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The Amazing Race season 37 returned with a new episode on April 23, 2025. Titled, We're Letting Race Brain Win, it saw the teams head to Sofia, Bulgaria, hoping to win the leg and retain their spots in the competition. To achieve their goals, the contestants resorted to all means available. The segment showcased Han and Holden joining forces with Carson and Jack to advance in the race.
As one of the challenges, the contestants had to decipher the contents of an ancient book by using a cipher. Most teams struggled to understand how to use the cipher and fell behind the rest. Han and Holden were among those teams. However, when they saw Carson and Jack figure out the right way to use the cipher, they decided to ally with them and agreed to help each other.
While the alliance helped them to a certain level, it eventually fell apart as one of the teams decided to focus on their position in the game. The Amazing Race fans on X questioned Han and Holden's strategy to team up with Carson and Jack, despite knowing the competitive nature of the show.
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"Why are Han and Holden trying to work together with Jack and Carson, it's still 3 teams left... why are they trying to help anybody?" a fan wrote.
"han and holden are sneakyyy omg," another fan commented.
"Welp Holden saw them lifting it up," a netizen tweeted.
Many fans of The Amazing Race disapproved of Han and Holden's strategy, convinced it was wrong to form an alliance in a competitive reality show. They also received criticism for breaking their initial alliance with Melinda and Erika.
"Idk what kind of strategy Han and Holden did there but yall should just left when you figured out the decipher code," a user reacted.
"Han/Holden throwing Melinda/Erika under a taxi and making deals behind their back. love it!" a person commented.
"See Han and Holden, this is why you don't help the stronger team because they're going to pass you everytime," another fan wrote.
"Sorry Erika and Melinda... Han and Holden have a new alliance," one user posted.
Other fans of The Amazing Race expressed a similar sentiment.
"I don't agree with what Han and Holden. They already see that you have to look on the back so there was no reason for them to want Jack & Carson's help. All 3 of you are in the back, so let's work with the stronger team that could pass us," a person reacted.
"I think Han and Holden will be last but because of Melinda and Erika’s big mistake, they’ll keep racing," another netizen commented.
The Amazing Race stars Han and Holden had initially joined forces with Melinda and Erika
As part of the leg, the contestants had to go to St. Kliment Chridski Central Library and use a Cyrillic cipher to decipher what was written in an ancient book. What the participants struggled to figure out was that the English translation of the content was present at the back of the cipher. All they had to do to pass the round was flip their ciphers.
Han and Holden struggled to understand how to use the cipher and grew frustrated trying to figure it out. Soon after, Melinda and Erika joined them, and together, they agreed to help each other. However, neither of The Amazing Race teams knew what to do.
However, after Carson and Jack arrived at the library, they flipped the cipher and realized the solution to their problem. Holden noticed that and decided to join hands with them, hoping to benefit from an alliance. Consequently, they left Melinda and Erika alone and made progress with Carson and Jack.
After they deciphered the content and received their clue, Han and Holden wanted to return and help Melinda and Erika. Although Carson and Jack advised them not to help, Han and Holden guided Melinda and Erika to flip the cipher and even gave them the first few words of the passage.
Soon after, Carson and Jack, and Han and Holden agreed to work together to find the Museum of Socialist Art. However, their alliance fell apart as Carson and Jack split from them and stopped somewhere to ask for directions. Eventually, they surpassed Han and Holden.
By the end of The Amazing Race episode, Han and Holden finished in fifth place, whereas Carson and Jack came in fourth.
The Amazing Race season 3 airs exclusively on CBS.
