S32.E02: Red Lipstick is Not My Color

[pezgirl7]

Like a lot of other people here, I'm also surprised that so many teams didn't read the clue. Although I'm sure they all did read the clue, which was super short by the way, but then they somehow ended up forgetting the part about the horn. It can probably be chalked up to fatigue. I'm guessing they didn't get much sleep since they were all crammed together in that cave, and then headed out very early in the morning to climb the tower. I could never be on this show simply because if I'm not in my own bed, with it dark and quiet, I can't sleep. 💤

 

[survivinmt]

I love it when the clue makes the task obvious and it just takes reading it to understand. Reading IS FUNdamental ! 

I want to like the beards but they seem so gimmicky - about beards. Eh. They show signs of having great humor, but if all their jokes are going to be beard-centric - tiresome!

Love Phil. Just want to sit him down with some beer and chips and let him tell all his stories.

[Netfoot]

 

15 hours ago, mojoween said:

“It’s a race...oh look a doggie!”  Yeah I would totally stop too.

Absolutely!

15 hours ago, Lamb18 said:

Too bad pseudo-Gabby told the two blonde girls about the horn!

While the Dumb Blonde Cannon Fodder (DBCF) team didn't do much better than last episode, I'm pleased (or at least not offended) to see them make it through to next week. I didn't really like the Olympians so much - largely because they wouldn't stop telling us about it. "We're Olympians, so we know about Phone Chargers..." Ok, I exaggerate, but not by much! Besides, they were obviously poor competitors, one-before-last to the mat in the previous episode, and last to the mat this episode. They seemed to run into trouble at every task, and... "I'm sorry to tell you that you have been eliminated from The Race." 

14 hours ago, North of Eden said:

So the boyfriends watched every season of the race and they chose to become a team entirely opposed of Lukes? I swear I was watching the Coddled One all over again with the hissys they were throwing. Their prima donna act is going to wear thin and quickly.

One is a Whiny Little Shit and I can't tell you which one that is, because I don't know which one is which.

14 hours ago, North of Eden said:

The bottom line is a leg should be won or lost on your own merits or even luck but  certainly not because of information sharing.

I completely agree, but the curse of "alliance forming" and generally helping others has been a part of TAR for many seasons now, so I just take it as a (regrettable) part of the race.

11 hours ago, Fukui San said:

They brought back the Yield, the worst iteration of the time wasting obstacle

Disagree. The Yield as originally deployed was a sort of randomizer. And it was far less destructive to a team's chances than a U-Turn. It was a hard and fast 30 minute delay, whereas the U-Turn can keep a team back for a very long time, depending upon the difficulty of the other/second task. For a while, the U-Turn was an automatic eliminator! And originally, the Yield was deployed at a time when every leg also had a Fast Forward. This new Yield with a delay of only 20 minutes, and possibly only 10 minutes, is not a major game changer!

14 hours ago, Giuseppe said:

Second ep without a detour....I wonder if they've been eliminated this season...

If they eliminate the Detour, they also eliminate the U-Turn, which (see above) I don't particularly like.

11 hours ago, HurricaneVal said:

I love how Hung hugs everyone.  Her enthusiasm is inspiring...

I agree she seems genuine, but the hugging might get her into trouble in some countries. Might be better if she offers, and waits to see the reaction. (I don't find it offensive, but others might.)

7 hours ago, Haleth said:

Whom would you rather race?  A couple ditzy girls (no offense, I'm sure they're delightful IRL) or physically fit Olympians?  Still, all the bottom teams seem fairly level as far as competence.

Or incompetence. None of them appear to be very good racers.

I don't think of TAR as an athletic event. Sometimes strenuous activity is required, but sometimes something other than muscle is needed. So for me? Being a 'physically fit Olympian' is not a bonus. In fact I am always annoyed when they pack the court with athletes. Ordinary people is what my TAR is about.

2 hours ago, toodywoody said:

Looking around saying why is he honking the horn and not getting in ours and honking the horn?

Because possibly, as has been suggested elsewhere, honking was thought to be a sign that they have won, and not a test they must pass to win?

 

[dgpolo]

4 minutes ago, Netfoot said:

I completely agree, but the curse of "alliance forming" and generally helping others has been a part of TAR for many seasons now, so I just take it as a (regrettable) part of the race.

More than 'many', in the first season the front runners made an alliance and followed Margarita (of Frank and Margarita) because she said she thought she saw the museum they were supposed to go to, they did not find it for over two hours. Alliance was short lived. Tara shared way too much info with Chris and Alex in season 2. Flo and the Twins in season 3. Alliances, sharing with and helping others has always been a part of the race for good or ill. (for ill see the Globetrotters in Rome)

[jah1986]

7 minutes ago, dgpolo said:

More than 'many', in the first season the front runners made an alliance and followed Margarita (of Frank and Margarita) because she said she thought she saw the museum they were supposed to go to, they did not find it for over two hours. Alliance was short lived. Tara shared way too much info with Chris and Alex in season 2. Flo and the Twins in season 3. Alliances, sharing with and helping others has always been a part of the race for good or ill. (for ill see the Globetrotters in Rome)

I think the difference is that they didn't call them "alliances" in the early seasons, just being helpful, or not. And I wouldn't count Tara in there because she just wanted Chris and Alex to win because she was "falling in love" with Chris(?). But I did love that season and Tara's inability to run fast to the mat for the win. I think the real scheming with alliances became bigger once Boston Rob came on the Race.

