S32.E04: Ole, Ole

[Seelouis]

At least next week Victoria and Michelle can correctly use “merci.”

 

I don’t like the alliance because it’s 5 out of the remaining 8 teams and just feels like mean girls teaming up against teams they don’t like. I do get the feeling it is Will and James pushing it and the others go along since it is to their benefit. But quite soon they will have to turn on each other or at least stop helping and I’m expecting a fit from Will/James the first time someone declines to help. 

[Guest]

Just want to mention since I've seen a couple people say this, but re: Hung and Chee, the issue seems to be not that he wasn't listening, but that he wasn't talking. Hung kept telling him to talk to her, and he ultimately said to himself (and later in an interview) "I need to talk more." I've been in that situation where I'm trying to work through something with someone, and they just stand there staring, not saying a word. That can be very frustrating, even more so when you're in a high-stress situation like this. So while she might have gotten a teensy bit overly-agitated, I get it. Time will tell, though.

Also a fan of Kaylynn and Haley's generally calm demeanor, even when their cabbie was lost. I think it's only natural to get a little apprehensive the further you go from a town's center of activity...and a lot of their worry was also probably due to the fact that they clearly weren't going where they needed to be going.

As for alliances, they don't bother me generally, until someone gloats about it or takes glee in "we're helping these people AND NOT THOSE PEOPLE." Alliance members helping each other during the cello task? Fine, whatever. Will and James cackling over printing out maps for their alliance members but not "the blondies"? Ugh.

Edited November 5, 2020 by tracyscott76
To take the focus off James getting help during the cello task

[AZChristian]

6 minutes ago, tracyscott76 said:

Just want to mention since I've seen a couple people say this, but re: Hung and Chee, the issue seems to be not that he wasn't listening, but that he wasn't talking. Hung kept telling him to talk to her, and he ultimately said to himself (and later in an interview) "I need to talk more." I've been in that situation where I'm trying to work through something with someone, and they just stand there staring, not saying a word. That can be very frustrating, even more so when you're in a high-stress situation like this. So while she might have gotten a teensy bit overly-agitated, I get it. Time will tell, though.

I have been married for 56 years to the person on earth I love more than anything.  But this describes him exactly. 

He is quiet, and I get that.  But if we're working together on a project, he's more likely to just start working on it without discussing his thought process, plan, etc.  I like to discuss/review the instructions and follow them step-by-step, confirming each step with him as we go along.

This pandemic has wreaked havoc.  We're using the time productively to go through stuff that we don't really need, and are fine-tuning the location of what we're keeping.  The end result is wonderful, but I have repeatedly said things to him like, "Why are you pulling that out without talking about the end plan?" and "Please respond if you understand and agree."

I hate to break it to Hung, but this situation may never get better for her and Chee.  But if he's a good man, loves you, and provides for his family . . . just love him and hang onto him and keep repeating "talk to me."

Just as an FYI . . . I read this out loud to him before pressing Submit.  He's good with it.

[danm]

Well, I was really looking forward to a 2-episode night, but that was not to be... even though the CBS schedule at their web site said it would be. 

Good news for me is that through some combination of KF, being themselves, and saying plenty of words for the editors to chose from the teams have given me some opportunity to form a few opinions. 

Primarily, as a registered PE (Professional Engineer) in two US states I know a little of what it takes to be an Engineer and what an Engineer does.  It has become apparent that Eswar does not share this knowledge, but he does not let this stop him from talking about it as if he does.  I wish he would stop it, or if he's being prompted by production to say "I'm a software guy, I have a lot of specialized knowledge and experience with reasoning and logic which may help me with figuring out how to ride this camel" instead of "as an engineer, I know everything about anything, including how to make this camel work."

And....   Will and James can take each other and leave the show any day now as far as I'm concerned.  They have earned it.

This episode was OK, but I still anxiously await something other than a spoon-fed flight to be awaiting the teams at the airport.  Yes, I appreciate the non-standard destinations (South America!  If only we could bounce around there all the season?!?!  Oh that's right, we have so far!), but as a non-competitor do not love the observation voiced near the start this episode "we came in last, but now we're tied for first!".

The dancing looked difficult to me, and the watermelons appeared harder than I thought.  But as an Engineer, I know everything about constructing melon pyramids (and dancing!) so things would've gone very smoothly for me at either one!

OK show, bring on some entertainment and airport competition.

