The Amazing Race: All-Stars Episode 8 Discussion and Recap (UPDATED)

The race continued in Italy tonight, but with a Double U-Turn in play. And one team does not take it well at all. Read about the angry reaction here, as well as the winners and losers of this leg of the race.

Brendon and Rachel won the last leg of the race, so they’re the first to depart. They have to drive a Ford Focus to Civita di Bagnoregio where they’ll find their next clue. They also learn that there’s a Double U-Turn ahead. They want to U-Turn Jet and Cord since they still have an Express Pass in their possession.  Will they follow through with this plan?

Caroline and Jennifer are the second team to depart, but Dave and Connor are right behind them. They are still planning on working together in the race since they both think so highly of one another. Dave and Connor allow Caroline and Jennifer to follow them, but the country singers get lost on the way. They think Dave and Connor ditched them, but that wasn’t the case at all.

Jet and Cord are the third team to depart. They plan on using the Express Pass this leg of the race. They hope to use it fast enough so they arrive at the U-Turn board before anyone can have a chance at U-Turning them. The cowboys are in the middle of the pack though, as Leo and Jamal and Flight Time and Big Easy are behind them.

Brendon and Rachel arrive at the clue box first and learn they have a Detour to complete: “Donkey Run” or “Donkey Build.” “Donkey Run” requires team members to race around a track three times while riding on donkeys before a band finishes playing a tune. “Donkey Build” requires team members to assemble a wooden donkey and deliver it to Geppetto, who will hand over the next clue. Brendon and Rachel choose to build a donkey, but change their minds after coming across the donkey track. Brendon and Rachel’s first attempt at the Detour does not go well as they both fall off their donkeys.

Before they can start their second attempt, Dave and Connor arrive. They ask them where they can find helmets for the task, but Brendon and Rachel refuse to tell them. This is the second time they have refused to help them, which irritates the father and son duo. However, Brendon and Rachel complete the Detour on their second attempt before Dave and Connor can get started. Brendon and Rachel can now proceed to Hostaria del Ponte.

While Dave and Connor are trying to successfully race around the track, the other teams are still driving on their way to the Detour. Flight Time and Big Easy are especially lost. So before any more teams arrive at the Detour, Brendon and Rachel arrive at the U-Turn Board. They contemplate who to U-Turn. Rachel thinks they should U-Turn Jet and Cord, but Brendon is adamant that they need to U-Turn Dave and Connor since they are right behind them. Rachel is still unsure whether or not that was the right call as they make their way to their next destination (La Badia di Orvieto), but Brendon was certain that that was the right choice.

Jet and Cord arrive at the Detour and hand over their Express Pass to Geppetto as Dave and Connor finally finish the “Donkey Race” task. It’s a race to the U-Turn board, and it is Dave and Connor who get there first. They decide to U-Turn Leo and Jamal after seeing that Brendon and Rachel U-Turned them. That means Jet and Cord can make their way to La Badia di Orvieto while Dave and Connor have to go back where they came from. But they leave with Leo and Jamal, who happened to just arrive there. Even though they U-Turned them, Dave and Connor offer to work with Leo and Jamal. They go to the “Donkey Build” Detour together. Dave and Connor are absolutely furious with Brendon and Rachel. They do not take being U-Turned well at all, especially Dave. While they’re working on the “Donkey Build” Detour, Caroline and Jennifer finally arrive. Dave and Connor explain what happened when they got separated on the road. They insist they didn’t ditch the country singers as they offer to help them with the Detour as well.

Meanwhile, Brendon and Rachel arrive at La Badia di Orvieto and find out they have a Roadblock to complete. They must recreate a manuscript using calligraphy. Rachel decides to do the task since she says she’s very artistic and loves doing arts and crafts.

Back at the “Donkey Build” Detour, Dave and Connor, Leo and Jamal, and Caroline and Jennifer are struggling with the task. They complete building their donkeys, but they all forget to place the wooden box atop of it. Frustrated, Leo and Jamal choose to complete the other Detour and hope the other two teams will tell them how to correctly finish that task by the time they’re done racing around the track.

While Leo and Jamal are racing around on donkeys, Connor is the one who finally figures out that the wooden box to carry the sticks is the last remaining piece to complete building their donkey. Dave and Connor deliver their wooden donkey to Geppetto. Along the way, they tell Leo and Jamal about the missing box and they go help Caroline and Jennifer before they make their way to the Roadblock. Dave and Connor are now in third place, while Caroline and Jennifer are in fourth place.

