S26.E10: Fruits Of Our Labor (Peru)

[Tara Ariano]

The race continues in Trujillo and Otuzco, Peru, where teams use fitness trackers to find their next clue. Also: Blair and Hayley's communication issues reach a boiling point.

[cooksdelight]

"If it would hold up in court, I thought Blair's head was a sugar cane." -- Blair saying what Hayley might be thinking.

She was insanely non-stop blabbering tonight. FREE BLAIR!!! Hell, free ME!

I keep forgetting how young these people are that they don't know how to use a manual typewriter.

As soon as I saw the math FitBit challenge, I figured Hayley would go ballistic, yelling that Blair was doing it all wrong.

The dumping of the potatoes was almost cruel. Almost. But I laughed at Jenny's reaction. And very glad they were dumped for Laura and Tyler who didn't sort them beforehand as the directions told them to do... wasn't that a requirement? Phil said "Teams must sort through these potatoes and separate them out by type, then transport them to ....."

I think Phil was drunk on the local moonshine. I hope they told the teams in the instructions that alcohol was involved in one of the tasks so that any non-drinkers wouldn't go that way. Mike seemed surprised, saying "It smells like alcohol."

[truthaboutluv]

Laura and Tyler may be annoying in some ways and they definitely made some sloppy mistakes this leg but props to Tyler. That was some really smart, quick thinking on his part, convincing Matt and Ashley they were at the wrong detour which confused them and then confused the driver who then really did take them to the wrong one. I actually think Matt and Ashley might have had a shot if they'd realized they were at the right place for the Mama's detour because that thing looked really easy.

Edited May 2, 2015 by truthaboutluv

[Haleth]

Ok, no doubt Phil was sampling Mama's brew. He was having way too much fun.

I can't believe I'm sort of rooting for Blair and Hailey. They are so dysfunctional but oddly adorable when not fighting.

Doing division at an altitude of 10,000 ft is the cruelest challenge yet.

Edited May 2, 2015 by Haleth

[ottoDbusdriver]

As soon as I saw the math FitBit challenge, I figured Hayley would go ballistic, yelling that Blair was doing it all wrong.

 

Why were they allowed to use calculators ?  Because that took away a lot of the challenge aspect from the Fitbit challenge.

[InDueTime]

So long, Matt and Ashley.  Good luck on your engagement.

 

Blair's comment about Hayley being dangerous with the machete got a small chuckle from me.

 

I hope the TAR producers compensate the "Papas" Detour woman for those potatoes Tyler and Laura spat on.  Gross. 

 

I hope this is the last of the Fitbit plugs for TAR.  Travelocity and Ford are enough.

 

I missed the Speed Bump; what was it?

[cooksdelight]

I missed the Speed Bump; what was it?

The manual typewriter challenge.

[ottoDbusdriver]

The manual typewriter challenge.

 

That was a really lame speed bump.  It would have been more challenging if they weren't allowed to help each other because Matt was useless with the typewriter.

[Haleth]

Wait, they did the math with calculators? Cop.Out.

Yeah, too funny Matt didn't know how to return the typewriter carriage. Yes, I'm old.

Edited May 2, 2015 by Haleth

[etagloh]

That was a KF-ridden leg, from Laura and Tyler's sloppiness at the start right through to the end.

that was some really smart, quick thinking on his part, convincing Matt and Ashley they were at the wrong detour which confused them and then confused the driver who then really did take them to the wrong one.

I think it was unwitting, because they hadn't seen the Mamas starting point; if it was deliberate, well, that's a wee bit sketchy. (Yes, you can tell other teams lies, and they don't have to listen to them, but there's a point at which confusion becomes outright deception. I don't think that like was crossed here.) And that wasn't the first time: Laura and Tyler missed the clue at the shoeshine stall for the Road Block and told Matt and Ashley it was far away before they even got to the square.

I do think Matt and Ashley could have caught up: the Mamas side of the Detour seemed easier if you spoke Spanish (and didn't have Hayley jabbering at you) and not difficult if you were polite.

