Episode Summary:     The remaining seventeen teams leave the "comforts" of Moracco behind them and race on motor bikes towards the planes that will take them to Paris (again).  Seriously, was the Paris episode of Total Drama: World Tour hated so much by fans that the producers made this episode as an attempt to apologize?  Whatever the weird reasons the writers decided to return to Paris for their kind of second world tour, the episode is here and that is final.  Instead of going to an art museum for the majority of the challenge, teams instead tour the other parts of Paris.

  They first start by having to draw a quick sketch of one of their teammates, with varying results from everyone.  Some are good, while others make me question how certain teams get along so well.  Then, they explore the catacombs, the graves of thousands of plague victims during the Black Death ,(Really dark humor writers!), where they must track down the huge cheese blocks at the exit door.  Once there, teams must ride their blocks of cheese down a nearby river, instead of eating the gigantic lactose filled things like some people.  When I mean people, I mean Owen from the Reality TV Pros team.  Seriously, what won't this guy eat?  After crossing the river on their cheese boats, the teams make it to the Chill Zone one by one.

  As the teams arrive at the Chill Zone, things look grim for the Reality TV Pros.  Due to the cheese eating incident they are given a penalty, and may not be able to finish this challenge after all.  However, their butts are saved at the final second as the slow as snails Tennis Rivals take forever to finish the challenge, and ultimately don't make it before the penalty ends for the Reality TV Pros.  As a result, the oldest team in Total Drama history is cut from the Ridonculous Race, and we can breathe a sigh of relief for the Reality TV Pros (Noah really).  The remaining sixteen teams are told of their next destination, the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, as the episode comes to a close.

Positive Aspects:    The rating might suggest otherwise, but this episode of the Ridonculous Race was almost just as solid as the last one.  In fact, this episode actually improved on a few aspects that plagued the last two episodes, which I will get to in a little bit.  Point is, this episode was a great watch, from start to finish.

Every single character shined in this episode, even the more ignored Goth team, which I mentioned as a huge problem for the show in both of my previous reviews.  Here, the Goths are able to have quite a few funny moments, especially in the catacombs in the middle of the episode.  (Trust me, you will almost pee your pants with some of the jokes coming from this team.)  However, the true stars of this episode were the Reality TV Pros and the Tennis Rivals.  Both teams in this episode had various funny moments surrounding them, and arguably the most amounts of screen time.  Also, both teams were the focus of the episode's main plotline, which was struggling to finish this challenge.

  Speaking of the main plotline, it was shockingly very intense and tricked me quite a few times the first time I watched the episode.  This is due to the writers falsely building up the decline of the Reality TV Pros, whom are arguably the fan favorite team of the spin-off series.  There are so many people that love Noah, and Owen was the first winner of the regular Total Drama series.  The idea of them being eliminated alone is heart wrenching, as we've known these two characters for so long.  Waiting to see if the team was safe from elimination due to a certain cheese eating incident was stressful, and definitely worth some praise for the writers for writing these scenes out so successfully.  Additionally, it was really clever for the writers for the writers to create false build-up for this "upcoming" elimination before the penalty was even implemented.  There were a few moments where Noah acted like a jerk towards Owen, suggesting strain on the team, they both get lost in the catacombs, and Owen delays their entrance into the Chill Zone.  This false build-up further makes the twist of the Tennis Rivals being eliminated instead the stronger writing wise, and makes the audience feel more sympathy towards the Reality TV Pros.  It is rewarding to see the Reality TV Pros actually survive this challenge, even if you aren't a fan of the characters themselves.  (Noah is my favorite Total Drama contestant of all time, while Owen may be my fifth or fourth favorite.) 

  Clearly, this episode is a must watch, even for older fans like me who saw the first episodes of Total Drama Island premiere over five years ago.  It seems that the Ridonculous Race is becoming just as good as that first season of Total Drama, which is the reason we watched all the latter seasons of the original show and are now watching its spin-off series.  Tensions in the plot and great written humor are what made the original season great, and will now do the same for this spin-off.

Negative Aspects:    Even though this episode is clearly a must watch, one huge problem prevents it from getting an A like the previous episode.  That problem is character interactions between the other teams, a must for any show with so many characters.  Without these important character interactions, the other teams seem too separated from each other and some realism is lost as a result of this.  While this element of the episode may not bother some people, others won't be as kind towards it as I am.  In fact, an A- may actually be too nice of a grade for some of these possible viewers.  Point is, this episode has the potential of being hated by a lot of people.