This was my favorite episode of the season so far. I was glued to the tasks and all the strategy and drama on this episode. We start this leg of the race with the teams on their way to Albania which is the first time the race has went into that country making it the 99th country for The Amazing Race. All teams are on the same plane heading over. We see a whole lot of strategy and strong competition from Matt and Michelle throughout this episode. They just looked dominant in this episode. They tell Anuar and Andrea first off that they used their express pass during the rug task and that is how they finished in first place. This isn’t true but they are using this for strategy to throw other teams off of that they actually still do have their express pass. Daisha and Dalton talk of how they lost their alliance team with Cody and Jaime in the last leg. Teams are on their way to Turtle Farm with a Driver’s Seat ahead. At Turtle Farm, one member from each team will have to use a crusher to crush grapes to help make a wine. Matt and Michelle get there first giving them the Driver’s Seat. They will be able to spread out the amount of pounds of grapes that each team will have to do. They have a strategy of wanting to flush some express passes so they especially put Ali and Joanna at the max and also Anuar and Andrea.
Here is how they laid it out:
100 lbs. – Ali and Joanna, Doug and Dylan, Anuar and Andrea
75 lbs. – Conner and Garrett, Dafina and Saran, Daisha and Dalton
50 lbs. – Matt and Michelle, Ann-Marie and Riley, Erin and Javi.
Matt and Michelle get frustration from several teams and especially Andrea. Michelle replies that there was no rhyme or reason for what they did. LOL. Dafina and Saran get lost on the way there as does Ali and Joanna. Matt and Michelle finish the grape task and move on. We see Anuar struggling with his grapes and Andrea notices that he has his board there so none of his grapes are going in. Everything he is doing is resulting in zero being done. It isn’t just that team having an issue as Dalton comes back to Anuar’s station and starts filling his when he thought it was his own. Andrea and Daisha are in oh no mode on the sideline but unable to say anything to help via rules. They just have to hope they realize what is going on. Ann-Marie bails out Anuar when she looks over and tells him that he has to take his board out. Dalton comes back seeing Anuar using what he thinks is his own station. He realizes he was using the wrong station. After both teams finish right by each other in 3rd and 4th, they laugh about it saying thank you for the help with Dalton saying you owe me $5 for helping you. LOL. Daisha in the confessional tells Dalton that Anuar’s jacket was clearly right by his station. Ali and Joanna arrive at the farm last and use their express pass immediately. They leave around the group of 7th place. We’re on to a road block with another Driver’s Seat once again with Matt and Michelle in control of it as they get there first. This task is a pastry rolling task with having to complete a certain amount of pieces correctly. Matt and Michelle will decide how many each team will have to do. Originally, they don’t put Anuar and Andrea in the same spot but Matt says put them at the max again just because of Andrea complaining to Michelle about it. Even Michelle was saying wow, that’s harsh. LOL. Here are the results of what they did on this round:
8 – Matt and Michelle
12 – Doug and Dylan, Ann-Marie and Riley, Dafina and Saran
16 – Ali and Joanna, Conner and Garrett, Erin and Javi, Anuar and Andrea, Daisha and Dalton
Javi reveals to Matt that Ali and Joanna had used their express pass which is mission accomplished for Matt on flushing passes. Matt and Michelle leave this task in first place too. Andrea completes her task and she helps Ann-Marie figure out what she’s doing wrong as a help return for what they did for them earlier with the grape barrel. Doug and Dylan are hanging in the middle of the pack here after struggling for the last couple of legs in the back. I also notice how little I talk about Conner and Garrett in these recaps as I don’t feel like the edit gives them much air time. They are solid doing their thing every episode. Matt and Michelle arrive at route info where teams will have to roam hallways in a bunker to find a flag. They will go in that room and listen to a tape with a recorded conversation. Pick every 7th word in the conversation to determine the code which they will take to someone to approve if they have it right or not. Matt and Michelle rock through this and finish it before any other team arrives. They go to the pit stop from here finishing in first place. Erin is the last to finish the pastry challenge so they are trying to make up ground. Anuar and Andrea get lost on the way to the bunker which gets them behind. Ali and Joanna have worked their way up to 4th place as they get to the bunker. We have drama when Daisha and Dalton stop and talk to Ann-Marie and Riley as they try to figure out the code. Daisha was one word away from getting it and Ann-Marie and Riley give that to her. They take the clue to get approval and get it. But…..they leave and don’t return to Ann-Marie and Riley to help them out in return. They realize that Daisha and Dalton have left them. Daisha and Dalton say they don’t really know why they didn’t go back and help. They just went saying they had to take care of themselves. Ann-Marie and Riley say they’ll keep that in mind in the future with a U-Turn possibility. Ali and Joanna jump in with Ann-Marie and Riley helping each other. They reveal what Daisha and Dalton did. Riley figures it out and gets approval of it being right and they go back to help Ali and Joanna. Conner & Garrett, Dafina & Saran, & Doug & Dylan are working together and all three teams get it. Daisha and Dalton arrive at the pit stop where Phil gives them a surprised stern “you just left them and didn’t help them too???” LOL. Erin and Javi are the last at the bunker and finish out of there in last. However, Dafina and Saran are lost after leaving the bunker. It’s down to them and Javi and Erin on who will survive this leg of the race. All the other teams arrived in daylight and these two teams are battling in the dark. It does end up being Dafina and Saran being eliminated. Sad to lose them as they have been a very fun duo.
Standing after this leg of the race:
1 – Matt and Michelle
2 – Daisha and Dalton
3 – Conner and Garrett
4 – Ann Marie and Riley
5 – Ali and Joanna
6 – Doug and Dylan
7 – Anuar and Andrea
8 – Erin and Javi
9 – Dafina and Saran (Eliminated)
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