S27.E11: It's Not Easy Beating Green

[Packerbrewerbadger]

Shouldn't the green team gotten another penalty for buying the wrong ferry tickets?? On rewatch, the clue specially said premium which they couldn't buy. ( super fan should have realized their mistake then.... ). I cry "Foul"!

[chitowngirl]

If the Cheerleaders would have taken the penalty and not done the roadblock, how long of a penalty would it have been?

[merylinkid]

Just a quick note on swimming lessons and naturally buoyant people.   I have taken swimming lessons.   However I can literally sit cross-legged in the water and not sink below my shoulders.   I have trouble staying upright sitting like that in water, but I have done it.   

 

Krista was probably dazzled by the lights and was having trouble focusing on what she needed to do.   Swim lessons might or might not have helped her.

[green]

Sign That Justin Might Not Be An End-All/Be-All Fan: I don't remember him reacting to Phil telling him that he and Diana were "the third team to arrive" before the penalty was assessed. Usually, if Phil moves beyond numbers, you fucked up somewhere in the leg.

 

Or he is about to announce that it is a To Be Continued leg like they did the last two times with a final four instead of a final three.

[needschocolate]

If the Cheerleaders would have taken the penalty and not done the roadblock, how long of a penalty would it have been?

 

I think that skipping a task is a 4 hour penalty.  

[Ducky]

I think that skipping a task is a 4 hour penalty.  

 

Yes Roadblock skipping is a 4 hour penalty.  That happened to the Globies in their first season with Franz.

 

So if the cheerleaders had taken that it wouldn't have mattered, it still would have put them further behind I think.

[Lemons]

Just a quick note on swimming lessons and naturally buoyant people.   I have taken swimming lessons.   However I can literally sit cross-legged in the water and not sink below my shoulders.   I have trouble staying upright sitting like that in water, but I have done it.   

 

 

One of my friends was the opposite, she was always sinking, she had a dense body weight, you wouldn't think she weighed as much as she did by looking at her.  But she never got past beginner swimming lessons to try to get past it.  She just hated it because she wasn't a "natural" swimmer. 

[danm]

I thought that the title of this episode should've been (even though nobody said it)...  "Cry me a River."  Yeesh.  Too bad all those tears were for naught, and as somebody above pointed out, the instant relocation from "Sob City" to "Smirkville" was quite telling, what a tool.  I, for one, would be hugely entertained if I saw a LOT more of that same river next episode.  And an end of the season to match it. 

[Lantern7]

Have there been any indicators as to how close Tiffany & Krista were to bouncing Green from the game?

[Village]

I can't- I can't do this anymore. Justin makes my skin crawl. I'm sick of the close-ups of his face contorting into his three settings of ass clown, wet rag, and douchenozzle. Were the close-ups of him bawling because things didn't magically go his way for once really necessary? Was I supposed to feel bad, TAR? Because my gut reaction was to pull as far away from my TV screen as physically possible. A whiny baby and a braying donkey wrapped up in one person? It's too much. IT'S TOO MUCH. *Rocks back and forth*

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Have there been any indicators as to how close Tiffany & Krista were to bouncing Green from the game?

When the cheerleaders arrived, Phil told them that the green team's penalty had just ended. In addition, the green team was still on the mat. I don't think that production would have made the green team stand there and wait if the cheerleaders were an hour behind them, so I assumed Phil was telling the truth when he said that it was pretty close.

[Clemgo3165]

They made the other two teams stand there and wait out Greens 55 minute penalty, why not make them wait until the cheerleaders arrived?

[Lamb18]

Shouldn't the green team gotten another penalty for buying the wrong ferry tickets?? On rewatch, the clue specially said premium which they couldn't buy. ( super fan should have realized their mistake then.... ). I cry "Foul"!

They did. They got 30 minutes for not following directions, then an additional 25 minutes because taking the Kowloon Ferry took 25 minutes less than taking the Hong Kong ferry would have. So their total penalty was 55 minutes.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I think what Packerbrewerbadger was asking is why there wasn't an additional penalty for buying the wrong class of tickets (the 30 minute penalty was for leaving from the wrong ferry location).

