S32.E10: Getting Down to the Nitty Gritty

[Whimsy]

Quote

The final 5 teams race through Siem Reap, Cambodia where they face the second and final double U-turn of the season.

 

[xcrayon2215x]

Deangelo was horrendous at that Roadblock, at first I thought that U-Turning Eswar and Arpana was not a smart move but it saved them tonight. Riley and Maddison are looking really strong right now.

[Browncoat]

In addition to "Read the clue", WATCH THE DEMO!  Amazing how none of them watched the complete demo to start.

I don't even know who to root for now.

[blackwing]

Good riddance to Eswar and Aparna.  Aparna's bitter display truly was poor sportsmanship.  DeAngelo is correct.... it's a GAME.  That's what happens.  Obviously Aparna didn't realize that if Gary and DeAngelo had U-Turned a "stronger" team, then Eswar and Aparna would have been U-Turned by that stronger team or one of the allies.  "Karma's going to bite you DeAngelo."  Buh bye Aparna, it bit you instead.

I knew right away that Gary should have done that Roadblock.  Gary is 100 times smarter than DeAngelo.

I fear for Gary and DeAngelo next round, since the other three teams will do whatever they can to get them out.  My preferred order of finish is them, Volleyball Brothers, Hung and Chee.  I'd prefer if Will and James fell into a hole and never got out of Cambodia.

Edited December 3, 2020 by blackwing

[PaperTree]

This whole "alliance" thing is really getting annoying.

I will never understand how people will not watch the entire demo.  smh.

I worked in chemical labs for 30 years.  Procedure is very important.

Just like making a cake.  You have to follow the procedure or it won't come out right.

Hey!   Grease the pan first!

I just hope the boyz don't win.

[TiredMe]

Well Aparna certainly did not handle that well. I’m not sure what she expects. The teams are finally going to race. It’s about damn time. She was a total bitter Betty. 

[Haleth]

Dear Aparna, bitter is not a good look.

Until now she and her brother have been pretty much nonentities. Too bad the last impression of her is a whiny poor sport.

None of these people are especially likable, but I’m rooting for the NFLers since everyone wants them out. 

Edited December 3, 2020 by Haleth

[MerBearHou]

Good riddance to the irritating intellectual snob siblings.  When they sneeringly said that the athletes were so stupid to U-turn them, it made my blood boil.  I loathe that stereotypical stuff about athletes being dumb.  DeAngelo’s flaw — which is all too common IRL (cough cough, my husband) — is not watching instructions from AtoZ.  

I would love for the NFLers to surprise everyone in that damn alliance and win the whole shebang, but I just don’t see how they will.  I really like the Beard Bros so they’re a fine winner for me as well.  Please Please Please not Will and James or Hung (I like Chee so much).

Edited December 3, 2020 by MerBearHou

[Cotypubby]

Wait so being engineers didn’t help Eshwar and Aparna make tiles?

I hate teams that get all bitter & angry about being U-Turned. Actually yelling “Fuck you!” to other racers? So glad to see the last of them. Teams that get all butthurt about being U-Turned can piss off. It’s a RAAAAACE! Despite the stupid alliance. Congrats on behaving like a spoiled toddler having a tantrum. 
 

Edited December 3, 2020 by Cotypubby

[kstar821]

13 minutes ago, blackwing said:

 

I knew right away that Gary should have done that Roadblock.  Gary is 100 times smarter than DeAngelo.

 I'd prefer if Will and James fell into a hole and never got out of Cambodia.

100% agree that this was Gary's roadblock.  I also suspect he's secretly super smart. DeAngelo is just really really pretty.

My 11 year old started out rooting for Will and James but tonight she called them Regina George and Karen Smith.  She's not wrong - they are awful.

Here's hoping Gary and DeAngelo can survive next week.

[shura]

Are they actually allowed to interfere with another team performing a task? Because that’s what Aparna was doing there with DeAngelo.

[PaperTree]

1 minute ago, shura said:

Are they actually allowed to interfere with another team performing a task? Because that’s what Aparna was doing there with DeAngelo.

She did seem to cross a line there.  IIRC, the person not doing the roadblock usually STFU.  If she could do that, why couldn't Gary tell D'angelo what he was doing wrong???

[ByaNose]

The sitting on the sidelines and not being able to say anything is probably the hardest task. It’s always been a rule but trashing someone is fair game but rarely done. I agree with Gary though. If you are failing a task you are doing something wrong. DeAngelo is horrible at this game because he thinks he knows everything but never double checks while doing. He likes to keep saying he’s doing wrong but doesn’t regroup and try to figure out why. I still like them to squeeze in to the Finals just to upset everyone else.

[mtlchick]

I'm surprised that when there is a demonstration is going on, racers are pretty focused on how to attempt to replicate it.  This time, virtually NO ONE noticed that the mechanic was greasing up the machine before using it?  Wut?