[eel21788]

14 hours ago, DEL901 said:

Yet another annoying idiot complain because they hadn’t done something before  (in this case, build a cello), as if that is going to garner them sympathy.... you know, cause everyone else has been building cellos in their spare time forever.  

Also, the "this is the hardest thing I have ever had to do" crap. Honey, if that's true, you've lead a pretty privileged life. Learning how to do a little work, that really isn't hard labor, might do your entitled ass some good.

[eel21788]

14 hours ago, Stardancer Supreme said:

II would not have picked that Dancing detour; all that broken glass freaked me out. 

I kept wondering how they cleaned the floor after each fail. I was expecting someone to say he/she had to kneel down on broken glass when doing the dance moves. I'm glad you guys explained it wasn't real glass.

[springbarb]

8 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I was trying to figure out exactly how far behind the blondes were at the end. We know they worked on their cello for three hours, and the football team took almost four hours to finish their watermelon pyramid. I wasn't sure how long the blondes were driving around but if it was less than an hour, there seemed like a possibility that they could beat the football players to the mat. I wasn't a huge fan of the blondes, but the marked difference in the last two teams to the mat was noticeable. The football players basically had a farewell/elimination speech but the blondes said on their way there that they just hoped that they got lucky and another team got stuck at the other task.

I thought the blondes were at the cello for 4 hours, too--so the two were pretty equal there. I am curious how far ahead the football players were; they had cleared the mat by the time the blondes arrived, so it obviously wasn't super close. I was annoyed that the show had the "7th place" for the football players and "Last Place" for the blondes--it took away suspense.

I was pleasantly surprised by how even-keeled the blondes were during this episode. I wouldn't have blamed them for a meltdown. Same for the football players, honestly; their attitude when they hit the mat, assuming they lost, was really good. Even at the watermelons, they were clearly frustrated but weren't tantruming over it.

[eel21788]

1 hour ago, chaifan said:

I was surprised that so many teams were able to do the bottle dance challenge.  That just looked really hard, especially the getting all the way down to the ground and then back up again part.  And, I wondered how DeAngelo would have done - would his braids have helped or would they be an uneven surface so the bottle couldn't balance?

Was there anything in the rules that said he couldn't use his braids to tie the bottle to his head?

[Guest]

10 minutes ago, eel21788 said:

Also, the "this is the hardest thing I have ever had to do" crap. Honey, if that's true, you've lead a pretty privileged life. Learning how to do a little work, that really isn't hard labor, might do your entitled ass some good.

I don't know the circumstances of what led Kaylynn and Haley to move out of their parents' house at 15 and 16 respectively (though in pre-show material, Phil described their childhood as "rough"), but I'm guessing "privileged" and "entitled" might not be the most accurate descriptors of their life. "This is the hardest thing I've ever had to do" is standard hyperbole on this show, and didn't bother me.

[eel21788]

4 minutes ago, springbarb said:

Even at the watermelons, they were clearly frustrated but weren't tantruming over it.

I first read that as, "even the watermelons were clearly frustrated but weren't tantruming over it." Thankx for a good laugh, even if it was unintended.

[AZChristian]

33 minutes ago, danm said:

And....   Will and James can take each other and leave the show any day now as far as I'm concerned.  They have earned it.

AMEN!!!!!

[aghst]

Can't tell which task took longer, the cello assembly for the blonds or the watermelon stacking for the football players.

The football players wanted a physical challenge but there is never going to be a task which gives a huge advantage to upper body strength because it would be unfair to normal people.

If they've been watching navigation is one of the most common tasks.

It's interesting that some of them swapped taxis when it was clear the drivers didn't know their destination.  But the blonds did not and in previous legs, they were stuck with the taxis pretty much the whole leg it seemed.

They should have legs that let you have the option to switch but it may not be possible in some cities.  I seem to recall one leg in a previous season where one team got a big advantage or disadvantage by taking the subway to avoid traffic but either got lost or made much better time than others who took taxis.

[vousviou]

15 hours ago, Lamb18 said:

Football team was not looking at how the watermelons were stacked, alternating in the direction they were facing.

Based on the way DeAngelo blew through making the cello, which threw a bunch of people for a loop, I was really astonished how much they struggled with the watermelon stacking.

Usually that kind of physical problem solving translates well from one kind of construction to another.

[chaifan]

6 minutes ago, aghst said:

The football players wanted a physical challenge but there is never going to be a task which gives a huge advantage to upper body strength because it would be unfair to normal people.

