For the majority of The Amazing Race there’s really been two standout teams in terms of personality and skill level. Tanner and Josh and Justin and Diana are the undeniable stars of Season 27 thus far. I suppose you could include Kelsey and Joey in that upper tier but they are more supporting players in the hostility between Team Green and Team Texas. A new power couple emerged in “King of the Jungle” and it was Logan and Chris. They didn’t gain notoriety for being good at The Amazing Race. Actually, they were the very definition of a hot mess. Chris just became my favorite racer for his ability to have zero chill.
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Old Business
This is actually “part 2” of episode 4 and if you remember, Tanner and Josh were left to making a decision on who to give their Express Pass to. They end up giving it to Team Alabama (aka Denise and James Earl). Tanner and Josh’s reasoning being that those two are helpful and not too big of a threat. I can’t say I disagree with them on the latter point, but Denise and James do come in third place right behind Team Texas. Denise does a terribly annoying celebration dance in the cab and they promise to use the Express Pass this leg. The rest of the teams follow and no one is eliminated on this first leg. The cheerleaders do use the Double U-Turn on Justin and Diana (who have already arrived in first place) because they “gave their word”. Whatever.
Read Your Clue (Part One)
The Roadblock of the next leg is repeat of the series first ever challenge. For those who don’t remember (so everyone but Justin) the teams have to zipline across a chasm. However, from all appearances, they are jumping off a platform into a huge valley on bungee cord and then get pulled back up. Did I miss the zipline? I’m petrified of heights so just watching this Roadblock I have extreme anxiety. Probably not as much anxiety as Logan and Chris and (ugh) #Chacattack though. The two groups arrive at the Roadblock before the two last place teams and inexplicably think they have to go somewhere else. The quartet hop in their taxis and drive around until they realize they have to go back to where they started. Honestly, no one takes this momentary setback harder than Chris. Though I’m sure Chris cries over his shoelaces coming untied.
The Imbalanced Detour
After the Roadblock, there is the Detour. Teams have to choose between paddling a canoe and feeding a crocodile underwater. Of course, Tanner and Josh and Justin and Diana choose the same challenge, the canoe one. I hate Justin to be right at any time but this time his “experience beats strength” mantra pays off. Tanner and Josh are clueless about how human beings actually paddle a canoe. They manage to keep up reasonably well with their arch-rivals but Team Green kills it.
Kelsey and Joey are the first to choose the crocodile feeding challenge. James Earl and Denise arrive shortly after them but use their Express Pass to go to the next challenge instead. However, this might have been a big blunder and here’s why: The crocodile Detour involves teams being submerged into water, in a cage, and feeding the crocs one piece of food. That’s it. It takes maybe ten minutes. The fact that every team doesn’t do this simple challenge is mind-blowing.
The biggest trial at the Roadblock effects only one team and that’s Logan and Chris. The culprit of the drama: Chris’ paranoia. Chris and Logan are the last team to arrive at the Detour and this causes a complete meltdown. Chris thinks that they have no other choice but to go to the other Detour option. So after dressing up in the wet-suits to be submerged, Chris nags Logan into switching. So they undress but Chris continues to freak out. So the two start bickering with one another in their underwear. It’s kind of amazing. They do finally decide to go back to feeding the crocs at which point Logan tells Chris to just shut up. Good for her, bad for us. I could watch this guy lose his mind forever.
The Balancing Pit Stop
After the Detour, the teams must walk with wild lions. Well, they walk with lions and a veritable horde of professionals. (The Amazing Race doesn’t exactly want a lawsuit on it’s hands.) Still, it’s a simultaneously awe-inspiring and nerve-racking experience. It maybe not quite as intense as one of Chris’ freak-outs, but close enough. I would make a Lion King joke/reference about the whole thing but Justin ends up doing it for me. I refuse to consider myself in anyway similar to him.
Justin and Diana finish the lion walking right before Denise and James Earl. From there, the teams have to walk to the Pit Stop while balancing a basket of fruit on their heads; meaning the teams must walk as slow as possible to the Pit Stop. The foot races for the Pit Stop have been kind of slow already in Season 27, so this isn’t much different. Anyway, Denise and James Earl come in first, followed by Team Green, Team Texas, Team Newcasters and Team Cheerleaders.
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Read Your Clue (Part Two)
At the bottom of the pack, Chris and Logan are given a chance for survival. (I mean Chacattack are also in the bottom but we can all agree it’s Chris and Logan who we care about the most.) Jazmine and Danielle manage to do nearly everything wrong when they get to the lion walking. They first go to the Pit Stop’s location because they didn’t read their clue. So they are forced to find their way back to the lion challenge. Then while walking with the beasts, they make the same mistake. They don’t read their instructions and miss the final clue they need to actually proceed to the Pit Stop. This puts them in last place and gives Logan and Chris the opportunity they need to overtake them.
And overtake them they do. Logan and Chris take the penultimate spot of the leg. Jazmine and Danielle come in last and are eliminated from The Amazing Race. Team Track Stars is no more. The answer might be a bit obvious considering it caused one team to be eliminated but…
The Amazing Race airs Fridays at 8pm on CBS
(Image courtesy of CBS)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
Derek is a Philadelphia based writer and unabashed TV and comic book junkie. The time he doesn’t spend over analyzing all things nerdy he is working on his resume to be the liaison to the Justice League.
