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

[toodywoody]

I don't know how the twins are going to survive the final leg with her knee being so bad.

[vousviou]

3 hours ago, seacliffsal said:

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

That's correct -- the teams get interviewed for a much longer time and that gets edited way down according to whatever narrative the show is trying to present to viewers.

Also, the teams get asked questions like "how hard physically was it today? Was your knee/ankle/shoulder bothering you?" People can always refuse to answer questions and try to steer things a particular way, but in general I think they try to be accommodating to what the producers want. They can't necessarily know what the show will end up focusing on. A lot of times I don't think the producers know until the show is over and they want to choose some major themes according to how things shake out.

[vousviou]

21 hours ago, Fukui San said:

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

The all star race a few years ago that ended in Detroit had a hard final challenge -- teams had to assemble a drum kit while bands were blasting The White Stripes all around them. It took everyone multiple tries, and the noise made it really hard to concentrate. Leo and Jamal were basically toast at that point, but both of the other two teams struggled with that final challenge before it was decided.

[bankerchick]

It's been a little over 24 hours since the original broadcast.  I hope whoever it was last week who said they were going to have a drink every time the sister mentioned her knee, is out of his/her alcohol coma by now.

[GenerationX]

I was wondering why Phil didn't do a mercy mid-penalty Philimination, but then I realized the mat provided one of the most beautiful vistas in the entire world.  Made sense to let them see it before giving them the expected news.

I'll be rooting for the only entertaining team left in the finale, Luis and Michelle.

[Quilt Fairy]

I'm really pissed that Olaf Darri Olafsson got such short shrift as the greeter in this episode.  I was in the process of a making a post in the live chat thread about the fantastic Iceland-based mystery series Trapped (or Entrapped, as season 3 is titled) and all of a sudden Detective Andri Olafsson (yeah, the character has the same last name as the actor) pops up as the greeter.  I was fangirling big time.  It's a great show, especially season 1. 

[30 Helens]

I can’t remember the last time I’ve liked all three finale teams so much. Luis and Michelle are clearly having the time of their lives, and their mutual admiration is endearing. Derek and Claire are calm, collected, and each other’s rocks— lovely to see. Molly and Emily exemplify perseverance with a smile. I would be happy to see any of these teams win, and I suspect the ones who don’t will be just as happy for the experience.

Note to casting: please take this season as proof that you don’t need volatility or Big Personalities to make an interesting race. Nice people are fun to watch, too.

[Scatterbrained]

In the knit cap and glasses, I thought Derek looked like Where’s Waldo this episode!  

Edited December 2, 2022 by Scatterbrained

[chaifan]

8 minutes ago, Scatterbrained said:

In the knit cap and glasses, I thought Derek looked like Where’s Waldo this episode!  

I thought the same thing!  😄

[blackwing]

Loved the aerial shots from the helicopter, especially the ones where we could see multiple waterfalls.  Amazing.

I still maintain my position about Derek and Claire being a fake couple, and perhaps Derek is actually gay.  Claire seems way more into him than he is into her.  He seems like he is only with her because it is expected by his parents that he be with a woman.  He gushed about the helicopter ride and said it made him feel like James Bond.  Claire says something like "oh can I be your Bond Girl" and he is kind of like "ummmm".  Odd.  I did see at the end when they hit the mat and kissed on the lips (first time on the show I think?), but it looked to me like she kissed him and he kissed her back because it was expected.

Derek actually did a Roadblock, shocking.  And he knows it because he joked "what's a Roadblock".  It was interesting to hear him read "Derek must do this Roadblock" in the instructions.  I'm wondering if everyone's instructions said this, because how would production know which envelope they would grab, or if they were given a different sheet for the camera taping.  The Derek that did the Roadblock did seem to be a bit more confident than the normally "afraid of everything" wimpy Derek.  Not sure where this Derek came from.

I did feel bad for David.  He said he wasn't a strong swimmer, but really, this wasn't a swimming task in the traditional sense.  It was basically floating and kicking.  He could have just dog paddled.  I'm curious as to why production couldn't have supplied kickboards for people less comfortable in the water.

I missed Phil's introduction as to what that place was.  Is that normally a tourist attraction?  Snorkel amongst some natural fissures?  Or was that a natural feature that the show decided to make into a task?  I personally found it creepy.  I have no issues with swimming, but that fissure seemed really deep, and I would probably worry that somehow I'd get sucked down into some nook or cranny by some whirlpool.  Or that some creature would come from the depths and attack me.

17 hours ago, HurricaneVal said:

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.

I did hear Audrey saying that all of the signs were in descending order.  Boo.  At first I thought they were going to have to keep track of 15 names and dates, but if the signs were all in descending order, then it's just a simple matter of remembering the names in order.  I think it would have been better if they were randomly placed.  Or maybe somewhere towards the end, have one sign with a date that was out of order and the teams would have to figure out where it gets put.  Teams that only were remembering the names would have had a tough time.  We are at Final Four, why the need to consistently dumb down the race?

