The Amazing Race Season 28 Recap - Episode 4
Get It Trending
By Kim Hollis and David Mumpower
March 7, 2016
BoxOfficeProphets.com
As we begin this week’s leg, Brodie & Kurt note that there are a few teams that they really haven’t even seen so far during the race. We catch a glimpse of Blair & Scott, who mention the same thing. It seems that Blair has caught wind of a rumor that Brodie may have a crush on her, and she’s obviously curious to find out whether that’s true. A famous person likes her! Well, okay. He’s Frisbee famous. But maybe she can guest star in his Frisbee videos and he can guest star in her… makeup videos?
Their fellow contestants are oddly excited about the showmance, which makes us suspicious that the whole thing is fake. They’re even given a nickname, “Blodie,” which is not as cute as Tyler probably thinks it is.
Since the Frisbee dudes won the last leg, they’ll also be first to leave today. Their clue sends them off to Geneva, Switzerland. Once they arrive, they’ll be looking for a 463-foot-high fountain, which is pretty much impossible to miss. The teams are obviously pretty excited to be going somewhere cooler, and they’re even hoping for snow. The time in the South American heat has been quite grueling. The models are hoping for a good hair day, while Sheri & Cole rarely even see snow because they live in South Alabama.
Korey wonders what they speak in Switzerland (“Swiss?”), which reminds us of the Archer episode where the team goes to protect the Pope. Hopefully the Racers won’t have any treacherous encounters with the Swiss Guard.
All teams are now bunched at the airport, which means that Brodie and Blair have a little time to flirt and get to know each other, while almost everyone else is approached for photos. It’s odd to watch to say the least. Tyler in particular gets a lot of attention, which makes sense. He’s extremely charismatic, but more to the point, he has eight million subscribers on YouTube. More than half a million people watch his videos regularly. Tyler has a following.
Burnie & Ashley discuss the whereabouts of Switzerland with the models, with Burnie asking Brittany & Jessica what country it is in. He receives a blank stare from both of them, and eternal sadness from Roger Federer.
Once in Geneva, the teams remain pretty closely bunched as they reach the fountain, and are next sent to a Rohr chocolate shop. In the window is a board with a number order for the next task, and Burnie & Ashley get the number one spot followed by total chaos from the other teams all the way up until Blair & Scott claim the last number.
They’re all given sleeping bags in the cave/cellar where they’ll be spending their evening. It’s not long before Brodie and Blair are snuggling in a conjoined pair of sleeping bags. As Tyler & Korey delight over the blossoming love, we get a confessional from Blair where she admits, “There’s not not interest.” Brodie agrees. “It was good. It was a good conversation,” he says. True love indeed.
In the morning, the next clue indicates it’s time for a Detour. The choices are Work Bench or Bench Work. In Work Bench, they’ll need to follow some very precise instructions to assemble a Swiss Army Knife. In Bench Work, they’ll need to grab a newspaper apiece and figure out how many newspaper lengths (and butts) can sit on what Geneva residents brag is the longest wooden bench in the world. Both challenges actually seem a bit difficult, so we’re not sure which is the best option here. Usually it’s more clear cut.
The bench challenge seems amusing for everyone except for a couple of guys whose chess game is repeatedly interrupted. Seriously, their annoyance level is extreme. The players who choose Bench Work include Burnie & Ashley, Brodie & Kurt, Dana & Matt, Erin & Joslyn, Sheri & Cole and Brittany & Jessica. That leaves Tyler & Korey, Zach & Rachel, and Blair & Scott at the watch challenge. Brittany & Jessica initially want to go with the knife challenge, but they can’t find it. They walk straight past it, but eventually just (slowly) follow Sherri & Cole to the bench.
Amusingly, Burnie actually has a counter, so they’re well prepared for the challenge. They do attempt to negotiate with the chess players early on, warning them that they’ll be interrupting their game but in a nice way.
Dana goes the opposite way, telling Matt just to sit in the chess guys’ lap (whut?) and generally being rude. Her run of angry jerkiness continues for another leg. On their first time around, Burnie & Ashley’s answer (217) is just a bit too high (the range is 190 to 197), so they’re sent back for another try.
