S36.E07: Walk and Chew Gum Baby

[Hera]

I was surprised that Rod, Danny, and Vinny all did the roadblock this episode. It didn't seem like the welding task was physically taxing, nor did it seem like the people who had done it before had a massive advantage over the ones who hadn't. This seemed like a good one to hand off to the partner who is less athletic and generally less confident at doing tasks.

On 4/25/2024 at 4:42 PM, iMonrey said:

I'm starting to warm to Rod and Leticia a little bit. Maybe it's just because Amber and Vinny are so awful, but Rod and Leticia seem to work well together and he treats her with respect. I don't think I've ever heard him yell at her or criticize her.

I've always kind of liked them. Leticia has a low-key personality that nicely complements her husband's boundless enthusiasm. They appear to work together well and even like each other. Mind you, she said they've been together 13 years—couples who have been together that long (and aren't using the race as therapy) generally don't take the stress of the race out on each other.

I'm with everyone who hopes that Amber and Vinny go their separate ways. I'm inclined to agree that he is the more competent racer, but I also think he sucks as a person and the way he positions himself as her mentor/coach/whatever really grosses me out. I find couples with that dynamic inherently uncomfortable to watch or be around. Partners should see each other as equals, not improvement projects.

[dgpolo]

4 minutes ago, Hera said:

I was surprised that Rod, Danny, and Vinny all did the roadblock this episode. It didn't seem like the welding task was physically taxing, nor did it seem like the people who had done it before had a massive advantage over the ones who hadn't.

I was surprised at this also, I guess Danny and Vinny must've thought they could do it faster since they'd done it before but really the women should've done this one if they're worried about physical tasks. I'm not sure what info they were given before choosing? maybe they thought it would be something else? Did they have a helmet for everyone or did they slap the name sticker on it after the person was chosen?

[chaifan]

I'll chime in on the welding.  I'm female, around Angie's age, but am incredibly handy, mostly self taught.  I've rewired major parts of my kitchen, framed & drywalled walls, am great at plaster work, done some plumbing work, etc.  But welding is incredibly intimidating for me.  I agree in theory that Angie and Leticia should have done this, and saved more physically demanding roadblocks for their partners, but if I had a team mate who wasn't as intimidated by it (for any reason), I'd gladly let them do that task.  I can't really explain it, but there it is. 

 

[Netfoot]

1 hour ago, TVbitch said:

She needs a nurturer/encourager when under pressure and he needs someone who gets hyper-focused and aggressive like he does. 

And what I need is for them both to get off my TV. Time and again, I've heard couples say that TAR is a great way to test their relationship. As far as tests go, this is what I'd call a failure.

[seacliffsal]

It makes me really anxious or stressed to watch interpersonal dynamics such as we watched with Amber and Vinnie.  To me, it doesn't matter how insecure Amber is or how she doesn't acknowledge her limitations, what does matter is how Vinnie berates her by pointing out her weaknesses, etc.  He is quick to tell her how she is negatively impacting the team while his demeaning her is what truly hurts the team and actually impacts me as a viewer.  I never enjoy toxic/demeaning relationships and it lessens my overall enjoyment of this show.

While I criticize other decisions/interactions on this show (I.e. not being able to drive stick shift, read maps, etc.), I still enjoy the show.  But, when I feel interpersonal stress/anxiety, it does impact how much I enjoy the show.

So, in other words, please producers and casting agents, lets get rid of teams who are trying to figure out/save a relationship and give us teams that just want to, you know, race...

[DEL901]

This season was originally edited with 1 hour episodes.   Then the network asked for 90 minutes.  That’s why the seasons were shown out of order.   They needed time to re-edit the season.  They didn’t do a great job of it.   Maybe if they ha$ started editing knowing they had to fill longer episodes, things may have been different…more polished or compelling.  

 

 

 

 

 

[realitytvfan1017]

On 4/24/2024 at 10:18 PM, MerBearHou said:

To be perfectly honest, I find both Vinny and Amber maddening.  They take turns with me.  They are so passive-aggressive with each other, babe.  

They are so dysfunctional. I don't know how they function as a couple after all this time.

On 4/24/2024 at 10:36 PM, dizzyd said:

That was a huge jump for Walla Walla. Damn, I guess I have to credit Danny’s directional supremacy.

