S08.05 - "I'm A Human Kite"

[TVbitch]

Teams jet off to Kelowna, B.C., where they take their fears to great heights and set their sights on a new target.

[Scarybuttercupp]

I am so disappointed with Tychon and Cedric for outright cheating. I enjoy their dynamic, and Tychon is very easy on the eyes, but I have no respect for cheaters. At least with Jully and Kathy, it seemed that their look at the board was not for the purpose of cheating, and it didn't affect them because they did finally have the correct answer, but I believe T&C should have been given the boot along with J&K.

[Pepper the Cat]

I agree.  Both teams should have left. A rather disappointing ending to an otherwise good episode.

but what the heck? Pounds?? Are we not Canadian? Shouldn’t the cherries be measured in kilos?

The lawn bowling looked fun. And the apple pies delicious!

Looks like the teams that left due to Covid get to come back. What a confusing season.

[hula-la]

18 minutes ago, Scarybuttercupp said:

I am so disappointed with Tychon and Cedric for outright cheating. I enjoy their dynamic, and Tychon is very easy on the eyes, but I have no respect for cheaters. At least with Jully and Kathy, it seemed that their look at the board was not for the purpose of cheating, and it didn't affect them because they did finally have the correct answer, but I believe T&C should have been given the boot along with J&K.

I'm disappointed with them too, and at least the edit showed that they were disappointed in themselves. They would have finished the task faster than Jully and Kathy without resorting to cheating. I'm glad that they were penalized for it. I had noticed Jully reaching for the tablet as well, and totally understand why they were penalized for it too.

Very excited for next week (won't say anything as it could be considered a spoiler).

Edited August 10, 2022 by hula-la
spelling

[UsernameFatigue]

1 hour ago, Scarybuttercupp said:

I am so disappointed with Tychon and Cedric for outright cheating. I enjoy their dynamic, and Tychon is very easy on the eyes, but I have no respect for cheaters. At least with Jully and Kathy, it seemed that their look at the board was not for the purpose of cheating, and it didn't affect them because they did finally have the correct answer, but I believe T&C should have been given the boot along with J&K.

I think that Jully and Kathy absolutely did cheat. When they called for checks previously their board had their calculations and the final number. The last board the editors showed before they called for a check also had calculations. Jon himself said that Jully looked at the competitor's board (actually Jully looked at more than one) before calling for the final check. Their board with the correct number only had the final number written on it, no calculations what so ever. I turned to my hubby at the point and said "They cheated".

In addition Jully told John that she didn't realize that she touched a board, (when she actually didn't only "touch", but picked up more than one) and Kathy said she didn't realize it either when she was actually watching her. So sorry, as far as I can see they not only cheated but lied about it. At least Tychon and Cedric though dishonest in their actions, owned up to it.  Jully and Kathy did not.

1 hour ago, Pepper the Cat said:

but what the heck? Pounds?? Are we not Canadian? Shouldn’t the cherries be measured in kilos?

I live in the Okanagan Valley and Jealous Fruits where they were counting trees sells their produce by the pound, as does Davison Orchards where the pies were made. I can't think of any grower here, whether a large facility like those two or a farmer selling produce at a roadside stand who does not sell by the pound. 

Edited August 10, 2022 by UsernameFatigue

[Bunnyette]

2 hours ago, Scarybuttercupp said:

I am so disappointed with Tychon and Cedric for outright cheating. I enjoy their dynamic, and Tychon is very easy on the eyes, but I have no respect for cheaters. At least with Jully and Kathy, it seemed that their look at the board was not for the purpose of cheating, and it didn't affect them because they did finally have the correct answer, but I believe T&C should have been given the boot along with J&K.