Meanwhile, Leo and Jamal finish racing around the donkey track by the time Flight Time and Big Easy finally arrive at the Detour. The Globetrotters spent most of the episode lost as they tried to find Civita di Bagnoregio. Leo and Jamal quickly put the wooden box on their donkey and deliver it to Geppetto. They are now in fifth place as they make their way to the Roadblock. Flight Time and Big Easy choose to race around on donkeys, but switch to the building detour after a donkey wouldn’t move. However, the Globetrotters are dumbfounded by the exact same thing that stumped the teams before them. Even though they are so close in completing the task, they once again switch back to race around on donkeys again. This time, they have speedy donkeys and eventually manage to successfully complete the task. They can now finally make their way to the Roadblock.

Rachel and Jet are still working on the calligraphy by the time Dave and Connor and Caroline and Jennifer arrive there. Dave and Connor confront Brendon about the U-Turn. Brendon tries to explain, but the father and son duo is having none of it. They are still livid at Brendon and Rachel and are insulted that they were U-Turn. Dave especially is hot-headed, claiming it makes no sense to U-turn a sixty-year-old man. Dave also makes Connor do the Roadblock as well. Connor didn’t want to do the Roadblock, but Dave asserted that Connor should do it. Considering that Connor was the one who had to do the more physically challenging Roadblocks, I think Dave should have stepped up and did this simple writing task.

However, the first person to complete the Roadblock is Rachel (after her second attempt). She and Brendon cheers as Dave mocks them behind their backs. Brendon and Rachel can now make their way to the Pit Stop: Piazza del Duomo. Leo and Jamal arrive at the Roadblock. Leo begins the task while Jet, Connor, and Caroline are still working on it. Connor considers taking a penalty since he is certain he won’t be able to do the calligraphy correctly.

Meanwhile, Brendon and Rachel make their way to the Pit Stop. Phil informs them that they are Team #1! They win $7,500 each! Congrats to them for coming in first place two legs in a row. After struggling to stay alive a few legs ago, it’s nice to see that the power duo is on a roll now. Will they be able to keep it up for the remainder of the race?

All the other teams finish the Roadblock one after another and check-in at the Pit Stop. Coming in second place are Jet and Cord, with Leo and Jamal in third. Dave and Connor and Caroline and Jennifer once again arrive at the mat simultaneously, but it is Dave and Connor who take fourth place, with Caroline and Jennifer taking fifth place.

This means that it is Flight Time and Big Easy who arrive at the Pit Stop last, and Phil informs them that they have been eliminated from the race. This has to be the Globetrotters’ worst showing on the race. They did not win a single leg and seemed to be racing half-heartedly. They did not read their clues carefully multiple times, and even admitted that their strategy all along was to just not be in last place. They seemed to have lost their fighting spirit on their third attempt at winning the race. So for that reason, I’m not sad to see them eliminated from the race.

Also, I did not like the self-righteousness displayed by Dave and Connor this episode. Connor wasn’t so bad, but Dave just wouldn’t let it go. Brendon and Rachel made a strategic decision to use the U-Turn on them to give them a better chance at another first place victory. I don’t think it was anything personal at all. Brendon and Rachel are competitors, which is evident on their times on The Amazing Race and Big Brother. This is a team that is playing to win, so I commend them for that. Hopefully Dave and Connor can understand that, but judging from the preview for next week’s episode showing Dave and Connor, Caroline and Jennifer, and Leo and Jamal mocking Rachel and uniting against her and Brendon, that seems unlikely.

And even though they annoy me, I have to commend Leo and Jamal for surviving their third U-Turn in their Amazing Race history. They are definitely a strong team, and have done well all season long. Caroline and Jennifer, however, are kind of a disappointment. I understand the strategy of alliances, but they have basically ridden on the coattails of other teams to get to the Final 5. It would be nice to see them do things on their own for once. It’s getting down to the wire, so alliances should be thrown out the window by now. But (as I already mentioned) an alliance of Caroline and Jennifer, Dave and Connor, and Leo and Jamal seems to be forming. They’re obviously going to try to get Brendon and Rachel and Jet and Cord eliminated so they can be the Final 3 teams. But will they succeed in that plan? I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

 

Episode Summary:

1st place: Brendon and Rachel (Won $7,500 each)

2nd place: Jet and Cord

3rd place: Leo and Jamal

4th place: Dave and Connor

5th place: Caroline and Jennifer

6th place: Flight Time and Big Easy (Eliminated)

 

Thanks for reading, and join me next week for another recap of The Amazing Race: All-Stars!

About Steven Curtis 538 Articles
Steven is a graduate of the University of West Florida with a bachelor's degree in communication arts. He enjoys watching reality competition shows, such as American Idol, Survivor, Big Brother, and The Amazing Race.