The Amazing Race 2020 Recap

Episode 5: You Don't Strike Me as a Renaissance Man

By Kim Hollis & David Mumpower

November 18, 2020

The Amazing Race

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Previously on The Amazing Race, we wasted our time with a non-elimination round. Sisters Kaylynn & Haley had the roughest of days, but Phil gave them new hope as he announced they’d continue in the Race. A Speed Bump will be required before they can start the first tasks, though.

Teams now must make their way to Paris, 6,000 miles from their current location in Paraguay. Their first stop will be the Domaine de Chantilly, 30 miles outside the city. Will immediately talks about how excited he is to drive a stick shift. He even took lessons prior to the competition.

Michelle & Victoria tell us all about how they never used to get along, but now are buddies. “We’ve never, ever been this close.” Usually, editors with a sense of humor show these types of comments prior to a disastrous leg.

When Leo & Alana burble about their romance, their cab driver looks back at them in disgust. Taxis are no place for love, people!


Apparently, there are two flights for this leg, but there’s only a 15-minute difference between them. When the teams land, they discover some cars waiting for them, and lo and behold, they are in fact manual transmission.

Guess who’s blocking the exit? Yes, it’s Will, who has no idea how to make his car move. While all the other teams except Riley & Maddison are stuck behind him, Leo runs up and helps them just enough to move them out of the way of the rest of the teams. Will & James think this is mean and unsportsmanlike, clearly having already absolved themselves of guilt from the U-Turn in a previous leg.

Once the other teams pass them and the pressure is off, Will figures out the clutch and they get going. Riley & Maddison arrive at the Chateau Chantilly first, and the next clue asks “Who has an eye for art?”

In this Road Block, one team member must look at some classic art (the second biggest collection after the Louvre) hanging in the gorgeous estate, and then match a person dressed like characters in that art by bringing the person to a judge. They’ll find the person at a party at the chateau.

Riley takes the assignment because of his attention to detail. Apparently, that’s not a strong suit for Michelle & Victoria, because they find themselves in trouble after Leo & Alana take a different exit for Chantilly.

When it comes to strategy, Riley is pretty sharp. He notices that a lot of the partygoers are wearing grey, so he looks for a bright color. When that doesn’t work, he finds a guy with facial hair and gets it right on his first attempt.

For their next task, the competitors must go to a bakery where they will whisk up some Chantilly whipped cream, a culinary delight that dates back to the 18th century. It takes a LOT of whisking, and must be stiff in the bowl and yet plentiful enough to fill four pies. The volleyball brothers leave before anyone else arrives.

Alana plans to use her fine arts degree to her advantage, while Kaylynn & Haley struggle with their stick shift. Michelle & Victoria get directions to the chateau from a kind passerby. DeAngelo & Gary realize that they’ve probably taken a wrong turn as well.

After noting that their father is a cookie chef, Maddison & Riley go to work whipping their pies. They’re surprised at how physically taxing it is, and hope they don’t shame their family. The snooty French chef looks at them disgustedly.

While Leo talks about hoping to have a lead on Will & James, the two of them arrive. Leo asks Will how he got the car going, and Will responds that he had it in third gear. No worries, though, because Alana also breezes through this challenge.

On James’s first attempt at the art challenge, he gets a strike from the curator, but his second try is good. Hung finds her target human art quickly and she and Chee move on to the pies as well.

Aparna and Victoria take on the Detour for their teams. One of them will have quick success. The other… not so much.

While Kaylynn & Haley are driving around, lost, we can’t help but notice a giant Office Depot billboard for a computer desk chair. Also, we feel like we need a new computer desk chair for some reason. At this point, the sisters can’t drive a stick, they don’t know where they’re going, and they have to perform a Speed Bump. Their elimination feels like a formality.

Back to pie-making! Now that Riley & Maddison have finished their pies, they have to deliver them. Surprise! People are throwing pies at them, too! Rude!




