Race to the Altar, Episode 6: Delayed Gratification

Last week on Race to the Altar, Ethan & Carolyn and Tonya & Andree won the two challenges to be Power Couples. Although Coyt and Susan were tough competitors, the two Power Couples chose to honor their commitment to them, voting out Chris and Cindy. After the elimination ceremony, Chris and Cindy got married in Vegas in a ceremony that apparently took place a few hundred years ago, given Cindy’s comments about being Chris’s responsibility.

Now that there are only three couples left, the game changes. There will be four challenges in 24 hours. At the end of the day, one couple will be eliminated.

At the Venetian, Coyt and Susan begin their day by bickering in their hotel room. Susan calls Coyt “conniving.” Tonya and Andree wonder what’s next, but are confident that they’re up for it. Andree says, “Let’s have our battle plan prepared now.” Meanwhile, Ethan and Carolyn also think about what’s ahead. Ethan says, “Now we just have to win.” Carolyn replies, “No, all we have to do is not lose.” They agree that now that they’re in the final three, commitments are meaningless, and it’s every man for himself.

The three couples meet with Lisa, who explains this part of the race in a little more detail. As we learned before, there will be four legs of the race in the next 24 hours. The winner of the race will be the sole Power Couple and will eliminate one other couple. The first challenge is called “Get Me to the Church on Time.” The couples are given a Polaroid camera and a hundred dollars. Their challenge is to race to wedding chapels and have strangers take their picture in front of them. The couple with the most pictures after 90 minutes wins this leg of the race. Ethan and Carolyn jump in a cab. Tonya and Andree do the same, taking that time to get their camera ready. Coyt and Susan take off running. Carolyn says she feels confident about the challenge. Susan does not like Coyt’s strategy of running first, but he’s convinced the other couples will be wasting time looking for a cab. Susan stops to get a map. Tonya and Andree have trouble loading the camera. Ethan and Carolyn are the first to find a chapel, followed by Tonya and Andree, who have thankfully figured out their camera. Carolyn gets frustrated when their cab’s path is blocked by a truck. Ethan tries to calm her down, saying, “Just don’t kill and eat anyone yet.” Carolyn answers, “I might have to.”

Meanwhile, Coyt and Susan are still running, and Susan is none too pleased. She tells Coyt that he’s going to wear her out on the first leg of the race. Finally, they get in a cab, and Coyt hands the driver the hundred dollar bill and asks him to hit as many chapels as possible. Ethan thumbs through their stack of Polaroids and says he hopes they get to keep the pictures. That would be a really cool souvenir. We see all three couples taking lots of pictures as time runs out – it’s time to meet Lisa in front of the Graceland chapel.

Ethan and Carolyn are the first to arrive. They feel confident that they won. Coyt and Susan are next, also feeling confident. Tonya and Andree make it back just in the nick of time. They feel good about their chances because they were last to arrive. Lisa says the winner of the leg won’t be revealed until the altar ceremony. That’s disappointing.

The couples jump into Hummers to head to the next leg of the race. On the drive, Susan says, “We didn’t come here to form friendships. No matter what happens, only one [couple] can win this wedding.” The couples arrive at Lake Mead at 11:20 in the morning. Lisa tells them that this leg of the race is called “With This Ring.” The couples are all on jet skis. They will race one mile to a red buoy, stopping along the way at two other buoys, where they will grab rings. At the red buoy, they’ll turn around and race back. On the way, they will stop at a flag, put the rings on the flagpole, and continue to the finish. The first couple to finish wins. It’s the only leg of the race where the couples will go head-to-head and know the winner right away.

Carolyn says she’s excited about the challenge, but that was before she realized Ethan had never been on a jet ski before. Why isn’t she driving? It doesn’t seem right to assume that the guys would all drive, yet that’s what’s happening. As the couples race, Andree finds that it’s hard to steer, which is making the challenge very hard. At the halfway mark, Coyt and Susan are way ahead. Ethan vows to keep going, hoping they’ll make a mistake by dropping a ring or something. Coyt and Susan do make a mistake – Susan misses the flag on the first pass, so they have to turn around and try again. The other couples gain some ground, but Coyt and Susan still finish first. Carolyn and Ethan are next, followed by Tonya and Andree. Tonya is still holding one of the rings, so it looks like they didn’t even finish the task. Andree can’t believe Coyt and Susan won yet another challenge. He says, “Damn, can they lose? Are they human?” Not to worry, Andree. If they were cyborgs programmed only to win, they wouldn’t spend so much time arguing.

The couples drive to a part of the dessert called the Valley of Fire. That is a one bad-ass geographical name. On the way, Carolyn says that she and Ethan have the strongest relationship by far. They agree that if they win they will eliminate Coyt and Susan. Coyt and Susan also talk about who to eliminate. Susan refuses to talk about it until they win. Andree dooms everyone by saying he doesn’t think the challenge will be that hard. The temperature outside for the next challenge is 105 degrees. The challenge is called “Bridal Shower.” Couples will stand in a tank filled with ice water while a cold shower rains on their heads. Whichever couple stays in the tank for the longest wins. Everyone will go separately so no one will know anyone else’s time.