aradia22

It's definitely possible that I wouldn't feel as kindly towards Anna Leigh if we hadn't experienced Sharik and Linton last season and her increasing frustration when asked to do anything culminating in a total meltdown in Italy. As someone with non-specific allergies, I get it. I'm just assuming I'm allergic to pollen because of seasonal spikes but I have no problem with flowers and it could be dust or any number of things. It's not severe enough for me to get tested. The hay task was like diving into the deep end of exposure. Like someone who wasn't consciously avoiding nuts but never ate enough to notice a reaction suddenly being asked to eat as many nuts as the number of bugs Morgan and Lena had to eat in episode 1. I get that it was about the express pass, but I did feel bad remembering them doing that only to see them get eliminated later in the episode. I can't feel too bad though because they got in their own way with bickering and poor navigation. I don't know if that would be worse for Morgan and Lena or their camera person. I would hope they could just get directions at that point instead of driving around arguing.

I feel like this could be better incorporated into the race design. For instance, make something like the shopping for groceries task mandatory. And we don't always see it, but choreography tasks involve interacting with locals rather than just doing tasks and then getting judged. They're very different shows so I don't expect identical challenges, but they could also take a page from Taskmaster. Getting certain pieces of information from someone who can only speak/write in their native language would be interesting.

I think these are both fair criticisms but the latter bothers me more. There's a way to pace things and draw focus so there is some suspense. But TAR likes the races to the mat and the talking heads. Making the episodes 90 minutes only amplifies the problems. Why not show me Morgan and Lena getting lost for longer? I kept checking the time towards the end of the episode. That's part of the pacing issue but also a bit of a race design flaw. Rather than tasks that challenged the teams and slowed them down, it was another leg with a lot of self-navigation and also some random stuff to tire them out. With Morgan and Lena gone, my preference tips heavily towards the 3 all male teams. I mean, Ashlie is fine; I just don't like Todd. I still find Steve and Anna Leigh tolerable but they're not going to win so they should just be allowed to go home. And Robbin and Chelsea can leave yesterday. I hope they can enjoy their downtime wherever TAR sends the racers until the finale. For what it's worth, I feel like Morgan forgets the awful way she talked to Lena in between legs. Whereas Steve and Anna Leigh clearly hold onto resentment and it's wearing on them. Yeah, I know they said it's old TAR but I'm suspicious about whether tasks would be ready if any of the racers happened to get a big advantage with flights. Another thing... I have a hard time believing this is the first time Morgan and Lena have talked about their cousin. Not that I want more backstory but the editors are not doing a great job of sprinkling that stuff in naturally which you might expect with 90 minute episodes. Hopefully, if they continue with this episode length, they'll figure out the pacing as they go along. That was a lot as a response to one word. iirc AL was the one who decided to go for the Express Pass. 🤷‍♀️

The episode started with travel drama but it was really boring travel drama since the top 3 teams ended up losing their 8 hour lead through delays and transfers and so none of it amounted to anything and they ended up bunched up again. I get why they showed it to us because they wanted to build suspense (and the rest of tasks this episode were also boring) but meh. This was definitely an episode that didn't seem like it needed to be 90 minutes. The express pass led to a lot of mistakes this episode. First Todd just charging ahead not looking for a marked path and then spending a good chunk of the time until the hay detour blaming Ashlie and being entirely unsympathetic to her skiing struggles. Really remembered why I don't like him in this episode. I could have used more clumsy skiing but it seemed like most of that ended up on the cutting room and it didn't slow anyone down nearly as much as the navigation. I felt bad for Greg and John and Corey (and maybe some of the others) for their hay allergies. Seeing how things worked out, it made no sense to choose the bee house assembly/painting task. But I wonder if they had any plans in place other than forcing people to choose the other detour. Especially since it seemed like most of them didn't know they had hay allergies until they did the task. Joel and Garrett need to stop leaving things behind at tasks. They've managed to recover but they can't be lucky forever, especially as the pack is thinning out. Happy that Greg and John won the foot race for first. And that Chelsea and Robbin weren't able to follow them and had to self-navigate though if I had my way, they'd be out instead of Morgan and Lena. While I did like Morgan and Lena as racers, I'm not shocked they left this episode. I'm more shocked that Morgan was so nice to Anna Leigh and yet continued to bicker with and criticize Lena. Just no sympathy throughout the skiing and probably even more navigation drama than what we saw. Oof. I was worried for Steve this episode. I hate stairs. And I was certainly sympathetic to Rob and his good natured complaint when they had to climb the spiral staircase. But Anna Leigh not seeing the sign and making him climb all those stairs... without an express pass as a reward? I kind of want them to go home next episode just to put them out of their misery.

