Original subtitles

Previously on the amazing race...

For the first time ever, teams raced to Bulgaria.

Gamers Carson and Jack got lost early,

falling hours behind.

I have no idea where we are.

Oy.

A parking mishap

cost married couple Jonathan and Ana valuable time.

I don't know what else to do.

At a surprise double u-turn,

Melinda and Erika secured their safety...

- We don't have a choice. - I know.

Leaving no choice for brothers Nick and Mike.

We just u-turned han and Holden.

- They u-turned us. - All right, we're u-turned.

Married couple Alyssa and Josiah won the leg.

You are team number one.

Yes! Yes!

Nick and Mike

hopelessly searched through haystacks

I don't know how much longer I can do, bro.

Been at this for hours.

And gave Carson and Jack the opportunity they needed.

There's another team.

Look.

- There are people here. - I can't believe it.

We're still in it, Jack.

A million dollars. Let's do it.

The gamers completed their comeback...

You are team number six

while the brothers never finished the detour.

I'm sorry to tell you

that you have been eliminated from the race.

A city kid's not meant for the farm, Phil.

Coming up tonight,

teams face fire to win an express pass.

We got some time to make up.

And Carson and Jack...

We're gonna take the Metro now.

Try to stage another comeback.

What else is there to do?

We have to believe.

Okay, let's go.

- Route info. - My god.

"Drive to lake Ariana in Sofia to find your next clue."

All teams will now drive themselves

25 miles from the countryside to Sofia,

the capital and largest city of Bulgaria,

home to eye-catching monasteries,

cathedrals and a treasure trove of Roman ruins.

This is where teams will make a crucial decision

head straight to lake Ariana

or take the risk of going for the express pass.

The team that wins it

can use it to skip any task they don't want to complete

and then continue racing.

And there's an express pass.

There are lots of reasons

not to walk across hot coals.

First of all, this is real fire

that can reach temperatures of up to a thousand degrees.

And this man is barefoot.

But when you're on the amazing race

and the express pass is up for grabs,

you might just be willing to put your feet to the fire.

- Let's go for it, right? - Let's do it.

- Let's do it. - All right, let's do it. Let's go.

So, we'll get the pass, and then we'll...

We'll still have to do everything else, like...

Right.

- You figure out where this place is. - Let's go.

I found it.

I want to come in top three.

I think we have some time.

And with an express pass,

we have extra power for another leg.

Our student loan payments

are insane right now and crippling.

We're, like, over $400,000 in student loan debts,

between our two degrees.

I-I keep looking over my shoulder for sallie Mae.

'Cause I swear she's behind me with a knife.

She's gonna catch me. Like...

Winning a million dollars,

winning this race would change our lives forever.

It would just set us up

to be in a good place to, like, have children and feel

like it's the right time to do that.

The amazing race is a war.

And it's not about winning the battles.

It's about winning the war.

That's our-that's our goal.

God.

Route info. "Drive to lake Ariana

in Sofia to find your next clue."

Maybe we should just skip the express pass.

- Yeah. Josiah and Alyssa... - Yeah, they have a big lead.

- Let's go. - Let's go.

I want to get first place.

So let's get to where we need to go...

- While they do that pass? - Yeah.

Excuse me. We have to find a place.

Could we possibly use your phone?

We're looking for lake Ariana.

Twenty-two kilometers away.

- In Sofia? - Looks like it.

It'll be the first park we see in the city.

It's gonna be on our left-hand side, right there.

- Okay. - Okay.

Thank you so much.

Lake Ariana.

Great. We just have to look for a body of water.

So we decided not to do the express pass

because Josiah and Alyssa have, like, at least

a 20-minute head start.

And they're in first, so why wouldn't they go for it?

So, our goal is to just try

to get through these challenges ahead of them.

Babe, thank you so much for all your map work.

The airport should be coming up.

Where?

I don't know. Look for planes.

- My god. You're so... - What is this? - Boy.

"The express pass is up for grabs.

"There's only one express pass,

but multiple teams may attempt to win it."

Okay.

What do we want to do?

I think... I mean... Yeah? Head over to the lake?

Yeah, okay. We'll...

All right. Well, let's head to the car.

- Let's go. - Yeah. Let's head to the car.

- I'm so upset. - Okay.

We decided to, forgo

an attempt at the express pass

because, too much time has passed

between us and the first team that left.

The experience from the last leg has carried over,

essentially, into the next leg.

You know,

if we hadn't had our car stuck in a ditch for an hour,

we, might have had a shot at first place

and thus might have had a shot at the express pass, so...

The bad luck continues, dude.

I don't want to go too far.

- Do you think we should maybe... - Exit here?

There's-there's parking.

Yes! Okay. We found it.

Ooh. Good job, babe.

All right, let's do it like we're way behind.

So we followed the arrows around the side of the building,

and there's fire.

And the first thing I read is

you're gonna have to walk across coals

to get the express pass.

"Walk barefoot on hot coals to win the express pass."

My initial reaction is excitement.

- How is this... - This is so cool.

And then I immediately realize, "my gosh."

"Josiah is not gonna like this at all.

He hates hot things."

- All right, I'm ready. - It's my worst nightmare.

Josiah doesn't like hot things.

You're just gonna have to suck it up.

We're gonna burn our feet.

This is my biggest fear.

This is what I don't like to do.

I do not like to touch hot things.

I don't like to eat hot things.

Like, hot chocolate, for me, is lukewarm chocolate.

Like, I don't do hot.

Worst nightmare. Truly worst-case scenario.

We're gonna burn our feet a little. It's fine.

I appreciate you being calm,

but it's just not what I want to do.

Is this gonna hurt?

It's not that far.

- You're gonna be fine. - I'm gonna be fine.

- Lifted toes. - Yeah.

Okay.

- Do you want to go first or second? - No, second.

- You got this, babe. - I got it, I got it.

Let's do it.

I really wasn't afraid.

I was like, "if I burn my feet, I burn my feet. That's okay.