Edited December 7, 2015 by ElectricBoogaloo

[NutMeg]

I found this episode difficult because I couldn't stand watching that water show.  I sort of got that it was kind of cool, but the flashing lights, the horrible make up, I just found it a combination of distracting, unpleasant and boring that had me fast forwarding TAR for literally the first time in my life.  I kind of like Justin (although I hate how he treats Diana) so I didn't particularly care one way or the other about the result, I just could not stand to watch that show.  I hated how the women at the end all looked like they'd been beaten because of the make up.  That's abuse, not entertainment.

 

About that make up... Call me crazy, but I thought Logan looked really good with the black eyeshadow :)

Yes, it's like playing a board game with a little kid who isn't used to playing with others.   when he's ahead, it's  ha-ha, I'm so great, nobody can beat me.  When he's losing, it's Boo-hoo, this is terrible, I can't stand it, it's so unfair.    

 

A true "superfan"   of TAR would know  two things -  Acknowledge your partner, always, as being the reason you do well.   And acknowledge and praise the other teams.  Teams who say it's a tough competition because the other teams are so good, get a lot more respect than teams who have the "I am the greatest"  attitude.  Justin has blinders on.  He's been wanting to go down in TAR history as the guy who got the most first place legs and then won -  basically he wants to be the greatest racer who ever raced.    He's losing sight of the fact that fans don't care about that as much as he thinks.  Fans of the show care more about LIKING a team and rooting for them to win.  TAR seems in a lot of ways to be a test of character.  and he's losing at that, no matter what place he ends up in.

Yes, there was a guy on Survivor this season who also wanted to be in Survivor history, but it didn't end up too well for him.

 

I'm very intrigued by Logan and Chris and their weird dynamics, so dysfunctional but seeming to work for them. Usually, bickering is the kiss of death on this show. Whenever a mellow team started bickering I always *knew* they were on the way out - in not that leg then the next. But these two have bucked the trend for so long that I'm weirdly starting to enjoy their antics. Then again I was a (probably the only) fan of Marie, who I thought was a hoot but who was universally hated, so maybe my tastes are peculiar :)  

[mookster]

That was excruciating. The only thing I can hope for is Justin's getting thisclose to the win and losing. That would be entertaining. 

 

If Mr. Mookster and I were ever to do the race, I'm hoping we would come off as dull as the reporters. I actually like them because they're competent and rational and are probably very pleasant people in real life. I remember at the beginning of the season lots of posters were afraid they'd be playing to the cameras, but instead we got Justin the camera hog. Kelsey and Joey FTW.

 

Another thing that irks me about J: For a Superfan, he didn't seem to put much effort into learning cultural niceties: Beyond bellowing "mi amigo," I heard no simple phrases like thank you or please or can you help in any of the countries they visited. Which just serves to point up the entitlement patch in his asshole quilt. I really think this season would have been more enjoyable without him. 

 

And I was no fan of the cheerleaders, but they handled their exit well. I probably would have found the fish pretty easily, but someone would have had to unpry my fingers from that mast and shove me off. And she did it 5 times!

 

The paps, eh, they're awful, but I'd even rather they win over Justin.

Edited December 7, 2015 by mookster

[Ottis]

I'm surprised at all the ... anger? Anger that is directed to Justin. His behavior is embarrassing to him, so I would get scorn. But anger? 

 

The wrong ferry, yeah, that's on Green, but--no one seems to get penalized for finding an earlier flight or an alternate mode of transit, so not surprising that they didn't think about it.

 

 

Racers have been penalized in the past for choosing a taxi over a clue that says walk. So there have been penalties for choosing an alternative mode of transit. Now, whether there have been penalties for choosing a different route, which essentially was the case with the ferry situation, I don't remember.

[Jersey Guy 87]

I'm not a fan of Justin's behavior but, up until this leg, I think he's proven himself to be a good racer.  This episode he made multiple mistakes, and the other annoying side of his personality came out.  I'm still okay with the Green Team winning because I think they're good racers but I'd rather the reporters win - they're also good racers and they haven't exhibited obnoxious behavior.  Logan and Chris winning would be the worst outcome, to me - they're unpleasant and they haven't been overly good racers thus far.

