The Amazing Race: The Hunt for Red & Yellow

With nine legs down, two to go, four teams in the running, and only three spots in the final leg, this week was an absolute do or die for the remaining brave racers.  This episode continued one of my favorite Amazing Race traditions, a leg contained entirely within one major city.  This time, it was a deep dive through Moscow exploring relics of the USSR, the local literary tradition, and some truly baffling mass transit systems.

Toni & Dallas, Ken & Tina, and Nick & Starr took off roughly around the same time and made short work of navigating the labyrinthine chambers of a decommissioned nuclear sub in search of an actor from The Hunt for Red October.  Andrew & Dan, whose continued presence in the race truly baffles me, bumbled off for another round of ineptitude and misadventure, their hides having been saved by a non-elimination leg.

Sadly, the frat morons ceded the idiocy crown to Dallas, whose many mistakes quickly undid the steady march to the top he and his mom had done so well at.  His problems started with a Road Block the likes of which I would gladly see more of.  It took a little detective work, a little logic, and unfortunately for Dallas, a little ability to tell the difference between Lenin & Stalin.  It consisted of counting the statues of Vlad & Joe in an eerie sculpture garden, using those numbers to find a page in a book, and finding their way to the real world location alluded to on that page.  Nick sailed through, but Dallas would have been getting the number consistently wrong even if he hadn’t been mistaking the historical arch-commies for each other.  Some gracious pity from Tina finally sent the big lug on his way, but the damage had been done.  Things only got worse when he managed to commit the ultimate faux pas of international travel by losing all of his & Toni’s cash and passports.

The Detour for once felt like a real world detour in that it gave the choice of two modes of transportation to a common destination rather than just the choice of two tasks to be performed.  Teams could brave a multi-tiered underground Metro system with a speed bonus, or track down an electric trolley bus and take the punishment of slower traffic for the security of an easier route.  3 teams took the bus, but Nick’s status as a Big Apple resident made even the subways of Moscow easy to navigate, and with the Pit Stop in walking distance of the Detour destination, they made a first place finish look like absolute child’s play.  Even with the amusing humiliation suffered in a dance-tastic Speed Bump challenge, Andrew & Dan shocked themselves and probably Phil by pulling off 2^nd.  Ken & Tina kept the fight for 3^rd place interesting with an ever suspenseful “where the hell’s that clue box?” moment while last place Toni & Dallas successfully begged for Rubles and kept gaining ground.  It wasn’t enough, however, and the mother & son found themselves eliminated.  So it’s the ruthless sibs, the clueless buddies, and the ever vigilant Ken & Tina in a sprint to the finish.  Here’s hoping Mom & Dad will kick it in gear and teach the whippersnappers a lesson in respect.

Season 13, Episode 10: You’re Gonna Get Me Killed (originally aired November 30, 2008)

For another take on this episode, check out You didn’t let me down either, Dallas.  Well, a little. by Alana D.

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Sundays at 8pm ET/PT on CBS

Photographs courtesy of CBS