Edited October 22, 2020 by jah1986

[Lamb18]

6 hours ago, North of Eden said:

No way. It's a slight to the REAL Gabby...a wonderful and memorable realty show contestant as you will find. A barely superficial resemblence does not a Gabby make.

That's why she's a pseudo-Gabby - because she's a pale imitation of the original.

[vousviou]

11 minutes ago, Netfoot said:

12 hours ago, Fukui San said:

They brought back the Yield, the worst iteration of the time wasting obstacle

Disagree. The Yield as originally deployed was a sort of randomizer. And it was far less destructive to a team's chances than a U-Turn. It was a hard and fast 30 minute delay, whereas the U-Turn can keep a team back for a very long time, depending upon the difficulty of the other/second task. For a while, the U-Turn was an automatic eliminator! And originally, the Yield was deployed at a time when every leg also had a Fast Forward. This new Yield with a delay of only 20 minutes, and possibly only 10 minutes, is not a major game changer!

Everyone having a Yield may be an interesting wrinkle. I can see some strategy coming into play if Yields are still in play when the pack shrinks.

Especially if they can be used cumulatively to gang up on someone -- is that an option?

[Netfoot]

1 minute ago, vousviou said:

Everyone having a Yield may be an interesting wrinkle.

Well, all the remaining teams have one, some for 10 minutes and some for 20.  

2 minutes ago, vousviou said:

I can see some strategy coming into play if Yields are still in play when the pack shrinks.

Especially if they can be used cumulatively to gang up on someone -- is that an option?

Dunno what the rules are, but they have to play it at a Yield Sign. How many will there be in the upcoming race episodes? Can a team be Yielded more than once at the same sign? Can multiple teams be Yielded simultaneously?

We'll have to see. Who knows? Might be fun!

[HurricaneVal]

18 minutes ago, Netfoot said:

I agree she seems genuine, but the hugging might get her into trouble in some countries. Might be better if she offers, and waits to see the reaction. (I don't find it offensive, but others might.)

I thought about that myself.  We'll see if she keeps it up or if she "reads the room" and demurs.

OK, so nerd-girl justifying giving the blondes the horn clue came from a talking head interview, not an in passing comment.  That....yeah.  That sort of reasoned alliance doesn't make sense in this context.  Not to mention the fact that I don't think the blonde sister team is exactly the wagon to hitch your star to, if you know what I mean.  I just don't see them going long in this race.  I could be wrong, but I've already mentally designated them as cannon fodder.  Same as I did for the noodlers.  I have the nerds mentally ranked in the middle, I just don't see them making the end game.

I also really hated it when the "Boyfriends" team screwed up at the truck decoration challenge.  The one half wanted to re-read the clue, but the other half directly said no.   Then the first half was all "but I think we need to!" and the second half doubled down.  That exchange doesn't bode well for their overall relationship--or for the race.  I get it that you're caught up in the moment, and the frustration and stress of the challenge, but that guy literally shut down the one thing that might have fixed it all for them.  And I didn't see any acknowledgement from him that he'd screwed up and was wrong to outright refuse to retrieve and read the clue.  When they did finally re-read the clue, they didn't show how that came about, and I got the impression they borrowed some other team's clue.  I would like to know if that happened, or if the first half went out on his own to get the clue, or if the second half relented and allowed them to retrieve and re-read the clue.  We may never know. 

[Fukui San]

5 minutes ago, vousviou said:

Everyone having a Yield may be an interesting wrinkle. I can see some strategy coming into play if Yields are still in play when the pack shrinks.

Especially if they can be used cumulatively to gang up on someone -- is that an option?

I'd be shocked if they were able to play more than one Yield on any leg. Not even for separate teams. In the past, it was claimed for the leg whenever a team used it.

[vousviou]

15 hours ago, North of Eden said:

Really liking the focus of Chee and Hung. I can see them going a long way

 

I hope her comment about struggling with being short was just a throwaway line specific to getting under the truck and not a foreshadowing of something coming up

[HurricaneVal]

Oh!  I forgot to add....  I thought I saw a couple of the racers with notebooks and pens, and one had a book of sudoku puzzles.  I thought they weren't allowed pencil and paper during the race?  Maybe because they don't do the final challenge where the racers had to place all the countries in order with what type of comps were held in each one?  I seem to remember on team talking about how they used the envelopes the clues came in and a pencil stub they found to keep track of all that stuff, because they weren't allowed to keep a journal.

[Roccos Brother]

I'm really surprised more people didn't mess up the tightrope challenge. Was it really that much easier than how it looked? I can't see myself pulling that off without stumbling or falling over multiple times.