Meanwhile, Aparna didn't get that with only a few legs left, maybe it's a good time as any to use a U Turn because it is part of the game?  Here's hoping after 2 years and that edit, she sees how whiny that came off. 

 

[Packerbrewerbadger]

Why didn’t Bro and Sis get mad at Beards also?   They could have u turned anyone instead burning it to ensure the bro and sis were only ones doing both tasks  

I hate how the teams are ganging up on the NFL , 

[Gummo]

Easy to see why this season sat on the shelf for two years. The alliance may have been a good strategy but it's made for one of the dullest seasons ever. 

Also, the Race is all challenges now, no flight drama, no train or bus drama, no running-out-of-money drama, very little self driving; it seems to get more spoon fed every season. TAR used to be about racing around the world, now it's just an oversized obstacle course.

[North of Eden]

I was thinking tonight now sad it will be if this is the final season of THE AMAZING RACE and what will we have to remember it by....a petty and annoying pair of boyfriends mugging for the camera  and the whole alliance garbage.

Aparna trash talking Gary was the highlight of the episode....finally we got to jettison this whole kumbaya vibe and things got cut throat when the alliance had to turn on each other.

The NFLer is a sloppy racer and would still be searching for the meaning of a scrambled sauerkraut but for Hung.

Speaking of Hung...dive into the shallow end here but Hung and spandex are a heavenly match. Chee's a lucky guy (when she's not ball busting him)

Anyway the race nears its end and its looking more and more like it will be a time honored race tradition of a young, alpha male team sprinting to the finish line. Not personally how I want to see this race end. Hung and Chee for the win!

Edited December 3, 2020 by North of Eden

[Caseysgirl]

I have felt sorry for Gary this whole season. DeAngelo is not that good a racer; he has screwed up more than a few times and yet he is as arrogant as can be. Gary has literally been dragging him along and yet, he is always good natured and amiable, where DeAngelo gets testy and easily frustrated. He’s overconfident and not really nice.

[springbarb]

40 minutes ago, Packerbrewerbadger said:

Why didn’t Bro and Sis get mad at Beards also?   They could have u turned anyone instead burning it to ensure the bro and sis were only ones doing both tasks  

I hate how the teams are ganging up on the NFL , 

YES! I can see being mad at Gary and DeAngelo, but they could've U-turned someone else if the Beard Bros hadn't burned it.

39 minutes ago, Gummo said:

Also, the Race is all challenges now, no flight drama, no train or bus drama, no running-out-of-money drama, very little self driving; it seems to get more spoon fed every season. TAR used to be about racing around the world, now it's just an oversized obstacle course.

It's so frustrating that no matter how far ahead the first place team is, there's a guaranteed bunch. So it doesn't matter if you're 2nd or 4th--you'll be with everyone else by the first task in the next leg. Even if they did something as simple as having to get taxis at the next airport in order would be better.

Aparna was over the line at the Roadblock. Totally uncalled for. I'm glad they're gone.

I'm rooting for Team NFL (mostly for Gary; DeAngelo taking THAT LONG to figure out he needed to watch the demo was beyond infuriating and Gary gets HUGE kudos for just chilling and not working himself up into a ragestorm like I would have). I guess of the others, the Beard Bros seem the most competent, but their attitude about the alliance has annoyed me.

[Netfoot]

55 minutes ago, PaperTree said:

IIRC, the person not doing the roadblock usually STFU.  If she could do that, why couldn't Gary tell D'angelo what he was doing wrong???

I suppose there is a difference between saying "Put Tab A in Slot B!" which is help, and "Put your head up your ass!" which... isn't.

1 hour ago, Cotypubby said:

Teams that get all butthurt about being U-Turned can piss off. It’s a RAAAAACE!

Yes, but in this case I can understand - without condoning - Aparna being pissed. Sure, being U-Turned is a part of the race and you have to expect that it might happen, but you don't expect it to come from an alliance member!

A shot rang out
And knocked me flat
Ain't no coming back from a lick like that
I never saw it coming, it came out of the blue
I never did believe my assassin would be you
      -- UB40

But the real problem is not grasping what the alliance was to start with: An opportunity to get stabbed in the back. She/they must have known that a 5-strong alliance can't make it into the final 3. So, when the last of the non-alliance racers were gone, what did they expect to happen next? That's why they should have been making her Survivoresque "big move" before this. Maybe creating creating a separate alliance with Leo & Alana and Kaylynn & Haley to engineer the surprise ouster of one of the other alliancers. Or at least approaching DeAngelo & Gary and maybe Hung & Chee with a final-3 inner alliance? No, they just assumed that the Mine 5 would continue as before, even though there were no other teams left to be U-Turned!

Any anger should have been reflected inwards, at their own stupidity. I wonder if next week, DeAngelo & Gary will mooch along with the Mine Five Four as if nothing has changed? Or will they be on their guard? They have not even caught a hint of the fact that they were the original targets for tonight's ouster!

