S36.E06: Our Alliance Strikes Again

[MerBearHou]

I finally figured out who Danny reminds me of — it’s been driving me crazy!  Did anyone watch Monk?  Danny reminds me of a younger version of Monk’s eager, annoying neighbor Kevin Dorfman.  They have similar mannerisms and talk / smile the same way.  

[Skooma]

On 4/17/2024 at 10:17 PM, Browncoat said:

Wait -- is that kind of helping allowed?

Yes, it always has been allowed and smart teams use it.

On 4/17/2024 at 10:38 PM, Jaundiced Eye said:

I know she can drive, but that seems to be all she can handle. Did she honestly think she had a shot to be competitive in the Race?

Well they have made it through half of this season and any number of teams have been eliminated so far but not them so yeah I'd say Mom is competitive.  She was hot and nearly passed out because the race car was super hot as blazes strapped inside it.  A number of them commented on that.

On 4/17/2024 at 10:45 PM, Tango64 said:

It’s bad enough when they follow each other. Danny looked like he was leading a field trip. “Okay, everyone follow me! Stay together! We’re changing detours, so come on everybody!”

But standing next to an opponent and just giving them the solution to the puzzle should get a four-hour penalty. 

No, I think it should be applauded.  It always has been an option since Season 1 and always should be.  Like they said this episode.  Run your own race but sometimes that means running together helping one another.  I think it is awesome.  I LOVE when teams do that. 

To me it puts the AMAZING in what would other wise be just another generic race.  Both comradeship and strategy cranks this race above all others and these two elements have always been there since day one.

On 4/17/2024 at 11:05 PM, dancingdreamer said:

That was some mega leg. I'm surprised  the alliances are allowed  to literally help do the puzzles and chat with their  alliance, at one time that wouldn't  have been allowed.

At what time?  This has been allowed for people doing Roadblocks since Season 1. 

A partner cannot help their team member other than hold drinks and such for them.  But fellow Roadblockers can work together and always have.

Remember Drew helping Emily running around the Roman coliseum at El Gem back in Season 1?  That was both so sweet and cool when they worked together on that Roadblock.  I loved that episode.

Edited April 25 by Skooma

[dancingdreamer]

17 minutes ago, Skooma said:

Yes, it alwats has been allowed and smart teams use it.

Well they have made it through half of this season and any number of teams have been eliminated so far but not them so yeah I'd say Mom is competitive.  She was hot and nearly passed out because the race car was super hot as blazes strapped inside it.  A number of them commented on that.

No, I think it should be applauded.  It always has been an option since Season 1 and always should be.  Like they said this episode.  Run your own race but sometimes that means running together helping one another.  I think it is awesome.  I LOVE when teams do that. 

To me it puts the AMAZING in what would other wise be just another generic race.  Both comradeship and strategy cranks this race above all others and these two elements have always been there since day one.

At what time?  This has been allowed for people doing Roadblocks since Season 1. 

A partner cannot help their team member other than hold drinks and such for them.  But fellow Roadblockers can work together and always have.

Remember Drew helping Emily running around the Roman coliseum at El Gem back in Season 1?  That was both so sweet and cool when they worked together on that Roadblock.  I loved that episode.

I haven't  seen it to that degree,  AR wasn't  like Survivor  with alliances. That started later than season  1.

[Skooma]

2 minutes ago, dancingdreamer said:

I haven't  seen it to that degree,  AR wasn't  like Survivor  with alliances. That started later than season  1.

Actually it always has been.

The very first alliance was in Season 1, Episode 2 of TAR.  Rob & Brennen, Frank & Margarita and The Guidos formed one early on in that episode.  The Guidos soon dropped out thinking themselves far better Racers than the other two but R&B and F&M remained aligned for several more legs. 

And by Paris the large alliance called The Underdogs were formed by the trailing teams.  And then Kevin & Drew formed a very strong alliance with Nancy & Emily that lasted until the latter were eliminated late in the Race.  Season 1 was all about alliances.

Season 2 featured The Boston Boys and Tara & Wil allied closely throughout the entire Race until the last leg.

Season 3 had the five younger teams allied en masse against The Wonder Twins with the Opposite Brothers (Ken & Gerard) kind of shunned too.  So those two teams came up with The Band of Brothers - one of the most iconic and effective alliances in TAR history.  (Firecop hopped aboard with them for awhile too until that team got eliminated).