[Dobian]

The cheerleaders knew it was a water/swimming challenge.  If Krista had no swimming skills, maybe Tiffany would have been the better choice for that roadblock?  Maybe it was just how they chose to edit it, but they always showed Krista facing the wrong direction from the fish.  If I was doing it I would have circled the perimeter of the tank and constantly been doing 360s.  They were the last team I actually liked.  Usually the cheerleader/model teams are the cliche window dressing teams that get eliminated before the halfway point, but they were a good team and I wanted to see them in the final, not paparazzi and not team Justin.

Edited December 7, 2015 by Dobian

[proserpina65]

So close!  We were sooooooooo close!!!!!!!!!

[proserpina65]

Never mind, I misunderstood what I watched really quickly half on fast-forward.

 

Show's over, nothing to see.

Edited December 7, 2015 by proserpina65

[proserpina65]

And since when did the show allow every team to stay at the mat after they've checked in, just so that they can see and possibly influence the nail-biting finish?

 

They've done that on previous seasons.  Last season, all the other teams were there when the one dating couple arrived (Matt and Ashley, the hairstylists) and got engaged while everyone was on the mat.

[proserpina65]

Well they'll literally eat your face if you're unconscious and they're hungry!

And they'd still be better than Justin.

[proserpina65]

I don't get how that is so horrible?  People announce stuff all the time that the other person doesn't give a shit about.  I wouldn't describe that as horrible.  I think this is another example of stretching to find something bad to say.

To me, how the racers treat the locals with whom they interact, including those who are giving them the clues, says a lot about them.  Justin was being an ass to the person handing him the next clue, and like much of his smug, douchebag behavior, tells me he's not the kind of person I'd like to see win.  That's not stretching; it's how I look at the race.

[RCharter]

The cheerleaders knew it was a water/swimming challenge.  If Krista had no swimming skills, maybe Tiffany would have been the better choice for that roadblock?  Maybe it was just how they chose to edit it, but they always showed Krista facing the wrong direction from the fish.  If I was doing it I would have circled the perimeter of the tank and constantly been doing 360s.  They were the last team I actually liked.  Usually the cheerleader/model teams are the cliche window dressing teams that get eliminated before the halfway point, but they were a good team and I wanted to see them in the final, not paparazzi and not team Justin.

I just wonder if they kept the fish in the same place?  It seems like too much work to move them and so if they were in the same place the entire time, I would have thought Krista would have just gone to the same location she saw Kelsey and Logan get the fish and focus herself in that area.  I don't even like the cheerleaders, but I wanted to see Justin get eliminated.  I just don't see why it took her that long to even see the fish if she knew the general area they were in.  I guess I could understand the contact lens argument, since I always have glasses on or contact lenses.

[vousviou]

They did. They got 30 minutes for not following directions, then an additional 25 minutes because taking the Kowloon Ferry took 25 minutes less than taking the Hong Kong ferry would have. So their total penalty was 55 minutes.

 

I'm not calling hijinks here, just wondering -- are there times when teams have to go back and do something right?  For instance, if they're told to go by foot somewhere and they take a cab, have teams been forced to retrace their steps? 

 

I can see situations where it would be worthwhile just to take the penalty rather than do things right -- for instance, if you are supposed to take a train 10 miles but you find out it's delayed for an hour, you might just jump on a bus and take a risk on a penalty if you know the worst thing that can happen is you get penalized another half hour.

[Packerbrewerbadger]

I think what Packerbrewerbadger was asking is why there wasn't an additional penalty for buying the wrong class of tickets (the 30 minute penalty was for leaving from the wrong ferry location).

Exactly!! I see that as not following 2 separate directions. If the other teams had taken the right ferry but wrong class ticket would not they have been penalized ?

[Dobian]

I'm not calling hijinks here, just wondering -- are there times when teams have to go back and do something right?  For instance, if they're told to go by foot somewhere and they take a cab, have teams been forced to retrace their steps? 

 

I can see situations where it would be worthwhile just to take the penalty rather than do things right -- for instance, if you are supposed to take a train 10 miles but you find out it's delayed for an hour, you might just jump on a bus and take a risk on a penalty if you know the worst thing that can happen is you get penalized another half hour.

 

It's been so long and there are way better Amazing Race historians here than me, but there have been times in the past where Phil told a team they had to go back and retrace their steps.  Did they change that at some point to just make it a time penalty?

