S33.E10: No Room for Error/S33.E11: In the Hands of the Amazing Race Gods

[FireJuggler]

15 hours ago, greyhorse said:

Well, they're already successful from their social media, so while an extra $1M is nice, it wouldn't be life changing like it would have been for the flight attendants.  I like that they seem very down to earth and aren't going to blow their money on a Lambo.  Seems like Ryan bought a lot of cars after his settlement.

Wow, only 22 minutes?  Seemed like at the elevator task, it wasn't clear if each team took their own tower.  At one point, Ryan and Dusty clearly were at a tower that one of the other two teams were already at because the lock was undone.

I'm continually surprised how difficult people think map reading is.  Maybe it's a sign of my age.  I suppose with smart phones and gps these days, there really is no need to know.  But it seems like a simple skill that doesn't require a lot of smarts.

Calling it an "extra $1M" presumes that they already were millionaires, and I honestly don't think they were, despite that silly overinflated net worth #1 result in Google. 

This website, for example, estimates that channels with 1 million subscribers make about 60K a year on average, and they aren't even up to that yet. They do have other outlets like FB and TikTok too, but still, not over the top rolling in it I believe. 

https://worldscholarshipforum.com/wealth/monthly-salary-of-youtubers-with-over-one-million-subscribers/

I think they are doing fine enough, but not as rich as people think. They talk about how exciting it is that their kids will have a choice of what school to go to and if they want to work or not during college instead of how she (didn't mention if Penn did or not) had to work. Surely if they had a ton of money already, that would have been the case before they won. 

As for maps, yeah, it can seem simple to those of us who only had that option back in the day, but I can see how it can be confusing for those who have never had to use them. They might not know how to read the scale marker, read the legend, use an index to find where a city is on the map, think about how NSEW translates into turns you have to take, etc. Just all the things you have to consider instead of listening to the voice tell you what to do. 

Edited March 6, 2022 by FireJuggler

[ApprenticeFan]

19 hours ago, ByaNose said:

So you won’t be watching another season? Did you not like this season? 

Yes. I liked a lot. The Amazing Race was my favorite reality shows until the demise of filming of S33 in the originally scheduled production of 2020 after COVID disruptions like suspending the race for 19 months to prevent the spoilers once to be back in a COVID safe environment.

First 32 seasons were good in a pre-COVID normal conditions.

Reality Fan Forum got perma-banned me last November by the idiot and friendly admins at that site due to posting "false" spoilers happened in S33, and I will never be going to that site again including future spoiler seasons.

Edited March 7, 2022 by ApprenticeFan

[bybrandy]

People proeject a lot onto the contestants that I often think aren't terribly fair... and I point this out as I project onto Kim.  I didn't see her as done with Penn at all in the last talking head, but rather just her being done in general and as a person who can be super highly self critical standing there and taking effusive praise in front of a camera would be very, very, very difficult for me especially if I was tired and spent and done.  

[millennium]

Dusty didn't win.  Wooooooooo!

[millennium]

You know, even after all these years, the last episode seems to lose the TAR magic when they leave all those beautiful Old World countries and come back to an American city.

[Lamb18]

On 3/4/2022 at 10:55 AM, aghst said:

So 7 legs in about 20-21 days.

Is that typical of the shooting schedule in other seasons or did they comprise it more?

I thought in previous seasons racers had free time to explore the places on their own.

21 days, I believe, is the normal time for shooting an entire season.

[ProfCrash]

On 3/4/2022 at 11:55 AM, aghst said:

So 7 legs in about 20-21 days.

Is that typical of the shooting schedule in other seasons or did they comprise it more?

I thought in previous seasons racers had free time to explore the places on their own.

They had to take time for testing. They spent extra time at pit stops because they were testing every other day. I have no idea if they had the rapid tests that we have now at the time or they had to wait 24 hours for results. 

Kim and Penn also mentioned that they did a lot of driving because the show was looking for smaller towns and locations to shoot challenges at in order to avoid crowds. It sounded like they were driving at least an hour to different challenges. 

The logistics of the show were pretty massively altered in the name of COVID safety.

[eel21788]

5 hours ago, Lamb18 said:

21 days, I believe, is the normal time for shooting an entire season.