So yeah, The Amazing Race has always been about alliances.  Alliances for strategic reasons and friendship reasons all mixed together with various rules governing how they each worked as in when they stayed together and when they broke away from each other at any one time.  And I love it.

[rr2911]

Wow!  I just can't believe all the cheating that went on on TAR!  I call it cheating because Amber basically worked the puzzle for Angie and Leticia.  TAR needs to look into this and how it really takes away alot from the competition.  It's a race for a million dollars for crying out loud!!  I hope that cheating alliance each gets eliminated starting with the mother and son.

The couple that went home got on my nerves a bit, so I'm glad they went home.  

I'm pulling for the firefighters!

 

 

24 minutes ago, Skooma said:

Actually it always has been.

The very first alliance was in Season 1, Episode 2 of TAR.  Rob & Brennen, Frank & Margarita and The Guidos formed one early on in that episode.  The Guidos soon dropped out thinking themselves far better Racers than the other two but R&B and F&M remained aligned for several more legs. 

And by Paris the large alliance called The Underdogs were formed by the trailing teams.  And then Kevin & Drew formed a very strong alliance with Nancy & Emily that lasted until the latter were eliminated late in the Race.  Season 1 was all about alliances.

Season 2 featured The Boston Boys and Tara & Wil allied closely throughout the entire Race until the last leg.

Season 3 had the five younger teams allied en masse against The Wonder Twins with the Opposite Brothers (Ken & Gerard) kind of shunned too.  So those two teams came up with The Band of Brothers - one of the most iconic and effective alliances in TAR history.  (Firecop hopped aboard with them for awhile too until that team got eliminated).

So yeah, The Amazing Race has always been about alliances.  Alliances for strategic reasons and friendship reasons all mixed together with various rules governing how they each worked as in when they stayed together and when they broke away from each other at any one time.  And I love it.

I call it cheating!  For a team to basically do the puzzle for another team is pure cheating!

[Skooma]

7 minutes ago, rr2911 said:

I call it cheating!  For a team to basically do the puzzle for another team is pure cheating!

We will agree to disagree since I call it cooperation and collaboration for an alliance.   Like the NFL player in that alliance said.  You play for the team and everybody has their strengths and duties to do.

[MsJamieDornan]

5 hours ago, WatcherUp2 said:

It's a wonder Angie's made it this far if she's this out of shape.

And when she doesnt want to do something quickly, she doesnt.

[Fukui San]

For the first time ever in show history, I turned off an episode midway through when the beef stations were monopolized and won't be watching the rest of the season. I survived the Family Edition but not this. There's no point to the show anymore. Angie might as well be in an Iron Lung and her alliancemates would just drag her through the show. I don't dislike her but I was rooting for the soccer players to give her a concussion.

The show enforces "You can't help your teammate during a Roadblock". There's no reason it can't enforce "You can't help other teams during tasks". 

[Haleth]

I am so annoyed with teams sharing answers and colluding to block other teams out. It ruins the spirit of the race. There needs to be a rule that limits how much you can bail out another team. I was sooooo hoping the alliance were so lost before the meat challenge they’d be scrambling to avoid elimination.  Hopefully this will happen sooner than later and those racers who have been relying on the kindness of other teams to carry them forward will be eliminated. Bah. Not cool, TAR.

Does Danny seriously believe that when it comes down to a foot race that Rod or Vinnie are going to wait and hold hands and jump on the mat together all kumbaya?

I don’t include the two all women team in this. Theirs was a temporary alliance to put some distance between them and the mega alliance. Too bad it didn’t work.

Edited April 18 by Haleth

[GenerationX]

I'm hoping we get at least one episode this season where Mom doesn't need medical attention.

[anniebird]

7 hours ago, rr2911 said:

 

 

 

I call it cheating!  For a team to basically do the puzzle for another team is pure cheating!

It's not cheating if the rules allow it but it's really dumb. When you're in a race for a million dollars do you really want to assure that other teams are right next to you on the mat? Sometimes it makes sense for two teams to cooperate on one task but to do this on every task on every leg of the race makes the race somewhat less than amazing.

 

[anniebird]

7 hours ago, Skooma said:

We will agree to disagree since I call it cooperation and collaboration for an alliance.   Like the NFL player in that alliance said.  You play for the team and everybody has their strengths and duties to do.

