S35.E09: In the Belly of the Earth

[Whimsy]

Quote

Teams continue racing in Slovenia, carefully traveling on foot carrying wooden pieces on their back, descending deep into a cave to assemble a giant dragon, and scraping off mussels and barnacles in the waters.

Original airdate 11/22/23

[RockShrimp]

Loved seeing the cave because I got to use my favorite mnemonic device: stalagmites *might* hang from the ceiling but they don’t. The judge in that task needs his own TV show he was having too much fun. 
 

I wonder if Corey and Rob would have been allowed to go look for another marked buoy from scratch. Assuming not or they would have done that. 

[Fake Jan Brady]

My favourite bit was the Dragon Master intoning "Your work here is done" then switching to his normal voice for "The exit is to the right..."

I can never decide if I love Greg & John or Rob & Corey more. 

[Jodithgrace]

I loved those people giving directions to the brothers (I think it was them) and telling them that the place they were looking for was in Germany! It’s a good thing they had more sense than to listen. 
I was truly touched when Robbin and Chelsea were eliminated. The way they didn’t argue or panic the entire leg, even though they realized that they had made fatal errors. They just enjoyed the day and even took a swim before meeting Phil. I think their kids will really be proud of them. 

[susannot]

They had a great attitude during their elimination.  Wo would not have taken the opportunity for a swim in the gorgeous Adriatic?

[mertensia]

Slovenia continues to be beautiful. I'd love to see those caves. I wonder if Rob and Corey groaned when they had to use the stairs?

I liked the twist that one of tricky things about the wood task was having to walk.

Also, why is there a rhea in Slovenia??

[dancingdreamer]

Racers , read the clue! Damn, I was worried for Rob and Corey. Todd was funny with the chains though, his wife was not impressed. 
Those caves we're magical, I'd of loved that challenge.
AL was actually nice to her father, does she read our posts? lol j/k They did well.

Rob and Corey have the Express Pass, that puts them in the F3 I bet.
Sweden next week, I imagine their scout has found some more amazing places.
Robin and Chelsea knew they were last, so they went for a swim!

Edited November 23, 2023 by dancingdreamer

[Skooma]

4 hours ago, dancingdreamer said:

AL was actually nice to her father, does she read posts?

Only if people that posted took a time machine back to when the show was being taped and she had time to borrow a phone to surf the net.

In other news: "Slovenian Old Ladies Like Long Beards."

Edited November 23, 2023 by Skooma

[PurpleTentacle]

Well, Todd and Ashlie deciding that Todd would drive and navigate was a dumb idea and if there hadn't been an even worse team at navigation, it would have gotten them eliminated.

Speaking off, Robbin and Chelsea how long did they drive around before asking somebody where those caves were? Was there already a snafu before that point that was edited out? Because at the end they were literally hours behind. Also everybody else knew that they had to drive to the camp grounds. So I wonder if there was something on the clue these two missed or if the other teams just got better directions. Well at least they made it to the mat with a vista that was actually more beautiful at night.

Caves really aren't my thing, but this was spacious enough that I don't think I would have had a problem. From behind a screen it certainly looked beautiful.

Rob and Corey really messed up with reading their clue there. But I think that was the first time. Everybody gets one. Couldn't they have just grabbed another buoy instead of switching though? Usually needle in a haystack tasks will allow that. But maybe this one forbade it. Wish they'd give us answers to these questions.

Overall a fun episode in a beautiful country.

[PurpleTentacle]

1 hour ago, RockShrimp said:

Loved seeing the cave because I got to use my favorite mnemonic device: stalagmites *might* hang from the ceiling but they don’t. The judge in that task needs his own TV show he was having too much fun. 

Ah yes, I also have such a device, although less child-friendly. A good friend once told me "tits hang" and since then I've never forgotten which is which.

[Bumblebee84047]

15 minutes ago, Skooma said:

In other news: "Sovenian Old Ladies Like Long Beards."

That was the cutest thing I've seen in a long time.

