If there were only a limited amount of film reel to preserve the Amazing Race for future generations, this episode would certainly be deserving of the space...
Couldn't ask for a better introduction to Bulgaria. The leg design was solid and the teams provided lots of dramatic moments. I'd also like to shout out the camera crew and editors: the cinematography in this episode was as good as ever.
It's been a long time since we've last seen a team not even get to the first ARI until over half the episode has already elapsed, and I can't imagine the chances of staying out of last place in that circumstance are very high. It was Carson & Jack's lateness that helped make the U-Turn work so well as a Race device here: teams felt forced into using it as a survival strategy. This engendered the classic two-way race for last place, which was turned on its head when the two teams actually in last place discovered each other on either edge of the Detour field. The fluid storylines, plus the tasks and car drama, provided no shortage of those classic cut-to-commercial moments diehard viewers have come to love.
Crazy how the last two eliminations have hung in the balance of one missed train car and one missed kilogram of wood. The race can often teeter on the head of a pin, which is, I suppose, one of the reasons we all keep watching this show season after season.