15 hours ago, Door County Cherry said:

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 synopsis sounds interesting, and I do like the idea an Icelandic mystery, I've read some Icelandic mysteries and they always have that same "feel".  But I also watched "Fortitude" on Amazon Prime (I think?), which I believe was set in either Iceland or Norway.  Was attracted to it because of that Scandinavian "feel", it started out fine but then devolved into a mess, to the point where I didn't bother with Season 2.  Is this "Trapped" show better?

[Netfoot]

12 hours ago, vousviou said:

The all star race a few years ago that ended in Detroit had a hard final challenge -- teams had to assemble a drum kit while bands were blasting The White Stripes all around them. It took everyone multiple tries, and the noise made it really hard to concentrate.

Seven Nation Army. That was a hellishly diabolical challenge and I loved it. But was that the finale challenge?

[iMonrey]

Quote

I don't know how the twins are going to survive the final leg with her knee being so bad.

I don't either, but then again I never expected them to make it this far. So good on them for pushing through.

[Door County Cherry]

1 hour ago, blackwing said:

But I also watched "Fortitude" on Amazon Prime (I think?), which I believe was set in either Iceland or Norway.  Was attracted to it because of that Scandinavian "feel", it started out fine but then devolved into a mess, to the point where I didn't bother with Season 2.  Is this "Trapped" show better?

Season 1 is excellent and I believe it was originally planned as one season.  It reaches a satisfying conclusion and you don't need to move forward if you don't want to.  Season 2 was good too.  It doesn't quite capture the same atmosphere but it's pretty good.  Personally, I wouldn't bother with Entrapped (Season 3) on Netflix. 

[UncleChuck]

Quote

I still maintain my position about Derek and Claire being a fake couple, and perhaps Derek is actually gay.  Claire seems way more into him than he is into her

Derek and Claire host a weekly podcast discussing each leg of the race, and have a great fun time doing it.  They do live together and seem to be a real couple, although I have no clue as to how they manage their sex life.  Claire openly admits (several times) in the podcast that she is bi-sexual and Derek just laughs.  None of my business really.

[HurricaneVal]

3 hours ago, Scatterbrained said:

In the knit cap and glasses, I thought Derek looked like Where’s Waldo this episode!  

3 hours ago, chaifan said:

I thought the same thing!  😄

Me too!  If he had a striped scarf it would have been perfect!

[sasywt ch]

I think I'm in the minority for I do not care for Luis and Michelle.  He turned me off from them episodes ago when he said a few times that he hoped MIchael and Marcus got lost.  I'm sure people think that to themselves all the time during the race but him saying it outloud, didn't impress me.  I'm with a lot of others though that wish the tasks were more difficult so that it would shake things up.  

[Welshman in Ca]

4 hours ago, blackwing said:

I missed Phil's introduction as to what that place was.  Is that normally a tourist attraction?  Snorkel amongst some natural fissures?  Or was that a natural feature that the show decided to make into a task?  I personally found it creepy.  I have no issues with swimming, but that fissure seemed really deep, and I would probably worry that somehow I'd get sucked down into some nook or cranny by some whirlpool.  Or that some creature would come from the depths and attack me.

It was said at the start that all of the things they did on this episode were available to do as part of the Expedia trips so yes it is. Can't see the Icelandic authorities allowing TAR to drill holes in their underwater landscape just for tv either, those structures to get in & out looked pretty permanent to me.

[HurricaneVal]

I was thinking about that snorkeling task just a little bit ago, and it just occurred to me that while it was really, really cool, in actuality I'd be a little wigged out about being between tectonic plates like that.  What if the earth decided to scratch an itch, or equalize pressure, or something while I was in there, and then *SLAM* squished HurricaneVal.

I realize it probably doesn't work like that, and the odds of that happening are so vanishingly low that I'm more likely to be hit by a meteor, but the odds are not zero.  The odds for me getting squished between tectonic plates just sitting in my easy chair are zero though, so that's where I'll be instead of swimming a fissure in Iceland.

[Purple Hyatt]

Anyone else grossed out that Claire had to put in Derek's contacts for him??

[sinycalone]

10 hours ago, Door County Cherry said:

Season 1 is excellent and I believe it was originally planned as one season.  It reaches a satisfying conclusion and you don't need to move forward if you don't want to.  Season 2 was good too.  It doesn't quite capture the same atmosphere but it's pretty good.  Personally, I wouldn't bother with Entrapped (Season 3) on Netflix. 

I haven't seen Entrapped....but loved the two series i did watch.  The atmosphere and mood were intense particularly in the first series.