According to their website, it's 25 to 30 days.

https://www.theamazingracecasting.com/faq

[blackwing]

I was not a fan of Kim and Penn (particularly Penn) but I did think their win was well deserved.  They were consistent, communicated well, and good at tasks. 

I was rooting for Dusty and Ryan, it's too bad it seems the elevator clue was the one that did them in.

I liked that the final task answers were specific to each team.  However, it didn't seem particularly difficult.  There have been some final challenges that were ridiculously easy (the one that involved that had a giant map and they had to plot their course comes to mind) and I think this one could have been made more difficult.  I would have had a lot more rackets and a lot more false answers.  It seemed like there were only two potential choices for each answer.  There should have been three or four choices for each answer.

Also, I hate that there is almost never any penalty for a wrong guess.  If there is a wrong guess, there should be a timer.  Two minutes before you can guess again.

Regarding the doorknobs in Portugal, I know it didn't affect the outcome any, but it annoyed me that Ryan and Dusty had to paint theirs completely.  I don't know about the other teams, but Arun and Natalia definitely didn't paint theirs even though it was in the middle of a part of the painting that was painted.

On 3/2/2022 at 11:25 PM, eskimo said:

I was worried that the FA would get penalized for leaving their Route Info behind with the map.  IIRC, it used to be a rule?  I swear I remember a team getting dinged for not having all their leg documents.   

 

On 3/3/2022 at 2:46 AM, DrBriCa said:

I worried about that for them as well. Keeping all of the clues during the leg was definitely a rule back in the day that did bite some teams in the butt.

It was definitely a rule, I think once upon a time, you were not allowed to check in if you didn't have all the clues?  I remember racers having to go back for the Amazing Fanny Pack more than once.

Season 2, Tara and Wil, lost their clue in Alaska.  Tara supposedly went to a bookstore in the airport and looked through a guidebook and "remembered" where they were supposed to go.  Uh huh.  I don't recall if they got a penalty or not.

 

On 3/4/2022 at 8:42 PM, lgprimes said:

This fact is what makes me have some distaste for the last leg. The producers had to know that if Kim and Penn made it to the last three they would have a huge advantage in that Foley task. Seemed a bit slanted to me, and sure enough they made up a significant chunk of time on that task.

I agree, even if it's not exactly related to what they do, they are sure to be a lot more familiar with the timing of the sounds and beats than others who have never before seen this thing.  Kim even says she is "obsessed" with foley.

But then again, every team has its strengths and weaknesses.  If there had been a strength test or a physical test, then people would say it was biased towards Ryan and Dusty.

[proserpina65]

On 3/4/2022 at 9:42 PM, lgprimes said:

This fact is what makes me have some distaste for the last leg. The producers had to know that if Kim and Penn made it to the last three they would have a huge advantage in that Foley task. Seemed a bit slanted to me, and sure enough they made up a significant chunk of time on that task.

 Oh well, they are nice people and worked hard the whole race. Congrats to them, But I still would have been happier if the FA team won.

Generally the tasks/routes are set by different groups of production personnel from those who choose which applicants to chose as contestants.  I don't know if that was the case for this season, though.

[katalizt]

18 minutes ago, blackwing said:

I liked that the final task answers were specific to each team.  However, it didn't seem particularly difficult.  There have been some final challenges that were ridiculously easy (the one that involved that had a giant map and they had to plot their course comes to mind) and I think this one could have been made more difficult.  I would have had a lot more rackets and a lot more false answers.  It seemed like there were only two potential choices for each answer.  There should have been three or four choices for each answer.

Kim and Penn said in their podcast there were about 4 choices for each one. There were pictures in which the dolmades were arranged in the wrong direction on the tray for example. But they got most of the right answers pretty quickly, the only ones they weren't sure about were the coin, the jeep, and the boat.

[Ilovepie]

On 3/2/2022 at 8:48 PM, LennieBriscoe said:

Lordy, does this mean I'm going to watch their videos now?! 😂😅

If you do, I recommend Kim playing "Corona" from early 2020. She's an absolute hoot.

I am happy they won - they really earned it, and their knowledge of the show makes me feel like they really were fans and not just internet famous recruits. I would have been fine with any of the final three though, and that's not usually the case. I wouldn't mind seeing either the FA or Ryan & Dusty on an all-star season.

