At the starting line in Seattle, Washington, Phil warned the Teams of new surprises in this season of the Race. After landing in Beijing, China, the 12 Teams quickly learned what Phil meant when best friends Bilal & Sa'eed arrived last at an overnight hold to become the first Team eliminated from the Race. The next morning, models and friends Tyler & James cruised into first at the Detour and never looked back as they scaled the Great Wall of China, while married couple Vipul & Arti couldn't recover from poor navigation and became the second eliminated Team.
Flying through the saltwater mists above the Pacific Ocean, seaplanes transported the 12 Teams embarking on a race around the world to the starting line in the "Emerald City" of Seattle, Washington, the largest city in the Pacific Northwest. As the Teams lined up in the rain, they received the usual introduction from Phil along with a warning of new surprises they would never expect.
After proclaiming, "The world is waiting," Phil lowered his hand to signal the beginning of THE AMAZING RACE. In a mad dash to the backpacks and the first clue, model Tyler took a spill courtesy of cheerleader Jamie as the 12 Teams learned they would be flying to Beijing, China on one of two flights: United Flight 875 departing at 1:22 pm or Korean Air Flight 26 leaving at 2 pm.
Sarah
With seats to Beijing on a first come, first serve basis, efficient navigation to the Sea-Tac International Airport made all the difference. Models Tyler & James took an early lead out of the parking lot, but quickly relinquished it after stopping for directions allowing best friends Bilal & Sa'eed to pull ahead. On Interstate 5, however, all Teams encountered gridlock traffic due to an accident. Quick thinking helped recently dating couple Peter & Sarah, who took a gamble by exiting the freeway to use side roads, a choice that propelled them into first. After a slow start out of the parking lot, coal miner and wife David & Mary also took an alternate route to move ahead while beauty queens Dustin & Kandice weaved through the crowded interstate to save some time.
Mary, David, Dustin and Kandice
At the airport, Peter & Sarah secured tickets on the United Flight scheduled to land in Beijing at 8:05 pm, nearly an hour ahead of the Korean Air Flight. With Dustin & Kandice and David & Mary also nabbing tickets on United, only three spots remained on the flight. Bilal & Sa'eed and cheerleaders Kellie & Jamie would have laid claim to those tickets, but made a critical error in not locating the proper car rental return area. This allowed Tyler & James, father and daughter Duke & Lauren, and single moms Lyn & Karlyn to secure the earlier flight with Vipul & Arti just missing out. Joining the disappointed married couple on the second flight were Kellie & Jamie, brothers Erwin & Godwin, boyfriends Tom & Terry, dating couple Rob & Kimberly and Bilal & Sa'eed.
"Mmmmmm, poss-i-bil-i-ties!"
After a delay tightened up the difference between the two planes, Teams on the United flight landed at 8:22 pm in Beijing, China and jumped into taxis heading to the Gold House Restaurant. Marveling over the bright lights in the big city, Mary remarked, "Being in China is very overwhelming. I've never been anywhere outside of Kentucky. It's like dropping a 30-year-old baby into the world and telling them, 'Just go!'"As Teams on the second flight ran out of the airport into taxis, Duke & Lauren excitedly arrived at the Gold House in first place to find a Roadblock, a task that only one Team member can perform. In this Roadblock, that person had to indulge in the delicacy of fish eyes, a common food in China. To receive the next clue, the Team member had to eat all of the eyes out of a bowl of fish heads.
Duke & Lauren
Like all protective fathers, Duke shielded his daughter from the potentially queasy task and sat at the table for his serving of fish eyes. After watching her dad choke one eyeball down, Lauren smiled, saying, "I love you. Welcome to China." Soon Duke had company, as Lyn and Peter each began picking at their delicious dinner of fish heads. While she gagged and grimaced, Lyn managed to beat the men and finish first. Opening their next clue, single moms Lyn & Karlyn discovered they had to travel to the Forbidden City, once the seat of China's imperial government. Once there, they had to find the Meridian Gate entrance and locate a kiosk where they had to pull one of three departure times, 7 am, 7:15 am and 7:30 am, for the next morning. Teams would find the first big surprise of the Race here as well.
Fourth place beauty queens Dustin & Kandice suffered a huge setback when their driver took them to the wrong restaurant. The mistake dropped them to eighth place as they arrived at the Gold House with dating couple Rob & Kimberly from the second flight. Instead of claiming the 7 am departure like Peter & Sarah, Duke & Lauren, Lyn & Karlyn and Tyler & James, Kandice now needed to show her competitive skills just to keep her Team in the middle of the pack. She came through with flying colors as she beat Rob in a fish eye showdown to secure the final 7:15 am departure with David & Mary, boyfriends Tom & Terry and cheerleaders Kellie & Jamie.
The Gold House Restaurant cleared out as Rob & Kimberly, Vipul & Arti and Bilal & Sa'eed all completed the Roadblock before brothers Erwin & Godwin arrived after being lost. While Erwin ate as fast as he could, the brothers' fortunes began changing on the streets of Beijing when the taxi drivers for Vipul & Arti and Bilal & Sa'eed couldn't find the Meridian Gate. In a stunning comeback, Erwin & Godwin caught up to Vipul & Arti as the two Teams claimed the last 7:30 am departures forcing Bilal & Sa'eed to take the Last Team placard.
