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

[aghst]

She probably would have done well but she's also much shorter than the RD dancers and also the men who did this RD roadblock.

So sure she has the hair like the female RD dancers but she's shorter than they are.

[Sheikh Yerbouti]

On 12/7/2023 at 5:28 PM, Netfoot said:

Yes. This means you use left foot and left hand to change. In other words, no cross-coordination of limbs. Which is one of several reasons why driving on the left is obviously a superior system.

It's perfectly natural, and also it's the way dog intended it to be.

Yes, this exactly. I learned how to drive stick in a right-hand-drive car on the left side of the road. It was adjusting to the opposite in the United States that was the challenge for me, LOL. And to be honest, I preferred shifting with my left hand while keeping my dominant right hand on the steering wheel.

This season of 90-minute episodes knocked (hurled?) it out of the park.

My favorite final three ever.

My favorite roadblock ever. (Until next week, perhaps, as the previews show my favorite hobby as part of the final leg.)

Riverdancing has to be one of the most brutally precise performance tasks The Amazing Race has ever done. I could listen to this show all day, although I’m sure hearing the same sequence over and over must have driven the waiting partners crazy.

Doing so many physical tasks and then having to slow my adrenaline-driven lizard brain down enough to memorize and recite convoluted poetry, knowing it was the only thing standing in the way of being one of the final three teams, would have fried me.

Edited December 9, 2023 by Sheikh Yerbouti
Adding more poetic language or something.

[snarts]

Linkedin:
Corey

Anna Leigh

Todd

 

[Ancaster]

On 12/7/2023 at 8:19 AM, Jaundiced Eye said:

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. 

Do we know how big the company is?  If it's just him and the jade plant, Senior Manager of Client Strategy and Analytics becomes less impressive.  I'm kidding, but without context it's kind of meaningless.

[Quilt Fairy]

I'm still trying to figure out if one of the Gardiner brothers was in that Riverdance line, the tall fellow just right of center.  Anyone know? 

[TVbitch]

Damn, I've never cried on the mat before! 🥲 But I'm pretty sure Phil was teary  too, so it's okay. Really hope Rob and Corey can win it, and I can blubber again over their lovely relationship. 

[aradia22]

Quote

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). 

From Greg and John's recap, you're absolutely right. They went through the motions and then stopped filming before they actually confirmed any purchases. Everyone was on the same flight and in the same hotel.

[Ancaster]

The whole fake Expedia booking malarkey was so cringe-inducing that it is more likely to steer me away from Expedia than towards it.

[Ancaster]

12 hours ago, aghst said:

I just returned from Australia, renting cars in Sydney and Melbourne, both automatics.

BTW, there isn't a big premium to be paid for automatic so there's no reason to rent a manual.

In any event, the first car was an MG (Chinese company bought an old British brand) and the turn signal stalk was on the left side of the steering wheel.

The second car was a Toyota Carolla and the turn signal stalk was on the right side of the steering wheel.

That meant the wiper controls and the cruise controls were on opposite sides too.

Confusing for an American driver.

 

When I flew regularly to the UK one of the things I looked forward to (as well as the chocolate) was driving a stick.  If you have an aptitude for driving a stick, switching isn't difficult if you're in the right car.  What's hard is driving a right-hand drive car in a left-hand drive country and vice versa.  Also, entering an empty road can be tough because muscle memory will put you in the wrong lane.

I just got a new car.  It's the new version of my old one.  The set up is completely different to the extent that I can't find anything and the lights are on the other side of the steering wheel.  In other words, Americans change things too.

 

[Ancaster]

12 hours ago, aradia22 said:

 

The pub task with the James Joyce quotes didn't seem like that big of a deal. They talked it up a lot but it was like any other memorization task. The added bonus of getting watched by a totally silent pub and then cheered or booed was probably the tougher part if you're not comfortable with public speaking. 

 

 

They could have given them this one from Finnegan's Wake to learn:

“bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonnerronntuonnthunntrovarrhounawnskawntoohoohoordenenthurnuk!”

