Two Teams Make A Triumphant Return On New ‘Amazing Race’
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The Amazing Race Season 33 Episode 4 aired this past Wednesday. It’s the first episode of the season that they filmed after the 19-month pit stop taken due to COVID. As a result, the episode feels equal parts triumphant and like a different season entirely. Triumphant because the teams are clearly ecstatic to be back. There’s a renewed energy for the players getting the opportunity to run again after the unfortunate stop. Not to mention, the energy brought by getting to leave the country for the first time since early 2020.
It feels somewhat different, however, because of all of the missing faces. 4 teams were not able to return after the 19-month hiatus. The reasons vary from scheduling conflicts to surprise pregnancy as to why they didn’t end up returning. The teams that couldn’t return are Connie & Sam, Caro & Ray, Isaiah & Taylor, and Anthony & Spencer.
A Fortunate Return
In the absence of so many teams, many of whom were frontrunners at the time of the game’s pause, there were only 5 teams left. It certainly would have made it feel like a hollow season to skip from 9 to 5 in the blink of an eye. So to compensate for the large loss of teams, 2 teams made a very exciting return in Episode 4. Those are the first 2 teams eliminated from the season. Michael & Moe and Arun & Natalia!
There was a lot of excitement when they ran in and rejoined the others. The two returning teams were clearly beyond excited for another chance at running the race that was taken from them so soon. It was a invigoration that saw them both sprinting full speed from the starting line, looking to prove themselves.
A Quick Turnaround
Sadly the two teams didn’t quite prove themselves in the Switzerland-based episode. They had a strong start in the first half of the leg. Both made it quickly through the roadblock which saw a player from each team scaling the narrow and steep Swiss Alps over 8,000 feet in elevation. Akbar & Sherri were left woefully far behind in that first section, which made them seem like the leg’s clear losers.
On the second half of the leg, however, Akbar and Sherri gained massive steam while the two returning teams seem to have lost all of theirs. Arun & Natalia became extremely lost trying to find the final pit stop. They went in the entirely wrong direction from the previous challenge, which cost them a crippling amount of time. Ultimately they made it on time, but only second to last. A scary place for a team that’s been eliminated once before to finish.
Michael & Moe proved once again that lack of attention to detail plagues their game. A challenge that involves Swiss belt-making proved too much for them to finish in a timely manner. They fell behind the rest of the teams and ultimately were eliminated. It seems as though some teams simply aren’t cut out for the greatest race in the world.
The Amazing Race airs Wednesdays on CBS.