I was so happy that they got in 2nd and they didn't even help anyone this time around. That's wonderful.

[realitytvfan1017]

On 4/24/2024 at 11:13 PM, dancingdreamer said:

Ricky and Cesar have to be my favorite  couple, they were so excited  to finally  get dressed up, and sing . I loved them. Danny and Angie did so well, and came in second.  You don't  need to be an athlete  to win AR, just be a good team.
Amber and Vinny, this is uncomfortable  to watch, he's  shouting,  she's  pouting. I'm not going to lay blame on just one of them, but they shouldn't  get married! 
Sunny and Bizzy, their navigation  skills were terrible. I figured they be last, and they were. I just hope they do better going to a fire!! The pilots aren't  great at navigation  either.

Agreed on all but I think they may be better navigators the pilots but Juan wasn't up to it all. I know Shane was doing the navigating, but maybe they were helping each other.

[fishcakes]

I don't remember Vinny's exact words to Amber because I became enraged immediately after, but it was something like, "I hope you take this as an opportunity to learn how you're hurting us." Somebody needs to punch that guy in the junk.

[realitytvfan1017]

On 4/25/2024 at 11:42 AM, iMonrey said:

I'm starting to warm to Rod and Leticia a little bit. Maybe it's just because Amber and Vinny are so awful, but Rod and Leticia seem to work well together and he treats her with respect. I don't think I've ever heard him yell at her or criticize her.

I think I finally figured out which one is Yvonne and which one is Melissa, and which one is Sunny and which one is Bizzy. But, if someone is willing to go back and check - Sunny did the welding Roadblock but wasn't she wearing Bizzy's helmet? 

Still not a lot of placement shakeups. This has been a chronic problem all season. Ricky and Cesar always coming in first or second (first this week); Rod and Leticia came in third again, Amber and Vinny came in fourth again, Yvonne and Melissa moved up from sixth to fifth and Sunny and Bizzy once again came in seventh. The only real jumps were Juan and Shane (from first to sixth) and Angie and Danny (from fifth to second). Is everyone really this consistent? Or is the race just way too structured?

I still can't figure out who Sunny and Bizzy are. I think they kind of look alike but I do know who is Yvonne and who is Melissa.

On 4/25/2024 at 11:42 AM, iMonrey said:

I'm starting to warm to Rod and Leticia a little bit. Maybe it's just because Amber and Vinny are so awful, but Rod and Leticia seem to work well together and he treats her with respect. I don't think I've ever heard him yell at her or criticize her.

I think I finally figured out which one is Yvonne and which one is Melissa, and which one is Sunny and which one is Bizzy. But, if someone is willing to go back and check - Sunny did the welding Roadblock but wasn't she wearing Bizzy's helmet? 

Still not a lot of placement shakeups. This has been a chronic problem all season. Ricky and Cesar always coming in first or second (first this week); Rod and Leticia came in third again, Amber and Vinny came in fourth again, Yvonne and Melissa moved up from sixth to fifth and Sunny and Bizzy once again came in seventh. The only real jumps were Juan and Shane (from first to sixth) and Angie and Danny (from fifth to second). Is everyone really this consistent? Or is the race just way too structured?

I think it has to do with the bunched start times. It's difficult to move around in the rankings that much with that.

[North of Eden]

just now

While I was starting to fall asleep during all the singing and dancing, I realized...this is not a good season.

I don't hate it but I'm bored by it.  It's the same damn city with just a different name painted on the WELCOME TO sign every week and it's the same damn winners.

Ricky and Cesar can go pound sand. I'm tired of their glibness as they steamroll their way through the race with an unfair advantage and the stupid dressing alike schtick is annoying. I don't like them at all.

The only two segments worth a salt were the Plazalapalooza search and Amber and Vinnie running around looking for their car like that old episode of SEINFELD where the gang can't find the car in the mall parking garage.

During Amber's talking heads I could swear I could see a seething hatred for Vinnie in her eyes.

My bad for automatically assuming that Leticia spoke Spanish. I was very surprised to hear she didn't.

Anyway, not much more to say except I hope this isn't the first season for any new viewers as it fails to represent TAR at its finest. This season is so far away from those Emmy wins that it feels like it taking place in an alternate universe and this is a TAR knockoff that can't afford to leave a single local.

