‘The Amazing Race’ Has A Heartbreaking Stop…

amazing race season 33
Nick Davis

SPOILERS AHEAD FOR THE AMAZING RACE 33:

Season 33, Episode 3 of  The Amazing Race aired on Wednesday. It was a great episode that had several teams juggling last place, leaving viewers on their toes by the end. Already the season’s off to a great start with its first 3 episodes. The hope is that the momentum can maintain for the rest of the season, even though it dramatically stopped at the end of this episode.

Episode 3 Recap

The episode sees the pairs racing up from England to Scotland. It’s the first episode that tests the couples’ driving ability, as opposed to them relying on taxis or other public transport for navigation. Naturally, and almost by tradition, many of them struggle with the manual transmission in their cars. The challenges are obviously Scottish in nature. They see players playing bagpipes, augmenting whiskey barrels, and wearing kilts. Ultimately, Arun and Natalia are eliminated after Arun’s English language skills cause him to fumble in the kilt-wearing song memory challenge. It’s an emotional departure for the two, who finished top 3 in the leg previous and suffered a tragic fall from grace.

arun and natalia amazing race
Arun and Natalia

And at the end of the episode, the tone dramatically shifts. It’s obvious that something viewers have never seen before is coming. Although, technically, most viewers had seen it. Since it affected everyone’s lives. Both within and outside of The Amazing Race.

The Amazing Race Paused

The episode ends with the racers being gathered at the pit stop the morning after Arun and Natalia’s elimination. It’s far from a standard way to start a leg, so the contestants are immediately concerned and confused. Phil approaches them, with obvious emotion showing on his face to break the bad news. He announces that the race must be paused for the safety of everyone involved in the making of the show. At the time, massive numbers of COVID cases were spiking throughout Europe. Italy had the worst of it at that point. However, all of Europe was beginning to feel the effects and people were afraid. It would still be another month before America began to lockdown, thus the racers may have been surprised by most Americans’ dismissive positions upon re-entering the continent.

Next week, the race will continue after a 19-month absence. The preview shown at the end of Episode 3 reveals racers who obviously felt the effects of those 19 months. There are also 4 teams entirely missing from the preview. That’s because not every team was able to return. Pausing life long enough to compete on The Amazing Race is a massive commitment. One most people can only make once in a lifetime. For that reason, and likely other reasons, Isaiah and Taylor, Caro and Ray, Connie and Sam, and Anthony and Spencer will not be returning next week.

The Amazing Race Season 33 Episode 4 returns next Wednesday.

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