The Amazing Race Episode 21.04 Funky Monkey

SUPER FANS FALL SHORT

In Dhaka, Bangladesh, rock star, James, and lawyer, Abba, took a Fast Forward to win the leg while substitute teachers Gary & Will couldn't extend their lucky streak. ALL OUT WAR Departing the Pit Stop in first place at 9:52pm, dating divorcees Abbie & Ryan ripped open their clue and discovered they had to fly north over 2,600 miles to Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, and make their way to a bus repair shop. With the earliest flight to Dhaka departing at 10:00am, all eight teams boarded the plane as Chippendale James noted, "It's anyone's game. " Still smiling from their incredible comeback in the last leg, substitute teachers and superfans Gary & Will called themselves, "the little engine that could." They correctly suspected that monster truckers Rob & Kelley U-Turned them but decided to pretend they didn't know. Rob's strategy over the U-Turn was to simply lie to Gary & Will if they asked about it, adding, "It's all-out war."

A SYMPHONY OF HORNS

Landing in Dhaka, Bangladesh, teams jumped into taxis and marveled at the crowded and chaotic scene around them. Ryan commented, "This is unbelievable. It's very third world." While cheering for their driver who was weaving in-and-out of traffic, twins Natalie & Nadiya said, "This is third world Grand Theft Auto…plus bulls and goats and garbage. And minus the nice cars." Chippendale James added, "It sure is a symphony of car horns out here." Trey & Lexi's driver put them at a disadvantage while stopping for gas, and Gary & Will's promised a shortcut that proved to be much longer than anticipated. Even worse, married monster truckers Rob & Kelley got a scenic detour to a massive landfill before their driver turned around. Rob joked, "The bad part is it says hospital landfill."

BANGED UP BUSES

Arriving at Rubel Model Auto Mobiles in first place just ahead of twins Natalie & Nadiya, dating divorcees Abbie & Ryan ripped open their clue to find a Roadblock. In it, one team member had to repair one of the more than 15,000 buses that battle the congested streets of Dhaka. First, teams had to use body putty to fill damages along the busses' sides. Next, they had to sand their busses to prep them for a fresh coat of pain. They also had to remove three pairs of seats and deliver them to the refurbishing area. Disregarding the Fast Forward tucked inside their respective clue envelopes, Ryan and Natalie put on protective masks and began mixing a bright yellow pigment into their body putty when Chippendale, James, and monster trucker, Rob, entered the loud and busy repair shop. As Ryan and Natalie starting applying the yellow putty to a damaged panel, James struggled to open up his putty can and finally resorted to brute force to smash it open. In comparison, Rob brimmed with confidence at the task ahead as Kelley explained, "We do all of our own repairs on our monster trucks on the bodies."

PEST PROBLEM

Reaching Rubel Model Auto Mobiles in fifth place, James & Abba decided to take a chance and try for the Fast Forward. In Bangladesh, rats destroy up to 2 million tons of food a year. In this Fast Forward, teams had to assist a pest control agent by acting as rat catching assistants. Both team members had to fill a bag with dead rats collected from three different locations across the city.

ALLIANCE AID

As James & Abba walked off to collect rats, Josh, Trey, and Gary joined the other four racers at the bus repair garage. While Ryan figured out the trick to apply a small amount of the putty and spread it evenly to create a smooth surface, Chippendale James struggled making a lumpy, rough surface forcing instead that forced him to start over. A disappointed James said, "Mine has more crevices than the Grand Canyon in it." After Ryan received approval from the judge, he discovered that his instructions for the second half of the task had been smudged by the putty so he asked James to share his. In exchange, Ryan would provide him with advice on how to properly putty his bus. Watching from the sidelines, Abbie noted, "That's when alliances are a good thing." However, even with the help, James still had to scrape away his failed attempt and reapply the putty. Adding to the newly formed alliance bond, Abbie told James, "Don't get frustrated. It's okay. It's going to take time."

