'The Amazing Race' Racers Josh Kilmer-Purcell and Brent Ridge survive elimination

"Goat Farmers and Life Partners" Josh Kilmer-Purcell and Brent Ridge survived to compete in The Amazing Race's sixth 21st-season leg despite a last-place finish during Sunday night's broadcast of the Race's fifth leg.


"We said we'd give it our all, and I thought we gave it all today. It turns out there's a little bit left, and we are totally going to make a fabulous comeback. And then, we're going to keep going on from there," Josh explained after The Amazing Race host Phil Keoghan told the team the good news of the non-elimination leg.

"Fabulous finish!" Brent added.

The fifth episode of The Amazing Race's 21st season began where last week's broadcast left off, with the Race's seven teams meeting with Phil and leaving the course's fourth Pit Stop at the Shambazar Chan Mia Ghat Bangil in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Two hours prior to the start of the leg, James LoMenzo learned his father was suffering from stage four cancer at home with no chance of remission. James L. got upset but said his father's condition was going to give him an even bigger push to do well in the Race and try to win.


Since they had been the team to finish in first place at the Race's fourth Pit Stop, "Friends" James L. and Mark "Abba" Abbattista were the first team to depart at 7:39AM. Following James L. and Abba were "Dating Divorcees" Abbie Ginsberg and Ryan Danz at 9:41AM, "Twin Sisters" Natalie Anderson and Nadiya Anderson at 9:42AM, Josh and Brent at 10:53AM, "Married Monster Truckers" Rob French and Kelley Carrington-French at 10:59AM, "Chippendales Dancers and Best Friends" Jaymes Vaughan and James Davis at 11:10AM, and "Dating Couple" Trey Wier and Alexis "Lexi" Beerman at 11:34AM.

Upon opening their departure clues, the teams were instructed to travel by taxi to the Jatrabari Market, find a male vendor selling eggplant and ask him for their next clue. Josh and Brent had trouble securing a taxi and immediately lost ground in the Race.

James L. and Abba were the first team to arrive at the market. They were soon followed by Natalie and Nadiya, Abbie and Ryan, Jaymes and James D., Rob and Kelley, Josh and Brent, and Trey and Lexi.

Once at the market, the teams learned they had to make their way to Ferry Ghat Road, which was under a bridge, and then search for their next clue.

The order of which the teams arrived at the road was as follows: James L. and Abba, Abbie and Ryan, Natalie and Nadiya, Rob and Kelley, Jaymes and James D., Josh and Brent, and Trey and Lexi.


The teams' next set of clues required one member on each team to complete a Roadblock task.

For the Roadblock task, using sticks and ropes, the team members had to construct an ancient Bangladesh rudimentary scale and then balance four heavy stones on one side with an equal weight of wood on the other. Once they properly balanced the scale, they'd earn their next clue.

James L. opted to do the Roadblock task for his team, as Abba had injured his knee in the previous leg. In addition to James L., Abbie, Nadiya, Kelley, Jaymes, Brent, and Trey all decided they would attempt the task as well.

Abbie and Ryan thought the task would not require heavy lifting, so Abbie decided to take on the Roadblock. However, she struggled to build the initial scale and Ryan realized he probably should've been the one to do it.

Besides Abbie, Brent had a difficult time putting together his scale and ended up being the very last one there trying to finish it. Josh cheered him along, but Brent grew extremely exhausted and a bit dehydrated. Brent worried whether he'd be able to finish the task at all, but he eventually managed to complete it and move on.


James L. and Abba were the first team to complete the Roadblock. They were then followed by Natalie and Nadiya, Abbie and Ryan, Jaymes and James D., Trey and Lexi, Rob and Kelley, and finally Josh and Brent -- who had unfortunately moved into a distant last place which they were well aware of.

Upon finishing the Roadblock task, it then became time for the teams to complete one of two Detour tasks: "Straw Dogs" or "Bamboo Jungle."

