EPISODE 13: "Masters of the Universe" – Flo
Leg 12: Toy Time Galaxy / Ghostly Galaxy / Honeyhive Galaxy [Super Mario Galaxy]
It's early morning when Eve/Podley excitedly learn the Race is finally blasting off! Everyone is equalized on a spaceship slated to depart shortly after Goldy/Grubba's pit start time. In a confessional, Flo is giddy about having survived to one of the series staples: the outer space leg. She wonders on the whereabouts of the obligatory golf challenge, however. Gus is oddly calm about the leg's setting, but anticipates he'll be a nervous wreck during takeoff. Meanwhile, Goldy finds Grubba's recent behavior the wackiest thing of all. Grubba admits he embarked on a fool's errand from the beginning, but was simply too unaccustomed to working as anything but a solo act. He claims to recognize that teamwork is essential to win and restore his name to glory, but Goldy isn't buying it.
All four teams settle in as they depart for an unknown destination. As expected, Gus practically squeezes Garf's arm off. During the trek, everyone admires the vast scenery outside their windows. In a confessional, Eve recalls a time one of her sons admitted to being scared of the dark. Podley appropriately interjects how problematic that is, considering where Eve lives. Agreeing, Eve continues by explaining how she painted darkness as something beautiful. She hopes to show her children something this breathtaking someday. In a different confessional, Flo/Maude express gratitude for getting to fly where no Crow has flown before. Both are very proud and in slight disbelief at having reached the penultimate leg. Maude states that they'll enjoy every moment of outer space, but remaining focused on the end goal is key. Garf/Gus, on the other hand, are all business. Gus harbors lingering frustration over missing victory in the previous leg. Garf reiterates the final leg is where it counts. He asserts that they have what it takes to win; they just need to get there.
Goldy quickly loses interest in space and focuses on more pressing matters: her partner. When her crude interrogation goes nowhere, she goes full-blown therapist and starts psychoanalyzing his behavior, which irritates Grubba enough for him to snap at her. However, he stands by his claims. Having never collaborated with anyone in a similarly high-stakes environment, he mistakenly viewed her as an opponent to his success rather than an ally. In order to recapture his former glory, he says it's best if they leverage both their skills to give them an edge. Cue Goldy eye roll. Bout time. Through it all he never once apologizes, something she later notes in a confessional. She also questions how Grubba could possibly think a last-minute heel-face turn can help restore his reputation as the best, considering they never even won a leg. Goldy believes he's completely delusional, but concludes it doesn't matter as long as he helps her win. That way she can quit her day job dealing with weirdos like him.
The spaceship docks at the Comet Observatory's Garage. Everyone disembarks and heads to the central platform. Rosalina warmly greets the teams and assigns a Luma to each racer. Eve/Flo/Maude coo over their temporary surrogate children, while Goldy becomes irrationally annoyed by how attached hers immediately gets. Grubba naturally hyuks it up, saying he can't tell which is which. Rosalina gives a crash-course on several important mechanics: using the Star-Spin with their Lumas; activating Launch Stars, Sling Stars, and Pull Stars; and not-panicking if they fall into a black hole. Everyone starts at that last bit, but there's no time to dwell—the next clue instructs them to find the Engine Room.
Hijinks ensue as Eve/Podley and Goldy/Grubba cat-mouse each other around the Comet Observatory. Gus is outvoted by his fellow birds, who decide to work from the upper levels down. It pays off as they enter an industrial-looking dome and get confirmation from a black Luma named Polari, as well as a clue instructing them to shoot themselves through the pre-programmed Launch Star to the Toy Time Galaxy. While Flo/Garf/Maude find that first high-speed launch through space absolutely exhilarating, Gus screams himself silly. Upon arrival at a giant planet comprised of a circular train track with two trains, he declares himself already over this leg. Too bad—there are six more Launch Stars hovering above the track, and teams have to find the one leading to a train engine-esque planet.