[redfish]

Ugh! This leg was infuriating! I swear he should have watched the tile demo from start to finish. So dumb.

And for the beards making sure the bro/sis couldn't use the U-turn? Total dick move. Burn the board? And for the Beards protecting Will/James. Why? They are their strongest competitors and they run the risk of losing to them. How stupid is that? God damnit! I don't know how anyone believed the 5 had an alliance. If they did the math they should realize that only 3 teams are going to the finals and along the way the supposed alliance of 5 will form splinter schemes to guarantee only 3 teams will make it. And if no one is approaching you to guarantee a final 3, you are guaranteed being set up for the chop. And for the alliance to accuse G/D benefiting the most for the alliance the other teams should realize that it's Will/James that are benefiting from the alliance. If the other 4 had noticed Will/James are usually top 3 on the bathmat and they found a way to draw attention away from them and make the other teammates resent/turn on each other while no one ever considers putting them in the U-Turn/Yield.

Sure alliances are not against the rules but it leaves a bad taste and seem less competitive and less a race and testing each racer what they're capable of (physically and mentally) and more who has alliances.

Edited December 4, 2020 by redfish

[toodywoody]

I knew something was going to throw a wrench in the alliance's plan because all three would not stfu about it. And if the bro/sis team and mainly sis had thought about it, they would put two and two together and realize that they weren't that popular and had been helped along by the other teams. And they weren't that good of racers and arrogant. 

Since the NFLers seem to be rotating tasks, I'm hoping Gary does next week's and gets them to the finale. He really has an eye for detail and is so calm about stuff. 

Will and Whine can go screw off, they need a dose of karma and the other two better wise up and realize that if they don't stop sharing info that they might help them win. 

[chaifan]

OK, I agree with everyone that Arpana was unnecessarily bitchy about the whole U Turn thing.  But, I thought it was hilarious that she was essentially trash talking DeAngelo, a Professional Football Player, and he couldn't handle it.  He just got so flustered and testy.  He really is a "dish it out but can't take it" type of guy.  Gary's a saint for carrying D through this race.  I loved his "I'm just going to take a little nap here" bit.

I wonder what the actual time difference was between D and Eswar leaving the tile challenge.  I'm thinking TAR edited to make it look closer than it really was, even with the two taking different routes.  Even if that was the case, it worked - they really had me thinking for a few minutes that Gary & D were out. 

Damn, I love Angor Wat.  Such an incredible place.  Though I found it funny that while in Siem Reap a team had a tough time finding a tuk tuk.  I couldn't walk 10 feet in Siem Reap without hearing "tuk tuk, madam?" at least 3 times. 

[hendersonrocks]

Phew, I have *such* a crush on Gary.

If he and DeAngelo can't win, I sure hope Hung and Chee do.

[chaifan]

1 hour ago, Gummo said:

Also, the Race is all challenges now, no flight drama, no train or bus drama, no running-out-of-money drama, very little self driving; it seems to get more spoon fed every season. TAR used to be about racing around the world, now it's just an oversized obstacle course.

I totally agree with this.  I realize that circumstances out of TAR's control are likely the biggest obstacles to keeping TAR "old school".  But they need to find a way to work with our new reality, especially in a post-Covid world.  Either cut down the air travel and book an itinerary where teams can travel from country to country by car (self navigating), bus or train, or start the legs when everyone gets out of the airport.  It's really not that hard, and not so big of a change that fans would reject.  I don't care if I never see "flight drama" again, and I'm fine with the occasional HOO bunch up.  I just don't want each episode starting fresh with everyone on equal footing, nullifying any lead gained in the prior ep. 

Hopefully TPTB read these comments and take some of this to heart for when (not if, when!) they resume filming. 

 

[Giuseppe]

1 hour ago, Gummo said:

Also, the Race is all challenges now, no flight drama, no train or bus drama, no running-out-of-money drama, very little self driving; it seems to get more spoon fed every season. TAR used to be about racing around the world, now it's just an oversized obstacle course.

Yup. Seriously, this whole 'we're all on the same flight' thing every leg has got to stop. They're not racing around the world. They're being chartered around the world.

That said, this was the first episode this season that I actually liked, challenge-wise and editing-wise, despite the outcome (I kind of liked Eswar and Aparna). Felt more like a leg from older seasons. But I really don't care for anyone left.  I guess I'm rooting for Team NFL.

[blackwing]

18 minutes ago, Netfoot said:

Yes, but in this case I can understand - without condoning - Aparna being pissed. Sure, being U-Turned is a part of the race and you have to expect that it might happen, but you don't expect it to come from an alliance member!