Except that, on Amazing Race, a team is two people, not six. An alliance is a benefit on competition shows where you can get voted off, but the beauty of Amazing Race is that it was  NOT a popularity contest, it was pure race and the team who did it best came in first, and the team who did it worst got eliminated. 

Edited April 18 by anniebird

[Silver-hyren]

11 hours ago, iMonrey said:

ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Angie doing the Roadblock again?

Danny said at the beginning of the episode that their plan for the day was to have her do both Roadblocks to knock hers out of the way early and if they do that and survive the Mega Leg they'll win the whole Race.  Or something.  In previous Mega Legs haven't they stipulated that each team member has to take a Roadblock?

The racers were reeeaaly over thinking the race track roadblock, trying so hard to remember the route instead of treating it like a puzzle.  It looked like Pilot Guy (I don't know all names) figured it out once he looked at the pieces and that's why he aced it.  Totally agree with Yellow Teammate's bafflement seeing the finished puzzle ("Really?  That's what you had trouble with??").

[Notabug]

38 minutes ago, anniebird said:

It's not cheating if the rules allow it but it's really dumb. When you're in a race for a million dollars do you really want to assure that other teams are right next to you on the mat? Sometimes it makes sense for two teams to cooperate on one task but to do this on every task on every leg of the race makes the race somewhat less than amazing.

 

This is particularly true when one of the teams has proven to have a skill that will be valuable across the board in every leg.  Danny, for all his dumb ideas about forming alliances, seems to be a map savant compared to most of the other teams.  He's able to find the fastest way to almost anywhere and he and his mother have the right driver/navigator chemistry that they don't get bogged down in bickering like so many other teams. And, odds are, they is going to be some element of navigation in virtually every leg.  Meanwhile, they know that Angie is not one of the stronger, faster racers.  However, there is no guarantee that the tasks will lend themselves to other teams helping out if she has issues.  It worked this leg, but there are plenty of other times when no amount of collaboration with others is going to help her overcome her deficiencies.

That's why Danny is wrong if he thinks leading other racers around to the challenges is going to be beneficial to his team in the long run.  Sooner or later, he will lead the group to a roadblock or detour that his mother will be incapable of doing and which doesn't contain an element that another team could help her with and they will be left in the dust.

Of course, the other teams have become complacent, not even bothering to figure out the routes on their own, just following Danny.  But, if Danny leads them astray figuring its their turn to find their own way, the risk is that the other teams will decide not to help Angie the next time she is inevitably having a hard time with a task,  Using his navigational skills to pull out in front of all the teams who don't navigate well is a better strategy, IMO.

[Tango64]

I was excited for this new season of TAR, even if it really is an older unaired season. I think they've done a pretty good job of making the COVID restrictions like the group plane travel not too obvious. The teams are interesting and likable.

But this episode with all the cooperation between teams, outright telling teams the puzzle answers, and alliances blocking others from a task have taken the fun out of it for me. 

Yes, I get it that everything they did is technically legal under the rules, has been done before, and can provide an advantage sometimes. But I contend it shouldn't be allowed.

As a viewer, it takes away from the joy of watching the competition and runs counter to what I see as the spirit of TAR. I felt the same when alliances cropped up in previous seasons and I'll feel the same way when it happens again. It's just a shame that a season I was enjoying turned into something like the mine alliance, which ruined that season for me.

[iMonrey]

18 hours ago, dancingdreamer said:

I'm surprised  the alliances are allowed  to literally help do the puzzles and chat with their  alliance, at one time that wouldn't  have been allowed.

It's always been permissible to help another team at a Roadblock. It's just counter-intuitive to do so. I can understand why a team would want to, though, under certain circumstances, because keeping a weaker team in the race improves your chances of not coming in last.

I'm not really feeling this season though, and it has nothing to do with all the collaborating. I just don't find the cast very compelling. There's no team I'm particularly rooting for, as opposed to last season where I had at least two teams I was really rooting for. This season? Meh. I don't really care.

Also, whether it's group starts or alliances, there just isn't much in the way of placement shake-ups from leg to leg. The top five from the last leg stayed the top five this leg: Juan and Shane from 2nd to 1st, Ricky and Cesar from 1st to 2nd, Rod and Leticia from 5th to 3rd, Amber and Vinny from 3rd to 4th, Angie and Danny from 4th to 5th. Meanwhile Yvonne and Melissa, Sunny and Bizzy and Derek and Shelisa remained 6th, 7th and 8th. 

