hand, sits on the cart to try and hold the jugs from falling off the cart. Back at the clue stand, the Merry Melodies also opt to fill it up. The Wisterias decide to take it down instead, saying that they are good at taking things down and "leaving nothing behind". The Whatevers also decide to fill it up. They load their water jugs on the cart and Kimberly looks like she's appointed herself the person to lead the hainag to the river. I don't think she wants to climb onto the back of an animal for as long as possible, heh.

Meanwhile, the Bennies have smartly lined their water jugs horizontally along the cart so that they don't fall off. Seriously, I have to admit that these guys are clearly smarter than their whole "Kumbayah, we're ex-crackheads that saw the light!" shtick lets on. They manage to catch up with the Androids who actually went in the wrong direction before they realize their mistake. Here's the thing: the Bennies are on their way when the Androids show up. There is a good distance between them but Pe3P0 immediately cries that the Bennies are in their way. The Bennies merely go, "Sorry, dude!" The Androids' hainag surely disapproves of Pe3P0 because it then starts to run, causing the water jugs to tumble off the cart. Pe3P0 tells SaR2D2 that their hainag has run away. Dude, she is not blind, she can see that. The Bennies laugh, going whoa, look at that thing go, heh, while SaR2D2 bursts into tears. As a local drags the naughty hainag back to them, Pe3P0 tells SaR2D2 that "they" did the best they could and they should try one more time. If the hainag still runs away, that means that creature is "completely spooked" (by Pe3P0). "I know," SaR2D2 reasonably says. However, Pe3P0 can only see her tears and raises his voice, saying that he needs her to be "cool" with him. The thing is, she is crying but she is cool, she's not hysterical or anything. I think Pe3P0 often sees SaR2D2 as weaker and more fragile than she actually is. She once again apologizes to him but when Pe3P0 once more goes into his condescending Prof Higgins mode, she has had enough and snaps at him to stop "lecturing" her and get moving. As she explains to the camera, SaR2D2 cries during the Race but even then, she wants to just keep moving instead of standing there and psychoanalyzing things. Pe3P0 clearly does things differently, she adds. Back to the Race, she tries to explain to Pe3P0 that she is not losing her head, she's just getting "teary" because things are frustrating her at the moment.

The Christinas are back from the river and after pouring their water into the barrel realize that they need to collect more water. So it's back down to the river they go, with one of them calling their hainag a "cute" nickname that I'd rather not repeat here, shudder. Meanwhile, the Androids' hainag just keeps running off, although I suspect Pe3P0's leaning against its side may have something to do with the hainag misbehaving, heh. Maybe it thinks that Pe3P0 smells, who knows. "That thing has fire in its eyes," says Pe3P0 as the hainag runs away once again. Then comes an obviously inserted voiceover that may or may not even be Pe3P0, saying "We're done!" SaR2D2 once more bursts into tears. If she keeps that up, someone is bound to put up a montage of her crying throughout the entire season on Youtube. Anyway, it's back to the gher they go. The Wisterias are trying to tie up the canvases at that moment, with Lyn telling Karlyn how she thinks the knotting should be done. Karlyn snaps that Lyn should perhaps start working as well instead of telling her how to do things. As Lyn sighs and asks Jesus for help while she starts tying things up, she tells the camera that the Wisterias need to work on their communication. What's so funny is Karlyn sitting next to Lyn in that confessional, her back rimrod straight and her face sporting an impressive resemblance to a prune.

The Christinas collect their second round of water and realize that a louz is missing. They must have accidentally dropped it somewhere after one of them took it off earlier. Still, they decide that the louz isn't important so they head back to the Detour supervisor and his barrel. The Russells and the Bennies make it back to their respective barrels where the Russells realize that they need more water. The Merry Melodies are also pouring water into their barrel while the Whatevers are trying to making their way back from the river. Rob is comically trying to bear hug all four water jugs to keep spillage to a minumum. He goes "Ooh! Yeow! Stooop!" and all in a manner that you have to hear yourself to understand how funny he is in that scene, moaning and groaning with his bum thrust up in the air, heh heh heh, until Kimberly has had enough and tells him to shut up, bwahahaha. "You shut up!" is Rob's clever comeback. He's now scolding her for not stopping the hainag when he tells her to. She all but stomps her foot as she gives a hilarious "Ooh!" of frustration. These two are so funny to watch!