Both teams agree to return and inform each other which is correct. As they part ways, Garf privately expresses relief that the alliance stands despite Drak/Crimson's elimination. In a confessional, Gus acknowledges how strange it is to maintain an alliance at this late stage, but admits it comes with gang mentality: a pledge of loyalty means loyalty for life. The unexpectedly strong trust and friendship between both teams doesn't hurt. Plus, Gus asserts that the moms pose a lesser threat than the others. Meanwhile, as Flo/Maude make a trip back to the starting planet, Maude offhandedly wonders how train enthusiasts Laki/Mai would've reacted to these trains…in outer space. In their own confessional, Flo laments not being able to connect with the early eliminations; listening to but not talking with everyone in the beginning was torture for a social butterfly like herself. Maude agrees, but rationalizes they needed to find their ground as racers first, and the One-Way Mirror's isolation helped with that. In real time, the Crows find the appropriate Launch Star. True to their word, they backtrack and notify the Craws.
At the giant train—a mechanical colossus composed of blocks, gears, and conveyor belts—teams must transform using Spring Mushrooms and then traverse the planet to a marked Launch Star, navigating vertical walls with narrow pink sections of localized gravity along the way. If one team member successfully reaches the endpoint, the partner is automatically able to reset at the beginning of the second car. Both teams power up and start bouncing away, Gus proclaiming he will channel his inner Goldy.
She-who-was-named complains that the Engine Room just has to be in the last place they check before launching with Grubba.
Almost immediately, Gus accidentally boings himself off the planet. Before the black hole can claim him, a force field encircles him and deposits him back near the Spring Mushroom dispenser. A nearby Gearmo chirps they have protections in place, but Gus nevertheless deadpans how dangerous this is ("I don't have 99 lives, you know!"). Garf displays promise, but he and Flo/Maude reset as well.
Eve/Podley finally notice the naming convention of the domes and locate the correct Launch Star to the Toy Time Galaxy.
After a particularly scary dive, Garf recognizes that bouncing around willy-nilly—using big leaps and going upside-down—while flashy and fun, disorients them. He passes on a suggestion to hop conservatively and upright to his allies before fully traversing the planet himself. Gus has issues navigating the narrow gravity path on the second car, but the shortcut provided by his twin's success now saves him the trouble of dealing with the first. It's Flo/Maude who complete the full crossing first. Their Spring powers dissipate as they digest the next Route Info: the Launch Star will shoot them into a life-sized "gingerbread" house, which they must escape through one of the walls.
The launch path circles the next planet once, allowing teams a look at the four buildings. Instead of graham crackers, the walls are thick cake slabs with solid building blocks nestled throughout like stray bricks. Flo/Maude are deposited through the chocolate bar chimney. Neither feels particularly peckish, so Flo worries their small stomachs will prove disadvantageous. Maude reminds her of a TAR5 Roadblock; bite and spit is a perfectly valid tactic. They get to work, not noticing the provided equipment: an ice cream cone with a sharpened point, a popsicle with a chisel-like stick, and a lollipop with a mallet-shaped sweetmeat, all three frozen completely through and the size of two-handed tools.
Goldy/Grubba reach the train planet, where they observe Spring Gus bouncing away. Goldy brags this challenge will be super-duper easy because the bouncing movement is so familiar to her. Grubba boasts that his fighting experience lends him the same ease. Naturally, both fail their first try spectacularly, Grubba even attempting one giant leap to the linking section between the two cars and falling quite short. However, Goldy controls herself and finishes on her second. As a force field drops Grubba at his new starting point, Gus reaches the end. Garf/Gus launch into an untouched house.
Flo says the challenge is like Willy Wonka meets Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Ironic, as the demolition tools still go unnoticed. Both are shoveling through the dense cake with their beaks, periodically encountering an unexpected pocket of jelly or icing. It's a messy affair. In a confessional, Maude notes that their bodies require smaller escape tunnels than the other teams. Their body size/shape has provided its fair mix of benefits/problems throughout the Race; they must strive to make the most of situations like this where they have a well-defined advantage. Meanwhile, the twins have picked a spot and started eating. Garf calls their pastry prison a lifetime sugar rush supply. Gus hopes it gives them the quick and dirty energy they need to jet through the leg.