[PurpleTentacle]

On 12/1/2022 at 4:03 AM, 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!

I might be a bad person, but I don't. I liked David and didn't like to see him struggeling, but it didn't reach the level of feeling bad for him. There are hard rules: Before you go on the amazing race you learn to drive stick, you learn to read a map and you learn to swim. If you don't you are gambeling hard and David lost that gamble.

On 12/1/2022 at 4:03 AM, 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.  And Aubrey may have had her moments, but she couldn’t have been sweeter at that time.

I think that was the right call at that point. They were already in last, the twins had left, they probably knew the pitstop was next. There was no point in them torturing themselves if they were coming in last either way. But it could have been avoided with proper preparation.

On 12/1/2022 at 5:04 AM, 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.

I don't think they did. That's just a bit of lying to keep it consistent for the viewers. I could be wrong, but comparing the sun when they stepped on the map to Emily and Molly and to the talking heads, it didn't seem like they were two hours behind, more like 30 minutes.

On 12/1/2022 at 5:16 AM, 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 have heard people say that it was Chekhov's leg. That it was mentioned so much, that at some point it had to take them out. I actually think it's the "look at how much we've overcome"-form of the winners edit.

I don't think Luis and Michelle can make it. They were too invisible for the first part of the race. So it's between Derek and Claire and Emily and Molly. We'll see who wins next week.

On 12/1/2022 at 1:56 PM, Packerbrewerbadger said:

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

Tell that to the producers. Apparently they keep asking.

On 12/1/2022 at 3:49 PM, chaifan said:

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

Somthing more easily checkable would be nice too. Once team got completely fucked over on that one. They had the right amount several times, but the dealer fucked up when counting them. That's got to be harsh to lose a final leg to that.

On 12/1/2022 at 4:23 PM, anniebird said:

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.

They have their own plane. Amazing race logo on it and everything. They are more flexible on departure than ever.

On 12/1/2022 at 5:30 PM, iMonrey said:

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. 

It has always been on the list.

On 12/1/2022 at 5:30 PM, iMonrey said:

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

Pfizer is a german name (the company was founded by a german) and americans are pronouncing it wrong. So maybe not the best example. ;)

On 12/1/2022 at 5:30 PM, iMonrey said:

You could tell David and Aubrey were eliminated by their faces during their various talking heads, both looked pretty down.

Also by the fact that they were the only ones in complete darkness.

On 12/1/2022 at 5:58 PM, Seelouis said:

I’m pretty sure David knows how to swim.

That's not what he said and that's not what it looked like. He had absolutely no coordination in the water. Of course he stayed at the top, but they were wearing floatation devices.

On 12/1/2022 at 6:17 PM, Seelouis said:

He said he wasn’t a strong swimmer 

No. He literally said: "I don't swim." and "I was trying to swim, but my swiming level is like zero."

On 12/1/2022 at 8:00 PM, aghst said:

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.

All this stuff is prompted by producer questions and chosen by the editors to be put in. They don't "choose" to talk about it. This is reality show 101.

On 12/1/2022 at 10:25 PM, 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. 

Used to be the case. And we used to have teams run around in T-Shirts in the winter, because they had lost their bags or gotten rid of warm clothing prematurely. Ah, good times. I really wish the race would go back to being a bit harsher and actually remember that it's supposed to be a race around the world, not a set of tasks in different countries. I give them a bit of slack because of covid, but it wasn't exactly great in this aspect before. Maybe I should rewatch some early seasons...

On 12/1/2022 at 10:49 PM, 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 know for sure. The show has never done that before. Racers have to bring their own clothes, which includes clothes for cold weather.

On 12/1/2022 at 11:47 PM, Skooma said:

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.

That only goes for specialty gear they can't reasonably expect racers to carry though. It doesn't go for the clothes we've seen this leg (apart form the wet suits).

On 12/2/2022 at 12:20 AM, iMonrey said:

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.

They used to be more common. Swiming is still in the unofficial "Things you must learn before going on the race" rules of the amazing race.

I think you are thinking of Kisha & Jen. As far as I remember they were both bad swimmers, but not as bad as David, and they might have even been eliminated because of it. Of course they won the whole thing in a later season, so not the worst outcome for them. Maybe David and Aubrey will also get another chance. Although they might be a bit too much of a generic, young, dating couple to get into allstars.

On 12/2/2022 at 2:15 AM, KittyQ said:

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?

Everything they have is in the backpacks. Those jackets can be squished really small and nobody is ever wearing puffy winter boots. They are runnign everywhere anyway. Your feet will mostly stay warm due to all the blood getting pumped through them.

On 12/2/2022 at 2:53 AM, toodywoody said:

I don't know how the twins are going to survive the final leg with her knee being so bad.

The final leg is usually not very physical. They'll be fine.

