S28.E08: I Have A Wedgie And A Half

[Hera]

I've really enjoyed the last few legs of the race and am pleased to see that the teams are finally having to drive and navigate for themselves.

 

 

I thought that Burnie and Ashley were a great team this week. When Ashley said she couldn't do the bike racing again, he immediately said (without any judgment, accusation, or meanness), "Do you want to switch? Okay, let's switch tasks." He was so calm and non-dickish about it that it sounded like he was asking, "Oh, you don't want pasta for dinner? How about tacos? Sounds good to me!" I feel like a lot of times when only one person in the team wants to switch tasks, we often see the other person get an attitude about it or try to convince the other person to stay at the first task, so it was nice to see him not do either of those things. I also liked how much they enjoyed taking their camels for a walk (as opposed to Dana bitching the entire time).

Also compare Burnie and Ashley to Zach and Rachel, where she clearly said when they got their clue that she wasn't good on a bike and then again, while they were on their way to the racetrack, that she didn't feel comfortable going fast on a bike. Once she persuaded him to switch (which he was reluctant to do), he got all passive-aggressive and pretended she had somehow been vague about not wanting to race camels in the first place. It seemed to me that he had basically decided unilaterally that they were going to do the race detour and while I can see why that might make sense strategically—it probably was the faster choice, assuming you could get it on the first or second try—that hinges on both people being on board with the task, and she clearly wasn't. They could have finished ahead of Burnie and Ashley if he hadn't ignored her obvious discomfort and stated preferences from the get-go.

 

As for Dana and Matt, I had a little bit of sympathy for her when she talked about how she's from a family of people who yell—I suspect she has never had a good model for healthy and productive communication and I don't think Matt has been all that helpful in that regard, for reasons that other posters have outlined. I hope that this experience will encourage them to seek counselling, since this problem is totally solvable.

[RCharter]

I was wondering if she is so used to him not listening that she just screams to begin with.

Although I did not think she was screaming when she first gave him the directions, even though it was apparently not the first time she said them. He asked if she said turn right, and she said something like, "No, I said turn a slight left on (some road) and then in the roundabout, take the thhird right." And then he said, "Which way do I go?" (Or something like that.) I would have told him to get out and let me drive, except that he probably can't navigate either. I did wonder why he didn't ask if she wanted to drive when she was mad at him for not listening.

I also wondered if the men told him the same directions Dana did, if he would listen to them.

In my experience with directions from the internet/GPS...."slight left" can mean anything from a full left turn, to getting in the left lane, to a suggestion that you just look to the left.  So, its possible he saw a left turn and wasn't sure how to proceed.  And given that she had two eyes AND the entire set of directions, she could have helped instead of bitching at him.  

 

I have no reason to believe that he doesn't listen to her, because he shows her more deference and respect than I ever would with some screeching harpy.  I do think that being in an unfamiliar location and being told a bloc of directions....one of which involved a turnabout and a "slight left" and then being basically abandoned to figure all of that out while trying to navigate in a foreign country may have been a bit much for him.  I know it would have been a lot for me, no matter who was giving me the directions.

Edited April 17, 2016 by RCharter

[millennium]

 

I don't think Matt wasn't listening, I think Matt wasn't understanding. I am pretty good at directions and navigating, but I didn't understand her the first time she said it - it was like she was saying to turn onto the same street twice. I wish we knew more about where she got the directions from and what it looked like - was it a paragraph with no commas or was she just reading a list?  He is busy dealing with traffic she should be trying to interpret the directions.  

 

I couldn't help thinking about Dana watching this episode - hopefully alone on her couch or during a visit with a therapist (Free Matt!).  I wonder if, as she watched, she was thinking "Wow, I was way over the line" or "See, this was all his fault."

 

I think Matt was trying to abdicate responsibility.    Dana's directions sounded pretty clear to me, but he kept insisting she tell him what to do.   He was determined to leave no margin for his own interpretation.   That way, if he screwed up, made a right instead of a left, whatever, it wouldn't be on him because he could claim that she told him what to do.  

 

I suspect Matt is running this race in utter dread that he will be the one to make a game-ending mistake because he doesn't want to deal with either the self-recrimination or the flak from Dana.     Notice that he was content to simply wander off while Dana had her meltdown.   Why?  Because by that point, even if they were eliminated from the race, the blame would be on her.   That he could live with.