It's worth it for this express pass."

But it hurt.

It was a lot longer than I thought it was gonna be.

Okay.

It's not bad at all, babe. You got this.

I was just trying to keep it together

and give no reaction at all.

Okay. So it's my turn.

So I didn't scare Josiah even more.

Let's do this. I'm good to go?

- Just keep moving fast. - Yeah.

I'm gonna keep moving. I'm on the beach.

I'm on the beach. I'm on the beach.

I'm on the beach. That was hot.

- That was amazing... - That was hot.

- Good job. - Okay.

Good job.

- Thank you so much. - Thank you so much.

- It was an okay job by me. - Good job by her.

- Thank you so much. That was cool. - Thank you.

- Yes! - All right. We're back on.

Okay.

Woo-hoo! Express pass.

- Valid through leg ten. That's awesome. - Huge.

We're back in the race. We are now in third place.

- All right. - Off to the next thing.

The express pass burned 40 minutes of our lead.

It also burned my foot.

Route info.

- Express pass. - Express pass.

"There's only one express pass, but multiple teams

"may attempt to win it." All right.

- Let's do it. I don't think... - We're too late. We're not...

Just go.

We're leaving in fourth place,

which isn't bad, considering that we got u-turned.

- But we want to make up some time. - Yeah.

We're trying to figure out

how to work together in Harmony, I think.

We didn't spend seven years together, because

Holden went off to military school

and then I went off to college.

When I saw him during those seven years,

it would be for a week at a time.

He would piss me off. It was a true

brother-sister bickering relationship.

So much growth has happened since then.

Something that I really wanted to achieve on this race

is to be seen not necessarily,

like, as just her younger brother.

I also want to be seen as, like,

someone who's, like, of her equal.

Spirits are high.

We're excited to get better.

That's our goal.

Route info.

"Drive to lake Ariana to find your next clue."

And there is an express pass.

- We are not doing that. Let's go. - We're not express pass.

They've already passed us.

All right. Let's go.

Okay.

Right now, we are going into leg eight.

And I feel like we're starting to hit a groove, maybe.

Now, the last leg was a little bit rough,

but we can't really change our game plan.

It's still like, "try to take one step at a time.

Slow is fast. And we still don't want to be last."

The thing that I've learned about my mom on this race,

though, is, like, somewhat surprising is,

yes, I'm competitive,

but holy crap, my mom is competitive, too.

And she will cut someone to get out of the way.

It's part of the game.

When we get to Sofia, I still don't know,

technically, where we're at.

It's gonna be great.

I'm gonna do way better at directions today.

Ooh! Getting antsy. We're almost here.

That-that's a stadium. This is the parking.

My god. And Josiah and Alyssa aren't here.

So we could be the first ones.

Clue box, right there. Right there, there in front of you.

Perfect.

Route info.

At a first glance, the idea of a priest

handing out crosses like this

might appear out of the ordinary,

but for eastern orthodox christians here in Bulgaria,

this annually celebrated event

is led by orthodox priests

who celebrate their faith like this every year

at the Jordan day festival.

Teams need to pick up a cross from this lake,

then return it to this priest for good luck

and their next clue.

- "Recover a cross." Okay. - Okay.

I hear music.

Yeah!

Let's go.

We got to be in and out, babe.

That's... you're gonna get it.

- Hey, hey, hey! - Hey!

Hey, hey, hey, hey!

It's right below you.

Get it. Get the cross.

- Yeah! - Yeah!

Hey, hey, hey, hey!

Hey!

Thank you very much.

Thank you so much.

- Thank you. - Thank you so much.

Thank you.

All right, babe, let's get out of here.

Ready?

Route info. "Make your way"

"to the neighborhood of Russian monument square

"and open the doors of the marked klek shop

to receive your next clue."

After the end of communism,

basements and bunkers played a major role

in this country's conversion to capitalism.

Business entrepreneurs

converted them into klek shops.

This kneel shop is owned and operated by Mira,

who has a clue for the teams.

- We cannot take a taxi. - Okay.

The clue says that we can't take a taxi

for the rest of the leg.

"The only options are by foot or bus."

I used to take the bus to school growing up,

and if you missed the bus, you waited another hour.

Plus, we don't know which bus to take.

We don't know how long it's gonna take. So we ran.

So we ran.

It's fun to be on foot.

Is it?

All right. Okay.

- To lake Ariana. - Let's do it. Let's do it.

We left in last place, and it was giving

ghost town.

We got some time to make up.

We must have been

at least an hour behind fifth place.

So, you know, spirits were high, but delusional.

We can do it.

We're capable.

The power of delusion is something

we wield at will, kind of.

- My gosh. - We can really force ourselves to be like,

"we are going to achieve the impossible."

I'm feeling like we're gonna be okay.

- Am I crazy to say that? - I think so, too. No. No.

What else is there to do? We have to believe.

That's the stadium.

Doing pretty well, babe.

Some would say we're on fire.

There's the clue box.

"Recover a cross from lake Ariana

to receive your next clue."

- All right, let's go. - Let's go.

Hey!

Let's go.

This is so cool.

Thank you.

Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!

- Thank you. Thank you. - Thank you!

Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!

The St. Jordan festival was absolutely lit.

The hard part of that challenge

wasn't getting the cross and finding it.

It was leaving the group of guys in there,

'cause they were so, so fun.

- Yay! Thank you. - Thank you. Merci.

"Make your way to the neighborhood

of Russian monument square."

"You must not travel by taxi for the rest of this leg."

But we can take trolleys and stuff.

We're just gonna run on foot there.

- That was fun. - That was really cool.

I see the clue box.

Okay.

"Recover a cross from lake Ariana

to receive your next clue."

Gonna give us a blessing.

Okay. Let's go get it.

Let's go!

Hey!

Yeah!

There's the cross.

Yeah!

Hey! Thank you.

Thank you, guys.

Thank you for the blessing.