Eve/Podley arrive at the Spring Mushroom task just as Grubba straddles the gravity path to the finish zone. The gold team goes blasting off again. The lavender team finds the learning curve difficult. Eve is unnerved already being one full challenge behind, but reminds herself to stay positive. Both take the conservative approach from the get-go, but keep having sudden missteps that fling them toward the black hole.
Garf/Gus have slowed their ravenous eating pace, Gus commenting they're not used to eating so much. Meanwhile, Goldy is absolutely going to town. Grubba hyuks that she's a black hole in the form of Ms. Pac-Man. In her first obvious post-leg confessional, Goldy is still spazzing out from sugar aftershocks. Though Grubba is eating his fair share, Goldy near-effortlessly carves a Fuzzy-sized tunnel herself. Maude hits another embedded toy block and is forced to shovel around it. Flo exclaims their beaks weren't made for this type of activity.
Eventually Eve/Podley get the hang of the Spring Mushroom and bounce their way across the second vertical path to the finish. They launch into their house with a sizable time deficit, but Podley quickly deduces that eating their way out is an unreasonable expectation. That skepticism causes them to be the first to notice the provided tools. They start digging using the cone and popsicle. Podley uses his vest to shield his hands from the popsicle's cold surface, while Eve is largely unaffected. She sneaks a couple bites of cake, mumbling how she didn't even get a taste during their Marrymore Wedding Cake fiasco.
All four teams continue chipping away at their walls. Flo/Maude finally notice the tools, but deem them too unwieldy to be of any use at this point, given the cramped passageway they've crafted. It's Goldy who suddenly breaks through to the outside. Eyes more manic than usual, she lets out a battle cry and begins snarfing in the approximate location of Grubba's progress. She gripes about Chubba being too fat to fit through her initial tunnel between bites. Garf/Gus realize that stuffing their faces isn't the only way to proceed, but the damage is done. They keep digging with their hands, both clearly suffering stomach discomfort. Grubba too begins feeling sick from overeating, but he stubbornly declares he won't be done in by something as benign as cake ("Now if it were poisoned, that'd spin a different story!").
Amazingly, Goldy meets Grubba in the middle. He enlarges the hole with his fists and shimmies through, Goldy babbling rapid-fire nonsense about taking the lead. They use a marked Launch Star to a giant plate planet where the clue box is sheltered by a fork's tines. The next Route Info instructs them to use another Launch Star to an 8-bit Mario planet constructed from Flip Tiles, Shrinking Tiles, and lava. From a safe platform at the lower boot, teams will use remote game controllers to move a Mario-like robot around the precarious planet, collecting five fake Silver Star pieces.
Goldy practically vibrates as she screams that she'll have trouble with fine motor control, having so much sugar flowing through her system. Grubba gives her credit for carrying the first two tasks, and tells her to leave this to him. They launch again. However, they discover at the shoe that each team member must physically use one half of a Wiimote-Nunchuk peripheral. Grubba takes the Nunchuk, and therefore the control stick, leaving Goldy in charge of commanding the robot to jump. They soon learn that letting their robot fall off the planet and into the black hole resets their Silver Star piece count. There is no safety checkpoint; a perfect run is required to pass. It's an obvious exercise in communication…which is their biggest weakness. Very quickly, they start sniping at each other.
Flo/Maude emerge from a single tunnel, hot on the leaders' heels. They join Goldy/Grubba at the Mario planet. The Wiimote isn't very intuitive to them, especially for Flo, who finds directing the control stick awkward with her one foot. They Crow!speak feedback to each other, which quickly grates on Goldy/Grubba's nerves. Goldy's jump timing is ironically near-nonexistent, which keeps putting them back.