 

Sure, Dana lost it.   But Matt's ploy to divest himself of responsibility was transparent and immature.   He behaved like he had no brain of his own (my father would have called it "playing Mickey the Dunce").     I think that's what made Dana go postal -- the realization that Matt was refusing to carry his share of the weight.  

Edited April 17, 2016 by millennium

[greyhorse]

I enjoyed the tasks, although it seemed to me that the camel biking was too easy.  If they lost, they got a huge head start, and none of the teams had any issues with beating the camels on their second try.  Even Tyler, who looked like he wasn't even attempting to go fast.

 

I think Brodie gave up too early on the floating puzzle.  It was obvious that the letters had to go on the front, I'm not sure why he thought the show would have asked him to spell "Race" backwards.  At least they still finished first.  I wonder if this will come back to bite them, I think he said he could use the pass for two more legs, so I hope they don't need it next week.

As much as I like Zach and Rachel, she was just pathetic on the bike.  Spit up my milk when after the first race started, she found it a convenient time to tell Zach that she has a fear of going too fast on a bike.  Guess that's one little nugget that he didn't know about her.  To her credit, she did say she didn't want to do the bikes in the first place.  But to watch her just cruising on the bike, pedaling a few strokes, then letting her feet rest...it was all sorts of pathetic.  Meanwhile Brodie and Kurt do all frisbee players proud and show that they are indeed athletic.  Pretty impressive watching their cadence and getting the win on the first try without the huge head start.  I too thought that it was too easy the second time, although it was hard to know how big a head start they were given, or if it was mentioned I missed it.

 

Not sure why Brodie thought the letters would go on the back either.  TPTB and the cameras would want to focus on you spelling RACE, so I have no idea why he thought it should be the other way.  Hard to tell, but perhaps the "grooves" were deeper on the front side so once a letter locked into place, it would be less likely to move out of place.

 

The gold bikinis and trunks were cruel to the racers, but hilarious.  Dana was holding her arms across her chest trying not to pop out of it, although in later shots it looked like hers fit pretty well.  Ashley's top looked dangerously low, but she rocked it and wasn't embarrassed in the least.  And Sheri...I'm disagreeing with others here who say she looked awesome.  What I saw were some grotesque oversized implants that were itching to spill their way out of that top.  To each their own, I suppose.

 

Have we ever seen a post-elimination shot at the beginning of the episode?  Why in the past have we heard so many times racers say "we're not really sure who got eliminated last leg so we'll have to see who shows up today"?  It does depend on when the leg finishes, so if they finish at night, they go to their own hotel rooms or whatever.  I wasn't aware that teams just sat around waiting to be wrangled and sent off to the rest area.  They're really pushing this Blair and Brodie thing, and the irony is that the majority of viewers don't really care.  What's next, an update of Brodie and Blair and their vacation to Helsinki?

 

Hate that Cole gets his butt saved again.

[RCharter]

 

I think Matt was trying to abdicate responsibility.    Dana's directions sounded pretty clear to me, but he kept insisting she tell him what to do.   He was determined to leave no margin for his own interpretation.   That way, if he screwed up, made a right instead of a left, whatever, it wouldn't be on him because he could claim that she told him what to do.  

 

I suspect Matt is running this race in utter dread that he will be the one to make a game-ending mistake because he doesn't want to deal with either the self-recrimination or the flak from Dana.     Notice that he was content to simply wander off while Dana had her meltdown.   Why?  Because by that point, even if they were eliminated from the race, the blame would be on her.   That he could live with.

 

Sure, Dana lost it.   But Matt's ploy to divest himself of responsibility was transparent and immature.   He behaved like he had no brain of his own (my father would have called it "playing Mickey the Dunce").     I think that's what made Dana go postal -- the realization that Matt was refusing to carry his share of the weight.  

But thats kind of the role of the navigator.  The driver has to drive and is responsible for driving safely and following directions and the navigator is responsible for navigating.  The person navigating....should take the place of the navigating GPS as much as possible, which should mean giving turn by turn directions.