Saw Here Lies Love tonight. I might have more thoughts in the coming days but I wanted to get some thoughts down right now while it's fresh in my mind. First of all, I thought it was a great show for a $35 rush ticket and I would recommend it. I wanted to be in the standing area (orchestra) but the mezz was not bad. I do have binoculars but they actually made smart use of the screens to make up for the audience's distance from the actors. They also make smart use of levels. It reminded me of both KPOP and Great Comet. I was highly impressed with the talent of the entire cast, especially on a two-show day. Conrad was out but his understudy (Aaron Alcaraz) was fantastic (and I imagine is the superior vocalist) but Arielle Jacobs really impressed me as Imelda. I've heard some criticisms of how she wasn't able to bridge the gaps in the narrative and the transition from country girl to dictator's wife but I don't lay the blame at her feet. For what the show asks of her, she fully commits and gives a fantastic performance. They really make use of her Disney princess energy and there's a slyness to her as her personal mythologizing is counteracted by Estrella. A lot of Evita comparisons but I thought it was smart to not simply have a "Che" in Ninoy but also bring back Estrella as a recurring voice. And Why Don't You Love Me felt much more impactful than a Don't Cry For Me Argentina. I do think it goes for a Cabaret indictment of the audience move but it's also very forgiving because it encourages audience participation throughout. You can also just... choose not to participate when it asks you to stand up and clap for other problematic leaders. I did miss a few words here and there but not much. I liked the use of screens and platforms, locating the cast in different areas of the theater though I think walking around in the orchestra could get tiresome. I understand that they didn't want to be Evita (with an all-male creative team) but I do think they were a little too sympathetic and facile with the storytelling. The emphasis on love at the beginning makes it seem like Imelda was just broken-hearted when Ninoy broke up with her for being too tall and was desperate to please her husband and then became addicted to pills and girl bossed too close to the sun. It's better than the entirely calculating and mercenary version of Eva Peron but it does try a little too hard to sand off the rough edges and make her more sympathetic. I wasn't deeply offended, but I can understand the criticism. Costuming was solid. Not standout but there were moments and I appreciated the quick changes and the things the clothes were communicating. Choreography was distinctly... fine. Serviceable. Maybe I should have led with this, but I felt like I met the show where it was. I felt this way about KPOP too but even more so about Here Lies Love. I think a lot of criticisms are coming from people who wanted the show to be something else rather than accepting what it is. I knew it was going to be 90 minutes (I think it actually ran a little longer but I'm never entirely clear when shows start because I turn off my phone and don't wear a watch.) From very early on, I interpreted the show as an exploration of propaganda. It feels like a mix between a historical pageant and a political rally. While I referenced a bunch of other shows, it's not trying to be a traditional musical. There are some more traditional musical theater style numbers. But most of the time, it feels like it's directly speaking to the audience, persuading, entertaining, cajoling, instructing, etc. Asking for more depth in character relationships or book scenes is missing what the show is. And while there are things they could have hammered harder, I can read quickly so I didn't miss anything on the screens. And I liked that they were more subtle. They could have just had Ninoy yelling at her like her Che. But they slid in Estrella during key moments to counteract even her interpretation of events. I feel like if you thought the show was telling you a story, you missed the point. This felt like a jumble of competing narratives and in the way it was communicated with that heavy sense of propaganda in the air, I really enjoyed going on that journey. Also, a bunch of the songs were catchy and the cast sang the hell out of them.

Eh... We can make all the excuses in the world. Corey and Morgan flew through it. There's no reason they'd be less tired than the others. And remember how much they struggled at the word puzzle in episode 1? I think some of them just aren't very bright. When @PurpleTentacle wrote out the conversion, I did it in my head. And I'm not particularly good at math. I figured out how many witten = 1 groschen and then multiplied by 5. The only "difficult" math is 24/4 =6. Then you divide by 2 to get 3 witten. 3 x 5 = 15

I feel like that's a problem though. Production can't keep counting on someone having a fear of heights. It's not really a challenge for the racers and it's boring for viewers to watch. (Also, personally, I don't like seeing someone struggle with a phobia. That's not really drama I'm into.) I struggle to think of a really compelling challenge that involved heights. They sort of tried with that task (maybe in France?) where they had to look at the coat of arms and also rappel and I think if you failed the memory task you had to do it again. And there was one of those rope tasks that involved a flag recently but I think that also ended up being boring. I think there's just too much safety stuff involved to have these heights tasks be something they repeat over and over to complete. And when it's a rope walk, they can't be hanging out there for too long. Could they maybe find a safe way to do rock climbing? Something that's an actual physical challenge? Or, if they want it to be psychological, maybe go to one of those places that's high up that has a glass floor. And then have something they have to look at through the floor to challenge any fear of heights. Also, Greg is the only one left that I remember having a fear of heights and John was the one who did the task.

