Recap: The Amazing Race 33, Episode 6 – “This is why we can’t be too f- nice.”

Recap: The Amazing Race 33, Episode 6 – Say Cheese

All the teams board the charter flight en route to Corsica, France and will start the Leg at Pont Altiani in three groups, departing every 15 minutes and armed with ten euros. In the 9am group are Ryan & Dusty and Lulu & Lala. In the 9:15am group are Kim & Penn, Raquel & Cayla and Akbar & Sheri. And in last place, departing at 9:30am are Arun & Natalia.

The first clue tells teams to make their way up to Belvedere de Corte via chauffeured van. At the top, teams will pick up the next clue and a canister of fresh goat’s milk which they will need for either side of the Detour: Say Cheese or Mule Please.

In Say Cheese, teams must produce three baskets of cheese in the old-fashioned way. In Mule Please, teams must strap their canister to their mule friend and follow a trail to a fromagerie without spilling a drop of milk.

Ryan & Dusty suggest to Lulu & Lala that they go for the cheese since Dusty has experience, so the twins agree since they could just follow what the guys will be doing. Kim & Penn think the mule side of the Detour looks better on paper, so Raquel & Cayla decide to join them.

When Ryan & Dusty and Lulu & Lala begin boiling the milk, Dusty begins to wonder if they should just switch to the mule. Ryan tells him to just be more patient. Akbar & Sheri arrive and also start with the cheese.

But Kim & Penn are already at the fromagerie delivering their milk canister and opening the next clue directing teams to Verghellu Canyon Altipiani.

Lulu & Lala are next to complete the Detour with Raquel & Cayla close behind with their mule. Ryan & Dusty are overthinking the heat on their milk. And that allows Akbar & Sheri and Arun & Natalia to finish their cheese curdles before them. The best bros are now in last and they decide to switch to the mule.

Meanwhile, Kim & Penn arrive at the Road Block: Who wants to make a splash? For this Road Block, teams will go canyoning and search for a hidden clue along the way. Penn decides to do it.

Lulu and Raquel are close behind. They agree to point out the clue to each other if they see it. That’s exactly what Lulu does for Raquel. But then regrets it later when Raquel ends up passing and leaving her towards the end of the course.

After the Road Block, teams can now make their way to the Pit Stop at Cardiccia Dam which they can reach after pumping up a kayak to row down the river. As the Holdernesses leave, Akbar and Arun start the Road Block and Arun is able to pass Akbar as they climb up the mountain.

Ryan, in last place, hurries to catch up and is able to pass Akbar. Sheri cannot believe Akbar has fallen to last place.

Over at the Mat, Kim & Penn officially check-in as Team #1. They’ve won $5000 each and will depart on the first of two departure times.

Back at the rafts, Raquel & Cayla make sure to leave their bags and fanny packs in the van before heading down to the water, as per the clue. But Lulu & Lala miss that detail and have to go back to their van. That allows Arun & Natalia and Ryan & Dusty to catch up and pass them.

Akbar & Sheri arrive and begin pumping their kayak as Lulu & Lala start in the water.

It’s a kayak Race to the Pit Stop. Raquel & Cayla check-in as Team #2, followed by Ryan & Dusty in 3rd and Arun & Natalia in 4th. Lulu & Lala finish as Team #5. Phil tells them Raquel & Cayla will leave at the first departure time with the rest of them on the second.

That means Akbar & Sheri are last and eliminated.

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Episode Thoughts

So, I don’t know if this is an amazing episode or a blah episode. lol I think an argument can be made for both I guess.

First off, this is definitely the most COVID Era-episode of the Race so far. A very linear Leg in the rural (and beautiful) Corsica mountains. On one hand, the barebones nature of the Leg can feel a bit boring and bland. I mean, it was even more barebones than the modern TAR Leg. And that’s saying something!

The good news though is that both the Detour and Road Block had just enough room for teams to either move ahead or fall behind. As we definitely saw happen.

The mule side of the Detour seemed too easy. Obviously, animals can be unpredictable. And making new animal friends is always great fun. But the mules are used to working with people, so that shouldn’t have been an issue. The attention to detail part of the task also looked to be very simple as well.

The cheese side of the Detour was also straightforward, but just simply took more time. Or, in Ryan & Dusty’s case, makes it open to overthinking. Something we’ve seen in a previous Leg as well. Though I think Ryan & Dusty were just being more careful about doing it right rather than the clue-finding Road Block where Penn and Ray really didn’t need to do all that they did.

Canyoning has become a go-to task on TAR in recent years. So nothing really new to offer with it, even with the clue in the middle. It was all about it being a physical task. And some teams will obviously be more advantaged than others.

So as simple and straightforward as this Leg was, the teams helped to make it competitive. It was great to see teams Racing side by side where the smallest mistake could doom a team. That can be very exciting. And in modern TAR, we don’t really have many Legs like that. So I guess it is a positive here.

The end of the Leg did feel predictable minutes before the end, but overall, it was a solid Leg and episode.

Speaking of, what a horrible episode title. Lol At least use the “Mule, Please” instead. lol
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My Subjective Team Rankings

I will admit, I was a little worried (just very little) about Lulu & Lala at the end. I would’ve been really sad to see them eliminated after having been able to step it up every week and Race so well. Loved Lulu pointing out the fact that they shouldn’t be too nice though. (*cough*TAR32*cough* lol)

Happy to see Arun & Natalia run a very good Leg this time around. Especially with the way they have been just hanging on so far this Race. The linear Leg worked in their favor and they were able to take advantage of it in a way they haven’t had the chance to yet.

Kim & Penn had an excellent Leg. They just did everything right. Maintained their lead all throughout. Obviously, the Leg’s design helped a bit. But when teams were so close together, one wrong move and you’re done. Kim & Penn absolutely owned this Leg.

As always, it’s great to see a dominant team get knocked down a peg or two. And it’s not only teams who might be cocky or something like that. Just teams who look like they can be invincible. Sometimes that can make them boring. So Ryan & Dusty struggling a bit this Leg was great to see and then them coming from behind in the end helps to endear them a lot more. So that was great.

Raquel & Cayla are also the same in a way. But they’ve begun to really lay low a bit and start to fly under the radar. That’s a very good position for them. Especially with the type of Race that is going to be run now. Also, I absolutely do not fault Raquel for just leaving Lulu behind. Kinda shady? Sure. But when it’s a Race, you gotta do what’s best for yourself. And she did that.

It’s sad to see Akbar & Sheri go, but I think it was the right time. The Race is obviously open to everyone of all sizes. And physical fitness isn’t necessarily the main factor in deciding who ends up winning the Race of course. But the show really did harp on them struggling with physical aspects of the Race. It’s too bad they weren’t able to overcome that, especially when they were working hard to overcome their frustrations with each other and be more positive.

Episode Quotes

Dusty: “We’re shoving cars up hills.”

Lulu: “This is why we can’t be too f- nice.”

Akbar: “If you leave it all on the court, there’s nothing wrong with losing.”