[Regalbegal]

13 hours ago, Racj82 said:

 Every damn person there had all the information they needed. Anyone who lost that leg had only themselves to blame. I wouldn't have told any team anything but there shouldn't have been anything to tell. 

In general I think that sharing of information without any strategic plan is sort of silly, but I don't really have much of a problem with what Gabby did - it is not like she was sharing top secret info that teams couldn't figure out if they just read the clue (or paid some attention to what was going on with the other teams who finished)....   Although the optics weren't great, who knows maybe the two teams had the start of a little alliance already.  

In general I am liking the season so far - no team really getting on my nerves yet (at least to levels teams have in the past).  Maybe it is just nice to see people out in the world doing things given current circumstances.... 

 

[Quilt Fairy]

33 minutes ago, Roccos Brother said:

I'm really surprised more people didn't mess up the tightrope challenge. Was it really that much easier than how it looked? I can't see myself pulling that off without stumbling or falling over multiple times.

I think it helped that the parasol was not held independently, but actually ran along a separate, higher rope.  But I'm surprised that we didn't get someone who had a paralyzing fear of heights.  That's kind of par for the course. 

Edited October 22, 2020 by Quilt Fairy

[TVbitch]

Not one person fell off the tightrope! ...that's no fun. : D 

I agree with those who say Amazing Race Canada tasks are much harder. Happy to have any version though! 

[Fukui San]

1 hour ago, HurricaneVal said:

Oh!  I forgot to add....  I thought I saw a couple of the racers with notebooks and pens, and one had a book of sudoku puzzles.  I thought they weren't allowed pencil and paper during the race?  Maybe because they don't do the final challenge where the racers had to place all the countries in order with what type of comps were held in each one?  I seem to remember on team talking about how they used the envelopes the clues came in and a pencil stub they found to keep track of all that stuff, because they weren't allowed to keep a journal.

I want to say that I've heard the opposite, that teams regularly bring journals and take copious notes. A search for teams talking about notetalking brought up this interview with Dave and Connor saying that they took detailed notes in anticipation of a memory challenge that never came, but I want to find something more explicit.

Here's one: An interview with Scott Flanary, TAR 29 winner with Brooke. (The strangers season)

Quote

During the race, you always had a notebook. Why? I knew a memory challenge would likely appear in the final leg. To prep, I wrote down every clue word-for-word along with team placements, check-in greeter names and descriptions, both detour options, and who completed the roadblock on each leg. Brooke had the same mindset, so we shared notes and memorized everything during pit stops. We even memorized each other’s first impressions of each other and everyone else. We were prepared! As you can tell from the Wrigley Field challenge, our preparedness allowed us to get in and out of that challenge quickly: 15 minutes.

 

Edited October 22, 2020 by Fukui San

[mojoween]

I adore DeAngelo, but he looked at the greeter and said “I can do that!” and he did a backflip.

But the greeter had a soccer ball between his legs.  Come on, DeAngelo.  If you are going to do it you have to go whole hog.

[seacliffsal]

I did not like that DeAngelo told the greeter he could do the same stunt.  The greet was probably really proud to be asked to greet and Phil had pride in the greeter when he told the pair to watch him.  Let the greeter have his moment.  It's not important to prove to be the best at everything.  

As for the three teams at the bottom, I was most nervous about the father and son team as, to borrow discount Gabby's words, "they seemed nice."  There's something I really like about them-especially as the father said he felt that he would need to rely on his son.  I like it when parents acknowledge the growth and abilities of their children and they mutually respect each other.  I also like that they did not react in crisis mode, but rather just kept working together.

I, for one, will not necessarily miss the Olympians.  I think the show casts a lot of athletes because they think it brings a prestige.  And, as noted by another poster, it's not all about physicality.  I liked the earlier seasons when the racers had to figure out much harder clues than "honk the horn" which seemed to be a bit hard for some of the racers.

I could not have done the tightrope walk.  I was impressed with everyone who tried it-good job!  I would so have freaked out. 

[Haleth]

2 hours ago, vousviou said:

Everyone having a Yield may be an interesting wrinkle. I can see some strategy coming into play if Yields are still in play when the pack shrinks.

Especially if they can be used cumulatively to gang up on someone -- is that an option?

I could be wrong but I don’t believe this is how it will work. I think only one team can use the yield and their timer will determine if it’s for 10 or 20 minutes.  I don’t think teams can pile on. 

[meep.meep]

31 minutes ago, mojoween said:

I adore DeAngelo, but he looked at the greeter and said “I can do that!” and he did a backflip.

I like DeAngelo because of his reaction at being told he now needed to go back across the tight rope again!

Working together has been part of the race since the first season - remember Nancy and Lenny on the Eifel Tower trying to spot something.  It's nothing new.

[Netfoot]

36 minutes ago, seacliffsal said:

I was most nervous about the father and son team as, to borrow discount Gabby's words, "they seemed nice."  There's something I really like about them-especially as the father said he felt that he would need to rely on his son.  I like it when parents acknowledge the growth and abilities of their children and they mutually respect each other.  I also like that they did not react in crisis mode, but rather just kept working together.

