The Amazing Race – Season 21 Episode 7 – Off to See the Wizard

??????! That’s how you say “hello” in Russian, pronounced “PREEV-yit.” Reading my recaps, becoming more cultured. Woohoo. Here’s my recap of The Amazing Race Season 21, Episode 7.

Last week on The Amazing Race, the seven teams traveled from Bangladesh to Istanbul, Turkey, and Rob and Kelley were the fifth team eliminated.

Six teams remain. Trey and Lexi finished in first place on the previous leg, so they depart first at 12:35 p.m. All teams must now fly to Moscow, Russia.

Trey and Lexi talk about how great their three years of dating have been. “Hopefully I’ll have a ring on my finger pretty soon,” Lexi hints as she’s standing right next to Trey. “Chuckle chuckle.”

At the Airport

Trey and Lexi initially can’t find the airline company that brings them to Russia. So they go eat instead. At Popeyes.

Now, the teams get divided onto three different flights.

• Flight 1: James & Abba and Jaymes & James arrive at Moscow at 2 a.m. via Munich.
• Flight 2: Abbie & Ryan and Josh & Brent arrive at Moscow at 3:40 a.m. via Frankfurt. They only have an hour to get onto their second flight at the Frankfurt airport.
• Flight 3: Trey & Lexi and Natalie & Nadiya arrive at Moscow at 4 a.m. via Amsterdam.

Josh & Brent can’t decide if they want to take the chance on the Frankfurt flight or go with another flight that arrives in Moscow two hours later. So, they decide using the most thought-out method: flipping a coin! They end up going with the Frankfurt flight.

However, they catch a terrible break. Their flight to Frankfurt is delayed, and they miss their flight to Moscow! The soonest flight doesn’t arrive until 3:10 p.m. the next day! FLIGHT!!! DRAMA!!!

James and Abba and the Chippendales arrive in Moscow first.

Teams will get their next clue at Zurab Tsereteli Sculpture Park, where there huge statues everywhere. The place opens at 9:30am, and the four teams get their clue then.

The clue directs them to the Moskvoretsky Most to find two guards who have their next clue.

Detour: Synchronized or Alphabetized

• Alphabetized: At the Russian State Library, teams receive a card with information for four books. They have to sort through the rows and rows of card catalogs to find the card for each of the four books. Then, they are brought to a different area of the library where they actually find those books. All of the words are in Russian.
• Synchronized: Teams must perform a synchronized swimming routine with next generation of Olympic swimmers that is okay’d by a swimming coach.

James & Abba and Trey & Lexi go with the alphabetizing task, while the twins and Chippendales go with the swimming task.

The Chippendales head into the pool area wearing their speedos, and all of the girls giggle. I laughed out loud at James’ supposedly graceful dive into the water, which looked more like a cannonball than a dive. Actually, it looked more like an invisible hand pushed him into the water.

Trey and Lexi are making steady progress at the library task, but after a while, James and Abba give up and decide to go swimming instead.

The twins arrive at the pool, and the girl teaching them how to swim can’t speak English at all. After some fails, they contemplate using the Express Pass. They’re already out of the pool in their towels, about to quit, when the Chippendales convince them not to. The Chips tell the twins that Abbie and Ryan wouldn’t catch up to them. The twins decide not to use the Express Pass. GOOD, because that would have been such a waste.

At the library, Trey and Lexi get all their books correct! Jaymes and James get okay’d by the swimming coach lady soon after. A little while later, Natalie and Nadiya finish the task as well. See! Wasn’t that tough, was it.

When James and Abba come out in their speedos, the girls’ reactions are hilariously less enthusiastic compared to when the Chippendales emerged shirtless. “I’m already afraid,” the swimming coach tells the camera.

The rockers go through the routine 10-20 times and are exhausted, but they finally complete it. I wonder if the lady was just so frustrated with them that she let them through.  She must have had a long afternoon.

Teams must proceed to the Luzhkov Bridge where there are “trees of love,” trees with locks on them inscribed with couples’ names.  The locks symbolize eternal love.

Roadblock: Unlock trees of love

One team member is given a ring with a bunch of locks, and they must unlock a race-colored ribbon that is attached to one of the trees of love in 10 different places. They must figure out which keys unlocks which locks. This seems like a really tedious task. Then, there are several miniature keys on each lock too. They must unlock the 10 locks which will free the ribbon to get the clue. The ribbon holds a Russian bill, and the picture on the bill is their next destination.

Trey, ChippenJames, Natalie, and Abba complete this task and finish in that order.

When Abba starts unlocking the locks, he and James realize that they left their luggage in the taxi driver’s car. However, they can’t find the taxi anymore. They don’t have their passports, the most important object teams need. They can’t go anywhere without their passports, so they are in a really rough position. Worst case scenario just happened. Well, second worst to dying?

Pitstop: The Bolshoi Theatre

Trey and Lexi reach the pitstop in first place and win a trip for two to Maui. That’s their second win in a row! “On a level of one to ten, how in love are you?” Phil asks Trey and Lexi. “A thousand!!!” Lexi exclaims. They’re really cute together. (Trey and Lexi, not Trey, Lexi, and Phil.)

The Chippendales finish in second,  their highest rank yet. The twins arrive next, but they’re not happy with their performance. At least they still have the express pass!

Meanwhile, with the stragglers…

At the Warsaw Airport, Josh & Brent and Abbie & Ryan decide that they’re just going to race together and stick together no matter what. They shake on it. AWWW.

Finally the remaining two teams arrive in Moscow. Though Josh and Brent preferred to do the library task, they have to go swimming instead because the library closes at 4. Ooh.

Abbie’s a dance instructor so she’s not that nervous about learning the routine. However, the Beekmans don’t have much swimming experience, and they’re seriously struggling.

Adrenaline kicks in for Ryan. Abbie and Ryan get okay’d. However, they still wait for Josh and Brent to finish because they agreed to stick together. My respect for Abbie and Ryan just skyrocketed.

James and Abba finish the roadblock and contemplate what they should do about their passports. While they’re deciding, the camera zooms in on a taxi cab a little way away. Is that their cab?! Abba gets really depressed and jokes about jumping off the bridge.  James and Abba arrive at the mat in 4th… but Phil says to stay in the race they need their passports. They can’t be checked in until they find their passports. So, what do they do next? I DON’T KNOW! WE DON’T KNOW! The “To Be Continued” screen appears. Arghhh!

Let’s think this through. The editing makes it seem like James and Abba just arrived at the pitstop right after Abbie and Ryan finished the detour, but realistically, Abbie & Ryan and Josh & Brent are probably around five or six hours behind James and Abba because their plane arrived six hours after the four teams got their first clue in Moscow. So, James and Abba have around five or six hours to find their passports. The previews show James and Abba sitting with some people who have smartphones, and James calls to report their stolen passports. Maybe there’s hope for them? Also, the previews just showed Abbie & Ryan still in the race. I guess they didn’t get eliminated then.

Who do you think will be eliminated? I’m thinking James and Abba will, because it’s going to be mighty hard to find their passports, which could be anywhere in the city. Unless this is a non-elimination leg. Hmm…

?? ????????! That’s “goodbye” in Russian, pronounced “doh svee-DAWN-ya.” Leave your comments below!