S34.E11: How Am I Going to Survive This?

[Whimsy]

Quote

TBD

Original airdate 11/30/22

[mojoween]

Poor David.  I actually felt badly for him, to have gone all the way through, and having an entire leg be the thing he was worst at.  And it started so promisingly in the helicopter!

There is a fine line between quitting and knowing when there is zero chance and taking the penalty.  I don’t begrudge them one bit.  And Aubrey may have had her moments, but she couldn’t have been sweeter at that time.

[Guest]

4 minutes ago, mojoween said:

Poor David.  I actually felt badly for him, to have gone all the way through, and having an entire leg be the thing he was worst at.  And it started so promisingly in the helicopter!

There is a fine line between quitting and knowing when there is zero chance and taking the penalty.  I don’t begrudge them one bit.  And Aubrey may have had her moments, but she couldn’t have been sweeter at that time.

The fact that they tried it twice, and it was worse for him the second time, shows both that they made the right call, and that they went as hard as they could before stopping.

I know that Luis (mostly) and Michelle have their anti-fans here, but I'm still impressed by how they deal with setbacks. When they drove the wrong way, there was no freakout, just a "I made a classic Race mistake"/"We're looking forward" convo. And when they failed their first attempt at the volcanos, they calmly worked out what went wrong without a lot of fuss. Maybe Luis does have a need to show off, but they've shown that there's a lot more to them than that. And I find Michelle to be absolutely lovely, and not just in appearance.

Nice to see Emily and Molly still hanging in there.

[hendersonrocks]

Michelle is great, Luis can be a little much. Derek and Claire are mildly annoying but incredibly competent. Emily and Molly are gritty and get things done, even on three and a half legs. It's going to be interesting to see how they measure up in the final tasks and who wins! I really don't have anyone I'm rooting for or rooting against, I just hope it's a well run leg.

This episode was beautiful.

[KeithJ]

Why did they make David and Aubrey sit the entire two hour penalty?  As soon as Molly and Emily checked in, they should have let them go.

[choclatechip45]

Glad Emily/Molly made the final 3!

I felt bad for David and Aubrey but they made the right call. 

[Meowwww]

Derek continues to make me wonder how he got here.  I like Claire but can’t stand him.  Go twins!  Through adversity, they are still hanging in there. 
The water challenges terrify me. I’m not a strong swimmer unless I’m in a swimming pool.  

[mertensia]

That looked brutal, wet suits or not. I liked hearing the little memory prompts they used. 

[chaifan]

I don't know if Aubrey and David would have made it, even if David didn't have issues swimming/snorkeling.  They were so far off on the placement of the volcano names even after their second try.  When they were going back for the second swim, I was thinking they would probably be better off with David just floating around and Aubrey concentrating on the task.  I was hoping they'd make a 3rd attempt with that strategy, but nope.  I'm really wondering if there's stuff we didn't see with David, a bigger panic attack or something that explained why they didn't even bother with a 3rd attempt.

I was getting a bit frustrated 1/2 way through since the first two challenges were pretty much first in/first out challenges, with very little opportunity to mix up the order.  The 3rd challenge made up for that.

I'm so glad Molly & Emily are in the final 3.  I think this is all going to come down to the final challenge.  I expect Molly & Emily will be lagging at that point, but if the challenge is a hard one and the other teams are struggling, they could pull it off.  (Assuming it's a more mental than physical challenge.)  They are right - they're good at challenges.

[Lantern7]

Looks like the finale will come down to the dating couple from Big Brother, the dating couple that isn’t from Big Brother, and a team that has been racing on borrowed time for several legs.

I’m not begrudging Emily & Molly, but they should be lucky if Emily’s leg holds out at all next week. Theirs has been a great story, and they might be the team of destiny . . . the fourth all-female team to win! Sorry . . . had a flashback of Raquel & Cayla.

I’m still wondering if we’ll get the old show back. As good as this season has been, it feels like it’s running a fraction of its speed. On the bright side, there hasn’t been anyone supremely irritating this season . . . and those that came close to that wound up eliminated. Once again, I wonder if not casting head cases works against TAR in the long run.