I agree 💯.  Junky & Kathy did not outright cheat but they get the boot because they touched a board?  Yet the cheaters stayed.  Shame on you CTV, I’m not sure I want to watch anymore 

[UsernameFatigue]

37 minutes ago, Bunnyette said:

I agree 💯.  Junky & Kathy did not outright cheat but they get the boot because they touched a board?  Yet the cheaters stayed.  Shame on you CTV, I’m not sure I want to watch anymore 

If you have the ability to play back the scene, Jully looked at the first board for several second before putting it down and picking up another which she did put down right away. Kathy pretty much admitted to cheating to my mind by what she said to Jon. Jully did not.  I thought it was interesting that Jon also pointed out to them on the mat that they looked at the competitor's board before calling for their final check, I think he knew quite well that they cheated, not just that they touched a board and that was all.

Edited August 10, 2022 by UsernameFatigue

[xcrayon2215x]

Was a fan of the skiing and shooting task but not a fan of the cheating. Tychon and Cedric could have made it without cheating. I think that some other team will get COVID which will allow for a team to come back to the season.

[aemom]

1 hour ago, UsernameFatigue said:

I think that Jully and Kathy absolutely did cheat. When they called for checks previously their board had their calculations and the final number. The last board the editors showed before they called for a check also had calculations. Jon himself said that Jully looked at the competitor's board (actually Jully looked at more than one) before calling for the final check. Their board with the correct number only had the final number written on it, no calculations what so ever. I turned to my hubby at the point and said "They cheated".

In addition Jully told John that she didn't realize that she touched a board, (when she actually didn't only "touch", but picked up more than one) and Kathy said she didn't realize it either when she was actually watching her. So sorry, as far as I can see they not only cheated but lied about it. At least Tychon and Cedric though dishonest in their actions, owned up to it.  Jully and Kathy did not.

Everything gets edited, so they may have included certain scenes out of order.

Each leg seems to include two roadblocks now - I wonder if they are going this to keep the legs more balanced?

The young brothers remind me so much of Matthew Perry - another Canadian! 😀

Disappointed in the whole cheating fiasco, but I'm glad that it was a 2 hour penalty - I was worried that it might only be 20 minutes. 

As for the previews for next week:

Spoiler

The three teams that were eliminated with Covid are now back.  Are one or more other teams out with it now?

Being eliminated is clearly not what it used to be in this game, lol.

[UsernameFatigue]

1 minute ago, aemom said:

Everything gets edited, so they may have included certain scenes out of order.

Disappointed in the whole cheating fiasco, but I'm glad that it was a 2 hour penalty - I was worried that it might only be 20 minutes. 

They could have edited out of order, but Jon said on the mat that Jully looked at other team's board before they called for their final check, and their final board that they showed to get their pass only had the final number, no calculations. Can't really edit that out of order. 

Jully claimed to not remember "touching" a board and Kathy claimed not to have seen her touch it (there were actually two boards picked up). Then Kathy said that they knew that if something was left out it was fair game, but that digging through the bins was not OK. So however it was edited, it seems to me they knew what they did (or at least Kathy admitted it) and that it was against the rules.

Tychon and Cedric were at least up front from the get go. They thought of it as a short cut and knew they would get a two hour penalty, and thought the risk was worth it. Obviously the show also just considered it an offense worthy of just a penalty as Jully and Kathy were eliminated because their time with the penalty was longer than Cedric and Tychon's with their penalty. 

To me there should be different penalties for taking "short cuts", and not completing a task. And honestly I think two hours is too short, should be three minimum. Is there anything stopping a team from deciding right away at a task that they would rather take a penalty? Do they have to attempt a task for a certain period of time before deciding to take a penalty instead? 

[aemom]

2 hours ago, UsernameFatigue said:

To me there should be different penalties for taking "short cuts", and not completing a task. And honestly I think two hours is too short, should be three minimum. Is there anything stopping a team from deciding right away at a task that they would rather take a penalty? Do they have to attempt a task for a certain period of time before deciding to take a penalty instead? 