[Netfoot]

34 minutes ago, Ancaster said:

Also, entering an empty road can be tough because muscle memory will put you in the wrong lane.

I've tried driving on the right and this is what got me every time.

[Browncoat]

9 hours ago, Quilt Fairy said:

I'm still trying to figure out if one of the Gardiner brothers was in that Riverdance line, the tall fellow just right of center.  Anyone know? 

You and I aren't the only ones to believe that, @Quilt Fairy!  Several people have commented on their Insta about seeing them.  They haven't replied, and I haven't been able to find confirmation, though.

[SG429]

4 hours ago, Ancaster said:

The whole fake Expedia booking malarkey was so cringe-inducing that it is more likely to steer me away from Expedia than towards it.

Yeah, I don't think the feigned awe and amazement of a mobile app carries the same marketing weight it may have in earlier (way earlier!) seasons.

[ML89]

18 hours ago, aradia22 said:

The Riverdance task brought all the challenge I've been missing in the last few episodes. Also, I got very invested in Corey and Anna Mei's flirtation. It was very chaste, of course, but so are Hallmark movies. Interested to see what he says in the recap about admitting he thought she was cute. I didn't even think about the challenge of heeled tap shoes until Corey almost fell. I think Corey did especially well since the executive producer told him to "keep that shirt." And Padraic seemed genuinely thrilled for Steve after he succeeded on his 9th attempt. It was a good, tough judging. He wasn't so strict on expecting them to be at the level of the professionals with posture or clean footwork but if they obviously missed a step, he wouldn't let them just pass. Impressive that Corey and John made it through on their second attempts. If you watch the recaps from both teams, they really are fierce competitors. I'm glad casting went with two very competitive and strategic teams this year. Like, they are decently well traveled and they have actual skills beyond being vaguely in shape. 

I loved the whole Riverdance challenge and I could swear that I could hear Padraic calculating with Corey...."could we teach him, he picked it up pretty quick, he looks great in the costume." I swear, I didn't notice his eyes were blue until that. John was terrific too (although I was thinking "yeah, you can play an instrument but that doesn't mean you can dance..." but it did for him!). Steve was charming because he didn't get frustrated (I think Anna Leigh would have melted down) and he seemed to be honestly enjoying it (and was sort of still line dancing). Team Beard (sorry, I still haven't sorted their names - I made it through all of GBBO confusing Josh and Matty) was great because he made that comment about keeping going and tried so hard. He reminded me of Woz on Dancing with the Stars (Steve Wozniak of Apple) who was trying so hard and was cheerful about how bad he was.

I'm so happy with this final three - for the first time in a long time, maybe ever, I don't want a team to lose.

 

 

[mbluecpa]

I haven’t been so excited to see a first-place finish since the minivan rounded the corner in the Season 5 finale.  Would love to see Corey and Rob repeat next week but my head tells me Greg and John are the favorites; like many here, I’d be happy with any of the three as winners and will be disappointed for the other two.  Just a great final three: teams that are enjoyable to watch race and show parent/child, sibling, and best friend relationships that are awesome.

I’d have been totally unsurprised if either Greg or John had said he’d been on an intramural hurling team in college.  Every week they seem to reveal another interesting something they’ve done or know and show even more skill in racing.

[aghst]

8 hours ago, Ancaster said:

The whole fake Expedia booking malarkey was so cringe-inducing that it is more likely to steer me away from Expedia than towards it.

Expedia acquired longtime TAR sponsor Travelocity and I guess took over the sponsorship.

I don't get too vexed over the product placement since the sponsor keeps this show that I like on the air.  I believe for a couple of seasons just before the pandemic, there was some doubt that TAR would be renewed.

So I have no quibble with any factor that keeps the show on the air.

[iMonrey]

Some things I noticed on rewatch:

Phil referred to the place they had to swim as a "40 foot swimming hole" but it appeared to be open sea, unless he meant the immediate area of a bit of an inlet.