The Christinas realize that they have collected enough water to fill up their barrel to the designated level. Yay! Their clue tells them to drive some 47 miles to Hotel Mongolia in Gachurt Village. To get back to their vehicle, they must ride the horses they came here on... while wearing their "safety gear". Since they are missing one louz, they can't get on those horses until they find it! Oh dear. One of the guides points them to a certain direction, apparently because he saw where they dropped it, and the Christinas hope he's right as they run off in that direction. Meanwhile, the D&Ds have their canvases all packed and ready to go, and what do you know, their bundles pass the inspection of the Detour supervisor so they are actually the first Team to finish their Detour! The Androids are back at the ghers and SaR2D2 says out loud to herself as is her habit that they can pull off this Detour. Throughout their work, Pe3P0 keeps going on and on about SaR2D2 needing to be strong and what-not, which is ridiculous considering how he is the one who keeps wanting to switch Detours. The Wisterias' bundles fail to pass the inspection of the supervisor so they decide to switch Detours. They meet the Coala Bears and decide to join forces, although in this case the Wisterias will merely follow the Coala Bears. I hope the Coala Bears are heading off to the river for a second round of water collection because otherwise, I can't imagine what they must be doing to be still unable to reach the river after all this time to even collect a drop of water!

The Russells have collected enough water and are ready to leave... until Godwin realizes that his louz is missing. Tom is bear-hugging the water jugs on the cart as Terry leads their hainag back from the river when they meet the Christinas who are looking for the missing louz. The Merry Melodies tell them that they unfortunately haven't seen the louz. Back at the ghers, the Androids tie their bundles to the camel and the Detour supervisor approves of how they did it this time, so the Androids finally get to leave. Meanwhile, the Whatevers are still at it. Kimberly asks where they should go. Rob says left. However, she keeps going straight so he goes, "Left! Left! LEFT!" Kimberly however only hears the tone of his voice and bursts into tears, saying that he shouldn't yell at her. He isn't yelling at her, he's more like speaking harshly through gritted teeth. But he's frustrated, she's frustrated, so in this situation I think it's hard to pinpoint someone to blame for their latest bust-up. He's correct when he tells her that she's not listening to him and she insists that she's listening the best she can. Rob gets down from the cart and tells her to "look at the camp". She says okay and they get going. This is a pattern with them so far, I notice: they exchange words often, but in the end they do get moving, so they do get things done, just not as efficiently and quietly as some Teams, heh. Meanwhile, the Bennies have collected enough water and shortly after, the Russells find their missing louz so these men are all ready to get back on their horses. The Russells notice that the Christinas, or the Barbies as they call the women, seem to be hunting for something. An odd thought crosses my head: you think it's possible that the Russells end up unintentionally grabbing the Christinas' missing louz?

The D&Ds have reached their vehicle. After a quick count of the vehicles in the area, they realize that they're in first place. The Merry Melodies are finished with their Detour as are the Whatevers, while the Debbies are only now at the clue stand. Did they have significant problems with the horses to arrive so late? The Debbies choose to take down the canvases from a gher, optimistically telling the camera that they can try and sneak back into the Race from the back. The Christinas, meanwhile, are in a spot, with the one who lost the louz crying for letting her partner down while the other Christina, also crying, is reassuring the one crying that everything will be okay. That's why I like the Christinas and the Debbies: all-female Teams that support each other instead of tearing chunks out of each other when time is bad are so rare on the Race. I hope the two Teams will end up okay. The Androids have also reached their vehicle. As they hit the road, Pe3P0 unpleasantly tells Sar2D2, "Well, how bad was that meltdown, sweetie?" and SaR2D2 meekly agrees that she had a meltdown of apparently "bad" proportions. This is really gross of him, especially when she didn't have a meltdown. She just cried as some people do when they are frustrated - she never stopped moving or held back the Team so why is he acting like she needs to be reprimanded? Gross. The Bennies, now on the road, say that anything is possible on this Race since they're now in third place and credit teamwork for their success. What, no mention of how they used to be drug addicts? The Russells are also now on the road.