 

If the job of navigator is to simply rattle off directions before you leave the location, then there is no reason for a second person to really be there, the driver could just read the directions on their own.

 

If she didn't want the responsibility of navigation, she should have insisted on driving.  But if you're navigating, it shouldn't be a matter of rattling off directions and then taking it easy, which is exactly what she seemed to be doing.  She was the only one who mentioned anything about how it would be all Matt's fault if they lost, so it seems to me like she was the one who wanted to hand off responsibility to Matt so she could be "blameless."

 

If Matt ultimately wanted to avoid responsibility he would have had Dana drive...given her the same shitty directions she gave him and then watched her melt down as he failed to give her any additional help.  

Edited April 18, 2016 by RCharter

[millennium]

But thats kind of the role of the navigator.  The driver has to drive and is responsible for driving safely and following directions and the navigator is responsible for navigating.  The person navigating....should take the place of the navigating GPS as much as possible, which should mean giving turn by turn directions.

 

If the job of navigator is to simply rattle off directions before you leave the location, then there is no reason for a second person to really be there, the driver could just read the directions on their own.

 

If she didn't want the responsibility of navigation, she should have insisted on driving.  But if you're navigating, it shouldn't be a matter of rattling off directions and then taking it easy, which is exactly what she seemed to be doing.  She was the only one who mentioned anything about how it would be all Matt's fault if they lost, so it seems to me like she was the one who wanted to hand off responsibility to Matt so she could be "blameless."

 

If Matt ultimately wanted to avoid responsibility he would have had Dana drive...given her the same shitty directions she gave him and then watched her melt down as he failed to give her any additional help.  

 

From where I sat, Matt played ignorant before the car started moving.   It was like he heard what Dana said but couldn't be bothered to process it.  Or he heard it but refused to take responsibility for his next action.   So he demanded that Dana take him by the hand.   I'm surprised he didn't demand instructions like "turn the key in the ignition, check the mirror, move away from the curb, turn on your left directional, proceed to the intersection," etc.   I think it was all CYA on his part, consciously or not.

[Dobian]

Poor Mika; five and a half years later she's still being given a hard time over that slide. I wonder if she or Canaan had a PTSD flashback upon viewing this ep.

 

That was 5 1/2 years ago?  Jeez where does the time go?  It feels like I watched that only a year or two ago.

[SnideAsides]

Worse. It was six and a half years ago.

[proserpina65]

Two thoughts on this episode:

 

Damn, good for Sheri beating the racing camels!

 

I really enjoyed the sight of Burnie in his tiny gold swimsuit.  Dad bods rule!

At the risk - read certainty - of sounding like a total sexist pig can I say that Sheri totally rocked that gold bikini. She is a total Mother I'd Like to ... Get to know.

I don't swing that way, but I agree 100%.  She looked great.

[proserpina65]

I cringed when the couple kissed on he mat as personal displays of affection in public are a strict No No in muslim countries - although since the TV crews are there with them, there was probably a little leeway.

 

Dana was a right b**ch to her guy - i think he shold dump her fast if that is her real personality !

 

 

It was a Bond reference - a bit of Thunderball with the white bikini and belt and Goldfinger, i think, with the sharks.

The sharks were also Thunderball.

[proserpina65]

What I saw were some grotesque oversized implants that were itching to spill their way out of that top.

 

Regardless of anyone's opinion of her appearance in the bikini, I see no reason to assume Sheri has implants.  Yes, she has large breasts, but women can have those naturally, and they aren't always proportionate to the rest of the body.

 

FTR, I don't care one way or the other, and don't think anyone else should care either.  I give her credit for wearing that bikini without getting too hyped up about it being embarrassing.  Same for Ashley.  Me, I would've died of humiliation, but then again, I'd have looked awful in it.

Edited April 18, 2016 by proserpina65

[Jersey Guy 87]

I don't mind Tyler's mugging.. it's his personality- he seems to do with out trying like other teams have done in the past (Justiiiin....) nor do I mind Cole...he's what 21? Eh... at least he is right there encouraging his mama.  Speaking of his Mama Sheri... I'm more impressed with her as the weeks go by.  I really like her.  She knocked out that bike race (and complained less than the Frisbee boys!).