[Quilt Fairy]

1 hour ago, Fake Jan Brady said:

My favourite bit was the Dragon Master intoning "Your work here is done" then switching to his normal voice for "The exit is to the right..."

I was waiting for him to finish with "just past the gift shop." 

[Ancaster]

I'm watching right now and I just came here to say how much I'm loving, loving, loving this old school Amazing Race.  Decently difficult challenges, nice people, cool places. 

Editing to add, being sad when people leave instead of cheering.

AnnaLeigh's "We're building freaking dragons in a cave in Slovenia" says it all.

Edited November 23, 2023 by Ancaster

[bunnyface]

Robbin apparently had a shot of thorazine before this leg.  Although she started to come out a little when searching for the caves.

[Ancaster]

21 minutes ago, bunnyface said:

Robbin apparently had a shot of thorazine before this leg.  Although she started to come out a little when searching for the caves.

Did she have hiccups?

[Ancaster]

For all the AnnaLeigh haters, she was noticeably helpful to Rob and Corey about the buoys after someone had talked about the fine line between helping and being friendly or not.  Good editing tonight by the way, Magic Elves.

Speaking of buoys, I've lived in the States for a long time now but I still laugh when you guys say boo ee.

I would rather have seen Ashlie and Todd leave.  He's starting to get a bit obnoxious.

I'm loving all the signing - Phil with his  whole "I don't know how to do Express Pass" exchange, and the ones left behind on the first task signing with the Dad.

[dancingdreamer]

1 hour ago, Skooma said:

Only if people that posted took a time machine back to when the show was being taped and she had time to borrow a phone to surf the net.

 

 I guess I should of added lol. It was a joke. 

[Ancaster]

2 hours ago, RockShrimp said:

Loved seeing the cave because I got to use my favorite mnemonic device: stalagmites *might* hang from the ceiling but they don’t. The judge in that task needs his own TV show he was having too much fun. 
 

 

My mnemonic is stalactites hold on "tight" to the roof of the cave so they don't fall down and stalagmites grow up "mightily" from the floor.

[Browncoat]

Stalactites has a "c" in it, which means they come from the ceiling.

Stalagmites has a "g" in it, which means they come from the ground.

 

 

[Silver-hyren]

It took being in last place/elimination for Robbin and Chelsea to start to enjoy themselves on the Race.  

Just like with Team Out of Towners there was no suspense.  Robbin/Chelsea were so far behind that even with Rob/Corey's massive read the clue fail, you knew they'd be fine.  Bonus Todd/Ashlie were way behind as well so that gave Rob/Corey even more of a buffer when switching tasks.  Speaking of Todd, what was with him refusing to look at the clue while trying to find the Pit Stop (I think)?  "Don't show that to me because I already took the wrong exit once before so it's your responsibility to make sure I don't do that again."  Sure...   

[illdoc]

3 hours ago, Browncoat said:

Stalactites has a "c" in it, which means they come from the ceiling.

Stalagmites has a "g" in it, which means they come from the ground.

I do stalacTites (T for Top) and stalagMites (M for bottoM).

[Netfoot]

18 hours ago, RockShrimp said:

stalagmites *might* hang from the ceiling but they don’t.

Not heard that one. I use this:

Stalactites hang from the ceiling.
Stalagmites rise from the ground.

17 hours ago, PurpleTentacle said:

A good friend once told me "tits hang"

OMG! I just might adopt this one. At least for certain audiences!

17 hours ago, PurpleTentacle said:

Rob and Corey really messed up with reading their clue there. But I think that was the first time. Everybody gets one. Couldn't they have just grabbed another buoy instead of switching though? Usually needle in a haystack tasks will allow that. But maybe this one forbade it. Wish they'd give us answers to these questions.

I wondered the same thing. Rather than go searching underwater for the original buoy, I'd have gone looking for a new one.

Another good leg. It was pretty obvious who was going home from early, although Rob & Corey did give me a moment's hesitation when they messed up the Detour and decided to Bald Snark. With no animus I can say that Robbin & Chelsea were the team that needed to go. Their racing was poor and while they maintained a good attitude throughout, I think the other teams deserved to advance more than they did.

