chevron

50 Ways to Kill Your Mammy S1E2: Charming Snakes & Burning Rubber in Morocco

2016-09-13

bannerImage

50 Ways to Kill Your Mammy - S1E2

After taking a leap from a plane in stride, 71-year-old Irish pensioner Nancy and her daredevil son Baz get back on solid ground for an adventure of snaky and sandy proportions. This time, the destination is Morocco.

Upon arrival to the country, Nancy basks in the beauty of a luxury suite not knowing that Baz has a slew of challenging tasks tattooed to the duo’s itinerary. First up, Baz seeks to have Nancy get up-close and personal with something she fears tremendously – snakes. No, she doesn’t just have to touch a snake for the sake of a selfie, she has to learn how to charm one. However, this plan comes unglued pretty quick.

Once in the presence of their instructors, Nancy gets frightful even as Baz tries to talk her out of acting too nervous. Nancy can’t help but fidget frequently any time a snake gets close, or safely touches her. She’s warned that sudden movements may cause the snakes to react adversely, but she seemingly can’t control her fear.

Seeing that his Mammy is “freaked out of her head,” Baz is unsure about how Nancy will deal with the snakes later in the evening during a local get together. To Baz’s surprise, however, Nancy’s anxiety has calmed down to the point where she’s comfortable enough to have a snake rest upon her head. Geez, talk about a quick 180!

As comfortable as Nancy may have gotten around snakes, she’s about to be in for a shaky drive as Baz has registered them to participate in one of the stages of The Intercontinental Rally. This race across the desert involves tricky terrain, speedy vehicles of all shapes and sizes, not to mention many drivers with an arguably healthy competitive streak.

50 Ways to Kill Your Mammy - S1E2

Ahead of getting into their vehicle for a test drive, Baz explains that Nancy is an “awful” driver that’s too slow and careful – she also doesn’t like any talking or radio play in the car while behind the wheel. So when Baz tells Nancy to drive the vehicle like she stole it, the Mammy doesn’t exactly deliver the goods. Although the race hasn’t officially begun, Baz volunteers to drive. Of course, Nancy immediately gets a little freaked out in the passenger side.

With the adrenaline flowing, Baz’s excitement eventually leads to the pair’s vehicle getting stuck in a sand dune. After enduring an “I told you so” episode and receiving the assistance of a kind local, Baz and Nancy are on the move again. Soon enough, Nancy is ready to give desert driving another go. But, just as she gets comfortable, the unfathomable happens: she crashes head on with a German motorcyclist.

The impact, as you could imagine, is swift and frightening. Having come out of nowhere, the shock of the incident is only outweighed by the condition of the motorcyclist. While his bike is jammed underneath Baz and Nancy’s vehicle, he is not. Somehow, this lucky fellow was able to walk away from the crash. Baz and Nancy on the other hand are thankful that the worst-case scenario didn’t come to fruition.

With so much pre-race drama occurring, it’d be easy to understand if Nancy opted out of it at the last moment. But, to Baz’s surprise, Nancy is ready to race across the desert. At last, Team Mammy is about to put the pedal to the metal against some stiff competition…well, sort of.

50 Ways to Kill Your Mammy - S1E2

While driving, Nancy opts to keep the speedometer low, thus frustrating Baz. Following some time meandering through the desert with Nancy leading the way, Baz soon grows comically impatient and takes over driving duties. Unfortunately, Baz once again gets a little overzealous and falls victim to yet another sand dune. Stuck for a second time, the pair opt out of the race and instead exit the desert with Nancy atop a camel as Baz walks alongside, tolerating his mom’s moaning, all the while making sure she doesn’t crash into the sand.

Away from the sand, Baz and Nancy spend a night out with some Berbers (an ethnic group indigenous to North Africa), where they shimmy, shake and dance the night away. While letting loose, Nancy still manages to pull a fast one on Baz, which results in her brash son (much to his surprise) being pitted against a gladiator-sized man in a real deal wrestling match. Luckily for Baz, he manages to exit the battle with only “a dislocated ego and a concussion.”

Baz and Nancy’s Moroccan journey comes to a close after an acrimonious time spent at a leather manufacturing plant and a passive hot air balloon ride that sees Nancy swoon over her French instructor, Maurice. Despite feeling his stomach churn over his mother’s flirtatious ways, Baz appears genuinely thrilled to see his mother take to such an experience with so much ease and happiness.

50 Ways to Kill Your Mammy - S1E2

Although this Moroccan trip did have some trying and death-defying moments that could easily have derailed Baz and Nancy, the two did what any loving mother and son would do: they stuck it out together, forgot their gripes rapidly and always found their way back to laughter.

Next week on “50 Ways to Kill Your Mammy,” Baz and Nancy visit Florida where the duo partakes in some alligator wrestling, aerial acrobats, as well as a topsy-turvy rollercoaster experience. 

“50 Ways to Kill Your Mammy” can be seen Mondays at 8pm ET/5pm PT on VisionTV.

-Adam Grant

Vision NewsLetter

Sign up to get the latest news on your favorite shows exclusive content and more.