[HawaiiTVGuy]

Does anyone know if there are any rules as to when a team is assessed a penalty versus having to go back and "re-race" a mis-navigated portion? I was hoping they were going to force the Green team to go back to the Macau Ferry Terminal, take it back to the Kowloon Ferry Terminal, travel to the Hong Kong Ferry Terminal, and then travel back to Macau.

[Ellaria]

Any chance that Justin does a bit of self-evaluation before the final leg? (Ehh...me neither.) Ideally, I would love to see a little humility from him rather than tears and smugness.

 

I'm hoping that the suggestions from other posters are correct: the continual editing for the reporters about "2nd place finishes" means that they finish first in the final leg. Of course, then we will be subjected to Justin's complete meltdown and a re-appearance in the next "Unfinished Business" edition of TAR.

[Netfoot]

Does anyone know if there are any rules as to when a team is assessed a penalty versus having to go back and "re-race" a mis-navigated portion? I was hoping they were going to force the Green team to go back to the Macau Ferry Terminal, take it back to the Kowloon Ferry Terminal, travel to the Hong Kong Ferry Terminal, and then travel back to Macau.

 

I think if going back and correcting the error will take longer than the penalty, they just award the penalty.

 

"You were supposed to catch a different flight, so go back to China and catch the correct flight before you can check in!"

 

Obviously, not.

Edited December 7, 2015 by Netfoot

[backformore]

. The only thing I can hope for is Justin's getting thisclose to the win and losing. That would be entertaining.

 

Yes, I think that's what we're all hoping for.

In addition, though, I want it to be because he screwed something up.  I want it to be HIS fault.   preferably, a task where diana has an opinion and he over-rules her, because he thinks he is superior, and then the reason they lose is 100% because he made an error.   Then he will cry, and it will be an epic meltdown, sobbing and hitting himself in the head like a 3 year old having a tantrum.   It will be  on video for everyone to see.  And every one he ever encounters for the rest of his life will recognize him immediately as the cry baby from the Amazing race.  

[kingshearte]

Did you take swimming lessons?  Because it's a skill that needs to be taught, most people couldn't do that correctly without learning.  She also wasn't going to get very far with the splayed hands.  That's something that's taught early on not to do.  It's not unusual for a team to go home because they are poor swimmers.  Teams should always be prepared for swimming, it's always somewhere in the race.

I did, and I sucked at swimming underwater the whole way through.

[andromeda331]

I just wonder if they kept the fish in the same place?  It seems like too much work to move them and so if they were in the same place the entire time, I would have thought Krista would have just gone to the same location she saw Kelsey and Logan get the fish and focus herself in that area.  I don't even like the cheerleaders, but I wanted to see Justin get eliminated.  I just don't see why it took her that long to even see the fish if she knew the general area they were in.  I guess I could understand the contact lens argument, since I always have glasses on or contact lenses.

 

I wondered that too. Why didn't she go over where Logan and Diana found their fish and then look in every direction. 

Every time they showed her and the fish, Krista was looking in the same direction, away from the fish. They didn't show

her looking around. 

Edited December 7, 2015 by andromeda331

[andromeda331]

In addition, though, I want it to be because he screwed something up.  I want it to be HIS fault.   preferably, a task where diana has an opinion and he over-rules her, because he thinks he is superior, and then the reason they lose is 100% because he made an error.   Then he will cry, and it will be an epic meltdown, sobbing and hitting himself in the head like a 3 year old having a tantrum.   It will be  on video for everyone to see.  And every one he ever encounters for the rest of his life will recognize him immediately as the cry baby from the Amazing race.

This is how I want Justin eliminated. Agree 100%. I want it be a mistake that he makes and his alone. Not something

he can once again blame Diana or someone else. He fails to do a task or do it correctly, he makes the wrong choice

something. All him.

[John Seavey]

Does anyone know if there are any rules as to when a team is assessed a penalty versus having to go back and "re-race" a mis-navigated portion? I was hoping they were going to force the Green team to go back to the Macau Ferry Terminal, take it back to the Kowloon Ferry Terminal, travel to the Hong Kong Ferry Terminal, and then travel back to Macau.

 

I think it has to do with whether you've completed the task at all versus doing it right. The Track Stars, for example, simply didn't complete a portion of the leg--they didn't get the last clue. So they had to go back and do it over again. The Green Team at least took a ferry to their next destination, even if it was the wrong ferry, so they were penalized.