LOUD AND PROUD

Still in the lead, Ryan, after covering his face with a cloth to protect against the dust, began sanding a panel of the bus already smoothed over with putty. However, he was interrupted and distracted by the loud cheering from Nadiya when her sister Natalie joined him at the task. At the top of her lungs, Nayida screamed, "Long, strong, and hard! Show these boys how you do it!" Ryan later commented, "It's just like fingernails on a blackboard. It just doesn't stop." Even with Nadiya's constant audio barrage, Ryan maintained his lead and finished sanding ahead of Natalie and monster trucker Rob. Inside the bus, Ryan grabbed a pair of seats bound together by their metal framework and exerted all his energy to haul them off to the refurbishing area. When Rob began the process, he decided to take two pairs at once, one for each arm. Grunting and sweating, Rob gained ground on Ryan in a close race, but Ryan delivered his last heavy pair of seats just ahead of the monster trucker while Natalie finished third. Ripping open their clues, the three teams discovered they had to travel to Kawran Bazar Shootkir and search a bag filled with hundreds of dried, smelly fish for one marked with Race colors that would lead them forward.

FIGHT TO SURVIVE

With Josh and Chippendale James completing their bus repair work, only Gary and Trey remained, both falling way behind when they applied too much putty and had to start over. Eventually, Trey took a slim lead and began sanding ahead of the discouraged Gary. Will commented, "We're in last place again. We've been in last place the whole race." When Gary finally completed sanding, Trey had delivered all three pairs of seats and grabbed his clue. Will tried to keep up his teammate's spirits, saying, "Team Michigan is not quitting right now. After delivering the final pair of seats, an exhausted Gary said, "Wow, was that difficult." Sitting in their taxi, dating couple Trey & Lexi watched their miniscule lead over Gary & Will disappear when the taxi kept stalling. Forced to stand outside, the couple waited while their driver poured Sprite into the radiator to cool it. Driving past, Gary & Will spotted Trey & Lexi and discovered newfound optimism at their misfortune. Smiling, Gary said, "We have new blood." To help his driver, Trey used his muscles and pushed the car until the driver could turn the engine over. Back on the road, Lexi said, "We just gotta keep pushing and be positive."

RAT PATROL

Putting on a pair of protective work gloves, rock star and lawyer James & Abba set out for their first client, New City Restaurant, but found the building hard to locate. Eventually, with the help of locals, they arrived at the entrance to the restaurant where a man sat with a bucket. Reaching into the bucket, James removed several rats while Abba held open the garbage bag. Walking from the second to third business location, Abba hurt his knee as he stepped into raw sewage on the side of the road. Continuing on, Abba joked, "There goes my hepatitis." Reaching the third client, a brickyard, James & Abba collected the last of the rats and then walked with a group of children to deliver them to the pest control agent. While on parade, Abba later commented, "I kind of felt like the pied piper. You get these little special things sometimes that aren't part of the Race and you enjoy them." After emptying their bag of rats, James & Abba received their Fast Forward, sending them straight to the Pit Stop at Shambazar Chan Mia Ghatwhere they arrived in first place and claimed a trip for two from Travelocity to the island of Antigua. Upon their victory, Abba said, "We came here to win this and this is just one more step closer to it."

MATTRESS MAKERS

Arriving at Kawran Bazar Shootkir, dating divorcees Abbie & Ryan dug through a massive bag of the dried fish until Abbie pulled out a bright yellow and red one that they exchanged for their clue. Opening it, the couple discovered a Detour having the choice to "Pound the Metal" or "Pound the Cotton." In Pound the Metal, teams had to work with ten-pound sledgehammers and beat an iron rod into a sharp spiked tool. They had to hand-pump the bellows of the smoky, charcoal fire so they could strike while the iron was hot. Pound the Cotton required teams to make a cotton mattress the Bengali way. Teams had to use bamboo rods to beat the clumps into a fine, featherlike consistency. Then they had to stuff the mattress and sew it together. Hoping to capitalize on Abbie's expertise from a year of fashion school, she and Ryan decided to sew a mattress. After laying out the cloth lining, the dating divorcees emptied the bag of cotton and began using the bamboo sticks. While Ryan pounded the clumped cotton to break the big pieces, Abbie made sure to spread it evenly across the entire mattress. After the cotton was evenly spread, the couple rolled up the mattress, turned it inside out, and then unrolled it again so the cotton stuffing was now on the inside. Then, using a thread and needle, Abbie sewed closed the open side as Ryan sang, "One year of fashion institute just paid off!" However, when the judge inspected their finished product, he told Abbie & Ryan they had allowed too much of the cotton to fall from their work pallet and forced the dating divorcees to reopen and stuff the mattress with the extra cotton.