1 hour ago, hendersonrocks said:

This episode was beautiful.

🎵”Amazing Raaaaaaaaaacers in Iceland!”🎶 Just me?

32 minutes ago, mertensia said:

That looked brutal, wet suits or not. I liked hearing the little memory prompts they used. 

Same thing as remembering the various coats of arms!

[Fukui San]

1 hour ago, chaifan said:

I'm so glad Molly & Emily are in the final 3.  I think this is all going to come down to the final challenge.  I expect Molly & Emily will be lagging at that point, but if the challenge is a hard one and the other teams are struggling, they could pull it off.  (Assuming it's a more mental than physical challenge.)  They are right - they're good at challenges.

I don't think we've had  properly tortuous final challenge in years, though. Have we?

[GaT]

Wow, that was a really tough leg, they all had to be exhausted, & then they had to remember all those volcanos too. I would have never been able to do it.

[aghst]

4 hours ago, mojoween said:

Poor David.  I actually felt badly for him, to have gone all the way through, and having an entire leg be the thing he was worst at.  And it started so promisingly in the helicopter!

There is a fine line between quitting and knowing when there is zero chance and taking the penalty.  I don’t begrudge them one bit.  And Aubrey may have had her moments, but she couldn’t have been sweeter at that time.

Very nice people but they were fortunate to have gotten as far as they did, because they teamed up and got through a couple of tasks easily.  Aubry second-guessing herself during the navigation shows that they probably needed help from teaming up.

Have all or most of the seasons had some kind of swimming task?

If the swimming task came up in an earlier leg, they likely wouldn't have survived, unless only Aubry had to do the swimming.

They were gracious, grateful for how much of the race they got to do but it's got to be tough to lose on the penultimate leg.  

Derek and Claire are probably favorites because they got good mobility and probably good approach to the memory challenges.  But not a fan of these reality show contestants who make the rounds of multiple shows so I hope one of the other teams upset them.

[Vermicious Knid]

They were pinin' for the fjords!

They really need to go back to having the Racers leave in the actual interval they checked in, not 15 minutes. It's not very fair if there's a pretty large chunk of time separating Racers but it just gets wiped out. 15 minutes is easy enough to make up.

Happy to see the twins in the final.

[Packerbrewerbadger]

We get it, you’ve got an injured leg, enough!

Eliminated couple was very gracious.

[Kelda Feegle]

Good episode, I love Iceland and would have enjoyed all those challenges only to have fallen down star-struck at meeting Olaf who I adore!

[Lady Calypso]

I really didn't have a problem with anyone left, so I'm both happy with who made it to the F3 and also sad on who just missed out. Aubrey and David did grow on me by the end, especially Aubrey.

Beautiful leg this time around and some decent challenges. It's a shame for David that they all involved water. You could really see it affecting him by the end, and you could feel the disappointment when they realized they had to take the penalty and for sure be eliminated. I think, had the four teams not been bunched up and if they had been confident that they only had a couple of wrong answers, they might have powered through one more try. But they knew the writing was on the wall once Emily and Molly left, and they knew trying again would cause more anxiety while still being eliminated. They made the right choice, and loved Aubrey talking about not wanting to see David go through the water portion again.

Loved seeing Derek/Claire ace the memory challenge and get first again. And Claire did well with the ice climb, despite being fearful of heights. Really enjoyed seeing them support each other there. 

Luis/Michelle are still my top picks to win, then Derek/Claire. Emily/Molly are fantastic, I'd love to see them win, but they're gonna struggle with Emily's leg. I could see them pulling it out, but they're really going to have to focus and ace each challenge.

[chaifan]

8 hours ago, Fukui San said:

I don't think we've had  properly tortuous final challenge in years, though. Have we?

Just make it something harder than counting poker chips... 

[anniebird]

6 hours ago, Vermicious Knid said:

They really need to go back to having the Racers leave in the actual interval they checked in, not 15 minutes. It's not very fair if there's a pretty large chunk of time separating Racers but it just gets wiped out. 15 minutes is easy enough to make up.