I'd say that the first 1/2 of the watermelon challenge did give a huge advantage to upper body strength.  The way Gary & DeAngelo were able to unload the watermelons - throwing them a decent distance and catching - is not something physically weaker teams could do.  Especially not for the 100+ watermelons they were dealing with.  If their pyramid building skills were on par with the other teams they would have completed that task quicker than anyone else simply because they could unload the truck much quicker.  Though I did think it was funny at the totally missed throws and the ones that hit the tree!  I wonder if other teams dropped as many. 

 

[blackwing]

21 minutes ago, springbarb said:

I thought the blondes were at the cello for 4 hours, too--so the two were pretty equal there. I am curious how far ahead the football players were; they had cleared the mat by the time the blondes arrived, so it obviously wasn't super close. I was annoyed that the show had the "7th place" for the football players and "Last Place" for the blondes--it took away suspense.

The blondes had to do the bottle dancing in addition, so I wouldn't be surprised if they were an hour behind.  Unless we actually see two teams at the mat at the same time, or one had just moved aside (like Leo and Alana were shown when the Volleyball Brothers checked in right after them), the editing always makes it seem a lot closer than it often is.  I hope we get to see start times next leg.

So Will and James took the time to make sure they printed out maps of Asuncion and then distributed to their alliance.  The clue that they received in Brazil already told them to look for the Orchestra building... was this on a map somewhere?  I doubt it.  It looks to me like the maps were thoroughly useless considering that there has been no self-navigation at all so far.  So what was the point?  Seemed like such a calculating and catty move by Will and James... "we are helping you out so please remember that when you get to the U Turn before us.  If three of us are in the finals we expect you to lay down and let us win since we created the alliance and helped get you here".

Everything about them is awful.  I despise the short one but Will is nearly as bad.  In the opening minutes when the teams were talking about the U Turn, there was a distinct eyeroll from Will, like "I'm so much better than all of you so like whatever".

[vousviou]

23 minutes ago, tracyscott76 said:

I don't know the circumstances of what led Kaylynn and Haley to move out of their parents' house at 15 and 16 respectively (though in pre-show material, Phil described their childhood as "rough"), but I'm guessing "privileged" and "entitled" might not be the most accurate descriptors of their life. "This is the hardest thing I've ever had to do" is standard hyperbole on this show, and didn't bother me.

After a while I've gotten more accepting of the fact that even silly-looking days can be really exhausting, especially factoring in the jet lag, anxiety  and lack of sleep. I don't know that the producers always show as much of the things that make the race hard, although I realize it can be hard to convey a bad allergy or indigestion or sore feet onscreen.

[eel21788]

14 hours ago, Maggie Mae said:

The Footballers somehow forgot that watermelons will roll and that needed to be offset with placement.

However, he did mention that at the beginning of the task. Either he stopped paying attention, or he had the methodology wrong even though he did try to think it through.

[iMonrey]

I didn't notice until someone pointed it out, but the watermelons all had to be facing one way on one side and the other way on the other side. Did any of the teams figure that out? Gary and DeAngelo never did.

I, too, find Will and James annoying but I have to hand it to them. They are doing very well. Yes James got help from others but he finished before the people who were telling him how to do stuff! That's pretty impressive. I mean, Chee was the one who told him how to do the strings and yet it took Chee three times before he got it right himself. And how did the show just happen to have home movie footage of Will and James practicing the bottle balancing? Did they provide that after the fact or was it part of their audition tape?

It occurred to me that in the bottle balancing a lot rested on the shape of your head. Herman Munster would have nailed it!

Quote

The blondes seem to think that Paraguayan villages are by default dangerous slums.

Yeah . . . that wasn't a great look on them. It's not like gang bangers were hanging out in the alley. Still, I have to admit they were pretty good sports through this leg despite lagging behind. I just wish the show could break itself of the habit of casting nearly identical babes every season with names like Kaylynn and Haley or Kimmie and Kammie or Hayleigh and Kayleigh or Kelly and Cady. I never end up being able to tell which one is which. 

[SVNBob]

34 minutes ago, chaifan said:

The way Gary & DeAngelo were able to unload the watermelons - throwing them a decent distance and catching - is not something physically weaker teams could do.  Especially not for the 100+ watermelons they were dealing with.

100+?  Off by a factor of around 4.   Those pyramids contain 385 melons.  (1^2 + 2^2+ ... +10^2). 

And every time one collapsed, several melons needed to be replaced.  I wouldn't be surprised if Gary and DeAngelo threw over 1000 melons that day.  The other teams seemed to do better and maybe used about half as many over all.