"Straw Dogs" required the teams to help manufacture an eco-friendly jute bag at Latif Bawani Jute Mill. They were instructed to whip unprocessed jute on a plate of large nails to untangle fibers and then hackle 20 coils of jute. Afterwards, they had to transport the jute to machines that would manufacture them into bags. Once they got to the end of the production line, they'd receive their next clue.

"Bamboo Jungle" required the teams to grab 40 bamboo poles of various length and then load them onto a rickshaw. Negotiating their way through the narrow streets, they then had to deliver their open cargo to a construction site across town. Once there, they'd receive a piece of bamboo with a picture of their next clue imprinted on it.
        
James L. and Abba, Natalie and Nadiya, Jaymes and James D., Trey and Lexi, Rob and Kelley, and Josh and Brent all opted to try the "Bamboo Jungle" task. The only team to attempt "Straw Dogs" was Abbie and Ryan.

When they were just about done with their Detour task, Jaymes and James D. were told they had only transported seven of their 10 bamboo poles to the construction site. James D. admitted he had accidentally left three of them behind on the ground before they began traveling to the construction site, so they had to go back and grab them.


The exhausted pair were deflated and assumed their Race was over due to the mistake, but they kept an optimistic attitude and ended up getting the job done. Jaymes and James D. both acknowledged they should've counted their poles before heading off.

James L. and Abba, still maintaining a steady lead, were the first pair to finish the Detour task. Following James L. and Abba were Abbie and Ryan, Natalie and Nadiya, Rob and Kelley, Trey and Lexi, Jaymes and James D., and Josh and Brent. Josh and Brent knew they were in last place but they had no intention to stop racing or quit.

The teams then earned their final clue of the leg, which forced the teams to figure out that the image stenciled on their bamboo pole was Lok Shilpa Jadughar, a folk art and craft museum.

James L. and Abba raced to the finish well ahead of all the other teams and made it to the Pit Stop mat in first place. Phil told the pair for winning the leg, they would receive a trip for two to Malaysia's tropical rainforest.

Abbie and Ryan then arrived at the Pit Stop in second place and were disappointed they didn't finish first. Ryan's persistence and frustration made Abbie cry, as she presumably felt bad for taking so long to complete the leg's Roadblock task.


Ryan apologized, but the driven team apparently wanted to beat The Amazing Race record of most first-place finishes in a season. The record is currently held by twentieth-season Racers Rachel Brown and Dave Brown, who had finished their edition with a total of eight leg wins.

Natalie and Nadiya then stepped onto the mat in third place, and they were also upset they didn't finish the leg in first place. Following the twins were Rob and Kelley in fourth and then Trey and Lexi in fifth place.

Jaymes and James D. subsequently arrived in sixth place, and the pair were thrilled they had not been eliminated. Josh and Brent finally met Phil at the Pit Stop in seventh -- and last -- place, assuming they were going to be out of the Race.

"Josh and Brent, the news is not good. I'm sorry to tell you that you are the last team to arrive," Phil told the team. "However, I'm pleased to tell you guys that this is a non-elimination leg!"

"I'm going to run the Race tomorrow as hard as I ran it today, if not harder," Josh said.

"I think he gave it his all and that's what our partnership has always been about. We've always been there for one another. And today, when I literally could not take another stab, he pulled those last 10 bamboo sticks all the way to the top of the hill," Brent explained.


"I gotta tell you, the greatest, greatest motivator for me is if he can't do something and he needs help. I would fall down and die next to you if I had to -- just to finish," Josh told Brent.

"That's why we've been together for 14 years -- even though we bicker. That's why we've made it," Brent said.

"Some time during the next leg of the Race, you will encounter a Speed Bump [task], which you will need to complete before you can carry on with the Race," Phil told them.

"We're it in it, Phil. We're in it," Brent insisted.

"We can do anything," Josh said.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski