S35.E11: We're Finding Our Pot of Gold

[Whimsy]

Quote

Teams travel to Dublin, Ireland, where they complete four challenges in the penultimate leg, including swimming in the Irish Sea, dancing with the legendary Riverdance troupe, scoring a point with the hurling team, and reciting quotes from a famed Irish novelist.

Original airdate 12/6/23

[iMonrey]

So thrilled for Rob and Corey. I can't say I'm sorry that Steve and Anna Leigh were eliminated, but when they revealed that Steve had to do the rest of the Roadblocks I knew they were in trouble. Steve is fading fast. I doubt they would have won even if they'd made the finale. It was smart strategy on Rob and Corey's part to save the last Roadblocks for Corey. As long as he doesn't have to balance anything on his head he should be golden.

I still think it's John and Greg's to lose, they seem to know how to do everything. I know he was joking, but when John said it was "cute" that the other two teams only won one leg each it kind of rubbed me the wrong way. There's only one leg left and they only have to beat you once. They've both done it before.

If the steering wheel is on the right and the stick shift is on the left, is the clutch still on the left? That's what would throw me, and I drove nothing but stick shift for years. My first three cars were stick.

Both Roadblocks were evil, I would never have been able to do either. But I would have nailed memorization. 

St. Patrick's cathedral is stunning. It would be worth doing the race just to be there.

You could kind of tell Steve and Anna Leigh lost based on their interview segments. I even warmed up to Anna Leigh a little bit towards the end, but if Rob had been struggling in the water the way Steve was, you know damn well Corey would have been right there helping him swim back instead of yelling "C'mon dad" the way Anna Leigh did.

[chaifan]

For all of their navigation problems, and Steve lagging behind, the thing that actually cost Steve & AL a place in the final 3 was their failure to keep track of the roadblocks.  If they entered this leg with equal roadblocks, AL could have done the Riverdance roadblock, and they likely would have been out of there with a good lead on Joel & Garrett. 

I could be wrong.  Won't know until someone comments about the actual time gaps between the teams.  But I think in the end, that was the biggest factor to them being eliminated this leg.

Can't say I'm sad about it.  I love this final 3!  I'm rooting for everyone! 

[hendersonrocks]

This is a truly delightful final six, but I can say without reservation that Rob and Corey are my favorite team to ever run the race. Their conversation on the mat solidified it - what a touching moment that we all got to be part of. Months later, thousands of miles away!

I’m glad Steve and Anna Leigh were able to close out strong, and I hope she looks into that anxiety prescription. It’s okay to be competitive and want to win (hi, it’s me, I’m the problem it’s me) but she was clearly struggling to keep it all together towards the end. You can and should encourage your partner, but you also can’t change their physical capabilities through yelling at them more and louder.

[ms gilly]

Never post, but came here to express my admiration for the final six. Just seem like the nicest, most genuine people—with lots of talents, too.  Love them all. Thank you for this season, AR!  

[bunnyface]

Padraic has to have been one of, if not the very, nicest dance judge we've ever had.  What a nice man!

[Artsda]

Great final 3 and deserving group.

I am  happy to see AL go. I thought at a lot of times she didn't care about her father's health only winning, she needs that therapy. Leaving Steve to do end tasks wasn't there smart.  

Rob and Corey's parental relationship was the opposite. Loved them this leg, they did a great job at the tasks.  

 

[mertensia]

Those dance teachers were really good.  Though, frankly, I would still be there assuming Padraig (that was his name, right?) hadn't strangled me already.

That water definitely looked cold.

[dancingdreamer]

Thank hank, we won't hear' come on dad,' in the finale. Even when her dad was swimming, she said it.
I love the F3. The beards, the brothers, and a father and son.
Rob and Corey have a beautiful relationship, one I've not seen before. I imagine they bonded when Corey learnt to sign, but still, they amaze me.
The riverdance steps weren't easy, Corey's teacher was very cute. One of the best AR, I keep saying it, but it really is.