Edited November 5, 2020 by SVNBob

[janiema]

Leo reminds me of Leonard on The Big Bang Theory.

[HurricaneVal]

I realize they're in that alliance I hate, but I really hated that they printed out those maps to give to their alliance mates--and got DeAngelo to slip them to the other teams.  That just seemed extra shady to me.  Yeah, yeah, yeah...all within the rules, nothing illegal, but in my mind it runs counter to the whole concept of TAR.  The football players are so used to playing as a team-team-team and they are so conditioned to do whatever asked of them for the team-team-team that I feel like it is almost taking advantage of their conditioning to have them run errands for the alliance.

Luckily, it seems the maps were a dud and didn't really come into play, so I don't have to stay all huffy about it.

I can't figure the blondes out.  I'm really running hot and cold on them.  Truthfully, I'm running hot and cold on the Beards and Will & Grace as well.  But last night the episode happened to have a lot of footage on the blondes which makes me really dither on my opinion.  I have sympathy for them because I've got to assume that moving out of their home at 15 and 16 years of age means that home wasn't a great place to be, and I'm going to have a space in my heart for anyone with troubles that bad.  I'm also pre-inclined to dislike the blondes, because my life experiences have told me that pretty blonde girls are often bullying mean girls, but I'm trying to work through my prejudices.  But then they say things like "that's in Africa!" in response to where Paraguay or Asuncion is located and I squee'd with superiority over how dumb they were looking.  And later on when they were all "Ewwwww!!!!! This can't be right!  We're supposed to go to the orchestra!" wrinkled noses over the neighborhoods they were driving through, I was thinking they were total snobs.  And then wigging out over their cab driver parking to talk to someone and get directions.....  So I immediately think "Ugly Americans, once again, we've got snotty pretty girls thinking they're too good for the poor areas of the world.  Get out of my race."

But?  They gritted it out.  They were actually pretty scared in the cab, and I've been in the back of a sketchy cab and got pretty scared when I realized I was in an illegal taxi and there was no accountability for the creepy driver so I had some sympathy for them.  Then they'd say something kind of snotty in front of their perfectly nice driver and I'd lose that sympathy.  But?  They gritted it out.  Other than some kind of rude complaining in the taxi, they were pretty upbeat about everything.  And?  They gritted it out.  Without a lot of griping or whining or drama.  They.  Gritted.  It.  Out.  I was actually glad it was a non-elimination leg because now I want to see them do that again.  That's what this race is to me, gritting it out.

And CBS?  I'm really disappointed the promised second hour of TAR was preempted by election coverage.  Thanks, Obama.

[Hera]

1 hour ago, tracyscott76 said:

I don't know the circumstances of what led Kaylynn and Haley to move out of their parents' house at 15 and 16 respectively (though in pre-show material, Phil described their childhood as "rough"), but I'm guessing "privileged" and "entitled" might not be the most accurate descriptors of their life. "This is the hardest thing I've ever had to do" is standard hyperbole on this show, and didn't bother me.

Not to mention there are different ways things can be hard (emotionally, mentally, physically). And anyway, I didn't get the sense that Kaylynn was comparing putting the cello together with the circumstances that led her to move out of her parents' home, or with managing the practicalities of doing so. I thought that she was comparing it to other self-contained tasks that she has had to do on her own, or even just to other times when she's had to assemble something.

[Bluesky]

14 hours ago, ByaNose said:

I like the blondes but they seem to annoy everyone here. Oh, well. I could do without Will & James though. I was so disappointed that it wasn’t two hours. I was locked in for the night. Bummmer!

They’re ok but it was annoying listening to them worried about being killed because they were in a poorer neighborhood.  “She’s leaving us alone in the car!”  I hate when people do that.  

[shura]

2 hours ago, tracyscott76 said:

Just want to mention since I've seen a couple people say this, but re: Hung and Chee, the issue seems to be not that he wasn't listening, but that he wasn't talking. Hung kept telling him to talk to her, and he ultimately said to himself (and later in an interview) "I need to talk more." I've been in that situation where I'm trying to work through something with someone, and they just stand there staring, not saying a word. That can be very frustrating, even more so when you're in a high-stress situation like this. So while she might have gotten a teensy bit overly-agitated, I get it. Time will tell, though.

2 hours ago, AZChristian said:

I have been married for 56 years to the person on earth I love more than anything.  But this describes him exactly. 

He is quiet, and I get that.  But if we're working together on a project, he's more likely to just start working on it without discussing his thought process, plan, etc.  I like to discuss/review the instructions and follow them step-by-step, confirming each step with him as we go along.