Edited April 18 by iMonrey

[Netfoot]

"There is no Air Conditioning in the race car!" No shit, Sherlock! No Cup Holders either!

"He is well rounded!" Yah, it's a Bubble Suit!

I didn't like the race rules that allowed a team to monopolize the beef answer stations. You should have to vacate the station if you get it wrong, because otherwise you could just keep guessing and guessing until eventually you fluke a correct answer, while simply denying all other teams a chance.

Laying out the tiles for the race circuit: How can so many teams think that the circuit was made up of roads that didn't connect together?!?? I think I could have got that challenge correct without ever seeing the circuit in the first place, because the tiles would probably only fit together one way! (Yes, I recognize they only had three minutes, but that doesn't explain why they were wasting time trying layouts that did not have a contiguous track circuit.)

Who do I want to go home more? The "Boyfriends" or "Mother & Son" I wonder? Hard choice. I mean, I don't want to watch Danny kill his mother so he can grin on TV some more, but then Ricky & Cesar are just BAF. (Boring As Fuk.)

Honestly, I love this show, but despite the fabulous settings and good challenges, this season is degenerating into one of the least entertaining in the history of the race.

[Browncoat]

To me, there is a difference between collaborating with, helping, and outright doing a task for another team.

Collaboration, sure.  Helping, eh, not a fan, but it's way better than outright doing the task.  Why did Angie even bother to get in the race car if Amber was just going to do the puzzle for her? 

[shura]

1 hour ago, Tango64 said:

But this episode with all the cooperation between teams, outright telling teams the puzzle answers, and alliances blocking others from a task have taken the fun out of it for me. 

It’s ugly. But also - this cooperation means that, instead of watching eight different versions of someone trying to complete a task, we are watching what, four? I have to watch less material instead of more? For ninety minutes? Late at night? I am starting to think that maybe I’d rather sleep.

The bubble soccer was cool. I liked how Cesar realized that being heavy gives him an advantage and he simply bump everybody out of the way. And how one of the girlfriend burst out laughing when her partner got smashed into and went flying.

Weird that they even mentioned the fingerprinting option when nobody took it. What exactly was the point of that?

[eel2178]

14 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

You think the soccer players get fined for trying to kill Angie?

Were any of the other bubbles playing offense or was it entirely defense?

[eel2178]

6 hours ago, Haleth said:

Does Danny seriously believe that when it comes down to a foot race that Rod or Vinnie are going to wait and hold hands and jump on the mat together all kumbaya?

I think with the way they hit the mat the other two teams will start the next leg in Group 2, and Danny and Mommy will have to start with Group 3 just because they were the slowest at reaching the mat even though they all technically arrived together.

Will the Hanger-On Teams use their extra 15 minutes accordingly or will they be stupid enough to decide that they have to wait for Danny and Mommy thereby giving the other Group 3 teams an advantage?

[eel2178]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

Also, whether it's group starts of alliances, there just isn't much in the way of placement shake-ups from leg to leg. The top five from the last leg stayed the top five this leg: Juan and Shane from 2nd to 1st, Ricky and Cesar from 1st to 2nd, Rod and Leticia from 5th to 3rd, Amber and Vinny from 3rd to 4th, Angie and Danny from 4th to 5th. Meanwhile Yvonne and Melissa, Sunny and Bizzy and Derek and Shelisa remained 6th, 7th and 8th. 

How did Bizzy and Dizzy manage to get themselves into 3rd place at one point then fall back to finishing second to last again?

Edited April 18 by eel2178

[eel2178]

16 hours ago, Browncoat said:

Oh, that recycling thing is cool!  

I still want to know what they do with all the plastic after it is shredded.

[Netfoot]

27 minutes ago, eel2178 said:

I still want to know what they do with all the plastic after it is shredded.

Put it in a landfill, probably...

[realitytvfan1017]

17 hours ago, Browncoat said:

A steep one at that.

I definitely would have done the cycling task.

[pH-factor]

Wow, what right does the girl friend team have to ask Angie or Danny for assistance and get prissy when they don't get it?  Hello, what are you going to do to repay them?  Entitled much.

[Hera]

18 hours ago, Grizzly said:

I am dusting for fingerprints! I love murder mysteries and hate meat.

Same. That one definitely sounded more fun to me than the meat one, so I was a little disappointed no one chose it. I guess it must have sounded like it would take way more time.

6 hours ago, Silver-hyren said:

Totally agree with Yellow Teammate's bafflement seeing the finished puzzle ("Really?  That's what you had trouble with??").