[Lantern7]

Hell of a penultimate episode. We got some great supporting players, an emotional first-place finish from Rob & Corey, and the elimination of a guy who was a little out of shape and the daughter who kept pushing him. I'm sure Anna Leigh is a peach when she's not badgering her dad, but the thought of Steve keeling over near the finish line would have been hard to take.

From the live thread, @Skyfall said:

Quote

So she'll either appear on Big Brother, Survivor, or The Challenge.

No dice on The Challenge. She strikes me as someone who is easy to scandalize. I can't imagine her being a fan of any version of the series.

The Riverdance Roadblock has to be one of the best ever. And yeah, Corey's instructor was pretty. I hope they got to exchange e-mail addresses. The kid is cute.

Greg & John finish in second, but they're still the overachievers to beat. I don't think I gave Garrett & Joel any chance to advance this far into the game. They figured out a secret of the game . . .  to not sink into despair when things don't go their way.

Reciting from Ulysses? Inspired. Also, I don't think the patrons at the pub were acting for the task. Gotta be good cheer from opening to last call, loving everything save for those that misquote James Joyce. Then that's your ass.

Edited December 7, 2023 by Lantern7

[Bumblebee84047]

1 hour ago, hendersonrocks said:

This is a truly delightful final six, but I can say without reservation that Rob and Corey are my favorite team to ever run the race. Their conversation on the mat solidified it - what a touching moment that we all got to be part of. Months later, thousands of miles away!

 

I'm pretty sure they made Phil cry.

[choclatechip45]

Great final 3! I hope Rob & Cory win!

I also might be in the minority, but I hope to see Anna Leigh on my tv again.

[Lantern7]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

 I even warmed up to Anna Leigh a little bit towards the end, but if Rob had been struggling in the water the way Steve was, you know damn well Corey would have been right there helping him swim back instead of yelling "C'mon dad" the way Anna Leigh did.

In my mind, I am biting my knuckle until it bleeds. That is some unintentional hilarity.

[endure]

I thought it was awesome Annaleigh let her Dad run up to the mat ahead of her.

[SDVegas]

I couldn’t love Rob and Corey any more than I do. They have me smiling almost the whole time they’re on screen. What a joy to watch. Gah I hope they win.
 

 

[Fukui San]

As other people have said, the Riverdance judge was so great. He seemed so genuinely invested in everyone getting it, and so empathetic to each of them.

And Corey plus cute dance instructor forever! I'll be actually disappointed if they're both single and don't go on a date together.

Presumably Anna Leigh would have done a little better at the dance. When they said that they lost track of Roadblocks, I remembered back to the glider challenge where Steve told Anna Leigh to do it so she can do a fun one, but Anna Leigh said she was too upset due to navigation drama to do it so Steve took that one. They didn't think strategically about the Road Blocks all season and it came back to bite them. That and their season-long navigation struggles.

The brothers have to be considered favorites to win. You'd have to assume that they'd absolutely slay a memory challenge if it comes down to that.

[DEL901]

Great F3.   

At the water task, the beards took the time to put on life jackets…. Why didn’t AL and her dad….they would have been able to go faster.     

[SDVegas]

19 minutes ago, DEL901 said:

Great F3.   

At the water task, the beards took the time to put on life jackets…. Why didn’t AL and her dad….they would have been able to go faster.     

It probably slows you down to try to swim with a life jacket. But it would have been MUCH safer for Steve to do so. Stupid that he didn’t wear one. 

[Lisa418722]

I'm looking forward to the final episode.  I want Rob and Corey to win the whole thing, but I'm good with any of them winning.  
After watching Steve and AL, I don't think Steve physically would have been able to handle another leg.  But I wonder if it was planned for him to get to the mat before AL because every time before she's been first on the mat.  

[Skyfall]

8 hours ago, chaifan said:

For all of their navigation problems, and Steve lagging behind, the thing that actually cost Steve & AL a place in the final 3 was their failure to keep track of the roadblocks.  If they entered this leg with equal roadblocks, AL could have done the Riverdance roadblock, and they likely would have been out of there with a good lead on Joel & Garrett. 

I could be wrong.  Won't know until someone comments about the actual time gaps between the teams.  But I think in the end, that was the biggest factor to them being eliminated this leg.

