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The Detour this week starts with some needless aggravation for Redmond. To reach the starting point, the players must row boats the way that the locals do. That’s with their feet, not their hands. This leg is extremely discriminatory against a man with an artificial limb. Fortunately for The Boys, Matt can do the rowing for both of them. Sure, he’s terrible at it, but we suspect everybody will be.

Becca’s fear is that Floyd is lost. Somehow, the truth is worse than her fears. She sees her partner return, and he has shrimp traps with him. She realizes how screwed they are and regrets that she didn’t choose to do this Roadblock. Actually, it’s a slow burn for her as she has hours to regret the mistake.

The surprise of the episode is that Scott can handle a shrimp trap bike. He does almost as well as Matt, all but guaranteeing that his (evil) team will survive for another episode.

During his second attempt, Floyd rides side by side with London. To his credit, he shows extreme thoughtfulness in assisting her when possible. The two of them ride side by side for a time and, at one point, even have to ask complete strangers for help keeping themselves upright. London looks like she’s in danger of heat stroke.

Floyd’s situation is even worse. He doesn’t realize it, but he’s dropped a trap. We’re remembering that infamous bale hay fiasco from an early season. It was needlessly cruel bordering on subhuman. There’s legitimately no reason why Floyd shouldn’t have been able to drop off his payload the first round.
Haven’t the producers of The Amazing Race ever played Overwatch? Anyway, Floyd guides London to the correct spot, where she receives a clue and he discovers he’s missing a trap.

London’s actually pretty selfish in this moment, at least briefly. After Floyd gets rejected, she freaks out about her own situation. Only after she receives the thumbs up does she appreciate how terrible this is for him. Then, she starts crying in empathy for him, which is quite sweet. If anything, the disparity in her reactions underscores the brutality of this challenge.

As Floyd takes a breather and hydrates, Joey arrives at the spot. Floyd shows tremendous class in telling Joey what to do. He does this while deciding not to quit, an admirable reaction to an impossible situation. Frankly, Floyd’s the big winner in this episode despite the outcome you’ve already realized is inevitable.

The term Team Fun has never felt more ironic, though.

The Boys, who we’d basically forgotten by now, finish in first place. They win a trip for two to Costa Rica. The other teams have dialed in on Tara and Joey as the biggest threat in the game, which mystifies us. After all, The Boys have never finished worse than 4th during a leg while winning two of the last four heats. They’re clearly the best tandem this season.

London’s misfortune isn’t over. Her bike breaks (!) on the return trip. She’s forced to push the heavy wood apparatus (and f’n Travelocity gnome) while she jobs. Joey, who she desperately wants to eliminate from the game, glides by her on his functional bike, the salt in the proverbial wound. All of this irrelevant, though.

When Becca sees the other players arrive without Floyd, she adjusts the Fun Meter to its lowest point ever. Just imagine how her partner feels. Floyd is shown retrieving the final missing shrimp trap and finally (FINALLY!) finishing the worst Roadblock in many seasons. They’re technically not out of it, but they’re totally out of it. And then it somehow gets worse.

Floyd is too tired to ride his bike. Don’t get us wrong. He certainly tries. He promptly drives off the road and into the branches of a tree, causing a crash. Then, he pulls over in the middle of the road and starts panting heavily. The camera does a dizzying effect to reflect that Floyd effectively collapses. He never technically passes out but he’s close. He’s in heat stroke and has no residual energy.

The rest of the episode is largely unimportant. Brooke does a lot of drama queen stuff that Scott describes as “giving birth again.” They still finish second. Tara and Joey fight over Joey’s lack of support while Tara foot-steers. London’s size works against him on this portion. His feet are too big to row. So, Team Mom and Dad passes Team LoLo for third place. Still, London and Logan’s fourth place finish keeps in the race.

Floyd doesn’t get to continue. He receives medical attention from two different physicians. They seem to leave it up to him whether he wants to keep going. He understandably isn’t enthusiastic. He never quits, which is an incredible display of will and determination given what happened to him. Instead, Phil bikes over to him and informs him that the other teams have finished. Team Fun is eliminated, and whoever planned this episode’s Roadblock owes them a tremendous apology.

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