Aren't they doing that because they're using chartered planes so they couldn't have anyone get hours behind? Or did they go back to scheduled airlines? I admit, I didn't really pay attention to that little detail.

[iMonrey]

Quote

They really need to go back to having the Racers leave in the actual interval they checked in, not 15 minutes. 

I don't care for this either, whatever the reason. When they're down to just four teams they shouldn't still be leaving in groups. 

Add swimming to the list of skillsets one must brush up on before going on The Race (along with driving a stick and reading a map). I was initially annoyed at the Roadblock because it's one of those challenges that don't really affect placement. But apparently that's only if you can swim. 

I cracked up when Michelle was reading the clue and didn't know how to pronounce "fissure." (She seems to think it's Pfizer.)

You could tell David and Aubrey were eliminated by their faces during their various talking heads, both looked pretty down. At first I thought maybe Emily and Molly would give their spot to them because of Emily's injury, but nope! Mad props to those two, especially Emily, for powering through. I honestly don't know what kind of chance they have in the finale but I wouldn't have thought they'd even make it this far.

As for the other two, I'd have pegged Michelle and Luis as the team most likely to win, but Derek and Claire really pulled it out of the bag this leg, and we saw that Michelle and Luis were not infallible either. So it's likely a toss-up.

[seacliffsal]

It must just be me, but I was really hoping Molly and Emily would be eliminated as I am, quite frankly, tired of hearing about her knee.  This episode it seemed like quite a bit of time was spent listening about her knee.  The payoff will probably be that they win (no spoilers-purely based on the amount of time every single episode we have to hear about her knee) as I can think of no other reason that the editors have featured it so much.  They talk about wanting to stay in the race so that they can continue to get to know each other but I vote for getting to know each other over a bottle (or two) of wine.  

I felt bad for David as he seemed so sad that he just couldn't face the water again.  BUT, I can't believe someone would go on the race without learning how to swim (stick shift, read a map, etc., etc.).

I am rooting for Luis and Michelle to take it all.

[Browncoat]

2 hours ago, chaifan said:

Just make it something harder than counting poker chips... 

Or eating pizza.

[Yogisbooboo64]

Aubrey sacrifices the game for David instead of constantly yelling at the man.  I felt for them both having to be eliminated.

I like the remaining couples and wouldn’t be upset for a Luis/Michelle win, though I’m rooting for Derek and Claire to get the top prize.  Luis and Michelle have actually grown on me, I love her fearlessness and lovely smile.  Luis is cool in how much he loves her; I find it endearing.  All four had me verklempt last night, don’t know why I’ve been such a wuss lately.

[Seelouis]

22 minutes ago, seacliffsal said:

I felt bad for David as he seemed so sad that he just couldn't face the water again.  BUT, I can't believe someone would go on the race without learning how to swim (stick shift, read a map, etc., etc.).

I’m pretty sure David knows how to swim. He’s just not a very strong swimmer and he panicked. It’s not like swimming in a pool where you see the sides and the bottom. With the mask on and the suit I think his fear got the better of him. 

[RunningMarket]

I thought Aubrey was really mature and gracious in her exit at the mat. When Phil mentioned "bittersweet" she responded kindly, "not bitter at all." They made the right call in taking the penalty, especially when it was obvious they were last and not catching up. I noticed all of them had trouble speaking when they first got out of the water, so strong swimmer or not, that frigid water wasn't helping.

Beautiful scenery for the penultimate leg.

[Browncoat]

4 minutes ago, Seelouis said:

I’m pretty sure David knows how to swim.

I thought I heard him say he couldn't swim at the first water task, in the cave.  Maybe I misheard him.

[fishcakes]

I feel like everyone should know how to drive a stick not just for purposes of the race, but for life reasons because you never know when you'll need to do it, and I drove a stick shift for decades, buying an automatic for the first time only three years ago, but I have to say I was completely flummoxed by that Land Rover last night. Derek said it had four pedals and we saw that it had a second shifter. I googled it and apparently the second shifter has two positions, one for low gears and one for high, but I don't see why that's helpful when you already control when you shift gears. Some automatics have a Sport mode that does a similar thing, but I don't see the point of it in a manual transmission. No idea what the fourth pedal is for.