22 hours ago, GenerationX said:

I was wondering why Phil didn't do a mercy mid-penalty Philimination, but then I realized the mat provided one of the most beautiful vistas in the entire world.  Made sense to let them see it before giving them the expected news.

They probably just shortened the penalty. No need for Phil to go out there.

11 hours ago, blackwing said:

I still maintain my position about Derek and Claire being a fake couple, and perhaps Derek is actually gay.  Claire seems way more into him than he is into her.  He seems like he is only with her because it is expected by his parents that he be with a woman.  He gushed about the helicopter ride and said it made him feel like James Bond.  Claire says something like "oh can I be your Bond Girl" and he is kind of like "ummmm".  Odd.  I did see at the end when they hit the mat and kissed on the lips (first time on the show I think?), but it looked to me like she kissed him and he kissed her back because it was expected.

I can see why any man would be anxious to say "yeah you'd totally be my Bondgirl!", since Bondgirls have become quite problematic in recent years. Getting cancelled isn't fun.

12 hours ago, blackwing said:

I'm curious as to why production couldn't have supplied kickboards for people less comfortable in the water.

Because it's a race around the world and not a kiddy pool. Also they were already wearing floation devices, otherwise David would have sunk like a stone. A kickboard would have done very little.

6 hours ago, HurricaneVal said:

I was thinking about that snorkeling task just a little bit ago, and it just occurred to me that while it was really, really cool, in actuality I'd be a little wigged out about being between tectonic plates like that.  What if the earth decided to scratch an itch, or equalize pressure, or something while I was in there, and then *SLAM* squished HurricaneVal.

I realize it probably doesn't work like that, and the odds of that happening are so vanishingly low that I'm more likely to be hit by a meteor, but the odds are not zero.  The odds for me getting squished between tectonic plates just sitting in my easy chair are zero though, so that's where I'll be instead of swimming a fissure in Iceland.

As long as you don't stay in there for millions of years, you'll be fine.

Also those plates are drifting apart, not getting smooshed together.

So the odds are absolutely zero.

[aradia22]

HOORAY for Emily and Molly! Aubrey was a little annoying so I'm glad we're going into the final with three teams I'd be happy to see win. I really do hope Emily hasn't done permanent damage to her leg walking/running with an injury. 

Iceland was a gorgeous landscape. Lord of the Rings New Zealand vibes. I'm torn because the scenery was beautiful and the challenges were finally a little difficult but the way everyone bunched up still felt like underwhelming race design. The glacier climb just seemed like a formality because everyone kept the same pace. The roadblock seemed a little tough in requiring multiple steps but it mainly seemed to require some athleticism and the ability to not drown. There was someone at the detour but were there any safety measures to ensure David didn't drown? The water level didn't look that high, but David is not a tall guy. 

The dandelion bit was a little cute. I'm sure the editors have cut out a lot of Emily and Molly because they find them boring... which is sad.

The snorkel detour felt like the kind of task they should have had all season. The cold and the exertion added stress to the memory challenge. Claire's specific clues made no sense to me but she was smart to have a system. It was still impressive that the next two teams were only two switched clues off from getting it right on the first go. I don't feel so bad about David and Aubrey (aside from his swimming struggles) because they were so off on their two attempts, it was nowhere close even without the 2 hour penalty. 

The wetsuits were incredibly unflattering. Added to the cold, no one looked good resurfacing from the water. 

Will the finale finally break us out of this rut or are the top three times going to be minutes behind each other? I hope they sort this out for next season.

[aradia22]

Quote

That's correct -- the teams get interviewed for a much longer time and that gets edited way down according to whatever narrative the show is trying to present to viewers.

My guess based on past experience is that Molly probably talks about her medical background and Emily talks about her daughter. There was that one cute soundbite where they listed all the things they had figured out they had in common. They started leaving those things out and focusing exclusively on her leg. And they will show it anytime they cry. idk... the editors don't seem to want to let them be adorable, even though they are. Ugh, very annoyed at the editing. They're clearly more drawn to Derek and Luis as "personalities" even though they don't say anything particularly interesting or hilarious. I'm watching TAR because I want to watch a show with normies, not people ready to deliver for the camera. (Though I do like everyone left for the most part and they're nowhere near as annoying as past season attention-seekers.)

Quote

 Claire says something like "oh can I be your Bond Girl" and he is kind of like "ummmm".  Odd.

She says "and I'm your Bond girl, right?" and he says "yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah..." but in a weird way. He was pretty complimentary to her this leg but outside of tasks, it does strangely seem like she's more into him than vice versa. 

Quote

Anyone else grossed out that Claire had to put in Derek's contacts for him??

Yes. Especially when she said something like 'I probably should have washed my hands.'