Did anyone catch the name of Corey's dance instructor? When she said it, it sounded like Hominy or Harmony, but when Corey said it it sounded like Anna May. Steve's partner was really cute too.

I wish they had told us how long each one had to practice and how long it took them to finish. We saw how many tries it took them but I can't imagine how long I'd have to practice before I could even attempt it.

The fact that Steve knew line dancing probably did help him, even just a little bit. I thought it was funny when John was left to choose between the two remaining male instructors, he asked "Who is my height? You're my height." Picks the one who's taller than him.

I want to know how Rob knew the judge gave Corey a pass on the dancing. He stood up and cheered right as he said it - but he was sitting behind him. There must have been an interpreter off camera.

What on earth was Phil standing on above that stadium? It looked like some kind of structural overhang. It gave me acrophobia just looking at it.

Did anyone else notice the balls were blurred when they were shooting goals? It was impossible to see where they were going. Why were they blurred like that? Phil did say they had to score a goal through the uprights, but it looked like Steve's went in the net. Here too we had no real sense of how long it took any of them to finish this task.

I still think this is Greg and John's to lose, but the fact is they came up short the last two legs, so their trajectory is in the wrong direction. I'll be happy for any of the three final teams, but Rob and Corey have really won my heart. And they are peaking at just the right moment.

A 90 minute finale is going to be excruciating.

Edited December 9, 2023 by iMonrey

[Katrina Kate]

8 hours ago, Ancaster said:

 

They could have given them this one from Finnegan's Wake to learn:

“bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonnerronntuonnthunntrovarrhounawnskawntoohoohoordenenthurnuk!”

Oh, I thought that was the name of a town in Wales.

[aradia22]

Quote

They could have given them this one from Finnegan's Wake to learn:

“bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonnerronntuonnthunntrovarrhounawnskawntoohoohoordenenthurnuk!”

In hindsight, they've had memorization tasks in other languages before... they might have actually slowed some teams down with a memorization challenge in Gaelic. 

[aradia22]

Quote

I want to know how Rob knew the judge gave Corey a pass on the dancing. He stood up and cheered right as he said it - but he was sitting behind him. There must have been an interpreter off camera.

I don't think Rob reacted until he saw Padraic reaching down for the clue. I remember this moment. Also, pretty sure her name is Anna May (however it's spelled).

Quote

Did anyone else notice the balls were blurred when they were shooting goals? It was impossible to see where they were going. Why were they blurred like that? Phil did say they had to score a goal through the uprights, but it looked like Steve's went in the net. Here too we had no real sense of how long it took any of them to finish this task.

When they were near the goals they put a halo around the ball so the audience could see. I thought this was helpful. Also, maybe Greg and John have their numbers wrong but the discrepancy between what they've said and what was shown on TV makes me think the editors may have altered how many attempts it actually took for each team in some challenges. 

[Netfoot]

4 hours ago, Katrina Kate said:

Oh, I thought that was the name of a town in Wales.

Oh, you must mean

ETA: It's on the isle of Anglesey which makes up the north western tip of Wales.

Edited December 9, 2023 by Netfoot

[Ducky]

On 12/7/2023 at 5:32 PM, watch2much said:

as to the driving, my brother who is left handed and a real motor head said driving in Ireland was a real challenge. as someone else said, using the right to shift all those years does is embedded.

Yep- years ago my father went to England for his antique car- as he had shipped it to get it 'refurbished' (an Alfa? I can picture it but can't quite remember the model ATM).  He  is left-handed and said the same; I believe he almost got himself in trouble at one point driving on the road and trying to make a turn. He grew up with manual transmissions well into adulthood so a challenge for him driving in the UK (even more so if he had driven his Alfa with steering wheel on the right!)

What a great episode- F3 is great, can't remember the last time I liked all three teams! Rob/Corey still my top team but won't quibble if Greg/John or Joel/Garrett wins.

Yep- I believe navigation hurt AL and Steve more than the Roadblocks did. What AL said at the mat "The worst feeling in the world"- I've heard other teams say the same though the worst one was that football player who REALLY lambasted TAR negatively.

