Amazing Race 14 Episode Recap: "I'm Not Wearing That Girl's Leotard!"
Traveling to Bucharest, Romania is more than a hop, skip and a jump when team members are told to walk like an Olympian and become world class gymnasts. But when they arrive in Transylvania, sibling tension shifted teams and someone deserved to have his neck bitten off. On to the recap for more on this batty tale.
Destination: Bucharest, Romania
Last week's winning team, Tammy and Victor, are first to depart Mozart's birthplace of Salzburg, Austria at 10:13 am. All teams are to travel by train to Munich, then fly over 700 miles to Bucharest. With a decent head start, the sibling lawyers stop off at a travel agency to make reservations for a 4:45 pm flight. It's still early in the afternoon and all seems to be going well as they catch a break while waiting standby and board an earlier flight. But the luck they start with soon turns around and sets the tone for the day when the plane must make an emergency stop. Returning to Munich, they miss the 4:45 flight and leave on a 9:30 with the stuntmen, the sisters, and the blondes.
On the train to the Munich airport, Amanda and Kris got help from a man who doubts that they can make the 4:45. But they convince him they are fast enough to do it. And they prove that they are. Brad and Victoria also get assistance aboard the train, and when they are also told they can't make the 4:45 flight, they give it a try but fail. Opting not to take the 9:30 flight with the others, they sign on for a 7:30 flight by way of Amsterdam. It sounds good on paper until they miss their connecting flight. This sets Brad and Victoria so far behind that we finally see them boarding the connecting plane when the other teams are finishing the Road Block.
Road Block
"Who's ready to access their inner Nadia?" At the Sala Gimnastica, where Nadia Comaneci trained, teams were given a list of movements to perform on the balance beam and parallel bars, plus floor exercises. When Phil Keoghan explained the task, I got a kick out of the little girl gymnast with outstretched arms who suddenly appears in front of him!
Amanda and Kris are the first to arrive, and Amanda comes closest to contorting like Ms. Comaneci. A close second was Mike. Apparently still suffering from his pulled groin muscle, Mel would probably be less flexible than Mike to perform, especially when spreading his legs on the parallel bars. The screenwriter adorns the white spandex and does an admirable job — and probably got an idea for his next screenplay too.
Reluctant to wear leotards, Luke makes his mom perform. It probably was a wise choice because while the cha cha and chassé are tricky moves, it's even harder to imagine Margie describing how to perform a move like a "backwards ice cream scoop walk" to him!
Stuntman Mark seemed to zip along while Kisha, not looking too shabby, declares she's going to stick with playing basketball.
Foreshadowing a bigger drama, Tammy and Victor take a wrong turn when they arrive and are running all around the grounds looking for the entrance. Tammy eventually performs but is not adept at cartwheels or tumbling. She says she isn't focused due to thinking about how the other teams are doing. But the increased stress level is more likely due to Victor who, while trying to coach her, appears to be nagging at her while spouting out directions. Even after she finished he said her brain froze. Ouch.
Detour
Teams headed to the city of Brasov for their choice of two Transylvanian tasks. Strength was required for Gypsy Moves, during which teams went to a gypsy settlement to load a family's belonging onto a horse-drawn cart and then transport it to another camp. (Did you wonder how the producers came up with this challenge?) Kris had little trouble lifting a barrel over his head. Mike regretted picking the more physical of the two challenges when he realized he and his father had to lift huge tires and car parts.
As Mike said, he was discouraged from trying Vampire Remains, which sounded complicated. With an homage to Vlad the Impaler — and a castle sitting in the background — teams had to unlock and untangle chains around a coffin, remove the antique frames inside and then slam them on pointed stake to find the red and yellow flag.
This wasn't an easy task, as the coffins were difficult to move down the hill and looked much heavier and more awkward than a round of cheese. Luke again was losing his balance while others were sitting on their butts to push the coffin. And as an extra bonus, after slamming the frames on the stakes, fake blood splashed out for effect.
The most dramatic journey began when Victor states "follow the marked path to the coffins." He spots a painted red mark on a tree and heads that way while Tammy clearly says it's not yellow and red like all of the other markers they've seen so far. Blondes Christie and Jodi head in the opposite direction. Not so dumb, are they...
Tammy and Victor reach the top of a hill that looks like the top of the world when Victor states they are "doing so great". But it's obvious to us that they aren't. Victor's insistence that they shouldn't go back down the hill because they've come so far was not even logical thinking. His biggest clue — besides the two-way arrow — was that there was no one else is around. The most difficult part for him was admitting his error to his sister. After turning around and heading back down the hill, they spot the official markers and head back up the hill to find the impalement site. More time is wasted upon having lost a key while dragging the coffin down the hill. Remarkably, Victor spots it in the grass. They really deserved to be eliminated this week but lucked out.
Pit Stop
Amanda and Kris were the first team to finish Gypsy Moves, but they lost time looking for Kris' misplaced fanny pack. They eventually located it, but the time wasted was a benefit to Mel and Mike, who squeezed ahead and were team No. 1, winning a trip to Costa Rica.
My favorite moment of the night was Phil being a tease, saying he was sorry to tell Tammy and Victor they were the second to last team to arrive. Victor tells Phil he's not upset but clearly he is and now realizes it's a chance to reevaluate his relationship with his sister.
Brad and Victoria were just arriving when the others were finishing. Brad is a bloody mess in the dark from his challenge. He and his wife are the last team to arrive, and they are eliminated.
Return Trips
• Teams were given $332 for this leg of the race
• Mike: "I won a freakin' medal!"
• Tattoos were exposed. Mike has one on his left arm and Kisha has a large eagle-looking print covering her back.
• After saying he didn't want to wear leotards, how much did you want to see Luke wear them!?
• Tammy: "It's frustrating that we have to follow your gut and not mine."
Order of Finish
1. Mel and Mike
2. Amanda and Kris
3. Kisha and Jen
4. Margie and Luke
5. Mark and Michael
6. Christie and Jodi
7. Jaime and Cara
8. Tammy and Victor
9. Brad and Victoria
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