I watched the news show and got a selfie!

IMHO, the Biggest Blunder in TAR history;
Getting Eliminated with an Express Pass in hand.

Episode Title: Not So Boo Anymore!

Air Date: September 1, 2026

Racers journey to Digby, Nova Scotia and Saint John, New Brunswick—where, a historic twist culminates in the most shocking pit stop yet!

To start off, PLEASE NO SPOILERS FOR FUTURE SEASONS, The Amazing Race is the one reality show I have been relatively able to be spoiler free for and I would like to keep it that way)

Hello everyone,

I have finished Season 20 of the Amazing Race. I must say, this is a BAD season. Easily the worst one I've seen in a while.

We'll start with the very few good things that I have to say. Number 1, the route and the tasks we're great. Azerbaijan was a cool new location. We got some memorable tasks as well. Secondly, Mark and Bopper are perhaps the most rootable team in Amazing Race History.

Now to the bad. EVERYONE ELSE SUCKS. This might be the least likeable cast in Amazing Race history, everybody on in was either annoying at some point, just flat out boring, or actively unlikeable. I just cannot with this season, everything about it was bad.

Let's move on to the team rankings. Spoiler alert, there is not a lot of good here:

F Tier:

Art and JJ: I HATE THIS TEAM. I did not think my hatred for a team would ever get worse than Lynn and Alex from TAR7, but border patrol agents Art and JJ somehow managed to do it. They were just rude to everyone, weirdly obsessed with Brendon and Rachel (which is a little suspicious when you take into account that Brendon is half Mexican), and overall just unpleasant. I don't JJ has ever been happy a day in his life. JJ throwing a temper tantrum about Rachel/Dave not using the U-Turn is everything that is wrong with them. These dudes just actively bring the season down for me. However, calling Brendon/Rachel followers, then following Rachel/Dave and getting lost, then losing to them is pure karma.

D Tier:

Misa and Maiya: Here we have the classic under edited Amazing Race first boots. What can I tell you about them? They play golf, their car got stuck in the sand, and they made a blunder by missing the pit stop. That might be the closest elimination ever seen though.

Dave and Cherie: I feel like these two were only cast to be early boots, just cannon fodder for the other teams. Honestly, I'm kind of glad they went early as well, because I probably would have gotten sick of their clown schtick. They ended up just being irrelevant.

Elliot and Andrew: Good looking? Yes. But they were just so boring. E&A really gave us nothing to work with. The only speck of emotion we got from them was chucking a bag because they were in last. They at least had a close elimination, I guess.

C Tier:

Kerri and Stacy: These two had potential to be really good. Unfortunately they got snipped out too early to make much of an impact. In their short time, they were funny and were just in general an alright team. This team really needed some more time to cook.

Nary and Jamie: You'll never guess it, but Nary and Jamie are federal agents. I know it sounds crazy but its true. That was really all we got from these two. One schtick made their entire personality. At least they hid their occupations and saved us from a three way alliance of U.S. Agents.

Vanessa and Ralph: This team gave me weird vibes to start the season off, but they turned out to be mostly alright if not a little toxic. Vanessa was a bit nasty, but had so many other moments that she makes up for it. Ralph in general seems like a pretty cool dude. Fighting with Brenchel at least gave us some memorable moments from the season, and we got it twice, once in the airport and once at the pit stop mat. Watching Brenchel outlast them was pretty satisfying, but you knew that Ralph and Vanessa never had a shot once Vanessa sprained her ankle.

Rachel and Dave: The winners of the season, and the most dominant winners up to this point. I'll give them points for that. I originally did not like them that much, and I still really don't like their first half of the season. Teams members that bicker often depend on the relationship. With siblings it's usually pretty funny, but with couples it can be really toxic and hard to watch. That's how I felt about their first half. Their second half was much better, as they kind of stepped into a somewhat comedic role with their bickering, and you could tell they were having a better time. Overall, they got better, but still not my favorite team. You have to respect them as the best winners yet though.

B Tier:

Joey Fitness and Danny: What Jersey Shore casting call did they steal these two from? I knew from the start that there was no way a dude named Joey "Fitness" was going to win the race, but I must say that I enjoyed them on the race. They were the early season comic relief, and they filled their role perfectly. You can't take them seriously because of the accents, the name, etc. Hearing Phil have to say Joey Fitness was pretty funny as well. They took a gamble on the fast forward and it backfired, but I enjoyed every second of it.