Can't say I'm sad about it.  I love this final 3!  I'm rooting for everyone! 

Is she a dancer or are we just speculating she would've been gone? I honestly don't remember what any of them do for a living.

[LizBug]

My favorite part of this episode was watching Rob sign the quote.  You could tell he understood it and put such emotion/heart into his delivery.

[Skooma]

10 hours ago, chaifan said:

For all of their navigation problems, and Steve lagging behind, the thing that actually cost Steve & AL a place in the final 3 was their failure to keep track of the roadblocks.  ...

 

Can't say I'm sad about it.  I love this final 3!  I'm rooting for everyone! 

That would most likely be AL's fault since she is the uber competitive one who really does need to get some chill pills.  Didn't she say they miscounted the numbers so they knew it was important to keep at least one or two in the end but given her high level of freak outs she probably just grabbed at RB's along the way when she should have stepped back.

And yeah one of the most well liked Final Threes of all time and I want all three teams to win.

1 hour ago, Skyfall said:

Is she a dancer or are we just speculating she would've been gone? I honestly don't remember what any of them do for a living.

Well she is a beauty queen and they are usually well-schooled in "talent" stuff like dance.  And did you know I got the feeling that she had a wee bit more stamina than dear old Dad too, hah.

I've been in Dublin before but the little tidal river that runs through it, the Liffy, was brownish and not the pretty blue in the overhead shots.  Was it photo-shopped?  Did the Dubs pour in blue dye for the occasion?  Or did they actually clean up the river?

Loved Dublin btw.  Friendly people everywhere.  I think this episode got a real feel for how it is there.

Edited December 7, 2023 by Skooma

[Shrek]

10 hours ago, iMonrey said:

 

If the steering wheel is on the right and the stick shift is on the left, is the clutch still on the left? That's what would throw me, and I drove nothing but stick shift for years. My first three cars were stick.

 

Yes the clutch is still on the left, brake in the middle etc.

It's not difficult going from one side to the other inside the car, the bigger issue & one that needs the most concentration is staying on the correct side of the road.

[Seelouis]

This may be my favorite final three teams ever!  All three teams are really enjoying the experience. Of course they want to win, but they are not losing sight of the incredible experience. None of them have sniped at their partners or let their mistakes get them down. They all three have surely earned their spots in the finale. I wouldn’t be upset with any of them winning, but my heart is with Rob and Corey. 

[PhD-Purgatory15]

Anyone want to hazard a guess as the total count of "C'mon Dad's" for the entire season? Over a hundred (that we heard on air) at least..

Rob & Corey got the perfect final task, because Rob didn't need to say his quote out loud while he was memorizing it. Hearing someone else vebalizing a diferent quote while I was trying to memorize my own quote would've driven me crazy..

It did seem like Ana Leigh had done a ton of RB's (generally quite fast). So it wasn't surprising to learn that Steve was going to have to both. And really, it wasn't on his RB performance that they ultimately lost. It was there navigation (wondering if AL was unable to drive a stick at all, or if she just realized she would be better suited for the navigator role). They lost time getting to swimming challenge, the hurling RB, pretty much everywhere that required driving..

First time in how long that we have an all male Final 6??

It feels like Greg & John's to lose (just because they never seem to have any issues with almost any RB or Detour tasks & they for the most part have been rock solid navigators). I'm also assuming "taxi luck" won't play a major role in the final leg (although I could be wrong).)

As someone of Irish descent w/ negative levels of natural rhythm, having Phil eliminate me after 87 unsuccessful passes at Riverdance would've been a combination of mortifying/infuriating/tragic. So kudos to Steve & Joel for getting close enough after 8-10 tries to get a pass from the judge. BTW, I'm on team Corey + His Irish Dance Teacher as well :-)

Edited December 7, 2023 by PhD-Purgatory15

[SnideAsides]

Bit of an odd choice to have 25th Anniversary promo signage so heavily visible at the Riverdance task considering it's 30 in a couple of months. The first performance was April 30th, 1994; it was very famously the interval act at Eurovision that year. (Gaiety Theatre wasn't the venue then - the Point Theatre has since been demolished - but it did host Eurovision in 1971.)