Freezing cold water?  Whoooo. that wake me up in a hurry like Joel said

Riverdance... Amazing to watch- I would still be there- terrible balance and I likely would not have been able to hear my tutor calling the steps on stage! (Hearing aids only amplify sound not clarify them).  Corey and Anna Mai were so cute together :). 

Hurling looks really cool- seemed like a cross between baseball, lacrosse and field hockey!

The recitation- Rob's was awesome- ASL is his primary language even if his speech is fairly good (with a 'deaf accent') so I am very sure there was an ASL interpreter behind the scenes interpreting in whispers to the judge what Rob was signing. It looked like most of the crowd was behind the racers so no way most would see Rob anyway (or understand him ASL is not the same as Irish (or British) sign language).  Joel's dramatic pauses in trying to remember his was a bit nerve wracking!

On 12/8/2023 at 7:14 AM, Haleth said:

Aww, John's "cute" comment was teasing.  Sure, they know they're good and have the leg wins to prove it, but they've been shown to be friendly with all the teams and courteous to the locals.  I'm sure they were taking nothing for granted.

Gotta agree here- it sounded more like gentle ribbing/teasing more than anything as over the race they've never been unfriendly with any teams or spoke ill of anyone- other than "I wish they'd stop following us!" re Robbin/Chelsea and AL/Steve this episode.

Looking forward to the final- Rob/Corey FTW ! with Greg/John my 2nd choice. 

To those wondering what Corey's instructor's name was, closed captions said Anna Mai.

Edited December 9, 2023 by Ducky
Closed captions say Anna Mai ( I went back and looked lol)

[Ancaster]

3 hours ago, aghst said:

Expedia acquired longtime TAR sponsor Travelocity and I guess took over the sponsorship.

I don't get too vexed over the product placement since the sponsor keeps this show that I like on the air.  I believe for a couple of seasons just before the pandemic, there was some doubt that TAR would be renewed.

So I have no quibble with any factor that keeps the show on the air.

I understand and don't have any problem with sponsorship, I just found the fakety fake enthusiasm and forced playacting by the contestants to be, like I said, cringeworthy - I'd rather see a decent professional commercial.  Or an episode like the one where they had to take the gnome everywhere with them.

 

3 hours ago, Katrina Kate said:

Oh, I thought that was the name of a town in Wales.

That would have been, "lllllllllllbababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonnerronntuonnthunntrovarrhounawnskawntoohoohoordenenthurnukgoghgoghgogh".

[Ancaster]

3 hours ago, Katrina Kate said:

Oh, I thought that was the name of a town in Wales.

 

1 hour ago, Netfoot said:

Oh, you must mean

Beat me to it, @Netfoot, but their version would have been even longer , possibly with extra ls: 

 "lllllllllllbababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonnerronntuonnthunntrovarrhounawnskawntoohoohoordenenthurnukgogogogh".

Edited December 9, 2023 by Ancaster

[aghst]

9 minutes ago, Ancaster said:

I understand and don't have any problem with sponsorship, I just found the fakety fake enthusiasm and forced playacting by the contestants to be, like I said, cringeworthy - I'd rather see a decent professional commercial.  Or an episode like the one where they had to take the gnome everywhere with them.

 

But they did that with the Travelocity app too.

And every time someone wins a leg they tout the trips designed by Travelocity or now Expedia experts.

But IIRC, those trips were only for two so if they wanted to bring their spouses, they'd be out of pocket and then there were tax implications so I thought I heard that a lot of racers don't take all of these trips.

They were more blatant with the product placement of the Travelocity gnome but at least they were creative with it sometimes, like you had to take the gnome with them through the leg and deliver it somewhere.  I seem to recall there was something with a zip line once and they had to hook the gnome to the zip line as they went on it.  Or maybe it was a bungee jump.