Eve/Podley smash through the cake wall next. Upon their arrival with the others, Flo/Maude voice concern about their allies. Garf/Gus, having not noticed the tools, are still moving comparatively slowly, and Gus mutters that he needs to throw up. Meanwhile, Podley shows great aptitude for the robot challenge. Eve, on jump duty, follows his lead. Grubba notices that the violet/lavender teams begin getting momentum. He muscles Goldy into shuffling around in front, impeding the others' line of sight. Though the planet is tilted upward on the far side (which enables teams some depth perception and allows them to see the tile boundaries), the distance, combined with his distraction, begins causing problems. Podley and Maude are especially vocal in calling him out on such brutish gameplay, but Grubba retaliates that all's fair in gaining an edge. Goldy complains that his maneuvering doesn't even help them; they keep failing to even collect one Silver Star because his attention is divided. Flo/Maude go airborne to avoid Grubba, which actually frees Flo to use both feet and gives her greater control of the robot. While Eve/Podley and Goldy/Grubba jockey for position on the shoe, Flo/Maude manage to grab all five Silver Star pieces. They coalesce into a translucent Power Star, which is Flo/Maude's ride to the next destination.
After rapid transit through space, the Crows find themselves at the Gate Planet for the Ghostly Galaxy, a creepy collection of rocky planets with an immense Haunted Mansion at its center. Jack O' Goombas look on as they discover the Roadblock ("Who sees what really matters?"), which Maude takes. It involves navigating a separate mansion called the Darkness Room Planet where spotlight-shaped regions dictate which parts of the mansion exist as matter at any given time. With restrictions placed on her flight, Maude takes the Launch Star into a green void with only splotches of a decrepit room visible. Her first attempt ends in failure when the spotlight abruptly backtracks away from a key needed to unlock the first door. The same protective force field bubble swoops in and deposits her at the beginning.
Meanwhile, Podley has muscled into a vantage point that Grubba cannot physically push him from. He and Eve keep falling just shy of their fifth Silver Star, often due to a large gap of missing Shrinking Tiles activated by Grubba running his robot across. In a confessional, Eve comments on how the aggression and competitiveness of someone who really wants something intensifies when that end goal is in sight. Sometimes that involves getting a little pushy. To that end, she and Podley work together to cut off Goldy/Grubba's path around the planet, interfering with their interference. It pays off, and Eve/Podley depart second. Grubba complains, in confessional, that the robot challenge exemplifies best why he works alone—Goldy's one job was to press a button, and she struggled with that.
Podley takes the Roadblock clue a little too literally and recommends Eve for the job. She begins the trek through the Darkness Room Planet, seemingly in a separate dimension from Maude. The gaps in the floor on the initial stretch trip her up on her first few tries. Maude audibly reminds herself that patience is key. She works her way up a vertical ascent, prioritizing activating the key on each floor that unlocks a staircase to the next. At last she reaches the top and snags the Power Star, which transports her back to Flo. Together they Crow!read the Route Info, which instructs them to take the nearby twisting stone tunnel into the Haunted Mansion and use Boo Mushrooms to phase through some walls, while avoiding overhead light beams, to a clue box.
Several Boos pull faces as Flo/Maude fly into the foyer and transform. Boo Flo notices they're bigger as Boos than as Crows. That awareness doesn't immediately translate, as they get tagged by the swinging pendants on the edge of their bodies, causing them to revert to normal and have to rush back to the beginning for new power-ups.
Garf/Gus finally dig out of their diabetes dungeon. They sluggishly run for the following Launch Stars, arriving at the 8-bit Mario planet just as the stars somehow align for Goldy/Grubba. The gold team comments, rather blithely, on the forest green team's haggard appearance before riding away on the Power Star. The Craws start controlling their robot. Gus drily matters something about the Mario-on-Mario action before vomiting over the side of the shoe. Garf follows suit. Wonder twin powers, activate…?
Grubba impatiently tries to outpace the matter spotlight, but he's repeatedly foiled by it suddenly backtracking or going an unexpected direction. Meanwhile, Eve monologues on the relative peace in this quiet void, where her speed is dictated by forces outside her control. She finds it calming compared to the self-propelled hectic rush they've had to maintain. As she reaches the top and touches the Power Star, she bids farewell to the Darkness Room Planet.
Eve/Podley enter the Haunted Mansion and go ghost. Whatever centering effect Eve derived from the Roadblock pays off; she clears the course her first try. While Podley gets acquainted with the rhythms of the lights, Flo/Maude reach the end. They Crow!read the next Route Info. It instructs them to take the nearby Launch Star to the Boo Race Zone, where they will have to activate Pull Stars for each other to navigate a lane of bones and meat slabs. At the very end is a Launch Star to their next galaxy.