(This is my one Hayley comment: I'm staggered how she couldn't accept that Blair speaking the local language might actually be helpful when getting directions. She has some serious control issues.)

Curious whether TPTB expected all (or at least most) of the teams to seek out better flights than the backstop reservations so that they'd arrive at night for the fireworks and get the HoO bunch, instead of the morning.

[Lantern7]

Well, it's official: in order for the season to be redeemed, Mike & Rochelle need to win. I don't think it's a total longshot, especially after Amy & Maya lucked their way to a win last season. While the Blind Date couples have worked out well, relatively speaking, it's still a gimmick. A gimmick that should have never been foisted upon the show. Also, Mike winning would redeem big guys on reality shows, especially with Dan and Will stinking up Survivor: Worlds Apart.

 

Speaking of Survivor  . . . I think I've become numb to whatever nonsense Racers go through. Yeah, I'm prone to yelling "FREE BLAIR!!!" as the next fan, but my heart isn't in it. Hayley isn't a total shit human being like some of the folks over on Survivor. She needs to tone down the nagging, but it's not like Blair openly contemplates kicking her out of the moving cab while they went to the Andes.

 

Nice llamas. Cute pigs. Pity we didn't see more of them. And Papas Lady for the win. Ditto for Mashey posing with Phil on the mat after their elimination. I smell a potential "all-star" team.

[cooksdelight]

I wanted to see some multiplication and long division action. Oh well.

[raven]

Helllooo Phil.  Looking very fine tonight.

 

I was constantly distracted by that weird thing in Jenny's hair.

 

 

Wait, they did the math with calculators? Cop.Out.

LOL - I was "oh interesting, a math challenge - oh wait..- a how to use a calculator challenge".

 

 

I can't believe I'm sort of rooting for Blair and Hailey. They are so dysfunctional but oddly adorable when not fighting.

I kind of do too, though overall would prefer Mike & Rochelle; I like their low-key approach.  His is dorky-cute and of course he is close to his 99 year old grandma! and just keeps plugging along, and when she's not in "BlairBlairBlair..I can't stand to look at you blahblah" mode she doesn't bug.  The sugar cane cutting was no joke and kudos to her and Jenny for getting it done with no complaining (that we were shown anyway).

 

Though no teams are particularly compelling, no one is being grossly annoying either.

Edited May 2, 2015 by raven

[Browncoat]

I'm not averse to any of these teams winning, even though I despise the blind date gimmick.  I was sad to see the hairdressers go, but we've somehow gotten to this point without my hating any of the teams.  Not sure how that happened! 

[dgpolo]

I thought Hayley was actually bearable this episode. And she did say Blair's Spanish was helpful. I'm hoping Mike and Rochelle make it to the final. I also though they'd have to do the math without help, which would have been my downfall.

[jah1986]

This was a good episode. I kind of got Hayley (I can't believe I just said that) when she was yelling at Blair to go back to get the clue, right there he was kind of ignoring her. But she has to stop yelling, I can't believe she said she never yells because it seems the littlest thing sets her off.

 

I thought the mamas detour would have been much more difficult but it seemed fairly straight forward.  I can't believe Laura and Tyler spit on those potatoes, that was just disgusting.

 

I'm surprised I'm not at all invested in who wins.

[fib]

Holy Moly - can't get over how much that made me want to go to Peru.  Beautiful scenery, amazing and nice people, cute animals, and a travel industry that doesn't seem exploitative? Sign me up!

 

Mashley were overdue to leave. Tyler and Laura are really really lucky they're still in the race after that boneheaded move with the flights, and Mike and Rochelle are one of my favorite teams ever!

[Ducky]

Well.. was actually hoping that Matt and Ashley could catch up.  Bye bye... enjoy your engagement and wedding planning!

 

Sigh.. once again Mike and Rochelle 'luck their way through'- oh well guess there has to be 4 teams.  I want to like them  I really really do but I don't.  They're about as bland as day old bread.