Even though this was the weirdest season ever, I actually enjoyed it more than the last few "normal" seasons. I hope using self-navigation continues to be used more in the next season. It adds a layer of drama that has been missing since they don't book their own airfare any longer. I think that's why I didn't mind the chartered plane - flights as a source of drama has been missing for a long time in this show.

I liked the final memory challenge - it's always so intense when it's two teams frantically trying to be the first to get it right, and this one didn't disappoint with the "FAULT"! "FAULT!" FAULT!" being called every time they got it wrong.

I also liked the callback to prior seasons with the foley work. I will never not laugh at "MY OX IS BROKEN!"

[aghst]

So would TAR fans support either of the runner ups this season for an All-Star season?

Or maybe even the train guys who couldn't make it for the restart?

I think the All-Stars are supposedly racers who were good but couldn't win their seasons?

Though they gave the Globetrotters more than one shot because they had personalities which made them popular.

I don't know that the racers on this season were necessarily that charismatic.  Penn has an "on" personality but if he and Kim didn't win, they would be invited back for being very good racers and DESPITE his personality.

[ProfCrash]

I can see Cayla and Raquel being invited back for All Stars. Maybe the Train dudes on a new season because they only got in a few legs. I don't see anyone else being invited back. They were nice enough but not great racers. The only one I can see really wanting to be back is Dusty. 

Cayla and Raquel: All Stars based on personality and performance. They were a strong all women team and those are rare. Raquel is pregnant though so it might make it a bit less likely that she would come back although she has said she is interested.

Dusty and Ryan: Dusty is interested, Ryan probably has no interest. Ryan knew when the finale was but managed to plan something where he wasn't available for any interviews.

Arun and Natalia: Nope. Nice but suck at navigation and not exciting.

Lulu and Lala: Nope. Food issues and ok racers but nothing great and not stand out characters

Akbar and Sheri: Nope. Awful Racers and didn't show any interest in actually getting into shape for the race.

Michael and Mo: Nice enough but sucky racers.

Caro and Ray: Broken up so nope

New born baby parents whose names I cannot remember. They seemed okish when they were running. I suspect they would have gotten snippy with each other based on what little we did see. They didn't stand out as strong racers.

Husbands: They didn't stand out as impressive racers and I really don't remember anything about them.

Spencer and Anthony: Good back story, strong racers, seemed to be good on the screen. I could see them being back. 

Kim and Penn: I can see them being asked back and saying nope. They were solid racers, who were charismatic, and are memorable. Like them or not, they ran a good race. It would be interesting to see them race in a regular race with more exoctic locations that would test their boundaries far more then travelling through Europe. I can see Kim struggling with some foreign countries and the conditions that they would encounter. But there is no way inhell they would return. Maybe their kids in 10 years....

[Silcrist]

55 minutes ago, ProfCrash said:

Maybe their kids in 10 years....

I would totally watch that.  TAR has been around long enough that I'm sure they could do a season that was all children of previous racers.

Amazing Race: The Next Generation.

[Mahamid Frauded Me]

 

 

Edited - found the answer 

Edited March 7, 2022 by Mahamid Frauded Me

[FireJuggler]

2 hours ago, katalizt said:

Kim and Penn said in their podcast there were about 4 choices for each one. There were pictures in which the dolmades were arranged in the wrong direction on the tray for example. But they got most of the right answers pretty quickly, the only ones they weren't sure about were the coin, the jeep, and the boat.

The Jeep they weren't 100% sure because the exact kind they had wasn't there in the color of the one they had, blue, so they were trying to sort out if they were supposed to go by style or color. 

The boat was hard since she had a big anxiety attack at Portugal so wasn't running on 100% that day. She said she picked that one since she had seen the name on a street sign and it was prettiest. They did have it right the first time they put it up. 

The coin....I think all of them were so tired and exasperated by that task that they just hurried and gave the coin to the Oracle and didn't get a good look at it. 

[DEL901]

Kim has said she’ll never race again due to her anxiety although she’d love to be a producer.   Apparently her anxiety was far worse than the show portrayed and she almost quit when they arrived in Portugal.  Penn expressed in working behind the scenes as well, as an editor.  

[aghst]

2 hours ago, DEL901 said:

Kim has said she’ll never race again due to her anxiety although she’d love to be a producer.   Apparently her anxiety was far worse than the show portrayed and she almost quit when they arrived in Portugal.  Penn expressed in working behind the scenes as well, as an editor.  