Actually, I quite like them. They aren't (so far at least)  the very best of racers, and really they don't come off to me as father/son for some reason. But they look like the regular salt-of-the-earth people that are my preferred type of racer. As opposed to mactors, athletes, athlete's spouses, influencers, or any of the other 'special' people TAR so frequently tries to push down our throats.

[PaperTree]

1 hour ago, seacliffsal said:

I did not like that DeAngelo told the greeter he could do the same stunt.  The greet was probably really proud to be asked to greet and Phil had pride in the greeter when he told the pair to watch him.  Let the greeter have his moment.  It's not important to prove to be the best at everything.  

It may be editing, or my bad memory, but I don't remember the greeter doing any tricks after DeAngelo did his.  He was rather young and might have gotten spooked a bit.

 

1 hour ago, mojoween said:

I adore DeAngelo, but he looked at the greeter and said “I can do that!” and he did a backflip.

But the greeter had a soccer ball between his legs.  Come on, DeAngelo.  If you are going to do it you have to go whole hog.

Indeed!

[HurricaneVal]

My comment about the notebooks came from what I remember from a very early season, so maybe they relaxed that requirement in subsequent seasons.  We also haven't had one of those memory challenges in a long time!  Maybe because they took too long?   I seem to remember one year the first team to the challenge with a huge head start over the other three teams ended up not winning because they struggled with the memory game, and a later team aced it and ended up winning.  I know a lot of people were sore about that result.

I kind of miss the memory game, but really only because I took malicious pleasure in watching teams I didn't like totally screw it up.

[mertensia]

I think they were assigned cabs because I think there's a problem with illegal cabs.

I would be that person failing the tightrope walk; I have a touch of vertigo.

That was nicely mean of them to make them do that death wheel before the tightrope walk.

 

 

[Hera]

19 hours ago, dgpolo said:

I thought the judge did an excellent job in not making it obvious what was wrong. He never outright looked at the horn.

Same here. Often on these tasks, the judges tip contestants off by stopping as soon as they spot something wrong, or on the re-check, making a beeline for the thing that was wrong last time. It seemed like this judge didn't.

16 hours ago, HurricaneVal said:

But my favorite team is Hung and Chee.  They are adorable and focused.  I love how Hung hugs everyone.  Her enthusiasm is inspiring, and Chee really looks at her with love in his eyes.  They're just so damn cute!  Gawd, I hope they don't melt down and have a scene later on, that would kill me.  I just want to be their next door neighbor.

You and me both. I really like that they're not typical front-runners, as well. Before the race began, if you were told that one team wins the first two legs, you'd probably guess one of the explicitly athletic teams: the volleyball players, the football players, or the Olympic runners. I always root for racers like Hung, who are small and not particularly athletic, since that would be me, if I ever ran the race.

I do wonder what it is that they're doing right, relative to the other teams, because it's not like they don't screw up. In the first episode, they didn't memorize the colors on their fish and in this one, they missed connecting the horn to the truck. I saw in a secret scene that they're only racing with one backpack between them, which seems like it would help (only one bag to keep track of, it leaves Hung free to run unencumbered), but wouldn't explain their high finishes.

16 hours ago, Fukui San said:

That does bring to mind a previous season's winners Nat & Kat, the anesthesiologists. I remember them saying in an interview they spent time at the start of each new city vetting their cab driver if they rode a cab, to make sure they could communicate with them and that they seemed to know what they were doing. I think most teams in TAR's history just jump into the first available cab.

Maybe Hung and Chee doing something like this as well? At any rate, it'll be interesting to see how they do if and when self-navigation becomes a factor and once people have to book their own transport. That goes for all the racers, actually.

Edited October 22, 2020 by Hera

[tljgator]

38 minutes ago, mertensia said:

I think they were assigned cabs because I think there's a problem with illegal cabs.

I think so, too -- the cabs they were using clearly had red & yellow markers on them, and at one point, the bearded dudes are trying to hunt down their exact driver, despite having their backpacks with them and other cabs being around. It's why I felt particularly bad for the Olympians -- it seemed they couldn't just get a better driver; they were stuck with him. I felt their frustration with that.

[Grizzly]

25 minutes ago, Hera said:

I saw in a secret scene that they're only racing with one backpack between them, which seems like it would help (only one bag to keep track of, it leaves Hung free to run unencumbered)

I noticed that during the episode. How are they racing around the world with 1 backpack for the 2 of them? And it doesn't even seem overstuffed.

Sigh covid is going to change our race. Going forward, no one will be hugging any of the locals. So far, none of the locals seem to mind.

[ElleryAnne]

Quote

I think the editors failed here, they could have just cut out the part of the help being given and act like they discovered it on their own.  Or they at least could have cut out the explanation.  She is free to help whoever she wants, but the explanation made it worse.