When I said that there is often editing, I didn't mean to suggest that they didn't cheat, what I meant was that they edited what we saw to make it less obvious that they had also looked at the chalkboards to have a surprise at the mat where they would actually be eliminated instead of the father/son. I think they figured that many people would not have noticed. 

Many teams have taken penalties in the past. You can take one any time you want. I still remember the time that Rob and Amber took the 4 hour Roadblock penalty for not eating the meat and then convinced another team behind them to do it too which guaranteed that they would not be eliminated.

https://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/2005/03/the-amazing-race-7-rob_quits_task/

[UsernameFatigue]

1 hour ago, aemom said:

When I said that there is often editing, I didn't mean to suggest that they didn't cheat, what I meant was that they edited what we saw to make it less obvious that they had also looked at the chalkboards to have a surprise at the mat where they would actually be eliminated instead of the father/son. I think they figured that many people would not have noticed. 

Many teams have taken penalties in the past. You can take one any time you want. I still remember the time that Rob and Amber took the 4 hour Roadblock penalty for not eating the meat and then convinced another team behind them to do it too which guaranteed that they would not be eliminated.

https://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/2005/03/the-amazing-race-7-rob_quits_task/

Sorry, I misunderstood what you meant. And I agree that they edited what happened so that it would be a surprise at the mat that Jully and Kathy would be the ones to be eliminated. 

I stopped watching the American version years ago, so only started watching the franchise again with the arrival of the Canadian version. I do remember previously some taking penalties after trying a task for a period of time, but don't think I have seen any in ARC take a penalty without first trying. I guess in theory it could be a strategy, in which case two hours seems like too short of a penalty to me. 

[zapper]

I thought that there was a couple in the first season of ARC who took a penalty without trying the obstacle at all. I can't remember who it was, other than a two man team.  I may be remembering it wrong, but I also remember an interview with Jon after the fact about it.

[Lady Calypso]

We've seen teams take penalties in the past (Dave/Irina were notorious for this last season) for skipping on challenges, but outright cheating has always been more of a grey area with how TAR/TARCan have handled it. Dave, last season, cheated on a task when he copied off of Trish, but he wasn't penalized for it.

Personally, I think if you skip more than one challenge, or outright cheat, there SHOULD be a harsher penalty. Skipping one task should be fine for the two hour penalty, but if you choose to skip multiple tasks, or outright say "I'm cheating here" and do it, that should be grounds for harsher penalties or outright DQ's. 

So, with regards to Tychon/Cedric, they should have chosen to skip the task and I would have been fine with the penalty. But outright cheating should have resulted in a different punishment. 

I liked Jully/Kathy, but totally understand why they were penalized. I don't think Jully consciously cheated, but the editing did show her looking at a board. I do believe her when she said it was subconscious and she probably didn't even register what was on the board, but I can understand why they were penalized and agree with it, begrudgingly. They can't know for sure if Jully subconsciously looking at the board did or did not lead them to the right answer eventually, so they have to be somewhat fair. It's just a real damn shame. 

As for the rest of the episode, I do really like Jesse/Marika, so I was happy for their win. I like Brendan/Connor enough but was happy to see them slip from the top of the pack. 

[Shermie]

21 hours ago, aemom said:

The young brothers remind me so much of Matthew Perry - another Canadian!

That’s what I thought too, esp one of them.

6 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

Personally, I think if you skip more than one challenge, or outright cheat, there SHOULD be a harsher penalty.

Maybe the penalty for skipping challenges should be compounded each time. An hour penalty for the first challenge you skip, two hours penalty for the second, and so on. It would make racers think twice before taking a penalty instead of trying something challenging.

I wouldn’t call what Tychon and Cedric did cheating; they said up front that they were skipping the challenge and taking the penalty. That said, knowingly taking a two-hour penalty when you’re second last is a helluva gamble.