They must have cared about winning after all.  Maybe belies the "the money isn't going to change our lives" narrative.

As for working on TAR, don't they have young kids?  What are they going to do leave them with the grandparents at least once a year?  TAR must require production staff to work more than when they are actually filming the race though.

So a much bigger demand on their time and unless they can dod the work from home, they'd have to be away from their family.

[veronicamers]

2 minutes ago, aghst said:

As for working on TAR, don't they have young kids?  What are they going to do leave them with the grandparents at least once a year?  TAR must require production staff to work more than when they are actually filming the race though.

Their kids are middle and high school age. 

[ProfCrash]

55 minutes ago, aghst said:

They must have cared about winning after all.  Maybe belies the "the money isn't going to change our lives" narrative.

As for working on TAR, don't they have young kids?  What are they going to do leave them with the grandparents at least once a year?  TAR must require production staff to work more than when they are actually filming the race though.

So a much bigger demand on their time and unless they can dod the work from home, they'd have to be away from their family.

They said when their kids are in college. Lola is in high school and Penn Charles is in middle school. They are not looking to work on the show next year. 

I bet they make good money with their company and videos but they do employee a bunch of folks. They are in good enough shape that the majority of the money is going towards college. That is also money that they can save for retirement and the like when the kids are in college instead of paying bills. 

They didn’t need the money the way Cayla and Raquel did or even Dusty with a new baby and a new business but it wasn’t like they couldn’t use the money. 

[ApprenticeFan]

I really see the Race should have continued from Scotland to Sweden if COVID did not happen. Anthony & Spencer would be the underdogs until the end, and Penn and Kim continue more dominating.

Edited March 8, 2022 by ApprenticeFan

[Runningwild]

On 3/2/2022 at 10:08 PM, dizzyd said:

I always get sentimental at the end! Good job all. How many teams chose not to come back after covid? 

I didn’t like the door knob. All the door knobs were in the picture just the others were part of the background while one was on the sardine. 

Honestly after 2-3 grueling hours in the hot sun, I don’t think I’d have paid attention to what my coin looked like.

Long live TAR! ♥️

The doorknob thing irritated me. I didn’t go back and check the others, but the one that finished after them (father/daughter) didn’t have to paint their doorknob. WTH?

[ProfCrash]

Just now, Runningwild said:

The doorknob thing irritated me. I didn’t go back and check the others, but the one that finished after them (father/daughter) didn’t have to paint their doorknob. WTH?

Kim and Penn mentioned that they painted a purple line down their doorknob because it was in the design. It wasn't obvious because it was a thin purple line on a black door knob but they said that they did it. I have no idea about the others but it could have been something similar that there was something smaller on the door knob that we didn't see. 

[Tango64]

Watching the final puzzle made me wonder about the pressure on the judges and what would happen if they screwed up. I suspect the local judges shown on camera -- "tennis umpires" in this case -- don't make the final call as to when the team has it right or wrong, with a producer probably doing that off camera. But whoever is actually making the decision, it must be a big moment. 

I can imagine getting flustered in the excitement of the moment and knowing the consequences of getting wrong, causing you to either approve an incorrect puzzle solution or hesitate too long to doublecheck and confirm it. That would be a mess if they sent a team to the final mat by mistake, or if one judge delayed confirming the real winner and so the second place team got the official go-ahead first. 

I know they can reshoot something before airing and clean things up in editing, but sorting it all out in the moment would be quite a task.

[ProfCrash]

I am sure that there is a producer making the call and relaying it to the umpire. 

[Tango64]

22 minutes ago, ProfCrash said:

I am sure that there is a producer making the call and relaying it to the umpire. 

Yeah, I said that. 

[Taeolas]

The pressure to make the right call on the final challenge is probably quite intense. But I'm sure in the producer booth they have it set up to easily track what each team is doing and if they have a correct/incorrect answer on the board, so the real judge can tell at a glance if its correct or incorrect. If they really wanted to, they could set up a mechanism to light up a light if the right answer is on the board. (But Hollywood is cheap, they probably just have interns marking a box Right or Wrong depending on the answer in the field)

[ProfCrash]

Heck, they could have a score card on a dry erase board with the correct answer in green and the others in red. The Production person circles the correct answer when it is up and erases it if it gets changed out. Or they go through and do the circling when the team calls for a check and confirms it with someone then sends the answer on. 