Edited April 27 by North of Eden

[chaifan]

11 hours ago, North of Eden said:

Ricky and Cesar can go pound sand. I'm tired of their glibness as they steamroll their way through the race with an unfair advantage

What is their "unfair advantage"?  Yes Cesar speaks Spanish.  But one of the pilots is fluent, Danny is fluent and even lived in one of the countries/cities they've been in, Vinny has some basic Spanish, as does one of the girlfriends.  I think at least one, if not more, of the earlier eliminated teams had some basic Spanish.  Cesar may be the most fluent, but for TAR purposes, knowing enough to understand directions is pretty much all you need.

Ricky & Cesar have been running a good race, with few errors (compared to the other teams, at least). 

I will agree that from a viewer perspective all these countries look/feel alike, and we are missing out on the "world" part of TAR.  But hey, they were still in Covid, and I give TAR producers the credit for doing what they could to keep the show going.

Hindsight being 20/20 and all, I wonder if it would have been better for TAR to market this season as "South/Central America Amazing Race" and let applicants know up front the majority (all? I don't know) of the countries would be in Central/South America.  They might still get teams with no Spanish between them, but at least it would be known from the get go.

 

[Netfoot]

4 hours ago, chaifan said:

I will agree that from a viewer perspective all these countries look/feel alike, and we are missing out on the "world" part of TAR.  But hey, they were still in Covid, and I give TAR producers the credit for doing what they could to keep the show going.

I agree 100% with this. Better some kind of season as opposed to a hiatus from which we possibly never return! I am resigned to this being a sub-standard season but I am pleased to remember that the next season (which we have already seen) is so good it compares favourably with "Classic" TAR seasons of the past.

15 hours ago, North of Eden said:

Ricky and Cesar can go pound sand.

I agree with this too. These guys are irredeemably boring, black-holes of charisma - some may get sucked in but none ever comes out again. I would be pleased to see them go. Unfortunately the circumstances of this season continue to smile upon them and in a few weeks they may even be revealed as the overall winners. What an unpalatable thought! And I say that without being able to point to any team that I am actually rooting for.

4 hours ago, chaifan said:

I wonder if it would have been better for TAR to market this season as "South/Central America Amazing Race" ...

No, from a legal standpoint this would probably dilute their brand and possibly even breach contractual obligations with TAR Brazil  and/or TAR Latin America. 

Edited April 27 by Netfoot

[TheRabbi]

23 hours ago, meep.meep said:

All of the episodes would be better at 60 minutes.  This was just excruciating.

 

90 minutes for the premiere was great. With 13 teams to get to know plus both a detour and RB in the premiere, it was much needed. Then episode 2 had the entire leg on foot in a 2 block radius with face painting and carrying balloons. That was the first sign of trouble. 

They've done a decent job with the situation they've been presented with. Combining the 2 halves of the megaleg into one episode was smart. But when there's only 6/7 teams left and no other route markers besides detour/RB/Pitstop (plus no flight footage shown since they don't want to confuse the casual viewer with how they went back to charters), it's going to drag.

There's only 3 episodes left but probably 4 legs. My guess is we'll have another slow-moving episode in Barbados this week, then they will combine both DR legs into one episode on May 8, then the finale May 15.

[realitytvfan1017]

4 hours ago, chaifan said:

What is their "unfair advantage"?  Yes Cesar speaks Spanish.  But one of the pilots is fluent, Danny is fluent and even lived in one of the countries/cities they've been in, Vinny has some basic Spanish, as does one of the girlfriends.  I think at least one, if not more, of the earlier eliminated teams had some basic Spanish.  Cesar may be the most fluent, but for TAR purposes, knowing enough to understand directions is pretty much all you need.

Ricky & Cesar have been running a good race, with few errors (compared to the other teams, at least). 

I will agree that from a viewer perspective all these countries look/feel alike, and we are missing out on the "world" part of TAR.  But hey, they were still in Covid, and I give TAR producers the credit for doing what they could to keep the show going.

Hindsight being 20/20 and all, I wonder if it would have been better for TAR to market this season as "South/Central America Amazing Race" and let applicants know up front the majority (all? I don't know) of the countries would be in Central/South America.  They might still get teams with no Spanish between them, but at least it would be known from the get go.

 

I still think the bunched team times helped Ricky and Cesar more than the language although it’s still an advantage with the language which there are a few others that have when you go to places with less English speaking people and try ti get directions but I think the bunched times definitely hurt more. Mother and son were able to but only because their navigating skills are so much  better then everyone else’s except maybe Ricky and Cesar.