A shot rang out
And knocked me flat
Ain't no coming back from a lick like that
I never saw it coming, it came out of the blue
I never did believe my assassin would be you
      -- UB40

But the real problem is not grasping what the alliance was to start with: An opportunity to get stabbed in the back. She/they must have known that a 5-strong alliance can't make it into the final 3. So, when the last of the non-alliance racers were gone, what did they expect to happen next? That's why they should have been making her Survivoresque "big move" before this. Maybe creating creating a separate alliance with Leo & Alana and Kaylynn & Haley to engineer the surprise ouster of one of the other alliancers. Or at least approaching DeAngelo & Gary and maybe Hung & Chee with a final-3 inner alliance? No, they just assumed that the Mine 5 would continue as before, even though there were no other teams left to be U-Turned!

Any anger should have been reflected inwards, at their own stupidity. I wonder if next week, DeAngelo & Gary will mooch along with the Mine Five Four as if nothing has changed? Or will they be on their guard? They have not even caught a hint of the fact that they were the original targets for tonight's ouster!

I don’t think I agree... didn’t we see them in a cab saying that from this point on there are only five teams left and it’s every team for themselves?  They didn’t seem to have absolutely any issues with the alliance breaking up.  They are just upset that they were the chosen target.  
 

Aparna herself said something like “why would you UTurn us instead of a strong team that has consistently finished ahead of you?”   They expected the UTurn to be used, they just wanted someone else to be hurt by it.  
 

And I really hate the concept of “burning the board”.  The point of a double UTurn as I’m sure the producers envisioned it is to give one of the UTurned teams a chance at surviving.  If they are going to allow “burning the board” they might as well make it a single UTurn.

I would change the rules so that the teams that pass through the checkpoint remove their faces so another team cannot then purposely burn the second UTurn on a team that had already passed.  Either that or only allow a team one UTurn per race (like the hourglass yield) so a team doesn’t unnecessarily burn their UTurn on burning the board when they don’t need to.

[valen]

1 hour ago, mtlchick said:

I'm surprised that when there is a demonstration is going on, racers are pretty focused on how to attempt to replicate it.  This time, virtually NO ONE noticed that the mechanic was greasing up the machine before using it?  Wut?

Meanwhile, Aparna didn't get that with only a few legs left, maybe it's a good time as any to use a U Turn because it is part of the game?  Here's hoping after 2 years and that edit, she sees how whiny that came off. 

 

She definitely got it and even stated at the beginning of the episode that she was willing to use it on anyone. That’s when I knew she was going to get u-turned and be pissed about it.

I don’t think DeAngelo was flustered by her. I think he was laughing at her. Gary just flat ignored her. Her anger would be much better focused on the boys who burned a u-turn and didn’t put someone behind her. That’s who she should be angry with. Didn’t they all say the Mine 5 was over? The top 3 alliance is so dumb. They should want to eliminate the other strong teams - not help them. DUMB. I hope NFL wins. 

Edited December 3, 2020 by valen

[Lantern7]

I'm really hoping this isn't the final season. There have been worse editions, I could live with any of the remaining teams winning, and this hasn't been as painful to watch as some recent seasons of Survivor (which we'd be watching if CBS had figured out a foolproof plan where non one wuld risk getting sick), but TAR32 has been a slog.

Gary & DeAngelo get to the U-Turn first. They had four teams they could have hindered . . . and they chose the weakest remaining team. I'm guessing the guys behind the camera had to remind them that, no, Kaylynn & Hayley were not an option this time. Eswar & Aparna were the only team left not to have made the top three in any leg. They could have conceivably gotten a stronger team out, but they chose the weakest team. And then Riley & Maddison closed the loop by U-Turning the Beards. Could you blame Aparna for being salty? I mean, her reaction were not as bad as what most of us had seen in the past. More importantly, I don't think she figured that Eswar and herself were worth U-Turning.

I get that U-Turning E&A was probably the best option this leg, much like Kaylynn & Hayley getting Yielded twice last week. It's just not fun to see teams not take a definitive shot at each other, especially with "Mine Five" having to cannibalize itself. And I meant what I said about being okay with any of the remaining teams getting the million bucks . . . but wouldn't a wild card in the final leg have been more fun? Going into a finale surrounded by the strongest is more of a Survivor thing . . . and that was before they went with a F3 and the custom of bringing in "goats."

2 hours ago, TiredMe said:

Well Aparna certainly did not handle that well. I’m not sure what she expects. The teams are finally going to race. It’s about damn time. She was a total bitter Betty. 

 

2 hours ago, Haleth said:

Dear Aparna, bitter is not a good look.

Until now she and her brother have been pretty much nonentities. Too bad the last impression of her is a whiny poor sport.

Once again: I don't blame her. Also, DeAngelo almost blew the Roadblock and the game. For the most part, I'm good with him and Gary, but he almost took them out of the game because he didn't pay close enough attention.

2 hours ago, MerBearHou said:

Good riddance to the irritating intellectual snob siblings. 

I didn't get that vibe at all.

Hey, the Gnomes got to help out during the leg! Also, a few monks didn't have to go out for groceries that day.