They have done it long enough that they have this down.

[Runningwild]

12 hours ago, ProfCrash said:

Kim and Penn mentioned that they painted a purple line down their doorknob because it was in the design. It wasn't obvious because it was a thin purple line on a black door knob but they said that they did it. I have no idea about the others but it could have been something similar that there was something smaller on the door knob that we didn't see. 

There was nothing on Dusty/Ryan’s doorknob but they had to paint it black. The father/daughter left their doorknob showing as this big brass colored doorknob that didn’t match their picture. And it sounds like Kim/Penn didn’t paint their knob to match their picture. They just added a line. 
 

Still calling BS. 

Edited March 9, 2022 by Runningwild

[Tango64]

16 minutes ago, ProfCrash said:

They have done it long enough that they have this down.

I'm sure they do. Many years of experience. I was just noting that whoever is the one person saying "Yes!" must be under a lot of pressure to get it right. Even with a seemingly foolproof system, they must be thinking of how things will be so f'ed up if they make a mistake.

[ProfCrash]

Just now, Runningwild said:

There was nothing on Dusty/Ryan’s doorknob but they had to paint it black. The father/son left their doorknob showing as this big brass colored doorknob that didn’t match their picture. And it sounds like Kim/Penn didn’t paint their knob to match their picture. They just added a line. 
 

Still calling BS. 

What father and son? Are you talking about Arun and Natalia? No idea what they did with their doorknob. Kim and Penn said that their painting had a purple line go down the door knob so they put it there. Dusty and Ryan needed to paint their door knob to match the back of the scene. Once they did, they moved on. 

Dusty has seemed frustrated that he and Ryan missed it but not that they had to do it. 

And in the long run it didn't influence anything. Dusty and Ryan made it to the final leg. All three teams left at the same time, there was no set starting time. So their loss in the final leg is solely on their inability to figure out the elevator clue. They got to the final task after the two other teams had completed the task. And that had nothing to do with the door knob. 

 

 

 

[bearcatfan]

7 hours ago, ProfCrash said:

What father and son? Are you talking about Arun and Natalia? No idea what they did with their doorknob. Kim and Penn said that their painting had a purple line go down the door knob so they put it there. Dusty and Ryan needed to paint their door knob to match the back of the scene. Once they did, they moved on. 

Dusty has seemed frustrated that he and Ryan missed it but not that they had to do it. 

And in the long run it didn't influence anything. Dusty and Ryan made it to the final leg. All three teams left at the same time, there was no set starting time. So their loss in the final leg is solely on their inability to figure out the elevator clue. They got to the final task after the two other teams had completed the task. And that had nothing to do with the door knob. 

 

 

 

So much focus on painting a door knob that did not change anything in the outcome of the race. To expand on what ProfCrash has stated here, the only thing that not painting the doorknob would have done is maybe, doubtful but maybe moved them up to 2nd. In that case they would still leave at the EXACT SAME TIME on the final leg! If painting the doorknob have led to Arun and Natalia passing them I could understand the angst. It did nothing to change the final standings. Why are people so fixated on this?

[Runningwild]

21 minutes ago, bearcatfan said:

So much focus on painting a door knob that did not change anything in the outcome of the race. To expand on what ProfCrash has stated here, the only thing that not painting the doorknob would have done is maybe, doubtful but maybe moved them up to 2nd. In that case they would still leave at the EXACT SAME TIME on the final leg! If painting the doorknob have led to Arun and Natalia passing them I could understand the angst. It did nothing to change the final standings. Why are people so fixated on this?

Sorry it bothers everyone so much but it just seems like Dusty/Ryan were held go a higher standard than the father/daughter. And possibly everyone else. And that bothers me.
 

I’m glad that didn’t cost them the race. 

[ProfCrash]

10 hours ago, Runningwild said:

Sorry it bothers everyone so much but it just seems like Dusty/Ryan were held go a higher standard than the father/daughter. And possibly everyone else. And that bothers me.
 

I’m glad that didn’t cost them the race. 

