The Amazing Race Episode 16.05 I Think We're Fighting the Germans, Right? (France)

Louie & Michael declared war on Joe & Heidi as teams traveled to Massiges, France, a famed World War I battle site. The detectives Blind U-Turned the married couple, effectively eliminating them from the race.

ON THE MOVE

During the Pit Stop, teams boarded a bus in Hamburg, Germany headed for an unknown destination. During the ride, Jeff commented, "Me and Jordan are last. We have to do a Speed Bump. Definitely ready to knock down this task. I'm almost guaranteeing we are not coming in last this leg." Meanwhile, Joe sat in the back row with his leg propped up, icing his hurt knee. On his injury, Joe said, "These teams around here, they're not going to hinder me at all. I've been running with one leg. Imagine when this improves." Overhearing Joe boasting, detective Michael remarked, "Joe sees himself bigger than he is. He's a confident guy. I like the confident guys to go. Maybe we'll give him a reality check."

BAKERY FRESH

Departing in first place from somewhere in France at 9:35am, detectives Louie & Michael ripped open their clue instructing them to drive to the town of Ste. Menehould, find Boulangerie Defontaine, and buy a fresh baguette to receive their next clue.

Driving into the small town of Ste. Menehould, the detectives spotted the boulangerie and ran inside to find a wide array of breads and pastries. At the counter, Louie & Michael asked Monsieur Defontaine, the bakery's owner, for a fresh baguette and expected a clue to come with the bread. When the baker only handed over the bread, Michael hesitated for a moment before tearing apart the bread to find the next clue baked inside. Reading the message, Louie & Michael learned they had to drive to La Main de Massiges.

ON THE BATTLEFIELD

With married couple Joe & Heidi and father and daughter Steve & Allie close behind, detectives Louie & Michael ran to the cluebox at La Main de Massiges to find a Detour. At the height of World War I, this strategic hill, coveted by the Germans and fiercely defended by the French, was the site of intense fighting. Now, dressed as American Doughboys, teams would join their French brothers on the front line of this historic conflict and carefully pick their own battle of In the Trenches or Under Fire. In In the Trenches, teams bunker down into a World War I trench and choose a communication area. Then, with the battle raging around them and only a field manual for reference, they had to translate a message being sent to them in Morse code. In Under Fire, teams had to get on their bellies in a muddy field booby trapped with barbed wire and crawl 100 yards to a machine gun nest. While the battle rages, teams had to retrieve a written message from a French soldier and then crawl back to safety. In both cases, teams would then have to attach their message to a homing pigeon that would deliver the news to headquarters that the war is over.

Not being familiar with Morse code, detectives Louie & Michael decided to crawl through the battlefield, joking, "Ready to get dirty." After spotting the bottom of their clue warning of a U-turn ahead, the detectives darted into a tent and began to don the American Doughboy soldier uniforms from World War I. Bodybuilder Louie joked, "I feel like I'm the Hulk and I'm gonna rip out of this."

THE LONG CRAWL

With guns, helmets, and packs, Louie & Michael, fully dressed in uniform, walked through the rolling green fields of rural France until the serene beauty of the countryside was interrupted by explosions, gunfire, and diving planes. Arriving at the battlefield, Michael reacted, "This is crazy! I feel like I'm storming the beach of Normandy." Getting on their hands and knees, the two large detectives began to crawl under the barbed wire while the war raged on around them. Louie later commented, "You see the planes. You see the bombs exploding, just the noise. It's a lot like what we do as detectives."

While last place Jordan & Jeff fell even further behind after getting lost immediately leaving the Pit Start, Louie & Michael continued their crawl through the battlefield now with Joe & Heidi and Steve & Allie right on their heels. While hinted at in earlier legs, the true state of Louie's fitness emerged during the grueling task. Louie's continual coughing and wheezing prompted Michael to encourage his partner to keep moving. Later, Louie remarked, "My cardio is awful, but Michael, thank God he was there to motivate me."

With bombs continuing to explode around them, the detectives finally arrived at the machine gun nest where they retrieved a message from a French soldier huddled in a foxhole. The message read: The war is over. Viva La Liberte. Now having to return, Louie & Michael crossed paths with Joe & Heidi and Steve & Allie who made their way to the machine gun nest. As guns fired and planes dove over the battlefield, Allie said, "Oh my gosh, this is like a real war. This is scary." Already having retrieved his message, Louie joked about the explosions, "The war is over. You can stop now."

