CBS's The Amazing Race 7 field narrowed to its Final Four last night, with the boyfriends team of Alex Ali and Lynn Warren getting eliminated in the show's broadcast of the conclusion of its Indian leg. Although they completed the Roadblock ahead of older married couple Meredith and Gretchen Smith, the boys were done in by a crucial navigational error on the way to the Pit Stop, making them the seventh team eliminated from the worldwide race.
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As the train headed toward Jodphur, the teams were awakened at 1AM and handed their next clue. Teams were told to search for their next clue once they arrived at the Jodphur train station -- information that meant that they had at least twenty hours of train travel ahead of them. The teams took the opportunity to rest and relax together, with Ron Young and Kelly McCorkle taking advantage of the "mobile Pit Stop" time to get to know their alliance mates Rob and Amber better.
Once the teams arrived in Jodphur, they found clues directing them to the Sardar Market clock tower. Despite a frantic race to the tower, the teams discovered that their bunching would last for one more night, with the market not scheduled to open until 10AM the following morning. After the teams found food and lodging for the night, Rob used the additional downtime to arrange for the hotel manager named Sanjay to serve as his team's guide for the rest of the leg. Meanwhile, Gretchen and Meredith enjoyed the festive atmosphere from their balcony, while Alex and Lynn danced in the square with the locals.
After the teams received their next clues the following morning, they learned that this leg included the Race's second and final Fast Forward. Uchenna and Joyce Agu decided to go to the temple for the "good fortune" ritual, while Alex and Lynn also made the same decision. However, after seeing their competition speeding toward the temple, Alex and Lynn decided to turn back and join the other teams at the Detour.
At the Detour, teams were given the choice of "Trunk or Dunk." "Trunk" required the teams to push a 600-pound teak elephant half a mile to the temple, while "Dunk" required tye-dyeing a basket of 25 sheets to find the one with the next clue printed on it. All of the teams chose "Trunk," although Meredith and Gretchen made it harder by putting Gretchen atop the elephant instead of helping to push. Having selected their wooden elephants, the teams began racing through the narrow streets imploring more locals to assist them. "It's tough to organize Indian labor," Rob commented as he pulled kids from the side of the road to drag his elephant. At the end of the task, Ron and Kelly finished first, with Rob and Amber close behind. Despite arriving late due to their aborted Fast Forward attempt, Lynn and Alex still managed to become the third team to complete the elephant task, with the 69-year-old Meredith struggling to navigate the heavy wooden beast. Each of the teams ended up passing him in their auto rickshaws, with Kelly pleading with the locals to help him as her rickshaw passed.
Meanwhile, Uchenna and Joyce continued their ride out to the Fast Forward location. Along the way, the couple speculated as to the nature of the still undisclosed task, with Joyce hoping it wouldn't require her to shave her head. After stopping at the wrong temple, Uchenna and Joyce finally found the Fast Forward site and realized that Joyce's fears were correct -- similar to The Amazing Race 5 Fast Forward task that no team was winning to do, The Amazing Race 7's final Fast Forward required both team members to shave their heads in order to complete the ritual. Since Uchenna’s head was already shaved, the decision was all up to Joyce -- and she didn't hesitate, ripping her bandanna off her head and yelling, "Let’s go!"
Despite her concerned husband's pleads that she did not have to go through it, Joyce willingly sat sobbing as her long hair was cut off and her head was shaved. Uchenna endeared himself to women everywhere with his loving concern, attaching himself to her side throughout the ordeal. As she sobbed, he kissed her and told her how beautiful she was. With all of the talk about luck throughout the show's first eight episodes, it appeared to be a good sign for this team to complete a "good fortune" ritual, and Joyce expressed gratitude for good fortune once her sacrifice was complete. Clue in hand, Joyce took one last look at her hair before they headed off to the Pit Stop at the Jaswant Thada royal tomb.
Meanwhile, having completing the Detour, the other four teams proceeded to the Roadblock at Deora Krishi Farm. Arriving at the farm, the teams learned that the task would require one member of each team had to race a camel cart twice around the designated course. Kelly handled the task fairly easily, while Amber lost ground as her camel kept stopping and heading off course. Arriving later, Meredith and Lynn joined the ladies on the course, with the race for third place going back and forth between the two men. Finally, Lynn was able to pass Meredith and take over third, while Meredith’s camel stubbornly refused to cooperate.
As the five auto rickshaws headed toward Jaswant Thada, it was difficult to see who would reach the Pit Stop first. Uchenna and Joyce’s good luck held as they were the first team to check in, but the producers outraged women everywhere by not rewarding Joyce’s sacrifice with a first place prize. Having departed the Roadblock first, Ron and Kelly's rickshaw was ahead of the other teams, but their stop for gas allowed Rob and Amber to make up crucial time. However, for once, the "bad luck" team was able to stay ahead of the "lucky" former Survivor contestants, with both teams sprinting to the finish line.
Meanwhile, Alex and Lynn reached the temple that they thought was their destination, only to realize they were in the wrong place. As they hurried toward the Pit Stop, a shocked Meredith and Gretchen checked in and discovered that they were the fourth team to arrive. After welcoming them to the Pit Stop, Phil praised the twosome and officially declared them the oldest team to make it this far in the Race. When Lynn and Alex stepped on the mat, Phil informed them that they were the last time to arrive, making the seventh team to be eliminated from The Amazing Race 7.
Next week, the bad blood between the teams gets worse. Rob mocks the two married teams' alliance as "the blind leading the blind." Meanwhile, Kelly utters a quote that may go down in The Amazing Race history as the most offensive ever, when she tells Ron that he got out of his commitment to the military by being a POW. Let the fur fly.
