Roccos Brother

It's middling, probably one of the weaker seasons, but still very much worth a watch if you're a TAR fan who wants to support the show. I don't know if I would recommend it to non-fans just looking for something new to watch.

How long are they going to just stay in Latin America?? I normally enjoy the goodwill and comradery that comes from alliances and teams helping each other - but this was too much. The meat challenge in particular was a chaotic mess; not to mention all those dirty hands touching the raw meat. Ugh! Why did Danny feel inclined to help the girls out when they would have all been essentially tied at that point? More UGH! I'm a little more sympathetic when it comes to helping out in the race car challenge, knowing I would have been vomiting and passing out after one lap. That honestly looked rough. The detective detour looked fun. Wish we could have seen at least one team participate. I enjoyed the older team and their ribbing of each other, especially the way Shelisa gave Derek a hard time once she saw what the actual puzzle challenge was. They will be missed.

There's NO way that wall puzzle was on par with the dance challenge in terms of difficulty or time required. I don't think we've ever seen a detour as unbalanced as this one. Although the firefighters did prove it was possible to botch the puzzle - it was funny to watch at first, but then became sad and pathetic. Kudos to them for getting the dance challenge on the first try, further adding to the irony. Sorry, but I'm team Vinnie on this one. I know it's easy to judge from the comfort of home and we can never know what it's really like to be there -- but I really got the impression that it was less of an issue of Amber not being able to keep up, and more that she just didn't like feeling pressured into it; like the "racing" aspect was just a choice and not the obvious practical thing to do. They're both young and healthy-looking, running through crowded city streets, and only one of them was carrying any weight on his/her back.

I actually think this is a fair assessment and not harsh at all. Anyone who has seen even a single ep of TAR - let alone a superfan, has to realize this competition is no walk in the park. It takes a certain amount of hubris to think you would be able to keep up when your abilities clearly tell a different story. I'm in much better shape than some of these contestants and I know I wouldn't last a day.

I mean, whether it's a dish vs a sampler platter seems like a pretty arbitrary distinction to me. And the reason why I say that is because I've seen it referred to as both with those terms used interchangeably. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandeja_paisa

There's a sizable Latin community where I live and those "little bit of everything" platters intended for one are pretty common menu options whenever I go to a Colombian restaurant. Definitely a good amount of food for the price.

This was a much better episode than last week in terms of tasks (e.g. collecting balloons - what even was that?). I love challenges involving food - as long as it's not the gross-out-binge-til-you-vomit ones of earlier TAR days gone by. However, after 36 seasons, I feel this batch of contestants make up the least competitive mix in the history of TAR - and it's not even close. The twins in particular seem to be overwhelmed by the mere suggestion that they have to actually do stuff on either of the detours. I’m mad at the double dutch team for almost making me think we would have to endure the not-knowing-who-Elizabeth-Taylor-is himbos for another week. Yvonne and Melissa completely disappeared this episode. What was their shtick again? Oh right, girlfriends. Cesar and hubby are adorable and are carrying most of the show on their shoulders. Cesar in particular is the star of this season. I also like the firefighters and grandparents. Shane is sexy and the pink girls are annoying. Vinnie is carrying his team. Next week's ep preview seems to indicate more of the same underwhelming-ness in terms of competency.

I officially hate the twins for not knowing who ELIZABETH TAYLOR is. Completely unforgiveable. They are dead to me.

I wasn't blown away but I enjoyed it, and I'm surprised by some of the complaints here. Did people think this was going to be your typical Hollywood mystery/thriller? Because it was pretty clear from the trailer alone that this wasn't that. Almost none of the characters are particularly likeable and none of them have a satisfying conclusion - because that's not how life works. I think the most telling and poignant moment that best summed up the themes in the show was when Mercy was feeling sorry for herself and her friend pointed out her relative privilege as an American expat who has the choice to stay or go; while the locals are on the precipice of losing the freedoms that we in the Western world often take for granted. Even the rich local family just sees the protests as a passing inconvenience because of the traffic delays. I still find Nicole Kidman entertaining to watch, stiff face and all - she can do a better job emoting with the parts of her face that are still mobile than most actors half her age with double the skin elasticity.

I felt indifferent towards the beards for most of the race, but by the end, I wanted so badly for them to win. As much as I loved the brothers and found them to be adorable - I don't feel they needed the money. They have so much going for them already - both are young, smart, handsome, athletic, and working in tech. Middling season overall for me.

All I could think about were those poor tables that didn't get to eat in the restaurant challenge; or at least if they did, they certainly had to wait a long time. That food looked so good and could not have been cheap. There was that one lady who looked up when the clue was being handed... she looked so sad and hungry. 😢

While I do think the puppet task was easier (or at least quicker, since it didn't involve running around), I don't see how anyone could struggle with the mural challenge. You have a limited number of "characters" to work with so you know exactly what to systematically hone in on and once you mess up the first few times, you begin to pick up on what subtle details to look out for. If Morgan and Lena hadn't messed up so bad, there's no way Joel and Ian would have stood a chance. I was hoping to see them beat Morgan and Lena in a foot race to the mat - but sadly, it was not as dramatic as that. Watching the teams play with the puppets at the end of the challenge was adorable. It could be the "villain edit", but I'm not feeling Robbin and Chelsea's vibe. There's something about Robbin that feels very Karen-esque. Greg and John are still adorable, but pink team is my current fav of those remaining. The water tank was gorgeous and almost looked like a painting - similar to a backdrop in old Hollywood films.

1 - Sad to see my favorite team, Joyce and Victor go so quickly. Now I'm rooting for the pink team and perhaps, my fellow gays. 2 - Greg and John are adorable. 3 - Corey is crazy handsome/pretty. 4 - I must be heartless, but I couldn't care less about Liam and Yeremi's very first-world sounding family drama.

I'm glad I was willing to sit through some terribly cringe writing/dialogue (i.e. "impenetrable", "lick the spoon after the black olive", etc.) to get to what was a surprisingly poignant and satisfying end. I'm loving this friendship between Seema and Carrie; the two have great chemistry. And it's so refreshing to see the show finally circle back to and reaffirm what it was originally always supposed to be about - female friendships above all else. Side-note - Seema, Carrie, and Lizzy were all gorgeous at the dinner party. SJP is making 50+ look damn good. ETA - Samantha's cameo was literally just that - a cameo. I almost forgot it even happened. Silly me, thinking the writers would think of something clever and thoughtful; to make use of her appearance in order to contribute to the plot in some meaningful way. Would she really make such an effort to show up to a dinner party when she didn't even make the effort for Big's funeral?

I'm honestly so glad to see Carrie finally moving on from that apartment. It never made sense to me how she was able to completely downsize her closet to fit all those different outfits in that tiny space. It doesn't fit her current lifestyle at all. It was clearly one of those convoluted plot points made up just for the sake of nostalgia. And speaking of convoluted plot points, I'm not crazy about this Anthony/Giuseppe storyline. It just feels wish-fullfilment-y. I'm not saying it can't or that it doesn't happen in real life, but it feels completely contrived and hollow. If Giuseppe wants an older daddy type, I just don't see him going around chasing and begging one to be invited upstairs in a city filled with plenty others that fit the bill. Plus, the two have very little on-screen chemistry.