Alliances Are Tested and Torn Like Laundry in a Storm on THE AMAZING RACE CANADA

By BILL HARRIS Special to The Lede Dastardly double-crossings left some teams “double cross” – as in “double angry” – as Season 10 of CTV’s THE AMAZING RACE CANADA continued with its dramatic fourth episode (available for catch-up on CTV.ca, and the CTV app). Inter-team trust hit a low point, so it was time to air some dirty laundry, both literally and figuratively. But it still was a simple case of not being in the right place at the right time that contributed to another elimination, leaving eight determined duos in the hunt. SPOILER ALERT: Details about the episode are going to be discussed. Kevin and Gurleen were victims in the first U-Turn Vote in THE AMAZING RACE CANADA history, but they got to choose another team to suffer the same fate (completing both sides of an upcoming Detour). They picked their supposed allies Julia and Olivia, who understandably were furious, and they vowed revenge for the rest of the leg. Meanwhile, Connor and John got badly hung up on a clothesline challenge, in which various laundry items had to be placed in a specific order. Michael and Tyson – who finished first for the second time in a row – said they wanted to give Connor and John an Express Pass, but the two teams got separated by so much distance, there was never a chance to do so. Julia and Olivia gutted it out to secure eighth place, which meant that Connor Carroll and John Ferguson – a lawyer from Pickering, Ont., and a content creator from Erin, Ont., respectively – were last to the mat, and thus were sent packing. Here are their thoughts about what happened, and why: Q: How would you sum up your experience on THE AMAZING RACE CANADA? JOHN: “I went on a trip to Africa with my mother and I’ve always claimed that was the most life-changing experience ever, but this trip on the race trumps everything, mainly because I was disconnected from the world. I didn’t have a phone. I didn’t have anyone reaching out to me unless it was face-to-face. We truly had only ourselves. It was really cool to create such close relationships with everyone around you, because you had no other distractions. But it was very physical. I was very surprised by how physically demanding the show was. I always believed it was a little bit scripted, and after the first leg, Connor and I looked at one another and we were like, ‘this is the real deal. This race is no joke. This will be a long ride.’ And unfortunately for Connor, it was an even longer ride for him, because he had to physically hold me for half of it – my legs were completely shot. But I will never regret being part of the race. It was truly – in the least cheesy sounding way – the experience of a lifetime.” CONNOR: “I think what’s so unique about the race – and John kind of alluded to this a little bit – is that you have to completely surrender yourself to just being largely disconnected from the outside world. You have to surrender yourself to not knowing what’s coming at you in any given moment. And that’s an uncomfortable feeling, because people’s daily lives are so structured, and things are so routine. On the race, you have to let go and just enjoy the ride, which is one of the most cool things that I think anyone can ever do. It’s unbelievable.” Q: Do you still have nightmares about laundry and clotheslines? CONNOR: “Yeah, I think my mom’s going to be really disappointed, because she probably thought she had raised me better. But yeah, I definitely have a little bit of PTSD lingering from the laundry challenge.” JOHN: “I’ve decided to never hang my clothes again. And I have been an avid hanger. I always hang all my clothes, even my underwear. I never used a dryer, because it’s more environmentally friendly to hang your clothes. However, I’ll be honest, ever since that last leg of the race that we were on, I use the dryer now quite frequently. Because hanging out my clothes will bring me flashbacks to arguably the worst moment of my life.” Q: Is there an opportunity here for a sponsorship arrangement with a dryer company? JOHN: “There is! I would be a great advocate.” Q: Is there anything you could have done differently? JOHN: “I would say the one thing we should have done better is created a better relationship with Kevin and Gurleen. Because if they hadn’t removed their laundry, we would have left that challenge so much quicker (after Kevin and Gurleen hung their clothes in the proper order, they tore their items off the clothesline before departing, so no one could copy them). Their hanger was correct, and it was only five feet away, so we could have just fully replicated it.” CONNOR: “Yeah, the laundry challenge was definitely the nail in the coffin. It felt like we were there for hours, and we were way behind. I think in hindsight, one thing that we probably could have done better on that challenge was run our own race, instead of kind of looking at what everyone else was doing, and trying to leverage alliances, and get help, and people are yelling tips to you. Sometimes it’s better in those moments when things are so detail-specific to just run your own race, and keep a clear head, rather than getting caught up in the chaos.” Q: What’s your reaction to the information that Michael and Tyson wanted to give you an Express Pass? CONNOR: “We of course did become aware of that later on. And yeah, that probably would have saved us.” JOHN: “It is what it is. At this point, I hate situations in your mind where you always think, ‘what if?’ Whatever happened has already happened. Whether they were actually looking for us, I don’t think it matters now, because we’re eliminated. And I think Connor and I left on a happier note. We left everybody with a great relationship. We love everyone on the race. We love what happened on the race. And I think, honestly, I was ready. I was ready for home.” Season 10 of THE AMAZING RACE CANADA continues with a new episode on Tuesday, July 30 at 9 p.m. ET on CTV, CTV.ca, and the CTV app. billharristv@gmail.com @billharris_tv