 

 

While I've grown to like Sheri (being associated with Cole caused me to dislike her at first, she's proven to be much more enjoyable than her son, though) I'm not going to give her credit for complaining less than the Frisbee dudes after the camel race.  They knocked it off on the first try, without a big head start.  They were the only team to do that and they really, really had to race hard to do so.  Of course they were physically wiped out from it - I don't think teams were expected to beat the camels without a head start (otherwise they would not have given such a generous head start on the second attempt).

 

Why was Rachel not in gold bikini?

 

As others have said she was, she just had a tank top over her gold bikini.  Why she was the only one to do that I have no idea.

 

The one thing I will say in defense of Dana's behavior later is that she was reading directions to their destination and he was clearly not listening and then asking her to repeat the same directions AND questioning whether they were correct, which is really annoying. Look, dude, she hasn't been to Dubai before either. It's not like she's tellng you how to get to her house or somewhere she's been a million times. She is reading the directions to you as they appear in front of her. She can't tell if they're right or not any more than you can so just listen to what she's saying and follow the directions. But yeah, her meltdown was painful to watch.

 

I give both of them some blame for the initial issue arising - Matt seemed determined to not process the directions Dana gave him.  However, after that she really fell apart and that was on her.

 

Overall, a good leg.  There were opportunities to switch places, the tasks were interesting and any leg with camels is a good leg.

[How Bout That]

The women team members went into the oasis camp where they got the bread and camel milk. If you mean where they got the gnome and the clue, perhaps an all women team would have had to wear a hijab to get the clue. I would hope TAR would always respect local customs.

 

 

Just wondering, are women allowed to drive in Dubai?

[auntlada]

Just wondering, are women allowed to drive in Dubai?

Apparently, at least foreign women. Sheri drove. I think.

[Tara Ariano]

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

 

You Say Dubai, The Amazing Race Says Hello
Sleepy sharks and speedy camels await the Amazing Racers in Dubai, where one team totally comes unglued in the desert heat.

[kingshearte]

I just can't with Dana. While I agree that they both bear some responsibility for their communication problems, I have to wonder: does she just go ahead and declare the relationship over every time they have a fight? His reaction seemed blase enough that I can only assume it's not the first time she's said such a thing, and, I don't know. To me, that's just not OK. I think I'd accept that once, or maybe twice, and then I'd be calling the person's bluff. I just have no patience for over-the-top meltdowns and belittling as a form of communication. I just seriously can't even deal with her.

 

Perhaps we could have Sheri race with Matt? I agree with someone upthread who said that her association with Cole turned me off initially, but she has totally grown on me. Him, I find mostly useless and just generally irritating. I would have thrown him out a window by now if I had to live with him, I think. He doesn't seem like a horrible person, just... annoying.

 

And Brodie, man. He's still growing on me. I didn't even mind the screeching through the camel race. It came across as genuinely motivating, and even if he was yelling his partner's name, it still came across (to me at least) as really being directed at both Kurt and himself. And I have to be honest: I was pretty impressed that they did manage to beat those camels. You know they're in pretty decent shape (everyone I know who plays Ultimate certainly is), and they were pushing hard, only barely beat the camels, and were so wiped after that they both basically fell over for a few minutes. Others saw excessive whining, but personally, I'd be lying if I said I didn't find that performance a little hot.

 

Burnie and Ashley are still my faves. Quiet competence is just so delightful to me.

[piequinn35]

Why the f Dana is still on this race. go home b#$%h

[survivinmt]

Brodie freaking out with the puzzle was humorous. They (mostly Brodie) have a serious hang up with being first though and need to remember that the key is not being LAST. Why he wouldn't work on the puzzle until at least ONE other team came and maybe cheat off them a little to figure it out? Would have been the thing to do, in my opinion.

Dana was melting down the entire leg. She did the Roadblock too so she had no time to just take a sip of water and a DEEP BREATH. I think she would have lost it last week too if the Roadblock had been anything other than a dance routine. I think the most heinous thing she said is, "I am SO disappointed in you!" That is just not something you say to the person you love unless they have purposefully betrayed you. Even then . . . My family yells too but they are not hateful or nasty.