Plenty of mobility here. Team Hirsute moved up from 4th to 2nd, Steve & Anna  Leigh moved moved up from 6th to 3rd. Rob & Corey moved down one and Todd & Ashlie moved down three. Greg & John retained 1st place for the 4th time in a row which tells us they are good racers, not that they can't make a mistake in future and be eliminated, mso don't get too complacent, guys!

Surprised to see Steve & Anna  Leigh sitting down to remove the barnacles. It worked, but nobody else even considered that, and I wouldn't have either. It would be interesting to know which technique was actually faster. 

A surprising number of misread or partially read clues this episode. Reading the cue thoroughly is a fundamental requirement for TAR and it always surprised me when people get this wrong. But maybe with killer fatigue and "your head up to the gun of a million cathode ray tubes aimed at your tiny skull" you can be forgiven for making this tyro mistake.

OK, we're down to five teams with Steve & Anna Leigh (my pick for the win) running in the middle of the pack. If i'm honest, I will say that I'd prefer Todd & Ashlie to go rather than any other team at this stage.  They've not been great racers - 5th five times out of nine legs, so if they repeat this next week they will go. As for my picks for final 3, I have a hard time here. Steve & Anna Leigh and Rob & Corey for sure. So for me it comes down to a choice between Greg & John (nice guys, good racers) and Joel & Garrett (nice guys, so-so racers, closer to my own age, facial hair!). So who do I choose? Perhaps I'd better just let the race do the choosing for me.

Edited November 23, 2023 by Netfoot

[RunningMarket]

I don't know why Ashlie thought they might be in last. First, count the cars when you arrive at the pit stop - they were clearly the fifth car there. Second, they said earlier that they hadn't seen Chelsea and Robbin all day and there was no way they leapfrogged ahead of everyone. 

Using the beard to navigate - a new one for racers!

[iMonrey]

I could tell early on that Robbin and Chelsea were marked for elimination by their comment about deciding to just have fun with this leg and let the chips fall where they may. 

I'm still not a fan of Anna Leigh and Steve, but I was fine with Morgan and Lena going first, they were getting on my nerves even more than AL. And I'm fine with Robbin and Chelsea going first too. Chelsea in particular just seemed so checked out and didn't seem to appreciate the experience at all. 

I'll also concede that AL was much nicer this leg, giving helpful advice to Rob and Corey. Of course, her level of niceness is directly correlated to her placement.

The first Roadblock looked relatively easy so long as they managed to get all the pieces to the judges. It would have been much harder if they had to get judged on whether they had correctly assembled them.

LOL on some random local telling John the location he was looking for was in Germany. And Corey walking right by Joel as he was trying to find directions to where Corey was walking from.

Anna Leigh: "I'm getting over to the left." As she pulls into the right lane. Lucky for her Morgan wasn't in the car.

Rob puts Ikea furniture together without instructions. And swims like a fish. I think he's my hero.

At this point I don't see how Greg and John can possibly lose. I'm still rooting for Rob and Corey, but the nice thing is that if they don't win they probably won't even mind because they seem to appreciate everything the most.

[J-Man]

I think there were at least FOUR references to IKEA in this episode. Deliberately included as a teaser for the next destination?

[Lady Calypso]

2 hours ago, Netfoot said:

I wondered the same thing. Rather than go searching underwater for the original buoy, I'd have gone looking for a new one.

From the way Corey made it sound, it was like they weren't able to go for a new buoy once they messed up with the first one they chose. I'm not sure whether it's because they only had a select number of mussels attached to a select number of buoys and no extras, but Corey deciding they had to switch tasks instead of finding a new buoy definitely implied that they had to retrieve their original buoy with the mussels. I can't imagine they wouldn't have thought of that once they messed up, so I think they just weren't allowed to go for a new buoy due to the limited number of buoys they had placed.

