Amazing Race 33 -- It's finally back! -- January 5, 2022

[savardandjokinen]

Although not completely sure what happens with the scenes for next episode I think the teams that have the teams that don’t come back after the pandemic should pick up an eliminated team to make it fair? This is coming from someone who still has both teams left regardless

[Fuzz]

Looks like I'm out both my teams. Poop.

[brocoli]

If Connie and Sam don't come back as it looks like then I guess I'm out early this year as well. I appreciate the start of the season where most teams seem to be for themselves, but I miss the Amazing Race of old where it came down to finding the best flight and backstabbing other teams. It's all too nice now and just happy to be there.

[WhiteTiger]

I liked the barrel challenge, that was pretty neat.

So we've basically re-started. Interesting. I wonder if teams will prep better now, having had a taste of 2 legs and a bit more of an idea of what's required.

Caro and Ray did not make it much longer than the filming shutdown, it seems. Big shock there. That pair was not well matched at all.

[GirlySports]

Yeah, it sounds like it'll be a new 7 team 5-leg race. No more non-eliminations with the legs being longer. 4 teams did not return so we will know the 2 mystery teams next week. The two eliminated teams or someone different?

[Cheese]

Poor Arun, reminded me of a young Steve Martin, in the Jerk, trying to get the beat right.

[Amethyst]

Well, I guess if you're the first team eliminated twice, you just aren't cut out for the race. I thought it was interesting that the first two eliminated teams once again were battling it out for last place. I wonder if the detour was the big factor, or the teams themselves were. Mike and Moe with getting an important detail of the task wrong and Arun and Natalie with navigating.

[Fuzz]

Was it me or did a task of walking a mountain ridge, and flapping a flag seem pretty weak? And the first one with the cable car down basically neutralized the race again. I miss Amazing Race Canada where they routinely had teams cry from the challenges. Bring on the coal carts!


Also, I don't really see how Ryan and Dusty don't make the final 3. So many meh teams this round.

[getbak]

Buffalow.

This week, the Race restarts in Switzerland and the teams finish in almost exactly the same order as they did a year and a half earlier.

Michael & Moe get their chance for redemption, and in true Buffalo style, fall flat on their faces again.


At this point, it's hard to imagine Ryan & Dusty and Kim & Penn not going the distance, with one of the all-women teams rounding out the final 3.

1. Ryan & Dusty (win $2,500 each)
2. Kim & Penn
3. Raquel & Cayla
4. Lulu & Lala
5. Akbar & Sheri
6. Arun & Natalia
7. Michael & Moe
8. Anthony & Spencer
9. Connie & Sam
10. Caro & Ray
11. Taylor & Isaiah

• savardandjokinen - Ryan & Dusty / Marianela & Marissa
• chummer - Michael & Moe / Taylor & Isaiah
• Weitz - Kim & Penn / Raquel & Cayla
• brocoli - Connie & Sam / Arun & Natalia
• surferguy - Anthony & Spencer / Caro & Ray
• Hockey - Raquel & Cayla / Kim & Penn
• getbak - Taylor & Isaiah / Akbar & Sheridan
• Fuzz - Caro & Ray / Anthony & Spencer
• WhiteTiger - Marianela & Marissa / Michael & Moe
• ClubFlames - Akbar & Sheridan / Connie & Sam
• Cheese - Arun & Natalia / Ryan & Dusty

Next week, the race continues in Switzerland, and there will likely be a lot of non-elimination/continue-racing legs coming up.

[WhiteTiger]

Geez, m'boys got eliminated first twice. That's gotta sting.

I saw that one coming though. For cops, they have piss-poor powers of observation. The right way to do the story was on the belt in front of the judge the entire time.

[getbak]

Here's what I've found for why the four teams didn't return...

• Caro & Ray: Broke up shortly after the race was suspended in 2020.
  
  
• Anthony & Spencer: Anthony had just started his dream job shortly before the race resumed and wasn't able to take the time off.
  
  
• Connie & Sam: Connie was about 7 months pregnant when the race resumed.
  
  
• Taylor & Isaiah: Were preparing to return, but Taylor's older brother passed away from COVID 2 days after they arrived in Switzerland. They returned to the States to be with their family.

[Amethyst]

Originally Posted by getbak

Here's what I've found for why the four teams didn't return...

Thanks for the info. I heard about Ray and Caro breaking up (and wasn't surprised) but didn't know why the others didn't. I'm glad at least two of the teams had a happy reason not to do so.

Of the remaining teams, it's pretty clear there's a level one group and a level two group.

[GirlySports]

Too bad they couldn't get like Ray and Spencer to be a team. Didn't the Amazing Race once swap teams one leg?

[Amethyst]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

Too bad they couldn't get like Ray and Spencer to be a team. Didn't the Amazing Race once swap teams one leg?

Not sure, but one year, they had some returning teams and one of the guys had a heart attack (?) just before filming. They wanted that team, so they took someone from another team that hadn't made the final cut and put those two together. It didn't work very well. Whether you get along or fight with your teammate that you know, the dynamic is just not the same when it's two strangers paired up.

Actually, I think there was a blind date season, but I never watched that one.

[getbak]

The thing I like about the Amazing Race is once the race gets started, all the gimmicks go out the door and no longer matter. All that matters is how well you run the race.

The blind date season was a silly gimmick, but once the race started, the teams that did well figured out that the "dating" aspect didn't matter and they had a real chance to win the money. The thing I always found funny about that season was there were 6 pre-existing dating couples and 5 blind date couples and the first three teams eliminated were from the existing couples and the final three were all blind daters.

[GirlySports]

Yeah I think success on the race is you have be in a really committed relationship, married, best friends or complete strangers where there are no stakes. You can hate each other and walk away at the end.

I don't think newly dating couples or siblings do well.

[mile]

Michael and Moe got eliminated first twice. Worst team ever? Made some pretty obvious mistakes in both legs.


All Akbar does is nag and talk about how his wife used to be. She's the one who stepped up in this leg (despite her fears and lack of physical strength) and it looks like she'll be doing it again, based off next weeks preview.

[getbak]

On the mountain task, Sheri made a comment about Akbar being too big to do it, so she did it even though she's afraid of heights.

I wonder if that was on the clue or if they just decided that on their own?

With Michael & Moe, the shorter one did it as well. On the other hand, Penn did it and he doesn't appear to be much shorter than Akbar. He is a lot skinnier, so it could have been an issue with the size of the safety harness or a weight restriction.


In past seasons, there have been times that some racers were too big to do a challenge (I remember it happening at least once with the Globetrotters), so it's possible that was an issue here.

Although, later, they did show Akbar saying that he should have done it. So, maybe it was suggested, but not required.

[Fuzz]

Ya, seeing the preview for next week's episode, I just had to shake my head. But maybe he is to big for that.

[Amethyst]

Maybe a weight restriction since they were tethered to guides? Penn mentioned in their podcast that the show switched his guide and Moe's on the way back because Penn was too fast for his guide. (Guide, safety person, whatever they were...)