Donny Ketchum

Boldly established themselves as the team to beat. I'm glad the minority team beat all of the lily-white teams. They did well with the Detour, and they were very fortunate to distinct "vicinity" from "inside," unlike Jeff & Jackie. I'm so glad they're treating this like a working relationship and hope they can do well. They're one of the few teams I'm any bit wild about. And they have the Express Pass, so there's that buffer for them later on.

Well, if the elimination order keeps up, the next to go with be Harley & Jonathan, meaning the season's superstar will be gone early.

Yeah, still not really sold by this season yet. Though I guess it's because I still feel so spoiled by the beauty that was last season. The Detours seemed a tad unbalanced, but the Roadblock looked like a tricky one, at least. And no-equalizer legs can be good or bad. This counts as bad since the last-place team was pretty much no longer in doubt before the first commercial break. But still, the teams: Jelani & Jenny: Another fine leg. Jelani worked that Roadblock like magic, and they stayed calm at that Share Roadblock. Lucky that Laura & Tyler stupidly gave up their cabbie, but nonetheless, who can argue with luck when it gets you a win? Great job! Laura & Tyler: Stayed in first for most of the leg, thanks to Tyler being good at puzzles and them taking the Share Detour quickly. But never give you cabbie up unless you're absolutely sure you're not gonna need him or her for a long time. If they hadn't, they'd probably have won this leg. Aly & Steve: Good job by Aly at the Roadblock, and great job by both of them at the Chair Detour. The only team to clear it in only one try. Pretty solid, quiet, staying-the-course leg from them. Harley & Jonathan: Other than Harley struggling with the Roadblock, they made no noticeable mistakes. They cleared the Detour quickly, and then, they somehow passed up Jeff & Jackie to take fourth. Good work by them. Also, the Date Night must be a pretty sweet deal. Bergen & Kurt: Somehow, they didn't seem as harmonious on this leg. Bergen struggled at the Roadblock, and then, they both struggled at the Share Detour. Still, fifth place is nothing to sneeze at, especially since they passed up Jeff & Jackie, a team who'd been two places ahead of them, at first, to do it. Jeff & Jackie: Jeff really had a tough time with that Roadblock. And I have no clue why they thought the Chair Detour would've been better for them than the Share one. And I really don't know how they lost two places when they left that Detour in fourth. But nonetheless, solid leg. Matt & Ashley: Ashley did fine with that Roadblock. But they were another team who really should've done the Share Detour. Still, their leg was otherwise solid, so good for them. Too bad Matt still comes off as kind of a douche. Mike & Rochelle: They're still not very physical, and that's gonna cost them at one point. But I'm glad that Mike did well with the Roadblock. Share was yet another Detour that would've been better for them, not Chair. I hope Rochelle's okay. And good that they made it in eighth place. Hayley & Blair: Blair seemingly only barely tolerating Hayley is still funny for now, but other than that . . . it's gonna get old after a few legs. I couldn't believe that Hayley struggled at the Roadblock that much. And the Detour was not the best one for them to choose. They should've also done Share over Chair. Very lucky that Libby & C.J. made all the mistakes they made, or they would've been toast. Libby & C.J.: Let's face it. Mike & Rochelle's U-Turn on Wednesday was a stay of execution for them. They weren't gonna last much longer. Well, once in Nagano, they didn't seem to make any mistakes. But that doesn't excuse the mistakes they did make. I mean, getting lost for as long as they did after the Detour already put them far enough behind, especially considering that this was a no-equalizer leg. But the "Selfie Fail" really was the killer mistake for them. Without it, could they have made it? Hmm. Perhaps they might've had a fighting chance. But getting stuck with the non-bullet train that had an emergency stop to make because of the selfie incident really did kill them. It was deserved, though, because of the "Selfie Fail." As much as I like rooting for teams of my peeps, I won't really miss them. They had no get-up-and-go or hustle to them. Or maybe they did, but lost it because of how far behind they knew they were. In either case, they're no huge loss to the race. Okay episode. But I hope things improve.

Actually, they didn't give up their own picture, so they can use it again, this time if a non-Blind U-Turn comes along.

There were actually two. The first were actually the sweet, nice lesbian ministers, Kate & Pat, in TAR12. They were eliminated second. The "bitches from hell" were Carol & Brandy from TAR16. Other than that, there've been lesbians racing, but not with lesbian partners. Lauren from TAR10 was a lesbian racing with her father, Duke, and Kisha from TAR14 and TAR18 was a lesbian who raced with her sister, Jen.

