The Amazing Race this week was full of crazy surprises – missed flights, lost passports and an infuriating ending. Click through for a full recap!
Russian Around
This week’s leg of The Amazing Race kicked off with all the teams heading to Moscow, Russia. Or if you’re Trey and Lexie, you ask around for a flight for a while, go get some Popeye’s Chicken, and then eventually get back to, you know, running the race.
The teams were on three different flights – connecting through Amsterdam, Munish and Frankfurt. Unfortunately for the lovable Beekman Boys, and Abbie and Ryan, their first flight was delayed which meant they missed their Frankfurt connection. All the other teams were in Moscow, and they were looking at arriving the next day.
Detour: Synchronized or Alphabetized
In Alphabetized, teams had to search for four books using a foreign-language cataloging system. In Synchronized, teams had to perform a synchronized swimming routine with future Russian Olympians. Personally, I’m a terrible swimmer so I’d have gone for alphabetized. But if you were a strong swimmer, then the other challenge sounded easier.
James and Abba went for the letters, while the Chippendales went for the Speedos. No surprises there! The young Russian swimmers looked rather…distracted. But the swimming was pretty hard, and even Team Magic Mike had a hard time with it. Team Twinnie also chose “Synchronized”, which made sense, since they have synchronized twin minds – but like the Chippendales, they struggled.
Eventually, the rockers found Alphabetized too hard and switched. Trey and Lexie were also trying for alphabetized, and after a while they started to have some success. They ended up completing the Detour first. And the other two teams? Oh yeah, them. They were in Warsaw at this point. What a bummer.
The Chippendales finished in second place, with Natalie and Nadiya in third. The rockers, who’d switched challenges, were the only ones left.
Lock ‘n Load
For the next challenge, teams had to unlock ten special locks from the Russian “Tree of Love”. It was a little time consuming, but not difficult. Once teams did that, they had to figure out that the image on the back of a ruble was their pit stop. Trey and Lexie arrived as team number one, with the Chippendales in second and Twinnie in third. Darn – I really don’t like them, but they’ve been a pretty strong team. I can see them making the finals, easily.
At this point, James and Abba had fallen behind as they’d switched challenges. Then, when they finally finished the Tree of Love challenge, their cab driver had taken off – with all their stuff. Yikes. Most teams leave their stuff in the cab to make sure it waits, but this is the risk you take. The thing is, you ALWAYS keep your passport on you. Al. Ways. You can continue running the race without extra clothes. You can’t check in without your passport.
Teamwork
Let’s talk about Abbie and Ryan and the Beekman Boys’ decision to work together for this leg of the race, knowing that they were the only two teams so very far behind. I understand that they bonded, but really? It’s a race. I know I’d be tempted to jump on that mat half a second before the other team in order to stay in the game.
They didn’t have a choice for the Detour anyway, because the library was closing soon – they had to do synchronized swimming. That was easy for Abbie, who has a dance background, but not for the Beekman Boys.
So when Abbie and Ryan received their next clue, they decided to wait for the Beekman Boys to also finish. They made an agreement and it’s nice that they kept it, I guess, but that was weak sauce. Fight! Fight to the death!
To be continued…
Speaking of weak sauce, WTF? The episode ended with Abbie and Ryan choosing to wait for the Beekman Boys, and with James and Abba searching for their passports in order to check in. To be continued? Come on. That’s not fair. We have a deal, TAR! (FYI, if you watch the scenes from next week, it gave a little something about those three teams away. Don’t mention it in the comments please, because some people choose not to watch those previews.)
I still can’t believe James and Abba bothered to go to the pit stop, they should have known they wouldn’t be able to check in. Finding the cab driver should have been priority number one, and now it’ll be way harder for them to track their stuff down.
What did you guys think of the episode?
madness. i don’t know what to make of this. Those last three teams are definitely in some bind- especially if Abbie & Ryan (who I just do not like) insist on waiting for the Beekman Boys. I’m guessing somehow the Rockers find their passports… not sure how, but if Twitter can help a team in the past, I’m guessing the gods at TAR will produce something. But back to the swimming, I don’t see how Abbie & Ryan will continue to wait. I just don’t. They have 2 million bucks riding on it. Maybe it’s another non-elimination leg? We are due for another one soon.