- Yeah! Thank you so much. - Yes. Thank you.

All right, babe.

"and open the doors of the marked klek shop

to receive your next clue."

Klek shop? What's a klek shop?

- What do you want me to do? - Turn right at the next

I don't know.

Under the railroad tracks?

Do you see railroads that we're going under?

No.

Yeah, that's real bad.

I think the thing

about self-driving with Holden I like is, like,

I feel like there's hope every single time we get in the car.

Not that, like, a team has screwed up,

but, like, there's just so much more room for error.

My goodness.

If we see a bright blue shirt in the distance

Erika and Melinda

struggling to do something... I'm gonna have to

bite down on my lips so I don't scream.

You're not on my map anymore.

Like, the small Sofia map is no longer visible.

We might have to take a different street back.

Do you see a different street we...

You are literally no longer

the end of my map has happened.

Okay, I understand.

So go back to see if we can go over a street

to come back around that park.

At this point, you don't want to listen to me, so...

Navigation's gonna take us out.

Excuse me. Can you help us find lake Ariana?

- It's over there. - How do you we do that, though?

Can you show us on your phone, maybe? Like, directions?

Yeah, so we go past the big park and before, like,

- yeah. - Those two streets. Okay.

Thank you so much.

- Do you know exactly what you're doing? - Yes.

Oof.

Not a fan of self-drive.

Okay, let's just go.

Russian monument square. Yes.

Hurry.

The klek shop.

Damn. My legs are burning.

So it has to be 75.

Seventy-five. Right there.

Flower shop. So let's ask them.

Hi.

Klek shop.

Here is... The entrance.

The entrance is down there?

Thank you so much.

Over here is 75.

- Thank you so much. - Here's this.

Can we open it?

- Hi. My gosh. - Hi.

- Thank you so much. - Thank you so much.

- Yes. - Okay, bye.

That's cool.

It's like a secret little snack shop.

I'd like some snacks.

- Route info. - "Make your way"

"to Sofia university's.

"St. kliment ohridski central library

to find your next clue."

St. kliment ohridski.

So we're gonna take the bus.

We know for sure Alyssa and Josiah were not there,

'cause we were the first car there,

which means they went to the express pass.

Which means, as of now, we have the lead.

I have no clue what a klek shop is.

Is this it? 75.

I don't see it.

We found 75, but... There was no shop there.

I know this says 75,

but, like, marked is marked, right?

Could this be the marking?

Amazing race37. That is so cool.

- That's the marking? - That is so...

Get out of here. This is so cool.! Wow.

- Hello. You're hiding from us. - My god. Hi.

- Thank you so much. - It's like speakeasy. This is incredible.

A speakeasy.

- Let's close it so no one else sees it. - We got to hide

no, we got to hide this back up.

- This is so cool. - That was so cool.

"Make your way to Sofia university's St. kliment."

I just want to make sure that a Metro wouldn't be faster.

If it's another run like we just did,

- I'll do that all damn day, every day. - Yeah.

We can run like the wind.

This might be it.

Okay, we're looking for a marked klek shop.

This might not be the right street.

Seventy-five.

Yeah, it's not marked.

So just look for the Mark.

- Yeah. - Okay.

Man.

- Do you have to go all the way around? - I'm so confused.

Can we get, like, a street sign or something?

Aw, crap.

- I think we should go back. - This is a different street.

Is there a 75 over there?

Yes, babe, I saw it.

Is this it?

My god. Look at this.

My gosh.

- Are you serious? - Wow.

That was crazy.

My gosh.

"Make your way to Sofia university's St. kliment."

That was so much faster than running.

Merci. Thank you so much.

- Sofia university. - So...

- So we have to find the library. - We're right here.

Look, there's an entrance right here.

- Look. There's a clue box right there. - Perfect, perfect.

"Use a Cypher to translate a passage

- from... cyrillic to English." - "Cyrillic to English."

The cyrillic alphabet was invented here in Bulgaria

a writing system used by a number of languages

here in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

It's characterized by its angular shapes

and distinctive letter forms

that represent specific sounds.

Teams must use a cyrillic Cypher

to figure out what's written

on the pages of this ancient book.

Once they give the correct answer to the librarian,

he'll hand them a clue.

Okay.

- Let's just take this one. - Wow. Cool.

No.

- How do you use it? - Is that the thing?

Do you want to be closer to that? Is that it?

We get in the study, and we have to use the Cypher

to translate a passage

- from cyrillic into English. - English.

The first letter's the b and the z.

I've never used a Cypher before.

How do you use this?

The Cypher has three rings on it

and has all the cyrillic from the passage.

There's no information, babe.

We were like, "clearly that's the lettering",

- "- but there's no English." - Yeah.

My god.

What are we missing?

Think.

We got to go to the lake.

I see it.

"Recover a cross from lake Ariana

to receive your next clue."

Thank you.

"Make your way to the neighborhood

"of Russian monument square.

You must not travel by taxi for the rest of the leg."

We don't know how to use a Cypher.

And there's no English on this at all.

Does it open?

Are we missing something?

Okay.

Hold on.

- B... - Hold on. Bz, "in."

Eventually, I was like, "well, it doesn't open,

"so what does the back look like?" And I flip,

and there was the English.

N-a...

- N with a backwards d. - Y-d. Right here.

And then I'll get the end of it.

"In the beginning..."

My god. Yes!

My god. I'm so... This is hilarious.

This is very orthodox.

You see it in the middle?

My husband's family is Greek orthodox,

so I was familiar with

a little bit of their customs and their culture.

So that was kind of familiar from what the Greeks do.

- Yay. Thank you. - Thank you.

All wet.

So now we got to go down to the street and find a taxi?

Correct.

There's a taxi down there.

- Hi. - Hi.

We need to go to Russian monument square?

You know? Okay. Okay.

Maybe someone else will make a bigger mistake than us.

Yeah.

- Let's just start again. - Okay.

Bz was... "In the beginning."

- That says... -"The word." - "The word."

