THE RACE
The teams leave Sweden early in the morning to catch a ferry to Tallinn, Estonia, but they find out that the next boat doesn't set sail till 5:45 p.m., allowing plenty of time for everyone else to catch up. When the ferry docks, teams hoof it to Mustpeade, the lair of the Brotherhood of the Black Heads. And no, it's not a club for pimply teenage boys, but a 600-year-old secret society of merchants. At the lair, the racers have to go through their 10-or-so keys to find the one that unlocks the front door. The beautiful blonds and the hot guys are the first to enter it.
ROADBLOCK
Once inside the lair, the teams hit a roadblock. One person has to solve a medieval mystery in the cellar. The racers must find a candelabra with a room number attached and then locate the corresponding room. There they find a blank scroll, but trick is they have to hold it up to the light of the candle to see the invisible ink, which reads "Pikk Hermann Tower Garden." It's their next clue. Cheyne is the first to decipher it. Flight Time mistakenly thinks he has to rub the colored wax crayon-style onto the scroll to get the info.
At the front door of the lair, Pinky and the Brain hit a speed bump, a penalty for narrowly avoiding elimination last week. They have to take a "saunabuss"—just how it sounds, a pimped-out bus with a sauna in it—and sweat it up in a five-minute sauna session with locals. The father and son were pumped for this speed bump—c'mon, this is more of a reward than a penalty, especially since Pinky gets to flirt with a blond almost-naked Estonian lady. The duo brainstorm ways to bring the saunabuss home to Montana; the Brain says to convert it into a party bus and Pinky suggests adding a keg fridge.
After their sweaty fun, Pinky and the Brain head back to the lair. Pinky takes the roadblock but doesn't know what a candelabra is and can't even pronounce the word. He asks one of the Black Heads if he's a candelabra, and the man looks at him with disgust. There's no excuses, Pinky, there are Pier 1's in Montana. He finally gets it and then finds his scroll. He also tries the crayon-rubbing method, but deciphers most the hidden message, "Pikk Hermann Tower." Unfortunately, Pinky didn't see the "Garden" part of the clue, so the father and son kept trying to enter the tower to find the clue box, but it sat in the surrounding garden.
The other teams find the clue pretty easily. But fights break out over taxis. Mr. America and the beautiful blonds spot one at the same time and Mr. America lets them have it since they were closer. He asks them to have their driver send another car over for them, which they didn't. “I’m going to have to keep him in check because I’m more capable of being a dirty player than he is,” a frustrated Mrs. America says.
The Globetrotters find a cab to bring them to Tarsi Talu, but the hot guys claim that the taxi was sent for them by another cabbie. Things get tense, but the temper tantrum passes and all four ride together. "They aren't doing anything for themselves they are literally following us," says Sam, who adds that he wants the Trotters out of the competition. "It's frustrating to see them doing so well."
DETOUR
At Tarsi Talu, a bog, the teams hit a detour. The detour breaks two of the sacred rules moms strictly enforce: don't play in mud and don't play with your food. In serve, the teams have to play a round of volleyball in knee-deep mud against a local team and must score at least five points. In sling, they use a slingshot to shoot veggies at a target. When the target gets hit, a bunch of cabbages fall along with the next clue.
The beautiful blonds arrive first and choose serve, since Meghan's a former volleyball player. The athletic pair finish the task relatively quickly. The hot guys, the Globetrotters and Mr. and Mrs. America get to the site at the same time. The Trotters and the hot guys snag the two open volleyball courts, leaving the Americas to don bog shoes, similar to snowshoes, and try their aim at the sling challenge.
The hot guys instantly notice the Speedo-clad v-ball competitors, or "some hottie Estonian guys," Sam says. But the pair regain their focus and get to work, since they are neck-in-neck with the Trotters. All of the guys have difficulty maneuvering in the mud, with Big Easy getting stuck in it.
Meanwhile, Pinky and the Brain scramble to get to the detour. "We can't give up hope on this," the Brain says. "It's a race and anything can happen. So we're not giving up till we hit the mat today." The father and the son put on their game faces and Pinky wears his black bandana to show he's in it to win it. "It's time to cowboy up," the Brain says. The duo go to the slingshots and test their skills.
PIT STOP
Teams have to go further in the bog to get to the pit stop, Keava Raba Overlook Tower. The beautiful blonds arrive first, winning a sauna. The Trotters score their five points first and run down the boardwalk looking for the pit stop. But then they realize they are heading in the wrong direction and see the hot guys have stolen the lead. The long-legged ballers run for it and easily catch up with them, but somehow Flight Time and Dan slip on the muddy boardwalk.
Dan thinks Flight Time intentionally took him down, while Big Easy implies that Dan had a hand in Flight Time's tumble. The hot guys come in second with the Trotters are right behind. The ever-knowing Phil feels the testosterone-fueled tension. "Big Easy has a look on his face that he wants to kick some butt right now," Phil says. "We didn’t know that the elbow and the physical stuff was in play,” the Trotters say. Dan angrily responds, “What? He came running beside me and that’s when he fell and I fell.” “I’m 6’10”, 260, so we’re gonna do what we gotta do,” Big Easy answers.
OUSTED
The Americas have a hard time with the slingshot, but they manage to hit their target and claim fourth. Despite their efforts to "cowboy up," Pinky and the Brain come in last and are eliminated. "You can't put a price on this experience and being able to spend the time we had together," the Brain says. "I never want to see another candelabra in my lifetime," Pinky adds.
NEXT WEEK
Things get serious as the teams compete for the final three spots of the race. Flight Time once again shows his artsy side by dancing and singing some opera. The hot guys play dirty and steal the Americas' taxi, incurring the wrath of the pageant queen. "I'm going for the jugular," she declares.
RECENT RACER'S RECAP by Kelly Crabb
Kelly Crabb competed in Season 13 of The Amazing Race, taking 6th place with her
best friend, Christy. Coined as "America's Divorcee," this freelance writer and
travel enthusiast lives life to its fullest in Houston, Texas and remains "bitchy
with a heart of gold." This is her take on the show:
This time, the ferry terminal served as the proverbial bunching point for teams. In recovery mode from their last place finish, spared elimination, and faced with the rather relaxing “Saunabus” slash joke of a Speed Bump in Stockholm, Sweden, Father and Son Gary and Matt spent the whole episode in last place, ultimately finishing last and being eliminated from the Race.
There’s always an episode where Executive Producer, Bertram Van Munster, insists that teams look ridiculous in mud, paint, pie, or flour for ratings. In this case, mud volleyball was the task that yielded laughs during the Detour, Serve or Sling. During mud volleyball, I chuckled at CBS’s censoring of Sam and Dan’s possibly erect penises among hot Estonian males…
Meghan and Cheyne scored yet another first place finish; now neck and neck with first place mat gurus Nick and Starr from my season, Season 13. I find it continually annoying when teams work together. Christy and I wanted nothing to do with helping other teams, and this season, they continue to do it! A million dollars just doesn’t split well more than 2 ways after taxes, if you ask me.
Reliable inside sources say that the final three teams include: Meghan and Cheyne, Sam and Dan, and Brian and Erica. Rumor has it that my favorite couple, Meghan and Cheyne, take first place as winners of The Amazing Race, Season 15. I’m sad to say that next week, we’ll be saying “Sayonara” to the Globetrotters.
Related Stories:
· The Amazing Race [Official Site]
· Amazing Race Coverage [Jaunted]
[Photos: CBS]