This pandemic has wreaked havoc.  We're using the time productively to go through stuff that we don't really need, and are fine-tuning the location of what we're keeping.  The end result is wonderful, but I have repeatedly said things to him like, "Why are you pulling that out without talking about the end plan?" and "Please respond if you understand and agree."

Fair enough.  The thing with me is, when I am trying to figure out how to do something, I am thinking about several approaches at the same time.  I am trying to think which one is better, how can I test if it’s going to work, what ifs, etc.  And when someone, usually my wife, asks me at that moment “How are you/we going to do this? What’s the plan?”, I do often just stand there because I simply don’t have the answer yet.  I don’t have a plan yet, what can I answer?  I will tell you as soon as I know.  

Now, if she asked specifically about the thought process, that might be different and I might describe it.  I guess I am a literal person who is not going to answer a question that was not asked.  Is this lack of communication?  Yeah, probably.

[toodywoody]

The other teams need to quit helping Will and Whine because they are going to help them right to the win. Even though I think Will and Whine are due for a meltdown match in the next couple of episodes when things don't go their way, especially Whine, because of the previous episodes where he was having his meltdowns. This will make me hate them even more, but I cannot wait for it. 

I did love Gary saying to not switch tasks even if it did almost have them come in last. Gary's fuck had me laughing, they really thought they were last but they did not give up.

Edited November 5, 2020 by toodywoody

[toodywoody]

3 hours ago, danm said:

Well, I was really looking forward to a 2-episode night, but that was not to be... even though the CBS schedule at their web site said it would be. 

Good news for me is that through some combination of KF, being themselves, and saying plenty of words for the editors to chose from the teams have given me some opportunity to form a few opinions. 

Primarily, as a registered PE (Professional Engineer) in two US states I know a little of what it takes to be an Engineer and what an Engineer does.  It has become apparent that Eswar does not share this knowledge, but he does not let this stop him from talking about it as if he does.  I wish he would stop it, or if he's being prompted by production to say "I'm a software guy, I have a lot of specialized knowledge and experience with reasoning and logic which may help me with figuring out how to ride this camel" instead of "as an engineer, I know everything about anything, including how to make this camel work."

And....   Will and James can take each other and leave the show any day now as far as I'm concerned.  They have earned it.

This episode was OK, but I still anxiously await something other than a spoon-fed flight to be awaiting the teams at the airport.  Yes, I appreciate the non-standard destinations (South America!  If only we could bounce around there all the season?!?!  Oh that's right, we have so far!), but as a non-competitor do not love the observation voiced near the start this episode "we came in last, but now we're tied for first!".

The dancing looked difficult to me, and the watermelons appeared harder than I thought.  But as an Engineer, I know everything about constructing melon pyramids (and dancing!) so things would've gone very smoothly for me at either one!

OK show, bring on some entertainment and airport competition.

If I could love your post a million times I would. I actually snorted I was so entertained about your sentence But as an Engineer.

[blackwing]

38 minutes ago, Bluesky said:

[The Blondes are] ok but it was annoying listening to them worried about being killed because they were in a poorer neighborhood.  “She’s leaving us alone in the car!”  I hate when people do that.  

Yes.  I noticed that one of them (based on what they said, it seems like one is a year older than the other, but they look like twins to me and I don't know which one is which) said something like "she just got out and she is leaving all of us here".  I'm pretty sure the racers are told to never refer to or talk to their camera and sound guys.  Like when they are at the airport, they are supposed to ask for "two" tickets even though we know they have to buy four.  But her "all of us" really made it obvious that this cab driver (who was also a woman) wasn't just abandoning these two pretty blonde American girls to the clutches of the dangerous denizens of the Paraguayan slums.  There were also two guys, presumably in good shape if they are running around lugging camera and sound equipment all over the world.  And most importantly, two guys who actually have cell phones and can call someone if they really felt like they were in trouble.

I think the other one quickly said something like "she just left the two of us here" but the part about "all of us" was already said.  Now granted, just because the camera and sound people are guys doesn't mean that they are necessarily any safer (big strong guys can get held up at gunpoint just as easily as anyone else) but the way they portrayed the situation as "we are just two girls being abandoned here" was annoying.