My first thought had been that the editing was deliberate, foreshadowing future drama.  Between showing Leo/Alana talking about how nice the blondes were and how they wanted to keep them in the game, and then Phil asking the blondes about how helpful Leo/Alana were, I figured there was a good chance we'd be seeing the sisters use a Yield on Leo/Alana in an upcoming episode. 

But maybe I'm just cynical.

Will frustrates me, because anyone who loves the show enough to apply nine times shouldn't A) immediately pass off both of the first two roadblocks to your partner (even if being a dancer seemed an obvious advantage to both tasks), and B) stop your partner from re-reading a clue when you're both struggling to figure out why you're not getting the task done right.  

Add me to the love for Hung/Chee and DeAngelo&Gary.  Also Jerry and Frank, and Riley and Maddison. But I don't really dislike any of the teams right now.  

I'm just so glad to have the show back.

[watch2much]

I love Hung and Chee...great couple.  I started watching the Amazing Race with my son when he was little (he's now almost 30) and would point out when there was a couple who could maintain their respect and attitude with each other even through difficult situations as an example of what to aspire to in future relationships.

sorry the Olympians didn't stay in longer.  would have loved to see them in a foot race to the pit stop sometime.

[kaygeeret]

AAK!

These first 2 episodes remind me that I would LOVE to have the first 2 or 3 legs be non elimination.

I realize that this could only really be done once, but I am so sick of feeling really bad! about teams that finally got on the race and due to, whatever....., get eliminated immediately...AND EXPECTED TO BE GOOD SPORTS ABOUT IT??????!!!!!!!

I would be devastated!

Luck is a huge part of the game.  Let everyone play and have a chance at the 'luck' and then start eliminating.

Eliminate 2 or 3 teams at a crack if you want to......in episode 3 or 4

BUT stop eliminating teams 1 and 2 at least.

[Stardancer Supreme]

1 hour ago, Grizzly said:

I noticed that during the episode. How are they racing around the world with 1 backpack for the 2 of them? And it doesn't even seem overstuffed.

That's actually a good idea! You don't have to carry everything you own to properly run the race.  I'm sure they will also be collecting items along the way to commemorate their experience.

[Grizzly]

I can think of a few past female racers whose make-up alone would make sharing a backpack problematic. 😏

[dgpolo]

9 minutes ago, Grizzly said:

I can think of a few past female racers whose make-up alone would make sharing a backpack problematic. 😏

Or that girl in the 'influencer' season who had her dad carry around her hair dryer?

[blackwing]

14 minutes ago, dgpolo said:

Or that girl in the 'influencer' season who had her dad carry around her hair dryer?

And a curling iron!  I can't believe her dad even let her onto the race with those.  If they are staying overnight in a place with electricity, I would assume it was a hotel.  Most hotels would have hair dryers in them.  I could maybe understand the hair dryer if her hair take a long time to dry naturally... I imagine it's no fun running around in a cold early morning with damp hair.  But the curling iron???  I remember wondering if she brought an electrical voltage adapter with her as well, and whether it was one of those clunky ones or more streamlined.

I could see Hung and Chee getting away with a small bag.  She reminded us that she's small and short!  But seriously, you need maybe 3 outfits at most, just bring quickdry stuff that you could rinse out in a sink at the pitstop.

[springbarb]

8 hours ago, survivinmt said:

I want to like the beards but they seem so gimmicky - about beards. Eh. They show signs of having great humor, but if all their jokes are going to be beard-centric - tiresome!

Agreed. Their identities seem oddly caught up in their beards.

But otherwise, I haven't watched TAR in literally 10 years and am really enjoying it. My boyfriend started watching after I stopped, so it's interesting comparing notes!

[Grizzly]

I've always wondered what does the show provide for the racers. All those red sleeping bags weren't in their backpacks. We've already seen the racers had to bring bathing suits. What if they go to a place with a colder climate? Are there winter jackets in Chee's backpack?

[chaifan]

I'm so happy to have TAR back.  And happier even to have remembered it was on on Wednesday night.  🙂  Lots to unpack here...

I have no problem with "alliances" or whatever you want to call them.  Yeah, it's a RAAACCEEE, but there is a strategic element to having allies.  In this episode, the teams on the first plane were smart to plan to stick together.  They had 1/2 hour on the second bunch, and that's not a lot of time.  If they could save time by working together, it's more important to create a larger gap between you and the last place team than to finish in first.  So all that seemed strategic and didn't bother me.

We really don't know what Alana's strategy, if anything, was in helping the sisters.  Her saying "they're nice" could as easily have been an observation, instead of her reasoning.  I think a lot of people are evaluating her with a 2020 BLM mindset, and wouldn't have made the same assumptions if we were viewing this in 2018. 

And, while we're talking about the sisters, can we please knock it off with calling them "dumb blondes"?  They haven't done anything to deserve the dumb blonde label, except being blonde.  (As Dolly Parton has said, "I know I'm not dumb, and I know I'm not blonde.")  It's a little hypocritical to bash Alana for possible racist motivations and at the same time stereotype the sisters as dumb just because of their hair color. 

OK, off that soap box... 