The Wisterias and the Coala Bears get down to work by the river while the Merry Melodies and the Whatevers hit the road as it begins to rain. Rob tells Kimberly that he wasn't yelling at her back then, he just didn't know how to say things to her in that situation. "If you know what I mean?" he tells her. Hmm, I do know what he means. Kimberly says simply, "Yeah." To the camera, she says that Rob needs to learn that he can't speak to her in that apparently heinous manner that he did. He didn't yell at her but I suppose once she's on the high horse, there's no getting her back down to earth. Back at the gher site, the Debbies are working when they spot the Christinas wandering around looking all teary-eyed and lost. They wonder whether the Christinas are just "chilling" after finishing their Detour (ha, ha, very funny, girls) and decide whatever the Christinas are doing, they allow the Debbies a chance to catch up with them. Meanwhile, the Coala Bears are done with their water collection and realize that they have one extra water jug to spare once they've filled their water barrel. They pass this extra water jug to the grateful Wisterias. At this point, the Wisterias have been nothing more than lucky beneficieries of the kindness of other Teams, haven't they?

The Christinas eventually have their louz returned to them by the guide and they are appropriately grateful and relieved to be on their way. The Wisterias finally fill up their barrel while the Debbies are done with their Detour, apparently at about the same time if the editing is to be believed. The Debbies' packing is very messy and one bundle looks like it's going to unravel but I suppose with the rain and all, even the Detour supervisors have limits on their patience when it comes to waiting for Teams to finish up. The Christinas overtake the Coala Bears on their horses, with one of them going, "It's the bumpkins!" when they see the Coala Bears. Really, these two ladies will be so much more likeable if they will stop saying all these unfortunately stupid things so often. I hope they don't put a dainty foot in their mouths in Kendra-like proportions when they reach, say, India or Africa. Ahead, the poor D&Ds are first overtaken by the Androids and then the Bennies. What is Duke doing? Step on the gas, buddy!

Back at the Roadblock site, the Debbies and the Wisterias hop into their vehicles and realize that the vehicles - yes, both vehicles - won't start. This is just isn't the Debbies' day, the poor things while the Bennies must be laughing at the Wisterias' plight. On the road, the Russells' vehicle breaks down too. They try to flag down a passing truck for help but the truck driver can't offer any help to them. The Merry Melodies pass by without stopping with Tom telling the camera that they can't help since none of the Merry Melodies can fix a car. The Whatevers also pass the Russells with Rob saying to Kimberly that they can't just stop and waste time as his reason for not stopping to check on the Russells. The Christinas and the Coala Bears also pass the Russells, none of them looking exactly sorry for the Russells, heh. Someone eventually stops his vehicle to help the Russells and after some fixing, the vehicle gets moving again. Erwin bows politely as he thanks the helpful fellow but that fellow just walks past without acknowledging him, how amusing. As the Russells resume their journey to Gachurt Village. Godwin says sarcastically that he's so in love with Mongolia at that moment.

Back at the Roadblock site, the Debbies get a helpful fellow to start their vehicle via the crank from under the hood method. Lyn, seeing that fellow's action, attempts to do the same on the Wisterias' vehicle. The Debbies are thrilled when their vehicle is finally functioning again and they hit the road, glad that they are not in last place. Karlyn, now working on the crank, says that the situation "sucks". Eventually the Wisterias manage to get someone to finally get the vehicle all working again and they too hit the road. Ahead, the Bennies and the Androids reach Hotel Mongolia where they discover that it's now time for a Roadblock. "Who's ready to aim high?" says the clue. Philo explains that this Roadblock involves "an ancient Mongolian archery training exercise", which turns out to be (duh) an archery thingie where the person performing the Roadblock has to use a modern-looking "traditional bow" and send a flaming arrow into a target, a wok-like thingie, some 160 feet away. Once the target ignites, Teams can then head over to the Pit Stop, a pavillion overlooking the site. By the way, if the Hotel looks familiar in a way, that's because it is built to resemble the layout of the Forbidden City in China.

