A two-hour edition of The Amazing Race airs tonight on CBS. Read a live recap and join the discussion here.
The episode begins with Kristi & Jen learning their next destination: Harare, Zimbabwe. Once there, they must make their way to Imire Rhino & Wildlife Conservancy. Kristi & Jen say there is less room for error with so few teams left, but they’re determined to continue to do well. Eric & Daniel say their strategy won’t change. They want to focus on getting to their destination with no mistakes. Alex & Conor share the same sentiment; they hope to not make any mistakes. As for Brittany, she’s cautious of Jessica and says she does not trust her. Jessica says using the U-Turn was the best decision she and Cody made in the race.
At Zimbabwe, Cody & Jessica say they’d like to see Henry & Evan eliminated since they feel like they can beat Lucas & Brittany and Eric & Daniel. Cody & Jessica say they have also been working with Alex & Conor and Kristi & Jen. All the teams make their way to Imire Rhino & Wildlife Conservancy. Once there, they learn they must build safari tents and settle in for the night. They all get to work, some with more success than others. Cody is able to single-handedly build the his and Jessica’s tent before any of the other teams build theirs, putting himself and Jessica in first place. They’re assigned the number 1 for tomorrow’s task. Lucas & Brittany are second to finish their tent, and they’re followed by Henry & Evan in third, Kristi & Jen in fourth, Eric & Daniel in fifth, and Alex & Conor in fifth.
At 4:00AM, Phil wakes up the competitors. He lets them know the new twist: Partner Swap. Since Cody & Jessica got #1, they get first pick. They choose to swap with Kristi & Jen. Cody will be racing with Jen; Jessica will be racing with Kristi. Lucas & Brittany choose Alex & Conor, with Brittany racing with Alex and Lucas racing with Conor. And by default, Henry & Evan are swapping with Eric & Daniel, with Henry racing with Eric and Evan racing with Daniel.
For their first task as new teams, they must make their way across Imere Lake on rafts. They must locate canteens and then make their way to a lookout tower. While working on the task, Cody & Jen and Jessica & Kristi help each other out. Brittany & Alex are the first team to get the next clue.
For the Detour, they are given a choice between Rhino Track and Bush Whack. Rhino Track requires teams to gather eight pieces of poaching evidence. Bush Whack requires teams to drive vehicles through muddy terrain and replenish a ranger supply station with water. Brittany & Alex choose Rhino Track. Jessica & Kristi and Cody & Jen choose Bush Whack. The other teams are still making their way to the lookout tower. As they get started, Jessica & Kristi choose to switch to the Rhino Track Detour since neither of them can drive a stick shift car. Cody & Jen are torn whether or not to also switch Detours to help and collaborate with their original teammates, but they choose to continue on with Bush Whack.
Lucas & Conor choose Bush Whack, as do Henry & Eric. Evan & Daniel are in last place as they choose Rhino Track. All teams are working on their chosen Detour tasks.
Cody & Jen are the first to finish the Detour, and they are given their next clue. They can proceed to the Pit Stop: Savannah Plains Overlook. They arrive there, and Cody & Jen are Team #1. However, Phil has to wait for their teammates to arrive before he can check them in.
Brittany & Alex are the next team to finish their Detour, and they can now make their way to the Pit Stop too. Meanwhile, Conor & Lucas get their car stuck in a ditch. Henry & Eric get their car stuck in a ditch too, and they are all struggling getting it out. However, Conor & Lucas do manage to eventually get their car out. Conor wonders if anyone was able to get across that part of the track without getting stuck before we see an instant replay of Cody driving through it with no issues.
Brittany & Alex are the second team to arrive, but Phil tells them they’ll need to wait for their original partners before he can check them in. Meanwhile, Jessica & Kristi are working on putting their discovered evidence in the correct order, but they are getting some answers incorrect.
Conor & Lucas are the next team to arrive, and Phil informs them that the partner swap is over. Phil hands them their next clues and tells them to continue racing. Alex & Conor and Brittany & Lucas make their way to the next location. Meanwhile, Jessica & Kristi are still struggling putting their evidence in the correct order.
Evan & Daniel join Jessica & Kristi at the evidence tables, and Kristi asks them if they want to help each other out. Evan says she wants to try it herself first, but she later tells the cameraman in a confessional she wasn’t going to help them since it wasn’t mutually beneficial.
Evan & Daniel and Henry & Eric finish their Detour tasks, and they make their way to the Pit Stop. Phil tells them the partner swap is over, and they can continue racing. Later on, Jessica & Kristi finally solve the evidence puzzle. They run to the Pit Stop and reunite with their original partners and continue racing.