I don't see the k76 anywhere else.

- Like, "in the beginning, was the word." - "...Was the word.

"And the word was with god."

"And god was... The word."

We're using common sense.

- There's too many other words. - No, that's it.

- I think we got it. - Okay.

Yes.

Yes!

- Thank you so much. - Thank you, thank you, thank you...

Great job, babe. Great job.

We're gonna have to find the library.

There's a clue box.

There it is.

- Brett and Mark. - Josiah and Alyssa.

- Hi, y'all. - Hey, guys.

"Use a Cypher to translate a passage

from 'krillic' to English."

"Make your way

to the museum of socialist art and search

for the sculpture garden for your next clue."

Let's just ask someone to use their phone.

Sure.

Whoa.

- Oof. Okay. - Okay.

This is your wheelhouse, babe.

We have to decode a Cypher

and the message within it to English.

We've practiced this. We've done, like,

escape rooms. We've done puzzles.

So, we're trans... We're translating to what?

From "krillic" to English.

Where do we get the English from?

There are some English letters

like "t," "o," you know...

Unless we're missing something.

- Hi. - Hi.

We're trying to find the museum of socialist art.

That's, you can take the Metro.

The Metro station is right here.

- So you have to walk down there? - Yeah.

- Thank you so much. - Thank you.

Okay, I want to keep our lead on Josiah and Alyssa.

Yes.

Hopefully they get stuck there for a while.

So, maybe there is a book.

Yeah. Maybe there's a book.

So we're looking for "krillic," that word.

Cyrillic.

Here's Irish English.

Spanish.

- There is a ladder. - Español. Français.

What's this ladder for?

That's what I've been wondering.

And at some point, you have to wonder,

"am I missing something?"

Help me.

Okay.

Do you think we just have to figure it out

- with that Cypher thing? - Maybe.

The klek shop. I think that's the klek shop.

This is definitely it.

Seventy-five.

- I see this. - Yeah.

Whoa!

This is so cool.

- Hello. Thank you. - Hi. Thank you.

- That is so cool. - That was absolutely wild.

That was insane.

I feel like I was in a secret club, you know?

In Bulgaria.

Think this is it?

- It's right over here. - Shoot.

Okay.

"Use a Cypher to translate a passage

from cyrillic to English."

Hey, guys.

- Hey, guys. - 'Sup, guys.

Take your time, if you guys want to, -this is wild.

But if you ever, like, want to work together,

- we're trying to get it. - Cool.

But take your time. Take your time.

We're literally nowhere on this.

Yeah.

When we went into the library,

we saw Josiah and Alyssa there.

They looked very stressed.

I'm just gonna call that bz.

It looks like bz to me.

And that's "naya" with that accent.

Come on.

- Hello. - Hello.

Okay.

Okay, yeah.

We got to lake Ariana and had to dive in

for a cross into a pool full of men

chanting, singing and dancing, which is a lovely

Tuesday, in my book.

We've known each other for over a decade.

We grew up together.

At the time when we met,

I knew I was gay, but I hadn't really told anyone.

And then I saw Carson from across the way, dancing

to lady gaga, "born this way."

And I was like, "only a gay person

would know that choreography."

We talked to each other

and we became best friends.

Thank you.

- Thank you so much. - Thank you so much. Thank you, thank you.

When you're learning about being queer, often times,

you're only thinking about the negatives, but, like,

finally, there was an example of, like,

- queer joy in front of me. - Joy. Yeah.

"You must not travel by taxi for the rest of this leg."

We're gonna take the bus.

- That might be it. - All right, 5

hello.

Yeah.

- No way. - That's crazy.

Hi. Good to see you.

- Hi. Good to see you. - Me too.

- Who would've thunk. - My god.

The woodcutter who weighed our wood...

Thank you so much. Thank you so much.

Was just on his daily bus.

It was like the spider-man meme.

We were like... And he was like...

- What is a klek shop? What is that? - Klek shop?

He felt almost like a spirit.

It was insane.

- Bye-bye. Thank you. - Thank you so much.

Thank you.

I don't know how to use this.

Can you figure out just the b by itself, what it means?

Or the o by itself?

Let's focus just on

hey, we can do this. We're gonna do this.

Just, I don't even know how.

Like, I don't even know what to do.

After Jonathan and Ana came in,

it was just, like, so frustrating.

I was considering using the express pass,

but I wasn't gonna say it out loud

until things got very dire.

Seventy-five.

We might have passed it.

It was one of these stores on the left.

I think it's this way.

I think we passed it.

I don't even know what the "kelk" is.

I don't know what a "kelk" is, either.

I think we passed. I don't know...

We need to find 75.

What are these numbers?

Do you see any other numbers?

I think it's easier to find a number back here.

Okay. We can do what you would like to do. That's fine.

We didn't see anything marked on this,

so I don't know why we're coming back this way.

77.

- What number do we see on this other one? - 75.

- Seventy-five, right here. - Is this it?

Yeah.

It says "marked."

I knew what I was talking about.

- Do you understand I saw 75? - I understand you saw 75.

Sometimes when I say directions, you always pushing it,

and I let you do it this time.

Why didn't you just trust me?

Because I saw 75.

- Do you speak English? - Do you know where this is?

Good.

It might have been where you said then, mom.

But I don't know how to get in there.

I don't, either, but I was right.

- Okay. Thank you. - You're welcome.

You were right. Good job, mom.

I just didn't see anything there.

So maybe it is by the flower shop?

It's the only 75 I see.

My gosh.

- Hi. We found you. - Hi. There's people down here.

- Yes. Thank you. - My gosh.

- Thank you. We learned something. - All right, close it.

- Okay. - Okay. What a day.

"Make your way to Sofia university."

There's a bunch of taxis right there, yeah?

- We didn't know what a "kelk" was. - Nope.

Sofia university library.

"Bibliograf" or whatever.

After the first leg,

I've gotten really good about reading my clue.