Thabk goodness we are done with the bunched times after this season. 

[realitytvfan1017]

On 4/26/2024 at 8:10 AM, cowgirlwen said:

According to my husband, a welder, there's a certain amount of pressure that needs to be applied to the surfaces while you're slowly and steadily applying the heat.  If you don't apply some pressure to the plates, the steel will not melt and fuse to the other side.  Otherwise, it's just a glorified sparkler, like one of the racers commented.

I agree.  It became uncomfortable to even watch.  Every sentence that came out of Vinnie's mouth this episode was either passively berating Amber, or puffing up his own ego.  Amber has zero self esteem, which makes me wonder if she's always been this way or it's a product of their relationship.  I just hope she's watching these episodes back and realizing how damaging it is.  And if they are still together, I pray they've since gone thru lots and lots of couples counseling!

Another comment about Amber and Vinnie...  Have they even smiled once during the race?  I especially love watching Ricky & Cesar, and even Rod & Leticia, because they genuinely seem to be enjoying their experience on the race and traveling the world with their partner.  Even when Cesar had to take 3 attempts at the welding challenge, he was still smiling and Ricky was nothing but supportive of him.  Danny is also fully enjoying the experience, but I'm afraid mom is just too exhausted to appreciate much at this point.    

I can only hope watching this they see the negative patterns (Amber and Vinny) of their behavior and improve as a couple. 

On 4/26/2024 at 8:51 AM, chaifan said:

I was wondering the same thing.  I thought you had to have everything with you at the mat.  The only time I remember teams dropping backpacks is on the sprint to the last mat.  I could easily be wrong on this.

Angie was overdoing it a bit on calling Danny a "stud", though.  ew, because she's his mom.  And ew, because he's the farthest thing from a "stud" one could imagine.

I wouldn't say that, especially this leg.  She was clearly enjoying this leg, and was just beaming at coming in 2nd (so close to 1st).  Last leg, and the one with the butterfly face painting, yeah, heat exhaustion clearly hit hard. 

As far as I can tell, only Rod/Leticia and Bizzy/Sunny were teams with no one that spoke Spanish.  At least among the more recent bunch.  Every other team has at least one person who seems to be quite fluent.  The one girlfriend who speaks spanish may be weaker, but she seems to get along just fine.  So I don't think Ricky & Cesar have the advantage just due to language skills. 

Does Danny speak Spanish? He studied aboard in Chile right? 

[chaifan]

2 hours ago, realitytvfan1017 said:

I still think the bunched team times helped Ricky and Cesar more than the language

It's possible, but we will never know.  The bunches are released in 15 minute increments.  But there have been many, many times in TAR history where the 1st place team has more than a 15 minute advantage over the next team, or where the second to last team is way more than 15 minutes behind the 3rd to last. 

With the seasons that have the bunched times, we never know what times the teams are checking in, or how close they are unless we see them on the mat together.  I personally don't think that on average the first place or first few teams on the mat are helped by the bunches, as I think more often than not the later teams would be much more than 15 or 30 minutes behind. 

However much the bunched times helped Ricky & Cesar when they were first, it helped the #2 teams just as much (usually the pilots).

[realitytvfan1017]

1 hour ago, chaifan said:

It's possible, but we will never know.  The bunches are released in 15 minute increments.  But there have been many, many times in TAR history where the 1st place team has more than a 15 minute advantage over the next team, or where the second to last team is way more than 15 minutes behind the 3rd to last. 

With the seasons that have the bunched times, we never know what times the teams are checking in, or how close they are unless we see them on the mat together.  I personally don't think that on average the first place or first few teams on the mat are helped by the bunches, as I think more often than not the later teams would be much more than 15 or 30 minutes behind. 

However much the bunched times helped Ricky & Cesar when they were first, it helped the #2 teams just as much (usually the pilots).

Yes I know it helped them too. Yes teams can be really far apart but if they were all close they’d have to leave 15-30 mins later no matter how close their times are. 

