‘The Amazing Race 23’ review: A ridiculous equalizer, a U-Turn, and an Express Pass used

Let’s start off this “Amazing Race” article with an angry rant over the way in which this leg started. We have no problem when there is an equalizer. It’s a necessary part of production, and they have to do little things here and there to make sure that everyone stays together, but starting an episode with one that did not even have a penalty for the team in last place? That is just lame, since it means that the entire trek until early in the morning really did not matter much at all.

The one nice thing about the episode is that we at least did not have to worry about the Express Pass drama lasting much longer. While the way in which it was handled was certainly a little bit weird, Tim & Marie decided to give it to Travis & Nicole, which is what we actually think is a good move. They are a team that was going to be there anyway, and this way they’re not helping a bad team that could end up beating them when they would otherwise be going home.

At least the teams all arrived in Poland quickly, and from here on out we had a pretty entertaining episode. There were teams dressed in drag, a dancing challenge and the longest apartment building in Europe that forced Marie to be nice. (We’re ironically starting to root for Tim & Marie, since we actually think they are funnier than the race is showing, especially Tim.) There was also a Double U-Turn that came into play, where Tim & Danny showed that they are not that nice in using it on the Afghanimals. We probably wouldn’t have done that, mostly because we wouldn’t want to make an enemy.

Thanks to using the Express Pass (thinking rightly that they were going to be U-Turned), Tim & Marie came in first on the leg. Meanwhile the race to last was between the Afghanimals and the bearded guys Brandon & Adam, who were also victims of the U-Turn mostly so that Leo & Jamal would not be victimized on their own.

The one downside to this leg was that the Detour challenges were very slightest skewed against the men, given that dancing in a dress is not something that most of them have experience with. Plus, Nicky & Kim proved, just like Vanessa & Celina did on the Canadian show last year, that you get way more money on the street if you are a female in form-fitting clothing. Brandon & Adam were originally there not long after them, and had they not been scrawny, bearded guys, they would have made it through to the next leg without a problem. Now, they are tragically going home after starting the leg in first place. This is what a number of terribly unlucky things will do to you, and as much as we enjoyed the challenges this week, we can’t shake the feeling that most of this episode was inherently unfair. That is the way the race goes sometimes, but still. Grade: C-.

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Photo: CBS