The swim suit thing  . . . sheesh. But Brodie had his shorts on under his and Rachel wore her t-shirt over hers, so there were options. I think that coffin thing would be far easier than sending yourself down one of those steep slides. No effort on your part, just play "Let Gravity Take You." (That's one of my favorite car games from childhood - back of the station wagon, all the seats down, no seat belts - lucky I'm alive probably.)

[iMonrey]

On the one hand, Dana did tell Matt "turn left" about a dozen times and he never seemed to hear her. On the other hand, I'm not giving her any kind of pass on this because it's clear she's mostly miserable because he's not as miserable as she is. Witness the fiasco of the camel-leading detour. She was more bent out of shape because Matt wasn't as miserable as she was than just by being hot and tired. She seems to get so annoyed by the fact that he's trying to put a positive spin on things! So it's no wonder he's developed a habit of tuning her out. I just don't know why they're still together. I suspect they have little in common besides dancing but since dancing is their big thing he stays with her. 

 

Cole really is useless, and at the risk of being the cranky old man who wants the kids off his lawn, he seems like the typical millennial who never learned to do anything for himself and that's at least partly on Sheri. He couldn't even read the damn map and she had to reach back and grab it from him with a sympathetic "Oh, sweetie!" like she's just used to doing everything for him. Well, maybe that's why he cant' do anything for himself, lady.

 

Tasks were pretty good this leg though, and the pervy/shallow side of me really appreciated the tight gold spandex swimsuits. And I don't blame Tyler one bit for trying to entice Phil into the traditional Bedouin greeting. You know you want to touch noses with Phil too, admit it! 

[Rick Kitchen]

While I've grown to like Sheri (being associated with Cole caused me to dislike her at first, she's proven to be much more enjoyable than her son, though) I'm not going to give her credit for complaining less than the Frisbee dudes after the camel race.  They knocked it off on the first try, without a big head start.  They were the only team to do that and they really, really had to race hard to do so.  Of course they were physically wiped out from it - I don't think teams were expected to beat the camels without a head start (otherwise they would not have given such a generous head start on the second attempt).

 

 

As others have said she was, she just had a tank top over her gold bikini.  Why she was the only one to do that I have no idea.

 

 

I give both of them some blame for the initial issue arising - Matt seemed determined to not process the directions Dana gave him.  However, after that she really fell apart and that was on her.

 

Overall, a good leg.  There were opportunities to switch places, the tasks were interesting and any leg with camels is a good leg.

 

But Dana was in full bitch mode before that, when they were leading the camels, and she was screeching how dare Matt not be as miserable as she was.

[North of Eden]

Just watched now.

 

On an extremely shallow note...sweet baby Jesus..Sheri is a Golden Goddess in that bikini. She is so awesome that I can't figure out how she has such an embarasing tool for a son.

 

At the end I knew there was NO WAY they were eliminated because as I have been protesting for years...the confessionals tend to ruin things. You could tell by their happy demeanor that they did not get eliminated prior to the interviews...and you could tell something was amiss with Dana.

 

Speaking of Sheri and Cole...when they were lost they needed to take what I call the Montreal Approach. When I got lost in Montreal and was heading up by Dorval Airport when I was suppose to be going downtown....I just kept driving towards the TALL BUILDINGS! And with one of the tallest buildings in  the world to guide you they should have been able to  turn their car around and head back towards the city because they had to know Atlantis was in the city.

 

In other news when Phil said the new slide was scarier than the Leap of Faith I gritted my teeth because I went on the one in the Bahama some years back and I have NEVER been that scared in my life! I would never do it again..no way...no how..nothing doing1

 

Snap...they must have paid royalty money for Sweet Georgia Brown on the Globetrotter seasons...they needed to spend some money here to use John Williams JAWS and STAR WARS themes at the appropriate moments.

 

In said news...ratings went fractional...possible for the first time...maybe this cast just isn't clicking.

 

And finally THANK YOU Phil for not indulging Tyler and his stupid antics at the mat. He does not want you near him. Not everyone in the world thinks you are a special snow flake.

[Guest]

Why the f Dana is still on this race. go home b#$%h

You know you can just say fuck and bitch, here.  Dana's still here because she hasn't been eliminated.   It's part of the show's formula.  Cast people with short fuses and then light a fire under their asses with stress and fatigue and let viewers enjoy the fireworks and that feeling of superiority for not being the one melting down on tv. 