Flo/Maude arrive at the start planet, a spherical rock bearing a few dead trees. The course in its entirety is plainly visible, and the Crows are unsettled by the proximity of so many unguarded black holes. They test the mechanics of the closest Pull Stars with assistance from their Lumas. Each Pull Star only permits one activation at a time, preventing racers from complete piggybacking. With verbal communication, depth perception, and timing involved, there's a decent learning curve. Flo/Maude work into an alternating movement pattern. If one falls into a black hole, they both automatically fail and have to return to the beginning. Partway into the first bend they encounter several bone-in meat bumpers. Flo rams into one and shrieks at how squelchy it feels as Maude scrambles to reel her back into a Pull Star.
Garf/Gus have an intuitive feel for the Mariobot from the start, and they finish relatively quickly. Garf opts to do the Roadblock. However, the jumping involved does no favors for his queasiness. Meanwhile, Grubba forces himself to chill out and stay near the spotlight's center instead of lead the front. That backfires once he enters the vertical section and gets caught underneath a ceiling. Upon being deposited all the way back at the beginning, he complains about having to readjust his strategy yet again. In the waiting area, sugar-high Goldy is driving Gus nuts.
Boo Podley navigates the Haunted Mansion's halls and reunites with Eve. They proceed to the Boo Race Zone. As Eve targets his first Pull Star, Podley comments how in lieu of travel, this leg is hammering them nonstop with difficult tasks. Over at the final stretch, Flo/Maude push off from a Pull Planet and carefully float through a field of small bombs (though Maude takes a hit in the process) to the ringed goal planet. The Crows leap into the next Launch Star…
…which powerfully shoots them through space to the gargantuan main planet of the Honeyhive Galaxy. Bouncing blue blobs called Slurples hop over and deliver an envelope containing the Detour. Both options involve another transformative power-up: the Bee Mushroom. Busy Bees requires them to travel to a nearby honeycomb cavern, where they will use their Bee Suits as carriers to transfer enough honey to fill a 64-gallon-drum-sized honeypot. Buzzy Bees requires them to ascend the planet via a Sproutle Vine and some Sling Stars to the Observation Deck, where they will work together to move three crates of Star Bits across an aerial gap. Then, they will take a Launch Star to a Mandibug-infested planet where each team member must snag a flag from a bomb-dropping mammoth named Bugaboom.
Flo/Maude consider their disadvantages within each before settling on Busy Bees. They suit up, appreciating the yellow-and-black-striped aesthetic of their new overalls, and test out the flying capabilities as they search for the honey cave. Upon finding it, however, they balk at the giant honeypots and declare that they're switching. In a post-leg interview, they debate the merits of Detour switching, especially on the penultimate leg, but justify it given their lead. In real time, the unmarked beginning of Buzzy Bees is proving difficult to locate.
With no lack of bellyaching, Grubba scales the Darkness Room Planet. He and Goldy proceed into the Haunted Mansion and go ghost, but find themselves a bit too accustomed to the spotlight. Garf finishes the Roadblock not far behind. He and Gus give chase.
Eve/Podley pull themselves through the minefield and launch to the Honeyhive Galaxy. Buzzy Bees sounds faster, so they become bees. Meanwhile, after a few false starts, Bee Flo/Bee Maude are now on the right track. They whirl themselves up the Sproutle Vine onto some honeycomb pads arranged around the main tree trunk. As they begin making their way around, Bee Maude notes that the Bee Suit's flying stamina prevents one from simply bypassing the obstacle course.
Boo Garf/Boo Gus take a few tries getting acquainted with the course, but their prior experience sneaking around in Rogueport moves them up a spot as they enter the Boo Race Zone. In an interview, Gus throws away the notion of chasing that first-place finish and stresses this is the one leg where avoiding last is the most important thing. Garf discusses how racing at the rear differs from being in the lead pack. Boo Goldy/Boo Grubba, now in last, bicker as they keep messing up. One attempt fails when they spread the length of a hallway to cross, not remembering that ghosts can occupy the same physical space.