[SVNBob]

14 hours ago, blackwing said:

Derek actually did a Roadblock, shocking.  And he knows it because he joked "what's a Roadblock".  It was interesting to hear him read "Derek must do this Roadblock" in the instructions.  I'm wondering if everyone's instructions said this, because how would production know which envelope they would grab, or if they were given a different sheet for the camera taping. 

In previous seasons, when someone had hit the Roadblock limit, they put the note in all the envelopes.  Sometimes there were multiple people at the limit at the same time, so all the people who had to do the Roadblock were listed in the same sentence.  But as I recall, if that rule didn't apply to a specific team, then they didn't read that line out loud (or it was cut in the edit).  So, for example, Luis and Michelle had the same note about Derek in their Roadblock clue, but they didn't need to say anything about him.

9 hours ago, HurricaneVal said:

I was thinking about that snorkeling task just a little bit ago, and it just occurred to me that while it was really, really cool, in actuality I'd be a little wigged out about being between tectonic plates like that.  What if the earth decided to scratch an itch, or equalize pressure, or something while I was in there, and then *SLAM* squished HurricaneVal.

I realize it probably doesn't work like that, and the odds of that happening are so vanishingly low that I'm more likely to be hit by a meteor, but the odds are not zero.  The odds for me getting squished between tectonic plates just sitting in my easy chair are zero though, so that's where I'll be instead of swimming a fissure in Iceland.

The odds are zero, since that's a point where the plates are separating, not colliding.  The sides of the fissure are moving away from each other.  Then again, the whole "Two continental plates" thing may just be marketing hype and not actual scientific fact.

[susannot]

21 hours ago, Door County Cherry said:

Season 1 is excellent and I believe it was originally planned as one season.  It reaches a satisfying conclusion and you don't need to move forward if you don't want to.  Season 2 was good too.  It doesn't quite capture the same atmosphere but it's pretty good.  Personally, I wouldn't bother with Entrapped (Season 3) on Netflix. 

I'm intrigued.  I looked it up on Imdb and watched a trailer, which made me freeze to death sitting in my heated family room.  But I love a good mystery and may start watching.

[UncleChuck]

Quote

Derek actually did a Roadblock, shocking.

On their YouTube show, Derek and Claire said that their strategy was to save Derek for all of the Roadblocks at the end of the race, as they were often the most physical.  So Claire did almost all of the early ones on purpose. 

[Netfoot]

On 12/2/2022 at 12:52 PM, Door County Cherry said:

Season 1 is excellent and I believe it was originally planned as one season.  It reaches a satisfying conclusion and you don't need to move forward if you don't want to.  Season 2 was good too.  It doesn't quite capture the same atmosphere but it's pretty good.  Personally, I wouldn't bother with Entrapped (Season 3) on Netflix. 

Just watched S01E01 and dispite being essentially all Icelandic, I am intrigued enough to keep watching. Not promising to watch all three seasons, but I will certainly watch S01 and possibly S02 as well. 

On 12/2/2022 at 1:43 AM, Quilt Fairy said:

...and all of a sudden Detective Andri Olafsson (yeah, the character has the same last name as the actor) pops up as the greeter.

Icelandic naming conventions  (patronymic, sometimes matronymic) make virtually all surnames -sson (son of) or -sdóttir (daughter of). I don't know if it is still the case, but certainly once upon a time the Icelandic phone book was alphabetical by first name, because identical last names were so common.

Edited December 4, 2022 by Netfoot

[PurpleTentacle]

On 12/3/2022 at 4:54 AM, PurpleTentacle said:

I might be a bad person, but I don't. I liked David and didn't like to see him struggeling, but it didn't reach the level of feeling bad for him. There are hard rules: Before you go on the amazing race you learn to drive stick, you learn to read a map and you learn to swim. If you don't you are gambeling hard and David lost that gamble.

I think I'll have to withdraw my harsh critique. In the RHAP exit interview Aubrey and David said, that they found out very shortly befor the race started that they were going. Seems like they were pulled because other teams pulled out. So they didn't have any time for anything other than to get everything in order and before they knew it, they were off to Munich.

So can't really prepare for the race if you don't know that you are going.

[kav]

On 12/2/2022 at 12:28 PM, UncleChuck said:

Derek and Claire host a weekly podcast discussing each leg of the race, and have a great fun time doing it.  They do live together and seem to be a real couple, although I have no clue as to how they manage their sex life.  Claire openly admits (several times) in the podcast that she is bi-sexual and Derek just laughs.  None of my business really.

What is the Podcast called?

[North of Eden]

On 11/30/2022 at 11:04 PM, 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.

Honestly I was expecting Phil to show up "on the course" as he once said and eliminate them.

Fingers crossed Michelle wins (and her hubby by default) she seems like a warm wonderful person and it would mean a lot to her having enjoyed the race with her late father.