[Tigregirl]

I wasted 3 1/2 years in a relationship with an emotionally abusive jerk like Vinnie.  When he started up like Vinnie did this episode you shut down because you know anything you say is only going to make it worse.  But you overlook it because you still have fun together at times, even though you know you deserve better.  I see the same in Amber.  I’m sure they can have some really good times, but he has absolutely no respect for her, and she doesn’t have the self esteem to walk away.  If they do get married this year, I hope they have gone through a ton of counseling because I don’t see him changing without it, and not sure if he will even with it.  If he’s like this when the cameras are rolling, what’s he like when they’re alone?  I had a really hard time watching them this episode.  Nobody deserves to be treated like that - it’s verbal and emotional abuse.

[iMonrey]

On 4/26/2024 at 9:50 PM, North of Eden said:

I don't hate it but I'm bored by it.  It's the same damn city with just a different name painted on the WELCOME TO sign every week and it's the same damn winners.

Ricky and Cesar can go pound sand. I'm tired of their glibness as they steamroll their way through the race with an unfair advantage and the stupid dressing alike schtick is annoying. I don't like them at all.

"Don't hate it but I'm bored by it." That describes how I feel about this season too. And it's not so much that they've been stuck in South America the whole time. It's the casting. I just don't find any team particularly compelling.

I'm fine with Ricky and Cesar (and I don't think they have an "unfair" advantage -  plenty of other teams have Spanish speaking partners, and there's nothing inherently "unfair" about being able to speak Spanish. Lucky, sure, but unfair? No.) - but I'm not especially rooting for them either. That's the trouble, I'm not really rooting for anyone. They're all kind of "meh" to me.  The cast pales in comparison to last (next) season, where I had least three teams I was really rooting for right out of the gate.

[luvmylabs]

I wish they would leave countries that only speak Spanish.  I think this gives some teams an advantage.  Let's go to Africa or Asia!

[Netfoot]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

That's the trouble, I'm not really rooting for anyone. They're all kind of "meh" to me.

Pretty much!

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

The cast pales in comparison to last (next) season, where I had least three teams I was really rooting for right out of the gate.

Toats!

1 hour ago, luvmylabs said:

I wish they would leave countries that only speak Spanish.  I think this gives some teams an advantage.  Let's go to Africa or Asia!

Yes, but I am assuming that because of CV19 protocols still in effect at the time of filming, obvious options were not easily available to Production. Woe!

[choclatechip45]

Solid episode. Can't stand Vinny. Glad there was some shake up in the order. 

[Angeltoes]

On 4/26/2024 at 6:31 PM, seacliffsal said:

He is quick to tell her how she is negatively impacting the team while his demeaning her is what truly hurts the team and actually impacts me as a viewer.

And he's doing this on national television without even seeming to be concerned that he looks like a horse's ass.  Who knows what goes on when it's just the two of them back in their real life.  I doubt if he's Mr. Rogers.

Edited April 28 by Angeltoes

[aradia22]

This was a bit of a letdown after the megaleg. The tasks didn't seem that difficult but there was a little entitlement going on like people expected to show up and breeze through it. It's supposed to be a challenge sometimes. 

I liked that welding shook up the placement a little though I think he wasn't hitting it as hard as he went along judging the task.

Quote

Did anyone notice that on some of the 2nd "tests", the welder judge didn't hit the piece straight on the edge, like he did for the first hit.  On a few he hit them to the side - which is why they flew off to the side a bit.  I have a feeling those wouldn't have taken a second direct hit, and he was being nice.

Or this. Whatever the case may be, it felt like he found a way to go easier on them as time went on.

The performance tasks allowed some people to shine though it seemed like singing was judged more harshly. When it was Yvonne and Melissa's turn, I really had no idea what they were being knocked for. I feel like that should have been clearer. 

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And so can Rod!

He was very cute running back to Leticia after that task. Though I felt like they kind of disappeared for the rest of the episode. They must not have been fighting enough for the editors to make the cut.

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Meanwhile Ricky and Cesar are lovely couple who learning more about each other in this race.

Their conversation in the car was so refreshing.

They really tricked us with an earlier clip. I thought that was going to be a fight, but instead it was a lovely conversation about Ricky learning to let go and trust. Same with a clip of Danny yelling the rebus clue seeming like it was directed at Angie "the world is bigger than you." I don't know why the editors think I watch this show for drama.

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To be perfectly honest, I find both Vinny and Amber maddening.  They take turns with me.  They are so passive-aggressive with each other, babe. 

