The Amazing Race 20 Secret Scenes, Episode 7: Fight!

Featured Team: Brendon & Rachel

Brendon & Rachel Sound Off: Brendon explains the length of Vanessa’s hostility extends back to the watermelon stacking Detour, which is when Vanessa started sniping at Rachel. Rachel points out that when Vanessa first saw Rachel & Brendon, she immediately said, “Are you kidding me?” Rachel is tired of it, as is Brendon, especially with Art & JJ piling on too.

Rachel rants for a little about all the insults that Vanessa has hurled her way, including the stuff about being old, being ugly, being on Big Brother, etc. Rachel doesn’t think it’s fair that the game is being played with such meanness, but I think the most galling thing to Rachel was Vanessa’s insult about her nose. Of all things, that definitely makes Rachel tear up the most. Brendon figures that misery loves company and Vanessa & Ralph is a match made in heaven. He wants Rachel not to sweat it and to remember to have a good time.

Brendon is happy with the people they’ve met that have been very nice and cool, meaning Nary & Jamie and Bopper & Mark. He can’t wait to start this leg and is optimistic about the upcoming leg. Rachel isn’t over it though by a long shot and can’t believe there’s so much cheating and meanness as she thought the Amazing Race was about fun and traveling around the world. Rachel is tired of Vanessa’s attitude and the fact that Vanessa has been mean to her the entire race. Brendon tells her to forget about it, but that seems to be a hopeless request at this point. The insult is far too fresh for Rachel to get over it.

Featured Team: Bopper & Mark

Bopper & Mark’s Masai Adventure: Bopper loved getting to jump up and down with the Masai warriors in their Detour. He says it’s not an experience you typically get to have. It’s an overwhelming feeling that he was able to do it with authentic tribespeople. There were true and uninhibited emotions from the people there. Mark was happy to experience wearing some of the authentic tribe clothing. They’re both on a natural high from such a true experience.

Featured Teams: Bopper & Mark, Art & JJ

JJ Gives an Ultimatum: At the airport, JJ tells Bopper he’s nuts if he hitches on to “those two teams” (Nary & Jamie and Brendon & Rachel). If Bopper & Mark join on with his group of teams, it will be a four-team race to the end. Mark comes up and JJ repeats what he told Bopper, plainly stating that with the U-Turn coming up, there could be issues. Mark clarifies that they haven’t hooked their wagon with anyone. JJ then just wants to know who they would use the U-Turn on, and Bopper & Mark claim they won’t be using it at all. Bopper clarifies that the only time they’ll use the U-Turn is if they have to use it. JJ doesn’t think that shows much strategy.

Flash forwarding to after this leg, Bopper & Mark tell us that JJ basically told them to U-Turn Nary & Jamie or Brendon & Rachel, otherwise Bopper & Mark would end up just like the Mississippi girls. Bopper tells us he isn’t fooled by JJ’s ultimatum as it is clear what his angle is. Mark is more offended that JJ seemed to be telling him what he was and wasn’t allowed to do. Last time Mark checked, JJ wasn’t in charge of the whole race and Mark is doing just fine running it in his own way. Bopper explains that you don’t talk like that to country boys. In fact, there are two things you don’t do to a country boy: 1) you don’t kick his dog, and 2) you don’t threaten him. Bopper & Mark tell us JJ did the worst one and they aren’t going to stand for it.

Featured Team: Rachel & Dave

Staying Out of the Drama: In their cab, Rachel & Dave tell us they’re well aware of all the drama going on amongst the other teams but they are choosing to stay out of it. Dave admits they have an alliance of sorts with Art & JJ but those two have been intentionally stirring the pot and making waves. Rachel recalls that Bopper & Mark told them that they didn’t like Art & JJ’s bullying ways, which means that Rachel & Dave are going to work even harder to watch what this alliance does. Dave tells us that JJ also issued an ultimatum to him, just like he did to Bopper & Mark, indicating sides had to be chosen. Dave wasn’t having any of it and basically didn’t answer him. Dave hopes to stay cool with all teams, including Team Big Brother and Team Kindergarten Cops.

Speaking about Nary & Jamie, Rachel has noticed that the girls don’t even notice nearby kids, which is strange as teachers normally would. Rachel also picked up on Nary & Jamie’s fluctuating marital status as well as what their husbands allegedly do for a living. Their stories are definitely not being kept straight.

At the Pit Stop

Featured Team: Vanessa & Ralph (fifth place)

Vanessa Tells Her Side: Vanessa tells Phil that people tend to paint Ralph as an aggressor, due mainly to his size. The Mississippi girls did it and tried to paint themselves as little girls who did nothing wrong at all. She explains that Ralph isn’t the mean one in this team; it’s her. Ralph smirks at that. Vanessa hates it when people pick on him and feels the need to defend him, especially since he is not a bad guy. Phil asks her if she got into it today and Vanessa honestly looks confused as it seems she can’t remember if her fight with Rachel was today. Ralph reassures her it was.

Ralph encourages Vanessa to keep the story short, so after illustrating that Rachel got in their faces, in the end Rachel called her old. So Rachel’s sensitive topic is her nose and it’s clear that Vanessa is sensitive about her age, as that’s what she is focused on. Ralph reminds her that she then made the nose comment, which Phil asks about. She tells him about her nose-before-boobs jab and the fact that it’s not clear where Rachel wants people to look. Phil isn’t sure how to answer that. He asks Vanessa if she’s sure that Rachel has had a boob job and while Ralph looks away, Vanessa mutters that she’s pretty sure. Phil asks if this fight arose out of frustration and Vanessa indicates it got spurred on because Rachel wouldn’t shut up even after Vanessa repeatedly told her to shut up.

Phil points out that Rachel thinks this animosity from Vanessa is because Rachel was on Big Brother. Vanessa tells him she doesn’t care about Big Brother and both say they’ve never even watched that show. They didn’t know she had been on it. Phil asks why Rachel would think that’s the reason and Vanessa thinks it’s because Rachel has formed a whole persona around her experience there. If Rachel had another real personality to fall back on, she wouldn’t care at all about what people say about her. Vanessa doesn’t care about Rachel calling her old (although I think that’s a lie based on her emotion earlier in this video).