‘The Amazing Race Canada 2’ episode 6 review: Natalie & Meghan’s hockey … struggles?

Tonight on “The Amazing Race Canada,” what we saw was basically a great case of our expectations getting blown out of the water. When we first heard that there was a Detour in Winnipeg that involved hockey, it felt obvious that this was bait for Olympians Natalie & Meghan to make it further … even if we know that the tasks are designed a long time before any of the individual teams were cast on the show.

Then, we saw them fail a good several times over before even getting close to getting all of their goals scored, and it proved that even Olympians are human and can get nervous at certain times. This was a standout moment because it was obviously embarrassing, but it didn’t control the outcome of the race. Heck, it seemed far easier than trying to make a pirogi, which was the other choice.

Whether or not you succeeded or failed on tonight’s episode was ultimately a problem of four separate things:

1. Whether or not you chose the right Detour when you got there, and did not saddle yourself with something almost impossible.
2. Whether or not you had an Express Pass. Given that the Roadblock (singing like a vintage rock star at a bar) involved an English-language song, Pierre & Michel did the right thing in skipping over it given that they are
3. Whether or not you had a Fast Forward. Alain & Audrey made the move to do this when they realized nobody in front of them did, but it still took them so long that they were in second.
4. Whether you could memorize lines quickly. Sukhi & Jinder, for example, managed to make up for their hockey talents (or lack thereof) by having a good memory in doing this and the early coin-based task at the min quickly.

In the end, this race came down to the pirogi teams in Max & Bob (who perpetually seem in danger) and Rob & Ryan. Unfortunate for Max & Bob, they were in big trouble thanks to the other guys actually doing performances and comedy shows. Their experience here helped them a whole lot more than Natalie & Meghan’s did at hockey, that’s for sure.

This meant sad news for Max & Bob, who finally were sent home … and it makes us sad! They were great entertainment, though seeing them go off with a little tribute to the ballet was nice. This was just an excellent episode from start to finish; it broke expectations, it had great tasks, and also an unpredictable result. Grade: A-.

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Photo: CTV