Claire lost me for good last week at the highwire challenge but I wiill accept their win if only because they actually had a chance to win this thing whereas they had no chance at a previous win on a reality show thanks to the machinations of The Cookout.

If the Twins win it will be a hell of a beat the odds story.

I feel we just say that  jump into the water comp in a very recent season.

[PurpleTentacle]

2 hours ago, kav said:

What is the Podcast called?

Not sure but it's here: https://www.youtube.com/@derekxiao_/videos

People who are doubting that they are a real couple should really watch last weeks episode:

You want a man who looks at you like Derek looks at Claire when she tells her story about walking over that tightrobe.

50 minutes ago, North of Eden said:

Honestly I was expecting Phil to show up "on the course" as he once said and eliminate them.

Phil really only comes out if you can't finish a task but keep slamming your head against it. With penalties, production will just shorten them, if you are out anyway. This way you get a mat elmination and everybody can still go home earlier.

Edited December 4, 2022 by PurpleTentacle

[iMonrey]

Quote

So can't really prepare for the race if you don't know that you are going.

But surely they applied? I mean, the show didn't just pluck them off the streets did it? Even if they thought they hadn't been chosen for this season, if they wanted to be on the Race enough to apply for it they should know the things they need to be able to do, like swimming, etc. You don't wait until the last minute to start taking swimming lessons or learning how to drive stick shift. There's no guarantee. you'll have enough time between being chosen and starting the race.

Sounds like an excuse to me.

[PurpleTentacle]

43 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

But surely they applied? I mean, the show didn't just pluck them off the streets did it? Even if they thought they hadn't been chosen for this season, if they wanted to be on the Race enough to apply for it they should know the things they need to be able to do, like swimming, etc. You don't wait until the last minute to start taking swimming lessons or learning how to drive stick shift. There's no guarantee. you'll have enough time between being chosen and starting the race.

It didn't come up in relation to the swimming, so it can't be an excuse.

Sure they applied, but thousands of people apply and never get chosen. Usually you have months to prepare, if you get chosen. So why prepare for something that is probably never going to happen, if you'll have enough prep time, once you know it's going to happen?

[chaifan]

From the Parade interview:

Quote

I want to dig into something you just mentioned. People may not know this, but you were alternates for the season, finding out hours before that you were going to be on. Talk about your mental headspace through the first leg, especially considered it was something brand-new with the "Scramble."
David: I think we both agree that we didn't get the chance to mentally prepare. When you get a call to be an official member of the cast, you turn. You're in comp mode. You're like, "I'm gonna do this, I need to prepare." When you get the call to be an alternate, it's like, "Should I prepare? Do I need to prepare? Who's gonna drop out of the show?"
Aubrey: Who's gonna drop out of The Amazing Race? We didn't process those circumstances. But we got the call. And we never even had a moment to prepare and take each other in and be like, "Okay, this is what we're going to do." It was just kind of like go mode from the beginning. So I feel like that helped us. But it also went against us most of the time. (Laughs.)
David: 90% of the time. (Laughs.)

Now that's something I'd like to hear more about... how does anyone go away for 3 weeks to shoot a reality TV program on hours notice???  I mean, not just job stuff (David's a mechanic, Aubrey is a dancer for some sports team), but packing, leaving your house/apartment for 3 weeks, coming up with an excuse to tell friends/family so they don't think you've been abducted... 

I don't know how much time there is between being selected, whether as a confirmed team or alternate, and actually leaving for the Race.*  You can learn the basics of stick shift in an afternoon.  You can practice reading maps on the flight to the start line.  But learning to swim?  That takes more time, because you have to build up the confidence and believe that you're not going to drown.  Also, they live in LA.  There's lots of beaches in LA.  I have to figure if a young, fit adult lives in LA doesn't know how to swim, there's probably a bigger reason behind it, and a lot to get over/through to become comfortable in the water.  David seemed not to just not know how to swim, but had a certain level of fear about it, too. 

* I remember Kim and Penn talking about training by walking around the neighborhood in their backpacks.  It sounded like they had weeks, maybe a month or more.  That's about my only time frame reference, though. 

[Quilt Fairy]

23 hours ago, Netfoot said:

Icelandic naming conventions  (patronymic, sometimes matronymic) make virtually all surnames -sson (son of) or -sdóttir (daughter of). I don't know if it is still the case, but certainly once upon a time the Icelandic phone book was alphabetical by first name, because identical last names were so common.

I really went down a rabbit hole on the names when I was watching that show.  They have some weird rules about first names, like you can only name your child an existing name that has a historical background going back several hundred years.  If you want to name your child something else, you need to get government approval. 