Race fatigue definitely hit all the teams in various ways. They all had minor or major mishaps throughout the episode, but Todd/Ashlie and Robbin/Chelsea especially. Todd/Ashlie fell apart hard this episode. Both were snippy to each other and both, but especially Ashlie, made some navigational and task errors. Ashlie was at her worst this leg, easily. I did have a good laugh at Todd finding the chains back on the platform after their massive mistake. Ashlie's annoyance that he was wasting time coupled with Todd enjoying the moment was hilarious.

Robbin/Chelsea were just too far behind to catch up. With how it was getting dark when they got to the Pit Stop, after they started the race at 10:30am, it seems like they got so lost that they were hours behind. I won't really miss Robbin/Chelsea but I'm glad they were able to race relatively well throughout.

Rob/Corey had a mistake at the detour but at least they corrected it fairly quickly. They slipped down a placement, but they didn't need to use their Express Pass, at least.

Greg/John are great racers; they may not be entertaining but I enjoy watching them! Though, John's reaction to the local telling him his location was in Germany was hilarious.

Steve/Anna Leigh were a lot better this leg. Anna Leigh seemed more calm once she actually got some sleep, and I did like her helping Rob/Corey out when they switched detours.

Joel/Garrett are surprising me with how good they are at the legs now. I had a good laugh at Joel completely missing Corey walk past him when he was asking for directions at the roadblock. 

[Netfoot]

19 minutes ago, Lady Calypso said:

I had a good laugh at Joel completely missing Corey walk past him when he was asking for directions at the roadblock. 

I laughed at this too, especially as he chose that moment to say how they haven't seen any other teams...

[PrincessPurrsALot]

The camera people and editors were great this episode.   As mentioned, Corey walking behind Joel.  There were other great shots of multiple racers in frame not quite noticing each other.  I also loved when Joel was about a block away from the pack of partners and said hello.  

I really enjoy Greg and John.  John's reaction to be told the place he was looking for was in Germany was priceless.  I loved that he knew it was wrong but he was still so polite.  I love how much they are enjoying the race. 

Same goes for Corey and Rob.  Rob diving in a swimming with the buoys was great.  I loved his signing for when they were trying to go as fast as possible up the stairs for the express pass. At the buoys, it seemed to me they should try to look for the longer gap between buoys, but that was probably hard to see when that close to them.  

So many stairs this episode.  I've long known I would not be a good racer.  This episode would have ended me. 

[mertensia]

I forgot to say how diabolical it was to make them assemble that dragon using, really, only their headlamps.

[eel2178]

14 hours ago, PurpleTentacle said:

Speaking off, Robbin and Chelsea how long did they drive around before asking somebody where those caves were? Was there already a snafu before that point that was edited out? Because at the end they were literally hours behind.

They were last to arrive at the first task which took about 45 minutes to complete in one try. Since she had to do it twice, that put them an hour and a half behind the other teams when they started out for the caves. I think I'd add at least another hour to drive past the caves and wander around lost for a while then go back, so they were probably close to 3 hours behind everyone else by the time they started assembling their dragon which wasn't a quick task either.

[Tango64]

I wondered why they pulled up mussels in a net bag, looking ready for market, rather than the ropes they showed them growing on. Maybe some regulation about who can harvest the farm grown mussels? (Didn’t matter, just a detail I noticed.)

[Ancaster]

48 minutes ago, mertensia said:

I forgot to say how diabolical it was to make them assemble that dragon using, really, only their headlamps.

Any of them with kids (or young enough themselves) have probably already helped with a fair share of them already, albeit on a smaller scale!

[PurpleTentacle]

1 hour ago, eel2178 said:

They were last to arrive at the first task which took about 45 minutes to complete in one try. Since she had to do it twice, that put them an hour and a half behind the other teams when they started out for the caves. I think I'd add at least another hour to drive past the caves and wander around lost for a while then go back, so they were probably close to 3 hours behind everyone else by the time they started assembling their dragon which wasn't a quick task either.

She wasn't that far behind AL, so no way that was a full 45 minutes. Also no way the second try took the full 45 minutes, as now she knew the way and only had to grab one thing she forgot. Worst case that put them 30 minutes behind.

