S26.E07: Back in Business / S26.E08 Moment of Truth (Namibia)

[Camera One]

I almost got the impression that the alternating thing was something Steve had just been implicitly orchestrating, without her necessarily realizing it. Something along the lines of "You do this one. I'll do this one. You do this one," as opposed to "Let's alternate — I'll do this one. I did the last one, so you do this one," and so on, if that makes any sense, and she's just been going with it, because why not, I guess. Does that make any sense?

 

On the other hand, she had clearly hit a wall by this point, and was just generally off the rails, so maybe she just managed to completely lose sight of their previous alternating strategy. 

 

In a post-Race interview, Aly said there was a cut scene where neither Aly nor Steve wanted to do the Hut task and they argued about it, so that would be why Aly kept saying she was mad that Steve made her do it.

[Netfoot]

You're pulling  my leg, Netfoot.  I can tell by the way you spell "tyre" that you've never been anywhere near a Conestoga wagon.  LOL. 

 

You're right, it wasn't my folks that rode those wagons...

 

I just find it surprising when I come face to face with the fact that nowadays, people are (for the most part) completely incapable of doing things which I think of as must-have skills.  So often I see people making a complete dog's breakfast of something simple, like changing a tyre or reading a map, or looking through a pair of binoculars, and I'm like "WTF?  Isn't that something everyone learns at their parent's knee, while still in diapers?"  Well, maybe once, but no more.  Now, they learn how to text at lightspeed, but can't write a letter.

[kingshearte]

No, because S22's Roller-Derby Moms Mona and Beth proved that a team can overcome both.

I didn't say it was impossible. But it's stacking the deck pretty damn hard against the team affected, and I just think that if TPTB want to penalize a team that much for coming in last, they should just eliminate them outright instead of effectively dragging it out for another full leg, which it will more often than not, if you have a Speed Bump and a U-Turn to contend with.

[Hanahope]

So often I see people making a complete dog's breakfast of something simple, like changing a tyre or reading a map, or looking through a pair of binoculars, and I'm like "WTF?  Isn't that something everyone learns at their parent's knee, while still in diapers?"  Well, maybe once, but no more.  Now, they learn how to text at lightspeed, but can't write a letter.

 

They don't learn how to read a map because everyone has GPS, either in the car or on a smart phone.

[etagloh]

This. If nothing else, I think that Speed Bumps and U-Turns should never appear in the same leg.

That starts to become a bit limiting. Do we want U-Turns in NELs? That would make for an interesting twist, but if not, you're ruling out U-Turns in six of twelve legs. TPTB don't want U-Turns in the first couple of legs because teams and viewers barely have a sense of who's who, and so it doesn't produce enough drama and potential retribution. (There was the Blind U-Turn in the opener this time, but it was a weird addition.) Throw in the final and penultimate leg as ones where they won't be used, and that reduces the available legs for U-Turns to a point where teams will know exactly when they're coming. It's already fairly predictable: the pattern in previous seasons has been either earlyish and mid, or mid- and late with the F4 decider as the late one.

It really depends on the leg design, and even then, how it plays out depends how the last-place teams respond. I don't like 'eliminated team walking' legs, but the tasks weren't processional on this one, and there was definitely time to be gained or lost. I can't think of how TPTB could have put their thumb on the scale for this one to make it more competitive at the back -- including removing the U-Turn -- that wouldn't have felt unfair.

[Netfoot]

They don't learn how to read a map because everyone has GPS, either in the car or on a smart phone.

 

Except when they go where there is no map for their GPS and no bars for their phone.  Then they get lost in the Bush, and the locals refer to them as "long pig", and their bones end up sold downriver to some tourist, as scrimshaw.  All because they relied upon $99 worth of Chinese-made electronic crap instead of their own brain!

Edited April 24, 2015 by Netfoot

[BigBlueMastiff]

 

Except when they go where there is no map for their GPS and no bars for their phone.  Then they get lost in the Bush, and the locals refer to them as "long pig", and their bones end up sold downriver to some tourist, as scrimshaw.  All because they relied upon $99 worth of Chinese-made electronic crap instead of their own brain!

1000X this, if you are to stupid to read a map or follow directions, stay home. Shocking how many dummies rely solely on GPS and don't even know how to read a map. Bummed that TeamOlympics got u-turned, wish they'd done it to the doctor and the nurse.

[Special K]

Except when they go where there is no map for their GPS and no bars for their phone.  Then they get lost in the Bush, and the locals refer to them as "long pig", and their bones end up sold downriver to some tourist, as scrimshaw.

 

HAHAHAHAHA!

[lilacgirl]

I liked these two episodes.

What I miss from this show is the time stamps they used to put on the screen when a team would set out in the mornings and though out the day. It showed you how long of a time it took them or how much time the first group was ahead of the others.

 

This was the first one hubby watched with me this season and he shouted "Man, she talks a lot. Sit down and shut up woman!" when Hayley was babbling on to Blair. lol

[InDueTime]

I'll miss Aly and Steve, but it seems that Killer Fatigue hit them hard.  Despite that, these were my favorite two episodes this season.  Beautiful location, different types of animals, and no "lovey dovey" tasks.

[aradia22]

They got some really beautiful footage this episode. The landscape did look amazing and I can only imagine that it was more impressive in person. And the elephants! 

 

I was hoping Norah the zebra would kick Tyler. A few times. I make no apologies.

[anhydrite]

I wonder what was in the air of Namibia that has a soothing effect on Hayley because she barely bickered at all. When she's being comprehensive, she's actually quite tolerable, if a tad bit dead weight.

 

Blair had some good one-liners this episode. "I'm pretty sure it won't fit in your pack" or "That's... not a person. *dissapointed face*" I like his calm and dry attitude. I can't remember the last time an introverted contestant got so much screentime. Nat and Kat maybe? Nice change of pace from the other overly-manly guys. And his unshakable calm makes even more hilarious when Hayley yells at him.

 

I like Mike and Rochelle. They seem genuine and I like when racers aren't being overaware of the cameras. The two just seem like they're in for the adventure, the wonder, seeing the world. They have a very sweet relationship. I wont root for them because my faves never win, but I'm happy that they're still in, as bumbling as it might be.

 

When Mike said "I don't even know what Nambia is", I immediatly thought: "probably because it's not even a real country" :P

 

It seems that most people here like Matt and Ashley, but they make absolutely no impression on me. They are just sort of there, and I find them so bland that I keep forgetting they are racing until I see them on screen. Most forgettable couple this season.

 

Re: Aly. Personally, I don't blame her a bit for being snappy this episode. Exhaustion can do weird things to your body and mind. I know that in my case, fatigues makes me grumpy, dozy and uncooperative, so I don't have the slightest bit of difficulty understanding Aly's situation. At some point after the flat tire, she even looked like she was about to burst crying, and she was quite incoherent during the second leg. I'm pretty sure that what we saw is just tired-Aly, and not some dark side of her or something. And Steve also looked like he was "off" too. He was almost completely apathetic about what was going around. Even if I would have liked to see them go a bit further, some rest at Sequesterville seems exactly what they needed then.

 

Other than that, beautiful scenery. It's always amazing how something as barren as a desert can be so beautiful.