I do think Jully cheated for the reasons mentioned upthread - she only had the number written with no math work, she denied doing it, and she clearly checked more than one board to make sure the number on it was the right answer. They counted many times and couldn’t get the answer, so maybe they thought this would help them.

[zapper]

11 hours ago, zapper said:

 I thought that there was a couple in the first season of ARC who took a penalty without trying the obstacle at all.

I found it.  This is clipped from the wikipedia page on Season 2 in a note on episode 2.

Quote

Rex & Bob initially arrived 6th, but were issued two penalties totalling 6-hours (a 2-hour penalty for quitting the surfing task; and a 4-hour penalty for Bob electing to quit the Roadblock). Three teams (Sukhi & Jinder, Ryan & Rob, and Laura & Jackie) checked in during their penalty time dropping Rex & Bob to 9th place; however, due to Jen & Shawn's withdrawal from the competition (see note 3), they were allowed to checked in at 9th place while the rest of their penalty would be applied to their starting time on the next leg.

So they got 6 hours of penalties for two skipped activities, a task and a roadblock.

I did see a cheating penalty in TAR one season and there was a timed wait, but I'll never find that one, it was years back :)

FWIW, if Tychon and Cedric had announced they were skipping I would have taken that as a strategic move. But purposeful cheating is not cool in my books. As for Jules and Kathy, when they looked in the basket I shouted out at the time that they were cheating too. It sure looked that way to me. I've deleted the copy, but I may go back to the CTV app for a second look.

[TVbitch]

I didn't go back and look, but the way I remembered it was that when Jully picked up a board it was sort of sitting on top of the crate, cuz maybe Tychon and Cedric left it visible. I was thinking, oh, they set a trap for the girls to see it and be tempted and get the same penalty. I could be mistaken, but I didn't care enough to watch again. I didn't enjoy all the singing, so I'm not too broken up. : D 

These are tough legs and I am sad this season will have an asterick by it with the COVID upheaval. 

[Lady Calypso]

On 8/11/2022 at 4:37 PM, Shermie said:

I wouldn’t call what Tychon and Cedric did cheating; they said up front that they were skipping the challenge and taking the penalty. That said, knowingly taking a two-hour penalty when you’re second last is a helluva gamble.

They didn't skip the challenge. They went into another team's basket, took out the board, and copied another team's answers. They knew what they were doing would result in a penalty but honestly, they would have been better off just walking to the mat and taking the exact same penalty. Still shitty to bypass a challenge for the chance of getting ahead of the last team, but at least they wouldn't have outright cheated. 

[Scarybuttercupp]

I re-watched the episode, and Jully does indeed look at multiple boards. However, the editing seems to make it appear that they didn't use the information in their calculations, and that Kathy may have eventually come up with the correct answer. But IMHO, cheating is cheating no matter whether it was deliberate or unintentional, so I believe both teams should have been eliminated, not just penalized. Maybe the powers that be were a little more lenient because of COVID taking out so many teams.

[zapper]

4 hours ago, Scarybuttercupp said:

I re-watched the episode, and Jully does indeed look at multiple boards. However, the editing seems to make it appear that they didn't use the information in their calculations, and that Kathy may have eventually come up with the correct answer. But IMHO, cheating is cheating no matter whether it was deliberate or unintentional, so I believe both teams should have been eliminated, not just penalized. Maybe the powers that be were a little more lenient because of COVID taking out so many teams.

I happened to catch the last 25 minutes on the Sunday night replay. Jully visibly picked up two boards. So the claim that she didn't realize she had done that does fly very far. One board sure, but more than one? hmmmm.

Additionally, the editing showed that she picked up the boards after they had been there for quite a while - perhaps hours. Perhaps she had picked up the boards at the very beginning, but what she was saying led me to think that it was just before they got the answer when she looked at the boards.

However, I wonder why ARC did not not have the baskets labelled. I did not see names or tags on the burlap cover or basket so how would someone know that they were looking in a previously used basket. That could have been done better in the equipment setup.