Brendon and Rachel: I'm a Big Brother fan, so I knew coming into this that we were going to get one of two Rachels, either the competitive Rachel or the crybaby Rachel. We ended up seeing more of the latter this season. At first it was really bad and annoyed me greatly, but later it transformed into being kind of funny. Brendon is calm and collected, and Rachel is having a meltdown every other 5 seconds. Rachel brought the drama as well, which was appreciated by me. It would have been great to see them win but unfortunately we can't always get what we want. I know they come back so I look forward to seeing them again.

S Tier:

Bopper and Mark: Maybe the most likeable team in Amazing Race History. Kentucky never gives up. It was a bit hard to watch at the end, they were just so battered and bruised that you knew their elimination was coming but you didn't want it to happen. That Bollywood leg really showed the indomitable human spirit by Mark, and we lucked out it was only a non-elimination leg. I just love these two together. Mark was always getting car sick and had the Bollywood roadblock. Bopper reminds me of Jim Varney, and him talking about his daughter, having his head shaven for the fast forward, and overall enthusiasm for the race just makes me love him that much more. They never quit, gave all they had and then some, and catapulted themselves to being my favorite team this season.

Overall, this was a bad season of the Amazing Race. It's going to happen, not everything is going to be perfect. Bad and boring characters dragged the season down for me, but I will give points for Brenchel and Mark/Bopper.

Updated Season Tier List:

S: 5, 7

A: 2, 9, 12, 14, 17, 18, 19

B: 1, 3, 10, 11, 13, 15

C: 4, 16

D: 6, 20

F (Family Edition): 8

Winner rankings: (Based on a combination of performance and as characters)

S: Rachel and Dave, Nick and Starr, Meghan and Cheyne

A: Rob and Brennan, Tyler and James, Tammy and Victor, Nat and Kat

B: Chip and Kim, Uchenna and Joyce, BJ and Tyler, TK and Rachel, Ernie and Cindy

C: Chris and Alex, Flo and Zach, Reichen and Chip, Dan and Jordan

D: Freddy and Kendra

F: Eric and Danielle, Kisha and Jen

Thanks for reading my review of Amazing Race 20. I know it wasn't the greatest season, but hopefully Season 21 can make up for that. The only way to go from here is up.

"Sorry Guys, We Used Our Express Pass" — In Vancouver, host Phil Keoghan surprises racers with the first twist of the season: for the first time in "Amazing Race" history, there are 13 Express Passes in play.

Season 39 Premiere Date: Wednesday, September 30 at 9:30 p.m.

Read More: https://www.tvline.com/2248962/cbs-fall-2026-premiere-spoilers-boston-blue-fire-country-marshals-tracker/

Let’s continue this series, I hope to cover all seasons. . The question is: What is the worst thing a team has done to another team or bystanders during The Amazing Race season 10

If there were more Head-to-Heads to be featured on any Race, what should happen to the team that fails to complete it?
- Yield
- Speed Bump/Hazard
- Elimination

I am an on and off fan of TAR (primarily because I just never seem to know when the show is airing) and would like to get into it by rewatching the stories of some of my favorite (and least favorite) teams during the shows run. I love channels that cover stories of players from Survivor and Big Brother (such as Once upon an Island and Ethanimale) and was wondering if one exists for TAR because if it does, I haven't found it yet. If there is none, this is an open invitation for someone to make it happen because there are so many great teams I'd love to see videos about :)

Since a U-Turn comes after a Detour, what would happen if a similar handicap would happen after a Roadblock?

Since most legs now are Elimination Legs, should they use the Speed Bump in other areas, like after the first half of a Double or Mega Leg?!

One hindrance to having all winners is the fact only three F/F teams have ever won, which would either make the M:F ratio lopsided or have a bunch of M/F teams, most of which are couples or ex couples.

Assuming every F/F team would all say yes and a maxed out cast of 14 (max they can have with 12 legs and no NELs or DELs), how many more F/F teams likely have to win first?

I feel we’d need at least two more with this being a probable cast.

Rob/Brennan

Tommy/Megan

Tammy/Victor

Nat/Kat

Kisha/Jen

Josh/Brent

Amy/Maya

Brooke/Scott

Colin/Christie

Greg/John

Ricky/Cesar

Jas/Jag

Future F/F winning team

Future F/F winning team

To start off, PLEASE NO SPOILERS FOR FUTURE SEASONS, The Amazing Race is the one reality show I have been relatively able to be spoiler free for and I would like to keep it that way)

Hello Everyone,

I have finished Season 19 of the Amazing Race. Overall, it's a good season, but not a very memorable one.

