[S03.E03: Grab Your Hankies]

Maybe I've just watched too much TV, but I was suspicious when Ben said that bit about 'sitting there looking sweet.' It was such odd phrasing. When he said the "I want you" thing later, my suspicions were confirmed. He's 100% talking about cookies isn't he? Or something else that would ruin his diet? Talking about something ruining his career but having whoever that "person" is not responding... it's what he ate before he "died" the first time. 

Anyway, another great episode. I love the whole 'putting a show together' vibe even if it's not believable for Oliver to compose anything that quickly. He's a director. Meryl is just a gift for this show. I know Loretta can't stick around but I can't help but enjoy Oliver and Loretta's chemistry anyway. The lullaby for the nanny was sweet. Gentler, definitely but it had some of the energy of Hold On from The Secret Garden. Not every showstopper has tap-dancing. I mean, the ALW ones tend to have belting but they're still ballads. 

I don't really feel any kind of way about Tobert so far but he's giving Mabel someone to interact with while Oliver and Charles are occupied with this show and it's similar to her friend from season 1. I hope that line from Charles about not going with another female killer can be trusted. I like the women and I think any of the men would be more interesting as the killer right now. 

Winnie!

[S03.E02: The Beat Goes On]

Oliver's crazy antics were fun throwaway jokes in the first two seasons but it's been nice seeing that he actually had some skill as a director and is good at working with actors.

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Paul Rudd and the show were definitely having fun with all of the callbacks to Ben's past work like "CoBro" and "Girl Cop."  Amusing, but I do like how Girl Cop was apparently a big part of Mabel's life and that's why she is invested (crushing maybe?) on Ben despite his clearly odious behavior elsewhere. 

When Paul Rudd was talking about being too old to play a high school senior in Girl Cop, it made me think of Clueless. (He was 26 playing a college student.) Also, I couldn't help but think of Selena's own experience in Disney channel shows. I'm sure she's heard a lot of those stories from fans who are strangers to her telling her how much her performance on a silly show meant to them.

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Frankly, it's probably a little surprising that it has taken this long for Oliver to have his first heart attack.  Dude is constantly wired and lives, sleeps, and eats stress every hour of the day.  You just know he won't back off either.  Hope he doesn't go too overboard with hit.

I bet the real problem is the dips

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Loved the A Chorus Line-like dream of Oliver's with Charles, Mabel, and Will, and thought it was performed brilliantly.

Fosse. A Chorus Line is Michael Bennett. I thought they obviously couldn't nail the choreography but it was simplified enough that with the close ups and cuts, you got the right impression. I'm excited for how full out they might go now that Oliver is choosing to do a musical murder mystery.

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They thought a big name Star making his debut would bring in big money. But he was bad. So bad. Bad enough to not sell out but not so bad as to completely tank the show. People would still come to see him, fans anyway, but all the “true” theater people will skip it. 
so they needed to end the show in order to recoup their money. 

This doesn't make sense without a Lea Michele waiting in the wings and murder seems rather extreme. My only guess for the producers right now is that it might have something to do with the reopening of the theater. I don't know how yet, but it feels like a clue that's been floating around without being remarked upon.

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I thought the only time they actually showed cookies, and we saw Ben take a bite, was the table read scene, which was months prior to his collapse on stage.  And in that scene, when it was asked where the cookies were from, it was Howard who answered. Of course I may have missed seeing cookies another time, but that is the only time I remember seeing cookies.

The cookies were from Schmackary's. A Broadway in-joke.

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I thought something felt off with the filming and lighting too.  Like maybe the lighting wasn't as bright and it made the picture a little muddy and less sharp. 

It felt especially dim in the church but that suited the funeral and then Oliver's minor heart attack scare. I'll have to see if the show continues to feel darkly lit this season. Mabel usually wears a striking bold color and that's been absent. It might be an intentional choice to go more serious and then splash out when we get to the musical parts for contrast. 

[S03.E01: The Show Must...]

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Obviously way too early to really know who the killer is, but we've got a decent group of suspects so far.  The show is definitely pushing for us to assume Loretta might have done it since she clearly despised Ben (and the whole Meryl Streep factor, naturally.)  I'm also keeping an eye out on his brother since he clearly has been mistreated during their relationship and I can see him finally snapping.  An outside bet would be the cameraman since he was played by Jesse Williams and that was definitely a small role for someone with his name recognition.  But the one that really stood out was Kimber, who didn't simply just seem to hate him but was even flinching every time he got near her.  I'm kind of wondering if he wasn't just your average douchebag, but abusive as well.  Was kind of disturbing.

I feel like it can only be Loretta as a double fakeout. Like if it had been Tina Fey last season. Oh, it isn't a red herring, the suspicious person really is the killer. That doesn't seem to be this show's approach to mysteries. Jeremy Shamos and Ashley Park are notable to me so I'm going to be no help in saying who is not significant enough of an actor to warrant suspicion. I think that's a fun part of getting to cast so impressively. The pool of suspects just gets bigger. The only one I'm sure didn't do it is Lester the doorman. /j

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All those apartments are huge... she could move in with Charles and never see him... except in the kitchen

Honestly, I thought one of them might suggest that but it feels like the show is trying to push her to move on after two seasons of her dealing with trauma from a friend's death and I appreciate the character development. Curious to see where it goes.

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Ben is awful and everyone despises him so at this point anyone could be the killer. Or multiple people could be.

I would love a multiple killers season but potentially poisoned and then pushed down an elevator shaft invites a single killer theory. No lifting or hiding the body, no complicated plot necessary...

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Did I hear them right - only 4 months has passed since last season?  Doesn't it take a lot longer to put a Broadway show together?

It's a revival so rehearsals and previews. You don't need to do a lab or test the material out of town for rewrites (not that everyone does that these days). If it's not a transfer and is packaged for Broadway, 3 months of rehearsals and set building and one month of previews isn't crazy.

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Mabel would set aside time to visit regularly with the old guys or maybe FaceTime with them regularly.  In fact it's probably better for her to move out and move on with her life, find a career and someone to occupy her time.

Yeah, and even in the world of the show, it's not crazy for them to still meet up and travel between Brooklyn or Queens or even just spend time in the Arconia when she visits. The only thing that would change is not seeing the interior of Mabel's aunt's apartment. 

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I think is showed that Loretta is way overqualified--she has spent years learning things without having any reason to use them and now she wants to try out some of the things she has learned.

Sad... which I suppose is the point of her character so far. Unless we learn she was related to someone and has some secret motive unrelated to the play to kill Ben. I do wonder if the show will explain how she affords what also looked like a nice apartment if she's never booked significant acting jobs (they weren't really clear if she's booked any jobs or just not any big breaks). 

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I think she was meant to be Diahann Carroll in No Strings from 1962. That's the musical the song "The Sweetest Sounds" is from and she performed it in the Broadway production.

I love that song and that moment. The actress did a lovely job. The Paris background made me think it might have been referencing No Strings but putting in the fake theater, it could have been anything. I wish they would release that clip somewhere.

[S03.E02: The Beat Goes On]

This is the episode that made me much more enthusiastic about the season. I actually laughed in this one. Paul Rudd felt more natural getting to have more of a range of emotion (e.g. ghost Ben talking to Mabel, struggling over line delivery with Oliver, Ben confronting Charles about having him fired as a child). 

They haven't been shy about casting Broadway talent but it's a little extra special this season given the focus on Death Rattle. Linda Emond, Wesley Taylor, Noma Dumezweni... And of course the brilliant performances they're getting with this caliber of acting talent. And the theater and the church were gorgeous settings. I'm so happy to be watching this show again.

I'm not super invested in the mystery at this point though they did try to create some danger for our sleuths with the kidnapping. But I like that they're not motivated by peril or the cops having them under suspicion. Oliver's desire for redemption and his precarious health provides enough stakes for me. 

[S03.E01: The Show Must...]

What a delight to return to this show in the fall/winter. Nothing like a cozy mystery when it's cold out. I watched the first two episodes back to back and while I enjoyed the premiere, I definitely felt better about the season after episode 2. But to start with the first episode...

When the older figure rose from the barre, I figured out this would be the Meryl Streep character. Something about the hair color and once she was in the apartment it all but confirmed it. I think they were very smart with this stunt casting. It doesn't feel like the Amy Schumer or Sting cameos drawing attention to themselves. It's even better than the Tina Fey casting to choose the most lauded actress of her generation and have her play an actress who never got her big break. It somehow let's the acknowledge her and also allow her to melt into a character. Whereas for the one episode of Big Little Lies season 2 I watched, she was never able to be anyone other than Meryl Streep. 

On the other hand, I don't think Paul Rudd was great. He wasn't bad but the tone of Only Murders didn't let him go as broad as say an Apatow comedy and I feel like he came across a little dead-eyed trying to play the asshole movie star semi-seriously. It felt like he was maybe going for a Joel McHale vibe. 

There was a lot of setup and a lot of focus on Meryl for episode 1 but it was nice to get glimpses of familiar faces and spaces again... like seeing that Jonathan is still with Howard.

[Theatre Talk: In Our Own Little Corner]

The Notebook, Water For Elephants, The Who's Tommy, The Outsiders, Lempicka, Suffs, Hell's Kitchen, The Wiz, Cabaret, The Heart of Rock and Roll...

This is too many shows. There's no way I'm seeing all of these shows. I'll be lucky to manage The Notebook, Lempicka, and Suffs.

[S35.E12: A Sunset, Seattle Scramble]

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In Corey & Rob's audition tape, Corey said he speaks four languages.  I don't think that ever came up (on screen, at least) in the race.

Yeah, I'm assuming he's counting English and ASL and whatever he chose for his foreign language credit. So that would leave one other language. 

It's funny watching their recaps since it sounds like he has experience in almost every conventional American sport. An exaggeration as I don't think he mentioned golf or tennis, for example, but it feels that way sometimes. 😅

[S35.E12: A Sunset, Seattle Scramble]

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I liked the brothers, but have to admit that John started to wear on my nerves a little with the way he seemed to have some experience or background that related to every task, like I studied abroad here or I speak this language, etc. But he could certainly back up the talk, so they deserved to win after dominating the whole race. 

I feel like everyone was doing this a bit which is something I liked about this cast (other than them mostly being pretty genial and good-natured). Like Joel lived in France and has made lots of crepes. Todd and Ashlie and Robbin lived in Germany. I like having a competitive cast that's well-traveled and has unexpected skills. 

[S35: Greg and John Franklin]

From the Parade interview

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Well, let's go from the end of the race to the beginning. How long had you been watching the race before you applied? And what made you decide to make that leap from fans to racers?

John: I got into the show through my girlfriend who loves everything and anything reality TV. And after watching the past four or five seasons, I got Gregory on board. And we had some downtime last year and just put in our first application for the show. It was just a three-minute video, not high production quality. We just put it in [and] forgot about it until we got that call from L.A.
Greg: I feel like a lot of TV shows, you look and you're like, "Oh I can do that." When you're sitting on your couch, it looks easy. And so we really wanted to test it out. This seemed like one of those shows more than Survivor, more than Big Brother, that we were like, 'Okay, I actually think that we can do this. That actually looks like something we can actually do pretty well at."

Did you always want to race together? Or did you consider other partners?
Greg and John: [Simultaneously.] Touchy subject.

[Laughs.] It worked out well for you!
John: Yeah, it worked out for the best. But my girlfriend is the one who I intended to apply with for years, for four or five years. And it wasn't until, again, Gregory and I had literally 30 minutes of downtime, that we actually made the effort to put the application in. And it just happened to work out, honestly. So my girlfriend, props to her for getting me on and supporting me along the way. But if I could do it again, she's right there with me.
 