I am glad it didn't cost them the race. At least one other team said they did paint on their door knob. Dusty and Cayla and Arun and Natalia have not done a podcast for the finale so we have not heard from them. For all we know, Cayla and Raquel did paint something on their doorknob and we simply didn't see it. 

Kim and Penn took forever to figure out the shading on the letters. They did everything that was outline for them but the shading wasn't outlined. They had to figure that out on their own. That moved them from first to second but no one is complaining about that. Why? Because it was on their can and they should have seen that. They have not complained about it. Penn mentioned that the missed it because the area was too small for the area to be called out the way the rest of the design was. They got that it was on them to figure it out. 

Dusty and Ryan needed to figure out the doorknob. (shrugs)

I thought both teams handle their hiccups just fine. Neither seemed to get panicked. They both kept at it. They both ended up taking a step back and they figured it out. On with the race that they went. 

[ProfCrash]

 

They got it up! Listening now and will add notes as it goes. 

 

Apparently the party was off the hook and Cayla and Dusty are great friends. Say what you will but he is just a demonstrative guy who wears his heart on his sleeve, the good and the bad. 

Cayla loved Dusty's one liners, especially the lambs and they are going to feast. Dusty's was the Arun in the drain.

Hey, they are on the doorknob. Cayla and Raquel discussed the doorknob. They had lines on the outlet of the door but not the doorknob. They didn't need to do the doorknob but they were ready to do it if everything else checked out. Cayla thinks it was because their door was on the side. 

Dusty's tone in the podcast gives the impression that he is not that worried about it. 

Dusty struggled with the arches task. He almost tried to count them outside the box and had to re-read the clue to know what to do. He got it kind of quickly but by pure luck. 

Natalia got the arches on the second take. 

Elevators: They knew it was an elevator but they couldn't figure out the various elevators. You had to know or wait to see elevators coming up to think to look there but it was easy to not see those elevators. Cayala and Raquel missed the exterior elevators at first as well and then got lucky and spotted them. Dusty and Ryan ended up in the lobby for 20 minutes before they managed to convince someone to take them back up to the roof. That seems to be the hiccup for them. 

Cayla said the foley was hard and they were worried about Kim and Penn. 

Cayla struggles with the final task conversation. She is crying for most of it. They thought that they had it because they were ready for this task. The two that they were unsure of was the candy and the coin. Cayla didn't think that candy fell out of the pinatas. Turns out there was a bowl with the candy in it by the clue box and they broke only 4 pinatas so they didn't have much pinata debris. Once they had cleared all the coins and still were getting it wrong. Then they went into panic mode because they didn't know what they had wrong. 

She said they knew they lost when Kim and Penn showed up. They had a 15 minute lead on Kim and Penn. Cayla said she felt defeated when Kim and Penn arrived. She thought they got it in the first try, so it sounds like you couldn't easily hear the other Teams umpires. 

Ryan just watched the episode, so where ever he was he didn't watch the finale. 

No idea on how long they were there after the Holdernesses. 

Dusty and Cayla said that Kim and Penn have been great mentors and that they were Mom and Dad on the show. They refer to them as flawless and consistent race. 

[blackwing]

Is it bad that I have been a viewer of TAR since the very very beginning in 2001, and of the five "famous clips" the only ones I recognised were watermelon, My ox is broken, and hay bales?  What season was the pies from and who is the couple that was featured?  I thought the guy looked like Ernie, but the woman was not Cindy.   What about the zorb sumo wrestling?

13 hours ago, bearcatfan said:

So much focus on painting a door knob that did not change anything in the outcome of the race. To expand on what ProfCrash has stated here, the only thing that not painting the doorknob would have done is maybe, doubtful but maybe moved them up to 2nd. In that case they would still leave at the EXACT SAME TIME on the final leg! If painting the doorknob have led to Arun and Natalia passing them I could understand the angst. It did nothing to change the final standings. Why are people so fixated on this?

Arun and Natalia definitely did not paint their doorknob, and their doorknob was in the middle of a solid color, so they should have had to paint it all the solid color, just like Dusty and Ryan did.  Dusty and Ryan took 9 tries and missed this, while Arun and Natalia were given a pass after the first try, likely because they were in last.

In the end, it didn't make a difference.  Dusty and Ryan checked in third and made it to the finals, while Arun and Natalia were finally sent home.  All teams were on the same plane and all teams started the final leg at the same time.