We'll start with the good. I loved the route this season, the race finally hit some places I had been eagerly waiting for (Denmark, Belgium, Panama). Secondly, we got some decent competition this season between teams, even if the race was primarily dominated by two teams. That second Indonesia leg is one of the closest finishes I've ever seen on the race. Out of the final nine, it seemed like anyone in bottom seven could've been eliminated on that leg. I think the tasks have definitely been stepping up over the past few seasons as well, and I love that. Third, the characters that do make an impression this season are really good. There were quite a few teams that I liked.

Now to the bad. Like I mentioned earlier, it's not a very memorable season. I feel like there isn't a lot about this season that pops out to you. I feel like you can split the season into two distinct halves, the first half being one team dominating almost every leg, and the second half where the game breaks open a bit. Regarding the twists, they sucked. The hazard is just a speed bump in everything but name. The Double Elimination sucked as an idea as well, it just doesn't work well logistically with the race.

Let's move on to the team rankings, the cast was pretty solid this season, but we still had some duds:

C Tier:

Ron and Bill: There's not really much to say here besides they got twist screwed. They're flight attendants that ironically did poorly in a race around the world.

Kaylani and Lisa: Overall, they don't have much, but they make do and then some with what they have. The whole passport incident had me believing that we were about to see our first ever disqualification at the race, but they lucked out. Besides that, the only thing that they really got was Kaylani being a single mom.

Laurence and Zac: Don't let the accent fool you, this team felt really boring for a majority of the race. We got almost nothing from Zac the whole season. I feel like if you took them out of the season, you wouldn't miss anything. Also, Laurence made some questionable comments in Malawi during that detour at the school.

B Tier:

Ethan and Jenna: First of all, I am heavily biased because I love Survivor, and Ethan is an all time favorite of mine. Second of all, they got royally screwed with the Double Elimination. Ethan is one of the kindest souls on this earth, and knowing what he went through with his cancer, and what Jenna went through with her mom, made me excited to watch and see how they would do. Unfortunately, the stupid Double Elimination cut it short. At least we got Ethan on Winners at War.

Liz and Marie: Three moments stand out to me here. The first is the struggle with the roadblock in Taiwan. It was pretty funny to watch fail after fail on that proverb. Second involves the elephant. I have never seen anyone that excited about an elephant, but I guess I get it, elephants are pretty cool. Third is when they ran out of money and were prepared to walk 5+ hours across the city. They also had their motivation of running the race for their deceased father, which was nice for their character arc.

Justin and Jennifer: These two brought the entertainment because they couldn't communicate with each other. Their constant bickering was really funny to watch. I do feel bad for Jennifer for the bicycle fiasco in Malawi. Funny to watch? Yes. They are a solid, but unspectacular team on the season.

Andy and Tommy: Another solid, yet unspectacular team. They do get knocked points for being a bit preachy and somewhat questionable in the roadblock in Thailand. Like come on guys, be respectful of the culture. That being said, they are probably the most statistically dominant team to not win the race so far. They won 6 legs, even if they did luck into a few of those first places. If they had won, they would have been in the top tier of winners. However, their luck ran out in Panama, and they just missed out on the final.

Jeremy and Sandy: Is it just me, or are Jeremy and Sandy like the most generic co-ed team ever? I found them to be decently likable, which is why my ranking has them here, but they seem really basic. They have a good storyline, they are trying to figure out how to communicate effectively with each other. Jeremy also had his storyline about his son, which adds to the character. Overall, we see their story arc, we see them struggle. They may not be the most interesting team on the race, but they do everything well enough.

A Tier:

Bill and Cathi: How can you not love this team? Outside of the fiasco that was the first leg in Taiwan, they proved that they could hang with the pack despite their older age. They were also on the receiving end of the most uneventful U-Turn ever, Ernie and Cindy pretty much wasted it on them. Overall, Bill and Cathi brought so much life and energy to this season, and were certainly very likeable and made you want to root for them. RIP Bill.