Full disclosure, I wasn't watching the episode all that carefully and if people were bickering and I missed it, I didn't rewind. I think Robbin got a more positive edit in that they mentioned more of her backstory stuff but she was still snapping at Chelsea. Morgan and Lena cannot hide their dysfunction but I missed most of it during the driving. I totally missed most of the Steve/Anna Leigh stuff until he finally told her to stop talking to him like that. But honestly, with Andrea and Malaina gone, I think I'll like all of the racers fine if/when Robbin and Chelsea leave. I mean, I don't want Steve and Anna Leigh to win but they can hang around a while as long as the editors focus on the likable teams. As dysfunctional as they are, I wouldn't mind Morgan & Lena pushing Joel & Garrett out but yeah, those are the most likable teams left. Todd & Ashlie are okay but I don't want them to win. Yeah, I really hated that. And after she bragged about puzzles during the tile task. Agreed, especially when three of them have lived in Germany. Not just vacationed, but lived there. They didn't really show it but I assume both team members could taste each flavor at first and then during the actual task. I get why it would be good to have someone back you up on what things tasted like. If only one person could taste each mustard while guessing, it makes sense not to divide things up because you don't know the order. Either way, I think this time it made sense for a task they were doing together because they could help each other. It wasn't purely about memory. I don't think she loathes her at all but I wonder if Morgan talks to everyone that way or just Lena. From episode one, I've found her shockingly mean and dismissive. It's like when she gets stressed, that's the only way she can process it. A bunch of nice people having a good time? Sounds great. tbf, they got pretty close this season And this is why everyone who didn't U-turn Steve and Anna Leigh picked them instead. They both kind of seem like jocks (Rob's a football coach) and maybe they were worried about communicating at the mustard task or just didn't want to eat mustard. They seem inclined towards physical tasks. I hope they would have switched if they were really struggling but it didn't seem to take them that long to figure it out given their placement at the mat. I think it would be nice to have another mini puzzle, especially since there were four digits. Give them something that adds up to 4711 or let them guess each digit individually from a different clue. Or at least have like a sign somewhere along the bridge that they need to locate to find the answer. But with something like that, finding someone with a phone really is the fastest way to get through it.

This was a bit of a boring episode. The tasks weren't that great and weren't very visually interesting to watch either and as much as the editors tried to hide it, it was pretty damn obvious that Andrea and Malaina were going home from very early on. Joel and Garrett were very lucky. The ferry was not exciting at all but I guess it provided some drama in shaking up the placement after they'd bunched up on the flight. But navigation woes did that throughout the episode. I'm not sure production really thought it was going to be that big of a deal though actually finding the man with the bag of coins should have been a clue to Andrea and Malaina. I was expecting the worst from the money conversion task after the scramble puzzle in episode one. But Corey has always seemed good at math, Morgan aced it, and most of the others didn't struggle too much. Chelsea was just embarrassing though. I guess there was only one type of coin if she could just keep returning with different amounts. They should have made it more difficult (like having to use the three types of coins on the board to make proper change). Greg and John seemed good with navigation this episode and that really helped them secure first. I did not like Robbin and Chelsea tailing them (especially since they're bad at navigation and haven't wanted to help other teams). The carnival task didn't seem to affect placement at all. The challenge seemed to just be finding the location. No one really struggled with pedaling but I guess it broke up the boredom of watching them do the other tasks. There was a certain style to the carnival packing up and going home before Andrea and Malaina got there. Those poor actors/musicians. I hope production was in communication when racers were getting close so they could just be on break the rest of the time. Production was nice to them in making the locks big and obvious compared to the regular locks on the bridge. I was a little confused at how much the early teams were struggling if all 7 locks were attached to the bridge at the start. Surely it should get more difficult over time? Nice to see Ashlie help Rob with the combination. I have no idea how they planned to get around that if he'd been unable to ask someone with a cell phone for help. Would there be an ASL translator to intervene and ask a passerby for him? Robb and Corey were very cute talking about darts. It's like they both rolled super high on charisma. Todd picking the soccer task was bananas. But luckily they switched early and still ended up in third. The mustard task seemed reasonably difficult. You had to be good at identifying the flavors as well as keeping the memory task part in mind. Obviously it was preferable to soccer unless you had soccer skills but I can see how you'd struggle. Greg and John continue to prove themselves very likable and competent racers. It took them two tries at the mustard and there weren't any big struggles this episode.