 

[Good Queen Jane]

Wading in the shallow end, but Corey in the Riverdance outfit? Oh, my!!!

[Giuseppe]

As happy as I've been with this season, and as much as I love the final three teams, I was meh on this episode. Didn't seem near hard enough for a penultimate leg. Yeah the Riverdance was pretty challenging, but I'm still biased against performance tasks like this, so I didn't quite enjoy it or the poem task, which everyone seemed to breeze through.

I've never been good at dancing. Phil probably would've had to come to the theater to eliminate me...though the judge did seem to understand that these guys were not professionals and was granting them quite a bit of leeway. Still, I was impressed that all of them did as well as they did.

I'll be happy with whoever wins! I'm just sad this season is coming to a close!

[chaifan]

2 hours ago, Skyfall said:

Is she a dancer or are we just speculating she would've been gone? I honestly don't remember what any of them do for a living.

She's not a professional dancer (she has a normal day job - speech therapist, maybe? something like that), but I was making an educated guess that she's got decent rhythm and would pick up the dance moves easily.  And much more stamina than Steve.  I give him a lot of credit for getting it as quickly as he did, though.  I thought he would struggle more. 

Steve was lagging out of the gate this episode.  I don't think he could have handled another leg. 

I was flipping through some of the team youtube recap channels, and saw a link to Luis & Michelle's show, and they had Steve and AL as guests.  Steve said the constant "come on dad's" were good for him, kept him going.  Luis & Michelle met Steve, AL and family in Punta Cana years ago, and Luis & Michelle urged them to apply for TAR.  Interesting, and somewhat random.

This is a great final 3, though.  I'm happy for any of them to win.  I think Greg and John are the strongest team overall, but anything can happen. 

 

[chicagofan]

1 hour ago, Skooma said:

I've been in Dublin before but the little tidal river that runs through it, the Liffy, was brownish and not the pretty blue in the overhead shots.  Was it photo-shopped?  Did the Dubs pour in blue dye for the occasion?  Or did they actually clean up the river?

Don't know the answer to this, but if it's dyed the dye wouldn't necessarily be blue. When Chicago dyes the Chicago River a bright Kelly green for St. Patrick's Day, the dye that's used is a bright orange.

45 minutes ago, PhD-Purgatory15 said:

Anyone want to hazard a guess as the total count of "C'mon Dad's" for the entire season? Over a hundred (that we heard on air) at least..

Well there were 6 or 7 that I counted in the first 15 minutes of last night's episode before I stopped counting, so... And then there were some "let's go dads" as well.

Rob and Corey FTW.

Edited December 7, 2023 by chicagofan

[Jaundiced Eye]

1 hour ago, LizBug said:

My favorite part of this episode was watching Rob sign the quote.  You could tell he understood it and put such emotion/heart into his delivery.

Any time I read a snippet from Ulysses, it serves as a reminder to avoid reading that book at all costs. 

[chaifan]

OK, I know this is off topic, but... has anyone noticed that the forum pages are slow?  I get lag time when writing comments, sometimes have to wait 5-10 seconds for the cursor to catch up.  And scrolling stops, too.  Is it just me?

[Jaundiced Eye]

1 hour ago, Good Queen Jane said:

Wading in the shallow end, but Corey in the Riverdance outfit? Oh, my!!!

Yeah, he looked great. Not only was his dance instructor interested, many women encountered during the race have been checking him out. He's smart, good natured, attractive, etc. I bet he has women falling all over him in real life. Lucky guy.

52 minutes ago, chaifan said:

She's not a professional dancer (she has a normal day job - speech therapist, maybe? something like that)

 

Her Race bio says she's a speech pathologist, influencer (ugh) and private plane attendant or something. No idea how any of that plays out. 

[endure]

8 hours ago, SDVegas said:

I couldn’t love Rob and Corey any more than I do. They have me smiling almost the whole time they’re on screen. What a joy to watch. Gah I hope they win.
 

 

I agree, they are such a great team and pretty incredible considering their age difference and having a huge disadvantage being deaf, the final three are all worthy but hoping for them to win too.