Amani and Marcus: I was really worried for a second that all of Marcus's football analogies would start to annoy me, but that was not the case. Amani and Marcus proved to be a very likeable team. They provided the energy and were big characters on this season. They were constantly fighting to stay in the race, and rode the momentum all the way to the final, which was in their home city of Atlanta. Never let Marcus near a flight simulator again lol. It was really sad watching them lose their footing at the end. Overall though, a really fun team that I enjoyed watching.

Ernie and Cindy: Ernie and Cindy were the perfect balance to each other on the race. Cindy was more cerebral and a bid of a control freak, while Ernie was laid back. They combined perfectly. They did pretty much waste a U-Turn on Bill and Cathi though, which was funny cause Cindy was downward spiraling about not being able to get first place. Thinking about it more, Cindy was actually pretty fun on the race due to having a mental breakdown every time something went wrong. They're definitely deserving winners, although they got a bit lucky in Panama with Andy and Tommy screwing themselves over. If the boys were in the final I don't know if they win. Overall, they were a fun team to watch and were certainly deserving of the win.

Overall, a good but uneventful season. Outside of the duds, the cast was strong and the characters likeable. The first half was a bit boring, but the second half started to pick the momentum up a bit. Like I said a lot in this review, solid if not unspectacular. That's the least I can ask for in a season.

Updated Season Tier List:

S: 5, 7

A: 2, 9, 12, 14, 17, 18, 19

B: 1, 3, 10, 11, 13, 15

C: 4, 16

D: 6

F (Family Edition): 8

Winner rankings: (Based on a combination of performance and as characters)

S: Nick and Starr, Meghan and Cheyne

A: Rob and Brennan, Tyler and James, Tammy and Victor, Nat and Kat

B: Chip and Kim, Uchenna and Joyce, BJ and Tyler, TK and Rachel, Ernie and Cindy

C: Chris and Alex, Flo and Zach, Reichen and Chip, Dan and Jordan

D: Freddy and Kendra

F: Eric and Danielle, Kisha and Jen

Thanks for reading my review of Season 19 of the Amazing Race. Next up is Season 20, and I know Rachel and Brendon are on that season. I'm optimistic for what is to come.

A fifth continent! Nice! We don’t see many seasons visit this many, especially not the gimmicky ones.

The episode started with… more extra footage of Hayley and Blair bickering from the previous leg? We know they bicker, you don’t have to continuously shove it down our throats. It’s not like this information is relevant to the start of the leg. The editors are weird this season.

It was Laura’s 30th birthday, and she was hoping some birthday luck would come into play. Spoiler… it wouldn’t. They chose the pre-booked flights (like idiots… NEVER go on the pre-booked flights!) while Hayley and Blair found a flight that would get them in the same day, many hours sooner than the other teams. J+J also opted for this flight, and then it was full, and the other teams had to suffer.

After drinking it up at a bar in Amsterdam, Laura and Tyler came to the sobering realisation that they’d royally effed up by not checking for earlier flights, but it was too late.

Blayley and JJ arrived in time to see the festival and were handed a matchbox with their leaving time on it. The others missed the fireworks. Their next destination was the Plazuela de la Merced; according to Reality Fan Wiki, this was 0.16 miles away, but the two leading teams decided to try getting in taxis to find it. Only after driving for a while did they realise they weren’t on the right track. 

Blair was trying to speak appropriately with the cabby and make sure he knew where he was going. Hayley was impatient and wanted to get straight back in the car and have the cab driver drive back the way we came. He said, “I’ve got it.” Hayley said, “But you’re just standing there so I don’t think you ‘got it’.” Urgh, she makes my skin crawl. Later on, she berated him for not listening, but as far as I could tell, she was also not really interested in having a conversation because she wasn’t hearing what he had to say. She just starts yelling the minute she’s irritated. In the car, he tried to mend things, and she just said: “How about you listen to me?” Because she gives terrible advice, that’s why.

The last teams met the mayor in the sash and dashed off. The Trout Wankers successfully figured out the clue “To shine with the morning sun” to find the shoe shiners. It helped that there was a speed bump sticker attached to the top of the station. Laura and Tyler were baffled by it and whizzed to a taxi, misinforming Matt and Ashley along the way.

In the taxi, Laura mentioned she’d seen a Speed Bump but no clue box. Tyler put two and two together, and they dashed out. Unlike Hayley and Blair, they can overcome mistakes without yelling. Matt and Ashley were annoyed that the taxi that they got in was taking them back to where they had just come from. They found their Speed Bump, which was not making a figurine like the other two Speed Bumps this season… Instead, they had to fill out a form. Matt kept asking Ashley easy questions as he was too stressed to think about what to put on the page.