2 hours ago, mertensia said:

I forgot to say how diabolical it was to make them assemble that dragon using, really, only their headlamps.

It was fairly well lit there. Otherwise we would have had a black screen for 15 minutes.

[Guiaoshi]

I think this leg just prove we need to be carefull before judge a team based on edit, specially If they are not show alot. We had this impression that Robin and Chelsea (Chelsea in particular) were cold/ unable to enjoy the race till their last leg were producers couldnt ignore them. I dont think they chanced this leg, It was just a case of they not bickering enough, not be loud, and not be in the final 5 teams that producers didnt bother to show more of them. Anyway, a strong top 5, the boys are killing with the First place finishes but I have a feeling, just based on edition that Rob and Corey might take it in the end. Lets see.

Edited November 23, 2023 by Guiaoshi

[Hera]

I laughed at Chelsea's comment on the mat about how her kids were going to love watching the race, and the minute they see John/Greg and Corey/Rob, they'll know her team didn't win. I wouldn't want to go up against John/Greg or Corey/Rob because both teams have the deadly combination of being athletic and being smart (Corey and Rob's unforced error on this leg notwithstanding). There are some seasons where people can win by racing smarter than everyone, but this isn't one of them.

I wanted to say that Todd/Ashlie are the weakest team left, but actually, their finishes look better than those of Joel/Garrett. I think the reason I don't rate them is because we haven't seen them be really good at anything. It also seems like she doesn't like him very much, which makes them kind of a bummer to watch. Joel and Garrett will sometimes power through a challenge on the strength of one or both of them having had some relevant experience, and they always seem to be having a good time doing it.

The teams are due for an equalizer soon, so I don't think the finishes this leg are going to matter a whole lot going forward. It sounds like Corey and Rob have to use their Express Pass on the next leg if they're going to use it at all. It'll be interesting, because while I'm sure they're hungry for a first place finish, they also seem to be all about enjoying the experiences the race provides. If you use an Express Pass (and especially if you use it before starting a task), you necessarily have to give up one of the experiences the race provides. But maybe the next leg will have an obviously frustrating task that's a no-brainer to skip.

[Door County Cherry]

20 hours ago, dancingdreamer said:

Rob and Corey have the Express Pass, that puts them in the F3 I bet.

When they got the pass, they were told they needed to use in by the end of the 10th leg and that's the next leg. So they're guaranteed a top 4 as long as they don't forget to use it.

28 minutes ago, Hera said:

It sounds like Corey and Rob have to use their Express Pass on the next leg if they're going to use it at all. It'll be interesting, because while I'm sure they're hungry for a first place finish, they also seem to be all about enjoying the experiences the race provides. If you use an Express Pass (and especially if you use it before starting a task), you necessarily have to give up one of the experiences the race provides. But maybe the next leg will have an obviously frustrating task that's a no-brainer to skip.

I bet they wouldn't have minded skipping the buoy task but didn't want to waste the pass.

My concern is that in previous legs, using it likely would have given them the win for the leg.

But I think we're due for a mega leg before the finale if I'm adding up the remaining episodes correctly.  If it's next week, that might neutralize the benefits of the pass.

[Netfoot]

3 minutes ago, Door County Cherry said:

But I think we're due for a mega leg before the finale if I'm adding up the remaining episodes correctly.

IBDb indicated there will be 12 episodes total, and Wikipedia  suggests 12 remaining legs. That would mean 3 more episodes/legs - two eliminations and a three-team finale.

Do you have any reason to believe there will be more than 12 episodes?

[Kelda Feegle]

Phil attempting a sign for express pass looked so much like Cartman doing the hands for screw you guys I'm going home that it cracked me up for way longer than it should have. 

AL appears to have taken a chill pill but I'm so tired of hearing her say come on dad, hurry up dad etc. I also agree that her temperament correlates to her race position. 