I wonder if David and Audrey really had to sit out the entire two-hour penalty. In the past, Phil has occasionally gone out to a last team that was still doing a task and eliminated them there once all the other teams had checked in. It was still pretty light out when David and Audrey checked in (though I don't know what time of day they started), so I wonder if once their elimination was a foregone conclusion, if they were told they could go ahead to the mat. The mat was at such a spectacular location, I could see why they wouldn't send Phil out to them, and at that point, there's really no reason to make them just sit at the task site for two hours.

[Seelouis]

12 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

I thought I heard him say he couldn't swim at the first water task, in the cave.  Maybe I misheard him.

He said he wasn’t a strong swimmer 

[jabRI]

Who was Olaf? I didn't catch it

[Harry24]

5 minutes ago, jabRI said:

Who was Olaf? I didn't catch it

He’s a big star actor in Iceland, according to Phil’s introduction.

Also, IIRC David said both that he couldn’t swim and that he wasn’t a strong swimmer.  Given how awesomely he was holding it together mentally, especially at the first swimming challenge, I could imagine that saying he “wasn’t a strong swimmer” could have been a way for him to keep his attitude as positive as possible.  I was so impressed with him.  

Of course, he should have learned to swim before going on the race.  Hopefully this experience will prompt him to really learn how to swim.  It’s just a basic safety skill.

[Guest]

I'm not sure how I feel about the fact that so many people are seeing Emily in constant pain to the point of actual tears and their reaction is "enough about your damn leg already!" 😕 I'm guessing it was a lot more irritating for her than it is for any of us. It's easy enough for us to just gloss over it if it's annoying us; she can't really gloss over the agony, so I'm not sure what else people expect her to be talking about.

[eel21788]

1 hour ago, fishcakes said:

 No idea what the fourth pedal is for.

I wonder if it was just the old-fashioned emergency brake that you used to step on to engage. It was always positioned to the left of the clutch, so it might have looked like an extra pedal to a neophyte.

[aghst]

In the twins' case, it does come off as whining but it could be that that's all the twins want to talk about, her knee and how much they treasure being together.

It's repetitive but it would be a good way to get through all he TH requirements and say something without really revealing a lot much more or saying just the things they want to say.

[eel21788]

14 hours ago, chaifan said:

I'm really wondering if there's stuff we didn't see with David, a bigger panic attack or something that explained why they didn't even bother with a 3rd attempt.

The sound crew couldn't stand to hear him say "you got this" one more time, so they fitted him with a muzzle. He had a choice between drowning or shutting up, and he decided he had no desire to do either one.

[cowgirlwen]

29 minutes ago, tracyscott76 said:

I'm not sure how I feel about the fact that so many people are seeing Emily in constant pain to the point of actual tears and their reaction is "enough about your damn leg already!" 😕 I'm guessing it was a lot more irritating for her than it is for any of us. It's easy enough for us to just gloss over it if it's annoying us; she can't really gloss over the agony, so I'm not sure what else people expect her to be talking about.

I agree!  Pain can be all-consuming!  I'm sure it's constantly in her thoughts and, therefore, her conversation.  Not to mention that we're getting the editors' version of her conversations.  There may very well be more being discussed, we're just not seeing it.  But I can assure you, if I were in her shoes, I'd be doing the same... or much, much worse!

[Mean Jeanne]

I almost jumped out of my chair when I saw Olaf at the finish line. I LOVE HIM!!!!!! He’s an awesome actor and, if you can handle subtitles you should check out Trapped on Netflix, it’s really good. (Not to mention he’s a big sexy beast of a man and all he has to do is say the word and he could be my third husband 😆)
 

Actually came here to say, I don’t understand how anybody could apply to be on TAR if they don’t know how to swim. OR if they can’t drive a stick shift, at least one member of the team should know.

Happens on Survivor too, which is even more ridiculous because they’re always on an island and half of the challenges involve being in the water.