 

As for Tyler and Laura 'misdirecting' Matt and Ashley- I don't think they did or realized it as they were taken to the wrong detour themselves- they wanted to do the Mamas one.  Hard to tell.  And EWWW on the spitting on the potatoes... I don't think you had to clean/water them- I didn't see either Matt & Ashley or Jelani & Jennifer do that at all.

 

At least Hayley kinda toned down near the end and she was all happy that Blair knew Spanish but I am sure she still won't let go of every mistake/issue he has  vs the positive with Blair. and still a constant motor mouth.  She'd pair up with Luke very nicely.. she can yammer all day and Luke wouldn't hear it, Luke can sign in ASL when he gets mad and she wouldn't have a clue what HE'S saying (and get pissed off in the process).

 

J&J ran a good race too and both really appreciated Peru it looked like (gorgeous shots when they were driving along).

 

So I'm forecasting J&J, T&L and H&B for final three.  Unless TPTB decide to do another twist.

 

J&J first, H&B then T&L is my pick.

Edited May 2, 2015 by Ducky

[truthaboutluv]

I think it was unwitting, because they hadn't seen the Mamas starting point; if it was deliberate, well, that's a wee bit sketchy.

 

As for Tyler and Laura 'misdirecting' Matt and Ashley- I don't think they did or realized it as they were taken to the wrong detour themselves- they wanted to do the Mamas one.

 

It was definitely deliberate. Even though Laura and Tyler weren't exactly sure where the Mama's detour starting point was, they definitely knew where they were at was not the Papas starting point since they'd been there themselves. So it was definitely a move to confuse and slow down Matt and Ashley and it totally worked. 

Edited May 2, 2015 by truthaboutluv

[dgpolo]

Sigh.. once again Mike and Rochelle 'luck their way through'- oh well guess there has to be 4 teams.  I want to like them  I really really do but I don't.  They're about as bland as day old bread.

 

 

 

I don't know, where you see 'lucky' I see a team paying attention to their clue and their surroundings, doing their tasks efficiently and without complaining. And where you see 'bland' I see a team respectful of each other, the other teams and the locals. I thought it was great that while the other teams were all jumping into taxi's they just went up to the shoe shine place and got their clue. Nice job.

[AuntieDiane6]

 

Holy Moly - can't get over how much that made me want to go to Peru.  Beautiful scenery, amazing and nice people, cute animals, and a travel industry that doesn't seem exploitative? Sign me up!

 

And #1 for cocaine, which is why the location was carefully selected. 

[enlightenedbum]

Scenery was pretty.  Otherwise kind of meh.  Roadblock was actually fine and the clue was relevant, hooray!

 

Yet another lopsided detour.  Go somewhere faraway, sort a couple hundred similarish potatoes, drive them back to town and if you fail sort them all again vs. "pick up some ingredients at five different stores, have a drink."  The only time the detours used to be this lopsided when it was the traditional early leg "do something slow and incredibly boring like a 7 mile donkey cart ride vs. something extremely photogenic but possibly scary like skydiving" (TAR3, leg 1).  Now it's basically every leg where regardless of what your team's abilities are there is a correct detour choice.  Frustrating.

 

Heavy KF in this leg, and severe demerits to Laura for the spit thing.  Gross.  Credit to her for thinking to wash them to make the colors more clear, but not enough to make up for that.  Otherwise people are who we though they were.

[Uwbadgmad]

I am really enjoying this season! I know it isn't popular, but I love the mixture of couples who knew each other before the race and those that were assigned to someone they didn't know at all. For someone who has been married for decades and decades, I love seeing people who don't know each other work out their new relationship as they go along and the other people who have been dating or married before the race, further their relationships. I think it has really made it an interesting dynamic and I almost think it is easier to work with someone you don't have tons of baggage with when you are racing. (although none of the couples that were together seemed to be together that long to have that much baggage in this race) 

 

Also, the countries and challenges have been extra interesting to me and I'm really going to miss this season when it is over.