[chaifan]

Dear Phil and TAR powers that be:  This season has been an absolute joy to watch.  This is what TAR fans want, not a race full of teams that are bickering and scheming and infighting and total assholes on the screen.  Please keep this in mind when casting TAR 37.  Thank you.

Damn, another gorgeous episode! Slovenia has been on my list of places to go, including the caves, and I was just talking with a friend about a month ago about maybe doing this trip in Fall 2024.  I was sort of hoping they'd continue south and go to Croatia next, but no.

I really don't understand how Rob and Corey were expected to correct their mistake with the buoy/bag of mussels.  Those mussels were sitting at the bottom of the ocean.  There is absolutely no way they could have retrieved them even if they found the spot of the missing buoy.  People here are guessing it was required they finish the first buoy, but I just can't see how that would be possible.  I also don't understand why Rob was swimming around.  I'm glad they switched tasks, but they burnt a lot of time looking for the lost buoy. 

I also have no idea how the judges judged the barnacle task.  They were just walking around on top.  How would they know what the bottom of those pipes looked like?   I was a bit surprised how many teams - physically strong teams - chose the buoy task over the barnacles.  I get Greg & John's reasoning, and I think that's the first time we've seen a team explain that they deliberately took the choice that would likely take more time, just because it looked more fun.  Again, making this season an absolute joy to watch.

One thing I've been doing is guessing which task would have been not shown during a 60 minute episode.  I'm guessing the dragons on this leg.

In the beginning of the episode I was sure AL and Steve were out.  There was an early talking head that really had the loser edit.  I think I like Todd and Ashlie more in their talking heads than in the race itself.  They come across much better in the talking heads.  That said, they are my least favorite, and I won't be sad if they're the next to go.

The Beards are hilarious!  I loved the being led by the power of the beard, and the greeter lady being all into the beard.  I love their constant "dad bod" references, their joy at being a part of TAR. 

Robin & Chelsea...  sort of sad to see them go, when they finally looked like they were consistently enjoying themselves.  Love their jump in the ocean! 

 

[Door County Cherry]

58 minutes ago, Netfoot said:

Do you have any reason to believe there will be more than 12 episodes?

I read somewhere that the finale date is Dec. 20 which would mean 13 episodes.   That's where my spec came from.  But it could also be a 2 part finale.

Here's an article that says there are 13 episodes.  They could be wrong since it's longer than previous seasons.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2023/09/24/the-amazing-race-season-35/70930857007/

 

 

[vousviou]

1 hour ago, chaifan said:

Dear Phil and TAR powers that be:  This season has been an absolute joy to watch.  This is what TAR fans want, not a race full of teams that are bickering and scheming and infighting and total assholes on the screen.  Please keep this in mind when casting TAR 37.  Thank you.

I agree and I'd add the design of the challenges and the level of self-navigation has been really good overall. There haven't been a lot of slam dunk challenges. Most seem to have had something that someone could and often did mess up, even strong teams. 

There been lack of drama due to one team falling far behind, but even then there has usually been some serious questions about who will place where.

1 hour ago, chaifan said:

I was a bit surprised how many teams - physically strong teams - chose the buoy task over the barnacles.

I was too. The brothers mentioned it had a needle in a haystack setup, and doing that in kayaks if the wind kicked up a lot of chop would be even harder. It definitely looked at one point the water was getting rougher.

[Netfoot]

49 minutes ago, Door County Cherry said:

I read somewhere that the finale date is Dec. 20 which would mean 13 episodes.   That's where my spec came from.  But it could also be a 2 part finale.

Fair enough. I am not averse to an extra episode, rather the opposite!

[Ancaster]

3 hours ago, Hera said:

 

The teams are due for an equalizer soon, so I don't think the finishes this leg are going to matter a whole lot going forward. It sounds like Corey and Rob have to use their Express Pass on the next leg if they're going to use it at all. It'll be interesting, because while I'm sure they're hungry for a first place finish, they also seem to be all about enjoying the experiences the race provides. If you use an Express Pass (and especially if you use it before starting a task), you necessarily have to give up one of the experiences the race provides. But maybe the next leg will have an obviously frustrating task that's a no-brainer to skip.