1 hour ago, North of Eden said:

I was thinking tonight now sad it will be if this is the final season of THE AMAZING RACE and what will we have to remember it by....a petty and annoying pair of boyfriends mugging for the camera  and the whole alliance garbage.

I think if there had been a way to do Survivor, TAR32 would still be on the shelf. CBS didn't air it because it was dull or bad (or because of Will & James, who love themselves a little too much), but rather because they care about their other reality shows so much more. Survivor could have been 18-20 Hantzes, and CBS would have aired it because Survivor is still a popular draw.

[RoxiP]

I believe one of the contestants said that the demonstrator was just doing the procedure basically on a loop - over and over again...and when you got there you weren't necessarily watching the start of the tile making (where he greased the mold)...so if you didn't sit and watch it from start to finish several times you would miss that step (probably explaining this poorly).  

[Cotypubby]

15 minutes ago, Lantern7 said:

Gary & DeAngelo get to the U-Turn first. They had four teams they could have hindered . . . and they chose the weakest remaining team. I'm guessing the guys behind the camera had to remind them that, no, Kaylynn & Hayley were not an option this time. Eswar & Aparna were the only team left not to have made the top three in any leg. They could have conceivably gotten a stronger team out, but they chose the weakest team.

I thought they didn’t know where the other two teams were, just that Eshwar and Aparna was definitely behind them. I suppose they should have realized that no one was ahead of them since the U-Turn hadn’t been played, but Will and James already used their U-Turn this season so doesn’t that mean they couldn’t use it this time anyway? That’s how it’s worked in the past... They could have picked the Beard Bros, but then the Beards would have just U-Turned Eshwar and Aparna anyways. 

[Hera]

I'm trying to figure out the NFL players' rationale for U-Turning the siblings. Was it to target a team that they knew for sure was behind them, since the siblings were at the same detour as them? Did they think there was any chance that a team who did the other detour might have finished ahead of them and opted not to U-Turn anyone? Or was it like DeAngelo told Aparna, that the siblings were a weak team and so U-Turning them gave Gary and DeAngelo the largest time cushion in case something went wrong at the roadblock, which it did.

Just now, RoxiP said:

I believe one of the contestants said that the demonstrator was just doing the procedure basically on a loop - over and over again...and when you got there you weren't necessarily watching the start of the tile making (where he greased the mold)...so if you didn't sit and watch it from start to finish several times you would miss that step (probably explaining this poorly).  

Not poorly at all. I thought the same thing. In order to make sure you were there for the start, you'd need to see the end of the previous demonstration. I think most people would worry they were wasting time in doing that, and so arrive slightly too late to see the mold being greased.

I think this race is the brothers' to lose. They've never placed below 4th, and in the last five legs they've never placed below 2nd. I also don't think they've been propped up that much by the alliance. In fact, I can't think of a time when they've really benefited from it, except maybe at the rappelling challenge in Germany, when they were just handed the answer. They really ought to have been the primary target of any U-Turn plans. It wouldn't have resulted in their ouster (if the NFL players had U-Turned the brothers, then the brothers would have been the ones to U-Turn Eswar and Aparna), but you have to try something and hope they end up being a team who completely unravels in the face of a setback.

2 minutes ago, blackwing said:

Either that or only allow a team one UTurn per race (like the hourglass yield) so a team doesn’t unnecessarily burn their UTurn on burning the board when they don’t need to.

That wouldn't have helped, since it was the last U-Turn of the race. They definitely would have used it here.

I wouldn't have a problem if the producers made it so that teams could only U-Turn someone behind them, but I don't think the producers will ever go for it. It would remove a lot of the risk of U-Turning and make it almost impossible to do something dumb, so they'd miss out on things like Kent and Vyxin U-Turning Nick and Don without realizing that Nick and Don were ahead of them, or a team deciding to not to U-Turn anyone because they're unaware of how far behind they are. It would also cause teams who find themselves unexpectedly ahead of someone they don't like or feel threatened by to use the U-Turn when they otherwise might not have thought to do so. Again, I wouldn't really have a problem with any of this, but the producers seem to prefer to keep teams uncertain about where they are relative to other teams when they're not in sight of each other.

[biakbiak]

Aparna’s bitterness was annoying but so was James. He said it was so annoying that D’Angelo and Gary got to the Uturn first like WTF? Sorry they didn’t get the memo from your alliance about them needing to be behind all three of you for your plan to work. 

G&D uturning the siblings was smart because not only were they a weaker team they knew for certain that they were behind them whereas they couldn’t necessarily be sure about the other two even if they knew that logically they would have probably unturned someone if they had gotten there.

Edited December 3, 2020 by biakbiak

[Quilt Fairy]

36 minutes ago, Hera said:

(if the NFL players had U-Turned the brothers, then the brothers would have been the ones to U-Turn Eswar and Aparna)

This makes so much sense.  