 

Also, I think teams are never penalized if they realize their own mistake and go back and do it right themselves. So if you get to the destination, re-read the clue just as you're about to get out of the taxi and see that it says, "travel by foot", and then retrace your steps and walk it, no penalty. But I think once you check in it's too late to try that, especially if it's at an early point in the leg and you can't simply retrace your steps.

[Starchild]

I'm very intrigued by Logan and Chris and their weird dynamics, so dysfunctional but seeming to work for them. Usually, bickering is the kiss of death on this show. Whenever a mellow team started bickering I always *knew* they were on the way out - in not that leg then the next. But these two have bucked the trend for so long that I'm weirdly starting to enjoy their antics. Then again I was a (probably the only) fan of Marie, who I thought was a hoot but who was universally hated, so maybe my tastes are peculiar :)  

I don't think we're seeing them melt down due to stress. I think this is their default behaviour, so they know how to cope that way.

 

Chris: Logan, we're out of orange juice!

Logan: I TOLD YOU!! I TOLD YOU TO STOP AND GET SOME ON THE WAY HOME LAST NIGHT!!

Chris: I THOUGHT WE STILL HAD SOME LEFT! I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE ENOUGH FOR BOTH OF US!

Logan: PUT THAT DOWN! THAT'S MINE! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO FORGOT SO YOU'RE THE ONE WHO DOESN'T GET ANY!!!

Chris: FINE! I'M LEAVING!!

Logan: FINE, JUST LEAVE! I'LL SEE YOU TONIGHT!! LOVE YOU!

Chris: LOVE YOU TOO!!

[Lemons]

I did, and I sucked at swimming underwater the whole way through.

That's good that you didn't give up even though you might not have been "made" for swimming. Swimming under water is not so easy although some people do take to the water like fish.

The cheerleader was just a terrible swimmer with no technique. I do give her credit for not holding her nose when she jumped in. I still do if I jump In feet first and I raced as a kid and was a lifeguard in high school.

[North of Eden]

WHY!WHY!WHY! Does every thing have to go Justin's way?! This WOULD have been the best episode ever if Green Team had been sent home by their own undoing. I had my fingers crosseed hoping the girls would arrive. It was so great to see Justin stop all his idiotic hooting and hollering when they were behind.

 

In episode one I felt sorry for him when he was crying but that was before I knew he was a Super Douche. This episode I was laughing when he was crying and I laughed every time the  banner came up saying JUSTIN AND DIANA CURRENTLY IN LAST PLACE.

 

The season can still be salvaged if Justin comes in third....because I think that would bother him for the rest of his life...and I hope its because of another screw up on his behalf.

Edited December 8, 2015 by North of Eden

[Ducky]

I'm surprised at all the ... anger? Anger that is directed to Justin. His behavior is embarrassing to him, so I would get scorn. But anger? 

 

 

Racers have been penalized in the past for choosing a taxi over a clue that says walk. So there have been penalties for choosing an alternative mode of transit. Now, whether there have been penalties for choosing a different route, which essentially was the case with the ferry situation, I don't remember.

 

  It isn't anger- it's annoyance and frustration at how he is representing America and to a lesser extent himself.  He's portraying the Ugly American vibe (notably in this episode) strongly as well as what someone else mentioned- a sense of entitlement- "I deserve to be in the record books of TAR and I'm going to mention it every chance I get- production prompting or not".   That's my view, I can't speak for others here.

 

I'm just plain annoyed and cranky.

[jhlipton]

  It isn't anger- it's annoyance and frustration at how he is representing America and to a lesser extent himself.  

 

Ity's also annoyance and frustration at TAR for spending so much time on this loser.  Yes, he's in the lead (and so is his plus-one) but they don't have to show every smirk he makes.

[Netfoot]

There have been suggestions of race-tampering in the past, and I've always dismissed them.  If it were true, it would leak, and it would destroy the credibility of the show.  But there is one way they could tamper with the race, and get away with it.  The last few seasons, I've wondered about it.  And never more than this season.