Robbin is

Haha, she's ridiculous. I don't know why it doesn't bother me but this and being mad at Chelsea for the tile task just seems like silly pettiness that takes over in between actually doing the tasks. She's competent and not annoying during the actual racing. This might also be why she doesn't bother me. All bark, no bite. I wrote down the race order from last episode. I think they were too close to the bottom of the pack and the slow driving (and apparently getting lost?) didn't help them keep their place or make up any ground. I enjoyed how easy going (and yes, fine, attractive) they were but they couldn't hang on forever. I think everyone likes them too much. 😅 Agreed. Malaina and Robbin annoy me much more. Like, who cares if Anna Leigh puts on makeup? A lot of women on TAR have worn makeup. They're still on TV. There have been hints at "ugly American" behavior/attitudes from Malaina and Robbin and that always puts me off. Anna Leigh can be brusque but she always seems relatively polite to the judges and though I don't think she slows down enough to enjoy the scenery that much, the worst she freaked out was at the eels. She's generally game and a tough racer and that wins her points for me. I'm irrationally upset with the racers for not u-turning Robbin and Chelsea and getting them eliminated so we'd have another week with Liam and Yeremi. Though no one could have predicted Robbin and Chelsea's navigation struggles. I do see the argument that some teams thought they were racing for first but it's very short term thinking as the "prizes" for winning a leg don't seem as valuable as knocking a team out. Yup. All of this. The repeated stuff from their bios can be a drag, but sometimes I swear they will even replay the same soundbites (presumably if they couldn't coax them into talking about it all again). Yeah, Yeremi and Liam's personal history is not that unique but it's meaningful to them and I'm sure the producers are prodding to get the tears. So Anna Leigh and Steve complaining... especially in the talking heads rather than fighting with others teams... it doesn't bother me.

I wonder if they're pushing a few bad moments in the edit or actually being generous and leaving things out. Given her backstory, it's surprising Robbin is getting the villain edit. She seems to dislike animals, some of the locations, the other racers... Everyone is going to have their moments but she seems particularly grumpy and that's a tough personality to like on a season when everyone is generally upbeat and enthusiastic. And she doesn't even snark or make jokes like Joe and Ian did. It's just.. unpleasant.

Morgan is the older one who tends to make mean, unhelpful comments. Lena is the younger one who gets stressed out. Funnily enough, Morgan got the eels and the needle in her face though she's the one provoking a lot of the fights 😄 Maybe Lena retaliates in her own way. Agreed. I'm sure they're dealing with other stuff like navigation but mostly it seems like they get in their own ways sniping at each other. The vinyl task is one of the few where I remember them not arguing and Morgan being supportive.

This episode started off great for me. Yeremi with his hair down and Corey in his glasses looking like a young Clark Kent? Also, then the editors got to be cute and include clips of every animal Greg and John listed off. The telescopic monocular didn't seem that tough for anyone but it was a cute touch. Pushing the rickshaws didn't seem to be that difficult of a task but it certainly got harder with fewer cars to choose from. Steve and Anna Leigh being u-turned wasn't a surprise but it's interesting how close it was and only between two teams. I think people just don't like Robbin and Chelsea. Though arguably, it was also strategic because they could have been knocked out entirely. The vote was 5 for Steve and Anna Leigh (Robbin & Chelsea, Andrea & Malaina, Rob & Corey, Joel & Garrett, Greg & John) and 4 for Robbin and Chelsea (Morgan & Lena, Todd & Ashlie, Liam & Yeremi, Steve & Anna Leigh). The detour was tricky. I feel like Bundles with the flowers sounds way easier but they threw off a lot of teams by telling them they had to go to two locations. So many teams opted for Bricks doing the more physical task and it didn't seem that much easier to find those locations. I continue to find Malaina annoying. This episode did not end up being a great advertisement for the pink taxis with female drivers. I enjoyed the block printing roadblock that forced the teams to slow down. Use 4 colors and make 9 peacocks. John was great at it and Rob struggled but it didn't seem like it slowed any of the teams down crazily. When we got down to the last two, it made me realize how much I wanted Robbin & Chelsea to be eliminated and Liam & Yeremi to stay. The brothers were never going to win but they were nice to have around. We can definitely afford to lose more people though. I'd happily cut everyone below top three in this episode (1. Greg & John, 2. Corey & Rob, 3. Joel & Garrett with maybe Morgan & Lena or Steve & Anna Leigh as the wild card). But if anyone outside of that top three gets eliminated... I don't think I'll care that much.

