Amazing Race 14 Episode Recap: "It Was Like a Caravan of Idiots"
A variety of physical and mental skills were required to finish the fourth leg of the race, including home repair, bobsledding and familiarity with Russian literature. But while the teams jockey for first place, a new twist in the game leaves one team wondering who would be devious enough to turn on them. Let's break it down.
And they're off!
Leaving Romania behind, the teams read the route information clues aloud and mangle the pronunciation of their next destination, Krasnoyarsk, located deep in the heart of Siberia. Honestly, I had to look at the screen three times to spell it correctly. Last week's first place team, Mel and Mike, are first out of the gate as all teams make their way to Moscow on one of four connecting flights from Bucharest to Frankfurt, Munich, Sofia or Istanbul before making the flight to Krasnoyarsk.
This was probably my favorite cab sequence ever. On the way to the airport, flight attendants Christie and Jodi love their cab driver when he takes them to an Internet café to check out departure times. Kris states that he and Amanda are young and competitive and can go to infinity and beyond to win. Brothers Mark and Michael get wise and discover that they can call ahead to an airline and book a flight. Moving forward on this stroke of genius, they ask their driver for a phone. He obliges, makes the call for them and hands it to Mark. There was either a communication breakdown with the cab driver or he was the first to play a practical joke on the stuntmen. In another cab not far away, we see a driver hand his phone to cheerleaders Jamie and Cara. Cara takes the incoming call and recognizes Mark on the other end hoping to make a reservation. Taking advantage of an irresistible situation, she lightheartedly impersonates a Lufthansa representative. The unsuspecting Mark tries to book a flight ,but the fun-loving jokester informs him there is only a 9 am flight that is in business class. (Teams are only allowed to pay for economy class tickets.) Cara bursts into laughter and hangs up on a disappointed Mark.
As it turns out, Mark and Michael are one of three teams to arrive first in Krasnoyarsk at 5:40 am. Kisha/Jen and Christie/Jodi are the other two. But the entrance to the hydroelectric dam where they are to pick up their next clue doesn't open until 8:30 am. They maintain their lead as five teams miss the connecting flight.
Detour
Helping the locals protect themselves from the bitter Siberian winters was the Detour task. The first option was Stack, which required a traditional technique of stacking firewood and was to be completed to the satisfaction of an expert. Do you think this is an official job or volunteer work?
As teams arrived, they were greeted by laughing spectators eating what appeared to be an assortment of pickles, cabbage and corn dogs washed down with water. (Or was it vodka? I'm told they're the same thing.) And while one man played an accordion, a woman with a red drink in her hands laughingly and loudly proclaimed "America, I love you!"
Stack sounded easy on paper, but many had problems keeping their wall of firewood standing. Jen states it's a benefit to be tall and then compares stacking the firewood to playing Jenga. The female teams seem to blast right through it. But the little brothers were having a rough day, first losing their way to the location and then building a second wall they didn't need. And frankly, at 4-foot-9, stacking the top tiers six feet high was definitely beyond their reach. Tumbling may be part of their line of work, but you'd think they'd be more balanced when stumbling on the road. When Michael knocks down both walls of wood, he and his brother make a wise decision to switch challenges.
The Construct challenge might have been less taxing overall. The teams were to gather materials at a work shed and build a set of traditional wood shutters. After correctly assembling them, find the house identified with a "repairs needed" sign and install them. Mark and Michael, deciding that the materials are too heavy to carry, start searching for the house before constructing the shutters. Wandering aimlessly down the street, they eventually return to build the shutters, but lose their lead.
The worker at the shed, who looks like a cross between Harry Dean Stanton and Waylon Flowers' puppet Madame, looks on quietly as the brothers are perplexed with the chore at hand. Around this time, the other five teams show up and choose Stack. When Mel and Mike's wall completely falls over they decide to join the stumped stuntmen. Amanda and Kris, thinking wood piling could take all day, join them too.
Blind U-Turn
After the Detour comes the first of two U-Turns in the game. But there is a twist. Previously, teams had to post not only the picture of the team they were sending back to perform the second Detour challenge but their own picture as well. Now they can remain anonymous.
Kisha and Jen knew they were ahead of at least five teams who missed the connecting flight and decided not to use it. Earlier, when the dating couple's cab passed the mother-son team, Margie declares, "If it comes down to a foot race Amanda and Kris would win hands down." So when the opportunity knocked, Margie and Luke blindsided them. Thinking it's either of the two women frontrunner teams, Amanda and Kris return to build that wood wall a second time, never suspecting the real culprits. And they might have saved time had they just finished the wall the first time.
Roadblock
Who's ready to speed read? At Bobrovy Log Park, one team member rides a bobsled up to a speed of 55 mph while completing a three-mile course in less than four minutes. Along the way, the contestant must remember or jot down the seven letters posted. If you're good at Scrabble and up on your Russian playwrights, then you'll easily know the solution is Chekhov.
In Kisha's case, she had only six letters and ran the course again. Christie has all of the letters but has no clue to the answer. Luke does a little dance while riding the bobsled, but is then ready to give up when he doesn't know the author's name. The team members eventually make a good guess and move on. Victor is smug, asking: "Who doesn't know who Chekhov is?"
Pit Stop
At the theater of musical comedy in Krasnoyarsk, Phil Keoghan appears in front of a troupe of colorful performers while awaiting each team's arrival. What's nice this season is that no one team has consistently dominated the game (like last season's brother-sister act) ,which has allowed for the spreading out the first-place prizes. It's neck-and-neck to the end this week, but the blondes beat out the sisters by a hair and each win a motorcycle.
The stuntmen wasted a lot of time, but the topper is not having enough to pay the cab driver. They give him money and offer him a watch, but the driver is already wearing a Rolex. They offer their jackets. Mark hugs him. Strong contenders and U-Turned couple Amanda and Kris are the last team to arrive and are eliminated.
Return Trips
• Mike describes his father: "My dad is part Woody Allen, part Billy Graham and a splash of Judy Garland."
• Kisha: "Siberia. I know that's where they have Siberian tigers."
• While lugging the shutters around and not knowing where to go, Mike comments: "It was like a caravan of idiots."
• Victor: "Nothing fell." Tammy: "I know. That's Asian engineering!"
• How long do you think it took to build a wall of firewood? Over an hour?
• What did you think of the Blind U-Turn? Is it advantageous to be anonymous?
• Will you remember how to say or spell Krasnoyarsk?
Order of Finish:
1. Christie and Jodi
2. Kisha and Jen
3. Tammy and Victor
4. Margie and Luke
5. Jaime and Cara
6. Mel and Mike
7. Mark and Michael
8. Amanda and Kris
To watch clips of The Amazing Race, ride a bobsled over to our Online Video Guide.