As for the leading pack, Trey & Lexie are kicking it. If Abbie & Ryan poop out, I can definitely see Jaymes and James in the final three. Yeah, my crush on Jaymes get sillier each episode. Haha. Anyway, with the express pass in their pockets, the Twins are looking pretty good too.
But next week should be fun. Thanks Jill for warning against spoilers and previews… I’m one of those guys you mention who doesn’t like watching them. Hehe.
No problem! I understand why some wouldn’t want to see them, even for minor things.
This episode reminded me of the All-Stars season, where Dustin & Kandice had begun a leg of the Race while some teams STILL haven’t finished the previous one. Man, what an awesome, kick-ass season that was!
On to the episode: I completely loved it. My favorite part was when James & Abba arrived at the swimming challenge and the instructor was like ‘I’m already afraid’. That cracked me up!
The look Phill gave them at the Pit Stop was also hilarious.
Previous to watching it I had read, accidentally, that it would end of a cliffhanger, so I was hoping this would be the first half of a double leg cause I love double legs. I don’t think there’s ever been a double leg that wasn’t awesome.
Ah, and about the spoiler thingy…. I don’t know if it’s that big of a deal. It seems really minor and it’s something you would expect anyway, I think.
I miss the ‘Come on Twinnie’ mantra, it’s been two episodes now since we last heard it.
The moment at the pool was funny!
Great episode! I can’t support either Team Twins or Team Texas after the stealing issue, but I have to say that both did a very solid leg, and are looking good for a spot in the final three.
Abbie and Ryan, on the other side, saw the rough side of the race this week, as well as the Beekmans who I am continuing to support, but don’t seem to be able to move on from the back of the pack. The drama at the airport was fun, but it wasn’t so fun to see my two favourite teams on a plane left ten hours behind.
James and Abba…well, I can understand the issue with money they had last week, I mean, with the tension of the race everyone could have made that mistake. But…forgetting the rucksacks on the taxi? Seriously? And with passports inside? Those guys just deserve to go.
The challenges were really difficult this week. I probably would have chosen Syncronized, but probably it’s just because I am a good swimmer. Alphabetized surely looked easier, but could definitely take a lot of time, and if you are far behind that is never a good thing. I actually thought that the Twins would have used their Express Pass, it would have been a complete waste and that was a very good move on their side.
Even though in my opinion they’re not going to the end, the Chippendales are funny and I loved especially the moment when they were in the pool.
The final cliffhanger was frustrating, but it makes for good TV, I think. At this point I really love this season and I’m so curious to see how it ends. Congratulations, as usual, for the recap, and keep up the good work!
Grr that cliffhanger annoyed me too but glad to see some excitement coming back into the show in any case. I feel bad for the two teams that ended up way behind everyone else but I definitely don’t agree with them working together. Hello, there are TWO of you, that means one of you is definitely in so why not fight for it? Why just give up and be like ‘oh well, we’re at the back, might as well leave it at that’. That’s sweet and all but it’s a race. Did you think Phil was just going to check you in together as one big hybrid team? Come on, one of you is out either way, so why not make it the other guys? Stupid. And Abbie/Ryan are such a competitive team, I’m surprised they would sell themselves short like that. I like the Beekman Boys so I feel bad for them…they just seem to be getting bad luck. I actually like the Rockers too and feel bad that they cabbie took off with their stuff, but I agree that they were dumb to leave their passports in the cab and to leave the scene to go check in, esp knowing they wouldn’t be ABLE to check in. Careless. Can’t WAIT to see what happens next week! I hope the BB’s are still in it, but I somehow doubt it
I love the last episode mainly because Jaymes and James scored their best finish in this season. They’re not the strongest team, obviously, but I’m really hoping that they would win. That synchronized swimming challenge is one TV gem. Thanks, Jill, and more power.