[chaifan]

@PurpleTentacle thank you for posting Claire & Derek's video.  Here's a thought...  there should be a thread for podcast recaps.  This is the only one I watched from this season.  Last season I watched all of Kim & Penn's, and caught a little of some of the other ones, but I think at least 3 teams were doing recap podcasts/videos.  That's just way too much post-game time for me to devote to any show.  (I waste far too much time already on these forums.)  I'd love it if people who are watching them anyways would do a little bullet point synopsis of the podcasts, just highlighting the interesting little tidbits, stuff that may explain things a bit better.  I'd love to see a dedicated space for something like that. 

[smartymarty]

On 12/2/2022 at 10:43 AM, blackwing said:

I did hear Audrey saying that all of the signs were in descending order.  Boo.  At first I thought they were going to have to keep track of 15 names and dates, but if the signs were all in descending order, then it's just a simple matter of remembering the names in order.  I think it would have been better if they were randomly placed.  Or maybe somewhere towards the end, have one sign with a date that was out of order and the teams would have to figure out where it gets put.  Teams that only were remembering the names would have had a tough time.  We are at Final Four, why the need to consistently dumb down the race?

But the teams wouldn't initially know they were in descending order. Second pass through, yes. First time? Maybe about half way along. Meanwhile, they'd associated names and dates already, but now could use a different mnemonic device.

I've seen friends' FB pictures from their trips to Iceland, and none showed the beauty (none of the waterfalls!) we saw in this episode. It's incredibly beautiful. I wouldn't mind doing that first water challenge, either.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, smartymarty said:

On 12/2/2022 at 10:43 AM, blackwing said:

I did hear Audrey saying that all of the signs were in descending order.  Boo.  At first I thought they were going to have to keep track of 15 names and dates, but if the signs were all in descending order, then it's just a simple matter of remembering the names in order.  I think it would have been better if they were randomly placed.  Or maybe somewhere towards the end, have one sign with a date that was out of order and the teams would have to figure out where it gets put.  Teams that only were remembering the names would have had a tough time.  We are at Final Four, why the need to consistently dumb down the race?

But the teams wouldn't initially know they were in descending order. Second pass through, yes. First time? Maybe about half way along. Meanwhile, they'd associated names and dates already, but now could use a different mnemonic device.

I've seen friends' FB pictures from their trips to Iceland, and none showed the beauty (none of the waterfalls!) we saw in this episode. It's incredibly beautiful. I wouldn't mind doing that first water challenge, either.

And on top of that, the water was evidently very, very, very cold (even Luis and Michelle were rather quiet and looking a little blue when they emerged). I'm sure the race planners wanted to limit the possibility that teams would have to do it too many times to avoid major health issues. I don't consider that dumbing down the race; more like wise and humane planning.

[pH-factor]

I would hardly call that test dumbed down.  I doing that I would have a great deal of difficulty remembering that information while in freezing cold water and in gear that I'm unfamiliar with that'sin a language I don'tknow. I wouldn't go on this race even though I can swim I hate to put my face in the water. So you would not catch me snorkeling even in the tropics. It's like some sort of weird claustrophobia and then again I would never sign up for this or Survivor for that reason.

[aemom]

On 12/2/2022 at 10:54 PM, PurpleTentacle said:

Yes I know for sure. The show has never done that before. Racers have to bring their own clothes, which includes clothes for cold weather.

There have been many times over the seasons when TAR has supplied cold weather gear to the teams. This is definitely not the first time that I've seen this.

Edited December 6, 2022 by aemom
Typo

[PurpleTentacle]

5 hours ago, aemom said:

There have been many times over the seasons when TAR has supplied cold weather gear to the teams. This is definitely not the first time that I've eeen this.

We already talked about this in this thread. If they were somewhere where they needed snow suits, yes those would be supplied. Never ever has the show supplied light cold weather gear, like they did here. That's a completely new one. We even had teams racing in T-Shirts through the cold, because they lost their bags.

It's usually on the racers to pack for any weather one could reasonably expect.

On 12/5/2022 at 2:29 AM, chaifan said:

Now that's something I'd like to hear more about... how does anyone go away for 3 weeks to shoot a reality TV program on hours notice???  I mean, not just job stuff (David's a mechanic, Aubrey is a dancer for some sports team), but packing, leaving your house/apartment for 3 weeks, coming up with an excuse to tell friends/family so they don't think you've been abducted... 

At least on RHAP they didn't say hours. But I got the sense it was maybe just 1-2 days.

You don't have to come up with an excuse, you can just tell people you are on the Amazing Race. That isn't a secret (I think it might have been in early seasons, but it isn't anymore). You just can't talk about what place you got.

I assume you beg your boss to be able to take your vacation on short notice, ask a friends to water your plants and you are off.

On 12/5/2022 at 2:29 AM, chaifan said:

David seemed not to just not know how to swim, but had a certain level of fear about it, too. 

If you don't know how to swim, deep water is scary. No prior trauma required.