[Netfoot]

18 hours ago, seacliffsal said:

It must just be me, but I was really hoping Molly and Emily would be eliminated as I am, quite frankly, tired of hearing about her knee.

It's not just you. I didn't/don't dislike any of the final four teams, but honestly I was hoping for The Knee to be eliminated, even if it meant Molly & E-Molly had to go with it. I'm absolutely sick of hearing about The Knee, and don't want to ever hear about it again. But now, I will have to suffer through one more episode of The Amazing Knee.

While it's true I don't dislike any of the remaining teams, I am barracking for Claire & David Derek. I hate BB but they have won me over with their attitudes and I give thanks we didn't end up with another Rachael!

17 hours ago, fishcakes said:

I was completely flummoxed by that Land Rover last night. Derek said it had four pedals and we saw that it had a second shifter. I googled it and apparently the second shifter has two positions, one for low gears and one for high, but I don't see why that's helpful when you already control when you shift gears.

Not sure what the fourth pedal is for on a Landy. Could it be a foot-operated parking brake? (I hate those.) Some have three sticks. The regular gearshift lever, then one that switches between high and low range, and the last one to switch between 2- and 4-wheel drive. Or the last two sticks might be combined into one with three positions marked 2H, 2L and 4L. Two-high for normal driving, two-low to shift the ratios of all gears down for more traction, and four-low when for when you really need four-wheel grip.

The worst part about finding out who are the final three teams is that it means the next episode will be the last. Thank goodness more seasons are in the pipe.

Edited December 2, 2022 by Netfoot

[HurricaneVal]

I knew this before, but I have to say it again:  Iceland is gorgeous!

Poor David.  I really felt for him.  I mean, they really piled it on with those tasks.  Not being a strong swimmer is one thing, but swimming in bulky dry suits that are difficult to maneuver in, in a cave, in frigid water, with a mask and snorkel, and then being lowered by ropes,  jumping into waterfalls, and swimming in a narrow canyon.....that's a LOT.  Really, a lot.  Harsh environment, unfamiliar/weird gear, terrain and conditions that were physically and mentally challenging.....that's really a lot to expect from a racer.  Everyone seemed exhausted just from the physicality of it, let alone having to fight the mental and emotional demons that David did.  Aubrey was really gracious, this team really grew on me.

I did not catch that the underwater volcano trail of signs was actually in order, so sitting here in my comfy and warm recliner, that sounds easy:  just memorize the first syllable, or first and last letters, of each name you swim over.  I thought they had to remember the date AND the name.  That would have been really hard!  The clue reveal with the falling sand was really a nice touch.

With quite a few teams prominently sporting the 66 Degrees North branded clothing, it appears the show outfitted them on arrival in Iceland.  I thought the racers had to supply their own clothing, and be prepared for either tropical or arctic climes, but maybe they don't have that requirement anymore.  Or maybe once they got on location in Iceland and didn't have the proper gear to survive, production elected to outfit them rather than have them go into hypothermia on camera and end the race right there.  Or 66 Degrees North offered to sponsor the Iceland legs.  I did note some individuals seemed to have personal cold weather gear, so not everyone was sporting the branded gear.

Sorry about David, but this was a good leg.  I'm good with any team winning, really.  I have a soft spot for the twins though, so I'm favoring them to win.

[Hera]

18 hours ago, mojoween said:

There is a fine line between quitting and knowing when there is zero chance and taking the penalty.  I don’t begrudge them one bit.

Neither do I. Everyone talked about how cold the water was as well, so I wouldn't begrudge any team who knew they were in last place deciding not to go back in at that point. And given how many volcano names Aubrey and David had misplaced on their board, I reckon they would have needed at least two more trips through the water before they passed, so I'm glad they didn't talk themselves into trying it "one more time".

4 hours ago, RunningMarket said:

I thought Aubrey was really mature and gracious in her exit at the mat. When Phil mentioned "bittersweet" she responded kindly, "not bitter at all."