Teams next headed to a sugar cane field and would be harvesting the cane with a machete. Blair joked that he was terrified to be anywhere near Hayley with that machete. Mike and Rochelle had an early lead, but Tyler was a beast at harvesting and was able to visibly overtake Mike at chopping down the plants. I had to say, the chopping action looked very satisfying, and I wouldn’t mind trying it myself.

Teams next took part in an advert for FitBit, which I remember being huge at the time… I think I got one for Christmas that year. I’m actually so glad that thing broke… even though it was good for me to be reminded to take 250 steps every hour, it ended up becoming an obsession, and I’d get thoroughly annoyed if I didn’t achieve the goal on time. I just want fewer things in my life that cause me stress, please. Anyway, the teams had to perform some maths in order to get to a clue. At first it seemed as if everyone was coming up with the same number, which didn’t seem like a good advert for Fitbit: the number of calories you burn while walking would be different for everybody, surely. But later on I saw that there were some different numbers. They got to use a calculator for this, so it’s not exactly hard.

Afterwards, teams got their next detour clue: Mamas or Papas (10/10… incredible work with this one). At long last, the potato scene was coming about. JJ chose the Papas detour, and we got to see several sweet black pigs and piglets in the background of these shots. Blair’s Spanish accent may not have been convincing, but his language skills were enough to get him and Hayley about the market. Because JJ messed up their sorting, their potatoes were dropped on the ground, and they needed to begin again, allowing Blayley to pass after taking Mama’s moonshine.

They were to meet Phil at a ‘celebrated statue’ in Plaza Otuzco. The strange, angular, blue and yellow painted concrete edifice was so hideous that it actually felt rather brutalistic. A row of schoolkids was lined up behind Phil, perhaps a special treat for them all to see a real TV show being filmed in their town. Hlair won a FitBit kit each and some sort of gym membership thing… I mean, they both look pretty fit already. To my surprise, they seemed very pally at the pit stop, saying they were BFFs and that they respect each other. I guess the arguing we see on the show is a very small fraction of their overall vibe.

Amongst the trailing teams, all three chose to do Mamas (the easier detour). But only the TWs ended up doing it, securing 3rd place. Laura and Tyler’s driver must not have paid attention to their clue, and was either aware that the show would be taking place at the potato farm, or looked at the wrong bit of clue. He dropped them there, where they reluctantly decided to complete Papas instead. To help see the colour of each potato, Laura had the bright idea to spit on them to clean them up. She resembled the Hawk Tuah girl for a minute. Seriously, it was really disgusting though, and I hope no one had to eat those potatoes later.

Matt and Ashley were taken to the right place for Mamas but were tragically misinformed yet again by Laura and Tyler, who said: “I think they took you to potatoes, guys.”  Had they looked a little harder, they would have seen that the shop they were hunting for was right next door to the potato sorting stations.

And so it was that for a third time in a row, the Speed Bump team was unable to catch up. It’s always great when a team redeems themselves, but I think this is the first season I remember where the non-eliminated team got eliminated in the following round on all three occasions. Again, someone correct me if I’m wrong on that.

What’s even wilder: with the Engaged couple out of the picture, the Trout Wankers have proved themselves as the strongest pre-existing couple this season. I would have never believed it!

The first female team to make the finale.

Episode Title: I Love Metal Detectors

Air Date: August 25, 2026

The Race continues along the shores of Lake Huron from Grand Bend to Sarnia with a leg full of unpredictable twists.

There are some challenges that are extreme time sucks. It seems obvious to me that it's better to take the penalty and guarantee you will make it out than to sink hours in disbelief that it can go on forever?

Rewatching older seasons (again).

In a few, they will give the racers a country flag as a clue.

What would happen if a team (tried) to go to a completely different country than intended? Would they be allowed to go?

Logistically, I would expect they would be redirected, but I would expect the rules would say they can't be.

Welcome to the weekly No Judgements post.

Here is your chance to ask any question related to TAR without having to worry about being judged.

There are no stupid questions here.

I'm going to nominate Sheri & Cole from Season 28, when they arrived at the Pit Stop in Shenzhen, China, surviving the penultimate leg by what Cole claimed was about 5 minutes. Say what you will about the season's theme, say what you will about Cole's YT channel now, say what you will about the fact that I was spoiled for this season's final three and therefore expected it...this moment was huge.