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Let's talk representation. You are the first all-male Black team to win The Amazing Race. You are the first Black men to win since Uchenna back in season 7. And you're the first all-Black team to win since Kisha and Jen in season 18. What's your reaction to that?
Greg: I think that was a big reason why we were chosen to be on the race as well. I mean, there's not too many people in our situation, Black, educated, in tech. There are not that many Black people in tech; that is a unicorn of a find. So I mean, having that representation, and even afterwards, we were talking with some of the producers, and they were talking about like how we're good inspiration to their kids. Just kind of seeing someone like them on TV, especially something like reality TV, like The Amazing Race, where a lot of them are straight white couples, or straight white males. So, yeah, it's good to have representation.

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Finally, if you get a call to go onto an all-winners season of The Amazing Race, are you doing it? Or are you going out on top?
Greg: Not only would we come back, I genuinely think we have a very good chance of winning. A very, very good chance. 
John: Yeah, I think we'd both take it up in a heartbeat. And we're patient. We'll wait! If it's season 40, season 45. We'll stay in shape. We're ready.

 

[S35.E12: A Sunset, Seattle Scramble]

I thought the nighttime finish made things more interesting. For one, you couldn't track placement during the leg or at the post-race interviews from the amount of sunlight. Navigating in the dark probably made things more difficult with teams straining to read signs and not miss anything. And it was probably a little sketchier cornering random strangers to use their phones at night. Last season (34) also ended at night and I think they did a much better job designing this leg. I like that they interacted with local businesses in a meaningful way because for two tasks, they're used to giving lessons (vs. labeling bottles when they don't need/want your help) and there was something more intimate about the way it ended with the memory task and the mat location vs. the two big auditoriums in the season 34 finale where it felt like they were still trying to keep the racers separated from people.

[S35.E12: A Sunset, Seattle Scramble]

First off, I'm glad everyone agrees those bands were terrible. I do think some of it was the sound system but yeah, not a great showing. I wonder if they were real bands or just cobbled together by the show. And if the instruments were in tune and if they'd ever rehearsed or performed together before. Because, yikes.

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A few people keep mentioning that Greg and John "have money".  Where is this coming from?  Are they uber wealthy?  Just solid upper middle class?  Obviously they've had a lot of different opportunities in life, so are people just assuming, or is there something in their bio?  I don't think it matters.  They ran an excellent race, and deserved every bit of that win.

I love them so I don't understand where the animosity is coming from. But then, I don't root for underdogs, I root for competence and excellence and even if they stumbled a little this leg, they've definitely shown that during the race and even in this finale given how tight they kept it even struggling with the tasks. I think the evidence for them having money is that they both work in tech (John at least works for Google) and they have a lot of experience but nothing that puts them beyond upper middle class. John studied music composition in college. But that just means he has musical talent since he was studying piano since age 6. If having a college degree makes you privileged, so are most people on the race this season. Their family has a home in Michigan so they have experience kayaking. But no one is mad at Corey for having a good job or having lived different places or having the chance to travel and play a ton of different sports. I think it's weird to play a game of who is more privileged and judge them for stuff outside the race when they've always been pleasant and friendly and haven't been arrogant about their backgrounds. 

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Most legs won, but still lost:  Bring back the teams who won the most legs their season, but didn't win the final leg.

Almost winners:  bring back #2 and #3 teams.

First ones out:  A race of all teams who were eliminated on the first leg.  (Boy, would it suck to be the first one eliminated, again.)

The first two would be very fun ideas to assemble competitive teams. The last one sounds fun on something like Taskmaster but, while I'm sure some teams made silly mistakes or had travel issues leg one, it might result in a pretty painful season if they all prove to be incompetent. 

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So did two of the teams say they were very familiar with the Seattle area or may have actually lived there?  Only Greg and John weren't familiar?