And I think that's why we're still in the race,

is 'cause we got a little bit better

about being focused on reading the clue.

Gosh.

This is tough, tough, tough, tough, tough, tough, tough.

So, n, a...

- How?! - Doesn't matter.

We don't know how.

I don't really think we've made any progress so far.

How?

- Yes. - Yes.

- Thanks. - Thank you so much.

"Make your way to the museum of socialist art."

Nice.

Has to be that we're overthinking it.

Every time we seem to make,

like, think we crack one part of it,

the method that we used doesn't work for the next part.

So, how much do you want to help them?

Just tell 'em it's on the back and bounce?

- We got to help 'em. - Okay, good.

It's kind of like an investment.

- A good Karma investment. - You know, you invest

now, and maybe some-sometime down the road,

they may help us when we're in trouble.

Do you need help?

If you have any tips.

Yeah, we could help you out a little bit.

So... Did you try flipping it over yet?

Yeah. Okay. Yeah, there it is.

- My god. - Yeah. Sorry, you guys.

- Don't be sorry, bro. - See you later.

My god.

That's insane.

- Excuse me? Can you help us? - Hi.

We're looking for the museum of socialist art.

Museum of socialist art.

This is somewhere... Somewhere near here, but...

Okay.

This one. It's here.

We are heading to the socialist art museum.

Okay.

- Yes. -Thank you so much. - Okay.

- Thank you. - Thank you.

That was horrible.

"Search the sculpture garden for your next clue."

Huge shout-out to Jonathan and Ana.

It was amazing that they helped us

because we would have been stuck there

or had to use our express pass.

And if they get first or second today,

they earned it over us, that's for sure.

Is it the next one?

- I think it's this one. - Or is it this one?

- Here, Holden. Yes. - Two lions. Yeah.

- There's a clock with two lions. - There's a clue box.

"Use a Cypher to translate a passage

from cyrillic to English."

I had done, like, a Cypher puzzle before.

I do the crossword, I do the spelling bee.

I do word puzzles.

Literally, just write down the passage first,

and then we can break down how we want to solve this.

We need to have all the information first.

- Fine. Fine, fine, fine, fine. - N.

I think it's here.

- No, there's no... - Why don't we just get close to it?

We can walk up to it, and we can look at it.

I think...

Okay, I need you to, like, work with me,

'cause it feels like you're working on this alone.

- Okay? - Okay. Okay.

But how do we translate it?

- How does it translate down? - Baohan, let's figure out

- everything that we have first. - Okay.

You're trying to solve the math problem

without getting the other side of the equation.

Okay. Okay, okay, okay, okay.

Or is it English letters?

There's a park that way, so it must be there.

There. This is the sculpture.

Clue box straight ahead.

This is incredible.

"Make your way to the central military club

to find your next clue."

Is it close, do you think?

- I don't know, babe. - Okay.

I don't see it anywhere in walking distance.

Okay.

Excuse me. We have to go to...

The central military club.

- Thank you so much. - No worries.

- Thank you. Thank you. - Thank you.

Thank you.

Bro, I have no idea. Okay.

- Relax, relax, relax. - Okay, okay, okay.

I just, right now, am looking at our translation,

and our translation is not clear.

"Pad-ob."

I'm stumped. I'm stumped.

Into the library. Let's go.

- There's the box. - Yeah, exactly.

- There's two clues in here, mom. - Praise god. Okay.

"Use a Cypher to translate a passage from...

'Krillic' to English."

"Use a Cypher"? Okay.

- What's a Cypher? - I don't know. This way, mom.

- "When you think..." - Praise god we see somebody.

"When you think you have deciphered the text..."

Have you ever worked on a Cypher before?

- Dude, no. Have you? - No.

- No, we're stuck. - Do you guys... do you want,

like, work together on it? There's one team behind us.

If not, it's okay. I'm not gonna take offense if you say no.

- I'm down. Let's do it. - Okay. - Yeah.

Then we'll stand next to you.

Hey, if it's a scripture, we should be able

to figure this out real quick, mom.

Once we get the beginning of it.

We just grew up in a faith,

and we have raised the children in a faith.

And so, that's just been part of our life and culture.

So, we have known the Bible,

and we should know this verse.

I don't even know where to start.

I'm clueless.

- I have no guess. - Here, here, here.

- What's that? - I don't know.

- Okay, this is us? - Yes. Thank you.

- Man. 75. - This is 75.

- Yeah, should we go in? - Yeah.

Okay.

- "Marked klek shop"? - Man.

We knew that it was

supposed to be between 77 and 75.

- It said, knock on the door. - My god.

It said, "knock on the door of 75."

- Maybe it's this? - Right here. This is 75.

But it said... no, it said, "open the doors

of the marked klek shop."

Is it this?

- This. This, Jack. It's this. - This?!

- Yes. - My word.

- Hello. - Hello. Hi.

- Thank you. - Thank you so much.

- My gosh. Hidden. - Wow.

- Completely hidden. - That was insane.

Can we take the 5 back?

- Here is the 5. Let's just take it. - Okay.

- Just in case we need to. Okay. - Yup, already got it.

And we need to find the library.

Thank you.

- We are here. - -Yes.

You must go on this road here on the left.

And then straight ahead.

And then it will be at your left side.

- Thank you. - All right, let's go.

We need to find the museum of socialist art.

Keep going on krakra.

Is this that street?

There should be an easier way to get there.

Excuse me? Would you help me find directions?

We don't have a phone. We're on a race.

- Really? - Yes. - Yeah.

Museum of socialist art.

- Okay, thank you so much. - Thank you.

- You're welcome. Good luck. - Thank you so much. -Take care.

So wait. She said take the 1. We were on the 1.

I know. We were on the 1 already.

- My god, that moron gave us the wrong way. - Why did he tell us to get off?

I think it's over there.

There's the clue.

Four behind us again.

"Make your way to the central military club

"to find your next clue." Okay, let's go.

Right there.