[Jaundiced Eye]

Re: Race job descriptions. Corey is listed as a Senior Manager of Client Strategy and Analytics. I have no idea what that means, but it sure sounds impressive. 

[RunningMarket]

It could definitely be editing, but near the beginning of the episode there was a distinct "COME ON, DAD" while... Steve was actually ahead of Anna Leigh. I know he's said time and time again that it encourages him, but I can't imagine that's not much more than saving face after the fact in interviews.

I read elsewhere that Corey follows his dance instructor now on Instagram, and I hope so. I 'ship this, as the kids would say. He really nailed the steps quickly. I've seen Riverdance 3 times, and am in awe of their dancing each time.

I didn't think John was being anything but playful with his "cute" comment about the wins of the other teams. 

Rooting overall for Rob and Corey, but I am going into this finale being happy with any of the remaining teams winning. 

 

[joanne3482]

1 hour ago, Skooma said:

I've been in Dublin before but the little tidal river that runs through it, the Liffy, was brownish and not the pretty blue in the overhead shots.  Was it photo-shopped?  Did the Dubs pour in blue dye for the occasion?  Or did they actually clean up the river?

Perhaps it is like other areas that thanks to COVID and no people around to make things dirty, nature managed to clean itself up. The differences in the air in Hong Kong before COVID and during COVID lockdowns were amazing. 

4 hours ago, DEL901 said:

At the water task, the beards took the time to put on life jackets…. Why didn’t AL and her dad….they would have been able to go faster.     

If you know how to swim properly, it's very hard to swim with a life jacket on. Your buoyancy is thrown off and the bulk can impede your strokes. Their purpose is to keep you afloat in an emergency, not help you swim better/faster. 

I really like all three teams and am not sure who I want to win more. I'll be sad for the two teams that don't lose. I am surprised that beard bros has gotten as far. I don't think I would have expected that at the beginning. 

[endure]

24 minutes ago, chaifan said:

OK, I know this is off topic, but... has anyone noticed that the forum pages are slow?  I get lag time when writing comments, sometimes have to wait 5-10 seconds for the cursor to catch up.  And scrolling stops, too.  Is it just me?

It's all the moving ads on here interfering, making it hard to post etc.  Almost impossible on an iPad they just can't handle it.  Unfortunately I think they must need the revenue.

[Jaundiced Eye]

1 minute ago, RunningMarket said:

It could definitely be editing, but near the beginning of the episode there was a distinct "COME ON, DAD" while... Steve was actually ahead of Anna Leigh. I know he's said time and time again that it encourages him, but I can't imagine that's not much more than saving face after the fact in interviews.

I saw that too! It was very early in the episode, either leaving the airport or in a parking garage or something. I was going to comment on that, but was hesitant to do so because I was a bit hazy on the details.

[PurpleTentacle]

Shifting with your left hand does sound very icky. I can see why the racers really didn't like it.

Oh that river dance roadblock. I'd still be there today. I have rythm as long as I don't think about it. As soon as I think about it, I get all discombobulated. Having that so late in the race that some people have used up their roadblocks is evil.

Corey had a really enthusiastic teacher (also great idea to chose her that way) and I get why he was a bit smitten with her, even though personally I was more excited when Rob took his shirt off in the beginning of the episode.

At first, I thought the swing at the end of the hurling was brutal, especially if you never played anything like baseball before, but I think the ball just had to go into or above the football goal, even if it bounced beforehand, so it was more about accuracy than power and so probably doable.

Considering ALs face in the confessionals it was pretty clear who got last on this leg. Still a fun one overall.

 

[shura]

11 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

Reciting from Ulysses? Inspired. Also, I don't think the patrons at the pub were acting for the task. Gotta be good cheer from opening to last call, loving everything save for those that misquote James Joyce. Then that's your ass.

They were not actually judging the task, were they? I find it nearly impossible to believe that the patrons were all ASL speakers (that's American sign language, mind you, not British or Irish) and could understand whether Rob was quoting without any mistakes. I wonder how it was judged.  A specially provided ASL-speaking judge would check and signal to the patrons to cheer?  Rob did a tremendous job expressing emotions though, it was a joy just to watch him.