It’s time for the next leg, which is to drive to the city of Harare, Zimbabwe and go into a fabric store. Alex & Conor and Lucas & Brittany arrive at the U-Turn board first. Lucas & Brittany U-Turn Cody & Jessica. Alex & Conor U-Turn Henry & Evan. They are next given their Detour tasks: Handle With Care or Just Get It There. Handle With Care requires teams to deliver mail packages to businesses in a mall. Just Get It There requires teams to deliver tires by rolling them through a market and then into a delivery truck.
Kristi & Jen are relieved to not have been U-Turned, whereas Cody & Jessica and Henry & Evan are understandably displeased with being U-Turned. Eric & Daniel believe one of the U-Turned teams will be eliminated this leg.
Alex & Conor get started on the Just Get It There Detour, and they are surprised how vast and busy the marketplace is. Kristi & Jen and Lucas & Brittany arrive at the tire Detour too, and they agree to work together. Meanwhile, Cody & Jessica quickly get started on the Handle With Care Detour. Later, we see Henry & Evan start on the Just Get It There Detour. Eric & Daniel are the last to arrive at their chosen Detour, which is the mail delivery task.
Kristi & Jen are the first team to finish the Detour. They receive their next clue and learn they must proceed to Harare Gardens where their next clue awaits. As they leave, Lucas & Brittany are right behind them in second place. Kristi & Jen pass Henry & Evan, and Jen even tells them where to keep going. Jen quickly regrets helping them out since Evan refused to help Kristi & Jessica earlier. Meanwhile, Alex & Conor deliver the tires to the wrong truck and Cody & Jessica are struggling finding the businesses to deliver their packages.
Henry & Evan arrive at the mail Detour as Cody & Jessica complete it and make their way to the other Detour. Eric & Daniel have completed the task too and can make their way to Harare Gardens.
Kristi & Jen arrive at Harare Gardens, and they learn they have a new task to complete. They must learn a song and perform it in front of an audience with correct pronunciation. Kristi & Jen begin rehearsing as Lucas & Brittany arrive and join them.
Cody & Jessica arrive at the tire Detour as Alex & Conor are departing. Alex & Conor even tell Cody & Jessica exactly where to go, and they hope helping them will pay off in a future leg.
Alex & Conor arrive at Harare Gardens as Kristi & Jen try their first attempt at the singing task. They fail on their first attempt, but so do Lucas & Brittany. Meanwhile, Cody & Jessica and Henry & Evan have completed their second Detour tasks after Eric & Daniel arrive at Harare Gardens too.
Alex & Conor fail their first attempt at the singing task too, and we next see Kristi & Jen and Lucas & Brittany fail at their third attempts too. All the teams are struggling with the pronunciation and staying on the beat.
Henry & Evan and Cody & Jessica arrive at Harare Gardens before any teams passed the singing task. They are now all caught up with each other, but some teams have had more time rehearsing than others. We next see Eric & Daniel attempt the song, but they fail with a lot of laughter from locals in the audience.
Lucas & Brittany are the first to finish, and they can now make their way to the Pit Stop: First Street Pedestrian Mall. Right afterwards, Kristi & Jen finally pass the singing task too. As they depart, we see Lucas & Brittany arrive at the Pit Stop as Team #1. They win a trip to Saint Lucia. Later, we see Kristi & Jen join them on the mat as Team #2.
Other teams are still struggling with the singing task, but Alex & Conor are the next to successfully complete it. Cody fails his first attempt with Jessica, but he believes he’s ready after their instructor tells him where he went wrong. Jessica wants to continue practicing, but Cody is adamant about trying again. Cody & Jessica fail again after Henry & Evan complete it and make their way to the Pit Stop. Cody & Jessica and Eric & Daniel are the last two teams left at the singing task.
Alex & Conor arrive at the Pit Stop as Team #3, and Henry & Evan join them on the mat afterwards as Team #4. Alex & Conor explain they simply made a game move with the U-Turn, and Henry & Evan seem understanding.
Cody & Jessica finally complete the singing task, but Eric & Daniel complete it right afterwards. It’s seemingly a close race to avoid last place between these two teams as we see them rushing towards the Pit Stop.
Cody & Jessica greet Phil as Team #5. While they are still on the mat, Eric & Daniel join them as Team #6. Eric & Daniel have been eliminated from the race. They joke that they have no rhythm, so now they have blues. They say the race was a good time.
Episode Summary
1st place: Lucas & Brittany (Won a trip to Saint Lucia)
2nd place: Kristi & Jen
3rd place: Alex & Conor
4th place: Henry & Evan
5th place: Cody & Jessica
6th place: Eric & Daniel (Eliminated)
And that wraps up tonight’s episode of The Amazing Race! Thanks for reading, post your thoughts in the comment section below, and come back next week for another live recap.