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Amber and Vinny, do not get married.  Do not figure out this relationship.  Get out.  Both of you.

Truly, I cannot tell from the edit who is worse or at fault. All I know is after 4 years, their communication styles do not match up at all. He does seem very patronizing. But she also seems very emotional (see: crying about Angie last week). She wanted him to look left down a street but turn right and also didn't know where the car was parked even though she was arguing with him about it. But she has a point about him rushing her all the time. On the other hand, she's very negative and gives up quickly. And she gives him the verbal encouragement that she hates when she receives it so... idk. It's a mess. They would both be better off with different partners. It's at the point where they seem to bring out the worst in each other. 

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Let stop at any plaza and maybe we will be lucky.

This was truly insane. Editing got lucky with Y&M getting stuck at the singing task but I don't think the final finish was close at all with the way the firefighters were just going to EVERY PLAZA in Uruguay. 

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I think the local performers and judges all have dinner plans. 

I mean, fair. No reason for sunset or nighttime finishes this leg. 

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I blame the food poisoning for Juan and Shane's fall in the ranks.

That was surprising. I guess it affected them more than we saw though I think two teams beating them at welding didn't help. But Ricky and Cesar overtook those teams so either navigation got them or they were taking much longer practicing the drums and pacing themselves than we saw. 

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Is everyone really this consistent? Or is the race just way too structured?

I think a lot of the teams we lost already were just incompetent so they were always going to be out first, it was just a question of in what order. Ricky and Cesar and Juan and Shane are the actually solid teams. Rod and Leticia and Vinny and Amber are next in terms of skills and competence. But Leticia and Amber can both be negative and unenthusiastic about tasks. Where they really struggle is navigation though, allowing other teams to easily overtake them. Then you have Angie and Danny and Yvonne and Melissa who are relatively competent but in the most need of luck to pull ahead. Angie and Danny need tasks that play to their strengths (or don't overwhelm Angie). And I'd say Yvonne and Melissa are the most hurt by regularly starting out in the middle or back of the pack because they don't breeze through tasks the way the firefighters did. I think if Yvonne and Melissa got to start earlier on some legs, they would have had better finishes. 

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"LET'S GO!!!" is this season's "C'MON DAD!!" (Not as annoying, but still annoys! 😁)

I think that's just something young people do. Though it makes more sense for someone Danny's age than someone Vinny's age. Here's a random article I found: https://slate.com/human-interest/2023/06/lets-go-meme-phrase-history.html

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But if you want to point to a specific time and date when Let’s go was fully deconstructed into filler patois among the boys writ large, our best bet might be March 3, 2020, when a Twitter user named @gofthejungle23 tweeted this image—a screaming cartoon tennis ball embossed with the words LET’S FUCKING GOOOO—into existence. The “Let’s Go” Ball, as it’s now known, quickly metastasized across the internet and elevated the term into both a meme and fodder for commentary. Today the term, and the meme, serves as an informal mantra for several dude-coded hobbies—especially gaming—but it’s really become endemic. Slowly but surely, everyone began to realize that the men in their life were stuck in an interminable let’s go loop.

 

[PurpleTentacle]

On 4/26/2024 at 1:40 PM, Netfoot said:

I have a friend who swore that it was completely unnecessary to learn to drive in the age of Uber. Then along came a virus.....

There are certain life-skills that are handy to have on rare occasions...

I think if GPS fails, we will have different problems. Because that means somebody shot US military satelites out of the sky.

On 4/26/2024 at 3:46 AM, maggiemae said:

I'm confused...why do some of them run to the finish line with their backpacks and others don't?

I would prefer to sprint without a backpack.

The rule is, when you see Phil at the mat you can drop your backpack and the race will make sure they don't get stolen. In any other situation you can leave your packs whenever you want, but nobody is going to make sure they are still there when you get back.

On 4/27/2024 at 4:50 AM, North of Eden said:

I don't hate it but I'm bored by it.  It's the same damn city with just a different name painted on the WELCOME TO sign every week and it's the same damn winners.

The covid seasons exclusively in europe had more cultural diversity, that's for sure. I guess the spanish and portugese plowing over the continent only a few centuries ago, left it pretty homogenous. On top of that TAR doesn't want to tread too far off the beaten path, because again covid.