Comments like that are why I'm going to miss Shelisa for the remainder of the race. She said what I was thinking. I agree with @Netfoot that there was almost certainly only one way those pieces could have fit together to form a circuit, so after the first trip around the track, everyone should have realized they didn't need to memorize the route, but use that time to think about the pieces and how they might fit together.

5 hours ago, Notabug said:

That's why Danny is wrong if he thinks leading other racers around to the challenges is going to be beneficial to his team in the long run.  Sooner or later, he will lead the group to a roadblock or detour that his mother will be incapable of doing and which doesn't contain an element that another team could help her with and they will be left in the dust.

I think this leg showed the benefit of this strategy already. Angie was seemed pretty ready to give up on that rally roadblock. If they hadn't built up so much good will with Amber—to the point where Amber was unwilling to leave the roadblock without helping Angie (and Leticia, but she seemed more adamant about helping Angie), then Angie and Danny may well have had to take the four hour penalty and have been eliminated.

I didn't like that the alliance was able to box the firefighters and the girlfriends out of the meat detour, but that was more of an issue with how the task was constructed. However, in general, I don't mind alliances on The Amazing Race that much. I was less against the Mine Five than a lot of people. At least on this season, I can see how it benefits these particular teams to work together. Though if I were Danny and Angie, I'd be looking to drop Amber and Vinny soon, since they have the potential to run a couple of strong legs and leave the others in the dust. With the Mine Five, there were a couple of teams who would have been contenders to win even without the alliance, and so the result was that everyone ensured the survival of their strongest competition.

[Packerbrewerbadger]

I really miss last season, especially Rob and Corey😔  Every episode was so much fun. This season is blah IMO. 

[iMonrey]

4 hours ago, eel2178 said:

19 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

You think the soccer players get fined for trying to kill Angie?

 

I kind of wondered if the other players went easy on her because of her obviously advanced age. I mean, I don't know how she could have nearly passed out just sitting in a hot car but had no trouble running around in a plastic bubble.

1 hour ago, Hera said:

don't mind alliances on The Amazing Race that much. I was less against the Mine Five than a lot of people. At least on this season, I can see how it benefits these particular teams to work together.

This is particularly true because they keep starting the leg in groups. If you are in a group of three and you know there is another group of three starting behind you, then it makes sense to keep your own group together so the trailing group stays behind you. It's the natural (and perhaps unfortunate) side effect of grouping teams like this. 

Quote

How did Bizzy and Dizzy manage to get themselves into 3rd place at one point then fall back to finishing second to last again?

Mostly because they got shut out of the meat Detour. I know this really pissed a lot of people off (not the least of which were Sunny and Bizzy) but I have to give kudos to Danny for seeing the loophole and taking advantage of it. Hey, if it's not against the rules it's not against the rules. Blame the game not the player. (To this day there are people who thought it was hilarious when Boston Rob hid all the other clues.)

Edited April 18 by iMonrey

[proserpina65]

20 hours ago, Browncoat said:

Wait -- is that kind of helping allowed?

 Yes as long as it's one of the team members who is also doing the roadblock.

 

[proserpina65]

19 hours ago, MerBearHou said:

And more BS that Danny and his crew can just dominate the beef stations and not let anyone else work on theirs.  I’m getting very cranky about this “helping”

There were 3 stations and each station had a team at it.  Once Danny & Angie finished their meat puzzle, that freed up a station, as intended by the task designer.  Nothing wrong with what Danny and the others did.

19 hours ago, dancingdreamer said:

I'm surprised  the alliances are allowed  to literally help do the puzzles and chat with their  alliance, at one time that wouldn't  have been allowed.

It's always been allowed as long as everyone involved are the team members doing the roadblock.

 

[proserpina65]

15 hours ago, rr2911 said:

I call it cheating!  For a team to basically do the puzzle for another team is pure cheating!

You're welcome to dislike it all you want.  Personally I'm not sure how I feel about it.  But it's not cheating if the rules allow it and they have since the very first season.

14 hours ago, Fukui San said:

The show enforces "You can't help your teammate during a Roadblock". There's no reason it can't enforce "You can't help other teams during tasks". 

They can't enforce that because it's not against the rules.  Now, the question of making that a rule for future races is a different matter, and yes, they should make that a rule.