Only Joel and Garrett weren't familiar with Seattle. John and Corey had some passing experience with Seattle. But everyone was getting phone directions anyway.

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Not sure if they're alpha.  Just collectively younger and fitter than the other teams.

They didn't win just because of being more fit.

They won on the kayaks task and they navigated well.

Also they fell behind in glass blowing and grunge and they stayed even-tempered, didn't argue with each other, stayed positive and when they saw their opening on kayaks, they performed.

Yeah, they're athletic but arguably they have "soft" skills. They can run but they're not as strong as say Liam and Yeremi. They shine in puzzles and attention to detail. I think the glass blowing really got to them because they were not thinking straight on the grunge task. And even when frustrated, they stay focused on the task and persevere. It would have been easy to get mad at the glass blowing when the calipers were repeatedly just shy of 4 inches. 

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It’s possible that Rob and Corey benefitted from doing the trapeze task first since they had the facility to themselves. I don’t know what would happen if two teams were making their attempts at the same time. They may have to alternate attempts and wait. With Rob needing nine attempts it might have been a large delay. 

Yes, and did anyone see how many furnaces there were at the glassblowing task? I think having too many teams bunch up would have been awkward just for safety. The grunge task was the only one that seems to accommodate three teams the best and even then, they would sort of run into each other bottlenecking at door. 

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Did anyone else see that the wing came off the brothers' plane as they were running to the mat? I wonder if they made him run back to get it.  I guess its purpose was to give them the address in Kenmore, not like when they had to bring the Amazing Gnome to the mat.

Yes, John fist-pumped so hard the wing flew off the plane as they ran through the gate. He then stumbled... and stumbled again right as they reached the mat. You could see the excitement in their bodies as they ran towards Phil. 

[S35.E12: A Sunset, Seattle Scramble]

Ahh! That was so fun. There was a lot of bunching (which is not my favorite) but it legitimately got tense for me when it seemed like Joel and Garrett might be winning this. I was so happy for Greg and John and their joy at the mat was infectious. I think what really helped in this finale was all of the teams making mistakes and/or struggling with the challenges. Also, an unspoken additional challenge to this finale was all the nighttime driving. 

The space needle seemed like one of those tasks that's pretty pointless except for getting footage for the show and giving the racers a fun experience. I do appreciate that they made both team members do the challenge thereby allowing at least the first few people to enjoy the experience rather than trying to speed through it (because you really couldn't build a lead on the other teams).

There really is a lot of Chihuly art everywhere. Anyway, none of that seemed to matter until the scramble really started.

The first stumble for one of the teams was at the trapeze task. By his 5th attempt, Rob got his legs over but it really became clear watching Joel and Garrett that you had to do it quickly to not lose all your momentum and still achieve the catch. Credit to him for succeeding on his eight try. Honestly? It did look pretty fun. I thought you'd have to be impossibly athletic but it seems like you can figure it out with enough practice and perseverance. 

Greg and John then stumbled at glass blowing. Another very fun hobby! Though probably not when you're under a time crunch. I'll be interested to watch their recap. They succeeded on their 6th attempt and seemed to struggle more than the other two teams with getting the globe to the correct size (4 inches) and not having it crack when they broke it off. I don't know if they were rushing or just had a lot of struggles. It's not something you'd think you could pick up that quickly but the two other teams succeeded on their first attempts. Of course, those were the first attempts they got to the judging stage. 

Two great challenges and two hobbies I might want to try. The people at both locations also seemed super encouraging. A physical challenge with a clean pass or fail that wasn't just about strength and a skills challenge that forced teams to slow down and get it right. Great choices. 

The grunge challenge where they played roadies was a little less interesting though very tricky. I did not like the mean judge, even if he fit the venue. The bands seemed friendlier but they all sounded terrible. Maybe it was the sound system. I could kind of tell that at least the last two could sort of sing but oof, overall it was tough to get through. The challenge designers weren't really being that diabolical as it seems like that's how you'd set up that equipment anyway but it wasn't perfectly straightforward either. And it's a subtle mindset shift after each team had started with a task where instructors were guiding them to have something they had to do on their own that just felt like a physical challenge with some assembly. If it had been that basic, it would have been a boring task. 