[PurpleTentacle]

4 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Phil referred to the place they had to swim as a "40 foot swimming hole" but it appeared to be open sea, unless he meant the immediate area of a bit of an inlet.

Phil also said the locals can't agree on how it got that name. So it's a local name and nobody knows why it is what it is.

4 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Did anyone else notice the balls were blurred when they were shooting goals? It was impossible to see where they were going. Why were they blurred like that? Phil did say they had to score a goal through the uprights, but it looked like Steve's went in the net. Here too we had no real sense of how long it took any of them to finish this task.

The editors didn't blur them, they highlighted them, because otherwise you wouldn't have been able to see them at all.

[zapper]

i know it's a race. I know that it was for the final 3. I know that judgement should be better.

but I don't know that would have been able to leave the pub without having a pint.

[CoyoteBlue]

15 hours ago, Browncoat said:

You and I aren't the only ones to believe that, @Quilt Fairy!  Several people have commented on their Insta about seeing them.  They haven't replied, and I haven't been able to find confirmation, though.

I am near-positive that one of them was there.

[sinycalone]

I was hoping to see Foil Arms and Hog somewhere along the line in Dublin.  Have no idea if they were out of the country on tour or not....but had my fingers crossed.  Nope.

[PurpleTentacle]

5 hours ago, zapper said:

but I don't know that would have been able to leave the pub without having a pint.

Better hope there isn't any self driving after. Because at that point, you aren't allowed to drive anymore.

That happened to Derek and Claire last season in the Munich leg. Derek exed a beer in a Biergarten and afterwards Claire had to drive. Had they both done that, they'd been out.

[zapper]

8 hours ago, PurpleTentacle said:

Better hope there isn't any self driving after. Because at that point, you aren't allowed to drive anymore.

 

the next instructions was to walk to the pit stop and meet Phil. It was as if TAR was all but inviting you to have a quick one. 

[iMonrey]

22 hours ago, aradia22 said:

I don't think Rob reacted until he saw Padraic reaching down for the clue. I remember this moment. Also, pretty sure her name is Anna May (however it's spelled).

No, he stood up the very instant the judge said Corey passed. There was no body language that Rob would have been able to see from behind. It's possible Rob was reacting to Corey's reaction on stage though. I still think it's more likely there was an interpreter somewhere off camera.

19 hours ago, PurpleTentacle said:

The editors didn't blur them, they highlighted them, because otherwise you wouldn't have been able to see them at all.

I watched this twice, I have a brand new 4K Ultra TV and to me they just looked blurred. If they meant to "highlight" the balls maybe they should have drawn circles around them or something. I honestly couldn't tell where they were going.

[Browncoat]

12 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

If they meant to "highlight" the balls maybe they should have drawn circles around them or something.

I just rewatched, and I saw big yellow circles/highlights on the balls.

[iMonrey]

2 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

I just rewatched, and I saw big yellow circles/highlights on the balls.

So they yellow part was supposed to be the "highlight?" I thought it was the ball itself. It still just looked blurry to me. [shrugs]

[Browncoat]

3 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

So they yellow part was supposed to be the "highlight?" I thought it was the ball itself. It still just looked blurry to me. [shrugs]

I think it was the highlight.  The balls weren't yellow, or that large, when we saw them more closely (when people were passing them, etc.).  

[zoey1996]

I loved watching the Riverdance challenge. At Busch Gardens, Williamsburg, VA there's a show that features Irish step dancing that is so fun to watch! I got to see a touring Riverdance troupe a long time ago. Exciting to watch the current dancers, and see the instructors; they were patient and kind.

[PurpleTentacle]

6 hours ago, zapper said:

the next instructions was to walk to the pit stop and meet Phil. It was as if TAR was all but inviting you to have a quick one. 

First of all, you wouldn't know that at that point. Second of all, I wouldn't be so sure. The clue was "race to the pitstop", not "make your way on foot to the pitstop" and from what I can tell the pitstop was quite a bit away. They might have just cut out a driving section.

