The Amazing Race Season 37, Episode 5 Recap: A Challenging Coral Task
The fifth episode of The Amazing Race Season 37, titled “It’s Not Personal, It’s Business,”aired on April 2, presenting intense competition among the contestants. During this episode, contestants voted Jonathan and Ana, along with Scott and Lori, to face the Double U-Turn. They were tasked with delivering 60 coconuts by bike and constructing a coral cage intended for underwater planting. Unfortunately, Jonathan and Ana faced significant challenges as they struggled to understand the intricate patterns required to build their coral structure.
The Coral Cage Challenge: Initial Struggles
Choosing to tackle the coral task first, Jonathan and Ana needed to tie various corals to a structure resembling a cage, which would then be placed on the seabed. However, their initial attempts were met with consistent disapproval from the judges.
“Yeah, it’s a specific pattern. We have to match the pattern.”
Following their third unsuccessful attempt, Ana shared insights with the cameras, noting that it was only then Jonathan recognized that the prototype featured corals of different shapes and colors arranged in a specific pattern. This revelation prompted the team to adopt a more meticulous approach, with Jonathan focusing on replicating the design while Ana worked on securing the corals to the cage.
Rival Teams Excel as Jonathan and Ana Struggle
Concurrent with Jonathan and Ana’s struggles, teams Brett and Mark, as well as Carson and Jack, efficiently completed their coral structures on their first attempts. Brett and Mark quickly understood the importance of matching the coral types to the provided example.
“We looked at the example, and it was pretty obvious to us you can’t just tie 18 corals to this metal piece. There’s textures, and there’s colors. You have to make the textures and colors match.”
As Jonathan and Ana arrived, they attempted to mimic the pattern without fully recognizing the differences in colors and textures. Consequently, their initial check resulted in immediate rejection.
A Turning Point for Jonathan and Ana
Witnessing the disapproval of Jonathan and Ana’s cage, Carson expressed confusion over their inadequate attention to the pattern details, speculating that the duo might be feeling flustered. After two more failed attempts, Jonathan finally grasped the complexity of the required pattern.
“And eventually we found one coral that had, like, a purple undertone and we needed more like a green undertone,”Ana acknowledged.
With renewed precision, Jonathan and Ana succeeded on their sixth attempt, receiving the expert’s approval just as Brett and Mark and Carson and Jack advanced to the next phase of the challenge.
Diving into Fears: Ana’s Brave Moment
Having constructed their coral cage, the pair faced the daunting task of deploying it on the seabed by swimming to an orange buoy. This challenge especially troubled Ana due to her childhood traumatic experience with near-drowning.
“When I was five years old, I had an incident where I almost drowned. So, going into the open ocean has been one of my biggest fears.”
Adding to her anxiety, Ana candidly admitted her lack of swimming skills. Nevertheless, she recognized the necessity of overcoming her fears to avoid elimination. After some hesitation, she returned to shore, requested a life jacket, and bravely attempted the challenge again.
A Proud Achievement
Ultimately, Ana successfully completed the task, which allowed them to move on to the next detour.
“I am super proud of myself. I think I’m gonna look back and, you know, pat myself on the back that I… that I did it,”Ana reflected with pride.
Jonathan expressed admiration for her resilience, sharing his pride in her ability to confront and conquer her fears.
Fans of The Amazing Race can catch up on the season’s episodes, streaming now on Paramount+.