 

I really like Blair and Hayley (especially Blair) and I also enjoy seeing Rochelle and Mike race too and get along so well. Really, none of the final couples are objectionable which is pretty amazing in a reality show.

Edited May 2, 2015 by Uwbadgmad

[etagloh]

Sigh.. once again Mike and Rochelle 'luck their way through'- oh well guess there has to be 4 teams.  I want to like them  I really really do but I don't.  They're about as bland as day old bread.

Oh, that's a bit harsh. Mike did as decently on the cane cutting as he's done in a physical challenge right through (1100 calories burned for the day, courtesy of the sponsor-gadget!) and they picked the right side of the Detour. They ran their own race, even when Laura and Tyler overtook them. (We got a "we're polite to people" in this leg, after the bonus clip last leg where they didn't cut into the cab lines at Schiphol. Interesting.)

There was a certain amount of spoonfeeding all the way through this leg: marked taxis for the trip to the cane field, possibly pre-arranged autorickshaws for the Detour. Perhaps it was for the teams' safety (the thing about it being too dangerous to walk), perhaps it's because Lima cab drivers persuade you to get in by saying somewhere is 10km away, then take you the scenic route.

Edited May 2, 2015 by etagloh

[ML89]

I know I am not a math person but I still cannot figure out how three teams worked out to one figure and two another when they all have taken different amounts of steps and are different heights. Did they finagle the numbers to get there?

I can't believe I don't hate any teams and this gimmick I thought would be awful has not been bad. I'm fine with any team winning (and as consolation for putting up with Hayley, Blair can win Survivor if Mike doesn't).

I don't mind the Fitbit sponsorship (I have one) and that was a pretty nice prize. If it keeps TAR on, I'll be fine with pretty much anything but a political candidate sponsoring. Wonder if the phones are sponsored?

[interesting]

Gotta give it up to Tyler for being very quick to steer Matt and Ashley to the wrong way.  So this is the first season I'm watching this show again since TAR:  Family Edition, which ruined the show for me and I stayed away.  But I enjoyed the show's premise, even though Phil consistenly ask them about their dating potential is annoying.  I like the remaining couples, I don't mind any of them winning, but Mike and Rochelle seem to be a lucky pair, they seem to get confuse and lost quite a bit (even though this one they actually made it through fine).

 

Re:  the episode, Blair was funny, making jokes about how Hayley would have used the machete on him.  I like that Road Block, the detour was good too, Blair is the perfect man, he's hot, a cute nerd, amazing body, smart, funny, now we found out he's bilingual!  Hayley was tolerable this episode, but she needs to take a breather.  Matt and Ashley's elimination was foreseable, but the only pair's elimination that wasn't so obvious was Jeff and Jackie, otherwise, it's kind of boring to know ahead of time who's going home, the last time I watched, almost every elimination was a nail biter.

[etagloh]

Wonder if the phones are sponsored?

That's an odd thing, because they're obviously deactivated Nokia Lumia 735s (sold as 'the selfie phone'). However, a) Lumias won't be Nokia-branded from this year onwards, after the Microsoft takeover; b) none of the US carriers decided to sell them, and you literally can't buy one through official channels in the US. So I imagine Microsoft made a deal with TPTB in the autumn when the phones were launched and then everything associated with it fizzled out by the time the Race was over in December. Perhaps there are deals in foreign TV markets?

[Dobian]

"If it would hold up in court, I thought Blair's head was a sugar cane." -- Blair saying what Hayley might be thinking.

She was insanely non-stop blabbering tonight. FREE BLAIR!!! Hell, free ME!

 

 

Dare I say it, they are becoming my favorite team to watch.  And the irony is, they behave more like a married couple than many of the couples who were in this season.  It started to change when Blair just started laughing at Hayley when she'd go off on him.  That sugar cane line was priceless.  It's hysterical.