[piequinn35]

^Oh okay :) if that bitch did the bike challenge, her whining would be triple than her whining in the walking challenge.

The rooster teeth switched and they were fine! Hope that bitch goes home on Friday! :)

[holly4755]

I thought Sherri had the most modest of the bikinis, her top actually was a top instead of a strip of cloth with straps.other than that, I think I am fine with this cast, even though they do strange not always smartest of moves

[daisycat]

When confused about the difference between Zach and Rachel, and Dana and Matt, look for the ones that look like brother and sister. That's Dana and Matt. It creeps me out.

 

Speaking of Zach and Rachel, my 16-year-old daughter (who's not a terrible romantic), paused Zach and Rachel during one of the confessionals, and sighed, "just LOOK at the way he looks at her!" Oh bless.

 

I love Burnie and Ashley. That is all.

[Jobiska]

When confused about the difference between Zach and Rachel, and Dana and Matt, look for the ones that look like brother and sister. That's Dana and Matt. It creeps me out.

Wow, they look absolutely nothing alike to me except their faces are both sort of oval with a sort of pointy chin, and they are both fit.  Coloration, features, body build, the way they move...nothing is similar!  Also how they react to stress and conflict, but that's been pointed out above, heh.

I had almost been won over by Dana's grouchiness in a grudging way by the time she growled "I don't want to be beat by BOYS!"  It was sort of so over the top.  And about him wearing the flannel shirt in the desert.  But then I was of course not pleased with her reaction to the navigation snafu--but he was saying absolutely nothing to her (to me) very clear and easy directions.  I get what folks are saying that some people lay all the directions out and maybe other people need one at a time, but sometimes you just can't do one at a time.  If what she was seeing was that immediately after a slight left he would be in the roundabout where he'd have to take the 3rd exit, well, she was conveying that.  And he didn't say "wait, say it again" or "I don't see a left" or anything like that...he just acted like she was talking in, well, Georgian!  Yes, she was over the top and said some really unkind things, but I would have been really frustrated had a traveling partner acted like that.  

I really agree with folks upthread who say he shuts down and she escalates and it's a real mismatch that hopefully they can get help with if they stay together for the long haul.

I think we've seen a lot worse over the years, including Logan and Chris last season.  Her comments after the mat seemed really regretful and sincere.  She seemed almost as upset about how she acted as she did during the conflict.  Mileage may vary, of course, but I still don't think she's as horrible as many.   We'll see how things proceed, I guess.

She did at least say sweet things to the camels before they started out, and was not grossed out by them or the milk, so that was something!

I assumed the gold bathing suits were more "Dubai is really really well off and luxe and over-the-top" and "we haven't put them in enough costumes so far this season" rather than any reference to Bond.  Now had a gold-bikinied Bond heroine been in a Bond movie set in Dubai, I might think otherwise, but as far as I can tell above references are to 1960s era Bond movies, and the first (only?) Bond movie set in Dubai was skyfall, so...I think it's about excess and wealth and making the racers uncomfortable.  

The thing that most struck my husband and me was the percentage of cranes that Phil said are in Dubai!  We saw the Philly skyline this morning, complete with cranes, and muttered "but I bet we'd have even more if Dubai weren't bogarting them all!"

 

[blackwing]

When confused about the difference between Zach and Rachel, and Dana and Matt, look for the ones that look like brother and sister. That's Dana and Matt. It creeps me out.

I don't think Dana and Matt look like brother and sister in the least.  He has blondish hair, light blue eyes, is tall, and lean.  He looks like he has a classic ballroom or ballet dancer's body, very lithe.  She looks like classic Southern Italian ethnicity with her dark hair and dark eyes.  She's shortish and kind of squat.  I'm not sure what kind of dancing they do on their videos, but her body looks more like a hip hop or cheerleading dance squad dancer.

 

I didn't understand that weird useless belt was supposed to be a James Bond homage.  I thought it was supposed to be something used in the shark task, but it wasn't.

[Jobiska]

I didn't understand that weird useless belt was supposed to be a James Bond homage.  I thought it was supposed to be something used in the shark task, but it wasn't.

I still think it was to hold the mic pack.  If it were part of the costume, it would have been a lot more attractive.