 

During casting, you come across a super-fan who pours on the charm, and you think "This guy would make a great winner!  All the fans in TV-land will be thrilled to think the game was dominated by, and won by, one of their own!"  So, what do you do?  You make sure that the other teams you select all have a fatal flaw or two, and are unlikely to pull off the win.  At the end of the day you have one -- or maybe two -- teams that have the potential to win, and the rest are deliberately selected for their suitability as cannon fodder.

 

Justin is not a great racer.  He is competent, and he is running an easy race with weak competition.  If he takes the prize, it will be because he raced better than the others (which isn't saying a lot), and from that perspective, he will have deserved the win.

 

That being said, he is a most unlikable man, who is a poor sport, conceited, vainglorious, and exhibits a weak character.  His artificial bonhomie irritates rather than entertains, and the way he treats Diana actually concerns me.  (Ignoring her suggestions and belittling her contribution when things are going well, so he can reap the glory of success for himself.  Angry and abusive when things go awry, perhaps in an effort to shed the blame and drape the mantle of failure solely around her shoulders.  That woman needs to dump his ass.)  If he gets the win, he will go through life telling himself (and anyone else who will listen) that he is one of the greatest TAR racers of all time.  And he will be oblivious to the fact that he is one of the most disliked (if not actively hated) racers in the history of the race.

[green]

I'm not calling hijinks here, just wondering -- are there times when teams have to go back and do something right?  For instance, if they're told to go by foot somewhere and they take a cab, have teams been forced to retrace their steps? 

 

I can see situations where it would be worthwhile just to take the penalty rather than do things right -- for instance, if you are supposed to take a train 10 miles but you find out it's delayed for an hour, you might just jump on a bus and take a risk on a penalty if you know the worst thing that can happen is you get penalized another half hour.

 

 

It's been so long and there are way better Amazing Race historians here than me, but there have been times in the past where Phil told a team they had to go back and retrace their steps.  Did they change that at some point to just make it a time penalty?

 

In TAR3 the young Harvard lawyer ladies took a taxi instead of walking to the pitstop.  They were given a time penality that eliminated them.

 

John Seavey described the difference really well above.  If you either miss a cluebox -- (example: TAR5 - both the Twins and Chip & Kim missed the cluebox telling them the detour options and just followed an arrow to one of the detour option tasks instead so they both had to go back and get the clue from the cluebox though they didn't have to re-do the detour task over again of course) -- or skip a task (TAR3 - Wonder Twins in Ho Chi Minh City missing both the cluebox and the task and seeing a ferry decided to cross the river to look for the clue across the river and found the mat instead) you have to go back.

 

As for people saying that the Green Team should have been penalitized multiple times for one infraction as in tickets plus going to the wrong ferry.  First you get a penality for failing to follow a "set" of directions for a task, not each individual one.  That's why Phil always says something about not following "the directions" (plural) in these cases.  Plus the 25 minutes added on to the half hour "did't follow the directionS" penality?  That covered the wrong ferry's time advantage.  Perfectly fair penalies in accordance with how the Race has always dealt with these things.

[John Seavey]

 

During casting, you come across a super-fan who pours on the charm, and you think "This guy would make a great winner!  All the fans in TV-land will be thrilled to think the game was dominated by, and won by, one of their own!"  So, what do you do?  You make sure that the other teams you select all have a fatal flaw or two, and are unlikely to pull off the win.  At the end of the day you have one -- or maybe two -- teams that have the potential to win, and the rest are deliberately selected for their suitability as cannon fodder.

 

I'm not going to automatically discount this idea, but I do have to say that I don't think the production team are that good at picking winners and losers. I think that many of the eliminated teams looked very strong on paper (Josh and Tanner, Cindy and Rick, Jazmine and Danielle) and some of the teams that stayed in it a long time were ones I thought would go out early (Denise and James Earl, Logan and Chris, Tiffany and Krista). I think it's very difficult to know ahead of time who's going to do well, and I don't know that I believe the production team is any better at it than we are. :)

 

I think they picked Justin for the same reason they pick a lot of people--he had an interesting hook (the fake Race), he had a vivid personality that would come out on camera (they don't necessarily care about whether it's positively or negatively--the show needs heels as well as faces) and he was physically capable of doing the tasks. It doesn't need to be more complicated than that.

[RCharter]

There have been suggestions of race-tampering in the past, and I've always dismissed them.  If it were true, it would leak, and it would destroy the credibility of the show.  But there is one way they could tamper with the race, and get away with it.  The last few seasons, I've wondered about it.  And never more than this season.