Returning to the other side of the battlefield, detectives Louie & Michael handed the message to a soldier who then tied it to the leg of a homing pigeon. After the soldier released the pigeon to deliver this important message, he handed the detectives their clue instructing them to walk south down the road to find their next clue.

STRATEGIC MOVE

Using his compass, Michael led Louie down the road where the duo found a Blind U-turn. The Blind U-turn allowed the detectives to remain anonymous while slowing another team down by forcing them to perform the other side of the Detour. After a brief discussion, Louie & Michael decided to U-turn married couple Joe & Heidi, just as the married couple retrieved their message from the machine gun nest. The detectives cited Joe's statement on the bus during the mobile Pit Stop, of having no fears of the other teams, as the reason that they targeted this team for the U-turn. Michael added, "This is a cut throat game for a million dollars. I didn't come here to make friends." After posting Joe & Heidi's picture on the U-turn board, Louie & Michael opened their next clue instructing them to march to the Church of Massiges.

WAR IS HELL

Trailing behind cowboys Jet & Cord and brothers Dan & Jordan on the battlefield, dating couple Carol & Brandy disagreed on which task to perform. Carol thought the physical crawl across the field would be easier than trying to solve Morse code while Brandy preferred the mental challenge. Brandy ultimately conceded to Carol's choice but she voiced her protest every step of the way. Carol sniped, "You're out of your mind on this. Are you kidding me with this?" As the couple wound their way through the trenches, Brandy's attitude worsened as she said, "I'm so pissed off about this right now. Smart people do Morse code. Dumb people do this." Seeing dating models Brent & Caite on the battlefield, Brandy added, "What did I say? Seriously."

Joe & Heidi and Steve & Allie both sent their homing pigeon flying away with the message of armistice and walked down the path towards the U-turn. Joe limped behind the other three racers because his sore knee flared with pain after crawling across the battlefield. Upon seeing Joe & Heidi's picture on the U-turn, Steve & Allie looked stunned, while Joe said, "I never even imagined we would be U-turned." Simple math made it obvious to all four that Louie & Michael were the culprits because they were the only team ahead of Joe & Heidi and Steve & Allie. Heidi later remarked, "I always thought that Louie and Mike were these nice cops. I always thought we had a good rapport with them."

After Steve & Allie offered their regret and support, married couple Joe & Heidi returned to the battlefield, fired up to complete the task and exact their revenge on Louie & Michael. Choosing a listening station, the married couple began the daunting task of deciphering the dots and dashes that bombarded their ears. Heidi appeared to get the hang of it quickly, understanding how to listen for the specific dots and dashes. However, the French soldier rejected Heidi's first guess of "Viva Le Liberty".

CRUISING TO VICTORY

Arriving at the Church of Massiges, Louie & Michael discovered that, with the war over, they would now pedal themselves to victory. Teams had to ride antique bicycles built more than one hundred years ago through a challenging four-mile course to the Pit Stop garbed in traditional riding gear from that era.

Swapping Doughboy uniforms for turn of the century riding gear complete with moustaches, detectives Louie & Michael began pedaling on their vintage bicycles. Louie joked, "This is a lot better than dragging my butt through the trenches." The detectives continued their tour through the countryside until they heard a band playing in the distance as the finish line appeared before them. After crossing it on the bikes, the pair ran to the mat and claimed their second victory in a row. This time, Louie & Michael each won a 55" HD television for their successful day.

DOING IT AGAIN

Going back to their trench, Joe & Heidi tried again to decipher the code that buzzed in their ears. Seeing Jet & Cord, Dan & Jordan, and Carol & Brandy finish the crawl put the pressure on them to come up with the correct answer. When Heidi panicked that the message went too fast for her to translate, Joe tried to calm her, saying, "We'll get it. Trust me." With Jordan & Jeff still not at La Main de Massiges, the married couple continued their attempts at translating, not giving up hope.