 

[dancingdreamer]

24 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

There were 3 stations and each station had a team at it.  Once Danny & Angie finished their meat puzzle, that freed up a station, as intended by the task designer.  Nothing wrong with what Danny and the others did.

It's always been allowed as long as everyone involved are the team members doing the roadblock.

 

I think it was more subtle.  Amber practically  did the puzzles  for Latisha and Angie . It spoils it for us, because  someone  is going  to stay behind  and then come in last.

[Netfoot]

57 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

Blame the game not the player.

I won't say they did wrong. I will say that the challenge designer did a poor job by not foreseeing a flaw in the challenge rules that allowed teams to take advantage. 

Didn't we have something similar a season or two ago? About counting coins? Or exchanging coin denominations?

[shura]

4 hours ago, pH-factor said:

Wow, what right does the girl friend team have to ask Angie or Danny for assistance and get prissy when they don't get it?  Hello, what are you going to do to repay them?  Entitled much.

Why wouldn’t they have the right to ask for help and get upset when refused?  It’s not rational, most people get upset when they don’t get what they want.  I don’t know if it’s entitlement.  Especially in a case like this - you see someone helping others, you ask for the same thing and to you they say no.  You are probably going to feel excluded.  It’s not a great feeling.  As far as repaying for the help, it’s not obvious that Rod and Leticia are offering anything and yet they get helped.

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

Hey, if it's not against the rules it's not against the rules. Blame the game not the player.

I think most people are doing exactly that, blaming the game for allowing this, rather than Danny.  Although it did rub me the wrong way when he started demonstrating different cuts of meat to his allies like some kind of instructor in a classroom.

This has got to be the first time ever that the words “not a very meat-related chef” were put together.

[Skyfall]

I've only seen the first two episodes and I think that may speak volumes on my interest in this season. Does it get better or should I skip this season?

[maggiemae]

I don't know...it seemed so odd the car racers could not figure out the went "north, west, south, north, south, and east. Or that they could not figure out they started out straight, not sideways.

But then I don't get when they do not read the map together and plot it out before jumping into the car and zooming off.

This caravan nonsense needs to stop. It is one thing to spot another team, but not to arrive together and then run to the whatever it is.

 

[vousviou]

4 hours ago, Hera said:

I didn't like that the alliance was able to box the firefighters and the girlfriends out of the meat detour, but that was more of an issue with how the task was constructed.

That's a "beef" I have with some challenges (sorry about the pun).

It's been noted before - a wrong attempt should always require a return to some starting point, and there really should always be a ticking clock. Otherwise teams can just sit in place and guess away by brute force until they get it.

Especially in a challenge with limited stations, you need to have a ticking clock to force teams to either get it done or get kicked to the back of the line.

[Skooma]

11 hours ago, anniebird said:

Except that, on Amazing Race, a team is two people, not six. An alliance is a benefit on competition shows where you can get voted off, but the beauty of Amazing Race is that it was  NOT a popularity contest, it was pure race and the team who did it best came in first, and the team who did it worst got eliminated. 

And that's the exact beauty of an alliance.  NOT to come in last.

4 hours ago, Hera said:

I think this leg showed the benefit of this strategy already. Angie was seemed pretty ready to give up on that rally roadblock. If they hadn't built up so much good will with Amber—to the point where Amber was unwilling to leave the roadblock without helping Angie (and Leticia, but she seemed more adamant about helping Angie), then Angie and Danny may well have had to take the four hour penalty and have been eliminated.

Exactly!  Danny helping out with his navigation skills assured he and his Mom get at the very least one more leg to run on the Race.  I love strategy being used on TAR and this was brilliant strategy to trade off his strength in return for help from the teams he helped in other areas.

There will come a time shortly when this alliance will go by the wayside.  All the teams know that.  But it has made perfect sense until this point.

1 hour ago, Skyfall said:

I've only seen the first two episodes and I think that may speak volumes on my interest in this season. Does it get better or should I skip this season?

It is a very good season.  Watch it.

31 minutes ago, maggiemae said:

I don't know...it seemed so odd the car racers could not figure out the went "north, west, south, north, south, and east. Or that they could not figure out they started out straight, not sideways.

What tripped up a lot of Racers was that the start line was not at the very bottom of the map puzzle but half way up the right side. 

Also the temperature in those cars I'm guessing was probably around 120 degrees given all the Racers commented strongly on that. 

That and bouncing around the track with your adrenaline pumping adds to the disorientation.  Then a timer in the background adding to the stress level.