However, what if they hadn't?  What if Dusty and Ryan got lost on the way to the pitstop, and that extra 15 minutes or however long they spent getting the doorknob wrong cost them the race?  What if there had been a staggered start at the final leg based on how they finished in the Portugal leg?  The teams would not have known this.

Dusty and Ryan could have spent the whole flight over doubting themselves, and letting this get into their head that they missed this detail.

I just think it wasn't fair that they were held to a different standard than other teams.  I don't think Kim and Penn's black shading in the letters are an equivalent, because that shading (and Cayla/Raquel's octopus arm) were clearly part of the painting.  There should have been a specific instruction in the clue, "be sure and paint the doorknob if it is part of the painting".  Or all teams should have been required to do it.

[ProfCrash]

Cayla and Raquel's octupus arms were actually outlined in the color and they just missed it. Kim and Penn's black areas were not outlined for them while everything else was for them and all the other teams. 

In the long run, the differences for Kim and Penn and dusty and Ryan didn't change anything. 

We don't have the timelines for where Dusty and Ryan were when Arun and Natalia finished so it could have been it was a safe pass because Dusty and Ryan's location. Just like I suspect that Dusty and Ryan's smooth sailing in the rest of the finale might have been because they were so far behind Kim and Penn and Cayla and Raquel. at some point in time, the judging likely becomes non-existent when the timing no longer matters. 

Subjective tasks are always going to have their issues, Dusty didn't seem to be hung up about it in his interviews. 

[Netfoot]

1 hour ago, blackwing said:

Is it bad that I have been a viewer of TAR since the very very beginning in 2001, and of the five "famous clips" the only ones I recognised were watermelon, My ox is broken, and hay bales?

No, because those are the ones I remember as well. The pies and zorbs were part of TAR and I vaguely remember them, but I couldn't say who or from which race.

I guess they had to choose clips to which sound effects could be added, as opposed to iconic moments that didn't warrant a sound effect.

 

[dgpolo]

37 minutes ago, Netfoot said:

1 hour ago, blackwing said:

Is it bad that I have been a viewer of TAR since the very very beginning in 2001, and of the five "famous clips" the only ones I recognised were watermelon, My ox is broken, and hay bales?

No, because those are the ones I remember as well. The pies and zorbs were part of TAR and I vaguely remember them, but I couldn't say who or from which race.

I believe that the zorb 'running of the bulls' was TAR24, an all-star season that included Rachel/Brendon (because I remember her complaining that they were being mean to her because she was a girl) and the Cowboys.

The pies might have been TAR14 Amanda and Kris(male), not very memorable as a task. And I think there have been other pie throwing tasks but I might be wrong about that.

TAR32 After delivering the pies they had filled with cream they were pelted with pies to receive the clue. So at least one other time for pies

Edited March 9, 2022 by dgpolo
ETA more information

[blackwing]

41 minutes ago, Netfoot said:

No, because those are the ones I remember as well. The pies and zorbs were part of TAR and I vaguely remember them, but I couldn't say who or from which race.

I guess they had to choose clips to which sound effects could be added, as opposed to iconic moments that didn't warrant a sound effect.

 

I agree that clips were chosen because of the sounds.  But even then, I think there could have been better clips chosen with some sounds that could have been added in.  That are much more representative of the "greatest hits" of TAR.

1) Cheese wheels rolling down the hill!

2) Jonathan closing the trunk on Victoria's head.  Could have had a big "bump" or "clang" sound.  Then a bonus of The Shove.  If they had to clap two sticks to make the sound of the zorb, they could have pushed a backpack or something.

3) When those two brothers flipped their truck.  Could have been a cacophony of sounds.  I forget their names, but this was when the teams that benefitted from non-Philimination lost all of their belongings except the clothes on their back.  The brothers were hoping it would be non-elim and they stripped to their underwear, daring Phil to let them continue on in the race in their underwear.  

4)  The fight at the pitstop between Kisha/Jen and Margie/Luke.  Luke is probably one of the more disliked racers in history it seems.  I know it's mean to make fun of disability, but this is Luke, so the sound effect for his clip would have been a Chewbacca doll.

Edited March 9, 2022 by blackwing

[Netfoot]

6 minutes ago, blackwing said:

I think there could have been better clips chosen with some sounds that could have been added in.