Hmm. While this wasn't as bad as I'd initially thought it was, I'm still not completely sold on it. Too many pretty young couples, and no truly distinctive ones save for maybe four of them, and one of those four went out first. Also, I'm a HUGE proponent of women's teams. And I really have to throw shade at casting for not even casting one this season. Really?! CBS's casting department couldn't find ONE interesting lesbian couple? Not even one single one to cast? They could've discarded ANY of the pretty young couples and put one in! That is just absurd that they couldn't see fit to cast at least one! I was glad to see a Detour on the first leg for the first time since TAR13, but it's apparent that the seemingly easier one was a trap, and the seemingly-harder one was the way to go. Interesting twist. Had Jeff & Lyda gone for it right away, we'd probably be saying goodbye to Libby & C.J. right now. So on to the teams: Jelani & Jenny: Boldly established themselves as the team to beat. I'm glad the minority team beat all of the lily-white teams. They did well with the Detour, and they were very fortunate to distinct "vicinity" from "inside," unlike Jeff & Jackie. I'm so glad they're treating this like a working relationship and hope they can do well. They're one of the few teams I'm any bit wild about. And they have the Express Pass, so there's that buffer for them later on. Jeff & Jackie: Don't know how I feel about Jeff yet, but I kinda find Jackie adorable. I was impressed that they did the Samurai Sake Detour so quickly, and with better cab luck, they might've kept their buffer on Jelani & Jenny long enough to win the Express Pass. That said, it was dumb not to realize "vicinity" meant "area around," not "inside." Laura & Tyler: So far, I like them. And I like their racing. They calmed down when everyone else was screwing up that Syncing Steps Detour, but somehow lost their way to the U-Turn despite getting out of there first of the teams who chose their Detour. I hope they can pick it back up and keep going strong, because they're one of the few pretty couples I can at least somewhat tell apart. Aly & Steve: Gotta give some respect to Olympians. I liked that they were genuinely happy for all of the teams who got out of that Syncing Steps Detour before they did. And they kept their cool despite falling a bit behind there. I think they'll last a good while since their relationship seems solid. Harley & Jonathan: I'm a bit in shock they let a former boy band member on the race. But at least Jonathan's a fan of the show. And Harley will keep him going. I was impressed with how quickly they knocked out the Samurai Sake Detour. I think with better cab luck, they might've nailed a higher placement. Bergen & Kurt: So. Much. Shrieking. Nonetheless, they did all right at that Syncing Steps Detour, but other than that, I barely remember anything else they did. They seem inoffensive, though, so for now, I'm okay with them. Mike & Rochelle: One of the few distinct couples. They definitely won't win any physical contests, but I think they can last a good while if they get the right tasks. After all, despite being the next-to-last team out of that Syncing Steps Detour, they did pass up three teams to finish seventh, so they may have navigation going for them. Using the U-Turn on Jeff & Lyda was a sound choice, as well, since they had no idea how many teams they'd passed up by then. For being one of the distinctive couples alone, I can kind of like them. Hayley & Blair: She's clearly more into him than vice versa, as has been said. But seeing this dynamic should be interesting. I wonder how many other teams she'll be right when he thinks he is? They did okay with the Detour, using it to catch back up, so maybe they won't be too much of a trainwreck. Matt & Ashley: Like her. Think he's a douche. After he kept rooting for teams to screw up and then laughed when they did, I was glad when he took even longer to finish that task. In the race largely because of Mike & Rochelle's U-Turn. Libby & C.J.: As a black fan, I have to root for my peeps. But those navigation issues will not help them fare well for very long. And neither looks hugely physical, either. I was surprised they cleared the Syncing Steps Detour so easily. They owe their survival to Mike & Rochelle's U-Turn even more than Matt & Ashley do. Jeff & Lyda: Sorry to see one of the few distinct pairs go. But it was partly their fault. They should've at least tried to switch sooner, since that Samurai Sake task ended up being easier than the Syncing Steps one. But staying there four hours? Well . . . it wasn't too bad, since from what I saw, Lyda seemed to be getting the steps pretty well, while Jeff was the one fucking them up left and right. So I feel a bit more sympathy for her than I do for him. Okay premiere, but I hope it improves. I'm about to start the second episode to see for sure.

I think he did. This was the episode promised to reveal all. So I believe he did it.

Anyone care to give examples of this smugness shown by Rebecca? I never saw it from her once.

He doesn't seem horribly offensive so far, but he also doesn't seem remarkably smart.

Honestly . . . I don't know how he wasn't targeted for the first vote. Carolyn, Shirin, Max, and Tyler had all agreed that they trusted him just as much as they trusted So: not at all. So it's frankly unbelievable to me that So took the fall and he didn't. Especially since what they'd lied about came from his dumb decision to go for "Deceive."

Coach's appearance and Brandon's crazy. Terrible mix.

Always fun when a woman finds a hidden Immunity Idol, for a change. Glad she got it right out of under So and Joaquin's noses, even though I'm rather surprised she managed it. But she must've been pretty damn confident in her alliance with Shirin and Max if she didn't play it at Tribal Council.

Definitely original, definitely creative, and definitely innovative. I laughed so many times. Though I'm surprised at how many people seemed to know Andy and reacted to the "news" of Haley "marrying" him. Favorite part for me was Claire dumping out Cam's popcorn, coupled with his reaction to it.

Whoa. Seems like no one in the family had a good day this time. Except for maybe Murray. Adam and Barry went through all they went through in this episode. The grandfather lost his car for good. Beverly probably lost her part-time job being so obsessed with her children. And Erica got arrested. The ending made up for it, though. Glad to see they ended things on a good note. :)

I take it you're a Floridian, @ghoulina? That's where all of the Publix stores are! :)

Malcolm's dating So?! When did that happen?!