[Corgi-ears]

"The guy's just going in a loop." Yes, Riley, you volleyball llama, that's what we usually call "labor," or just "work."

It's always funny watching someone claim that a strategy is stupid when they don't actually understand the strategy. C'mon! Use your brain!!

Edited December 3, 2020 by Corgi-ears

[mbluecpa]

53 minutes ago, Hera said:

I'm trying to figure out the NFL players' rationale for U-Turning the siblings. Was it to target a team that they knew for sure was behind them, since the siblings were at the same detour as them? Did they think there was any chance that a team who did the other detour might have finished ahead of them and opted not to U-Turn anyone? Or was it like DeAngelo told Aparna, that the siblings were a weak team and so U-Turning them gave Gary and DeAngelo the largest time cushion in case something went wrong at the roadblock, which it did.

I’m thinking your last explanation; G&D figured that playing it against the weakest of the remaining teams would give them the greatest chance of not finishing last.  I don’t really like racing not to lose (vs racing to win) but given the bunching in nearly every leg, it seems like a logical strategy.

It’s taken me nearly all season, but I’ve finally put my finger on why I don’t like Will and James.  At the start, I was so glad to see that no reality show or YouTube “celebrities” were cast, but they seem to me as essentially filling that slot.  Every week, I get the sense that they’re playing to the camera or performing vs competing in a race.  That said, they’re competent racers.

[aghst]

4 hours ago, Packerbrewerbadger said:

Why didn’t Bro and Sis get mad at Beards also?   They could have u turned anyone instead burning it to ensure the bro and sis were only ones doing both tasks  

I hate how the teams are ganging up on the NFL , 

The NFL and the Bro/Sis teams couldn't figure out that the other three teams are conspiring to get themselves into the final 3.

Should be obvious to the Bro and Sis since they saw that the Beards burned the second U-Turn.

Not that it matters, it was too late by then and there are no more U-Turns.

The 3 teams can't slow down NFL tam but they can share info. with each other.

At this point, all the teams should be trying to get the Beards followed probably by the boyfriends teams eliminated because those are the strongest teams, the greatest threats to win it all.

 

[Bluesky]

5 hours ago, blackwing said:

Good riddance to Eswar and Aparna.  Aparna's bitter display truly was poor sportsmanship.  DeAngelo is correct.... it's a GAME.  That's what happens.  Obviously Aparna didn't realize that if Gary and DeAngelo had U-Turned a "stronger" team, then Eswar and Aparna would have been U-Turned by that stronger team or one of the allies.  "Karma's going to bite you DeAngelo."  Buh bye Aparna, it bit you instead.

I know, ridiculous.  Especially after she said at the beginning that if she had the opportunity to u turn someone she would, it’s everyone for themselves. As it should be.  

[Fake Jan Brady]

4 hours ago, kstar821 said:

100% agree that this was Gary's roadblock.  I also suspect he's secretly super smart. DeAngelo is just really really pretty.

If DeAngelo had done the ‘Day-oh’ drums in episode one then it would’ve been Gary’s turn at the roadblock this week and they would’ve been a lot better placed both weeks. Funny how a snap decision early on can butterfly effect the rest of the race. 

[SVNBob]

5 hours ago, PaperTree said:

If she could do that, why couldn't Gary tell D'angelo what he was doing wrong???

Sing it with me now: "A Roadblock is a task that only one person may perform."  If Gary had said anything to DeAngelo, he would have been participating in the Roadblock and broken a Race rule.  They then would have received a penalty, which given this case, might have been a Race-ender.

 

3 hours ago, valen said:

Her anger would be much better focused on the boys who burned a u-turn and didn’t put someone behind her. That’s who she should be angry with.

They were already gone by the time they got to the Roadblock, so she couldn't snipe at them.  There was only the one target team available, and it so happened to be the one that actually U-Turned them.

[Fukui San]

In a Roadblock you can encourage your partner but not help them. Apparently you can trash talk other teams as well! I don't think the producers minded that at all.

I like how Gary kept his cool. After they leave D'Angelo says something like "Boy, that was a gnarly task!" The camera cuts away just as Gary is opening his mouth, presumably to tell D'Angelo what a dumbass he was.

Was D'Angelo short on # of Roadblocks done? It was definitely Gary's type of task.

Teams should work out a system. "If I'm messing up a Roadblock and you see how, just stare at the place I should be looking."

I think the most advantageous use of the Yield for G&D would be to Yield the Beard Bros. who would then in turn Yield Brother & Sister. Yielding the team in the other Roadblock wouldn't be wise since they didn't know whether or not they had already passed there.

In terms of racing, I think this was actually Aparna and Eswar's best leg! They didn't make a bunch of totally stupid mistakes! Oh, not finding the clue box. That was one. But other than that they looked semi-competent and did the tasks in reasonable times!

But of course we've now finally, finally firmly established that software engineering has no applications beyond engineering software.