- There it is. - Run! Run!

- Roadblock. - Roadblock.

"Who wants to step back in time?"

- I think it's gonna be a routine. - Okay.

- I'll do it. - Okay.

Bulgaria's national dance, the horo,

is more than just choreographed steps.

It's a vibrant expression of identity, tradition

and community spirit

passed down through the generations.

This roadblock gives teams the chance

to link up with local dancers

who will share the necessary skills required

to perform a complicated routine.

Once they fall in line with these pros,

they'll be rewarded with a clue.

Yes!

Right up his alley. Let's go.

My god, this is exactly what we were hoping for.

Look how pretty.

- Hello! - Hi!

- Hi. Yes. Yes, yes, yes, yes. - Hi.

- Thank you so much. - Hey.

Hey!

Hey!

Here we go.

Happy we're here.

This is a perfect challenge for Mark.

I kind of want to wear the outfits, but

I'm gonna just enjoy the show.

This is amazing.

We were just saying that we were hoping

we were gonna learn some type of routine,

'cause that's our strength.

This is full-on.

I didn't realize how much costume there was gonna be.

I'm very, very, very excited.

All right? Let's go.

Do you know either of them at all?

I don't have a clue.

I feel like we're close, bro.

No, just kidding. I don't know.

- Can you just take a deep breath for me? - I'm breathing.

- I'm good. I'm good. - No, you're not breathing.

I can't hear you breathe. Can you please breathe for me?

Can you... can you please -please. You're...

Just trust that I'm breathing?

I feel that you're panicking right now.

- I'm not panicking. - It's not making me feel comfortable.

- I'm not panicking. - Okay. Okay.

I'm hoping to see some people at this library.

Here. Clue box.

"Translate a passage from cyrillic to English."

- Okay. - Okay.

Yup. This way. Let's go in. Hey, guys.

Drat.

We walked through that library

and we saw han and Holden and Melinda and Erika.

They looked at us like, -yes.

- "We're in trouble." - They were like this.

It looked like they had seen a ghost.

This... it would be different. This is different here.

Yeah, that's what I mean.

- Does this make sense to you? Okay. - No, but...

Indungeons & dragons

there is a lot of problem-solving.

And so, we're very good at solving puzzles.

It's in our weekly practice.

Shh, shh, shh, shh, shh.

Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Holden's observant and saw

that they lifted up the thing, and Holden

was kind of signaling to me like, "look."

And when I saw that there were English words

at the bottom, I was like, "you're kidding me."

- Do you just want to go try it? - We'll try it, yeah.

I mean... yeah.

I mean, what else can we do

- but attempt a... example of it. - Exactly.

What?

- No, but I'm sorry. - No, you guys are helping them.

- Yeah. You saw me work. - We-we figured out.

- You figured it out? - We figured out.

But... Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, exactly.

Han and Holden... they realized

that we figured it out.

And so, they've decided to switch tactics, actually work

with us, and so, they...

We could leave Melinda and Erika behind.

- Hi. - Hi.

No.

- Okay. I assumed. - Close?

Okay. Close, mom.

So let's just go through it again.

Don't tell anyone you haven't got anything.

Okay, let me just go through it one more time,

one thing at a time.

And then just hold the whole time?

Just, like this the whole time?

- Da. - Okay. Great.

- Wow. - My gosh.

Look at this.

How did they beat us here? Geez.

"Make your way to the central military club

to find your next clue."

Dude, did they beat us here?

They must have beat us.

- Ha-ha. - Da.

- That's it? - Da.

- Great. Let's do it, yeah. - Let's do it.

Let's try it. Ooh!

You guys work hard.

Here? Okay.

My god.

I thought he did great.

Yes! Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Thank you so much. Thank you.

Yeah.

- Thank you so much. - You're welcome. Thank you.

I finished.

- How cute you look. - She's ready for her close-up.

- She is ready, baby. - Route info.

Sofia's star attraction is this

enormous gold-domed basilica

Alexander nevsky cathedral,

capable of accommodating up to 10,000 worshipers

at one time.

Teams will find the pit stop

on these sacred grounds.

The last team to check in here will be eliminated.

I'm gonna bring my Bulgarian formal dance training

back to Vegas.

- I see a clue box. - Yeah.

- Straight ahead. - All right.

"Who wants to step back in time?"

- I want to step back in time. - Yeah, you do.

- You got this. - Let's do it.

- I love to dance. - Yeah.

Hi. Hi.

I have to choose.

I hope I choose wisely.

Yeah, can-can we go?

You got this, babe.

My gosh, I'm terrified.

I grew up in the Rio Grande valley,

which is on the border of Mexico,

and I was there in high school

where are lot of quinceañeras were happening.

So, we danced a lot.

But I've never danced like this before.

It's this one. Is that it? Yeah.

No.

Shh, shh, shh.

- Yes. - Thank you.

- Thank you so much. - Thank you.

Okay?

- No, that's it, that's it, that's it. - You think?

Okay, let's try it.

What I thought was interesting was,

after we figured it out,

for them to then tell Erika and Melinda the secret.

I was, like, "if you care about your own game,

don't tell Erika and Melinda."

It wasn't a decision we would necessarily make.

This is coming down to the nitty-gritty here.

You can't be helping any other teams.

Flip over your Cypher.

You'll see.

Just flip it over, and you'll get the...

- Yeah, flip it over. - Shoot. You guys...

We'll give you the first page. "In the beginning..."

- Okay. - No, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, guys.

- No, that's fine. - You will figure it out, I promise you.

- Okay. Cool. - It's pretty simple after that.

Thank you.

- Yes. - Yeah.

- Thank you so much. - My gosh, thank you. Thank you.

Let's go.

That felt really good to be like,

"not only are we actually in this, we've actually

surpassed other teams."

We just need to get good directions from someone.

Dude, I don't know if we should have told them,

- but it's fine. - We-we had to.

I know. It's true. We're an integrity win.

- Out of honest game play, we had to. - Yeah.