I worried for John and Greg again at the grunge task but thankfully they finally figured it out. The editors were having fun showing how many times they lifted up the lid with the amp attached to it. 

Joel and Garrett got through the trapeze task in three tries. When the last team got there, John took one try and Greg took two. Joel and Garett really put in a good showing this episode as a team with strong navigation that struggled an average amount but not too much at any task. Of course their downfall was at Kenmore Air Harbor with the kayaks where they had to remember all the Roadblocks and Detours. This was a diabolical task to me because I think those names they assign to the tasks are horrible and sometimes barely make sense. 😅

I think it's easy to say Joel and Garrett made a fatal mistake at the memory task but really I think every team struggled about the same amount. That's what made the finale interesting. In a perfect world, John and Greg wouldn't have missed the amp so many times. Or Rob would have gotten through the trapeze task quicker. The race was very tight and Greg and John also found ways to make up time given how they kept falling behind so credit to them. 

Greg and John were the first to complete the memory task and get to Clise Mansion. I felt bad about it because they seem perfectly nice but I really started rooting against Joel and Garrett around the memory challenge and it was a thrill to see Greg and John appear at the entrance. John was so excited he kept stumbling. His happy little claps were so cute. Rob and Corey ending up third was the most shocking part but everyone was so good-natured about the result at the mat. I loved this cast (for the most part). 

Meet back here for season 36. I'll probably miss the first few weeks until April. 

[S35: Greg and John Franklin]

This is their audition video. Surprisingly informal. They're just super charismatic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsmJOfDAXbM&ab_channel=GregandJohn

[S35.E11: We're Finding Our Pot of Gold]

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I want to know how Rob knew the judge gave Corey a pass on the dancing. He stood up and cheered right as he said it - but he was sitting behind him. There must have been an interpreter off camera.

I don't think Rob reacted until he saw Padraic reaching down for the clue. I remember this moment. Also, pretty sure her name is Anna May (however it's spelled).

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Did anyone else notice the balls were blurred when they were shooting goals? It was impossible to see where they were going. Why were they blurred like that? Phil did say they had to score a goal through the uprights, but it looked like Steve's went in the net. Here too we had no real sense of how long it took any of them to finish this task.

When they were near the goals they put a halo around the ball so the audience could see. I thought this was helpful. Also, maybe Greg and John have their numbers wrong but the discrepancy between what they've said and what was shown on TV makes me think the editors may have altered how many attempts it actually took for each team in some challenges. 

[S35.E11: We're Finding Our Pot of Gold]

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They could have given them this one from Finnegan's Wake to learn:

“bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonnerronntuonnthunntrovarrhounawnskawntoohoohoordenenthurnuk!”

In hindsight, they've had memorization tasks in other languages before... they might have actually slowed some teams down with a memorization challenge in Gaelic. 

[S35.E11: We're Finding Our Pot of Gold]

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On the Expedia booking segment, I think that was all play acting.  Would TAR really allow these teams to book whatever hotel they wanted, last minute?  That seems unlikely, incredibly expensive, and would also be a production/logistical nightmare (having 4 teams in 4 different hotels throughout the city). 

From Greg and John's recap, you're absolutely right. They went through the motions and then stopped filming before they actually confirmed any purchases. Everyone was on the same flight and in the same hotel.

[S35.E10: Everyone Loves a Comeback Story]

Greg and John also disagree about whether the food was real or not. Greg thought it was real. John thought it might have been real but it had a weird glaze over it and didn't smell so it definitely wasn't edible.

[S35: Greg and John Franklin]

Watching their recaps is a little dull but they provide extra background.

More travel and navigation drama that's maybe too boring to include in the episode. They use phones and google maps a lot but were also disappointed the few times they were able to try to break away from the pack and it didn't work out with getting on an earlier flight, etc. since they thought that would be a strength going into the race.