Back to the horn fiasco...  I can confidently say if I were doing that task I would not have missed the horn.  Why?  Because after hearing someone else's horn for the first time I would have been all "Woo!  That sounds fun!  I want to honk the horn!  Where's the horn?  I'm gonna honk the horn, I'm gonna honk the.... wait - why doesn't my horn work???  Hey, we have to hook up the horn!  Woo!!!" 

The Olympians had horrible taxi luck.  Yes, these taxis were all TAR arranged, and they couldn't switch.  Bogota's traffic is horrible, and the chances of all teams getting taxis on their own is slim, so it makes sense they were arranged.  And Bogota is HUGE, so it's easy to believe a taxi driver wouldn't know where everything is and has to rely on a phone.  Also, like in many other major cities, a lot of taxi drivers aren't from the area, or even from the same country. 

I was hoping for a graffiti related challenge.  Bogota is known for it's amazing graffiti, has graffiti tours, hosts international graffiti competitions, etc.  It's not a "oh, this is must be a bad area, there's graffiti" thing.  It's an art form there.  Also was hoping they'd have to use the city's cable cars - would have provided fabulous views.

Is it really that easy to walk a tightrope???  Yeah, they had the rope/parasol to hold on to, but they were carrying a tray, and it's a really thin wire!  I can't believe no one fell.

Re: "boyfriends" vs. "dating"... Someone upthread asked why they didn't use "boyfriend and girlfriend" with straight couples.  I think it's because that's a really long tagline to fit on a screen.  "Dating" is shorter.  And there's not much difference between "dating" and "boyfriends".  Maybe Will & James preferred "boyfriends".  Who knows? 

I'm a part of the Hung & Chee fan club.  Love them.  So glad they won the leg.  I hated that they didn't get anything for getting to the mat first last week.  I still don't understand how it could be a "this leg isn't finished" leg but still be an elimination leg.  Anyways... I also love the football players.  They're fun and are enjoying the hell out of TAR.  Loved the backflip!  I really liked the Olympians, sorry to see them go.  I give them credit for not bashing their taxi driver - they were clearly frustrated, but were decent about it.  Dad & son haven't made an impression.  Can't figure out if that's because they're next out the door so why spend time on them, or if it's because they'll stick around long enough for us to learn more.

Finally, I didn't notice Hung & Chee only had one pack between them.  That is smart, and damn good packing.  There are some really really big packs on some of the teams this season. 

 

 

[LittleIggy]

DeAngelo read the clue because he mentioned hooking up the horn early on. Yay, DeAngelo!

I warmed up to the Louisiana Sisters when one mentioned the LSU colors, purple and gold. LSU is my undergrad Alma mater. Geaux Tigers!

[SVNBob]

On 10/21/2020 at 9:06 PM, Seelouis said:

Am I crazy or did one of the sisters - Michelle or Victoria - say “bonjour” to the white bearded guy and “merci” to the cab driver?  

They did.  But to be fair, they're from Louisiana.  French would be the more natural second (or third, depending on their household growing up) for them to speak.

 

On 10/21/2020 at 9:11 PM, Grizzly said:

Funny thing is I thought the red lipstick was D'angelo's color!

You and my mother both!

 

 

On 10/21/2020 at 11:13 PM, Quilt Fairy said:

I'm not surprised the Olympians are out.  They only just missed being eliminated in the first leg.  Then the group flight to Columbia equalized all the teams, but from the first task they were behind again. 

Nor was I, for the same reasons.  One of the last teams to the cave, last to find an hourglass and sign in on the check-out board, last to get a cab, etc.  Combine that with their less than stellar performance in the first episode (other than the goat racing.  I concede they did that better than anyone else.), and their time in the Race was always going to be limited.

 

22 hours ago, theschnauzers said:

On 10/22/2020 at 12:24 AM, displayname said:

Why are Will and James tagged as "Boyfriends" instead of "Dating"???

Because at the time, that’s what they were. They had already being backpacking to different places around the world together. IIRC, from what I’ve seen, they were living together as well. These days, they’d be described as “engaged.”

According to something read elsewhere, Will and James were known as the "Backpacking Boyfriends" before the Race, so that might have something to do with it as well.  And technically, these days they'd be described as "Married".  Apparently they got hitched during the two-year shelving.

 

3 hours ago, chaifan said:

Re: "boyfriends" vs. "dating"... Someone upthread asked why they didn't use "boyfriend and girlfriend" with straight couples.  I think it's because that's a really long tagline to fit on a screen.  "Dating" is shorter.  And there's not much difference between "dating" and "boyfriends".  Maybe Will & James preferred "boyfriends".  Who knows? 

But before reading all that, my thought was that they'd been in a longer-term relationship than Team Tinder, who I think said they'd only been seeing each other for 8 months in their introduction in the first episode.   Thus Will and James being "Boyfriends", versus a couple "dating" for less than a year.

 

On 10/21/2020 at 9:15 PM, xcrayon2215x said:

The two blonde girls would have lost to Jerry and Frank had Leo and Alana and might have been eliminated had that not happened. I am glad Phil pointed out how lucky they were. .