Yes. I don't see him lasting too long. As Kelly pointed out, he's got no social skills at all.

I can't believe she bombed that puzzle so badly. What happened? She looked like she was getting off to a solid start!

I don't think she wanted a woman to go first. But she probably figured that the men were going to push for her, So, or Shirin to go first, anyway, so there was no point in pushing for a man lest she put a target on her back. Joaquin might've been an attractive option, too, but I'm betting she didn't think Tyler or Max would go for it. It was a damn good premiere. I think this will be a great season. The tribes fell into their "collars," but didn't seem to mind. The personalities are already distincting themselves. And from what I could see, everyone got at least one confessional tonight. The choice of methods for completing the Immunity Challenge was a very fun new layer, and one I hope they do again in a later season. Also, I recognized the ten-piece puzzle from One-World! The one at which Sabrina defeated Bill! Neat! No Collars: Vince is my only early dislike. As was pointed out, he was really creepy with Jenn. So far, I like Joe and Jenn. Joe is smart, nice, and capable, and Jenn seems to have a decent idea as to how to deal with people. Will, Nina, and Hali all seem okay, too. Blue Collars: I think I'm gonna be in a love-hate relationship with both Mike and Dan. Mike was dumb with the scorpion, and as Kelly pointed out, Dan has no social skills. I don't see either one of them winning. I can't really consider the women being mean girls to him when he was bringing quite a bit of that on himself. So until they actually get mean, I like Kelly, Sierra, and Lindsey. Rodney strikes me as an arrogant blowhard, though. But he has the women on his side, so if they lose even one challenge pre-swap or pre-merge, Dan is probably taking the first hike for them. White Collars: Despite her screwup, I do like Shirin. And while Carolyn's a bit loud, I like her, too. Tyler didn't immediately jump on the bandwagon to get rid of Carolyn, so I think I might like him, as well. But that's about it. I wanna see more of Max to see if I like him or not. But I know I won't like Joaquin. I immediately said, "Total tool" when I saw him. And So is . . . gone. And I liked her pre-show, and I felt a little bad for her that she lost so soon after just coming back after she and her sister had been forced to pull out San Juan del Sur. But . . . seriously, that was a poor lie she told, and her Tribal Council performance was even worse. I'm kind of over women predictably going first, though. I think Zane was the last man to be voted out first in the Philippines, even though Rupert was the first to go overall in Blood vs. Water. Looking forward to @Way Wes Jr's rankings of each tribe! Hoping for a good season, too! Three-tribe seasons are typically good, as Philippines showed throughout and Cagayan showed before it became way too obvious that Tony would win. So I imagine this'll turn out good too.

Well, she hasn't been shown getting close with Nina or Hali. Just Vince and Joe. So this is probably accurate. I won't be surprised if Vince's paranoia and insecurity blows up in her face, though.

I wonder how she might've fared had she and her sister not had to withdraw from San Juan del Sur? Not that she didn't deserve the boot, per se, but I'm curious as to why Carolyn fixated so strongly on her. Joaquin was just as guilty of the deception as she was. I'd have been warier about trusting him than I would've been her.

Jake auditioned in back-to-back seasons, so it's possible.

Well, for one thing, as I said last night, something about her voice felt like it wasn't quite there yet. It was good, but something was . . . lacking, if it makes sense. Also, last season, Reagan did "Try" so much better than I heard from Ivonne.

I said the very same thing days ago, and rather conveniently, I got completely ignored. Will wasn't putting the full blame on Sonny. He was saying that Sonny shared a part of the blame, as well. Not being honest with Will about Paul kind of got the ball rolling in the first place, and that is his failing, not Will's. Not Paul's, either. But everyone loves Sonny so much and thinks he's so perfect and blameless, so naturally, it's just as conveniently forgotten that he played his part in this, too. But all three men are at fault -- Paul and Will for the cheating, Sonny for his secret-keeping that indirectly (or perhaps even directly) opened the gate for the cheating to happen.

Scorecard/cheat sheet of team rosters so far: Team Adam Tonya Boyd-Cannon (3) Blaze Johnson (2) Deanna Johnson (4) Team Pharrell Lowell Oakley (2) Meghan Linsey (3) Sawyer Fredericks (4) Anthony Riley (4) Mia Z (2) Team Christina Rob Taylor (3) Treeva Gibson (2) Gabriel Wolfchild (3) Joe Tolo (2) Team Blake Sarah Potenza (4) Cody Wickline (4) Joshua Davis (2) Brooke Adee (2) Bolded names are new additions. Numbers in parentheses are the number of chair turns. I'm actually kinda shocked by all of the ones that chose Adam. Not one of them had styles that meshed with his. Maybe Blaze came the closest, but no way Tonya or Deanna lasts on his team. He'll toss them at the first opportunity, especially if they're up against boys in the Battle or Knockout rounds.