Late to this one so I'll try to keep it quick. It was sad to lose Ian and Joe just as we were really starting to see their personalities. They were cute and funny and fairly competent racers aside from a bit of bickering. I think they were just too far behind with the dancing and didn't make up any time at the detour. The Bhavanian foot dance was a fun roadblock because it combined choreo with balancing and there was no way to just fly through it. You had to get it right. Even if they'd been so inclined, the judge couldn't let you go through because it was obvious if the pots fell off your head. Credit to Anna Leigh for getting out of there first with 3 attempts and John and Morgan with 2 attempts. John actually seemed decent at it. Same with Andrea who took 6 attempts but looked graceful. The worst dancers were probably Yeremi and Corey (15 attempts!) who looked stiff and awkward even when they succeeded. Also, I kept thinking to myself that having my teammate yelling encouragement during the task would be distracting and incredibly annoying. I liked the balance between the two detours. I would have picked the dolls because I liked crafting but it also ended up being the much easier task. Maybe they were scared off by the "performance" part but everyone seemed to just shake the dolls for a minute before getting the clue. Mimicking the painting wasn't impossible but they're being very tricky with memory tasks lately and it involved a lot of running around. Interestingly, Anna Leigh & Steve and Greg & John seemed far ahead. Then Joel & Garrett, Andrea & Malaina, Todd & Ashlie, and Corey & Robb all bunched up at the mat. So there was some room to shake up the order but the tasks didn't seem to take that long. Then we had Robin & Chelsea and Liam & Yeremi, and Morgan & Lena and Joe & Ian at the end. Finally, the editors had a genuine race to the finish to work with. Honestly, Morgan & Lena worked quick for switching detours. I think they just bicker way too much. They're relatively competent racers who waste a lot of time arguing and stressing each other out.

I went to Lea Michele's solo debut at Carnegie Hall last night. More thoughts to come... maybe? No setlist in the program so I think it was up in the air for a while but I can work to recall the setlist if that interests anyone. I wouldn't call it uneven exactly, but it felt like a bit of a marathon so while she was fine throughout, there were definitely moments she seemed to be saving her voice for and places where she really shone. Also, maybe it's just me but I felt like her upper register was a little shaky and she seemed more comfortable in her mezzo belting range. While she was holding back a bit, the vocals were still fairly flawless. I do think she was slightly overamplified but that's been a problem at Carnegie Hall before. Jonathan Groff was an expected but very welcome guest. I wasn't thrilled when Darren Criss appeared but he held his own. Unlike in the past concert I saw where he was replacing someone and sang songs that were way beyond him, they picked songs that were not big challenges and he held his own. No outfit changes. I have some feelings about the patter that I might dig into more. In a way, it was a performance of gratitude and (not entirely sincere) humility. No real acknowledgement of wrongdoing, but that wasn't obligated on a big night for her, but it did seem... like a carefully spun narrative. That said, she's more charismatic than I expected as a performer and surprisingly funny. I can see how she would have done okay in Funny Girl. It's definitely practiced, but it's not as awkward as she was when she was playing Rachel Berry trying to be funny as Fanny Brice. It was the likable, amusing patter you'd expect from a competent cabaret performer. She did manage to make it feel surprisingly intimate even in a bigger venue. The crowd was a little rowdy (nothing crazy) but you had to forgive people cheering, talking a bit, and the guy behind me humming a little.