Anybody stupid enough to risk a place in the top four and another shot at $1million to spend an extra couple of hours in a beautiful location doesn't deserve that spot in my book.

Edited November 24, 2023 by Ancaster

[PurpleTentacle]

3 hours ago, Hera said:

It sounds like Corey and Rob have to use their Express Pass on the next leg if they're going to use it at all. It'll be interesting, because while I'm sure they're hungry for a first place finish, they also seem to be all about enjoying the experiences the race provides. If you use an Express Pass (and especially if you use it before starting a task), you necessarily have to give up one of the experiences the race provides. But maybe the next leg will have an obviously frustrating task that's a no-brainer to skip.

No team would ever be so keen on an experience as to not use their express pass. The only question is at which task they'll use it. Will it be the detour or will it be the roadblock?

2 hours ago, chaifan said:

Dear Phil and TAR powers that be:  This season has been an absolute joy to watch.  This is what TAR fans want, not a race full of teams that are bickering and scheming and infighting and total assholes on the screen.  Please keep this in mind when casting TAR 37.  Thank you.

I think there is still room for improvement, like more tasks in a leg. I mean amazing race canada can do it, why can't the mothership?

But yeah this has been a fun race so far. Not too much bickering, at least more than two tasks a leg, since we've been out of asia, some self-driving for people to hang themselves, instead of taxi trivers hanging them, etc.

It's certainly going in the right direction again.

2 hours ago, chaifan said:

I get Greg & John's reasoning, and I think that's the first time we've seen a team explain that they deliberately took the choice that would likely take more time, just because it looked more fun.  Again, making this season an absolute joy to watch.

They explained that they took that choice, since with a needle in a haystack task, the earlier you are (and they were first), the more needles there are. So the task would likely be faster than the other, at this point. If fun was a component, I must have missed it.

[Lantern7]

There's not much to say about this leg that hasn't already been said. Slovenia is a beautiful country, and I hope this show boosts their tourism.

Did Greg & John set a record with their fourth consecutive first-place finish? They seem to be firing on all cylinders, but they don't seem to be the obvious winners. Rob & Corey are still the favorites even after they screwed up the buoy task. They haven't finished first once, but they -- much like the brothers -- never show the stress.

Dragon Master was a hoot. I hope he got paid extra for his performance.

This was one of those legs where you knew which team was going out, but it was still a good and suspenseful episode. Robbin has been through a lot in her life. I bet TAR can offset most of the bad stuff, if not all of it.

I like how the older ladies at the Pit Stop admired Joel's beard. That beard is this season's "These guys are competitive eaters."

3 hours ago, chaifan said:

Dear Phil and TAR powers that be:  This season has been an absolute joy to watch.  This is what TAR fans want, not a race full of teams that are bickering and scheming and infighting and total assholes on the screen.  Please keep this in mind when casting TAR 37.  Thank you.

Even when you have bickering (Todd & Ashlie) or snottiness (Anna Leigh in general), the casting is still better than Survivor or The Challenge. It's a fun group of people. I'm hoping there aren't any passport snafus, because then we wouldn't have 26 awesome people (and Phil) on the final mat.

[Skyfall]

12 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

From the way Corey made it sound, it was like they weren't able to go for a new buoy once they messed up with the first one they chose. I'm not sure whether it's because they only had a select number of mussels attached to a select number of buoys and no extras, but Corey deciding they had to switch tasks instead of finding a new buoy definitely implied that they had to retrieve their original buoy with the mussels. I can't imagine they wouldn't have thought of that once they messed up, so I think they just weren't allowed to go for a new buoy due to the limited number of buoys they had placed.

Race fatigue definitely hit all the teams in various ways. They all had minor or major mishaps throughout the episode, but Todd/Ashlie and Robbin/Chelsea especially. Todd/Ashlie fell apart hard this episode. Both were snippy to each other and both, but especially Ashlie, made some navigational and task errors. Ashlie was at her worst this leg, easily. I did have a good laugh at Todd finding the chains back on the platform after their massive mistake. Ashlie's annoyance that he was wasting time coupled with Todd enjoying the moment was hilarious.

