The Amazing Race 10, Episode 2: Kids, Don’t Try This at Home

Previously on How Long ‘Til These People Start Annoying Me?: 12 teams set off for Beijing. Some teams took an instant disliking to Sarah because of the advantages she gets for having an artificial leg. Bilal & Sa’eed were unexpectedly eliminated. Teams had to climb the Great Wall of China to get to the Pit Stop. Tyler & James were first. Mary thought she and David were last, but it was actually Vipul & Arti, unfortunately. Ten teams remain:

Tyler & James (Team Zoolander) - Models/recovering drug addicts. I’m stealing their nickname from either Tom & Terry or Jamie & Kellie

Duke & Lauren - Father and daughter/Sentimental favorites/NOT dating

Peter & Sarah - Recently dating/Sentimental favorites/She’ll kick your butt with one leg tied behind her back

Dustin & Kandice - Friends/Didn’t predict them coming in fourth, did ya?

Rob & Kimberly - Dating/Early candidates for the annoying ones

Kellie & Jamie - Friends/Cheerleaders/Don’t know the difference between Buddha and Muhammad

Erwin & Godwin - Brothers/Need better luck

Tom & Terry - Dating/Not a cartoon cat and mouse

Lyn & Karlyn (Team Dublyn) - Friends/Need to leave Sarah & Peter alone

Mary & David - Married/Sentimental favorites/Let’s hope they don’t implode

Greetings from the Great Wall of China. Will Peter & Sarah stay ahead, even though her prosthetic leg is leaking hydraulic fluid? Will Mary & David get out of last place, even without travel experience? Zoolander are the first to leave at 9:04 p.m. They’re heading to Ulaanbaatar, the capital of outer Mongolia, by bus and train. There, they’ll have to find a temple and observe a ceremony before getting the next clue. Tyler interviews that having this experience in sobriety is unbelievable. I guess he might have had a similar experience in his thoughts while not so much in sobriety, depending on his drug of choice. They want to have fun in every situation possible. The guys are the first to sign up for a 12:00 bus, and they’ll have a two-hour lead on the second bus.

Duke & Lauren leave next and Duke interviews that he views gay people differently now that his daughter is a lesbian. She says she wants him to see beyond her being gay. They meet up with Zoolander and get on the same bus. Peter & Sarah are next. Sarah says her knee is still leaking, and it’s still like riding with a flat tire. She just has to keep moving forward. They’re also on the 12:00 bus. Kandice & Dustin leave next, climbing over a fence. Dustin says that they were paired as roommates at the Miss America pageant. She thinks they need each other as friends because in their competitive world, you can’t count on a lot of people. It looks like they’re the last team on the 12:00 bus.

Rob & Kimberly leave fifth. Kimberly says they’ve been together a little over two years and blah blah blah should we stay together? They’re the last team on the first bus. Kellie & Jamie leave next. Kellie says they’re closer because of cheerleading and they motivate each other to do better. At the bus depot, Zoolander tease them for missing the first bus. Erwin & Godwin leave seventh. Godwin says it’s a competition, but they’re hoping they can build some relationships and find some people they trust to get through the race with. They’re not happy to be on the second bus.

Tom & Terry declare the idea of going to outer Mongolia “amazing.” They definitely know which show they’re on. Tom says they’ve traveled independently but not as a couple. It’ll be a challenge making decisions together, but they hope it works out. Dublyn leave ninth and Karlyn says the biggest thing she wants to take from the race is to be able to tell her daughter what she can do. David & Mary leave next, and they’re just an hour and 25 minutes behind Zoolander, so there must not have been much of a gap in time at the Great Wall on the last leg. David wants to run but Mary points out that they’re all on the same bus. He interviews that she’s blunt and would tell the President he’s wrong. So many comments, so little time. That’s what he loves about her the most.

Despite being on the second bus, Mary is happy with the teams she and David will be traveling with. She’s making friends with people she never would have thought she’d met, like Godwin & Erwin, whom she loves to death. Kellie & Jamie and Tom & Terry do their cheer from the last episode. Mary and David interview that they’ve never been around gay people, but Mary likes them. They’re so adorable, and I don’t mean that in a condescending way. They’re just so great.

The first bus heads off. At the bus depot, everyone dances while Kellie & Jamie lead. Mary tries to get David to dance. Tom (I think) interviews that he never though there would be so much bonding in such a short amount of time. Terry (I guess) says there are great competitors there and they’re having fun. The bus ride to the train station shows off some beautiful scenery. The first teams get on a 4:00 train. Kandice & Dustin sneak off to do some research, making the strategic decision not to share all their info. Zoolander follow them and find them chatting with a couple of train station employees.

Outside, Sarah shows off her prosthetic leg. Peter says they’ll use the disability to their advantage. He tries to make some money off of her and Sarah says they’d pay at a zoo. Peter’s a little weird. The second group shows up at the train station and Tom is glad that they’ve caught up with the others. He and Terry say goodbye to China before getting on the train, which carries all of the teams. They go through the Gobi desert, which boasts a gorgeous sunset. Tyler tells us that he got his wakeup call when he was arrested for the third time (!) and realized that his life would end either in jail or through death. Everything since then has been like a dream.

Everyone disembarks in Ulaanbaatar and head off in taxis. It’s raining and the taxi drivers are heading in different directions. Sarah thinks she and Peter are ahead. Duke & Lauren and Rob & Kimberly hope they are. Jamie notes that a customs official wrote down the name of the temple in Mongolian, which may be an advantage for them. In fact, it is, because they’re the first team to the temple. It looks like they can only go in every ten minutes. Tom & Terry are the second, followed by Rob & Kimberly. Sarah & Peter aren’t sure where they are. The first three teams head into the temple and observe the ceremony, which is basically dancing and musicians playing. Kellie & Jamie note that they haven’t traveled much so it’s interesting to them to experience some new cultures. The teams applaud the ceremony and get their clue, which tells them to drive a Russian military jeep to Terelj, where they’ll ride horses two-and-a-half miles led by a nomad to a meadow.

Tom & Terry sneak into first place. Kimberly thinks Rob is grinding, but it’s actually the jeep. Hee. Kellie & Jamie pause to get directions, but they’re still not sure where to go. Peter & Sarah and Duke & Lauren get to the temple, followed by Dustin & Kandice and David & Mary. Tyler & James wind up at the wrong place. Duke & Lauren get their clue and Lauren suggests getting directions. Duke thinks they should find someone who knows where they’re going. Hey, why didn’t I think of that? More direction-getting. Kandice & Dustin are lucky enough to find a man who looks to be American or Canadian and who is fluent in English. David & Mary grab a friendly local and Mary gives him a hug in the back seat.