If I were to be named TAR producer tomorrow, I would ban Yields, U-Turns, and anything else where teams delay other teams. it's just not as interesting as it'd be to see teams try to get ahead on their own. I'd spend my time figuring out how to rejigger the Fast Forward instead.

Alternately, have the U-Turn be something given automatically to the last two teams at the checkpoint if you want a desperation face off between teams.

Now that this season has demonstrated that forming a seasonlong successfully alliance is deadly dull and uninspiring, will the producers design future seasons to prevent this? (Presuming there will ever be another season) I want to like the racing skills of the top 3 teams, but the fact that they took so many shortcuts along the way diminishes them each.

[Haleth]

Gary and D'Angelo had no choice but to Uturn Aparna and Eshwar (or the Beards who would have Uturned the sibs).  They had no idea if the other two teams were already ahead of them or not.  Yes, Aparna had a right to be angry, that is totally understandable, but her high dudgeon, her absolute offense that she was targeted, and her berating D'Angelo while he was trying to concentrate on his task was not good sportsmanship.  (And I disagree that D was flustered.  He can handle trash talk and dished it right back at her.)  Of course Aparna was completely fine with the concept of she herself Uturning someone.

I kept waiting for Gary to mention that making tiles is one of his hobbies.

6 hours ago, Hera said:

I'm trying to figure out the NFL players' rationale for U-Turning the siblings. Was it to target a team that they knew for sure was behind them, since the siblings were at the same detour as them? Did they think there was any chance that a team who did the other detour might have finished ahead of them and opted not to U-Turn anyone? Or was it like DeAngelo told Aparna, that the siblings were a weak team and so U-Turning them gave Gary and DeAngelo the largest time cushion in case something went wrong at the roadblock, which it did.

Both.  It was the safest play.

3 hours ago, Fukui San said:

If I were to be named TAR producer tomorrow, I would ban Yields, U-Turns, and anything else where teams delay other teams. it's just not as interesting as it'd be to see teams try to get ahead on their own. I'd spend my time figuring out how to rejigger the Fast Forward instead.

Hear, hear.  I don't like any game aspect that allows one team to interfere with another.  Run your own damn race.

[30 Helens]

8 hours ago, Packerbrewerbadger said:

Why didn’t Bro and Sis get mad at Beards also?   They could have u turned anyone instead burning it to ensure the bro and sis were only ones doing both tasks  

THIS was my question, too. If NFL stabbed them in the back, then Beards grabbed the knife and twisted it until it broke. If anyone deserved the wrath of the Coders (excuse me, “Software Engineeeers”), it was the Beards.

(But nobody deserved the wrath. It’s all part of the game.)

7 hours ago, chaifan said:

I realize that circumstances out of TAR's control are likely the biggest obstacles to keeping TAR "old school".  But they need to find a way to work with our new reality, especially in a post-Covid world.  Either cut down the air travel and book an itinerary where teams can travel from country to country by car (self navigating), bus or train, or start the legs when everyone gets out of the airport.  It's really not that hard, and not so big of a change that fans would reject.  I don't care if I never see "flight drama" again, and I'm fine with the occasional HOO bunch up.  I just don't want each episode starting fresh with everyone on equal footing, nullifying any lead gained in the prior ep. 

Hopefully TPTB read these comments and take some of this to heart for when (not if, when!) they resume filming. 

 

I don’t remember where I read it, but the constant bunching is an intentional cost-cutting measure. It got very expensive to have camera crews and production staff in various parts of the world at the same time, so they modified the race structure to keep teams in closer proximity. Unless the show re-spikes in popularity, I don’t see them ever going back to the old ways.  If anything, they’ll probably force everyone closer together so a single camera crew can cover 2+ teams. (“Everybody pile in that taxi! Yes, you can too fit! Don’t make me strap you to the roof!!”)

[Haleth]

9 minutes ago, 30 Helens said:

I don’t remember where I read it, but the constant bunching is an intentional cost-cutting measure. It got very expensive to have camera crews and production staff in various parts of the world at the same time, so they modified the race structure to keep teams in closer proximity. Unless the show re-spikes in popularity, I don’t see them ever going back to the old ways.  If anything, they’ll probably force everyone closer together so a single camera crew can cover 2+ teams. (“Everybody pile in that taxi! Yes, you can too fit! Don’t make me strap you to the roof!!”)

Each leg should start after they arrive in a new country/area.  Stagger the start times after disembarking from the plane and clearing customs.

[Netfoot]

8 hours ago, blackwing said:

I would change the rules so that the teams that pass through the checkpoint remove their faces so another team cannot then purposely burn the second UTurn on a team that had already passed.

That would have the desired effect, but it would also prevent the accidental U-Turning of someone already passed/safe. This has played a part in the race before, when someone unknowingly wasted their U-Turn on a team that had already gone ahead.

