The first of this week’s double-header episode finds the teams heading to Berlin via train from Paris.
ROUTE INFO: Proceed to Berlin
Teams are instructed to make their way to the East Side Gallery of the Berlin Wall, where they will find their next clue.
Previous leg winners Riley & Maddison are the first to leave the Parisian Pit Stop. Hung & Chee are next to depart, with Chee highlighting that they need to avoid any major mistakes this and coming legs, along with reminding the audience of the alliance of five is still intact. Hmm, surely one of these two aspects will come into play this episode—some unsubtle editing by the producers. To add to my suspicions, DeAngelo & Gary are next to speak up about how well the alliance is working; okay, it’s inevitable, the alliance is heading towards a Berlin Wall-esque crumble.
Right on queue, Aparna mentions her and her brother’s engineering background and how much harder The Race has been compared to it. I have been hard on these two. I do actually hope with all the engineering mentions that this WILL come into play for the pairing in a positive way, and that they’ll be able to vault into the front of the pack.
The first six teams await the unknown seventh team to arrive at the train station and are remarkably surprised to find out its sisters Kaylynn & Hayley, who managed to squeak by Michelle & Victoria last leg.
All seven teams are now en route via the same train to Berlin, negating any substantial lead Riley & Maddison had over the remaining six teams.
Once arrived in Berlin, it’s once again a mad scramble for taxis as teams make their way to the East Side Gallery. James & Will are the first team to locate their clue.
ROUTE INFO: Proceed to Teledisko
Teams must drive themselves to Teledisko via a German-made Trabant.
Trabants have not been manufactured since 1989, and it shows, as teams struggle to comprehend many aspects of the car, including turning the engine on and how the hell to fit in it (looking at you, Gary). Amazingly, it IS Gary & DeAngelo who are the first team to find success with the Trabant and arrive at Teledisko.
ROUTE INFO: Get in the Groove
Likening Superman getting changed in a phone booth, Gary along with DeAngelo must both fit into a timed Teledisko box and “dance” for an agonizing four minutes, and then they will receive their next clue.
DeAngelo & Gary finish “dancing” and receive their next clue.
ROUTE INFO: Proceed to Yield.
Will someone finally pull the trigger?
Meanwhile, pre-“dancing,” Eswar & Aparna, Leo & Alana, and Kaylynn & Hayley continue to be tormented by the Trabant as they attempt to make their way to Teledisko. Will & James have their own torments post-“dancing” with the Trabant with an apparent clutch defect, as they quickly fall behind the front three teams (DeAngelo & Gary, Riley & Maddison, and Hung & Chee). The pair daringly decides to ditch the car and make their way by foot to the Yield.
DeAngelo & Gary (Superman) arrive first at the Yield, receive their next clue, and choose NOT to halt any of the teams.
ROAD BLOCK: Who Wants to Feel the Wind in their Hair?
One team member must complete a face-first repel from the top of a 180ft hotel while unscrambling letters which are alighted on the ground to solve a word puzzle.
DeAngelo opts in as Hung & Chee and Riley & Maddison arrive at the Road Block, and he makes quick work of the repel. However, he is oblivious to the word scramble and forced into a re-repel.
As he and Hung climb the hotel stairs, DeAngelo proposes a deal with Hung to work together to complete the word scramble, to which she agrees, saying that she will wait for DeAngelo at the bottom of the repel. Maddison, like DeAngelo, makes quick work of the repel, but he too is forced into a re-repel due to forgetting the word scramble.
Will & James arrive at the Road Block, with Will opting in, while the bottom three teams are still battling the Berlin streets en route to Teledisko. Hung, despite her cries for help, completes the Road Block, recognizing the word scramble to be: Sauerkraut.
DETOUR: Belt it Out OR Belch it Out
In Belt, teams must make their way to the Ballhaus Berline Cabaret and successfully sing/belt the tricky tune of (English translation) “I wish I were a Chicken” to a judge’s approval.
In Belch, teams must partake in Beer Yoga, where they will learn a sequence of poses for which they will teach to a class.
Luckily for Will & James’s sake, teams are making their way to the Detour via taxi and NOT Trabant. Hung stays true to her word with DeAngelo and waits for his descent and informs him of the word scramble solution.
Leo & Alana, followed closely by Eswar & Aparna, arrive at the Teledisko, distancing themselves from Kaylynn & Hayley. Maddison waits for Will to complete the Road Block while Hung & Chee and DeAngelo & Gary make their way to the Detour.