6 hours ago, ElleryAnne said:

My first thought had been that the editing was deliberate, foreshadowing future drama.  Between showing Leo/Alana talking about how nice the blondes were and how they wanted to keep them in the game, and then Phil asking the blondes about how helpful Leo/Alana were, I figured there was a good chance we'd be seeing the sisters use a Yield on Leo/Alana in an upcoming episode. 

But maybe I'm just cynical.

No more cynical than I am, because I thought the exact same thing.

 

3 hours ago, chaifan said:

I have no problem with "alliances" or whatever you want to call them.  Yeah, it's a RAAACCEEE, but there is a strategic element to having allies.  In this episode, the teams on the first plane were smart to plan to stick together.  They had 1/2 hour on the second bunch, and that's not a lot of time.  If they could save time by working together, it's more important to create a larger gap between you and the last place team than to finish in first.  So all that seemed strategic and didn't bother me.

Precisely.  TAR Maxim #2 (#1 is Run. Your. Own. Race.) is "Alliances should be temporary and mutually beneficial."   And that's what this alliance appeared to be to me.  They were the 5 teams fortunate enough to get the first release time after the overnight in the cave; none of them "chose" to ally with the others.  They just all agreed it was "mutually beneficial" to work together to maintain their lead, and let the other group teams struggle against each other to avoid last place.  We saw more of that logic at the Yield.  One team (the Beards maybe), specifically said that they weren't Yielding in hopes that one team in the second group would use it on another team in that group instead.  And the Blonde Sisters almost did.

As for the "temporary" part, I suspect that the alliance ended at the Mat, and that any alliances between those teams will shuffle around in the next episodes.

[Haleth]

8 hours ago, Grizzly said:

weI've always wondered what does the show provide for the racers. All those red sleeping bags weren't in their backpacks. We've already seen the racers had to bring bathing suits. What if they go to a place with a colder climate? Are there winter jackets in Chee's backpack?

The show will often provide winter coats, hats, gloves.

8 hours ago, blackwing said:

But seriously, you need maybe 3 outfits at most, just bring quickdry stuff that you could rinse out in a sink at the pitstop.

Paper underwear.  (Who was it years ago that had paper underwear then had to get wet in a river?)

[Lamb18]

2 hours ago, Haleth said:

Paper underwear.  (Who was it years ago that had paper underwear then had to get wet in a river?)

Terri and Ian had paper underwear but I don't remember if they had to get into a river. Maybe in Vietnam.

[blackwing]

10 hours ago, chaifan said:

We really don't know what Alana's strategy, if anything, was in helping the sisters.  Her saying "they're nice" could as easily have been an observation, instead of her reasoning.  I think a lot of people are evaluating her with a 2020 BLM mindset, and wouldn't have made the same assumptions if we were viewing this in 2018. 

Speaking for just myself, I would have.  Systemic racism and unconscious bias is an issue that has existed long before 2020.  Especially on reality shows.  It's less of an issue on TAR, where teams succeed or fail mostly on their own merit, but on other shows, the way others are perceived by fellow contestants has come up many times.  There have been numerous depictions/portrayals/edits of the "lazy black man" or the "angry black woman" on Survivor, for one.  I would have made the same comment about her "they seem nice" had this season aired two years ago.

 

10 hours ago, chaifan said:

Is it really that easy to walk a tightrope???  Yeah, they had the rope/parasol to hold on to, but they were carrying a tray, and it's a really thin wire!  I can't believe no one fell.

I was wondering the same, why nobody fell.  I hadn't realised until reading here that the umbrella was actually a guide rope.  I didn't know that there was another rope stretched above them and that the umbrella was attached to that rope, perhaps on a wheel.  In that case, the tightrope was no more difficult than walking on a ropes course.  The rope the umbrella was attached to was so tight that it must not have even moved.  I guess I should have been clued in when I saw Alana walking with her feet horizontal, as opposed to one foot directly in front of each other.  There's no way she would have been able to stay on the rope had it been a tightrope with no assistance.

[blackwing]

30 minutes ago, Lamb18 said:

Terri and Ian had paper underwear but I don't remember if they had to get into a river. Maybe in Vietnam.

I think they were in a zoo somewhere in Southeast Asia, I want to say Singapore?  They had to swim across a pool to get a clue.  I don't remember what animals were in the pool though.  I loathed Ian.  But knowing they lose would make a rewatch more tolerable.  And I did find them more tolerable during their second appearance.  I believe they were about 50 during their first appearance, I wonder how they have been.  Entertainment Weekly has been doing these interviews of former Survivors and asking them questions about their season and what they have been up to.  I would love it if EW or somebody else would do the same for former Racers.

I could have sworn that at least one other team over the years has worn paper underwear.  I also remember wondering how often it gets changed, and did it really take up that much less room?  If it were me I'd bring three pairs of a quick dry travel underwear (like Ex Officio) and they wouldn't take up much room.

[lh25]

On 10/21/2020 at 7:13 PM, ByaNose said:

After all these years you still need to read the clue. A lot of them missed it big time. 