 

During casting, you come across a super-fan who pours on the charm, and you think "This guy would make a great winner!  All the fans in TV-land will be thrilled to think the game was dominated by, and won by, one of their own!"  So, what do you do?  You make sure that the other teams you select all have a fatal flaw or two, and are unlikely to pull off the win.  At the end of the day you have one -- or maybe two -- teams that have the potential to win, and the rest are deliberately selected for their suitability as cannon fodder.

 

Justin is not a great racer.  He is competent, and he is running an easy race with weak competition.  If he takes the prize, it will be because he raced better than the others (which isn't saying a lot), and from that perspective, he will have deserved the win.

 

That being said, he is a most unlikable man, who is a poor sport, conceited, vainglorious, and exhibits a weak character.  His artificial bonhomie irritates rather than entertains, and the way he treats Diana actually concerns me.  (Ignoring her suggestions and belittling her contribution when things are going well, so he can reap the glory of success for himself.  Angry and abusive when things go awry, perhaps in an effort to shed the blame and drape the mantle of failure solely around her shoulders.  That woman needs to dump his ass.)  If he gets the win, he will go through life telling himself (and anyone else who will listen) that he is one of the greatest TAR racers of all time.  And he will be oblivious to the fact that he is one of the most disliked (if not actively hated) racers in the history of the race.

I absolutely agree with the bolded part.  I don't think he is a great racer.  I don't think they have performed the tasks all that well.  I think its been a mixture of skill and luck that have allowed them to catch earlier trains which have put them far ahead of the competition and use public transportation to their advantage.  I think these are things they probably thought of while running a mini race that the others did not.  I think they have been at worst, competent....at best, good....but not great.  The fact that they have dominated speaks more about the other teams.

[Special K]

I apologize for ever defending Justin on these boards.  He is the worst.  Diana is responsible for her own fate now.

 

My voyeuristic fascination with Chris and Logan continues to grow. I don't think they should win or anything, but since I stopped worrying about the health of their relationship, I've enjoyed them like watching a cartoon or a sitcom.  I cracked up when he said, "See you always disagree with me, but I know things." Hilarious!  He's like a toxic hapless Phil Dunphy. They are like a low-brow, not-hyper-articulate version of George and Martha in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf.  Minus all the booze.

[John Seavey]

My voyeuristic fascination with Chris and Logan continues to grow. I don't think they should win or anything, but since I stopped worrying about the health of their relationship, I've enjoyed them like watching a cartoon or a sitcom.  I cracked up when he said, "See you always disagree with me, but I know things." Hilarious!  He's like a toxic hapless Phil Dunphy. They are like a low-brow, not-hyper-articulate version of George and Martha in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf.  Minus all the booze.

 

Oh gosh yes! They remind me of Hayley and Blair--at some point the dysfunction became so ludicrous and over-the-top that it just sort of became funny. When she out and out said that she was happy to sit in the make-up chair because it meant being away from Chris for a few minutes, I just about choked in laughter--it's what I was thinking, but I never expected her to say it.

[BusyOctober]

I am not a religious person but I have been praying to any and all deities that Green Team will lose.  I want the News reporters to win and I don't care if Justin & Diana are #2 or #3, just don't let them win. Of course if any other team does win over Green, I know there will be more camera time for Justin's tear stained, snot laden face. I know I'm pushing my luck, but I've also added a PS prayer that they don't get a 2nd chance on a TAR All Star season.  If they race ever again I will have to skip that season.  Justin sets my teeth on edge for some reason.  It's almost irrational.  Good thing this season is almost over or I'd have to seek counseling.

[barbedwire]

Come on Kelsey and Joey!  Win the leg that matters!  Make Justin cry like the baby he is.

[Special K]

Oh gosh yes! They remind me of Hayley and Blair--at some point the dysfunction became so ludicrous and over-the-top that it just sort of became funny. When she out and out said that she was happy to sit in the make-up chair because it meant being away from Chris for a few minutes, I just about choked in laughter--it's what I was thinking, but I never expected her to say it.

 

Totally!  I could almost see Chris and Logan in their own reality show.  Not that I'd watch it, mind you.

 

Can you imagine?  Justin's head would explode!!