4 hours ago, Fukui San said:

Alternately, have the U-Turn be something given automatically to the last two teams at the checkpoint if you want a desperation face off between teams.

When you get to the U-Turn station, you roll a dice/spin a wheel, etc. You might end up U-Turning yourself!

4 hours ago, Fukui San said:

Now that this season has demonstrated that forming a seasonlong successfully alliance is deadly dull and uninspiring, will the producers design future seasons to prevent this?

Each clue has slightly different instructions. So, if you help someone by telling them what to do, you are actually hurting them.

 

[shura]

8 hours ago, valen said:

I don’t think DeAngelo was flustered by her. I think he was laughing at her. Gary just flat ignored her. Her anger would be much better focused on the boys who burned a u-turn and didn’t put someone behind her. That’s who she should be angry with. Didn’t they all say the Mine 5 was over? The top 3 alliance is so dumb. They should want to eliminate the other strong teams - not help them. DUMB. I hope NFL wins. 

I agree, it didn't look like DeAngelo got affected much at all by Aparna's "trash talking," let alone "couldn't handle it."  He kept doing the same thing and making the same mistake as he was before she showed up, just like everybody else was doing without Aparna's trying to rip them a new one.  He just explained to her, quite calmly, in my opinion, that this is the game, this is what you do if you want to get ahead, it's not being stabbed in the back, and he doesn't care if she feels otherwise.  I mean, really, it's like someone yelling at him during his NFL career "I cannot believe you scored that touchdown on us! You are despicable, I can't even look at you! Karma will get you!"

Honestly, I don't remember if this kind of trash talking at another team during a challenge has happened before, has it?  In my opinion, it has the potential to seriously distract the person doing the challenge and thus mess it up for him, so it should be considered interfering.  Imagine if the challenge was to memorize, say, a poem in a different language, and your competitor kept yelling at you from the sidelines things that would make you lose your focus, like the wrong lines, for example.  This would be not much different from tampering with another team's equipment, and that has definitely been penalized before.

[TVbitch]

I was bored. And I LOVE The Amazing Race. I wonder how it's doing in the ratings.

So bummed we won't be getting a new season of BBC's Race Across the World. That is a true travel race. 

ETA: Season 2 of the BBC show is still available on line. If anyone wants to watch and needs help finding the episodes, just shoot me a PM. 

Edited December 3, 2020 by TVbitch

[sinycalone]

DeAngelo has been able to do certain tasks quickly (the cello for one), so I think he was convinced he could zip through the tiles.  He also has shown that he can recognize when he needs to take more time for a challenge (at the Kazakhstan movie studio -- he asked Gary not to rush, he required more rehearsal).  The tiles task was an instance where he just did not take that time to step back...and they paid.  As some mentioned earlier, if DeAngelo had done the Day-O task at the beginnin of the race, , Gary would have done the tiles -- totally different results most likely.

What Aparna called out to DeAngelo was just a spiteful, immature tirade....and D has heard the best of the NFL trash talkers.  No comparison.

[Giuseppe]

9 hours ago, Hera said:

I wouldn't have a problem if the producers made it so that teams could only U-Turn someone behind them, but I don't think the producers will ever go for it. It would remove a lot of the risk of U-Turning and make it almost impossible to do something dumb, so they'd miss out on things like Kent and Vyxin U-Turning Nick and Don without realizing that Nick and Don were ahead of them, or a team deciding to not to U-Turn anyone because they're unaware of how far behind they are.

They could change it so that you can't knowingly U-turn a team in front of you. So if either one of Gary/D'Angelo or Beard Bros had used it on Eswar and Aparna, it would have forced the other to either U-turn Hung/Chee or the boyfriends, or just opt to not use it, giving Eswar and Aparna the chance to save themselves by using the second U-turn.

[chaifan]

2 hours ago, 30 Helens said:

I don’t remember where I read it, but the constant bunching is an intentional cost-cutting measure. It got very expensive to have camera crews and production staff in various parts of the world at the same time, so they modified the race structure to keep teams in closer proximity. Unless the show re-spikes in popularity, I don’t see them ever going back to the old ways.  If anything, they’ll probably force everyone closer together so a single camera crew can cover 2+ teams. (“Everybody pile in that taxi! Yes, you can too fit! Don’t make me strap you to the roof!!”)

Yeah, that's why I'm ok with an occasional HOO.  If you had an HOO about every 3rd leg or so I doubt you'd have the issues of teams being 1/2 day or more behind the other.  They could combine this with more land travel and fewer flights.  Do a few adjacent countries with a land crossing, then have an HOO on the 3rd leg to make sure everyone is on the same flight to the next leg. 

Or, as others have said, the solution is to start the leg when everyone is off the plane and out of customs.  Would any true TAR fan have an issue with that?  I doubt it.

But to be honest, it would probably take more than constant spoonfed flights to get me to stop watching TAR.  And that's probably the problem - most of us are too damn loyal and the producers know it.