Aubrey was really lovely through both tasks. I think she may have realized early on that this was going to be her team's downfall and took the view that the whole thing was nice while it lasted. One thing I really like about this season is that all the teams have seemed really appreciative of the experience. Even Luis and Michelle, who have been shown talking about winning and the prize money the most of all the teams, have seemed genuinely excited about the locations and the challenges. And it's another reason I feel sorry for Emily, because addition to her bad knee messing with her ability to compete, I'm sure it's having a detrimental effect on her ability to enjoy the experience of the race (and create happy memories with her long-lost sister).

21 minutes ago, HurricaneVal said:

I thought they had to remember the date AND the name.

That's what I thought as well, based on how they described the task in the voiceover. I always wonder what the instructions the racers are given actually say. Did the racers know that it would be matching names to years, or did they think they might have to write in years next to names? Mind you, the race doesn't often make teams remember long lists of numbers and names. I remember a few years ago there was a task where teams had to remember the names and heights of something like five mountains, but in the end, the heights were given and racers just had to remember the names that went with them.

Edited December 1, 2022 by Hera

[chaifan]

21 minutes ago, HurricaneVal said:

I thought the racers had to supply their own clothing, and be prepared for either tropical or arctic climes, but maybe they don't have that requirement anymore. 

Just going by memory here, but I thought the show typically provided the racers with cold weather gear, and has done so at least from very early on if not the beginning.  Anyone know for sure? 

[HurricaneVal]

In the past, I think production supplied racers if special equipment outside of "normal" personal gear was required.  Like arctic snowsuits for extreme conditions, or heavy duty rain gear for boat tasks in Alaska for instance.  Not hats, gloves, and jackets for essentially touring or street wear.  Maybe some racers started out with such gear, but when they left the Alps, they jettisoned their cold weather gear thinking they were done with the cold climes, in favor of lighter packs.

I seem to remember some pretty chilly racers at a New York or Chicago (I forget which)  finale who had ditched all their cold weather gear when they were in Africa.

[aghst]

Dang I'm interested in those TAR fanny packs but the CBS store only has shirts and tote bags.

[fishcakes]

3 hours ago, eel21788 said:

I wonder if it was just the old-fashioned emergency brake that you used to step on to engage. It was always positioned to the left of the clutch, so it might have looked like an extra pedal to a neophyte.

1 hour ago, Netfoot said:

Not sure what the fourth pedal is for on a Landy. Could it be a foot-operated parking brake?

I think you two are right and it is a parking brake. I had forgotten all about those until you mentioned them, but they were common, especially when a lot of cars had bench seats in the front. I don't think I've seen a foot brake like that since the '80s.

[Skooma]

1 hour ago, HurricaneVal said:

I knew this before, but I have to say it again:  Iceland is gorgeous!

...

With quite a few teams prominently sporting the 66 Degrees North branded clothing, it appears the show outfitted them on arrival in Iceland.  I thought the racers had to supply their own clothing, and be prepared for either tropical or arctic climes, but maybe they don't have that requirement anymore.  Or maybe once they got on location in Iceland and didn't have the proper gear to survive, production elected to outfit them rather than have them go into hypothermia on camera and end the race right there.  Or 66 Degrees North offered to sponsor the Iceland legs.  I did note some individuals seemed to have personal cold weather gear, so not everyone was sporting the branded gear.

Sorry about David, but this was a good leg.  I'm good with any team winning, really.  I have a soft spot for the twins though, so I'm favoring them to win.

Iceland is indeed gorgeous ... especially without Jonathan (Season 6) in it this time.  And what Chaifan said below.

53 minutes ago, chaifan said:

Just going by memory here, but I thought the show typically provided the racers with cold weather gear, and has done so at least from very early on if not the beginning.  Anyone know for sure? 

Yes, I concur.  Phil stated right out loud on the show as far back as the original Season 1 when the teams reached Alaska that any super duper cold weather gear is provided by TAR.  So it was, so it has been through all the seasons.

[mojoween]

1 hour ago, Hera said:

Even Luis and Michelle, who have been shown talking about winning and the prize money the most of all the teams, have seemed genuinely excited about the locations and the challenges.

Michelle’s exuberant “I’m so excited!” before she climbed the glacier was so adorable.  She has the most un-fake smile I have ever seen.

