Amazing Race 24 All Stars 2 Blog Recap Episode 7 “The Gladiators Are Here!”

After a week without a new Amazing Race episode and all of the Reality Rally festivities this weekend, I had to go back and skim my blog to remember everything that happened. If you’re not following me on Twitter, you should at least visit my page to see all of the awesome picture captions I sent out to everyone at Reality Rally on Sunday morning. I hear they were a big hit! I’m @thedolphinpoet on Twitter.

So, we’re in Sir Lanka still and the Afganimals are the first to leave at 2:41pm. The clue says that teams must make their way to the “EternalCity”, but that is their only clue that their next destination is Rome, Italy. The Cowboys leave next followed by Dave, Conner, Brenchel, etc. blah blah blah; it doesn’t matter when the teams leave the starting gate because they are all going to be on the same direct flight to Rome. This pleases the Blondes very much because they have a speed bump to complete since they came in last during the non-elimination leg in the previous episode.

The teams arrive in Rome, some load onto a bus on the tarmac and some hop into taxis outside the airport to make their way to the Detour. Gladiator requires that both members of the team learn a series of sword fighting maneuvers before confronting a seasoned gladiator to entertain the gathered crowd. In Charioteer, which I spelled correctly on the first try, teams must race remote control horse-drawn chariots around a course five times in a minute and 30 seconds. The catch with this challenge is that one team member controls the turning, the other controls the speed. The Blondes must also complete their Speed Bump, which entails getting a typewriter then bringing it to a building called “The Typewriter” – super easy…

Detour: Brenchel arrives first and they decide to give the chariots a go; Jessica and John are behind them, but since John had done martial artsy stuff, they pick to go up against the gladiator. Rachel informs us that the last time they were in Italy during the race, she freaked out, but they are putting that behind them, and they are glad they have some time alone on the course to work out the kinks. Oh, and Rachel says that she and Brendon love to dress up – TMI, RACHEL! TMI! Oh, and everyone is disappointed that the chariots aren’t being pulled by real horses. And by everyone I mean everyone except John and Jessica because before long, Brenchel is joined by the Afganimals, then Dave and Conner, then the Globetrotters…

The Blondes breeze through the typewriter thing, but in the gladiator ring, Jon is having trouble not using his shield in the first round while Jessica is killing it! Her game face is ON! Back at the chariots, Brenchel and the Afganimals are crashing into each so much that when Dave and Conner arrive, the Afganimals are out of there! They decide to switch Detours since it seems that everyone is choosing chariots, making the task more difficult. It was a good choice because on their fifth lap, Dave and Conner get taken out by Brenchel. She swears it wasn’t on purpose and now she’s asking if Brendon wants to switch, the show goes to commercial and when we get back to the show, Brendon wants to switch and Rachel wants to tough it out. It’s around this time that the Blondes finish their Speed Bump and decide to head over to the chariot race.

So, Jon’s in the gladiator ring again, but this time he completes the moves correctly pushing him and Jessica into first place as they make their way to the next location, the Piazza Di Spanga – the Spanish Steps. They get into a taxi and the driver doesn’t seem to know where to take them. At the chariot race, one of the Cowboys, I think, makes a joke that the chariots are like taxi drivers from Sri Lanka – ha ha ha ha ha. Despite the chaos on the course, though, Brenchel finishes and joins the J Team on their way to the steps. The Cowboys, Dave and Conner are not far behind them and the Globetrotters are glad to have the track to themselves for a bit because it helps them get through it quickly. Now the Blondes are by themselves and they just going to consider themselves eliminated enjoy the day’s activities and just have fun. I think it’s that “let’s just have fun with this” attitude that helped them focus and stay calm…

Road Block: The Spanish Steps, the widest steps in all of Europe. One person from each team must count the steps and use the roman numerals on the Obelisk in the plaza at the top of the steps that indicates what year it was erected to… Ya know what what? There’s math involved and the whole point is to write a roman numeral on a postcard to show it to a “happy couple on a scooter” (Eddie Izzard shout out – CAIO!) to receive their next clue. Brenchel arrives first and Brendon gets to work on the task, which he explains better than I do, but still has about the same level of understanding and he gets a lot of help from the locals/tourists in the area. Rachel seems “happy” that they have gone from the back of the pack to the front of the pack, but she’s obviously being coached by the producers or something because instead of happy, she actually seems very antsy for Brendon to finish.