They do have a lot of special skills. Greg mentioned he has tried knitting and crocheting. Greg drove a stick shift car in college. John is proficient with musical instruments. So it's not just skiing, snowboarding, and kayaking. I like that they found racers who were so well rounded and competitive. 

They are still very likable but they are even more thoughtful and strategic in their recaps. They really planned for the race. Also, they did find some of the tasks easy as well and admitted the struggle was just navigation or the length of the leg or the struggles of traveling without sleep. 

Also, they gave away the bratwursts after the mustard task to people who helped them with directions.

John apparently has very bad eyesight.

They did get a little annoyed with Robbin and Chelsea following them and not even attempting to get directions themselves.

[S35.E11: We're Finding Our Pot of Gold]

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Those dance teachers were really good.

They were really great concerning the difficulty of what they had to teach to people totally unfamiliar with that style of dance and whom (as far as I know) don't have professional dancing experience. However, I'm glad they still had the instructor repeating the order of the steps during the routine because it would have taken way longer for the racers to pass the challenge without that constant reminder. 

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Is she a dancer or are we just speculating she would've been gone? I honestly don't remember what any of them do for a living.

I'm assuming they were going off the dance challenge in India? But it got me curious about her pageant talent. Google says she's a speech pathologist/flight attendant but I don't think anyone has talked about their jobs except Greg and John (tech), Garrett (UPS driver), and Jocelyn and Victor (supermarket). Morgan has her fancy business degree and Todd used to play basketball. 

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I'll go shallower. Corey in swim trunks, oh my. This is where I wished Liam and Yeremi were still there.

Joining you in the shallow end. At least we still have Greg and John. And it's kind of nice to see gym bodies on TV that are not bulked up with steroids. 

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I wonder how it was judged.  A specially provided ASL-speaking judge would check and signal to the patrons to cheer?

The way it was filmed, I'm pretty sure there was a judge cueing them for every attempt. Too many awkward pauses and tight reaction shots. Or maybe there was signage held up while the racers' backs were to the bar. 

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Sounds like some voodoo economics bullshit. I will try to not hold that against him.

Read an article somewhere about how it's trendy to give young people fancy titles (sometimes instead of paying them more and such). 

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I know Joyce was (allegedly) a genius, but I find him insufferable.

My knowledge of Joyce comes from the terrible off-Broadway musical Himself and Nora. So bawdy and scatalogical and horny.

 

[S35.E11: We're Finding Our Pot of Gold]

I was worried I was losing interest in this season but nope, this was a great episode.

Starting off with the swim to get the clue was not that interesting (They can play all the dramatic music they want but having tourists happily milling about decreases whatever intensity they're going for.) but I was bribed with attractive shirtless men so I was content. I feel like they were really trying to play up how far behind Steve and Anna Leigh were but obviously there wasn't much of a gap because all the cars where they when they arrived and they were able to follow Greg and John driving out after the task.

The Riverdance task brought all the challenge I've been missing in the last few episodes. Also, I got very invested in Corey and Anna Mei's flirtation. It was very chaste, of course, but so are Hallmark movies. Interested to see what he says in the recap about admitting he thought she was cute. I didn't even think about the challenge of heeled tap shoes until Corey almost fell. I think Corey did especially well since the executive producer told him to "keep that shirt." And Padraic seemed genuinely thrilled for Steve after he succeeded on his 9th attempt. It was a good, tough judging. He wasn't so strict on expecting them to be at the level of the professionals with posture or clean footwork but if they obviously missed a step, he wouldn't let them just pass. Impressive that Corey and John made it through on their second attempts. If you watch the recaps from both teams, they really are fierce competitors. I'm glad casting went with two very competitive and strategic teams this year. Like, they are decently well traveled and they have actual skills beyond being vaguely in shape. 