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Now that they’re covered in pie, the brothers will next head to the Musee des Art Forains. Teams do have the option of using their yield at that stop. Before they leave, Riley & Maddison tell Hung & Chee that there are pie-throwing jerks in the delivery tent. They confirm in confessional that they have a close alliance with Hung & Chee and Will & James. They also include DeAngelo & Gary in that group, but say it’s not as strong.

Aparna misses on her first attempt… and her second.

Victoria finds her human art, while Leo & Chee both get cream in their ear.

Riley & Maddison choose not to yield anyone. Next up is a set of 19th century carnival games. Teams must win all three to get their next three. The person who did NOT do the art challenge must complete this one. While Maddison misses on the ol’ toss the ball in the clown mouth challenge, Riley has absolutely no patience. Maddison swaps to a different one to bolster his confidence. He knocks down his bottles with no problem. Next up is a horse race that basically is controlled by a skee ball type of game.

Back at the chateau, Aparna tells Gary that the challenge is really hard. Well…

Gary tells us in confessional, “I love art. So, like, I studied detailed art. I’ve been to the Louvre. I’ve been to multiple different places in the world with art. I just, I have a bunch of art in my house. I just love that type of stuff.”

DeAngelo’s face during this progression is priceless. “You don’t really strike me as a Renaissance man,” he tells Gary, giving us our episode title. “I’ve known you forever, Gary, and I’ve never known… who are you?!”

After her fifth miss, Aparna notes, “We’re definitely ahead of the blondes, though.” The sisters find the chateau right at this moment. Their Speed Bump requires them to clean up the riding gear and tackle for two of the horses that reside on the estate.

Gary, art lover, finds his art person on his first try.

After Aparna’s seventh miss, Eswar speculates that she might just be missing a tiny detail. It’s not that at all, though. The girl has no eye for color or style.

After 16 tries, Aparna FINALLY finds her human art. Editing would have us believe that Kaylynn & Haley have just finished the Speed Bump.

At the Musee, Maddison finishes the third carnival game and the two of them head to the Pit Stop at the Pont des Art, which was commissioned by Napoleon.

Right after Alana notes that Leo played baseball in middle school, he displays the worst throwing skills ever. He admits that he was better at batting and fielding.

Eswar & Aparna and DeAngelo & Gary both whisk their pies as they wonder where the blondes might be. Perhaps now is the time where we note the show still has 20 minutes remaining, so maybe something weird happens. Or maybe it’s just a long, slow last place.

Maddison & Riley finish first, and win a trip to Vietnam, with spa treatments and delicious meals.

Chee overtakes Leo at the carnival games Detour. In fact, he gets it complete so quickly that Alana speculates that they’re made of “magic and fairy dust.”

Sisters Michelle & Victoria are lost. Again. A stranger gives them very specific directions on how to find the Musee, and they give him a glowing smile before heading off. “It’s less than two kilometers away.”

When Eswar & Aparna get pelted with pies, she says that she licked some of the pie off, and that it was really delicious.

After Haley finds her human art, she gives him a giant hug. Hung & Chee and Leo & Alana finish second and third.

While Michelle & Victoria are close to the Musee, they are on the wrong side of the river. They hope other teams are struggling with directions as much as they are.

At the carnival games, DeAngelo knocks the bottles down on his first try, prompting the game curator to shout, “I’ve never seen that before!”

Kaylynn & Haley make their pies, and say that they’ve just got to persevere. You just never know.

At the Pit Stop, Phil makes fun of Will’s driving.

While they drive through the city, Kaylynn and Haley yell out the window to ask if anyone knows where the district of Bercy is. Michelle & Victoria are yelling at each other instead. “We’re only two kilometers away from it and we’ve been driving for hours!”

And…

Kaylynn and Haley arrive at the Musee first, at least as far as we can tell unless editing is super tricksy. They’re in high spirits when they arrive at the Pit Stop despite believing they’re in last, but when they discover that they are team number seven, they are overjoyed.

Thus, Michelle & Victoria land on the mat last, and they are in fact eliminated from the race. What a comeback for Kaylynn & Haley!


     


 
 

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