 

This season, every team that finished last in a non-elimination leg and get the speed bump starts last and stays last in the next leg.  In past seasons, teams have been able to overcome the speed bump and get right back in it.  I don't know if this season the last place team just isn't rising to the occasion or if the people designing these legs of the race aren't factoring in the logistics well enough.  I think they need to rethink this for future seasons.  Maybe it's time to get rid of the non-elimination leg and just start with more teams, or keep it and get rid of the speed bump.  Seeing teams just languish from start to finish is no fun and takes the drama out of the leg.

[J-Man]

It was hard to tell how much Blair's Spanish helped them out in the "Mamas" detour. They made it seem like it was quite useful both in interpreting the list and in locating the vendors and dealing with them. But Mike and Rochelle blasted through it just as fast, and they seem to know almost no Spanish. So either the Spanish wasn't all that necessary (we couldn't see the clue or the list--I'm not sure what was in English and what was in Spanish), or possibly the vendors were pretty easy on Mike and Rochelle because they'd already gone through the process with Hayley and Blair and knew what to expect. (Of course we don't know what their specific instructions from TPTB were. 

 

The "fitness instructor" who was handing out the sugar juice was very attractive, albeit quite short.

 

I really wish they'd been forced to do long division without a calculator. 

[blackwing]

I see nothing wrong with what Tyler said to Matt and Ashley. All he said was "I think he took you to the potatoes". Matt should have used his brain and asked around instead of immediately panicking.

I am glad Matt is gone. I thought Ashley was Ok but I've disliked him from the start, ever since he was so gleeful that teams messed up the sync dance in Japan. The last two legs he was prone to panicking. The shoes in Amsterdam, not finding the shoe shine, the typewriter, the potatoes, etc.

Tyler and Laura really lucked out, because Mamas was so easy that Mike and Rochelle passed them up.

Did Phil really say Peru grows 4000 different kinds of potatoes?

[possibilities]

Pouring water on the potatoes would make them more prone to get moldy and rot in the bin, but spitting on them? Ye Gods, that was disgusting.

[etagloh]

Did Phil really say Peru grows 4000 different kinds of potatoes?

Yes, and they do. They're one of the most-seized food items by US Customs because homesick Peruvians (and Chileans) try to bring them back.

[GaT]

I hate that Hayley came in #1 & Matt & Ashley are gone :-(

 

I can’t believe Tyler & Laura really spit on those potatoes, If I was that woman, I would have dumped all of them on the ground even if they got it right just because of that. I wonder if the show had to pay her for all the potatoes? 

[biakbiak]

There is no doubt in my mind the show paid for the potatoes, the use of the stall and her time.

Matt looked like he wanted to punch the woman when she dropped the potatoes. I don't think he would but the look on his face was crazy pissed!

Edited May 2, 2015 by biakbiak

[Dobian]

Pouring water on the potatoes would make them more prone to get moldy and rot in the bin, but spitting on them? Ye Gods, that was disgusting.

Yeah that woman vendor was just glaring at them after she dumped their potatos on the ground, lol.  I don't think you needed to know much Spanish to get the drink ingredients, just show the list to the vendor if you have to.  I did enjoy Balir's American college frat boy Spanish accent though.  I guess none of the teams had a diabetic on it, that sugar cane drink would have killed them.

Edited May 2, 2015 by Dobian

[cooksdelight]

I guess none of the teams had a diabetic on it, that sugar cane drink would have killed them.

I often wonder about things like that, how thoroughly they vet the contestants. Allergies to certain foods or substances, whether or not they drink alcohol (as I mentioned earlier) and other things. They must, I hope.

[mertensia]

And Hayley tries to talk the ears off of the Andino Indian at the roadblock.

Loved that while Matt and Ashley and Laura and Tyler were running around like chickens with their heads cut off Mike and Rochelle just calmly walked up, got their clue then skulked off.

[helent]

I see nothing wrong with what Tyler said to Matt and Ashley. All he said was "I think he took you to the potatoes". Matt should have used his brain and asked around instead of immediately panicking.