First you have Sheri and Cole in their taxi, Cole saying "I bet we had more fun this leg than any of these other teams", and then Sheri qualifying it with "Except that one of them will win a million dollars". Then you have them running up the rainy steps, probably fully expecting to be eliminated. Amidst the lion dancing and cymbals, it suddenly dawns on Cole that only two teams are there, and he shouts, "ARE WE THIRD?!" The top two teams confirm it, and then Cole asks where Burnie & Ashley are - they don't know!

People talk about satisfying or surprising eliminations as some of the most memorable moments on this show, and for good reason. But the flipside of it, the team that unexpectedly avoids last place on a leg where they'd been running behind, can be equally iconic. What do you all think?

To start off, PLEASE NO SPOILERS FOR FUTURE SEASONS, The Amazing Race is the one reality show I have been relatively able to be spoiler free for and I would like to keep it that way)

Hello Everyone,

I have just finished season 18 of the Amazing Race, subtitled Unfinished Business. It was an alright season, it definitely had potential. I just think it fumbled the bag at the ending. Besides that, we got our second season of returning racers, and with that some all time characters.

We'll start with the good. We finally got another season of returning racers, it was about time. Unfinished Business is essentially the Survivor: Cambodia of the Amazing Race in terms of themes, and that made me really excited because Cambodia is a really good season. The characters we're great in this season as well, the racers get to build off of what they already showed us on their first season. The tasks this season were also phenomenal, and it provided a lot of funny, sad, and happy moments for our racers.

Now to the bad. Nothing personal against them, but in my opinion Jen and Kisha might be the worst winners the race has produced yet. In a season filled with big characters, the might be the most quiet of them all. A part of that might be them being weirdly purpled in the edit, but they still didn't win a single leg besides the final one. Their win reminds me a lot of Amber winning over Rob on Survivor: All Stars. They might have been a strong team, but there were stronger teams still there. Secondly, no speed bumps on the no-rest legs really made me feel like that those legs didn't matter at all. There should have been a punishment for coming in last on those legs.

Let's move on to the Team Rankings:

C Tier:

Amanda and Kris: Our first boots were perfectly fine, and in a race half filled with with teams from TAR14, they seemed like the most expendable. Coming in last on the first challenge certainly didn't help them, but it did lead to a funny moment in which they got U-Turned again, this time automatically. Overall, someone had to go first.

Mel and Mike: Was Mel too old and not fit enough to run the race? Probably. But I still enjoyed watching them in their short time on the season. I watched Mike play Survivor twice, so I have a little bias here. I commend Mel for not wanting to give up on anything, no matter how much he was struggling. That being said, it was probably good for the season that they went out so early.

Jamie and Cara: I like Jamie and Cara a lot, but for some reason I just didn't find myself rooting for them this season. Maybe that's because there were bigger characters. They definitely had their moments, such as hitting another car in Japan, getting U-Turned right in front of the U-Turn, and the dinosaur roadblock in China. They were perfectly fine this season, with some good moments sprinkled in.

Kisha and Jen: There are a couple of boxes you have to check in order for me to consider you a good winner of the Amazing Race. One is performance, and the other is character. Kisha and Jen failed to accomplish either of those. They didn't win a single leg besides the finale, and they barely got an edit. I can barely tell you anything about them. I feel as if every other team in the Final 5 would have been more deserving winners than Kisha and Jen. I just don't feel like I got anything from them, and a better edit would have helped with that. They are on the bottom of the winner list alongside Eric and Danielle. Also, Kisha's laugh started to annoy me after a while.

B Tier:

Margie and Luke: A majority of this ranking comes from the tea roadblock in India. Seeing Luke struggle with that was a hard watch, but he persevered and got through it. I liked them on Season 14, and seeing them come back was a delight. They weren't the biggest characters, but they were fun to watch.

Jet and Cord: The Cowboys were fine this season. Their usual flare as seen in Season 16 was back for Unfinished Business as well. Their problem was just playing from the back too much and making key mistakes, which often contributed to playing from the back. Their Cowboy schtick was fine, but not a good as in their original season. I still like Jet and Cord, but this appearance was definitely weaker than their original one.

