The Amazing Race 15 Episode 8 Recap
Gary and Matt Finish Last in This Non-Elimination Leg
Nov 13, 2009
With Tiffany and Maria quitting, Brian and Ericka barely escaped elimination in the last leg of The Amazing Race. Sam and Dan were the first team to leave the Pit Stop, with instructions to fly to Stockholm, Sweden.
The Flight to Stockholm
As teams arrived at the airport in Amsterdam, they discovered that the ticket counter would not open until 5:30am. This allowed all five teams to meet at the airport. There were two flights to Stockholm, one at 6:55am and one at 9:25am. When the ticket counter opened, the first three teams to arrive at the counter - Sam and Dan, Meghan and Cheyne, and Flight Time and Big Easy - all received tickets on the earliest flight. Brian and Ericka, and Matt and Gary had to take tickets on the second flight when the first flight sold out.
Tivoli Grona Lund Amusement Park
Landing in Stockholm, teams were to to travel by train and ferry to the Tivoli Grona Lund Amusement Park and locate the Fritt Fall ride. Sam and Dan, and Meghan and Cheyne got on the first train out of the airport, as the Globetrotters weren't able to purchase tickets fast enough. When the other two teams arrived at the train, Brian and Ericka pulled ahead of Matt and Gary, as Matt and Gary were also not able to purchase tickets fast enough to make the first train.
At the amusement park, one team member had to ride The Fritt Fall, spotting an arrow that pointed in the direction of the next clue. There was a window of 15 seconds in which to find the arrow, before the ride plunged 24 stories. Sam and Cheyne worked together to spot the arrow, and the teams raced through the park to find their next clue.
Roaming Gnome Ring Toss
Once teams saw the arrow and raced to their next clue, they were directed to a carnival ring toss game. Teams had to toss rings at gnome hats. When they connected with a hat, the game attendant would lift the hat. If a Roaming Gnome was revealed, the attendant would had the team the gnome, which had the next clue affixed to the bottom. The clue sent the teams to a Detour, Noble Dynamite or Viking Alphabet.
Noble Dynamite or Viking Alphabet Detour
In Noble Dynamite, teams had to travel to a rock quarry and create a safety bunker with sand bags. After building the bunker to satisfaction, teams donned safety gear and set off an explosion in the quarry. The explosion would reveal a metal box that contained the next clue.
In Viking Alphabet, teams had to decode a message using acient Viking runes in order to receive the next clue. All of the teams chose the Noble Dynamite Detour.
The Hardest Roadblock in Amazing Race History
As teams blew up in the Detour, they received a clue that sent them to Bogs Gard Farm, the site of the hardest Roadblock in Amazing Race history. In Season 6 of The Amazing Race, Lena and Kristy were eliminated after spending 10 hours at this Roadblock. One member of each team had to unroll hay bales and search for a race flag before heading to The Pit Stop. Only 7 of the 186 hay rolls contained a race flag. Sam, Meghan, Big Easy, Brian and Gary all performed the Roadblock for their teams.
The Pit Stop at Bogs Gard Farm
Once teams found a flag, they could proceed to the Pit Stop, which was located at the Bogs Gard Farm. The Globetrotters found a flag first; followed by Meghan and Cheyne, Brian and Erick and Sam and Dan. Even though Matt and Gary were the last team at the Roadblock, and therefore the last team to head to the Pit Stop, Gary did not give up. He continued searching for several hours until he finally found a flag. Reaching the mat, host Phil Keoghan informed the father and son team that this was a non-elimination leg and they were still in The Amazing Race.
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