I don't know if this will interest anyone but I saw my first show of the fall. It was the 92Y tribute to Howard Ashman. I enjoyed it for what it was, but it was also a bit of a disappointment. It ran under 80 minutes with no intermission (I turn my phone off so I can't give a more exact time). It was advertised with Christian Borle's name but he did not narrate or perform. His directing was completely behind the scenes. So the most notable names for the evening were John Cariani and Manu Narayan. Heather Ayers was the other adult. Nadina Hassan and Khadija Sankoh appeared fresh out of college. It was like a good cruise ship performance (I think cruise ship performers are terrible) or like a more intimate show at a Disney theme park (since they often call in Broadway talent). The script found some nice little moments but I guess I expected more humor from Christian Borle and it was missing the magic of lyrics & lyricists which is hearing from the actual composer or lyricist or a close collaborator or someone who has intimately studied their work. It felt a little like a pleasant but not terribly informed youtube video essay. There are definitely better shows I could have rushed for almost $40. I still cried but Howard Ashman/Disney stuff is a weakness of mine. There were some familiar songs that were highlights like Poor Unfortunate Souls, Proud of Your Boy, and Mean Green Mother From Outer Space. Overall, though, it was a bit lackluster with the Disney songs and Suddenly Seymour. No major insights into Howard's life or work and the actors just sort of presented together, but they did spent a good chunk of time on the deep cuts from Smile and Babe and there was one song from Rosewater that was performed in a really lovely way. It always makes me sad thinking of what Howard would have done artistically if his life hadn't been cut short. He was at the height of his powers. Who else might he have collaborated with? In the non-Disney work there's a thread of cynicism that only really works well in Little Shop of Horrors. The time he was working was definitely not my favorite period of musical theater. I hear more Maltby and Shire and Marvin Hamlisch than Kander and Ebb and Sondheim. Partially it's the sound of the time. It's the mix of the proto-contemporary musical theater sound and the vaguely folksy saccharine mush of 70s music. (And I like the Carpenters.) Partially I think it's that these adult stories concern quiet characters with complex issues but Howard really thrived on simple stories with passionate, earnest characters. To me, that's what ties Little Shop and the Disney stuff together. And then the cynicism and commentary is kind of layered on top. Also, why is there a song for the beauty pageant photographer? It was an okay night out but the train ride back with all the Halloween costumed characters was not fun. Why are the subways so hot at the end of October?

I feel like one positive of individual tasks is the other teammate has a chance to relax (and maybe go to the restroom). I imagine all these questions could be answered by contestants but I don't feel like watching their social media content. I still say Miss Congeniality. There's a reason it was a joke; it's the most generic of responses. Even for the teams who didn't say "winning the Amazing Race" they had specific answers like Corey who said something about traveling to a different country every year or something like that. I don't find Todd genuine at all.

I do like that we've gotten individual challenges this season where it isn't really clear who would have the advantage. Like the tiles and making flower bundles. So we're not just watching the "strong" member of the team do all the physical tasks but it's also not as neat as a simple memory task. I think Chelsea really oversold how much "practicing" with her daughter helped her find the tile. I still think their tile in particular seemed fairly close to where Phil was and as people have pointed out, a lot of teams bunched up so there wasn't that much of a gap between them all finding their tiles. As much good as it does when someone is good at dancing relative to how good the other teams are and how much the tasks shake up race placement. 🤷‍♀️ I find it strange that fish markets and letting fish suffocate are considered uniquely Vietnamese. How do you think fish are processed before they get neatly fileted for the grocery store?

Yeah, with the way they were struggling last leg and finished second to last, they would have had to pull out magical fish displaying skills to pull ahead. For all the squeamishness, it seemed like the other teams were getting it done and I assume J&V were also trying to get it perfect. But it didn't seem like the kind of task where you make up a lot of time anyway and by the time they got to match the tiles, I think Victor was fried. I would be really curious to see a map of the location with the spots marked where each team found their tiles. Were the teams who did well able to find the tiles because they were closer or were they better at searching. Chelsea's tile kind of seemed on the side near where they ran to find Phil at the mat and a lot of the other tiles seemed to be down the middle aisle but again, I got kind of bored watching it. I think four or five teams bunched up and then later two or three teams bunched up. It might have been difficult but people just coincidentally found their tiles around the same time. Same, but I can't say that wouldn't be a concern. I feel like the hotel would be okay if you had a fanny pack for all the important things. Interesting... I think of them as beautiful actors from some CW teen drama. Corey is the one who immediately struck me as a Disney prince. He full on looks like a cartoon character. I'm happy they gave them some real challenges for the Detour but it must have been a real shock to the system with the additional sleep deprivation. I was getting a little worried, especially for like Joel and Garrett. I hope they get to rest up properly before the next leg. Honestly, I was into it. TAR has done a fair number of food shopping/delivering tasks over the years. It was about time someone came on with the advantage of running a grocery store and not just like... being super buff. It's like with the dancing. After a bunch of choreography tasks, you'd think you'd get more dancers applying to be on the show (and we did). I thought Robbin was the one who bullied Chelsea. But Robbin is also the one who had the personal health tragedies. Something in Anna Leigh's favor was reminding her dad not to run when they were at the temple. I was curious why only one member of each team seemed to be wearing that modesty shawl. Also, for all this talk of Robbin being working class, I remember that her "not here to make a new bestie" was partially snarking on the other racers at the airport. I remember it being something kind of snobby like she thought they were dumb or she was somehow better than them. I wouldn't be surprised if Anna Leigh picked up on that energy. Oh, good. I like Andrea too but I was starting to worry I was the only one who found Malaina a bit annoying.