9 minutes ago, shura said:

Fair enough.  The thing with me is, when I am trying to figure out how to do something, I am thinking about several approaches at the same time.  I am trying to think which one is better, how can I test if it’s going to work, what ifs, etc.  And when someone, usually my wife, asks me at that moment “How are you/we going to do this? What’s the plan?”, I do often just stand there because I simply don’t have the answer yet.  I don’t have a plan yet, what can I answer?  I will tell you as soon as I know.  

Now, if she asked specifically about the thought process, that might be different and I might describe it.  I guess I am a literal person who is not going to answer a question that was not asked.  Is this lack of communication?  Yeah, probably.

I agree.  I would think since they have been married for presumably some time, that she knows how his thought process works.  He was studying the platform and trying to figure out why the watermelons weren't stacking evenly, and he did tell her that, that there were gaps because they were different sizes etc.  But it was really annoying just hearing her scream "what's going on?  Chee, you have to talk to me!  YOU HAVE TO TALK TO ME!"

It didn't help that she was simply just in the truck not doing anything other than handing down watermelons.  I think the way I would have approached that task was to just take enough watermelons down for each layer.  100, 81, 64, etc.  Then both work on the layers and make sure they were stable before adding the next layer.  I know we saw Madison and Riley work together, and Gary and DeAngelo did as well, but were there any shots of Hung helping with the actual building?  I just only picture her in the truck and screaming.

[eel21788]

2 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I didn't notice until someone pointed it out, but the watermelons all had to be facing one way on one side and the other way on the other side. Did any of the teams figure that out? Gary and DeAngelo never did.

I thought that was them, but I could be remembering it wrong.

[Netfoot]

W&WLS: "We thought that of the four people cooking..."
L&A: "We thought that STFU!" Essentially.

To the person who mentioned last week about the blondes white trousers? You made me look. And only a brief flash in the Previouslies was more than enough. Please, don't hurt me again!

Speaking of the blondes: I always give the "Dumb Blonde Cannon Fodder" teams extra leeway. I feel I need to atone for wrongfully assessing Dustin & Kandice in the past. This season's particular DBCF team is not starting to shine much so far. Still, I was impressed that the cello-maker went to work and didn't melt down no matter how hard or long the task got. She just stuck to it until she succeeded.

I also see some comments like "They were horrified to find themselves in a poor area and feared for their lives!" I didn't see that at all. I saw them horrified to discover that the taxi driver who, when asked "Do you know where that is?" nodded her head vigorously and gave a giant thumbs-up. Then actually didn't have the faintest idea where to go, and drove them way away from the active part of town where the challenges were likely to be. Then got out of the vehicle and walked away. I didn't see "OMG! The locals are going to kill us!" I saw, "OMG! We'll be hours late to the first challenge, and probably get eliminated!" Which they would have been, had it not been a NEL, entirely because of that taxi driver!

Most churlish behaviour of the episode: W&WLS printing maps for everyone "except the Blondies". And DeAngelo being all 100% with that plan was not pretty either.

Edited November 5, 2020 by Netfoot

[Seelouis]

1 hour ago, HurricaneVal said:

 

 But then they say things like "that's in Africa!" in response to where Paraguay or Asuncion is located and I squee'd with superiority over how dumb they were looking.  And later on when they were all "Ewwwww!!!!! This can't be right!  We're supposed to go to the orchestra!" wrinkled noses over the neighborhoods they were driving through, I was thinking they were total snobs. 

I thought it was Michelle and Victoria who said Uruguay was in Africa?  Which fits since they think folks in South America speak French. 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, HurricaneVal said:

I realize they're in that alliance I hate, but I really hated that they printed out those maps to give to their alliance mates--and got DeAngelo to slip them to the other teams.  That just seemed extra shady to me.  Yeah, yeah, yeah...all within the rules, nothing illegal, but in my mind it runs counter to the whole concept of TAR.  The football players are so used to playing as a team-team-team and they are so conditioned to do whatever asked of them for the team-team-team that I feel like it is almost taking advantage of their conditioning to have them run errands for the alliance.

I kind of got the sense that DeAngelo went along with that just to go along and avoid any conflict, rather than some sort of conditioned team response. There was that shot of him sitting on the ground immediately afterwards saying "Here we go" or something similar, which granted could have been in response to anything, but I read it as "here we go with the drama, ugh."

[J-Man]

1 hour ago, HurricaneVal said:

But then they say things like "that's in Africa!" in response to where Paraguay or Asuncion is located and I squee'd with superiority over how dumb they were looking. 

I thought that was Victoria and Michelle.

[Guest]

Just now, Seelouis said:

I thought it was Michelle and Victoria who said Uruguay was in Africa?  Which fits since they think folks in South America speak French. 