Robbin/Chelsea were just too far behind to catch up. With how it was getting dark when they got to the Pit Stop, after they started the race at 10:30am, it seems like they got so lost that they were hours behind. I won't really miss Robbin/Chelsea but I'm glad they were able to race relatively well throughout.

Rob/Corey had a mistake at the detour but at least they corrected it fairly quickly. They slipped down a placement, but they didn't need to use their Express Pass, at least.

Greg/John are great racers; they may not be entertaining but I enjoy watching them! Though, John's reaction to the local telling him his location was in Germany was hilarious.

Steve/Anna Leigh were a lot better this leg. Anna Leigh seemed more calm once she actually got some sleep, and I did like her helping Rob/Corey out when they switched detours.

Joel/Garrett are surprising me with how good they are at the legs now. I had a good laugh at Joel completely missing Corey walk past him when he was asking for directions at the roadblock. 

I wonder if AL is on some type of meds...especially mood stabilizers.

[JH Lipton]

15 hours ago, Netfoot said:

Plenty of mobility here. Team Hirsute moved up from 4th to 2nd, Steve & Anna  Leigh moved moved up from 6th to 3rd. Rob & Corey moved down one and Todd & Ashlie moved down three. Greg & John retained 1st place for the 4th time in a row which tells us they are good racers, not that they can't make a mistake in future and be eliminated, mso don't get too complacent, guys!

5 hours ago, chaifan said:

Dear Phil and TAR powers that be:  This season has been an absolute joy to watch.  This is what TAR fans want, not a race full of teams that are bickering and scheming and infighting and total assholes on the screen.  Please keep this in mind when casting TAR 37.  Thank you.

In the past, we've had legs with little or no shake-u[, but, other than Greg and John, that hasn't been the case this season.  That's a Good Thing.

 

[SVNBob]

20 hours ago, Browncoat said:

Stalactites has a "c" in it, which means they come from the ceiling.

Stalagmites has a "g" in it, which means they come from the ground.

That's close to the mnemonic I learned: Stalactites cling to the ceiling; Stalagmites grow from the ground.

But there's other clever ones in this thread.

 

 

On 11/22/2023 at 11:40 PM, Skooma said:

Only if people that posted took a time machine back to when the show was being taped and she had time to borrow a phone to surf the net.

In other news: "Slovenian Old Ladies Like Long Beards."

🎶 "She likes Long Beards and she cannot lie...." 🎶

 

 

12 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

From the way Corey made it sound, it was like they weren't able to go for a new buoy once they messed up with the first one they chose. I'm not sure whether it's because they only had a select number of mussels attached to a select number of buoys and no extras, but Corey deciding they had to switch tasks instead of finding a new buoy definitely implied that they had to retrieve their original buoy with the mussels. I can't imagine they wouldn't have thought of that once they messed up, so I think they just weren't allowed to go for a new buoy due to the limited number of buoys they had placed.

 

It also seemed like going back to correct their mistake should have been easier.  The buoys looked evenly spaced on all the ropes on the course, and they flubbed by just removing a marked buoy.  So there should have been an obvious gap on one of the lines where a buoy should have been, but wasn't.  In essence, it was marked by not being marked.  Their problem was they kept looking along lines without a large gap.  And I think I saw a gap on a line as they were paddling back to swap the buoy for the chains after declaring the Bald Snarking.

[landstander]

5 hours ago, PurpleTentacle said:

No team would ever be so keen on an experience as to not use their express pass. The only question is at which task they'll use it. Will it be the detour or will it be the roadblock?

This got me wondering if, when a team uses an express pass on a roadblock, they could use it before choosing who would do the roadblock, giving them more freedom to choose who does them later in the race.

[PurpleTentacle]

3 hours ago, Skyfall said:

I wonder if AL is on some type of meds...especially mood stabilizers.

No Patrick, people not acting their best in a high stress situation is not a sign of mental illness.