S26: Previews and Speculations

[Whimsy]

Many viewers purposely choose not to watch the previews at the end of the episode. Please do not mention previews in the episode threads, but rather you can bring those discussions here. Since they aren't exactly spoilers, let's keep this thread spoiler free.

Thanks and happy posting!

[Lantern7]

One metric I want to try using: the number of times a team is seen in trouble on the way to a commercial break. So far, Libby & CJ have had that happen to them twice, while Hayley/Blair, Jeff/Jackie and Mike/Rochelle got one apiece.

 

ETA: Libby & CJ got one more tonight thanks to their ill-timed selfie. With that couple gone, Mike/Rochelle and Hayley/Blair move into the lead with two "trouble breaks" (I'm not married to the term). Also, all teams' times were shown at the beginning of the episode, so I might have another metric to work with.

 

- Jelani/Jenny (BTW, Firefox is okay with "Jelani")

0:03 Jeff/Jackie

0:15 Laura/Tyler

0:44 Ali/Steve

1:22 Harley/Jonathan

1:40 Bergen/Kurt

1:45 Mike/Rochelle

2:03 Hayley/Blair

2;06 Matt/Ashley

2:50 Libby/CJ

[Lantern7]

Wow. Some team is going to get their hashtag changed to "Engaged." Speaking of which . . . is it gross if somebody says "hashtag" out loud before saying a hashtag, as in the episode's title quote? I think it might be, but I don't use Twitter.

[SnideAsides]

Yes. It is hashtag double plus ungood. (Wait. Wrong show. Eh, those Big Brother contestants are probably too illiterate to get the reference.)

[Way Wes Jr]

This is probably a generational thing.  My tween, (ugh, speaking of language related things that cause involuntary eye rolls,) uses "hashtag," all the time.  I, unsurprisingly, despise the practice.  [Note: I'm old.]

 

A total aside: one of the anchors on ABC's weekend GMA not only tried to use the word "hastag," but she also threw in a two-hand cross-finger gesture.  'Twas so ridiculous I woke up the kids with my laughter.

[hendersonrocks]

Whoa to that engagement on the mat. Seems obvious it's one of the pre-existing couples, and just from watching the preview I have a strong suspicion as to which one:

Ashley & Matt, based on the tattoos you can see in the shot. Right?

That's all speculation/no spoiler, but tagging just in case someone really don't want to know!

[blackwing]

I think the purpose of this thread is to actually speculate, and that unless it's actual spoiler information, that you don't need to use spoiler tags.

 

I agree that the engaged couple is going to be the hairdressers.  I think the guy is indeed the only one with those nasty looking tattoos.

 

That said, I don't get why people get engaged on this show DURING the race.  I can understand why you might do it after you are eliminated (the couple that couldn't open the locks, was that Hayden and.... ???).  But people like Chad and Stephanie did it while they were still actively on the race.  1) You would bring an engagement ring on this race, knowing that there are all sorts of physical activities (swimming, bungee jumping, rappelling down a building etc) that you might not want to wear it, and 2) what if you lost it?  People lose things like clues and fanny packs, I wouldn't risk an engagement ring, and 3) isn't it a bit distracting?  Not to mention the fact you can't call your family and friends to tell them.

 

Seems like all a big "I want to get more airtime" and "hopefully this means they bring us back a second time" ploy.  Pfffffttt.

[jennifer6973]

Plus don't you have to claim things like that going through customs?

[Lantern7]

. . . aaaaaaaaaaand TAR cut off the departure times after Bergen & Kurt, so I have to eliminate that metric. As for the commercial cliffhangers . . . . Matt & Ashely got two, while Harley & Jonathan had one.

 

Anybody else delighted that the blind date couples don't seem to be working out? Even Jelani & Jenny are seen sniping at each other in the teaser for next week's episode, and they've finished in the top three for the first three legs. I hope Bert & Elise present the footage to the CBS overlords and proclaim, "Never Again!"

[hendersonrocks]

Anybody else delighted that the blind date couples don't seem to be working out?

 

Yasssss Lord. But I'm still enjoying the conceit way more than I thought I would, and mostly love that the blind daters are basically taking it off the table themselves. For the good of the RAAAAACE.  

 

I'm eager to see if we'll ever get a full scale Blair & Hayley meltdown. It seems so imminent every moment they're on my TV screen yet feels so far away. 

[djlynch]

I'm eager to see if we'll ever get a full scale Blair & Hayley meltdown. It seems so imminent every moment they're on my TV screen yet feels so far away. 

 

Didn't the preview at the end of Episode 1 show him telling her that he hates the sound of her voice or something like that? Maybe it was some other team, but it just seemed like something that would happen with them.

[Tyr]

[Tyr]

[Tyr]

[truthaboutluv]

After this last episode, I'm so looking forward to the clip I saw in the long preview before the show's hiatus. It shows Hayley on a bicycle screaming (naturally) at Blair to slow down and wait. I'm now convinced he was trying to run away at that point, as he mentioned in this week's episode.

[Tyr]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5olcIt6yjvk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5__8yCrJHM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSkWEZg2NTI

[Lantern7]

Anybody else thinking we'll be getting a non-elimination leg in next week's two-hour installment? Also, I'm surprised there wasn't any Hayley jabbering. Maybe she and Blair buried the hatchet.

 

I don't think we've had hyenas on the show before. Another animal to add to the menagerie.

[enlightenedbum]

I'd bet on a "you're still racing" double leg, personally.

[Lantern7]

I got the averages after six legs . . .

