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Previously on The Amazing Race, a selfie cost CJ & Lebya a train ride, which meant that they were so far behind that there was no way they could finish better than last place. Meanwhile, Jenny & Jelani continued to be a powerhouse of a team despite knowing each other only a few days, finishing in first place for the second time in two legs. Generally, the “blind date” teams continue to generally outmatch the teams who have been dating long-term, but the divide evened up some in Nagano.

We begin the third leg in Nagano as we see our blind date teams spending their time in separate rooms… er, all of them, that is, except for Jeff & Jackie, who revel in the fact that they cohabitated in their tiny room. “This morning, we were picking out each other’s underwear,” Jackie says. Just as an FYI, Kim would like to note that in our 10 plus years of marriage, she has never picked out David’s underwear once.

Jackie points out that after three legs of the race, that she and Jeff are “really comfortable together,” which can be translated to mean “sleeping together.” In the Tinder vernacular, they have swiped right.

The next day at 4:35 p.m., Jenny & Jelani are first to depart. Their clue sends them to Phuket, Thailand, where they’ll head to Patong Beach for their next clue. The two of them are very excited about how their race is going so far and feel that they’re showing the best versions of themselves to each other.

Tyler & Laura are only nine minutes behind them. She notes that she thinks they have an advantage over the dating teams because they don’t get as frustrated with each other. Tyler points out that they’ve also been doing really well in the race so far, so that makes it easier.

Next up are Steve & Aly, who are 45 minutes behind the second place team, and then Jonathan & Harley follow. They’re fresh off their “date night,” where they got to spend a night at a hot spring relaxing and enjoying each other’s company. Bergen & Kurt are right behind them and they continue to emphasize the fact that they are definitely NOT A MATCH. The two of them both prefer big, burly men, not guys who look exactly like them. They say they’ll just be really good friends, but we’ll be shocked if they ever say another word to each other after the race.

Ultimately, it doesn’t matter at all when anyone arrives at the airport, because the counter is closed. Everyone will be bunched until the airport opens again in the morning. They’re all trying to get on the same flight, but Matt & Ashley, Jeff & Jackie, Mike & Rochelle, Blair & Hayley and Steve & Aly are the only ones who are able to book the first one. They will arrive in Phuket at 4:50 p.m. Tyler & Laura and Jenny & Jelani will arrive several hours later at 9:10 p.m., while Bergen & Kurt are looking at 11:59 p.m. They’re still better off than Jonathan & Harley, who are stuck with a flight that gets to Phuket at 9:35 a.m. the next day. That’s going to be a nearly impossible gap to overcome.

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