Recap: The Amazing Race 34, Episode 7 – “I need those swimmers working!”

Recap: The Amazing Race 34, Episode 34.7 – “It’s Simply Medieval”

Teams fly from Amman to Dordogne, France for this 6th Leg. Luis & Michelle and Aubrey & David depart first from Chateau de Beynac at 8:45am. They open the first clue telling teams to drive to Chateau de Commarque. Derek & Claire and Quinton & Mattie depart at 9am.

As the leading teams stop to ask locals for directions, Derek drives past Aubrey & David and tells them to follow. Claire is a bit upset that Derek would do that since they need to just go. Derek thinks it’s a good idea to have another team with them just in case they are going the wrong way. As they follow, Aubrey & David tell Luis & Michelle to follow them too, but Luis says “I don’t think so.”

Emily & Molly and Marcus & Michael depart at 9:15am with Glenda & Lumumba the only team departing at 9:30am.

Luis & Michelle arrive at the chateau first and open the next clue revealing a Road Block: Who wants to climb the family tree? For this Road Block, teams must study a large family tree and take a memory test after rappelling 131 feet down from the tower. Teams will have to match five names with their corresponding family crests.

Michelle chooses to do the Road Block. She decides to go rappel first to see what questions will be asked before then returning to the family tree.

Mattie, Michael, Emily, Derek and David decide to do the Road Block.

Mattie is at the family tree when Michelle gets back. Michelle suggests Mattie just rappel down first also. All the other teams do the same.

Michelle gets the thumbs up on her second attempt.

Meanwhile, Glenda & Lumumba seem to have gone down the wrong road. When Glenda tries to turn around, she mistakenly backs up into a ditch thinking it was just regular grass. TAR’s security guy calls a neighbor who has a tractor that can pull the Jeep Cherokee out.

Back at the Road Block, Mattie gets the thumbs up on her second attempt as do Emily and Derek. Michael and David pass on their third attempts. But Michael realizes he left his stuff at the top of the tower so they have to run back, allowing Aubrey & David to leave the chateau at the same time as them.

Glenda & Lumumba work to catch up with Lumumba doing the Road Block.

After the Road Block, teams can drive to La Ferme de Turnac. Marcus & Michael are shocked when they find they have arrived first. The clue waiting here reveals the Detour: Walnut Cracker or Medieval Gamer. In Walnut Cracker, teams must crack, grind and press walnuts to fill a container with oil. In Medieval Gamer, teams will complete three games used by soldiers in the olden days. The games include moving a ball into a hole, throwing a sack onto the top of the pole and balancing rocks on a hanging table.

Marcus & Michael choose Walnut Cracker while the just-arrived Luis & Michelle choose the games. Emily & Molly also choose the walnuts.

Luis & Michelle struggle with the first game, so they decide to switch to the walnuts. Claire suggests to Derek that they do the games in order to pass the other teams. Aubrey & David and Quinton & Mattie choose the nuts.

Marcus & Michael get enough oil and they receive the next clue pointing them to the Pit Stop at Panorama Lookout in Domme. Derek & Claire pass the games. They leave next followed by Emily & Molly and Luis & Michelle. Aubrey & David and Quinton & Mattie are close behind.

Glenda & Lumumba, still in last, choose the games.

It is now a Race to the Mat with all the teams having trouble with navigation.

Marcus & Michael maintain their lead and win the Leg as well as $7500 each. Right behind them are Emily & Molly as Team #2 with Derek & Claire and Luis & Michelle as 3rd and 4th.

Aubrey and David grow frustrated as they try to find the Pit Stop. In that time, Quinton & Mattie finish as Team #5. But Aubrey & David end up just escaping elimination by finishing 6th.

That means Glenda & Lumumba are last and unfortunately eliminated.

Episode Thoughts

An okay episode. Not too memorable. Not horrible. Nothing offensive. So, like I mentioned in previous weeks, that’s a win for modern TAR! lol

This Leg was just two tasks, basically though. The Road Block and the Detour. Though the driving I guess was another task. Though I sort of sideeye at the editing in the end to play up the navigation troubles probably more than they actually were. You know? Lol

First up, the Road Block was a straightforward memory task. Another task I would absolutely fail at. Lol Going down first to see what the “question” is was really the only way to complete the task. Unless someone has a perfect photographic memory, then that’s really all you could do. Or have your alliance-mates give you the answer of course.

But I think this task was designed in a way that teams couldn’t tell anyone else the correct answers unless they yelled it up the tower. After teams got the clue, they leave. They don’t go back to where the other Road Block participants were. So this was a pretty well-designed task in that sense. THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! TAR32 and TARAu5 and TARAu6 would have no idea what to do with themselves! Lol

Anyway, it was good task. Secluded of course for COVID measures. So it’s a task and location that makes perfect sense. But they spent more than half the episode on the Road Block though and I think that’s a bit much. They could’ve tightened things up there. But then considering how they had to fill the end of the episode with that navigation drama, I guess they didn’t really have much material this week.

The Detour was good. I liked both tasks. It really depended on whether you had the patience with the games. If you did, you could finish quickly. The walnuts was a task you just had to get through as fast as you could.

It was good to see teams there at the same time. With the way the teams arrived at the Pit Stop close together, I can’t help but feel the rest of the episode was not edited in the best way. The show’s editing hasn’t been doing sense of time in the best way in recent seasons. Especially when they employ that *swoosh* transition too much instead of crafting an episode story that flows well. It makes the Pit Stop feel sudden instead of a climax of a full episode.

But I guess the Leg didn’t produce enough material for that. So oh well. Overall, it was an okay episode. Solid tasks. But not a Leg you’ll remember.

Team Thoughts

So sad to see Glenda & Lumumba eliminated. They really were such a fun team to watch. And they themselves were having so much fun too. They will definitely be missed on the Race.

I was happy to see the siblings doing well though! Back to the top for them which fun. I’m rooting for Emily & Molly and I think Marcus & Michael too. The brothers have proven they can do so well if they’re on their top game. But at the same time, I know that also carries a risk of them falling with just one mistake. But we’ll see.

I definitely agreed with Claire after Derek told Aubrey & David to follow them, unprovoked. Like, hello? Just do your own thing. Just knowing what I know of Derek from BB, I know he’s a very friendly guy. But TAR needs you to not be so friendly all the time. So I hope Claire will be the one to kind of rein Derek in from things like being too chummy with other teams to their own detriment. Friends are nice, but to a limit.

I liked Luis & Michelle‘s emergence over the last few weeks. But this episode, I feel like if they are to continue with all that extra, over the top stuff, I might get annoyed down the line. Lol Like friends on TAR, playing up to the camera is also nice up to a limit. So, maybe a little less moving forward and they’ll be fine. Lol Still good Racing through and I loved Luis saying “I don’t think so” to the “Follow us” offer.

Same with Quinton & Mattie. They are Racing well too. But overall with them, they just feel like supporting characters for some reason, if that makes sense.

Aubrey & David definitely made a splash with their testy exchanges this episode. Which is great because we need more dysfunctional couple dynamics on the show. We can’t have everything be all happy and friendly lol

Episode Quotes

Emily: “That’s a lot of crests.”

Glenda: “I need those swimmers working!”