 

3.00 Aly/Steve

3.50 Jelani/Jackie

4.17 Laura/Tyler

4.50 Hayley/Blair

5.33 Mike/Rochelle

6.00 Matt/Ashley

 

5.17 Jeff/Jackie

 

I think that anybody can take it. There's no dominant team. Last season around this time, you had a gulf between the three frontrunner teams (Dentists, Cyclists, Surfers) and the rest of the pack (Wrestlers, Scientists, Tim/Te Jay).Aly & Steve have finished in the top five in each leg, but they don't overachieve like the Dentists did. Also, with the Scientists winning TAR25, you can't discount any team. However, I don't think any of the Racers can match Maya's manic zeal.

 

There was talk of passports this week. Anybody else expecting a team to lose their documentation in the coming weeks?

[truthaboutluv]

There was talk of passports this week. Anybody else expecting a team to lose their documentation in the coming weeks?

 

 

I actually thought it would happen in this episode because the editing on that was so weird. When they showed the lady at the flight desk asking Tyler and Laura for their passport, I was sure we were going to find out that they'd dropped it when they retrieved the fanny pack last leg or something like that. It just seemed so random for that to be in there. And then we were shown Hayley asking Blair if he had both tickets which I also wondered if that was going to lead to them losing their flight ticket. So yeah maybe that's coming in the double episode. 

[Tyr]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OCcvLCVV9g

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VT5WcP9IYlA

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJpjJEsdMAA

[Lantern7]

Question: Would it be a bad thing if a "blind date" couple wins? Short answer: Yes. Long answer Allowable if one remembers the Stink and the Pink (Eric & Danielle) lucking ass-backwards into a TAR11 win. Also, Freddy & Kendra in TAR6, capping perhaps the worst season in TAR history without a gimmick.

 

Here are the leg averages after eight episodes (in seven weeks):

 

3.50 Laura/Tyler

3.64 Jelani/Jenny

4.13 Hayley/Blair

4.88 Matt/Ashely

5.25 Mike/Rochelle

 

3.75 Aly/Steve

 

You know what would be nice? If I knew who Laura & Tyler were. I don't think they're distinguishable from Matt & Ashley, though I will admit that I can be very lazy. I hear Tyler can be a dick, but that's small potatoes compared to the Category 5 misery storm that is Hayley. Say what you want about Flo, but I don't remember her trying to tear down Zach every other minute.

[Camera One]

If those top 3 becomes the top 3, that will be an all blind-date final.  It would show you could technically run it with a stranger and hate one another but still do fine on the race as long as you were relatively young and physically fit.

[Vyas]

you could technically run it with a stranger and hate one another but still do fine on the race as long as you were relatively young and physically fit.

 

Definitely the case if the next episode is further indication:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGNr8DeD3eo

[Lantern7]

I never even noticed that three blind date teams were leading. If they make it to the final leg, it might be an indicator that the concept works. That's not encouraging.

[Vyas]

Certainly beats that Viennese masquerade Detour three seasons ago:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U695vRfQ2Qk

 

 

[Vyas]

It's been ages since the show last ventured into Inca territory:

 

http://youtube.com/watch?v=lBB30KVHbn8

[Vyas]

Perhaps the SB will involve a quipu equation?

Edited April 29, 2015 by Vyas

[Lamb18]

If Blair and Jelani are standing side by side, it looks like Jenny and Hayley are doing the road block. I wonder if they're harvesting or doing some type of baling.

[Special K]

I love Blair's deadpan "Hayley with a machete scares me."

[Vyas]

The Rebus Nitwits set out to conquer their FitBit prize from Nagano:

 

http://youtube.com/watch?v=uSXSCYaCF68

 

Andean tubers are to Tyler and Laura like Shanghainese cabbies were to Kris and Jon:

 

http://youtube.com/watch?v=B0eOzMysR6c

[Vyas]

Time to hit the Pacific coast:

 

http://youtube.com/watch?v=bsWFu0Ml9hI

[Camera One]

Based on the edits, I am guessing either Blair and Hayley or Tyler and Laura will win it.  They haven't shown Blair and Hayley arguing much these last two legs, which fits with the story of them learning to get along.  Meanwhile, a lot of the catty comments that Tyler and Laura make behind the scenes have been cut, perhaps to keep them likeable.  Jenny and Jelani has more personable moments in the bonus clips which have been cut, and if they won, those would have been sprinkled more within the show.  

[kstar821]

Based on the edits, I am guessing either Blair and Hayley or Tyler and Laura will win it.  They haven't shown Blair and Hayley arguing much these last two legs, which fits with the story of them learning to get along.  Meanwhile, a lot of the catty comments that Tyler and Laura make behind the scenes have been cut, perhaps to keep them likeable.  Jenny and Jelani has more personable moments in the bonus clips which have been cut, and if they won, those would have been sprinkled more within the show.

 

 

I would go one step further and say, perhaps, that Jenny and Jelani end up 4th.  They've been really absent from editing and Mike and Rochelle and have been more visible throughout the race.  My prediction is 4th - Jenny and Jelani, 3rd - Mike and Rochelle, 2nd - Tyler and Laura, 1st Blair and Hayley (their editing has reaaallllyyy taken a turn for the better!  Makes me suspicious) :)

[tarfanofthejungle]

Here is the preview for the finale, credits to Realityfan Forums.

 

 

Would the analysis of the preview be considered as a spoiler?

Edited May 11, 2015 by tarfanofthejungle

[Camera One]

I would go one step further and say, perhaps, that Jenny and Jelani end up 4th.  

 

I'm afraid you might be right.  That would suck... I do like watching them.

[Vyas]

Behold, the final teaser snippet of the season:

 

http://youtube.com/watch?v=tl5qqGEF2Cg

Edited May 14, 2015 by Vyas