The editing felt like it was back to normal this leg (without the forced drama and tight shots) but it was still tough to watch at the end with some of my favorite teams at risk of being eliminated. It was sad to say goodbye to Victor and Jocelyn. I didn't think they were going to win, but I wish they'd stuck around longer. No team is emerging as loathsome, but I would certainly trade Anna Leigh and Steve, Andrea and Malaina, Chelsea and Robbin, etc. for another leg with Victor and Jocelyn. Again, editing was good this episode and if there was KF, we didn't get to see too much of it (at least in terms of the teams being unpleasant to their teammates or others) but I just get the vibe that there's some footage that would make me like Anna Leigh, Malaina, and Robbin even less if they'd included it. Credit to Anna Leigh though, she mostly handled the fish task well except for the wiggling ones. I did wonder as the task went along if gloves were provided or something only certain teams thought to bring along. I couldn't really tell if the fish task was very strenuous. The marked buckets didn't seem that far from the display and the judge didn't seem that fussed as long as each container was filled with the right kind of fish. There wasn't like... an obsession with perfect placement. The judge for that task was very adorable. She looked so excited to be handing over the clue each time. We learned that Joel is a UPS driver. Otherwise, it seemed like there was a lack of personal info this leg. It felt very race-focused. I'm just accepting that I don't really get Todd and Ashlie's relationship. Like, is "it'll be fine, I've broken my fingers all the time" a helpful thing for her to hear or not? It seemed like he kept putting the weight of the mattress on her head but maybe she was just struggling (especially with the height disparity). John and Greg continue to be one of my favorite teams. John singing to the fish to calm himself was cute and not annoying and he has a good voice. I feel like they're just genuinely charismatic rather than trying so hard to play to the camera. Like Todd saying "pivot pivot" during the mattress task or writing "world peace" on their wish. OK, Miss Congeniality. I'm also liking Joel and Garrett the more we see of them. They try hard on tasks. They seem genuinely appreciative of the traveling and the places they get to see. And those were wholesome letters from home. Credit to Liam and Yeremi for brute forcing it with two mattresses at a time. Other teams tried, but they committed. They're one of the more likable athletic all-male teams to have been on the race. I'm sure part of that is that they aren't doing amazing so it's easier to root for underdogs, but that story about boot camp made me think they're trying to unpack toxic masculinity and be good brothers to each other. And good for them. Chelsea seemed to find her matching tile very quickly so they snagged first place. Shockingly given Robbin's sob story... I don't like them very much. They're getting the closest thing to a villain edit with Todd and Ashlie. Again, the editors aren't making any team hateful so far but yeah... they could definitely leave stuff out if they wanted Robbin to seem more likable. Steve and Anna Leigh were an okay second place. They earned it. I was getting bored so I didn't really pay attention to where the correct tiles were located. It seemed like they were in a similar area but it would have been a bit unfair to get a tile placed farther away from the others necessitating a broader search.