[SomeTameGazelle]

[Matt] has blondish hair, light blue eyes, is tall, and lean.

I was so surprised by "blondish" that I went looking for photos and couldn't find any in which Matt wasn't wearing a hat. So now

that the issue is moot

I have a way to tell the difference.

[Supay]

Originally-Saudi Ali is a cosmopolite par excellence:

 

[lianau]

The thing is....I don't know of many people who could take a paragraph of directions in a completely foreign location.  I don't think I could.  When I navigate I'll normally give the person the paragraph version of the directions, but I will also give them the step by step directions, and be on the lookout.  It sort of seems like an asshole move to think that you'll just give a person a solid paragraph of directions and then sit back and consider your job done.  And it really rubbed me wrong when she was saying something to the effect of "well, it won't be my fault when we lose," which reads to me more like she is concerned about things not being her fault than actually succeeding at the task, and helping her partner.

After my mother bought her first GPS system , we went to try it out and we had a fight in the car that sounded almost like Dana and Matt  here . I was looking at the screen of that thing and telling her stuff like "turn left in 300 meters"  . However my mother wasn't seeing the screen so she would then ask me every intersection if she now had to turn left  and I thought she was really trying to be really stupid on purpose .  I had an entire map in front of me , she didn't . 

[laserlady]

On 4/16/2016 at 7:08 AM, wings707 said:

 

They just would not be allowed in.  They have very strict laws about women.  Well everything really.  The racers were protected by the government.  TV/movies bring in the tourist trade.  Tourism constitutes 85% of their wealth, not oil. 

 

Here are some of their laws. Most tourists stay in hotel conclaves  where they are protected.  There is no venturing out into the local scene as one usually does when exploring a foreign country. 

 

http://www.realityviews.in/2010/01/going-to-dubai-know-41-laws-do-and.html

I'm a woman, and I visited Dubai a few months ago by myself.  I wandered all over the city on my own, and it was perfectly fine.  And women don't have to wear hijabs or anything like that in Dubai.  The malls tend to have signs saying that you should wear "decent clothing," but that just means nothing sleeveless, and even that isn't strictly enforced.

I didn't race any camels or go down any water slides while I was there, but I did take one of the abras across the Dubai Creek, and I visited the Gold Souk (the site of the pit stop).  It's always fun when the Amazing Race goes somewhere that I've been myself.

[aradia22]

Like Korey, I was really happy to see the gnome.

I feel like they're harder on them than they've been in a few really weak recent seasons (the married doctors/Afghanimals season comes to mind) but the shark challenge seemed more like something meant to tap into a fear (like a heights challenge) than something actually dangerous (something the crazies from Fear Factor would come up with). But both of the camel challenges did not seem fun.

I enjoyed the gold shorts because they reminded me of Rocky Horror. I do think they might have made a bit more effort with the bikinis. The guys weren't in danger of falling out of the shorts.

I liked the challenges this leg because it combined tradition with the newer luxury side of Dubai.

Rachel reminds me a lot of Anna Kendrick.

The dancers are so dysfunctional. They're both wrong.

Edited to add that I'm more inclined to be sympathetic to Dana because she's been edited to look worse and because the responses have included typically anti-female sentiment like "shrew," "bitch," and "harpy."

Edited May 2, 2016 by aradia22

[Wandering Snark]

Quote

I'm more inclined to be sympathetic to Dana because she's been edited to look worse and because the responses have included typically anti-female sentiment like "shrew," "bitch," and "harpy."

Yes, but if the shrewish harpy bitch shoes fit....

[HawaiiTVGuy]

On 4/16/2016 at 0:23 PM, rozen said:

 

 

 

Why was Brodie screeching at Kurt to push it when he was the one drafting off Kurt? He is loud and annoying and ruins everything. 

That was something I noticed, it seemed like the other teams have never raced or watched car racing, the way to maximize your opportunity to succeed would be to draft especially if both racers have to cross the finish line, not just one.

[Lamb18]

Spoiler

I finally saw the finale. I'm happy for Dana and Matt.When they were at Santa Barbara harbor, I half expected to see Kinsey Millhone come running along.

Edited May 18, 2016 by Lamb18
remove empty quote box