STEEL WORKERS

Meanwhile, twins Natalie & Nadiya and married monster truckers Rob & Kelley battled each other while feeling the heat as they pounded the metal. Wearing safety goggles, the two teams picked up sledgehammers and began hitting hot metal rods, made bright orange and malleable from the fire. Although occasionally missing their target, the twins progressed quickly, remarking that the crowd hadn't seen a woman handle a sledgehammer before. Eventually, pointed ends formed on the rods for both Natalie & Nadiya and Rob & Kelley as they continued to hammer away. Finally, the blacksmith gave both teams the thumbs up just before Abbie & Ryan completed re-stuffing their mattress. All three teams ripped open their clue sending them to the Keranigonj Kholamora launch ghat where they would take a riverboat down the Buriganga River to Swarighat. Then, they had to disembark and make their way on foot to the Pit Stop at Shambazar Chan Mia Ghat.

FERRY FOLLIES

A close footrace ended with Abbie & Ryan in second place and Natalie & Nadiya in third, and the married monster truckers, Rob & Kelley, were poised to lock in fourth. However, instead of taking them to the dock at Swarighat to disembark and run to the Pit Stop, the ferry driver dropped Rob & Kelley off directly at Shambazar Chan Mia Ghat. When Phil turned the monster truckers away, Rob yelled at the driver, "You just cost me a million dollars." After the ferry driver took them over to the Swarighat landing, Rob & Kelley ran back to the Pit Stop and ended in fifth place behind goat farmers, Josh & Brent, who chose to pound the cotton as well. When Trey & Lexi made it to the launch, the dating couple crossed paths with Josh & Brent who were about to check in. The helpful goat farmers informed Trey & Lexi that this was Swarighat and they needed to catch a ferry from Keranigonj Kholamora launch ghat, lending them a big hand. While Trey & Lexi set off to correct their mistake, Chippendales Jaymes & James finished in sixth place.

END OF THE ROAD

Once Trey & Lexi took a ferry over to Keranigonj Kholamora launch ghat and another ferry back to Swarighat, the dating couple saw last place Gary & Will whose taxi driver dropped them off at Swarihat just like Trey & Lexi's driver did. Trey told the substitute teachers, "You're in the wrong place, man." Seeing the writing on the wall, Gary told Will, "All right, we're out now. This was a truly difficult leg." Reaching Shambazar Chan Mia Ghat in last place, substitute teachers Gary & Will found their luck had run out when Phil eliminated them from the Race. Gary later commented, "We wanted to win. I'm so disappointed in the way it turned out. We were representing the fans of the show and we let them down and we let ourselves down. I would never trade this experience for anything. The Amazing Race was the greatest experience of my life."

2104 ROUTE MARKERS

Roadblock: In this Roadblock, one team member had to repair one of the more than 15,000 buses that do battle on the congested streets of Dhaka everyday. First, teams had to use body putty to fill in the damage and then sand it ready for painting. They also had to remove three pairs of seats and deliver them to the refurbishing area.

Performed Roadblock: Ryan, Natalie, James (Chippendales), Rob, Josh, Trey, Gary

Detour: In this Detour, teams had the choice of either Pound the Metal or Pound the Cotton. In Pound the Metal, teams had to work with ten-pound sledgehammers and beat an iron rod into a sharp spiked tool. They had to hand pump the bellows of the smoky, charcoal fire so they could strike while the iron was hot. Pound the Cotton required teams to make a cotton mattress the Bengali way. Teams had to use bamboo rods to beat the clumps into a fine, featherlike consistency. Then they had to stuff the mattress, and sew it together.

Pound the Metal: Natalie/Nadiya, Rob/Kelley, Trey/Lexi

Pound the Cotton: Abbie/Ryan, Josh/Brent, Jaymes/James, Gary/Will

Fast Forward: A Fast Forward allows a team to skip all other tasks and proceed to the Pit Stop. In Bangladesh, rats destroy up to 2 million tons of food a year. In this Fast Forward, teams had to become rat catching assistants to a pest control agent. Both team members had to fill a bag with dead rats collecting them from three different locations. James/Abba won Fast Forward

Order of Finish: 1. James & Abba 2. Abbie & Ryan 3. Natalie & Nadiya 4. Josh & Brent 5. Rob & Kelley 6. Jaymes & James 7. Trey & Lexi 8. Gary & Will ...