With Jet & Cord, Dan & Jordan, and Carol & Brandy claiming third, fourth, and fifth place respectively, time appeared to be running out for married couple Joe & Heidi. However, sixth place Brent & Caite failed to properly read their clue about heading south. The dating models never found the U-turn clue and walked directly to the bikes. After donning the riding outfits, Brent & Caite pedaled to the Pit Stop where Phil told them that they didn't pick up their clue after the Detour. Scrambling back on their bikes, the pair tried to figure out what they did wrong. Realizing they must have missed a cluebox on their walk south, Brent & Caite set back up the trail until they spotted the U-turn. After returning to Phil on their bikes for a second time, the dating models still finished in sixth place.

THE COMEBACK

After a day of being lost in France, newly dating Jordan & Jeff finally arrived at La Main de Massiges knowing that they had to pass at least one team to stay in the race. However, first the couple had to complete their Speed Bump since they came in last place on the previous leg. In it, Jordan & Jeff had to reinforce a section of the battlefield trench using branches.

After dressing up in uniforms, Jordan & Jeff walked to the battlefield and descended into the trench where Joe & Heidi continued to unscramble their puzzling code. Jeff said, "I was excited when I saw Joe & Heidi. We got a chance." Jeff took the lead showing Jordan how to weave the branches through the posts to shore up the trench. As explosions sent dirt and rocks towards them, Jordan & Jeff put the final branch in place to complete their Speed Bump.

As Joe & Heidi incorrectly guessed "Viva la Victoire", Jordan & Jeff began the crawl across the battlefield now having hope of passing the married couple. However, Jordan's incredibly slow progress under the barbed wire drove Jeff to distraction as she fell far behind. Jeff tried to offer ideas on how to make the crawl easier for Jordan, adding in a frustrated tone, "Why are you moving so slow?"

Finally reaching the machine gun nest, Jordan & Jeff picked up their message and stood stunned that they had to crawl back through the course. With so much on the line, Jeff repeatedly prodded Jordan, trying to get her to move faster. Eventually, the dating couple reached the solider and released the homing pigeon as a disappointed Joe & Heidi looked on.

SURRENDER

As Jordan & Jeff walked off to claim seventh place after a rough day of bickering, Heidi cried in Joe's arms, asking, "Why would they U-turn us?" With nightfall descending over the battlefield, the couple huddled in the trenches as Phil came to tell them that they had been eliminated from the race. Phil also told the couple that the message they were trying to decipher was, "We will prevail. Viva la France." On Heidi, Joe commented, "My wife impressed me so much. She was always leading, helping, pushing me along. I had to depend on her for everything." Heidi added, "I have no problems walking away today being eliminated, just that I have Joe in my life. We had a great time."

1605 ROUTE MARKERS

Detour: A Detour is a choice between two tasks, each with its pros and cons. In this Detour, teams had to choose between In the Trenches and Under Fire. In In the Trenches, teams bunker down into a World War I trench and choose a communication area. Then, with the battle raging around them and only a field manual for reference, they had to translate a message being sent to them in Morse code. In Under Fire, teams had to get on their bellies in a muddy field booby trapped with barbed wire and crawl 100 yards to the machine gun nest. While the battle rages, teams had to receive a message from a French soldier and then crawl back to safety. In both cases, teams would then have to attach their message to a homing pigeon that would deliver the news to headquarters that the war is over.

In the Trenches:

Under Fire: JOE/HEIDI, CAROL/BRANDY, LOUIE/MICHAEL, JORDAN/JEFF, JET/CORD, DAN/JORDAN, STEVE/ALLIE, BRENT/CAITE

Roadblock:N/A

Blind U-Turn: Teams can use a U-turn to slow down another team forcing them to perform the other side of the Detour. Because this was a Blind U-turn, the team that used it could remain anonymous. LOUIE/MICHAEL BLIND U-TURNED JOE/HEIDI

Speed Bump: Having been spared elimination, Jordan & Jeff had to complete a task that no other team had to perform. In this Speed Bump, they had to reinforce a section of the battlefield trench using branches.

Order of Finish

1. Louie & Michael

2. Steve & Allie

3. Jet & Cord

4. Dan & Jordan

5. Carol & Brandy

6. Brent & Caite

7. Jordan & Jeff

8. Joe & Heidi