This leg of The Amazing Race begins with teams learning that they are going to be flying to London! Jim informs us that there are two flights, and only six teams will be allowed on the faster flight, which arrives about an hour and twenty minutes earlier than the second flight. The first six teams to depart from the pit stop this morning – the dentists, Tim & Te Jay, the cyclists, the wrestlers, the surfers, and the scientists – easily get tickets on the faster flight. In an attempt to liven things up a bit, production shows footage of Bethany recounting how she lost her shoe last leg, but thankfully Amy gave her a pair of sneakers. I have a feeling that Bethany and Adam might win the race, since the producers keep showing such positive edits of them, and giving them so much air time. The first 6 teams make it to London and receive a clue from an adorable couple with pearls adorning their clothes. The teams will now face a detour – either join the Queen’s guard or participate in the annual parliamentary pancake race. In About Face, teams must dress as guards and learn an intricate drill that requires them to perform specific steps while following a series of commands. Pancake Race requires teams to dress as chefs, make the perfect pancake, then run a course in under 1 minute and 15 seconds while flipping their pancake consistently in a skillet.
Out of the first six teams, the soul surfers are the only ones to choose Pancake Race. I thought that this detour would be harder, but Bethany and Adam finish it on the first try and are now in first place. They must travel by train from Paddington Station to Oxford, then search the waterfront for their next clue. Even though Misti looks like she is making a lot of mistakes, she and Jim receive the next clue on their second attempt at marching. Kym and Alli also get the clue on their second try, and Kym gives the guard in charge a kiss on the cheek, which he doesn’t seem to appreciate. The mom/daughter team arrive, stressing out Tim & Te Jay a bit, since this means that teams from the second flight are now caught up. Team Nashville, the firefighters, and Dennis & Isabelle choose the pancake race. It’s trouble in paradise for Team Nashville when they don’t finish the race in 
time and are forced to start over. Keith blames Whitney, saying that she needs to run faster, and refusing to accept her excuse that the skirt doesn’t allow her to move much. The Soul Surfers make it onto the first train, leaving the dentists and the cyclists on a train together. Both sides of the detour are causing teams to struggle; the guard in charge of the marching detour keeps rudely telling teams that they aren’t up to par, while the firefighters can’t make a proper pancake and the other 2 teams at the pancake detour can’t finish the race in time. Keith proclaims,”Failed it! I knew it,” when Dennis & Isabelle fall short of the finish line. Whitney tells Keith to be nice, to which he responds that she should be nice, because she’s good at that. This editing is not making Keith seem like a great guy, he’s just coming off as arrogant and a bit incompetent. Tim & Te Jay finish the detour successfully, with the scientists earning a clue soon after. The mother daughter team gets a clue, then team country completes the detour. The firefighters finally are able to start the race, but one of them drops his pancake seconds after the race begins, sending them back to the stove.
Bethany and Adam arrive at the roadblock, Drop Back and Punt, which requires one team member to stand on the flat cambridge end of a punt while their teammate stands on the Oxford end, and complete a lap around the canal. Adam decides to do this roadblock. Michael & Scott manage to finish the race with plenty of time to spare, but they don’t pass since they didn’t flip their pancakes enough. Isabelle & Dennis did do the task correctly, and they receive their next clue. The wrestlers are still stuck at the detour, with Brooke having a great deal of trouble executing the steps. Isabelle & Dennis, the scientists, the mother/daughter team, and the country team make it onto the same train. After many fails, both the firefighters and the wrestlers finally complete the detour. Adam & Bethany finish the roadblock and are off to Christ Church College to find their next clue. The dentists reach
the end of the route, only to discover that Jim was standing on the wrong end of the punt. As they head back to the start of the roadblock, the cyclists ask why they have to restart. Jim won’t give the cyclists a straight answer, he just says that they will need to redo the roadblock as well. Kym and Alli realize that they are on the wrong ends of the punt, and they restart the roadblock as more teams arrive. Towards the end of the route, the dentists bump into Keith and Whitney, causing Whitney to fall into the canal. Their sarcastic, “Sorry Whitney,” reminds me why I didn’t like them initially. I doubt they did it on purpose, but they could have sincerely apologized for soaking Whitney.
Meanwhile, at Christ Church College, the soul surfers face a crucial decision – do they follow a clue leading them on a search for the express pass, or do they head to the pit stop to ensure their safety in the competition? Obviously, they choose to look for the express pass, which is far more valuable than coming in first place in this leg. The dentists and the cyclists finish the roadblock, while Whitney manages to fall in the water again. Of course, it was as she said that they were doing well, since she only fell in once. Tim & Te Jay are struggling with this task; the firefighters pass both Tim & Te Jay and Dennis & Isabelle. The soul surfers get the express pass, and find the clue for the pit stop when Adam’s hat falls off his head and reveals a picture of Churchill’s birthplace, Blenheim Palace. Jim & Misti receive their next clue, and decide to head directly to the pit stop under the (correct) assumption that the surfers will have already claimed the express pass. Whitney & Keith finish the roadblock, and as 
they leave, Whitney asks if she was the only one who fell in. Cue the montage of Isabelle, Nici, Shelley, and Maya falling off their punts multiple times. And here comes the moment this episode was named after – Nici insists that she can’t wait any longer, and squats on the side of the punt to pee as people around her point and laugh. If she was worried about being discreet (which she clearly wasn’t), she could have just pretended to fall into the water instead of going to the bathroom while still being in the boat. Bethany & Adam come in first, even with the time loss due to searching for the express pass, and win a trip to Sweden. The greeter this leg of the race is Winston Churchill (or an impersonator)! The dentists reach the mat second, with the cyclists coming in 3rd. The wrestlers surpass several teams and move on pass the roadblock. Nici & Shelley are struggling a lot, which they say is especially difficult for them because they are such huge fans of the game, and now they’re fighting for last place.
Keith & Whitney are 4th, Tim & Te Jay are 5th, Michael & Scott are 6th, Brooke & Robbie are 7th, and Maya & Amy are 8th to arrive at the mat. Team mother/daughter finds the next clue, but assumes that Churchill’s birthplace is a museum (because that definitely makes sense) and they run off in a random direction. Dennis & Isabelle are last to find the clue, but I’m really hoping they can make it to the mat in 9th place, because they were very sweet to each other during this tough leg, whereas Shelley & Nici just yelled at each other a lot. In the cab on the way to the pit stop, both teams cried and comforted each other. Shelley & Nici make it to the mat first, and are in 9th place. Dennis & Isabelle are last to arrive at the mat, and are eliminated. They handled it pretty well, with Dennis reassuring Isabelle that it was ok.
I’m disappointed that Dennis & Isabelle were eliminated, because I feel like it’s pretty rare on TAR to see couples that constantly comfort each other instead of tearing each other apart when things get tough. I do think that the mother/daughter team will make semi good entertainment, since they can be pretty funny in an oddball sort of way. What did you think of this episode of TAR season 25? Do you have any predictions as to who will win, or who production favors? Next week, it looks like one of the firefighters gets a pretty nasty ankle injury. Let me know how you think this season will play out in the comments below – who do you think will be eliminated next?