I am glad Matt is gone. I thought Ashley was Ok but I've disliked him from the start, ever since he was so gleeful that teams messed up the sync dance in Japan. The last two legs he was prone to panicking. The shoes in Amsterdam, not finding the shoe shine, the typewriter, the potatoes, etc.

Matt's a real panicker, and he combines it with taking setbacks personal - when all their potatoes got dumped out, the way he said 'Why did she do that?!' was hilarious. And any time they would get turned around with directions, he's so confused how it could have happened.

 

To his credit, though, he doesn't actually seem to get angry, just frustrated. There's been a pleasant absence of Ugly Americans on this season.

[speedroc]

 

I kind of got Hayley (I can't believe I just said that) when she was yelling at Blair to go back to get the clue, right there he was kind of ignoring her. But she has to stop yelling,

Agree she has to stop the overall yelling, since it makes Blair tune her out and not listen. And she was absolutely correct in this instance.

[Haleth]

Loved that while Matt and Ashley and Laura and Tyler were running around like chickens with their heads cut off Mike and Rochelle just calmly walked up, got their clue then skulked off.

 

Last week I said they were the tortoises amongst a lot of hares and this is a perfect example.

 

I'm surprised some people think Tyler deliberately misled Matt and Ashley about the papas task.  Tyler didn't know anything about where the mamas task was so when he identified their location as papas, he wasn't doing anything shady.  As usual Matt went running off without focusing or he might have noticed the mamas marker was right there.  (Thank you, cameraman.)  Wow, both teams had a bad, bad leg.  I know Laura saw the speed bump marker, Ashley must have too, yet neither thought to mention it to the guys, thus avoiding their unnecessary taxi rides.

 

I noticed Rochelle only took one sip of mama's drink.  Probably a good idea at that altitude.  The people who drank more (including Phil) probably had a killer hangover the next morning.  Speaking of which, Tyler and Ashley were pretty hungover after celebrating her birthday in Amsterdam.

 

On the previouslies was it Tyler or Blair at the wooden shoes challenge who asked, "Who wants to go klompen?"  I think Tyler and I love him for that.

[Primetimer]

In Peru, potato avalanches threaten the race prospects -- and the sanity -- of several teams.

Read the story

[TheOriginalDonald]

The #Mamas and the #Papas wonder why Jessica couldn't hold off writing this recap til #mondaymonday #PeruvianDreamingOnSuchAWintersDay

[Rinaldo]

I wanted to see some multiplication and long division action.

I did too, for a moment. And then I reminded myself that such skills are now as obsolete as using an abacus (yes, I know that's still in use in certain contexts) or using a quill on papyrus. 

 

And the irony is, [blair and Hayley] behave more like a married couple than many of the couples who were in this season. 

I found myself thinking the same thing. Especially on the mat, where they had a smiling back-and-forth routine, giving each other (what appeared to be) good-natured jabs like an old married couple. "If only she'd shut up once in a while." "If only he'd listen to me once in a while." I couldn't believe it, but I was smiling at them myself.

[TheOriginalDonald]

Unless you're the #DerbyMoms (who hail from Denver) I wouldn't be surprised if the high altitude would wind out racers. At least the llamas were docile, unlike THESE ONES

https://youtu.be/A8mUMSi5M8g

[needschocolate]

Note to Hayley - Let's assume for a moment that you are correct, that you are always correct, and that Blair is always wrong, and that you have always told him exactly, specifically, without any hedging, what to do and that he has not done it.  Let's assume that what you say is true - that he doesn't listen to you.  The operative work here is "listen" - He doesn't listen to you.  Not that he doesn't "hear" you and you need to talk louder.  Not that they doesn't "understand" you and you need to repeat yourself. Yelling and repeating yourself ad nauseum is not going to make him "listen" to you or do what you say. It is making him tune you out.  Perhaps if you had only yelled and repeated yourself when giving him instructions, he might be able to listen, but the yelling and repeating after the fact - constantly saying "I told you so" - has likely ruined any chance of him listening to you for the rest of the race.  Putting him down and calling him an idiot has only guaranteed that he will not listen to you in the future - would you want to pay attention to someone who calls you and idiot?  Your only hope now is to stop talking.  Completely.  Get a note pad, right down your opinion/instructions and hand it to him.  Be sure not to start your note with "Blair, you idiot" and resist the urge to write any version of "I was right" and "You should have paid attention to my last note."