- Go together? - Sure. Yes.

- As long as we're ahead of one team. - I agree.

I didn't realize that the boys got it.

So that's fair. They didn't need to tell us.

Okay. Let's try it.

- Roadblock. - Finally.

"Who wants to step back in time?"

- Go for it. - Okay, I will do it.

We met in a salsa dance class,

and I just learned from everyone around me.

- Hello. - Hi. My god. Beautiful.

I just love dancing, I love music, so I feel like

it just comes a little natural to me.

- Will you help me? - Right on.

You are so lucky.

Good luck. Good luck, you guys.

It's, like, four things just repeated.

Okay. I'm so nervous.

Awesome. Well, look at this.

We're doing a Bulgarian dance.

No. It's okay, babe. You got it.

- You're so close, jos. So close, baby. - We'll do it. Thank you, guys.

"With god was the word." Okay.

You would think the people who should

know the Bible would know this.

Okay, we're back.

- Yes. - Thank goodness.

Thank you.

"Make your way to the museum of socialist art

and search for the sculpture garden for your next clue."

That was not fun at all.

We didn't know to look at the back.

Taxi!

Museum of socialist art?

Sorry.

Okay, okay, okay. I thought I was so close the first time.

- I want to try with the music. Music. - Yeah.

Hey! Hey!

Okay. Try again.

Brett and Mark, as you stand here today,

at the end of this eighth leg,

- wow. - I am pleased to tell you

- that you are team number one. - Yes!

And I do have some great news for you.

As the winners of this leg of the race,

you have won $7,500... Each.

- Ooh! Okay. - What? Really?

- Yes. - Yes.

It feels nice

to come in first, but I'm also, like,

still have the race brain on,

because, like, I don't want to let my guard down

this close to the finale.

Who knows what twists lie ahead in these next couple legs?

So, we're still focused on

how do we tighten up that ship, how do we make that first place

even further ahead of everybody else?

Well, we're definitely not gonna let up

just 'cause we got first.

One, two, three...

Yeah!

Great, thank you so much.

"Race on foot to the pit stop

"at St. Alexander nevsky cathedral

- "and search for Phil on the mat." - Okay.

"Last team to check in will be eliminated."

That was so hard.

Hey!

Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Thank you.

You did great. Good job.

Okay. "Race on foot to the pit stop

at St. Alexander nevsky."

Better hurry. All right.

Third time was a charm.

- Okay. Thank you. - Thank you. Thank you so much.

I really saw that it's, like, this down here.

- Really? - All right, you make a choice.

If you were in this race on your own, what would you do?

I'm feeling like it's this way, but...

My gut would say to run that way.

That looks like a pretty socialist star to me.

Do you think we missed the entrance?

I think we would have hit it by now.

I don't think we're going in the right direction.

- It's in a garden, guys. - Excuse me?

Do you know the museum of socialist art?

Guys, we're just gonna go.

- Yeah. - Okay.

That way, down that way, then back up.

- Thank you. Thank you. - Thank you so much.

It's not here.

Damn, bro.

I don't know where we are.

It's just a tough feeling when you're in last.

We're not gonna stop, we're gonna keep going.

You never know what's gonna happen.

This has got to be it.

Yeah, the big star.

Holden was right about the big star.

There's the clue box right there.

Here we go. "Make your way to the central military club

to find your next clue."

- All right. - Let's do it.

- Keep fighting, Holden. - I'm fighting. I'm fine.

I'm just... we can run this race smarter, and we're not.

We're letting race brain win.

Stopping and asking for directions we think paid off.

We're gonna take the Metro now.

I think we're better on our own.

It's like Frodo and Sam.

In the beginning, they have the fellowship of the ring.

- All their friends. - Yes.

And later, they go off on their own.

- On their own journey. - And that's how

- they complete the quest. - Yeah.

And that's how they have to finish.

- Let's go to mount doom. - We had to f...

Get rid of our fellowship.

- Yeah. - Bye, han and Holden.

Yeah.

Race brain just make... Wants to go

and doesn't want to think.

We're not thinking at all right now.

Do you think you have what it takes

to win the amazing race?

If so, then go to CBS.Com/casting

and apply now. See you at the start line.

Excuse me, sir. Can you please help us?

We're trying to figure out where the...

Museum of socialist art is.

It's right there.

- Thank you so much. - Thank you.

See it?

"Make your way to the central military club

- to find your next clue." - To find your next clue." Okay.

We can race better than how we are.

I agree.

Right now, we need a reset.

- Just do better. That's it. - Okay.

Clue box up ahead.

All right. "Make your way

to the central military club to find your next clue."

Let's go.

Clue box!

Okay. Yay!

Okay. "Who wants to step back in time?"

Want to take that trip to me?

You know, I feel like it's gonna be military history.

Do you want me to do it?

I think you're gonna be way better at it.

- All right, I'll do it. - You go for it.

Okay.

- "Learn a Bulgarian folk dance." - My god.

"And perform it with it the locals

to receive your next clue."

- You got it. You got it. - Okay.

"Choose any available dance instructor

who will lead you to your wardrobe

and teach you the dance."

- Hello. Hi. - Hello, everyone.

Who's good at teaching a bad dancer?

You too, yeah.

Okay. You.

I see it!

Roadblock. "Learn a Bulgarian folk dance

and perform it with the locals to receive your next clue."

- I believe in you. You've got this. - I'll do it.

This is amazing. I...

This is what I want to wear to the renaissance fair.

- Well, do I look good? All right. - Yeah.

Okay, let's go.

I've never hailed... taxi.

He's red. I saw him red.

- Mom, why are you stressing? - We can't find a taxi.

We're not having any luck here.

It's too busy of a street. We got to find...

That's even gonna be busier.

He has someone in it, maybe.

Yeah, there was someone in it.

Taxi! Taxi!

- Taxi! Taxi! - Taxi.

Bulgaria is not our place.

Thank you. Central military club?

