The season premiere of The Amazing Race airs tonight on CBS. Read a live recap and join the discussion here.
The Amazing Race – See All The Results Here
Please discuss spoilers in the SPOILER post only.
This season of The Amazing Race will feature pairs from three of the most popular CBS reality competition shows: The Amazing Race, Big Brother, and Survivor.
The race kicks off on a California beach. All the teams must dig for clues in a giant sand sculpture of an octopus. Rachel & Elissa are the first team to find a clue. They learn they must fly to Tokyo, Japan. Soon enough, more teams find clues. We also hear from the teams. Rupert & Laura didn’t get a chance to play together on Survivor, so they’re eager to finally compete together as a team on The Amazing Race. Britney played a role in Janelle’s Big Brother 14 eviction, but they’ve since become good friends. Nicole voted to evict Victor three times and Victor did not vote for her to win (she won anyway), but they are now dating. Leo & Jamal say they have matured since their previous time on the show. Colin & Christie remember how intense they were on the race 15 years ago, but they both meditate now and are calmer than they used to be. Tyler & Korey believe they proved to be more than giggling buddies last time they competed. Elissa is from Big Brother 15, and Rachel is from Big Brother 12 and Big Brother 13. Rachel has competed on The Amazing Race twice with her husband Brendon, but now she’s racing with her sister. Becca & Floyd were strangers when they first met on The Amazing Race, but they’ve stayed good friends since their first experience. Chris & Bret met on Survivor and they have also remained good friends. Art & JJ regret how they came close to winning last time, but fell a bit short. They are determined to win this time. Corinne & Eliza are outspoken, and they share their opinions on some of the teams. They think Nicole & Victor are dumb, and they are underestimating Rupert & Laura due to their age. They also think Rachel only made it to the end of The Amazing Race twice thanks to Brendon. They also make fun of Rachel and Elissa’s outfits.
All the teams land in Tokyo. They must search for Tokyo Tokyo Restaurant or ACB Lock & Security for their next clue. There is a limited number of clues at each location. Rupert & Laura are the first team to find Tokyo Tokyo Restaurant. They receive their clue and learn they must proceed to Edgeof Shibuya Building for their next clue. Chris & Bret are the second team to find Tokyo Tokyo Restaurant. Meanwhile, Leo & Jamal find the clue at ACB Lock & Security. They also stage a fight to confuse the other teams. Janelle & Britney and Colin & Christie are the next two teams to find the clue.
Leo & Jamal are the first to arrive at Edgeof Shibuya. They learn one of them must do a Roadblock. They will have to go through shelves of shoes and figure out which one is made of chocolate. They have to bite them to figure it out. As Jamal gets to work on the Roadblock, Colin & Christie arrive. Christie chooses to do the Roadblock.
Rachel & Elissa and Tyler & Korey find Tokyo Tokyo Restaurant, but there are no more clues. They must go to ACB Lock & Security. Art & JJ and Corinne & Eliza are also struggling. Meanwhile, Jamal finally finds the shoe that is made of chocolate as Janelle & Britney and Nicole & Victor arrive. Janelle and Victor choose to do the Roadblock. Janelle finds a chocolate shoe on her first attempt. Leo & Jamal and Janelle & Britney can now proceed to Shiba Koen for their next clue. Christie is the next one to find a chocolate shoe, allowing her and Colin to proceed to Shiba Koen too.
Leo & Jamal find the clue box and learn the team member who did not do the Roadblock must perform this next task. They must climb up a giant slippery slide of Mt. Fuji and retrieve a clue. Leo gets started, but he is struggling getting up the slide. Meanwhile, after 43 attempts, Victor finally finds a chocolate shoe. Rachel & Elissa and Tyler & Korey arrive at the Roadblock with Elissa and Tyler performing the Roadblock for their respective teams. Tyler and Elissa quickly find a chocolate shoe as Chris & Bret and Becca & Floyd arrive. Meanwhile, Janelle & Britney have gotten lost on the way to the Mt. Fuji slide task.
Colin & Christie arrive at the Mt. Fuji slide task before Leo has retrieved a clue. However, Leo finally gets a clue. He and Jamal must now proceed to the Pit Stop: Atago Jinja. Colin quickly retrieves his clue. He and Christie can proceed to the Pit Stop too. Chris and Floyd manage to complete the Roadblock too.
Corinne & Eliza finally get their clue leading them to the Roadblock, but Art & JJ are still trying to find ACB Lock & Security. Meanwhile, Leo & Jamal are the first team to arrive at the Pit Stop. Leo & Jamal are Team #1! They have won a cruise vacation to Tahiti. Leo & Jamal call it redemption since they were eliminated in Japan last time. Colin & Christie arrive as Team #2.
Meanwhile, Nicole, Korey, and Rachel are working on the Mt. Fuji slide task for their respective teams. They are successful getting their clues as Art & JJ finally find ACB Lock & Security. They make their way to the Roadblock as Laura and Eliza get started on the chocolate Roadblock for their respective teams. Laura finds her chocolate shoe quickly, leaving Corinne & Eliza nervous about being the first team eliminated from the race. Rupert & Laura can proceed to Shiba Koen.
Becca gets started on the Mt. Fuji task as Corinne & Eliza finally complete the Roadblock. Eliza is breaking down in tears. She and Corinne believe they are in last place, unaware that Art & JJ are behind them and just getting started on the Roadblock.
Tyler & Korey and Rachel & Elissa arrive at the Pit Stop as Team #3 and Team #4 respectively. Janelle & Britney finally find the Mt. Fuji task as Chris & Bret get started on it. Bret makes his way up the slide, but goes back down without grabbing the clue. He realizes his mistake, and he goes back up the slide.
Becca & Floyd and Nicole & Victor arrive at the Pit Stop as Team #5 and Team #6 respectively. Art & JJ are still at the Roadblock. They finally complete it, but are way behind the other teams. Britney and Bret complete the Mr. Fuji task. Chris & Bret arrive at the Pit Stop as Team #7 and Janelle & Britney arrive as Team #8.
Art gets to work on the Mt. Fuji task after Corinne & Eliza have already completed the task. Art is struggling with the task as Corinne & Eliza greet Phil at the Pit Stop. They are nervous, but Phil gives them the good news and tells them they are Team #9.
Rupert & Laura are lost as Art hurts himself on the slide. Rupert & Laura have been wandering around for two hours as JJ watches Art cradling an injured leg. One of these two teams will be the first team eliminated from the race. JJ proposes taking a four hour penalty, and Art agrees. As they sit on a bench and wait out their time, Rupert & Laura finally arrive at the Mt. Fuji slide task. Art & JJ don’t believe Rupert will be able to complete the task. However, Rupert makes his way up the slide and grabs a clue on his first attempt. He and Laura can now proceed to the Pit Stop. They arrive at the Pit Stop as Team #10. Art & JJ realize that it’s over for them.
Art & JJ arrive at the Pit Stop last. They have been eliminated from the race. They said they felt out of sync today, and they believe this will haunt them. They admit they still think about losing their first season seven years ago.
Episode Summary
1st place: Leo & Jamal (Won a cruise vacation to Tahiti)
2nd place: Colin & Christie
3rd place: Tyler & Korey
4th place: Rachel & Elissa
5th place: Becca & Floyd
6th place: Nicole & Victor
7th place: Chris & Bret
8th place: Janelle & Britney
9th place: Corinne & Eliza
10th place: Rupert & Laura
11th place: Art & JJ (Eliminated)
And that wraps up the season premiere of The Amazing Race! Thanks for reading, post your thoughts in the comment section below, and come back next week for another live recap.