So the Afganimals are totally getting into this gladiator challenge – they feel like kids again, watching Russell Crowe and Brad Pitt movies… Um… Are the Afganimals young enough to have been kids when Troy and Gladiator were released? I’m not doing the research, it’s not important, but I’m thinking they were a little older than kids… Anyway! They are really getting into the challenge and I’m sure our BB Canada 2 blogger, Dana, is loving this as she’s watching it. The Afganimals pass the challenge easily, but they are in last place at this point because even the Blondes have finished the chariot challenge and are on their way to the Spanish Steps. It’s okay, though, because most everyone is having a real problem finding this place.

Brendon is still working on the Detour when Dave and Conner arrive, looking for the clue box and they are a little annoyed that Rachel doesn’t tell them exactly where it is. Whatever, Dave and Conner! I didn’t see you, Dave, telling Rachel that she was doing that car thing wrong in the last episode and it probably would have helped YOU out to tell her that she needed to look at the colored cards on the windshields, but whatever because almost as soon as the father/son duo arrive, Brendon is done and #teamglittersparkles, dunno where I got that from, is on their way to the Pit Stop and they finish the leg in first place, winning a trip to Australia. You gave me goosebumps, Rachel, when you guys hit that mat. Not sure if that’s a sign that you’re going to win or not, but goosebumps are always my indicator that I’m witnessing something amazing/important/meant to be.

Moving on! We still have a last place team to eliminate – and it IS an elimination leg because the season is almost over so it’s all or nothing now unless you want to go home. Dave, Conner and the Blondes are the only other teams working on the Road Block and they are helping each other. Oh, the Blondes just love Dave and Conner more than everything! They both finish and make their way to the Pit Stop where Dave and Conner graciously let the girls take second place, because they just love those girls. Awww! Isn’t that just so sweet! And the Blondes are just so happy that they went from last to second place!  The Cowboys are the next to check-in will Phil, Express Pass still in their possession, which they have to use during the next leg, which they think will prove to be a big target on their backs.

Flight time is tackling the task for the Globetrotters and he’s really struggling with it; he doesn’t know anything about roman numerals, (my memory is a little fuzzy too), and he doesn’t think he will be able to figure out this one. The Afganimals, Jessica and John finally arrive and before you know it, with help from a tourist, the Afganimals are quickly ready to leave, but first… Jessica begs them for help. Flight Time quickly makes his way down the steps and the desperate deal is made – The Afganimals will help the other teams, everyone is pretty sure the Blondes are still behind them, as long as everyone promises to not U-Turn them in the next leg, or beat them in this leg. Deal! John rushes back to get a postcard and everyone is good to go – Jamal is the man! Really, though, I didn’t start out as an Afganimals fan, but when they took apart their puzzle in that task last season – omg – such a great move that people rarely think about on the shows I watch – Respect!

When the Afganimals arrive at the Pit Stop, Phil pretty much ignores them to give instructions to the camera people – Get them, it’s a foot race. The Globetrotters get there first, though and Jessica and John are eliminated. Next week, double U-turns! Gloves are coming off! Leg eight is going to be dirty! Tune in to the Amazing Race on CBS on Sundays at 8/7c. You can also recap every episode with Eric, Jon and their awesome guests every week live or you can watch the edited versions later. Don’t forget to “like” and subscribe on YouTube!

And a HUGE shout out to an artist I discovered on Twitter, Sandika Rakhim. His illustrations are in the featured image of this blog post and if you follow him on Twitter @rakhim_ or go to his Deviant Art space, you can check out the rest of his work. I highly encourage you to do so. (And watch some videos by Nick Callas – he’s so talented…)! 😉