Tyler and Pe3P0 take this one. After a few tries, Pe3P0 gets his target ignited first. I am really tired of Pe3P0 at this point: as they run to the Pit Stop, he tells SaR2D2 to run faster to "prove to everybody" that her training works or something. Since he's her designated coach, what he's saying is that he wants her to prove that he has done some great things to her, as if he's Dr Frankenstein and she's the monster that he has created. Dance, SaR2D2, dance! Show the world what a great master Pe3P0 is! Ugh. The Androids come in first, so Philo gifts them with a Travelocity-sponsored trip to Mexico where they will stay in a great hotel , swim with dolphins, and explore some jungles. SaR2D2, whose confessionals in this episode nearly all see her without Pe3P0 hovering by her side, tells the camera that she's starting to realize "things" about Pe3P0. "And I'm not always impressed with that. I make no judgments right now, but I'm making note of it," she says. That's something I definitely approve of, especially if she dumps his ass at the end of their run on the Race.

Tyler finally gets to hit his target, so he and James are team number two. They don't kiss or anything, not that I expect them to, although I don't mind hearing another sweet confessional about how they complete each other or something. After all, there are so many gung-ho and violence-prone males on TV, we need more men who are all about the love, you know?

The D&Ds show up at the Hotel and Lauren takes the Roadblock. Meanwhile, the Debbies are told to go back where they came from and they do, meeting the Wisterias who charge ahead in the direction the Debbies came from. One of them is definitely headed in the wrong direction, oh dear. Lauren, meanwhile, has a few failed attempts but finally hits the target and the D&Ds are so excited as they check in with Philo at third place. Duke's the sweetest daddy ever, isn't he? The Merry Melodies reach the Hotel while Lauren is attempting her archery debut and Tom takes it. He can't even get the arrow to stay on the bow in his first attempt, heh, but eventually he manages to hit the target and sets it on fire. The Merry Melodies are the fourth Team to check in.

The Whatevers and the Christinas show up at the Hotel and Kimberly and, er, Dustin take one for their respective Teams. Rob predictably starts saying how horrible it is when Kimberly keeps missing the target and she tells him to cram it. He meekly says that he's not going to say anything anymore. The Coala Bears are here and Mary pretty much orders David to do this one. Dave comically can't even get his arrow to fly - it remains stuck to his bow. Eventually he gets into the swing of things just as Dustin does too. Dustin gets her target to ignite first. Rob, seeing Dustin and probably wishing at that moment that Dustin is his girlfriend instead of Kimberly, tells Kimberly to hurry up. "Babe, I know," Kimberly all but growls back at him. He shuts up again. The Russells show up at the Hotel in the meantime and both of them seem convinced that they are lousy archers. Erwin eventually volunteers for this Roadblock. Meanwhile, the Christinas check in as team number five.

Rob is telling Kimberly to pull back her muscles or something and she hits the wooden barricade in front of her. She grits her teeth and gives this grimace to Rob as she goes, "Babe, I know." Rob looks down sheepishly but he's grinning. I think he actually likes it when his woman gets all tough and mean on him! Mary and Godwin watch as their Team partners launch their arrows and Godwin cries out in exasperation when Erwin nearly hits his target, missing only by this little distance. The Debbies are still on the road, as are the Wisterias, and one of them are screwed, sigh. Kimberly finally hits her target. Thrilled, the Whatevers leap into each other's arms. Aren't they cute? Sheesh, I'm starting to find nearly every Team cute on this Race. I think that's a good sign. David sets his target on fire too, although as they run for the pavillion, Mary complains that she's twisted her ankle. Ahead, the Whatevers come in sixth while the Coala Bears finish up in seventh place. And then, Erwin hits his target and the Russells come in eighth.

Two teams are left on the road and the one to reach the Hotel first are... the Wisterias. Lyn takes this one and eventually she hits the target so the Wisterias check in at ninth place. And eventually, the Debbies show up at the Hotel where one of them, Kellie, takes the Roadblock. To cap off the worst day for the Debbies, Kellie just can't hit the target even as the day becomes very dark. As she tells the camera, she fires off more than a hundred arrows, so I can understand when she tearfully tells Jamie that she can't shoot anymore and they may as well head over to Philo and get eliminated. Jamie understands and shushes Kellie as Kellie talks about how she has failed Jamie. These two ladies are really sweet and I will miss their optimistic outlook on the Race. Why oh why do they have to meet someone who tell them to go the wrong way?

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