Still so much of the day left,

and we did see teams at one point, so,

- yeah, but... - If they have

the same struggle as us to get a taxi...

And we never know. Phil has not told us anything yet.

How we doing there, guys?

I'm happy as can be.

If it wasn't challenging, it wouldn't be the amazing race.

- Opa! Opa! - Get to the mat.

Opa!

- Looking good. Yeah? - Thank you. Thank you.

Alyssa and Josiah, I'm pleased to tell you that you are

- team number two. - All right.

To come in second place and to have an express pass

it gives us some sense of security,

and, like, having any advantage in this race,

especially this season

it's just worth everything.

Which means, Jonathan and Ana, you are team number three.

- On the podium one more time. - Yes.

You guys have done this numerous times.

Yeah, I mean, I was just talking with Ana,

and realized we're more than halfway through the race

and we're still here, and, a lot of...

- That's a huge accomplishment. - Yeah.

- Okay, I see it, mom. Yup. - I see the box.

Okay.

Okay, ready?

Roadblock. You got this, mom.

"Who wants to step back in time?" You can do it.

"Choose any available dance instructor."

You're gonna kill it, mom.

It's got to be Erika and Melinda, right?

I'm gonna do a girl's part, so then, you teach me.

It's just like Greek dancing. You can do this.

- A lot of counts. - You got it, mom.

Like, sweat is pouring in my eye.

Okay.

- Where do I go? Hi. Hi. - Hi.

My god. Jack.

I didn't do it. Sorry.

No good. Okay. That's okay. You got it next time.

Yup. Let's try it again.

- One and two and -three, four. - Three, four.

- One and two and three and... - One, two.

I messed that up.

But I get it, I get it.

Okay.

I forget this.

I always go back. That's Greek.

All right, let's go.

Work!

Yes!

That's my best friend!

What do you think?

- Yeah! - Yeah!

Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you.

- All right, see you guys. - Good job. -Nice job.

Here we go.

Route info. I'm so proud of you.

"Race on foot to the pit stop at St. Alexander nevsky cathedral."

My god, I'm so tired.

- You're amazing. - You're incredible.

Yeah, Holden!

We'll do it again.

One more time. We're gonna do it again.

Yeah, Holden. You got it!

Holden, that was awesome!

That was so awesome.

Now is good.

Yeah, Holden!

I'm so proud of you!

Thank you all. Thank you all.

So awesome, Holden!

"Last team to check in will be eliminated."

I saw a cathedral on the way here.

- I know where it is. - You do?

- Lord have mercy. - You got it, mom!

Yeah, mom!

Yes! Nice job, mom!

Nice job!

It is good. Okay.

- Yeah! - She got it. Yes!

Thank you.

Nice job, nice job, mom.

"Race on foot to the pit stop.

The last team will be eliminated."

Yes!

Carson and Jack,

I am pleased to tell you that you are team number four.

- My god. - Yes!

- I think... - You speechless?

Yeah.

I have to say I was not sure

that this was gonna be your day.

Yeah.

This might be one of the greatest comeback stories

in amazing race history.

I'm so proud of us.

I'm more proud of us this leg than any other leg.

We came back with such a vengeance.

We killed it. We... These challenges, too.

We whipped through those challenges.

I'm so proud of us.

- Gonna walk down there? - Yeah.

I remember seeing a cathedral this way.

Let's just run.

- Good job, mom. - I was counting, counting and counting.

Keep going up to this building. Maybe we can take the stairs.

Want to cut in? Yes, let's cut in there.

Yeah, that's it, I think.

You never know.

It's the amazing race. You really never know.

All right, I say we circle the cathedral.

This is the cathedral.

Okay, I see him, I see him, I see him, see him!

Come on, mom. I see han and Holden.

You got a worried look on your face.

Man. I mean, we ran all day.

Didn't have the smartest leg.

And I got to do Bulgarian cardio.

I am pleased to tell you that you're team number five.

- So, top five is... - Let's go.

Wow. That was awkward. Let's try that again.

- Like, 'cause that just looked really bad. - Yeah. Top five.

- Top five, baby. - That was better, yeah.

Field's getting smaller and smaller

and the racers are getting better and better.

If we want to break into that top three,

we have to break our old habits

and learn from our bad ones and make good one.

Great job, mom.

So good.

Melinda, you've got a look in your eye

like you know what's coming.

I know what's coming.

What's the number one rule on the race?

- Read the... -Read your clue. - Read your clue.

But today, you misread the clue.

- What did we miss? - What'd we misread?

So have a look at your clue -yeah.

And see what you might have missed today.

"You must not"

I read "you must travel by taxi"

and put it back in, instead of "must not."

Melinda and Erika, I'm really sorry to tell you

that you are the last team to arrive.

- Yeah. - And unfortunately,

you have been eliminated from the race.

- Thank you. - Thank you.

We've loved it. Thank you. It's a gift.

It's been a gift.

I'm just, like, so proud of my mom.

She killed every leg of this race.

There was a lot of, like, physical things

that she pushed herself through, and it was

just inspiring to watch.

We've spent more time together now

- than we've spent in years. - Ever.

And so, this has been

- absolutely a dream. - It's been life-changing.

I'm proud of you and I love you so much

and I'm so grateful

to have spent this time with her.

We never really had that mother-daughter relationship

when she was growing up, so this has been

really nice for us to be together and have this time.

We live in different states, and it's so easy

that whenever something annoys me

or that she says or things, I could just be,

and hang up.

So, instead of just being like, boop, hang up,

I hope we hang out.

Captioning sponsored by CBS and Toyota.

Captioned by media access group at wgbh access.Wgbh.Org.

Next time on the amazing race...

In historic Naples, Italy,

it's mozzarella madness for han and Holden

I think we're missing something.

Okay, I'm getting confused.

And pizza nightmares for Carson and Jack.

It's ripped.

Carson's really not the best in the kitchen.

- Ooh. - No.

- No, no. - Hey, no good.