This week was a double episode of The Amazing Race, and it served up double the drama as some of the teams tore into each other, day after day, challenge after challenge.
In Zanzibar, they have to find the home of Farrokh Bulsara – and that’s pretty easy for the teams that figure out that’s the birth name of Freddie Mercury, the lead singer of Queen.
Liz and Mike find Freddie Mercury’s house first.
The Detour gives them the choice to find hunt down three royal doors in the city, or to open a zillion trunks looking for keys to unlock a trunk that holds their next clue.
Vanck and Ashton get in an argument over directions. Can it get more cliché?
Actually, I think they’re still having the same argument from last week.
“Vanck and I rarely agree on stuff,” Ashton says.
But they’re not the only ones fighting. Shamir and Sara are almost worse because he’s passive aggressive, and she’s not.
“If we took a deep breath and stopped yelling at each other, I think we would do a lot better,” Sara says about her teamwork with Shamir.
They’re digging through trunks looking for a key to another trunk that will give them access to the next clue.
Once they find the key, they have to find the chest the key fits.
Joey figures out there are hidden compartments in EVERY trunk, but most of the others take a lot longer to figure it out.
Finally, Brooke and Scott figure it out, and the other teams copy them.
Becca and Floyd are struggling, so on his way out the door, Scott gives them the extra key they had that didn’t fit any locks.
Brooke is not happy.
Becca gets it to work on a box pretty quickly.
When Brooke sees them on the ferry, Brooke reminds #TeamFun that they owe her a favor.
Vanck and Ashton got into a screaming fight looking for the doors.
He wants to switch Detours.
“If I’d listened to you, we would have switched. And that would be stupid,” Ashton yells when they finally get directions. Ay yay yay!
Shamir and Sara bicker like Vanck and Ashton.
“She doesn’t want to listen to me. That’s okay. We’ll just keep running in circles,” Shamir says.
And they are.
Logan and London never figure out where the keys are hidden, and they have to switch to the other Detour.
But they blast past Sara and Shamir, finding all three doors in record time.
Sara and Shamir are still arguing about whether to switch detours when #TeamLoLo is headed to the ferry.
“We’re probably dead last right now. We’re probably behind everyone,” Shamir says.
“If they miss the boat, I’m happy,” Vanck says when Shamir and Sara are the only team who haven’t caught the first ferry.
They get left behind in Zanzibar and end up switching to the lock Detour.
Bad move. They aren’t finding the hidden drawers, so it’s takes forever.
All the teams except Shamir and Sara are on the same ferry back to Dar es Salaam.
After they arrive, Becca and Floyd are first to get the Roadblock instructions.
Brooke is REALLY regretting Scott’s decision to help them, but she quickly changes her mind.
For the Roadblock, they have to make a ladle.
They have to cut metal with tin snips, punch holes, and hammer the thing out smooth.
It’s not going very well for anybody.
“When I got up today, I said I really hope we make a ladle,” Redmond jokes.
“The problem is I’m not strong enough to do this. And my jackass partner nominated me to do it,” Brooke screams in frustration.
“I can’t do it,” Brooke says. I’m so sick of her being negative.
“You need to be positive. The only way we’re going to stay in the race is if you do this,” Scott says.
“Use the relationships,” Scott tells her.
She asks Becca for help, and she receives it.
“With this, we’re even. I promise,” Brooke says.
“Good, we’re no longer in debt,” Becca says.
Well played. She’s still way ahead of Brooke and Scott.
Redmond helps Brooke poke the holes. He keeps telling her to calm down.
“She needs to learn that people are saying it for a reason,” Redmond says. #TrueLife
Redmond gets sent back to fix his holes just as Joey’s get approved.
And Joey and Tara get to the Pit Stop at Coco Beach first, and they win $5,000 each.
#TeamFun is in second place even though Becca spent so much time helping Brooke. Karma is real.
Mike gives Brooke a pep talk as she sits sobbing.
He shows her how to fix her ladle, and basically ends up doing it for her.
She promises not to U-turn him and Liz in the future.
Brooke’s holes suck and the edges are sharp. She has to go back and work on it some more.
Liz and Mike take third place at the Pit Stop, even though Mike hung back to help Brooke.
More good Karma going on than usual on this show.
Brooke’s going to owe everybody in the race at the rate she’s begging favors.