 

Just now, J-Man said:

1 hour ago, HurricaneVal said:

But then they say things like "that's in Africa!" in response to where Paraguay or Asuncion is located and I squee'd with superiority over how dumb they were looking. 

I thought that was Victoria and Michelle.

It was indeed Victoria and Michelle who said Uruguay was in Africa, not Kaylynn and Haley.

[HurricaneVal]

See!  I told you I was prejudiced about the blondes!  I'm trying to work through that....  I'm not a fan of Victoria and Michelle either.  One of them can flash a really nasty look across her face that scares me...reminiscent of a Disney villainess, but less wholesome.

I have a different take on their cab driver getting directions though.  I think she did know where to take them, but when the blondes saw how rundown their surroundings were getting and started panicking that they weren't in the right area, I think that made the cab driver second guess herself so she stopped for confirmation.  Or...she knew the general area for where the recycled orchestra was located, but just didn't know which scary back alley to drive the blondes down next to get to it, so she stopped to ask.  Or...she was just saying "hey" to her Aunt Beatriz.

[eel21788]

2 minutes ago, HurricaneVal said:

See!  I told you I was prejudiced about the blondes!  I'm trying to work through that....

I'm okay with the natural variety. It is the bleached ones who have chemically softened their brains, often beyond repair.

[Netfoot]

8 minutes ago, HurricaneVal said:

I think she did know where to take them, but...

Can't agree. She was stopping random people in the street and asking "Orquesta de reciclados?"

Quote

It is the bleached ones...

Wait. So, the DBCF are now the DBBCF?!?? I can't spot natural hair colour from fake, so I operate on the presumption that all female hair has been 'adjusted'.

Edited November 5, 2020 by Netfoot

[eel21788]

10 minutes ago, Netfoot said:

Wait. So, the DBCF are now the DBBCF?!?? I can't spot natural hair colour from fake, so I operate on the presumption that all female hair has been 'adjusted'.

Most bleachers aren't that hard to spot: while not impossible, it is extremely rare for a natural blonde to have brown eyes; dark eyebrows and dark roots are also dead give-aways.

[proserpina65]

I'll have more thoughts later, but right now all I can say is I cannot stand Will & James, they are extremely annoying.  Or maybe just the dark-haired one, the other guy seems okay.  (Not sure which is which yet.)

[J-Man]

It looks like You Don't Strike Me as a Renaissance Man is now scheduled for next Weds. (11/11) and there will be two back-to-back episodes the following week. (Per the schedule at cbs.com)

[proserpina65]

18 hours ago, Grizzly said:

How did James finish the cello task second when he had no clue what he was doing and kept asking everyone else for help?

Maybe he kept slowing them down?

 

16 hours ago, blackwing said:

It could very well be because of a prompt (“as the wives of NFL football players...”) but I’d like to think that Eswar truly does think their engineering backgrounds give them a superior advantage on this race.  And I guess I may be ignorant, but is a “software engineer” basically the same thing as a computer programmer?   That has very little to do with mechanical or industrial engineering.

That's what I thought, too.

14 hours ago, Hera said:

Given how long they seemed to take with it, I think the judge dropped his standards in order to be able to go home. It frequently happens with judged tasks that standards are relaxed as the task goes on and/or as people take hours and fail multiple checks, although it's more noticeable with dance tasks.

Yep, except for poor Mark in India with the dancing task; he had the worst taskmaster judge ever on AR.

 

[AZChristian]

2 hours ago, shura said:

Fair enough.  The thing with me is, when I am trying to figure out how to do something, I am thinking about several approaches at the same time.  I am trying to think which one is better, how can I test if it’s going to work, what ifs, etc.  And when someone, usually my wife, asks me at that moment “How are you/we going to do this? What’s the plan?”, I do often just stand there because I simply don’t have the answer yet.  I don’t have a plan yet, what can I answer?  I will tell you as soon as I know.  

Now, if she asked specifically about the thought process, that might be different and I might describe it.  I guess I am a literal person who is not going to answer a question that was not asked.  Is this lack of communication?  Yeah, probably.

But it's difficult to use the brain power, the synergy, of two people working together when one of the people doesn't know what the other's ideas are.  If they are TEAMS racing around the world, that infers that they should be working together . . . which requires two-way verbal communication.  