On 4/27/2024 at 4:50 AM, North of Eden said:

Ricky and Cesar can go pound sand. I'm tired of their glibness as they steamroll their way through the race with an unfair advantage and the stupid dressing alike schtick is annoying. I don't like them at all.

All remaining teams speak spanish. So what unfair advantage are you talking about?

Dressing alike is encouraged by production and you'll see a lot of teams doing it. Including this season.

12 hours ago, luvmylabs said:

I wish they would leave countries that only speak Spanish.  I think this gives some teams an advantage.  Let's go to Africa or Asia!

covid-season. Not going to happen.

[eel2178]

On 4/25/2024 at 3:30 PM, zscore said:

From Amber and Vinny's youtube channel: they are engaged and planning their wedding in November.

Maybe they can figure out a way to spend their entire married lives never having to get into the same car with each other. Otherwise, it's just not going to work out.

[SHERMDOG]

They are really the only team I can't stand! Ugh. She's pouty and he's controlling and a know it all!

[Miss Chevious]

I can’t stand Rod and Leticia. He a multimillionaire ex-football player who certainly doesn’t need the money. And her with the phony fake eyelashes out to here is one of those contestants that leaves any task remotely taxing to her partner. Why are they even on this show? There’s lots of regular everyday people who could benefit from a million dollar payday way more than these two.

 

[InDueTime]

Bizzy and Sunny leaving was only a mater of time. My interest definitely wandered watching them drive to every plaza in the place.

[Johannah]

I'm so sick of this.  Has every episode been in a Spanish speaking country?  And, shocking, the Spanish speaking couple seems to have won every leg.

Definite advantage when you have to memorize Spanish lyrics, the Spanish name for meat cuts, Spanish directions...

There have always been tasks/languages/whatever that favor different teams, but this seems like the entire race favors the same team.

 

[IvySpice]

On 4/28/2024 at 8:24 PM, aradia22 said:

When it was Yvonne and Melissa's turn, I really had no idea what they were being knocked for.

They literally didn't do anything right. They weren't on pitch; they weren't on rhythm; they didn't have the words right; they weren't putting on an entertaining show. I guess they were wearing the costumes as directed. There was clearly a mercy rule invoked, or they'd still be on that stage.

Vinny showed himself to be a full-on abuser this episode. He was messing with Amber's head with that garbage about how she wasn't prioritizing the team. It is not entertaining to me to watch that.

I'm clearly in the minority, but I don't understand how you can grow up in the U.S. and be unable to sound out a Spanish word like "mercado." Leticia (?) said something like "mercedes." Didn't any of these people watch Sesame Street?

[AuntieDiane6]

On 4/25/2024 at 9:38 PM, albinerhawk said:

Just a quick question and I apologize if this has already been publicized, but are they intentionally going to stay in the Western Hemisphere for the duration of the race? It's starting to feel a little unfair to those teams without a Spanish speaker. 

I have been binge-watching this week and I'm stunned about all the natural advantages the boyfriends have with nearly ALL the challenges.  Native Spanish speaker?  Check.  Singing experience?  Check. It's as if they designed this for them.  I was waiting for them to say that one of their dads was a butcher and their mom was a tennis instructor. 

[Ilovepie]

I don't have a problem with Ricky and Ceasar other than the fact that it is mind blowingly boring for one team to dominate this much. I am rooting for literally any team besides them to come in first. And it would be interesting to see how they fare in a country that has different language. They would most likely still be fine since they don't get flustered, have an uncanny depth of knowledge about many things (much like last season's winners!), and good navigation skills. Perhaps the bigger problem is not that Ricky and Ceasar are so strong, just that the other teams are too weak which seems like a casting issue. 

It's also boring that this whole season is in Central and South America. Some of these places are absolutely stunning, but there is a kind of sameness to every locale that makes this feel so much smaller. 

These problems are even more glaring after last season which was the best TAR in so long, both the race itself and the casting.

Sunny and Bizzy navigating and looking for a plaza at a SHIPPING YARD was hilarious! 

Glad to see Angie and Danny crush it, but next week looks bad......

And lastly, Vinny. No words except a few cuss ones for him, his superiority, verbal abuse. Maybe he is the stronger racer than she is but as a teammate, he sucks. Her face by the end just said I give up. Stay strong girl and don't let that asshole dim your light! Hopefully their relationship doesn't last longer than this race.

Edited May 8 by Ilovepie
wasnt finished writing!