I think the editing focused on them because after getting frustrated at the fruit task and then running around trying to find the rice paper task, they were agitated and primed to bicker and this editor loves drama. But putting aside the teams who aced it (Joel/Garrett, Corey/Rob, Andrea/Malaina), they didn't seem that much worse at making the rice paper. They just had issues because they were rushing and frustrated. Steve and Anna Leigh probably struggled as much or worse. It's a task where you need to be focused and deliberate. Both detours really forced the contestants to slow down and be patient to do the task correctly. I also find them likable, but I'm not going to pretend that's not part of it. Greg and John (at least on camera) are doing their best to stay calm and be agreeable and friendly wherever they go. They're competitive but they seem to be having a good time... even when one of them fell in the water at the pomelo task (though maybe they left out Greg getting upset). And Liam and Yeremi are CW pretty. And the fact that they haven't mentioned any acting or modeling aspirations makes me like them more. I did feel duped! It did create more tension for me as I didn't realize until Liam and Yeremi made it to the mat that they would also be allowed to continue racing. I guess there's a slight difference since they might have been able to sleep in between if it had just been a NEL. But, come on. I think Steve and Anna Leigh actually did have the same travel agent... or someone did. I assume there was a cancellation while they were booking flights so Joe/Ian could suddenly get on the better flight when the earlier teams couldn't. I've had sweet ones but usually, at least here in the US, they're so bland. I briefly flirted with the idea of growing one to have a cheap cactus but I'm in the wrong climate for it. Victor. For all Todd has said that Ashlie needs encouragement, Jocelyn seems like the one who immediately gets down on herself. She pushes through but if you watch for it, she makes a lot of self-deprecating comments even when they're doing relatively well. I think the contestants stressed themselves out. It was not knowing. Though even at the airport, someone guessed that there probably weren't a lot of tasks they'd make them do in the dark (it was when they mentioned frog catching) and obviously the boat task wasn't happening at night. Same... I wonder if production made them at least get on the boat. Was it even an option to drive to the Detours? I like that racers this season evaluate their skills differently. Like everyone who chose Plastic (the vinyl task) obviously thought they'd be good at it. Everyone was scared of the choreography task with the swords in episode 1 but Joe/Ian aced it. I find it boring when there's one obviously "easy" detour and people only choose the other option if there are limited spaces and they're forced to switch. Similarly with pomelos and market shopping, it'd be boring if everyone only wanted to do the physical task.

I'm very late to this one. I did watch the episode and take notes but I wasn't in the mood to comment. Anyway, I really didn't like the editing this episode. I don't know if it was a different lead editor or they were going for a different vibe, but I wasn't into it. It was subtle but noticeable, especially in a longer episode. I don't think it was really KF. The contestants weren't behaving that differently... it was the framing. For example, Corey came across more influencer-y. They kept the shot of him jumping over the bumper pole at the airport for no reason (dumb, could have injured himself and been out of the race) and there were not only more shots where I noticed the awkwardness of Corey and Rob talking to camera instead of to each other but also the editing didn't seem as interested in highlighting Rob. Like, if he's signing for a talking head, why make that a split screen? Weird choices. There were weird choices throughout with the editing though like using all these tight shots and close ups. But also shots that didn't make any sense... like when Liam and Yeremi were doing the vinyl wrap at first they were saying something uninteresting and the shot was of them putting on their gloves. If them putting on their gloves is the only footage you took (like only a tight shot of their hands) and the words are not that important, why use that? Ugh. Overall, a lot of the racers felt ruder to the locals this episode but I blame the editor. That said, while I already liked them, Greg/John and Joel/Garrett rose in my estimation for their enthusiasm and politeness. Robbin's "not really looking to make a new bestie" was so close to "I'm not here to make friends." Credit to Anna Leigh for finding the extra envelope for the early group but I didn't need to hear about it so many times. Todd playing pro basketball for France and Germany... Them being a couple since fifteen also explains a lot. I wonder when Morgan and Lena were told they could use the Express Pass. I assume they had to get on the boat first. It seemed like they waited a long time. While they did slip in placement and it looks like the next half of the leg will be challenging, I don't think there were really great options for them. There was no way of knowing they'd have to keep racing and they would have lost time either waiting for the boats or doing the vinyl. For all the talk of Victor having a language advantage, it was fun to see some special skills like Joel and Garrett being good at the rice paper task because one of them lived in France and made a lot of crepes. And Lena having worked with vinyl before. I do like that at least some of the group seems well traveled and they have different experiences and skills to bring to the table. Morgan telling Lena "slow and steady, we're here, nobody else is here" is probably the nicest, most encouraging thing I've heard her say so far. There were at least 4 chubby little dogs running around at the rice paper task and I enjoyed that very much. The monastery for the pit stop was gorgeous. The architecture in SE Asia is severely underrated. The greeter at the mat was lovely. I wonder if they'll have to remember traditional dress for the final task this year. I don't know how well they deal with sleep deprivation so I'm worried about KF for next week's episode. I don't want to watch 90 minutes of bickering and breakdowns.

Pomelos can be very sweet or a bit bland. Like other fruits, it's about seasonality, sourcing/transportation, and being able to pick a good one.

It was some kind of lizard/big iguana-looking reptile. That kind of head shape with a long tail.