Erwin and Godwin
Confusion turned to shock for the Teams as Phil and the familiar mat appeared. In a stunning twist, Phil informed best friends Bilal & Sa'eed that they had been eliminated from the Race. A flabbergasted Bilal told Phil, "This just goes to show you don't have control over anything. The Creator does."
"I thought you said Allah was with us?"
The following morning at 7 am, the lead Teams of Peter & Sarah, Tyler & James, Lyn & Karlyn and Duke & Lauren opened their clues to learn they had to travel by sidecar in a World War II motorbike to the junction at 14 Hou Hai on North Bank Road where a pedicab manager would hand them their next clue.After basking in the satisfaction of arriving first to the Forbidden City the night before, recently dating couple Peter & Sarah were less happy departing because the knee of her prosthetic leg was leaking hydraulic fluid, a problem that Peter couldn't fix. While not damaging to the Team's prospects, it would make the day ahead more difficult for Sarah.
Lyn and Karlyn
At the pedicabs, the lead four Teams opened their clue to encounter the Race's first Detour having to choose between Labor and Leisure. In Labor, Teams chose a pedicab and traveled one mile to the Run De Li Market where they needed to use traditional Chinese bricks and methods to pave a 45 square foot section of side walk in a specific pattern. In Leisure, Teams chose a pedicab and traveled two miles to Beihai Park to take part in a new Chinese relaxation exercise known as Taiji Bailong. They needed to successfully perform the routine of balancing a ball on a paddle in unison to earn their next clue.
The four lead Teams decided to do Labor as they began to lay brick at the Run De Li Market. Initially, the Teams didn't realize they needed to place larger grey bricks around the border before laying the smaller red ones in the herringbone design. Models Tyler & James figured this out first, allowing them to take the lead and complete the task first after arriving in fourth, Opening their clue, the models excitedly learned they were heading to the Pit Stop at Juyongguan, a gateway to the Great Wall of China. However, to gain access to the Pit Stop, Teams would have to use a rope to scale up and over the wall. Their excitement was short lived as they had trouble finding a taxi allowing Peter & Sarah and Duke & Lauren to pass them.
With most Teams opting to lay bricks, cheerleaders Kellie & Jamie and boyfriends Tom & Terry chose an afternoon of Leisure, which proved to involve some labor as well. Both Teams had difficulties balancing the yellow ball on their paddles as they made movements under their legs and side to side. After many failed attempted, both Teams finally got the right moves to earn their clue, but fell down a few spots after being passed by coal miner and wife David & Mary and dating couple Rob & Kimberly who laid bricks faster. After being lost in their sidecar, married couple Vipul & Arti arrived last to lay bricks, becoming even more concerned when brothers Erwin & Godwin finished the task leaving the couple there alone.
So gay
At the Great Wall of China, a three-way race for first place heated up between Tyler & James, Duke & Lauren, and Peter & Sarah, who had to deal with her damaged prosthetic. While Tyler scaled the wall with catlike agility, Duke struggled to gain footing, and Sarah panicked unable to pull herself higher than a few feet above ground. With Peter's coaching and encouragement, Sarah slowly and methodically began her ascent up the wall with only one good leg.
After James joined his partner at the top of the wall, the models and friends stepped onto the mat in first place. Phil informed the happy pair they had just won $20,000 for their strong showing. Before claming second place, a teary-eyed Lauren said this of her experience with her dad, "I never thought we'd do anything like this together."Still on the wall, a determined Sarah talked to herself, saying, "You need to stay strong and stay focused. You'll find your power." Peter cheered as Sarah finally reached the top and then joined her as the pair happily took third place.
The Moms struggle
With the athletic beauty queens Dustin & Kandice easily scaling the wall into fourth place, single moms Lyn & Karlyn, after a strong showing up to this point, began to slow as the physical demands of the climb took their toll on the women. Karlyn didn't even know how to begin the task as she became tangled in the ropes barely above the ground. The pressure mounted for Karlyn as David and Tom joined her on the wall, each having problems of their own. Her struggles compounded further as Godwin, Kimberly, and Kellie all arrived and tackled the wall with the enthusiasm and athleticism needed to complete the task.At the top of the wall, David and Karlyn each cheered for their respective partners, Mary and Lyn, who needed all the encouragement they could get. While the pair toiled on the ropes, dating couple Rob & Kimberly completed the task for a fifth place finish and cheerleaders Kellie & Jamie came in right behind in sixth place.
Rob and Kimberly
With Vipul & Arti in a taxi barreling towards the Great Wall, only Lyn and Mary remained on the wall. A frustrated Mary didn't want to hear words of advice from her husband, shouting, "Just shut up!" While Mary didn't think she could finish, Lyn took her partner's advice to do it for her kids and inched to the top for a ninth place finish. When Mary apologized to David for not being able to perform better on the climb, he responded, "I love you honey. You got it, Mary. Do it. You're going to have the proudest kids in the world." That motivation helped Mary, who eventually did climb the wall. At the mat, David & Mary were stunned to discover they came in tenth place. "You told me we were last!" Mary screamed at David. In tears, Mary hugged a surprised Phil as well as the greeter.After giving each other tremendous support scaling the wall, married couple Vipul & Arti stepped onto the mat in last place to become the second Team eliminated from THE AMAZING RACE. On their relationship, the couple remarked, "We love each other. We support each other. We complete each other and that's what's important in a relationship is having that confidence in each other. This race has shown us that that's definitely possible."
Vipul and Arti are eliminated