Bee Eve/Bee Podley benefit from seeing the leaders' progress and extrapolate backwards, negating one of Buzzy Bees' main obstacles: finding the starting point. Bee Flo/Bee Maude ascend the tree without much trouble and Sling Star to the Observation Deck. Next: moving the Star Bit boxes. While Star Bits themselves are quite light, it's the cumbersome size of the crates that, paired with concentrating on their bee wings, make this a challenge. Additionally, the gap they must traverse would normally take about three-fourths of their flight stamina. The moms spend some time experimenting holding the crates—even with their wings—and pairing it with flight. Bee Maude realizes that their Bee Suit affords them the ability to fly backwards, which they both momentarily geek out over. For their first trip she tries it, but they end up dropping with their cargo to the net below when her inexperience causes her to zigzag slightly.
Garf/Gus are queasier than ever after pinballing through the meat bumpers, but they manage to avoid losing control and falling into the black holes. Boo Goldy/Boo Grubba make it through the mansion and launch to the Boo Race Zone.
Bee Podley comments on how good the honeycomb smells and wonders how space honey would taste in drinks. The former actors make quick time reaching the Observation Deck and get started moving their Star Bit crates. The violet team has switched to having both members fly sideways, which seems to work best for them. They get their third box to the storage area and are cleared to launch straight to the next planet. It's absolutely infested with Mandibugs. Though Bee Flo/Bee Maude find the sight incredibly appetizing, the beetles forcibly strip their Bee Suits with their mandibles. Bugaboom flies in a U-shaped pattern around the planet, red flags affixed to his carapace, blue to the underside of his thorax…near his explosives hole. Flo/Maude spot the Bee Mushroom respawn nearby but take a moment to talk through their approach, especially regarding who will claim the underbelly flag.
Garf/Gus hit the Honeyhive Galaxy. Straightaway Gus says no to the contents of Buzzy Bees, so they opt for Busy Bees instead. They suit up and start getting sticky. Bee Gus complains the cavern's sweet smell is very overpowering.
Back in the Boo Race Zone, Goldy/Grubba approach the minefield and waste a lot of time 'accidentally' slinging each other into mines. Goldy actually loses control of Grubba and lets him get sucked into a black hole, forcing them to start all over again. Grubba is absolutely furious.
Eve/Podley find themselves de-powered on arrival at Bugaboom's domain. Bee Flo hovers in place, aiming to snag one of Bugaboom's blue belly flags. Her timing is off, and she ends up landing in the river, causing her Bee Suit to deactivate. Podley powers up and gives it a shot, with Flo also taking to the sky soon after. Both are unsuccessful.
The twins are practically full-body bathing in honey. Ironically, their facial feathers are better carriers than the relatively smooth Bee Suits. Bee Gus quips this is the dirtiest he's ever gotten for money. Bee Garf helps him shuck as much honey off his body as possible before they both head back.
Goldy/Grubba finally get their act together and clear the mines. They launch into the Honeyhive Galaxy and identify Busy Bees as their best option. Bee Goldy takes one look at the honey cavern and declares she's in heaven, having found the nectar of the gods. Bee Grubba orders her not to eat any and focus, but she makes no promises. Immediately his size and her general stickiness pay off, as they're able to transfer goops and oodles of honey each trip. The Craws aren't paying attention to the gold team's antics, but Bee Garf recognizes the urgency their opponents' advantages raise.
Bee Podley's reach enables him to get a flag. Bee Flo again falls short. Bee Eve takes flight and uses a Fling Flower to reach the elevation she needs to try for the red flags. Bugaboom notices and starts flying sideways to thwart her efforts. That creates an opening for Bee Flo to snag the underside flag she needs. Bee Maude joins the hunt, and she manages to claim the second flag quickly. The Crows get their next Route Info instructing them to take a Launch Star to a planet of floating flower platforms that they will need to navigate to yet another Launch Star to the Queen's castle, the pit stop where the last team to check in will be eliminated.
