The Amazing Race 2020 Recap
Episode 3: We're Makin' Big Moves!
By Kim Hollis & David Mumpower
November 4, 2020
BoxOfficeProphets.com

Jerry and Frank

Previously on The Amazing Race, several teams forgot to read their clues carefully and almost got eliminated. Don’t worry, though - I’m sure no one else will make that mistake this season!

Teams will leave from Bogata and head to Manaus, Brazil, known as the Jungle City. We start this episode with whoring. No, not ours. We assume that teams are forced at gunpoint to use a travel app. We won’t name which one, but it’s the usual perpetrator on this show. One team, Riley & Maddison, experience a competitive advantage here because they regularly use this app.

Their destination is located near the Amazon River, so we’re sure that will come into play at some point.

Angry Will & James have taken the same approach that smart teams always do. They’ve given up all pretext of winning and losing, instead settling on a blood feud. Bad news, Leo & Alana! You’re apparently these people’s mortal enemies, even if you barely know their names.

In fact, we cut to Leo & Alana saying, “We don’t think we have any enemies at this point.”

We do have good news for the couple, though. Kaylynn & Haley love them and appreciate the assistance they got from Leo & Alana on the previous leg. They feel like they owe their compatriots a solid and intend to pay it forward at the first opportunity.

Meanwhile, calculating Will & James attempt to bond with Riley & Maddison to have SOME allies in their burgeoning war. We get the vibe that the volleyballers just want to listen to the Polyphonic Spree and consume edibles.

However, the four of them try to make a big alliance with Hung & Chee, DeAngelo & Gary, and Eswar & Aparna. Seems like it’s too big of a group, but maybe it offers opportunity.

Upon arrival, teams must head to the Mercado Market. They’re looking for Hortifruiti Granjero at Box 13, which will provide them a list of items they must purchase at the market in a task called Manaus Market Mayhem. The trick is that the list is written in Portuguese, so they have to figure it out, most likely with the assistance of some friendly locals.

Michelle & Victoria and Jerry & Frank are getting the “you messed up” cymbal sound as they are wandering around the bench trying to find where the Hortifruiti stand is.

Meanwhile, the alliance created by Will & James and RIley & Maddison is working well together, pointing their compatriots in the right direction as they discover the different items on the shopping list.

Jerry & Frank get the bad music again when they pick up what appears to be the wrong kind of machete. Theirs is wooden when the one they need is in fact real.

Once teams find all their list items, they must go to the dock manager to have him approve their items.

Will & James must next go to Dessana Village, where they will witness Pinon, chief of the Dessana. He will help them to get their clue with a blowgun.

Will & James finish up their list and make their way to the next area with their bag full of stuff in tow. They tell some of their allies which items are missing so they can move forward.

The guys note that the other teams don’t seem to be reading their clue, and their intuition is right. In fact, Will & James are the only ones to take their bag full of items with them on the boat transport, so it’s bad music all around for every team.

However, Will & James realize first that they’re missing their machete, and then that they are missing their fish. Riley & Maddison figure it out, followed by the other groups slowly having the growing realization that other competitors are carrying their bags to the transport boat.

The confusion has ripple effects. As teams realize they are missing their stuff, they go back and pick up various bits and pieces. Sometimes, this seems to mean that they take stuff that other teams had left behind. Thus, some of the teams have to go back and get additional replacement items at the market.

When Jerry & Frank go to have their items approved, they get the thumbs down. Fortunately for them, Eswar & Aparna are kind enough to point out the machete error and they go back to retrieve it.

Michelle & Victoria are getting on their transport boat, but they *definitely* don’t have their bag of stuff. Same goes for Jerry & Frank.

Riley & Madison are the first to meet the Dessana tribe, which has a Detour. Shelter from Trees or Well Done, Please are the two options. Shelter requires them to build a roof addition to the tribal chief’s hut, while the Well Done task involves cooking a meal.

For the roof/hut building challenge, there are some very specific instructions, meaning attention to detail is necessary. Also, teams need to be sturdy and have stamina, as it’s super humid and work-intensive.

When DeAngelo & Gary’s boat passes Michelle & Victoria, they tell the women to go back and get their stuff. When Michelle & Victoria pass Jerry & Frank, they try to tell them they need to get their bag, but the men misunderstand and think that they’ve just gone and knocked out the next task easily. Needless to say, when they arrive on the shore, they utter many curse words.

When Leo & Alana arrive at the cooking challenge, Will & James roll their eyes.Their imaginary feud continues.

Meanwhile, DeAngelo & Gary fight through the roof-building challenge, so Riley & Maddison give them a bit of an assist.

Will & James finish the cooking task quickly, and their eyes get huge when they see on the next clue that there is a double U-Turn. Naturally, they decide to U-Turn Leo & Alana, because they are threatened by them even though they’re well ahead of them at this point.

The Pit Stop is located at Bardco Correa Filho, an Amazon cruise boat where they will sleep on hammocks while going up the river.

Hung & Chee complete the cooking challenge and inform Kaylynn & Haley and Leo & Alana that there is a U-Turn ahead. Alana is confident that they’ve been kind to everyone thus far, so there’s nothing to worry about.

Little do they know that there’s a surprise waiting for them courtesy of some guys who’ve been developing an imaginary feud.

As the first team to arrive at the Pit Stop, Will & James have won a trip to Bali. Also, as the first team to arrive at the Pit Stop, they have created animosity between themselves and another team for no good reason, especially considering that the other team is not guaranteed to be eliminated.

In fact, when Hung & Chee arrive at the U-Turn board, Hung says, “I had no idea that drama was happening.” The married couple finishes in second.

It looks so bad for Jerry & Frank that the show’s editors don’t even bother to fake us out much. It’s about to get worse.

Kaylynn & Haley arrive at the U-Turn board, and when they see their allies/friends Leo & Alana on the board, they decide to help them by U-Turning Jerry & Frank, thereby sealing the fate of the father/son.

As Michelle screams at Victoria, the natives roll their eyes.

When they see their picture on the U-Turn board, Leo & Alana are furious. As they say, if you’re trying to be strategic, why in the world would you U-Turn the team that finished in seventh on the previous leg and is well behind you on the current one.

Alana becomes demoralized while they build the shelter. “I’m just sad and angry,” she says. They do appreciate the strategic move by their allies to U-Turn another team, though. It’s gonna save their bacon.

Michelle & Victoria get lost on the beach while they search for the next clue. They get the bad music. As for the soon-to-be-eliminated Jerry & Frank, they have a positive attitude as they cook their meal. Of course, it’s devastating when they see their picture on the U-Turn board.

When Leo & Alana arrive at the Pit Stop, she notes that she can’t wait to see Will & James’s faces when they see that their little plan didn’t work.

Impressively, Jerry & Frank finish their roof building task to perfection.

“He’s the best father in the world,” says Frank.