Amazing Race update - Special extended episode edition

With six teams remaining, the TAR overlords decided it must be time for a two-hour episode which makes for a long night for yours truly. Believe me, I wouldn't do it if Rob & Amber were still on the show but things have been getting interesting lately, so here we go.

Teams started out in Zanzibar with Charla & Mirna heading out to Warsaw, Poland and Czapski Palace. We're told that Joe & Bill are a full half-day behind them, so unless there's some serious bunching, they're going to fall far behind. Everybody heads to the travel agency where Charla & Mirna are a pain-in-the-ass to both the travel agent and the other Racers. The Beauty Queens grab the fastest flight to Warsaw, grabbing up the last two seats on the plane out. They're followed by Uchenna & Joyce and the other teams lag behind. Joe & Bill are shown finally leaving but they're on the last flight out with Eric & Danielle; however, they miss the connecting flight so these two teams are way, way behind.

Dustin & Kandace are now the only teams in Poland and they need to find a Frederic Chopin actor at the Palace. It's the Detour: Perfect Pitch or Perfect Angle. Teams may either tune a piano or X-ray a mannequin to find the clue to the next destination. The Beauty Queens finish this first since one of them plays the piano. Meanwhile, Charla & Mirna can't get anybody in Warsaw to tell them how to get to the Palace. The Beauty Queens dump their backpacks on a bench and run to the Pit Stop where they arrive in first place for this leg.

Back at the Detour, Oswald & Danny break a piano wire and have to wait to get it fixed. Charla & Mirna make a complete mess of their piano as the Polish pianist looks on in silent horror (he needs to play a Chopin piece to confirm the piano is in tune.) They eventually give up and go to try the other Detour.

Standings:

#1 - Dustin & Kandace
#2 - Oswald & Danny
#3 - Uchenna & Joyce
#4 - Charla & Mirna

Joe & Bill and Eric & Danielle are so far behind that the Beauty Queens start the next leg of the Race while these two teams are just arriving in Warsaw. So now it becomes clear why this needed to be a two-part episode. Dustin & Kandace leave 11pm at night and need to head to Auschwitz. This is getting very confusing with four teams starting one leg and the other two still working on the Detour. But Eric & Danielle finish just ahead of Team Guido and head to the clue leading to the Pit Stop. They arrive in fifth place and Joe & Bill walk sadly to the mat where they are told that this is yet another non-elimination leg. Team Guido needs to arrive first at the mat on the next leg or they'll incur a 30-minute penalty. Since they're already almost a full day behind the first four teams, this essentially means that they need to beat Eric & Danielle by a half-hour.

#5 - Eric & Danielle
#6 - Joe & Bill

Next leg - On the charter bus to Auschwitz, Uchenna & Joyce, Dustin & Kandace, and Oswald & Danny are on the 1pm bus while Charla & Mirna, Eric & Danielle, and Joe & Bill are on the second bus, four hours later. The first group arrives and reads a history of the concentration camp with obvious emotion. After lighting a candle in tribute, they head out by marked cars to Krakow and the next clue. Once in Krakow, teams hit both the Fast Forward and the Intersection; at the Intersection, one team must join with another team. The Beauty Queens arrive last among the first three so they must wait at least four hours for the next team to arrive so they can team up. This is all starting to get a little silly for me: the TAR overlords purposely split into two groups of three knowing full-well that one team would have to wait. Too clever by half.

Uchenna & Joyce and Oswald & Danny complete the Fast Forward by climbing some steps so they all get to go directly to the Pit Stop. Back at the Intersection, the Beauty Queens are forced to team up with Charla & Mirna. Now it's the Detour: Eat it Up or Roll it Out. Teams may either make (then eat) kielbasa or roll out bagels and deliver them to a bakery. Joe & Bill and Eric & Danielle join up for the final pair; it seems to me that as long as Eric & Danielle keep Team Guido in eyesight all the way to the Pit Stop, they can knock out Joe & Bill because of the 30-minute penalty.

All eight Racers are trying to down two feet of sausage and tiny Charla can't see to fit it all. Kandace (or Dustin, I can't remember) barfs. Charla decides that this might be a good way to make room in her stomach and also throws up. Eric & Danielle and Joe & Bill finish first; the combined teams then separate into individual teams again and head off in marked cars. Mirna can't figure out how to disengage the parking brake; I swear I can't believe they've made it this far in the Race. She then starts yelling at taxi drivers who refuse to show her the way to the next clue without some kind of payment. The nerve! When they walk away, she starts the "poor helpless girl" act again. I swear she's mental, totally gonzo nuts that chick. Eventually, a taxi driver gives in for $50.

Once at the next clue, it's the Roadblock. One team member must don a suit of armor, then walk a horse a half-mile to the castle, and then head on to the Pit Stop. The Beauty Queens arrive first, followed by the Screamin' Armenians; Eric & Danielle and Joe & Bill arrive together so it's not looking good for Team Guido unless Eric drops dead. Mirna will not shut the hell up, just constantly yelling at Charla. Team Guido arrives about a minute ahead of Eric & Danielle and, because of their penalty, Joe & Bill are eliminated from the Race.

Final standings:

#1 & #2 - Uchenna & Joyce and Oswald & Danny
#3 - Dustin & Kandace
#4 - Charla & Mirna
#5 - Joe & Bill - 30-minute penalty - PHILIMINATED
#6 - Eric & Danielle

Next week: Tempers are running hot

Extra - See if Pat at Brainster has a recap of tonight's show.