[iMonrey]

1 hour ago, PhD-Purgatory15 said:

It feels like Greg & John's to lose (just because they never seem to have any issues with almost any RB or Detour tasks & they for the most part have been rock solid navigators). I'm also assuming "taxi luck" won't play a major role in the final leg (although I could be wrong).)

Seriously, is there anything they can't do? They speak French, they studied music composition, they play sports. It seems like every time they get to a task they have some sort of relevant experience.

1 hour ago, Good Queen Jane said:

Wading in the shallow end, but Corey in the Riverdance outfit? Oh, my!!!

I'll go shallower. Corey in swim trunks, oh my. This is where I wished Liam and Yeremi were still there.

11 minutes ago, PurpleTentacle said:

Shifting with your left hand does sound very icky.

Not if you're left handed!

[snarts]

Buh bye, Steve & Anna Leigh. I do hope she has some self-reflection. The throwaway comment about needing anxiety meds may be accurate, especially if for her, being "dead last" on in the final four of the Amazing Race is the "absolute worst feeling in the world".

Yes, Steve agreed to the show but, in deciding to partner with him, she should be more accepting of his strengths/weaknesses. Especially since HE'S HER FATHER! Her disappointment & frustration was often palpable, imagine how that made him feel?

Can't say enough about Rob & Corey. I really just adore them and hope they can somehow pull off the win. While I like the other two teams, I'll likely be a little disappointed if one of them wins. Unsure of Corey's relationship status but I hope he took a minute to get his dance instructor's contact info. There was some definite attraction there on both sides. I loved how she walked them out :)

[Fukui San]

One more observation I just remembered. On the scenes on the plane I don’t think we saw any other passengers. Makes me think it was actually a private charter flight and the Expedia stuff was for show. After all if they’re showcasing the ease of the App you wouldn’t want to show any team get screwed due to travel drama. 

[Tango64]

11 minutes ago, snarts said:

Yes, Steve agreed to the show but, in deciding to partner with him, she should be more accepting of his strengths/weaknesses. Especially since HE'S HER FATHER! Her disappointment & frustration was often palpable, imagine how that made him feel?

I get the feeling that all of Steve's insistence that her haranguing him was helpful is just a way to cover for his beloved little girl. He knows it makes her look bad and he's trying to help her by saying it's okay, she was actually helping me compete better. Please don't think my daughter is as terrible as she looked sometimes.

In reality, he may not be pleased with how she treated him in those moments but he still wants to protect her.

 

[RunningMarket]

14 minutes ago, Fukui San said:

One more observation I just remembered. On the scenes on the plane I don’t think we saw any other passengers. Makes me think it was actually a private charter flight and the Expedia stuff was for show. After all if they’re showcasing the ease of the App you wouldn’t want to show any team get screwed due to travel drama. 

I think they just board first so they can film them without needing waivers from all the other passengers.

[Whimsy]

32 minutes ago, shura said:

They were not actually judging the task, were they? I find it nearly impossible to believe that the patrons were all ASL speakers (that's American sign language, mind you, not British or Irish) and could understand whether Rob was quoting without any mistakes. I wonder how it was judged.  A specially provided ASL-speaking judge would check and signal to the patrons to cheer?  Rob did a tremendous job expressing emotions though, it was a joy just to watch him.

I am sure they had an ASL interpreter for this task that was off-camera to us. 

I am looking forward to the finale.  First time I've truly felt that in awhile.  I still enjoy the show overall, but I am not always invested in the final teams.  This time I am. 

Like others, I am glad Steve and AL are eliminated.  They were a strong team early on and I didn't necessarily dislike them but AL's "come on dad"'s were just as annoying to me as "Twinnie!" and whatever the Afghanimals said all the time (I don't remember, but I feel like they also had a catch-phrase of some sort). 

[PurpleTentacle]

35 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

Not if you're left handed!

Pretty sure also if you are left handed, if you learned with your right. Shifting in tune with pressing the clutch is pure muscle memory.