3 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I watched this twice, I have a brand new 4K Ultra TV and to me they just looked blurred. If they meant to "highlight" the balls maybe they should have drawn circles around them or something. I honestly couldn't tell where they were going.

Did you turn off motion smoothing on your TV? It's often on by default and should really be off, to not blur the crap out of things like this.

[Browncoat]

51 minutes ago, PurpleTentacle said:

The clue was "race to the pitstop", not "make your way on foot to the pitstop"

It's funny -- Rob and Cory read "race to the pitstop," but Steve and AL read "make your way on foot to the pitstop."  They didn't show what the other two teams read.

[Netfoot]

12 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

It's funny -- Rob and Cory read "race to the pitstop," but Steve and AL read "make your way on foot to the pitstop."  They didn't show what the other two teams read.

They didn't show what Rob/Cory and Steve/AL read. They showed what they said. Either of them could have been paraphrasing, and in fact both of them might have been paraphrasing. Since I very much doubt that the clues in the clue box were personalized or individualized, I am pretty convinced this is the case.

[Browncoat]

18 minutes ago, Netfoot said:

They didn't show what Rob/Cory and Steve/AL read. They showed what they said. Either of them could have been paraphrasing, and in fact both of them might have been paraphrasing. Since I very much doubt that the clues in the clue box were personalized or individualized, I am pretty convinced this is the case.

True.  I should have been more specific.  Either way, it did appear that they made their way on foot to the pitstop from the pub.

[zapper]

3 hours ago, PurpleTentacle said:

First of all, you wouldn't know that at that point. Second of all, I wouldn't be so sure. The clue was "race to the pitstop", not "make your way on foot to the pitstop" and from what I can tell the pitstop was quite a bit away. They might have just cut out a driving section.

sheesh.  well, since you seem to take the same pedantic pill I take, 

First off, Rob/Corey read their next step while in the pub - so yeah, you would know at that point. The others read outside the pub, only a step or two back in for a sleeve. Second of all, AL was clearly reading from the clue when she said "Make your way on foot to the park next to St. Patrick's Cathedral and find Phil." 

But I give up, you win, it would have been a bad idea for them and it was certainly a bad idea for me to make that joke. Peace and good wishes to you. 

[Taeolas]

When it goes between a general phrase like "make your way to the pitstop" vs a more explicit instruction like "Make your way ON FOOT to the next pitstop", then you can generally assume the later is what the clue actually says and the former is the team generalizing it. Especially since none of the 4 teams went back to their cars that we saw, and there seemed to be very explicit parking instructions to get to the pub. 

 

All in all I loved this leg; the Irish are just so friendly on it; and the judging was so great. Hurling seems to be an interesting sport; I'm a bit sad that the teams seemed to nail it so quickly so we didn't see more. 

When the prize for the leg was announced as "Winning a trip to Fiji", all I could think of is "Congratulations, you won a chance to be on the next season of Survivor!" which does make me wonder a bit, if Survivor wanted to cast a deaf contestant, how they might do it. (probably not really feasible; TAR is much more 'friendly' for deaf or blind contestants than Survivor would be)

 

Thankfully Corey had enough roadblocks left to tackle these ones; while I'm sure Rob might have succeeded eventually (and am a bit curious to think of how he would have learned it) it would have been very challenging to say the least. For the sake of production I wouldn't have been surprised if there was an unspoken "only Corey can perform this roadblock" line in the instructions. 

[fishcakes]

12 minutes ago, Taeolas said:

When the prize for the leg was announced as "Winning a trip to Fiji", all I could think of is "Congratulations, you won a chance to be on the next season of Survivor!" which does make me wonder a bit, if Survivor wanted to cast a deaf contestant, how they might do it. (probably not really feasible; TAR is much more 'friendly' for deaf or blind contestants than Survivor would be)

Survivor has had two deaf contestants, Christy in season 6 and Nina in season 30. Christy was completely deaf, but Nina had cochlear implants and some hearing, but she said she missed a lot of the conversations out there. Nina was voted out fairly early but Christy made it almost to the end. The biggest challenge for Christy was at night when people would have conversations around the fire. There wasn't enough light for her read lips, and it wasn't until there was a tribe shuffle and her new tribemates would hold the lantern near their faces while talking that she could participate. I believe they had an ASL interpreter offscreen for Tribal Council and for when Jeff was explaining the challenges.