And Phil even said in the intro to the task that they would miss it.  Made me laugh

[Netfoot]

On 10/21/2020 at 10:15 PM, xcrayon2215x said:

The two blonde girls would have lost to Jerry and Frank had Leo and Alana and might have been eliminated had that not happened.

Let us say might have.  At the time they were given the tip, all the remaining teams were at about the same place. Without the tip, there is no way to know who would have worked it out first on their own. The DBCF team might have twigged to it themselves first... or not. We just can't know.

Never the less, they should count themselves very lucky to have received the tip. I don't know why racers insist on helping other teams. How will A&L feel at the end of the next episode, if they get eliminated because DBCF beat them to the mat in a footrace? 

[katalizt]

21 hours ago, HurricaneVal said:

Oh!  I forgot to add....  I thought I saw a couple of the racers with notebooks and pens, and one had a book of sudoku puzzles.  I thought they weren't allowed pencil and paper during the race?  Maybe because they don't do the final challenge where the racers had to place all the countries in order with what type of comps were held in each one?  I seem to remember on team talking about how they used the envelopes the clues came in and a pencil stub they found to keep track of all that stuff, because they weren't allowed to keep a journal.

I believe they can take notes, but in recent seasons they haven't been allowed to use their notes for final challenges.

 

On 10/22/2020 at 10:28 AM, danm said:

I'm liking the season so far, but am a little put off by the spoon fed transportation (Episode 1 - provided cabs to airport, 1 flight to destination.  Episode 2 - 1 flight to destination, production-supplied cabs [assumed to be by me based TAR-colored sticker on windshield).  Granted this is all probably necessary because of the -very nice!- destinations, and it may or may not be questionable practice to get into any random cab, if you can even find one, in or near Bogota Columbia.  So I'm not calling out Phil on this, and hoping for some regular airport and cab drama as the season progresses.

 

At least they have used the first task at each location to stagger the teams for the morning departure so they're not all going out at once.

I'm from Colombia so I love that the race returned there so soon! I showed my mom this episode too. She doesn't watch the show normally but she wanted to see what they did in Bogotá. She was kind of disappointed they immediately left the city and went to a small town, although I told her they were coming back to the city later. I anticipated the salt mines but I thought they would go to the Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá which is a huge church carved out of the salt. But I guess they race was more interested in getting a lot of tunnels for the teams to run around in. I always like when we get to see where the racers sleep, and I was certainly not expecting for them to sleep in the mine!

Not surprised production provided the cabs. My mom said of course, they're not going to risk it. In Bogotá, sadly, "paseo millonario/secuestro exprés" (millionaire trip/kidnapping express) still happen sometimes. In which you get into a cab and if you look like money they kidnap you for a few hours and rob you. They used to be a lot more common, but they're not completely gone. 

Pre-Columbian art! Emeralds! I've always thought the race does a good job of designing tasks that are relevant to the location. They did a great job in Cartagena a few seasons ago, and here as well especially with the salt mines, the gold and emeralds, the plaza/university location, and the national park pit stop. The circus task was an oddball but I like that it highlighted an organization that promotes peace and helps youth through an art form. Way too many kids have been enticed by the guerrillas and turned into child soldiers in the past 50+ years. 

The volquetas was a fun task. When Phil said Colombians like to trick out their ride I thought "what is he talking about" but then I saw the trucks and realized he's right, I have seen trucks like that. They don't usually have ALL the decorations at the same time though, lol.

My mom isn't a regular viewer and even she was telling at the gay couple "read the clue!". We both found them very whiny. 

In the end my mom was rooting for the father/son team since she said the Olympians were doing badly the whole leg. Taxi luck aside, they struggled in both legs so I'm fine with them leaving as well.

Side note, I wanted them to go to Monserrate, which is a church on a mountain overlooking the city. Very big tourist and pilgrimage spot. Best views of the city. And if the race wanted to be very mean they could make the racers hike up the 1.5 miles all the way up. If the race wanted to be nice they can take the funicular or the cable car. But I was expecting either the salt mines or Monserrate, so I'm still happy.

Edited October 23, 2020 by katalizt
Racers, not readers. Dang it autocorrect.

[Evagirl]

The gay couple won me over when one of them said when approaching the truck decorating task - "Ohhhhh arts and crafts!"  I cracked up.  Too cute.

[leighdear]

11 hours ago, SVNBob said:

They did.  But to be fair, they're from Louisiana.  French would be the more natural second (or third, depending on their household growing up) for them to speak.

They're from Lafayette, which is actually closer to Beaumont, TX than to New Orleans.  Neither has a trace of a Cajun or Creole accent that I've detected, so I'd say the French is an affectation.  

No, I don't care for them, but we'll see down the line just how authentic they actually are, 'Cher.  I could be totally wrong.

Edited October 23, 2020 by leighdear

[PaperTree]

10 hours ago, Haleth said:

Paper underwear.  (Who was it years ago that had paper underwear then had to get wet in a river?)

I bring my oldest underwear on vacation and just toss it when necessary.