When Zach & Rachel initially turn in their Swiss Army Knife for checking, they’re told that they are missing a piece, so they head back to work on it some more. The dancers and the Clevver girls get the bench answer wrong, so they are also off for a second try. Brodie & Kurt get it right on the first try, and are directed to go to the “Broken Chair” to search for their next clue. They share the answer with Dana & Matt and Burnie & Ashley. For some reason, Dana & Matt go through and do the entire thing again, which gives Dana another chance to be horrible to the chess guys. This time, she nudges their board with her butt and knocks over a piece or two. We like Matt - he seems genuinely nice - but Dana is definitely the person we’d most like to see eliminated at this point.
Tyler & Korey get their knife right on the first try, and they are super excited when they’re told that they can keep it. Now, the Frisbee dudes, Rooster Teeth and Tyler & Korey are all moving to converge on the broken chair (which really is, by the way, a giant broken chair).
The models and the Alabamians get their bench number wrong, and at this point Matt points out to Dana that Brodie & Kurt were telling them that 190 was the answer. Perhaps they should roll with it? She would rather keep bitching at him until they figure it out themselves, we guess. Eventually, they get it correct, and so do Erin & Joslyn. The models, meanwhile, are still at it.
Zach & Rachel have fixed their issues with their knife, so they are moving on. Some people are going by train, while others are running. Running seems like the better option, although for a team like Scott & Blair that doesn’t move quickly anyway, it’s probably fine. They join Erin & Joslyn on a train.
Another attempt, another incorrect number for Brittany & Jessica. After a final pass, they get it right. The two of them don’t hold out much hope for surviving this leg of the Race, though.
At the chair, the Roadblock question asks, “Who’s having a banner day?” For this challenges, teams must find the flags of the 10 founding members of the United Nations, which seems a little hard at first, but then Korey (and others) start to figure out that there is a legend/map right in front of them. Once people figure out this strategy, they can simply count the rows and match the flags to the ones in their books. There are a couple of tricky spots because some flags are really similar - and this trips up Korey and Matt initially.
This portion of the Race is fascinating in that all of the teams willingly work together. Also interesting - and surprising - is that Cole already knows a lot of the flags because he plays a lot of FIFA soccer (either on the Xbox or Playstation). Eventually, we see Korey and Matt working together, while Burnie, Kurt and Cole have joined forces. The other competitors are all girls, so the remaining ladies join forces… with the exception of the models. They show up last, and someone has to finish last, right? This makes them pariahs amongst the other teams, which irritates them, but unfortunately, players like Blair are absolutely correct to exclude them. Blair & Scott would never be able to beat Brittany & Jessica in a foot race.
To her credit, Blair does not that at some point, teams won’t be able to join forces like this anymore. That time might be as soon as the next leg.
Burnie finishes the flag challenge first, and the newest clue directs teams to take a train (or two) to the French Alps and Chamonix, France, the location of the next Pitstop. The last team to check in, as always, may be eliminated. There is a connecting train in Martigny, which might just make things exciting.
Jessica is pretty upset about the other girls leaving her out of the collaboration, but she really ought to understand that it’s not personal, but rather a necessity of the Race. It’s not really “nice” that they’re working together right in front of her, but it’s also not purposefully mean.
Eventually, she does get it right, which means she will need to hope for a delay in Martigny, where teams are connecting to the second train. Apparently, there is a one-hour wait once they get to that spot, so there’s a chance! In fact, Brittany & Jessica’s train does arrive to the point they can see the one they need. Blair asks the other players to hide in hopes that the models will think they’ve already left. Right as the girls approach the train, it pulls away. They’re stuck at the station, waiting for another train.
Now at the changing point for another train, all teams except for the models are now on the same train. It’s going to be a race for first, while it’s a foregone conclusion that Brittany & Jessica will be last.
And the winners of the foot race are… Brodie & Kurt. They win, er, $3,000 apiece? What big spenders you are, CBS! All teams are on the mat together with that lonely exception. For the next leg, everyone will basically be leaving at the same time. After Phil welcomes them, they dance.
Of course, Brittany & Jessica are the last team to arrive and are in fact eliminated from the Race. They have lots of compliments for one another, and Phil gives them permission to shed some tears. The models seemed nice enough, if unremarkable.
Next week promises some snowy shenanigans, complete with a clue falling into an abyss and terrifying challenges. Blair & Scott are running out of people who they can beat in a race to the finish, so look out, Blodie.