A new episode of The Amazing Race 34 airs tonight on CBS. Read a live recap here.
The teams’ next location will be Dordogne, France. It is known as the land of 1,001 castles. Once they land, they must drive themselves to the Château de Beynac. The order they placed in the prior leg will determine the starting over for this leg. Luis & Michelle and Aubrey & David are the first teams to depart. They are struggling where to go, and they propose working together. Eventually, Derek & Claire and Quinton & Mattie depart. Derek & Claire drive by Luis & Michelle as they are getting directions from a local. Derek offers to let them follow them, but Luis & Michelle would rather listen to the directions the local gave them.
Marcus & Michael and Emily & Molly are the next teams to depart. Glenda & Lumumba are the last team to depart, and they leave 45 minutes later than Luis & Michelle and Aubrey & David. Meanwhile, Luis & Michelle are the first team to arrive at the chateau. They learn they have a Roadblock to complete. One team member must rappel down castle walls and answer questions about a family tree. Michelle decides to do the Roadblock without memorizing the names. Since she is in first place, she would rather see what the questions are and then get the answers on her second attempt. While she is working on her first attempt, more teams arrive. Mattie, Michael, Emily, Derek, and David choose to do the Roadblock. Mattie uses the same strategy as Michelle by seeing the questions before memorizing the names. Michelle uses a mnemonic device and succeeds on her second attempt. She and Luis can now proceed to La Ferme de Turnac.
Glenda & Lumumba are still in last place, and they fall further behind after Glenda accidentally drives the car into a ditch. Meanwhile, the team members working on the Roadblock each have to do at least two attempts to answer the family tree questions. No one gets it on his or her first attempt. Mattie is the second to complete the Roadblock. She is followed by Emily and Derek.
Luis & Michelle and Quinton & Mattie get lost on the way to La Ferme de Turnac. Meanwhile, Michael and David fail the Roadblock on their second attempts. Glenda & Lumumba have not arrived by the time Michael completes the Roadblock. As Marcus & Michael race back to their car, Michael realizes he left behind his belongings at the castle (including the car keys). He and Marcus must go back and retrieve them. Marcus is frustrated, and he says now is not the time to be making these kinds of mistakes. Michael needing to get back his clue and keys allows Aubrey & David to pass them after David completes the Roadblock.
Glenda & Lumumba are the only ones at the Roadblock by the time they finally arrive. Lumumba gets to work on the Roadblock as the other teams are driving themselves to La Ferme de Turnac. Marcus & Michael manage to get ahead of all the other teams thanks to Marcus’s navigational skills. They arrive at the clue box first and have a Detour to complete: Walnut Cracker or Medieval Gamer. The former requires teams to crack walnuts and make walnut oil while the latter requires teams to complete three games. Marcus & Michael choose Walnut Cracker. Luis & Michelle arrive at the Detour second, and they choose Medieval Gamer. As they get started, Lumumba completes the Roadblock on his second attempt.
As more teams arrive at the Detour, Luis & Michelle choose to switch Detours. They were struggling with the game requiring them to maneuver a ball up a wall with holes. Emily & Molly, Aubrey & David, and Quinton & Mattie choose Walnut Cracker. Derek and Claire were initially going to do Walnut Cracker, but Claire suggests doing Medieval Games since it’s the only way to have a chance to surpass the other teams. Derek & Claire work on the three games. First they must each toss bags onto a perch. The second game requires them to balance rocks on a swing. They attempt the ball maneuver game last.
Marcus & Michael finish the Detour first. They can depart to the Pit Stop: Panorama. Derek & Claire finish all three games, putting them in second place. More teams eventually finish the Detour. Emily & Molly are next, followed by Luis & Michelle, David & Aubrey, and Quinton & Mattie.
Glenda & Lumumba finally arrive at the Detour. They choose Medieval Gamer. As they get started, Aubrey & David bicker on the drive to the Pit Stop. Aubrey’s struggle with reading the map causes tension between them. While they are lost, Glenda & Lumumba complete the Detour.
Many teams struggle with directions on the way to the Pit Stop, but Marcus & Michael stay in the lead and arrive at the Pit Stop first. Marcus & Michael are Team #1! They win $7,500 each. Emily & Molly arrive shortly afterwards as Team #2. Derek & Claire and Luis & Michelle are close behind and greet Phil as Team #3 and Team #4 respectively. Quinton & Mattie arrive later as Team #5.
Aubrey & David are still struggling finding the Pit Stop while Glenda & Lumumba are driving to the Pit Stop too. It could be creative editing to make it seem closer than it is between the last two teams. Eventually, Aubrey & David arrive at the Pit Stop as Team #6. Glenda & Lumumba arrive later in last place. Glenda & Lumumba have been eliminated from the race. Glenda says she and Lumumba are more in love with each other and more appreciative of each other. Lumumba says it’s just the beginning for them, and Glenda feels like she’s a better partner for her husband. Lumumba says they are already winning, and there’s nothing they can’t accomplish together.
Leg Summary
1st place: Marcus & Michael
2nd place: Emily & Molly
3rd place: Derek & Claire
4th place: Luis & Michelle
5th place: Quinton & Mattie
6th place: Aubrey & David
Eliminated: Glenda & Lumumba
And that wraps up tonight’s episode of The Amazing Race. Thanks for reading, and come back next week for another live recap.