You sound like Mr. AZC.  He, too, tends to want to quietly think things through . . . but he's thinking of HIS way to deal with it.  To be honest, I'd be happy to hear him say, "Hmmm . . . let's see how best WE can deal with this current situation."  Keeping quiet infers a desire to control without communicating that the other person may have a valid point of view.  That leaves the verbal person at the quiet person's mercy when it comes to trying to accomplish a joint task.  

When they do those tasks that have to be done without input from the other team member, that's a different thing.

[Maggie Mae]

17 hours ago, Cotypubby said:

It was the U-turn they used last episode, forcing Leo and Alana to do the other Detour. So far no one has used their Yield so they’re all still in play.

oops...my bad!

[TVbitch]

I don't mind Will & James. They are obviously huge fans of the show, and it's not like they are the biggest villains this game has ever seen. In previous seasons, we have seen teams purposefully mislead another team on a task, or as to where a clue box was, or ask the airline counter people or locals not to help teams the way they were helped. 

Hung and Chee continue to impress with good decision making and cool heads. Plus, the race will help them work on their communication issues! : D

 

[MooCat Pretzel]

My husband and I didn’t know Eswar was a software engineer and we looked over at each other during the cello challenge.  At the same time, we both said “Worst. Engineer. EV-VER.” Thank GOODNESS he isn’t a civil or mechanical engineer because I would have to look up every bridge and/or building he worked on and not go near them.

[Hera]

7 minutes ago, TVbitch said:

I don't mind Will & James. They are obviously huge fans of the show, and it's not like they are the biggest villains this game has ever seen.

You and me both. I think this cast comprises a bunch of fundamentally decent people, and the lack of actual villains means that Will and James get put in that role by default. I think the alliance is silly and self-defeating, except for the part where it keeps Eswar and Aparna in the race (since they don't seem to be a threat to anyone), but I don't find it offensive. My attitude is the same as with Survivor: if the eventual winner is in the alliance, then the alliance was a good idea for them, but everyone else in it would have been better off doing something different—either not joining in the first place, or abandoning it sooner. And anyway, this one is less annoying than the Cho brothers' "back pack" alliance in season 10, since no one is stopping and waiting for anyone.

[ByaNose]

5 hours ago, Bluesky said:

They’re ok but it was annoying listening to them worried about being killed because they were in a poorer neighborhood.  “She’s leaving us alone in the car!”  I hate when people do that.  

I don’t know I’m sort of with them on that. Even with a camera crew there’s little protection. I’ve seen other seasons and there were some very tense moments. The only saving grace that it was daytime when the driver got out of the car and went to someone’s house. It didn’t seem as scary as if it had been night.  

Edited November 5, 2020 by ByaNose

[Cotypubby]

25 minutes ago, ByaNose said:

I don’t know I’m sort of with them on that. Even with a camera crew there’s little protection. I’ve seen other seasons and there were some very tense moments.

Yeah. I was just re-watching an earlier season (3 I think) and there was a team (of two large Black men) who were taken to some desolate back alley in a Middle Eastern town and were accosted by the local cops who demanded they hand over their passports.

[chaifan]

I missed the first 15 minutes last night, so I'm watching it now.  I think a lot of the comments about the taxi rides to the "orchestra" have lumped Victoria & Michelle and Kaylynn & Haley into one.  V&M also made comments about the neighborhood (as did Eswar), and about their taxi driver not knowing where they were going.  But I didn't think Kaylynn & Haley's comments were that bad.  They seemed more concerned about bleeding time than "oh my god we're going to die".

Right after they arrived, the clock showed Riley being about 40 minutes into the orchestra challenge.  So that's a lot of time being lost in a taxi. 

I thought it was so cute that Hung was choking up when talking about the kids at the orchestra.  And i don't know if DeAngelo has kids or not, but he had such a "proud parent" moment, too. 

Will & James - They bug a little, but I think it's more because they think they're being the uber TAR fan, building alliances and being all scheming, but it just comes across as silly and pointless.  Also, those two mug for the camera worse than BJ and Tyler. 

 

 

[Bluesky]

1 hour ago, ByaNose said:

I don’t know I’m sort of with them on that. Even with a camera crew there’s little protection. I’ve seen other seasons and there were some very tense moments. The only saving grace that it was daytime when the driver got out of the car and went to someone’s house. It didn’t seem as scary as if it had been night.  

It was a neighborhood where families live.  It wasn’t some abandoned warehouse  at 3 am. 

[anniebird]

Alliances make sense on competitive reality shows where you're trying not to get voted off. They don't make sense on a show where you're trying to beat every other team to a certain location.

 

Edited November 6, 2020 by anniebird