On 12/5/2022 at 3:08 AM, chaifan said:

I'd love to see a dedicated space for something like that. 

You can always create a thread.

[aemom]

3 hours ago, PurpleTentacle said:

We already talked about this in this thread. If they were somewhere where they needed snow suits, yes those would be supplied. Never ever has the show supplied light cold weather gear, like they did here. That's a completely new one. We even had teams racing in T-Shirts through the cold, because they lost their bags.

It's usually on the racers to pack for any weather one could reasonably expect.

I don't know that I agree with you about the weather where they were racing.

I've been to glaciers before and it was freezing. The racers had to climb the ice wall and then swim in the freezing water - I think that it would have been very important for them to have that gear to warm them up/keep them warm to prevent hypothermia under those conditions with the various challenges. YMMV.

[Netfoot]

8 hours ago, PurpleTentacle said:

If you don't know how to swim, deep water is scary.

I do know how to swim, and yes, deep water is scary! Not because of the water itself, but because of all the things with teeth that live in it!

[PurpleTentacle]

6 hours ago, aemom said:

I don't know that I agree with you about the weather where they were racing.

You don't have to agree about the weather (although it was the middle of summer). We should be able to agree that they weren't wearing snow suits, but light cold weather gear, because that you can see with your eyes.

1 hour ago, Netfoot said:

I do know how to swim, and yes, deep water is scary! Not because of the water itself, but because of all the things with teeth that live in it!

Not much in it that likes to eat humans. But here I meant "water you can't stand in" with "deep". Any water you can't stand in is very scary if you can't swim.

[aemom]

17 minutes ago, PurpleTentacle said:

You don't have to agree about the weather (although it was the middle of summer). We should be able to agree that they weren't wearing snow suits, but light cold weather gear, because that you can see with your eyes.

I've been to glaciers in the middle of summer and it was freezing. 

The level of warmth that clothing provides is not necessarily determinable solely by it's looks.  You don't have to be wearing a snowsuit for the jacket you are wearing to be rated to -40 degrees or whatever and provide a high degree of warmth.  It gets bloody cold in the winter where I live, so I am well acquainted with various outdoor clothing.

For all we know, they may have started telling the racers not to bring warmer jackets anymore and/or the company that supplied the clothing to TAR may have wished to do so to promote their brand.  The show has always welcomed sponsors.  We don't know.

Anyway, you are of course entitled to your opinion, as I am to mine, and we may interpret things that we see differently.  So let's just agree to disagree.

Edited December 6, 2022 by aemom
Removed 2nd part of quote which was not relevant

[PurpleTentacle]

5 minutes ago, aemom said:

For all we know, they may have started telling the racers not to bring warmer jackets anymore and/or the company that supplied the clothing to TAR may have wished to do so to promote their brand.  The show has always welcomed sponsors.  We don't know.

And that changes the fact that the race hasn't done this before how exactly?

[Netfoot]

22 minutes ago, PurpleTentacle said:

I meant "water you can't stand in" with "deep".

By "deep" I meant "water you can't see the bottom of". Like when you jump overboard 10 miles out to assist a party of divers and you can't see anything but blue and your depth of field disappears. Then I'm like "Let me assist these guys into the boat and then get back on board myself! Without delay. Before a large set of teeth materialize out of the blue and spoil my day!"

And yes, it can only be worse if you can't swim. But thanks to my daddy who threw me (overhand) into the water when I was four, swim is one thing I can actually do.

[PurpleTentacle]

Just now, Netfoot said:

And yes, it can only be worse if you can't swim. But thanks to my daddy who threw me (overhand) into the water when I was four, swim is one thing I can actually do.

I think I might have sussed out the underlying source of your fear of deep water...

[meep.meep]

On 12/2/2022 at 1:26 PM, HurricaneVal said:

I was thinking about that snorkeling task just a little bit ago, and it just occurred to me that while it was really, really cool, in actuality I'd be a little wigged out about being between tectonic plates like that.  What if the earth decided to scratch an itch, or equalize pressure, or something while I was in there, and then *SLAM* squished HurricaneVal.

The plates move millimeters per year.  I think you're safe.  It's more likely that you'd inhale gas from the volcanic eruptions.

[Netfoot]

1 hour ago, PurpleTentacle said:

Quote

And yes, it can only be worse if you can't swim. But thanks to my daddy who threw me (overhand) into the water when I was four, swim is one thing I can actually do.

I think I might have sussed out the underlying source of your fear of deep water...

Nah! I had not touched the water yet, and my mum was already airborne. (Dad got a rocket because she was not in a swimsuit and had to go change into dry clothes.) After that, my brother took me in hand and by the next afternoon I was swimming like a fish. I could hold my breath like a pearl-diver. My mum used to insist I get out of the water because I'd be in there so long. 

But that was all shallow water.