In the most anticlimactic episode ever, James & Abba were eliminated in The Amazing Race 21 Episode 8 following their brief reprieve the leg before after losing a passport.
Teams depart in the order in which they arrived.
First: Jaymes & James – 7:32PM
Second: Trey & Lexi – 7:49PM
Third: Natalie & Nadiya – 9:15PM
Fourth: Abbie & Ryan – 5:28AM
Fifth: Josh & Brent – 8:11AM
Teams are given a red, white, and blue flag, which they must figure out is leading them to Amsterdam, The Netherlands (or Holland… where the Dutch live). Jaymes & James figure it out by going online. Trey & Lexi ask their cab driver, who incorrectly identifies their destination as France. That was my initial reaction as well, though I wouldn’t have just assumed the answer to be right, but the stripes on the French flag are horizontal rather than vertical. Lucky for them, the Chippendales tell them the right country, or this could have been the end of their race.
The first and only direct flight arrives at 12:15 the following afternoon, but it only has three seats available, which will now go to Jaymes & James, as Trey & Lexi settle for the 1:05 arrival.
Natalie & Nadiya somehow are told about a plane arriving at 11:30, but the ticket agent refuses to sell to them because there is only a 1 hour connection time in Rome, which could spell disaster. Not having learned from the trailing two teams and their earlier problem that is still plaguing them three legs later, the twins insist, and they receive the tickets after some begging.
After booking their tickets, the twins come up with a plan in the event of a double U-turn. The first team to arrive U-turns Abbie & Ryan, and the second team U-turns the team that already passed (making that second U-turn a waste, aside from preventing Abbie & Ryan from using it). Jaymes doesn’t want to use the U-turn because it’s not like they need to anyway.
Abbie & Ryan will be returning to Frankfurt, where they last almost lost the race. They’re so far behind the other teams that they don’t have a lot of choices, so they’re going to head to Frankfurt and see what they can get of their multiple connecting flights (one arrives at 12:45, the other at 2:05, either one putting them the closest they have been to the rest of the pack since leg 7). When they land, they are denied at check in, but they are able to book a flight that will still keep them well ahead of where when they started the day. The bad news? The aircraft is having mechanical difficulties.
More than 12 hours behind at the start of the leg, Josh & Brent are scheduled for arrival at 4:35PM. When they land without delay, Josh & Brent run into Abbie & Ryan at the airport, putting them again neck and neck for last. They agree to run the leg with them again. If both of the double U-turns are used, this goes from easy win to desperate scramble.
The twins make their connection no problem after an unnecessary and dangerous gamble pays off. This further allows them to know for sure they can take advantage of the fast forward. Their task is to eat 5 herring each within 7 minutes before their floating bus returns to shore. Undeterred by the twins’ early arrival, Jaymes & James will also go for the fast forward, but it’s too late because Natalie & Nadiya finish on their first attempt.
The detour is a choice between back in time or organ grind. In back in time, teams must recreate a Rembrandt painting using live characters. In organ to grind, teams must operate the organ and collect tips.
Organ grind: Jaymes & James, Trey & Lexi
Back in time: Abbie & Ryan, Josh & Brent
Jaymes & James see that it’s getting slow, so they strip down into their Chippendales gear. This generates more interest from men than women, but then a grandma with her grandkids comes up and gives them the balance of what they need to finish.
Never having arrived at the U-turn, Natalie & Nadiya do not get their wish to U-turn Abbie & Ryan. Despite being in second place and hours ahead of them, Jaymes & James U-turn Abbie & Ryan as planned. At least they are doing this as part of the game to take out the stronger team, rather than because they are evil like the twins. Trey & Lexi then use their U-turn on Jaymes & James so that Abbie & Ryan can’t use it. I can’t imagine the producers will let this one go without a rule change.
Abbie & Ryan finish the detour first as expected, putting them in fourth, but they now must complete the other task as well. At least they are stopping this stupid let’s work together nonsense, far too late. Josh & Brent have a debate about what they should do, but for a shot at a million dollars, the answer is obvious.
They glossed over the road block so much that I didn’t even notice there was one. They must use poles to vault across a ditch. The task is so simple that it will not be the savior for Abbie & Ryan. The only potential impact of this challenge is that Josh stumbles in the field and hurts his ankle, which may hinder them in the future.
Road block (in order of arrival): James, Trey, Josh, Ryan
The pit stop for this leg of the race is the house of Rembrandt’s mistress.
First: Natalie & Nadiya (win $5,000 each)
Second: Jaymes & James
Third: Trey & Lexi
Fourth: Josh & Brent
Eliminated: Abbie & Ryan
As much as we can blame bad luck and an unnecessarily aggressive top three, Abbie & Ryan eliminated themselves from the race. Both at the swimming pool and again today, they insisted on staying with a team that was competing with them for the last spot.
Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of The Amazing Race 21 Episode 10, which airs Sunday at 8/7c on CBS.