[iMonrey]

Quote

I’m pretty sure David knows how to swim. He’s just not a very strong swimmer and he panicked. 

Quote

I thought I heard him say he couldn't swim at the first water task, in the cave.  Maybe I misheard him.

He cannot swim. He managed to make it through the Roadblock by pushing himself along the sides of the cave. I can imagine how terrifying it must have been to jump down into that water when you cannot swim. The Detour, on the other hand, was a different story, and he obviously was unable to do it. It's not that he's just not a "strong swimmer," it's that he can barely tread water. In his own words his swimming skills are next to nothing (or words to that effect). 

I did feel bad for him. There aren't a lot of swimming challenges on AR. I remember one way back when, there were two gals who were both athletes, I think, but one could not swim at all and they had to swim the length of a pool several times. It was grueling. And I remember some diving challenges in the early seasons. Of course, we've had a lot of paddling challenges in canoes and such, but just outright swimming doesn't happen as often as, say, driving a stick. I can see where someone who can't swim might just hope it doesn't come up.

[mojoween]

It’s also funny to me that while Luis had moments where he was on the precipice of being too. much., they don’t even really annoy me a little bit.  And yet last season’s winners, whose name are escaping me, drove me bonkers the entire Race.

[Door County Cherry]

19 hours ago, KeithJ said:

Why did they make David and Aubrey sit the entire two hour penalty?  As soon as Molly and Emily checked in, they should have let them go.

Right.  Since it was the last task, I think they should have done what they've done in the past and had them sit out their penalty at the finish line.  And they could have checked them in as soon as Emily and Molly arrived.  

17 hours ago, Fukui San said:

I don't think we've had  properly tortuous final challenge in years, though. Have we?

Maybe not.  But I also think teams have gotten better at preparing for some of the torturous memory challenges that tripped people up. 

9 hours ago, Kelda Feegle said:

Good episode, I love Iceland and would have enjoyed all those challenges only to have fallen down star-struck at meeting Olaf who I adore!

Ha!  I know.  As Derek and Claire were running up to the finish line, I was saying to myself "is that the guy from Trapped?" Then Phil introduced him. 

2 hours ago, Mean Jeanne said:

I almost jumped out of my chair when I saw Olaf at the finish line. I LOVE HIM!!!!!! He’s an awesome actor and, if you can handle subtitles you should check out Trapped on Netflix, it’s really good. (Not to mention he’s a big sexy beast of a man and all he has to do is say the word and he could be my third husband 😆)

I'm pretty sure the first two seasons of Trapped (the better seasons) are on Amazon in the US.  Entrapped, the third "spinoff" season is on Netflix.  

The actor does a lot of English language TV as well.  He was in the Eurovision movie a few years ago.  

I loved this episode.  I can't remember a leg as breathtaking as this one. 

[seacliffsal]

I just wanted to clarify that I totally feel for Emily (especially as I have bad knees), so my complaint about the amount of time hearing about her knee is totally on the producers/editors.  I understand and acknowledge that she and Molly would be talking a lot about her knee-I just don't want to hear so much about it during the already brief 40 minutes of content we get per episode.  I would be complaining nonstop-but it's on the editors whether they beat it into the ground or not.  Total sympathy for Emily.

[KittyQ]

3 hours ago, HurricaneVal said:

With quite a few teams prominently sporting the 66 Degrees North branded clothing, it appears the show outfitted them on arrival in Iceland.  I thought the racers had to supply their own clothing, and be prepared for either tropical or arctic climes, but maybe they don't have that requirement anymore.  Or maybe once they got on location in Iceland and didn't have the proper gear to survive, production elected to outfit them rather than have them go into hypothermia on camera and end the race right there.  Or 66 Degrees North offered to sponsor the Iceland legs.  I did note some individuals seemed to have personal cold weather gear, so not everyone was sporting the branded gear.

I wondered about this too. I also wondered how / where the personal gear for cold weather is when they are in warmer climates. As far as I can tell, no one's backpacks are big enough to carry puffy coats and boots. Do they get to have the additional gear stowed somewhere until it is needed?