A Tier:

Ron and Christina: They brought the same energy that they had in Season 12. A majority of their character is them arguing with each other. Sometimes it was good and sometimes it was sad, which sucks because I hoped that their experience on Season 12 would help them to not bicker so much. Ron was a lot of fun this season, especially in China where he wanted to eat everything in sight. There was also the roadblock in Varanasi where he struggled. It was also interesting to see them interact with Chinese culture, it added to their character, and people following them around was kind of funny.

Kent and Vyxsin: Three Words. Positive Mental Attitude. Kent and Vyxsin were a lot of fun this season. Mostly because they were constantly screwing up along every leg of the race. Being behind several hours because they drove the wrong way and missed the REQUIRED FLIGHT. Losing their pack. Getting a penalty because they couldn't read. Kent accidentally hurting himself for the 50th time. They fanned a lot of the conflict this season and that really drives up their score. I was glad that I got to see them get another opportunity to run the race and show their character. The only thing that keeps them from top tier is that Kent was a little whiny and annoying in some parts, and not in a good way.

Gary and Mallory: A majority of what makes Gary and Mallory great is exactly the same from Season 17. Mallory is a bright ray of sunshine and enthusiasm, and Gary is the underdog you love to root for. They actually ran a decent race this time. They won a couple of legs, including the first which gave them the Express Pass. A favorite part of mine for this team is Mallory getting excited at literally everything. It even made Phil laugh. You could tell they loved being on the race, and were just great characters overall.

Flight Time and Big Easy: I love the Globetrotters. Flight Time and Big Easy are so much fun on every leg of the race. I was hoping that they would return after Season 14, and they delivered on Unfinished Business. They were extremely goofy on the season, but also drove some of the drama, especially in Switzerland against Kent and Vyxsin with the chocolate gnome debacle. They built of what we saw in their first season and continued being great characters, all the way to second place.

S Tier:

Zev and Justin: Call me biased. But Zev and Justin rival BJ and Tyler for one of my favorite teams of all time. Everything about them this season was great. I thought that they encompassed the theme of Unfinished Business, with the passport incident in Season 15. They delivered on it and then some. They were easily the strongest team in the race this season. I like their dynamic, and I was especially please to see Zev pushing Justin on the fondue detour. That was probably one of the hardest detours I've ever seen. Also, Zev and Justin getting waxed was one of the funniest things I've ever seen on the race. I just love this team, and them winning the season would probably push it into an S Tier season. But alas, we can't always get what we want.

Overall, it was an above average season that could have been an all timer had anyone else in the Final 5 besides Kisha and Jen won. I definitely think it's better than the other all returnee season in All Stars. We had memorable characters, memorable tasks, and a competitive race. That's all I can ask for.

Updated Season Tier List:

S: 5, 7

A: 2, 9, 12, 14, 17, 18

B: 1, 3, 10, 11, 13, 15

C: 4, 16

D: 6

F (Family Edition): 8

Winner rankings: (Based on a combination of performance and as characters)

S: Nick and Starr, Meghan and Cheyne

A: Rob and Brennan, Tyler and James, Tammy and Victor, Nat and Kat

B: Chip and Kim, Uchenna and Joyce, BJ and Tyler, TK and Rachel

C: Chris and Alex, Flo and Zach, Reichen and Chip, Dan and Jordan

D: Freddy and Kendra

F: Eric and Danielle, Kisha and Jen

Thanks for reading my review. I look forward to The Amazing Race 19 and what it entails.

The episode began not with any more Phil commentary but with teams returning to their tents after another hard African leg. It looked like the Blind Date teams weren’t required to share a tent. Probably for the best. Black and white footage gave some of the few examples of Hayley bickering at Blair, stuff that would continue this episode. God, she is awful.

At the dinner table (it seems for once the teams did mingle between legs), Matt apologised to Jelani for the U-turn, and Jelani lied through his teeth: “It’s all good man.” In their talking heads, J+J felt M+A’s strategy was bad, because if you U-turn someone, you should make sure they will get eliminated… Well, how’s that supposed to work if you’re at a double U-turn? Nevertheless, Jimmy + Johns were pissed off and ready to U-turn the engaged couple at the next opportunity. Damn, I’m hungry for a sandwich now.

Laura and Tyler came in first… and did some quick advertising for Travelocity. I have to say, a few photos on a phone screen don’t make the website seem THAT amazing or anything. Teams were surprised to be heading back to Europe, but they were travelling to Amsterdam.