It was interesting then that Corey took 7 attempts at the Croke Park hurling task since, according to him, he has basically tried every sport. I wasn't paying that much attention (cooking) at that point in the episode so I missed what he was struggling with. Garrett took 6 attempts while Greg and Steve managed in 2. 

The pub task with the James Joyce quotes didn't seem like that big of a deal. They talked it up a lot but it was like any other memorization task. The added bonus of getting watched by a totally silent pub and then cheered or booed was probably the tougher part if you're not comfortable with public speaking. 

In this episode I learned "fascinating" is a Corey euphemism. 

I was confused at the very end when John said the other teams had only won one leg apiece. Just looked at the tally and I forgot Steve and Anna Leigh winning twice and Robbin and Chelsea winning once. Rob and Corey have gotten second so often, I was just remembering it like they'd won. Also, Joel and Garrett have apparently finished second or third way more often than I realized. 

Great season so far and a great feeling heading into the finale. I won't be disappointed if any of the teams win but I'm definitely rooting for Rob and Corey.

[S35.E10: Everyone Loves a Comeback Story]

Turns out Rob and Corey had back luck with their taxi driver this leg and that's why they got to the skydiving so late. Also, the memory of the lotus task did dissuade them from making the wreaths in addition to their confidence in handling detours. According to them, the lotus bouquets had taken around 2 hours and the Sort task this leg was about 25 minutes.

[S35.E10: Everyone Loves a Comeback Story]

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I never noticed John wears glasses too. I wonder if he and Corey wear contacts or if they just take off their glasses to do the tasks.

My assumption is that people who wear contacts generally do so for vanity and switch to glasses only when their eyes are tired or they're in private. It's more noticeable if someone only wears contacts for sports or special occasions. People who wear contacts seem to use them most of the time. 

Also, I haven't researched this deeply, but use of contacts is being investigated for myopia treatment so it might be increasingly prevalent for people to choose contacts over glasses going forward. My eyes are too forked at this point to switch.

[S35.E10: Everyone Loves a Comeback Story]

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It looked like all the dishes were props.  The brothers had sometimes stacked the dishes for the first two where the sauces would be messed due to the touching of the bottom of the plate.  When John placed the plate on the table, the sauces were undisturbed.  

I don't think any of the diners ate the food because it didn't look like the utensils were moved between dishes.

I'm used to prop food looking plasticky. Like the displays they'll put in front of restaurants so you can see what the dishes look like. But there was something that looked like it had ladyfingers and one fell over when John was holding the plate and he had to put it back which makes me think it was real food. Whether it was real or not, I don't think they ate it for food safety. But I hope if it was real, the rest of the stuff on the table didn't go to waste. 

Though now I'm thinking about how chaotic it could have been if multiple teams had picked this task instead of recycling. 

[S35.E10: Everyone Loves a Comeback Story]

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Edited to note that I don't hate Anna Leigh.  Even though she's the least appealing competitor left, she's far from the worst Racer we've ever seen in this respect and rocks most of the tasks with little complaining.  So, unlike some previous Races, I wouldn't hate it if she and her father won.  They're my last choice and I hope they don't make the final leg, but they're mostly ok.

Yeah, this is where I am. I really want Rob and Corey to win. I'd be happy for Greg and John if they won. If the other two teams win, I'll be fine with it but I mostly want to see some more interesting challenges for the final legs.

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Considering it took about the time as recycling half a flat, I think there was a good amount of editing.

Were the two tasks close by? And more importantly, close to the next clue? There might have been some extra travel time as well.

[S35.E10: Everyone Loves a Comeback Story]

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This leg was definitely a bit easier in terms of tasks, hence why everyone was so bunched up. Well, it was a combination of easier tasks, experience for some teams and working together, but still, I think all of the tasks were extremely manageable, even the Serve detour. 

Yeah, okay then watching people race to do simple tasks quickly is not my idea of entertainment... especially for 90 minutes. I'd rather see them do something difficult as quickly as they can. Make it a challenge.