35 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

Seriously, is there anything they can't do? They speak French, they studied music composition, they play sports. It seems like every time they get to a task they have some sort of relevant experience.

Well if your family is rich, you get a lot of opportunities.

35 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

I'll go shallower. Corey in swim trunks, oh my. This is where I wished Liam and Yeremi were still there.

Rewatching, he is pretty damn fine, but first time watching my eyes were solidly on Rob. Love me a sturdy man.

2 hours ago, Skooma said:

I've been in Dublin before but the little tidal river that runs through it, the Liffy, was brownish and not the pretty blue in the overhead shots.  Was it photo-shopped?  Did the Dubs pour in blue dye for the occasion?  Or did they actually clean up the river?

Might be different depending on time of year, rain fall, etc.

56 minutes ago, Jaundiced Eye said:

Corey is listed as a Senior Manager of Client Strategy and Analytics.

Sounds like some voodoo economics bullshit. I will try to not hold that against him.

41 minutes ago, shura said:

They were not actually judging the task, were they? I find it nearly impossible to believe that the patrons were all ASL speakers (that's American sign language, mind you, not British or Irish) and could understand whether Rob was quoting without any mistakes. I wonder how it was judged.  A specially provided ASL-speaking judge would check and signal to the patrons to cheer?  Rob did a tremendous job expressing emotions though, it was a joy just to watch him.

The judges we see on screen rarely judge the task. Usually it's a producer behind the camera giving a thumbs up or down. Here the crowd was clearly instructed to react to that accordingly.

26 minutes ago, Fukui San said:

One more observation I just remembered. On the scenes on the plane I don’t think we saw any other passengers. Makes me think it was actually a private charter flight and the Expedia stuff was for show. After all if they’re showcasing the ease of the App you wouldn’t want to show any team get screwed due to travel drama. 

We saw them go through normal airport procedure, so I kinda doubt it. We also saw barely anything of the plane on camera.

Also there were two guys visible when the beards were stowing their backpacks, but those could have been camera and/or sound guys.

Edit: Rewatching there also seems to be a woman with blond hair behind the guy in the baseball cap.

Edited December 7, 2023 by PurpleTentacle

[chaifan]

I know someone said in another episode thread that the only time Rob is given an interpreter is for safety instructions.  But I've just assumed this whole season that there's always someone who knows ASL on set.  Not just for judging something like the Ulysses challenge, but someone has to be interpreting for Phil at the mat - Rob "talked" a lot on the mat this time, and Corey didn't seem to be interpreting for him.  So is Phil just standing there, smiling not really knowing what Rob is saying (doubtful), or is someone off screen interpreting (more likely)?  If an accident happened and Corey were knocked out, Rob would need an interpreter.  Also, it would be fairly easy for Rob and Corey to "cheat" at roadblocks, when there isn't supposed to be communication between the team members.  There may be someone on set to make sure that isn't happening.  (Not that I think this team would cheat, but saying it would be possible in certain circumstances.)  So there may be an interpreter, but that person is there for production, not for Rob's benefit.

On that note: I always thought that it would be a good thing to have some sort of code for roadblocks, where general cheering is allowed.  Like "You've got this" means "you're screwing up, re-read the clue!"  😁

On the Expedia booking segment, I think that was all play acting.  Would TAR really allow these teams to book whatever hotel they wanted, last minute?  That seems unlikely, incredibly expensive, and would also be a production/logistical nightmare (having 4 teams in 4 different hotels throughout the city). 

 

[AnnaBaptist]

I liked Steve and Anna Leigh least of the four teams, so pleased with the result, but I must say I was impressed with Steve's effort this time. OK, he struggled a bit with the swimming (wearing shoes was not a good idea), but he did a good job with the dance. Dancing is clearly not his forte, but he worked hard to get it right and pushed through. He did way better at that task than I ever would. He "knocked it out of the park" - figuratively - in the hurling challenge, getting it right on the second try. And finally, when reciting the Joyce quote, he got it right on the first try and seemed to do it easily. I'm happy that their time on the show ended on a good note rather than them being hours behind because of a navigational error.