Teams travelled to the Jagershuis (hunter’s house) for a roadblock involving identifying a clog from amongst hundreds with similar patterns. This one turned out to be particularly devious. Keen-eyed Jenny was able to make it out of there on her first attempt. Blayley seemed to arrive really late (taxi issues, probably), so Hayley tried to encourage Blair with a persistent “COME ON, BLAIR!”, Twinnies-style. Somehow, the encouragement worked, as Blair was able to speed through the challenge and leave Matt and Rochelle scrabbling.

Tyler had commented that it would start to get really stressful for the last person standing, and that happened to be Matt, who had been the third to arrive at the roadblock. After Rochelle left, he began to panic and dig wildly through the klompen, at one point picking up the correct clog but dismissing it. Ashley tried to ask him to calm down, and was very differentiated in her advice to him. However, he seemed befuddled by stress, making 31 incorrect attempts before taking a deep breath, taking another look at the example clog and realising there were some details he had missed. He commented that he should have taken the advice to take a breath and calm down. It’s funny how well it can work, despite how unhelpful it can feel in the moment.

Jenny and Jelani decided to cycle along the Amstel River straight to their target so that they wouldn’t get confused, with Jenny confident that no other teams would choose to go a different way. Wrong. Laura and Tyler made a left turn somewhere that ended up getting them back in first place, with Phil making his live commentary as they reached the Munttoren. Blair got fed up as Hayley was cycling so slowly… did she not know how to change gears on her bike?

The detour was Soak or Shuffle (1/10). We had a lot of fun figuring out the clues for ourselves… sk-8-ing came pretty quickly, and the rest of the clues fell in from there… Is to ice was definitely the most cryptic part, but what else would go with “skating rink”? “Roman”, according to Jelani and Jenny, who kept overthinking this part of the clue, and needed a bystander to help them out… even in their second language, a Dutchman could do better than they could. The ‘hot tugs’ looked really fun.

Meanwhile, two other teams did the Shuffle game (having lived in the Netherlands for nearly 20 years, I have never heard of this game). The scoring rules seemed complex but made sense when demonstrated. It was rough that teams had to score all 51 points in one go, and even when Matt scored an impressive 42 points during his turn by making two lots of 20, Ashley was unable to score the 9 remaining points needed, forcing them to start again.

On their way to the detour, Hayley and Blair had one of their biggest arguments yet. Unsure of directions in a new city and probably making a few understandable mistakes, Blair tried to explain the situation to Hayley, but she was too amped up and was furious if they made any sort of mistake at all, but also did not seem to try to take over. She started using mocking voices to insinuate he was an idiot when pretending to say what he said. She gets so angry over nothing and doesn’t help. Blair, to his credit, stays calm and allows her to behave as she does, probably because he realises how crazy she will come across on TV and how much better he will look if he tries to stay quiet, even if he does make a few mistakes. It’s crazy that she thinks it’s acceptable to talk to somebody the way she does. Hayley is beginning to make my blood boil; I hope they get eliminated soon. Unfortunately for us, though, they were able to overtake overthinking J+J at the detour and score an impressive second.

Laura and Tyler were continuing to gel very well… in the hot tug, they seemed to have such chemistry with each other, but at the pit stop their words made it seem like the feelings towards each other were platonic. Although they’re ‘the villains’, they’re actually very charming around each other, and I enjoy their vibe. They got their second win in a row and a trip to Seoul. Sounds amazing.

Mike and Rochelle ended up going the wrong way to the rink, so Jenny and Jelani ended up being third in the end, meaning that all three remaining Blind Date teams had dominated on this leg… the established couples were struggling, but I’m very proud of the Trout Wankers for making it this far. Not sure if I could have foreseen that.

Matt and Ashley were last to arrive after Matt’s clog-induced meltdown, but I had a feeling they wouldn’t be eliminated. For one, the third non-elim would either happen now or next episode, and it’s always so predictable when there are four teams left. Also, I remembered the clip of Matt and Ashley’s potatoes falling over the floor that had been shown to us in a “coming up this season” clip. The potatoes hadn’t been seen yet, so they had to stay in… With that plot armour, Phil allowed them to stay, and they were overjoyed. This is why those ‘coming up this season’ clips are so bad for spoilers.

Peru next episode. This must be one of the few seasons that visits the five main continents (without Oceania). I wish more would do it. Have we ever had a season with all six?