 

There's been a pleasant absence of Ugly Americans on this season.

 

I generally cut the racers a lot of slack for things many consider "ugly American" - things like gagging at local food or saying that something smells disgusting.  Sometimes these reactions can't be helped - it is near impossible to hold back your gagging reflex.  They are tired and stressed.  They may be asked their opinions or have been asked to describe things for viewers (just like they must be asked to mention how wonderful it is to open your trunk with your foot or how incredible the fitbit is).  But the spitting on the potatoes was over the line.  I cannot think of any culture that doesn't think that spitting on something/someone is an insult.  And they spit on food.  I can overlook using water from the bottles they have ben drinking out of - they were acting quickly.  But spitting on the potatoes was the worst show of ugly Americanism I have seen on this show. 

 

That said, other than the potato spitting, there has been a wonderful lack of ugly-Americanism. No yelling at locals no thinking that a cab driver should care that you win a race for a million dollars, no acting like they are above doing something the locals do every day. 

[kili]

Getting the early flight gave Jenny/Jelani and Haley/Blair an added bonus...they are the only teams even on the roadblock counts. Because they had the luxury of time, Jenny and Haley took the very physical task of cutting the sugar cane. The teams on the following flight were racing not to be last, so they had their "stronger" male partner take the task. That leaves J/J and H/B with four roadblocks each, but Mike/Rochelle and Laura/Tyler at 3/5 respectively.

 

That could help in the following legs of the race. Have Tyler and Mike maxed out their roadblocks? There are twelve legs on the race, but there are two legs that didn't have roadblocks.

 

Blair's Spanish helps in removing some of the confusion. They did get taken to the correct detour while Laura/Tyler were not and Matt/Ashley couldn't communicate well enough with their driver to know that they had gone to the correct place. Plus, it made for less drama finding places. Of course, it allows taxi drivers to more easily convince them to go on a tour of the city as well.

[silverpie]

I know I am not a math person but I still cannot figure out how three teams worked out to one figure and two another when they all have taken different amounts of steps and are different heights. Did they finagle the numbers to get there?

Rounding. The directions included a "round to nearest whole number" step. For some teams, that was 8 (8*576=4'608); for the others, it was 7 (7*576=4'032).

[Eolivet]

Can someone tweet at Phil that "Tell me how proud you are of her" belongs in the same category as "What are you wearing?"

 

But spitting on the potatoes was the worst show of ugly Americanism I have seen on this show.

 

The worst recent display? Yes. The worst ever? KKKendra (of season 6) would like to have a word with you.

[needschocolate]

The worst recent display? Yes. The worst ever? KKKendra (of season 6) would like to have a word with you.

 

I missed a lot of the early seasons.  Never saw Kendra, never saw Flo.  Based on what I have read, I feel rather fortunate, yet oddly intrigued.

[Rancide]

I can't help it, I like Tyler.  When he and Laura got in that taxi going the wrong direction away from the Plaza and Laura mentioned having seen the speed bump sign, instead of screaming at her about how she was an idiot for not realizing that was where they were supposed to get the clue or berating her for not mentioning it sooner, he complimented her for having noticed it at all.  Can you imagine if Blair or Jelani had been the ones who had seen that speed bump sign but let their team get in a taxi anyway?

 

I really like Laura and Tyler's glass-half-full attitudes towards the race and the lack of blame-assigning when things go wrong.  Since I assume Mike and Rochelle have no realistic shot at this, they're my pick to win.