Totally agree. We should start a competition to see who can dream up recall the most iconic clips!

Edited March 9, 2022 by Netfoot

[millennium]

On 3/7/2022 at 6:21 PM, DEL901 said:

Kim has said she’ll never race again due to her anxiety

Nevertheless she conducted herself wonderfully, never allowing frustration, anxiety or pettiness to get the upper hand.   I would wish her husband into a cornfield if I could, but she was great.

[AZChristian]

1 hour ago, millennium said:

 I would wish her husband into a cornfield if I could, but she was great.

Billy Mumy . . . Is that really you? LOL.

[Wonderlad71]

Just finished reading all the comments and I echo that was a great finale . I must agree that it was a worthy top 3 where I would have been happy with any of them winning ( yes even Dusty). And Penn is adorable (sorry haters).

That said,  because of teams dropping out post break,  the momentum was lessened for me with all the NELs. They really could have reduced the episodes to 8 or 9 which IMO would have been better,  but I guess CBS orders a certain number of episodes per season.

Also I didn't mind that it was mainly Europe- centric , but most of this cast was fodder.  Overall not a top season for me but kudos to production on getting it out under challenging circumstances

[OlderThanDirt]

I thought they should have made the first return leg an NEL because we didn't really get to know the eliminated team. But I also have always wished that the first leg of every season would be a NEL for the same reason. There were so many NELs that it got silly, altho Ryan and Dusty belonged in the final three.

Carla and Dusty's podcast was interesting; thanks for the link.

[greyhorse]

On 3/8/2022 at 7:25 PM, Runningwild said:

Sorry it bothers everyone so much but it just seems like Dusty/Ryan were held go a higher standard than the father/daughter. And possibly everyone else. And that bothers me.
 

I’m glad that didn’t cost them the race. 

Aside from the doorknob, do you have any other specific examples from the race that you felt judging on their tasks was harsher and stricter?

The only other judging task that I recall was the flag routine in Switzerland.  Do you feel that they were held to a higher standard?  I think not.  They didn't choose the Donald Where's Your Troosers detour.

I think the foley task was the only one where there was a huge degree of subjectivity.  

 

[ProfCrash]

Lulu  and Lala's recap

There was no sequester hotel during the Pandemic legs. People went home and then flew to LA. The twins actually went to Vegas first and then home and then LA. 

They got to hang out with the other eliminated teams at the pool and had a blast together. They kept partying in Lulu and Lala's hotel room. Mike had a nice toast that they recorded. They saw the three remaining teams watching them party at the poolside in their hotel rooms. 

They watched the morning events from their window, the pre interviews and all of that. 

Production didn't tell them what was going on during the day but there was a production room where they could hang out and eat as a group. 

There are lots of takes for camera angles and the like. So the fake clapping stuff is probably take 87 (that was me, nothing that they said). 

They thought that Cayla and Raquel were in the lead and Production seemed to be super excited and then they were told to get in position because a team was coming through.

Raquel and Cayla were 15-20 minutes behind. The energy was totally different between K/P and R/C. 

No time on Dusty and Ryan's appearance. 

Lots of applause for the production crew.

Pictures from the party at the hotel after the finish. the plane ride home was painful because people were hungover.

Reunion Party pictures and images. They gave all the contestants fanny packs with memorabilia in the fanny pack. They don't get to keep their Amazing Race fanny pack. 

They had a Leg 12 clue to find the pool party for the cast and their family. 

Kim found the karaoke bar and they had a blast. Dusty's dancing skills were interesting and he raps. Lots of videos from the karaoke party. Penn rapped Stan without missing a word. Arun and Natalia sang together. 

It sounds like a blast. The cast seems to genuinely enjoy each other and have fun together. 

[Netfoot]

1 hour ago, ProfCrash said:

The cast seems to genuinely enjoy each other and have fun together. 

Good to hear it. Sort of like the days of Eat, Sleep and Mingle. Why did they ever stop that? Oh yeah. Not enough Survivoresque contention between teams, so instead we end up with S32 Alliancegate.

[Roccos Brother]

I just wanted to say - kudos to Natalia for being the only one to get the column counting challenge correct on the first try. If Arun had performed better in the rowing challenge, who knows how that might have changed the end result for that leg.

Edited March 11, 2022 by Roccos Brother