[proserpina65]

On 12/9/2023 at 3:51 PM, Ancaster said:

I'd rather see a decent professional commercial.  Or an episode like the one where they had to take the gnome everywhere with them.

I do miss the Roaming Gnome.

That Riverdance task was massively difficult.  I'm a good dancer and probably could've gotten the steps well enough, but the speed they needed was insane.

 

[chaifan]

On 12/9/2023 at 12:22 PM, iMonrey said:

The fact that Steve knew line dancing probably did help him, even just a little bit.

 

What on earth was Phil standing on above that stadium? It looked like some kind of structural overhang. It gave me acrophobia just looking at it.

I agree on Steve, and liked the little bit of line dancing they showed with him and AL after they left the mat.  I'm going to take a guess that Steve has worn cowboy boots with heels, especially if he does country line dancing.  Corey said the heels made the actual performance harder.  Steve would have been used to that.

I think it was in Steve & AL's Parade interview, they said there was a rappelling challenge at the stadium that wasn't shown.  I'm wondering if they rappelled from that point down. 

[Tango64]

They should just stop rappelling. It doesn't really scare anyone anymore and everyone knows they're completely safe. Just a waste of time, which I guess they realized when editing this last episode.

[Browncoat]

@Quilt Fairy, there has been confirmation from the Gardiner Brothers' Insta that it was them at the Riverdance challenge!  Well spotted!

[Ilovepie]

On 12/7/2023 at 8:40 AM, 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.

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

Not if you're left handed!

I said the exact same thing about Greg and John - literally every task they do they have some kind of experience with! Plus their navigation skills are great, and they never get flustered. One of the greatest teams ever, if not the greatest.

Still, my heart belongs to Rob and Corey - my favorite team ever. And Corey getting flustered with his Riverdance instructor was so cute! He's going to be VERY popular after this show! How smart for them to keep track of roadblocks and prepare for Corey to do them at this point!

Steve did better with the roadblocks than I thought he would after running and swimming, but their Achilles heal is navigation which got them again.

Joel and Garrett have such a great attitude, and after seeing the one's (sorry don't know which is which and it doesn't help that they call each other by their last names) daughter, I would not be sad for a surprise win by them. I hope she gets her service dog!!!!!

I cannot express how great this season has been. The teams, the locations, the challenges. Classic TAR. Love it!!!!!!!

[rr2911]

I was disappointed to see Anna Leigh and her dad eliminated.  I liked the feistiness of AL.  As a team, they never gave up.

So, which team am I rooting for?

Rob/Corey - Not a fan.  They just come off as goody two shoes type of people.  Every thing seems to fall right on their lap.

Greg/John - They seem arrogant.  They seem to have done everything you can think of.  They speak every language (so it seems).  If you asked them if the have ever worked for the "Dole factory for major maggots" they would probably say "We've dabbled in it a bit"  Ugh!

Joel/Garrett - I'll be cheering this guys on!  They seem down to earth.  The type you want to have a few beers with.  The one with the beard reminds of a good buddy of mine from high school many moons ago.  Same sense of humor!  Plus, they are the clear underdog of the three.

[ichbin]

I think this might be the first season I don't have a team to root for 100%...because I think all of them are great in their own ways.  I'm going to be happy for the winner but sad for the losers. 
 

I'm grateful that none of the final teams were desperation runners like some in the past who came across as seeming they felt they should win based solely upon financial need...the teams decades too late for Queen for a Day.  I've always enjoyed the teams who see value in the opportunity to participate and appreciate the opportunity to see a variety of countries and do a bunch of creative activities along the way...the teams who really enjoy themselves and sharing adventures with each other.

Good season TAR!