Code Red: a fracture in the alliance as Hung & Chee are quick to locate a taxi; it’s DeAngelo & Gary who swoop in and steal it from the married pair. Admittedly, even DeAngelo recognizes that without Hung & Chee signalling the taxi whereabouts, he and Gary would still be on the prowl. All of this after the sauerkraut support, come on, DeAngelo!
Kaylynn & Hayley finally arrive at Teledisko, while Eswar & Aparna leap ahead of Leo, pushing-the-Trabant Alana into fifth. Hung & Chee are STILL taxi-less, as Riley & Maddison and Will & James start to gain on them. DeAngelo & Gary arrive at Belch, as their sudden nemesis Hung and husband Chee eventually land a taxi.
Comedy Moment of the Night Award: “His feet are awful.” – DeAngelo’s disdain towards Gary’s feet during yoga.
Like DeAngelo and Maddison before them, Aparna and Leo suffer the same setback and fail to solve the word scramble, as the pair work collaboratively on the ground, just as sisters Kaylynn & Hayley arrive. The pair manage to work out the wording avoiding a re-repel. Leo has the opportunity to assist Hayley with the word scramble before her descent; however, he chooses not to, which does not go unnoticed.
Riley & Maddison and Hung & Chee arrive at Belch, as the NFLers fail on their first attempt to teach their newly-acquired yoga techniques to their class. Will & James opt-in for Belt as they arrive at their Detour, suddenly realizing their German, like their clutch too, has a defect, and this task will pose trickier than expected.
A fear-stricken Hayley begins her descent down the hotel wall and completes the repel; however, you guessed it, she is unable to complete the word scramble (thanks, Leo) and is forced to climb back up the stairs for a re-repel.
On their second attempt, the NFLers triumphantly complete the Detour and receive their next clue.
ROUTE INFO: Go to Pit Stop
Teams must make their way to Phil and the Pit Stop, Neukolln.
Hung & Chee are the next team to complete Belch and make their way to the Pit Stop in a race with the NFLers for first. Fifth and sixth-placed teams, Eswar & Aparna and Leo & Alana, arrive at Belt, as Will & James fail on their first attempt.
After finishing her second repel, Hayley is still unaware of the correct answer for the word scramble, further distancing themselves from the rest of the pack; can these two escape elimination AGAIN?
Riley & Maddison and Will & James both complete opposing Detours, seeing them currently in third and fourth, respectively.
Amidst Hayley having a Berlin breakdown on her third attempt at the word scramble, we see a new team be crowned Team Number 1:
- Team Number 1: DeAngelo & Gary
- Team Number 2: Riley & Maddison
- Team Number 3: Hung & Chee
Hung & Chee reflect on their decision to wait for the NFLers, choosing a middle ground with the alliance going forward; an attempt to help, but not to wait.
- Team Number 4: Will & James (rock/bock-ing the chicken outfits from the Detour)
After her fourth repel, Hayley enlists the hotel’s guests and staff’s assistance to help her work out the word scramble, to which they are successful! Done with the Road Block, the sisters opt for Belt and make their way to the Detour.
Eswar & Aparna and Leo & Alana complete Belt, as Kaylynn & Hayley arrive at the Detour solely in last.
- Team Number 5: Eswar & Aparna
- (mere seconds later) Team Number 6: Leo & Alana
Kaylynn & Hayley make seemingly quick work of Belt and make their way to Phil; can the sisters pull off another dodging of elimination?
- Last Team to Arrive: Kaylynn & Hayley
…they’ve only gone and done it AGAIN! The sisters survive as it’s a welcomed non-elimination leg of The Race. These sisters are having an incredible run of last place luck, but can they squeeze their way into the top six?
Power Rankings Based on Placement Average:
1) Hung & Chee (1, 1, 2, 6, 2, 3) 2.4
2) Riley & Maddison (3, 3, 4, 4,1, 2) 3
3) Will & James (4, 6, 1, 1, 4, 4) 3.2
4) Alana & Leo (6, 7, 8, 3, 3, 6) 5.4
5) Eswar & Aparna (7, 4, 6, 5, 6, 5) 5.6
6) DeAngelo & Gary (10, 2, 5, 7, 5, 1) 5.8
7) Kaylynn & Hayley (8, 8, 3, 8, 7, 7) 6.8
Written by