Might be easy to solve on our couches but I believe it was extremely hard to solve given those race parameters.

Edited April 19 by Skooma

[rr2911]

I posted that I thought what "the Alliance" did was cheating and of course it was brought to my attention that it is within the rules.   Well hot damn!  I know that!  I know it's within the rules!  In my book what they did was cheating even though it's allowed.  In this day and age where everyone receives a trophy and actually being a competitor is a thing of the past, it's no wonder that there are some that like and agree with this....cheating!  

I know the showrunners at TAR won't listen to the fans, but I hope they change the rules.  They made some progress with having each pit stop an elimination one. They also made it mandatory for every team to vote during the U-Turn.  At least last season it was.  Having teams "earn" their victories is much better than looking for help.  It makes for a better show.

Danny n Angie

Rod n Leticia

Amber n her dude (don't remember his name)

These three teams I'm rooting for their eliminations in the coming weeks!

[InDueTime]

On 4/17/2024 at 9:17 PM, nilyank said:

"Yes, you go run your race"

Part of me felt like that should have been the title of this episode. 

There were a lot of interesting challenges overshadowed by of the mass alliance and hand-holding in general.

When Danny saw his mom covered in sweat and chugging water on the car challenge, why he didn't volunteer for the bubble soccer Roadblock is beyond me.

Derek and Shelisa were one of the teams that I was rooting for the most, so it's a shame to see them out of the race.

Maybe there should be some kind of rule where there can be only a certain number of teams at a time at certain Detours, in order to limit ways teams can help each other. 

The fingerprint Detour looked really interesting. I wanted at least one team to try it.

I don't dislike Danny and Angie, but I won't be too disappointed if they get eliminated. Angie might feel the same way if she was willing eat a four hour penalty for that car track puzzle.

Edited April 19 by InDueTime

[30 Helens]

I haven't been commenting this season because with both Survivor and TAR airing 90-minute episodes back to back, my TAR viewing is always delayed. (Not that I'm complaining! I love the super-sized episodes.)

But I had to drop in tonight and see if everyone was as frustrated with this episode as I was. I won't call it cheating because it's not against the rules, and I can't condemn any player for taking advantage of all opportunities, but this was some unadulterated bullshit. If there are no limits on helping, then it's not a race. It's a group challenge. May as well have everyone sit in a circle and make dreamcatchers out of hoops and string, then give them all ribbons for making the awesomest dreamcatchers ever, because that's about the level of ACTUAL COMPETITION we are getting this season.

Derek and Shelisa may have arrived at the mat last, but they did NOT run the worst leg. They just didn't have the benefit of being virtually strapped to someone else's back and carried along.

The show could easily set limits on collaboration that would still allow for some helping.  I don't mind someone pointing another team in the right direction or hinting at the right approach to a puzzle. But lines were crossed this time, and the show should do something about it. Actively completing a task for another team should earn a penalty. Alternately, completing a leg with no assistance could earn a reward, something like an earlier start time on the next leg. Bottom line, teams of two should not have to compete against teams of six without some sort of handicapping. Not every couple has the opportunity to enlist four other teammates, even if they want to.

I can't even get into the frustration of watching people trying to create a map where none of the road lines meet. GAH. Like others have said, this was nothing but a visual puzzle-- and a nine-piece one at that. Such idiocy should not be rewarded with an Express Pass from another team.

I usually root against the teams that run a dominant game, constantly leaving others in the dust, because that tends to be boring. But this time, I would be fine with a victory by the Pilots or the Dating Twins. At least they're running a RACE. And I hope Sunny and Bizzy can join them in the finals, because they are ALSO RACING.

Edited April 20 by 30 Helens
The Air Force Pilots are not Cops, they are Pilots.

[MsJamieDornan]

4 hours ago, Skooma said:

What tripped up a lot of Racers was that the start line was not at the very bottom of the map puzzle but half way up the right side. 

Exactly !  I might still be standing there because of that ! 😛

Oh Angie, toughen up.

[SDVegas]

The Amazing “let’s work together because we can’t complete tasks on our own” Race

👎

[tvfanatic13]

This season is almost unwatchable to me because of the teams working together as much as they do. When one team waited for 2 others to finish before all leaving together was the last straw for me. 

[chaifan]

A little late to the game, I just watched the episode last night...