Phil has to go hunt down Sara and Shamir at the Roadblock to eliminate them, because everybody else has gotten to the mat and checked in.
They’re out, but fortunately, Shamir didn’t cut himself badly or hurt himself in some other way. He has a track record.
The next leg of the race – shown back-to-back – sends the teams to Norway.
Unfortunately for Tara and Joey, everybody is on the same flight, and they lose their lead.
They have to find a lighthouse and try rockfish to get their clue when they arrive.
#TeamFun has to use their express pass on this leg of the race, if they’re going to use it at all.
Liz says it’s time to stop being nice.
Redmond’s still bragging about being on a “team with all dudes” because he says there’s no drama.
Okay, fine. I’ll concede that. Almost all the other teams are fighting constantly and it’s unpleasant to watch.
Navigating Norway is proving to be a challenge, and Liz and Mike lose a lot of time.
#TeamFun are first and they each have to eat a plate of fermented rockfish.
As usual, when Brooke arrives, she says she can’t do it. She’s having a fit about eating the fish.
Becca and Floyd grab the Fast Forward and jump onto a helicopter. They don’t know they’ll have to skydive from two miles up, but they have an Express Pass.
But they don’t use it because both members of #TeamFun are dying to skydive.
Scott refuses to bust the speed limit to keep up with another team’s car, but he and Brooke don’t have a map.
They’re screwed if they get behind.
The Roadblock requires one team member to climb a really tall pallet tower to get their next clue for the Detour.
Scott is terrified of heights, and he’s ready to boohoo again immediately like he did on the window washing Roadblock.
Brooke is not sympathetic.
“Matt just beasted through this thing like he’s not even human,” Redmond is proud of his partner finishing it first.
The Detour options are both kind of annoying. The have to troll the water to check people’s fishing lines for a specific lure with a clue.
The other option makes teams find certain architecture on buildings and claim big heavy firework props from people dressed like trolls.
Trolls must a big thing in Norway.
For the first time in several legs, Mike and Liz are struggling.
He pep talks Liz up the wall, telling her that Joey did it, and he’s “like 110!”
Mike doesn’t like Detours that involve maps. And he gets b***hy fast.
“I’m telling you that paper is not a compass,” Mike yells.
“You just show me because you have the magic paper,” Mike says.
“Hush your mouth and listen to me,” Liz says.
They finally find one. Mike admits he’s stubborn.
The Pit Stop is at the top of a mountain that requires them all to run hundreds of steps. It looks brutal.
Mike and Liz decide to try and drive up the mountain. And Mike accidentally hits a van.
They lose some time, but fortunately, the van’s owner is nice about it, and lets them go.
They decide to go into a parking garage to see if it has an elevator to the top of the mountain. Seriously?
Spoiler Alert: The elevator doesn’t leave the parking garage. And the lead they had goes bye bye very, very quickly.
Joey and Tara are first to the Pit Stop for the second leg in a row.
Matt and Redmond are second.
Becca and Floyd didn’t use their Express Pass, and this was their last chance.
They could have been first, but instead they’re team number 3.
“A week ago we were strangers. We just jumped out of a helicopter together,” Floyd says as they both laugh hysterically.
They’ll take third place, although they’re clearly shocked they weren’t first.
Brooke and Scott fight the whole way up the mountain.
Random passersby looked uncomfortable watching them.
“I don’t need my teammate to make me feel like crap every day,” Brooke screams at Scott.
After their trip in the elevator to nowhere, Liz and Mike have to go back down and start over, running up the stairs.
Liz and Mike are the last ones to arrive, but they’re not eliminated. #Lucky
But they don’t even pretend to be on good terms in front of Phil.
“Lot of negativity. Lot of negativity,” Liz says.
They get into a nasty argument in front of Phil and the local hosts at the top on the mat.
“Forget it, I’m done,” Mike says.
“This is it. I’m done, it’s over,” Liz says.
And the episode ends.
But teasers show next week, Liz and Mike are still fighting. And there’s a U-turn.
Things we’re left wondering
How many ferries did Shamir and Sara miss while they were trying to find the key in the trunks?
Is there ANYTHING Brooke CAN do that she won’t whine, moan, and complain about until another team helps her?
Is anybody on this season of The Amazing Race having even close to as much fun as Becca and Floyd? They’re hilarious.
The Amazing Race airs Thursdays at 10/9c on CBS.