Here's why I think The Amazing Race's Han and Holden did not deserve to be saved by the non-elimination twist

The Amazing Race season 37 is inching closer to the closing chapters of the season with five teams remaining in the competition. In the April 30, 2025, episode titled The Pizza de Résistance, the five teams went head-to-head in a nail-biting race in Naples, Italy, where they took on a variety of tasks, from making mozzarella twists to assembling a Neapolitan mandolin and cooking pizza.

Despite the hurdles, the teams managed to stay neck-and-neck time-wise, except for Han and Holden, who remained at the back of the pack throughout the race. Given their performance in the race and compared to the other teams, they were bound to finish last, and that’s exactly what happened. However, instead of hearing about their elimination, they were surprised with a non-elimination twist.

After reaching the Pit Stop, The Amazing Race host Phil Keoghan informed Han and Holden that they would continue their journey on the CBS show because the Italy leg was a non-elimination one. The pair was overjoyed to hear the news and glad they were allowed to compete despite finishing last. However, I believe they were not worthy of the save and deserved to be sent home.

In my opinion, their performance in the Italy leg was disappointing. Not only did they get lost, but they also failed to recover from it. Moreover, I believe Han's desire to perfect every task, such as the mozzarella twists, backfired on them. Knowing they were in last place, Han and Holden could have saved time by getting their knots reviewed sooner instead of overthinking it.

I believe Jeff and Pops, the pair eliminated in the April 9 episode, deserved a non-elimination leg more than Han and Holden because their loss was beyond their control, while Han and Holden sabotaged their own chances. Even though non-elimination legs are pre-determined, I was unhappy with Han and Holden getting the opportunity to enjoy it.

Disclaimer: This The Amazing Race article is based on the writer's opinion. Readers' discretion is advised.

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The Amazing Race stars Han and Holden got lucky with the non-elimination leg

While looking back at week 9's episode and assessing how Han and Holden performed in the race compared to the other teams, it became evident that they were potentially the weakest of all. Although the other teams experienced their fair share of ups and downs, they consistently managed to recover, understanding the importance of catching up with the other contenders.

However, that was not the case for Han and Holden. Despite showing subtle improvement in the previous legs, they still could not keep up with the rest of their competitors. I believe the opportunity given to them was a disservice to the other teams, which had clearly and by a large margin defeated Han and Holden.

As soon as The Amazing Race episode started, Han and Holden, in my opinion, received a golden opportunity to fly at the same time as the rest of the players. Since Han and Holden had finished the previous leg in second-to-last place, they incurred a time disadvantage, allowing the frontrunners to fly before them.

However, after arriving at the airport, they realized that the schedule was arranged in such a way that all teams had to board the same flight. This gave Han and Holden a fresh start by leveling the playing field. Despite this, they could not maintain their momentum and fell behind after getting lost.

While I agree that non-eliminations create drama and entertainment for viewers, I feel Han and Holden were not worthy of it because their performance in the past few legs was consistently disappointing, primarily due to their mistakes.

In my opinion, The Amazing Race wasted the non-elimination twist by introducing it at such a late stage in the contest. I feel it could have been utilized during the Dubai leg, where Jeff and Pops were eliminated. The father-son pair was eliminated after Pops failed to complete a footrace in time due to an old ankle injury. While speaking to Parade on April 10, 2025, Jeff said:

"So, coming on the race, the moment we landed in Hong Kong, his ankle was about the size of a grapefruit. After the first leg, and after doing all of that running, it was about the size of a cantaloupe, literally."

The Amazing Race pair was forced into a footrace against Nick and Mike after missing an important train. Thus, I believe Pops and Jeff were more deserving of the non-elimination leg because their loss was beyond their control. However, for Han and Holden, that was not the case. Netizens felt the same. One wrote:

While making the mozzarella twists, Han focused more on perfecting the shape instead of having them reviewed to see where they stood and what needed improvement. Despite falling behind the other contestants, Han refused to let go of her perfectionism. Speaking to the cameras, Han revealed that she felt the pressure of being perfect as the eldest daughter in an Asian household.

Although I understand her sentiment, I think she sabotaged their chances of catching up with the other players on The Amazing Race. This became more evident when the mozzarella expert approved most of their twists, prompting Han to admit that she was overthinking it.

Phil Keoghan (Image via Getty)

Their performance deserved the last spot in the race. Consequently, had they been eliminated, it would have made complete sense. Although the non-elimination twist added excitement to the contest, I firmly believe it ended up in the hands of a team that was unworthy of it.

If only The Amazing Race had introduced the twist earlier, better teams, like Pops and Jeff, who lost because they got unlucky, could have stayed.

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The Amazing Race season 37 is available to stream on Paramount+.