I know there's disagreement here, but I am giving Danny massive props for his game playing skills.  Honestly, at this point he's standing out to me as one of the best TAR strategists of all time.  He and Angie both know Angie is the weak link physically, and he was smart to make friends/alliances early on in the game.  And damn, it paid off!  If Amber hadn't stuck around, they would have most likely been eliminated.  Now, Amber played it right, too.  It was worth hanging around for a few extra minutes in order to get their navigator in chief back with them.  Amber and Vinny suck at directions, and they played this right.  But sticking around to help Rod & Leticia (are they calling her Cici?), that made no sense.  R&L have offered nothing to the "alliance", I don't even know how they got into that group.  I think it was just because they were released in the same bunch this time - they were going to follow Danny anyways, so no sense in fighting it.

Also, Danny said at the start - they point of a mega-leg isn't to win it, it's to survive it.  And he knew they had to even up the roadblocks.  Yes, Angie wasn't the best physical choice for the soccer challenge, but they had 3 teams behind them, so it was a good risk to take.  Danny's game play this episode was to keep ahead of the last bunch of racers, and operating as a group helped increase those odds.  Boxing out the firefighters & girlfriends at the meat challenge was brilliant - I don't think anyone else in that group had any idea what he was doing until they got back to the patio.  I do agree that there should have been some limit on the # of tries before you had to give up a table, though.

I hated the mega-alliance a few seasons ago.  But part of that was the attitude of the people in that alliance.  They were awfully snotty about it.  I sort of want rules that prevent teams helping each other, but the catch is, you do it at your own peril.  It's a risk assessment - one that paid off for Danny & Angie.  But my guess is that at some point Amber is going to regret helping Leticia with that puzzle.  

And yes, I was one of those people that was screaming at the screen - it's a puzzle challenge!  Not a memorize the route challenge!  Leticia and Derrick were the worst - they weren't even trying to find pieces that fit together.  

Back to the meat challenge, I kept thinking it was a waste of a lot of meat.  I was also wondering why that patio wasn't swarming with flies, or filled with every stray cat & dog in the neighborhood.  I think it was a good challenge, and again, I think the teams were really smart to team up on it.  Much easier to remember 2-4 cuts per person than 8 or whatever.  

[anniebird]

I would put last season in the top 5 of Amazing Race - probably #2 (because nothing can beat the pure pleasure of season 1.) I would put this season way at the bottom, just above season 8, the dreaded Family Edition. I'll watch to the end because I want to see who wins but it's one season I know I'll never watch again.

 

[Lovecat]

22 hours ago, Browncoat said:

To me, there is a difference between collaborating with, helping, and outright doing a task for another team.

Collaboration, sure.  Helping, eh, not a fan, but it's way better than outright doing the task.  Why did Angie even bother to get in the race car if Amber was just going to do the puzzle for her? 

Precisely.  I was kind of stunned at Amber's hysterics at the thought of leaving Angie behind, too.  She does realize that *Vinny* is her teammate, not Angie, right?  Maybe she was over-emotional in the heat of the moment (or maybe I'm just a stone-cold bitch), but I thought her tears and hand-wringing were unwarranted.  Give the lady a hint, a hug, and an encouraging pat on the back, then get the hell out of there and raaaaaaace.  Sheesh.

[iMonrey]

11 hours ago, 30 Helens said:

I usually root against the teams that run an dominant game, constantly leaving others in the dust, because that tends to be boring. But this time, I would be fine with a victory by the ex-Cops or the Dating Twins. At least they're running a RACE. And I hope Sunny and Bizzy can join them in the finals, because they are ALSO RACING.

? The only ex-cops were Derek and Shelisa and the just got eliminated. Do you mean Juan and Shane? They are air force pilots. And dating twins? The only twins were Anthony and Bailey. Or do you mean Ricky and Cesar, because they look very similar? I finally figured out which is which, Ricky is the shorter one. Or do you mean Yvonne and Melissa who are also dating? I haven't figured out which one is which on that team yet. I suspect it won't matter much longer.

[chaifan]

1 hour ago, Lovecat said:

Give the lady a hint, a hug, and an encouraging pat on the back, then get the hell out of there and raaaaaaace.  Sheesh.

@Lovecat I generally agree with your entire post.  The crying over leaving Angie behind was so weirdly over the top.  But, like I said above, it was worth it for them to stick around and help Angie, just so they could rely on Danny's navigation skills.  Amber and Vinnie would probably still be driving around the countryside if they didn't have Danny to lead them back to the next task.