Eve grabs her flag soon after. It's a race to the mat. Flo/Maude squander their head start at the Flower Planet when both get hit by jets from water fountains. They're forced back to the Bee Mushroom spawn point. Bee Eve escapes unscathed, but Podley also falls prey to the fountains. The Crows dodge through the rhythmic sprays first and take the last Launch Star to the Queen Bee Planet. One last honey wall ascent remains. The lavender team reaches it seconds behind. In the process of climbing and flitting between the honey hexagons, Bee Eve/Bee Podley are more ambitious with their flying times, and it pays off as they overtake the Crows. At the final platform, they take a Sproutle Vine to the courtyard and fly over to the raised platform holding the mat. Flo/Maude arrive after, and both teams good-naturedly congratulate each other on a hard-fought finish. Honey Queen welcomes them. Miles informs everyone they've qualified for the final leg and the million-coin prize. He further awards first-place finishers Eve/Podley an out-of-the-Mushroom-World seven-day vacation to the Gold Leaf Galaxy and first-class accommodations for this pit stop period. Both teams express pride at having made it this far, as well as hope that Garf/Gus round out the finalists' circle.
Things are looking sticky for the twins. In their narrow-minded focus they failed to notice that the example Bees were using their wings to fly between the honeycombs and the honeypots; the heat generated by their wings helped thin out the honey, making it easier to remove from their bodies. The twins did no such thing, and some of the coagulation is making their movements sluggish. Meanwhile, Bee Goldy is absolutely manic, bringing honey by the body-load and taking a taste for herself each time. Bee Grubba's sheer surface area helps make up for his own slowed movements. In the end, the gold team's honeypot overflows with its bounty, and the therapist/patient take off in third. The twins try and keep the hope alive, but they have a gut feeling it's no use. Bee Gus says this time it's not indigestion.
Goldy/Grubba check in third, earning the right to race for the moolah. Goldy is ecstatic, moreso than usual due to the sugar high, and Grubba requests a restraining device so that she doesn't bounce herself into deep space. On a more serious note he calls out any detractors who doubted that he would make it to the finals, and claims that the title is all his for the taking.
Some time later, the defeated twins check in and become the season's tenth and final elimination. Both are dejected, knowing they lost their chance at winning the life-changing money. Garf takes solace in having seen the incredible world beyond Rogueport for themselves and knowing that there are so many possibilities in life. He is also grateful for the opportunity to reaffirm his bond and friendship with his brother. Gus echoes the sentiments, adding that although the money mattered, even if nothing in their lives ever improves, at least they'll have these memories together.
LEADERBOARD (w/ RB tallies)
1. Eve/Podley (7:6)
2. Flo/Maude (6:7)
3. Goldy/Grubba (7:7)
4. Garf/Gus (7:6) [ELIMINATED]
Author's Notes (01/31/2017): And it's the twins lost in space. Back in Episode 8's notes, I mentioned that another team replaced Dupree/Goom Goom in the F4. Matter of fact, said team also replaced Garf/Gus in the F3. Despite acquiring the potential rags-to-riches story after Swindell/Arfur's elimination, Garf/Gus were never truly in the running due to the negative tone surrounding the Rogueport rivalry. Parallels to the Robbos' out-of-game gang war, especially when their conflict with Plenn/Thriff received greater focus in Episodes 8-9, would've tainted their edit and made it crystal clear they weren't the winners. Aside from that subplot, Garf/Gus acted as a different sort of comic relief. With his snarky asides and running gags (namely minor injuries, fear of heights, and anti-Mario sentiments), Gus was particularly fun to write.
In unrelated news, I recently visited NYC and visited many touristy landmarks in Manhattan. I researched as much as I could when thinking through logistics for Leg 4, but research pales in comparison to real-life experience. Notable discrepancies that come to mind: Battery Park and the Empire State Building require airport-level security checks; the Nintendo World Store is smaller than I pictured and would definitely keep teams longer due to low foot traffic; and the subway completely trumps taxis. I unfortunately don't have time to rewrite that leg with my experiences in mind, but it's fascinating seeing how well the route would hold up in real life. Now I'm afraid of ever visiting Beijing, haha.
Four galaxies, three teams, two Roadblocks, one final epic leg. Who will win The Amazing Race?