S29: Brooke & Scott

[Vyk]

Hi.  I passed the bar exam in two states on my very first try, and I changed my life by losing forty pounds.

Definitely give me the feeling of real fighters in this race.

Edited March 31, 2017 by Vyk

[Vyk]

Brooke's nattering will bother me after some time, but since it wasn't counterproductive, I'll grin and bear it for now.

[Lady Calypso]

I found that Scott's behaviour is a turn off for me. I'm giving him a small pass for the time being because people react to the stress of the Race in different ways, but the way he was berating Brooke was getting on my nerves. Not that I have any real opinion of her either; the only thing I liked was her laying out the fact that she'll get more upset if being told to calm down. I think it'll be hard to watch these two if they don't find a way to stop fighting.

[Chyna]

They're both way too high strung. This is going to be a disaster.

[Blissfool]

Didn't they call themselves Team Will & Grace? Why didnt the show stick with it. It said Team Brooke & Scott throughout the episode.

[Lamb18]

Copyright issues?

[auntlada]

Or wrong network.

[biakbiak]

Oh just that it would lead to confusion particularly during early episodes because Will and Grace are real names, I know I have trouble keeping everyone's name straight during the first few shows.

[Vyk]

Brooke's chatter can be annoying, but I did admire her falling, bruising her elbow, and continuing on, anyway, knowing that avoiding elimination was all that mattered.  I also admired Scott facing his fear of heights to finish that Roadblock.

Sixth place was very good for them, given the circumstances.

[Chyna]

I'm so accustomed to seeing heights-related freakouts on this show that Scott powering through was a total surprise! Good for him -- he was so proud of himself afterward and it was adorable.

[Lady Calypso]

12 hours ago, Chyna said:

I'm so accustomed to seeing heights-related freakouts on this show that Scott powering through was a total surprise! Good for him -- he was so proud of himself afterward and it was adorable.

Agreed. Honestly, I pictured myself reacting in the same way, with the deep emotions and tears before and during the task but ultimately powering through for the race and being proud afterward...but I imagine Scott is going to not be willing to just jump into another heights-related task right away! 

[Vyk]

Still working to get along, even if Brooke is very irritating to listen to sometimes.  Still, while she does whine, she whines and races rather than holds up herself and Scott.  They seemed to have trouble with the Build It Detour, and then, Brooke had money problems with the Roadblock.  They seemed to stay smack in the middle of the pack, though, and finished in the very middle, but only due to Becca & Floyd's mistake.

Nice job.

[scrb]

She doesn't handle pressure well and he holds grudges against her.

What a pair.

[gingerandcloves]

I'm surprised Scott hasn't strangled her by now. She has to be the whiniest whiner that ever whined.

[Hera]

I don't blame Scott for being annoyed with Brooke. He has had to confront his fear of heights twice now and has done so without having an enormous meltdown and slowing his team down the way racers have in the past. Brooke managed to slow the team down eating fish. I dislike seafood intensely, but consuming unfamiliar cuisine that has been chosen to gross racers out has always been part of the race. I have no sympathy for people who go on the show without mastering the universal way of eating something one finds disgusting (cut/tear the offending food into small bites and swallow them without chewing). I'd be annoyed at her too, if I were Scott.

If I fault this team for anything, it's that they alternate roadblocks rather than discussing who should do them and it's resulted in both of them having to do ones they're not suited for. They probably should have had Scott do the ladle-making roadblock and Brooke should have been the one to climb the tower and to rappel down the office building, which I think she would have done if she hadn't hurt her elbow. In fact if she had done the first roadblock and they kept to their pattern of alternating, they would have managed to avoid doing the tasks they aren't suited to without having to discuss it.

[Vyk]

I have to say that they got majorly lucky here.  About the only good things Brooke did here were discovering the secret compartments at the Lock Detour and giving her and Scott's extra key to Becca & Floyd.  Might seem like a bad thing, but given what happened at the Roadblock, it really helped her.  She struggled majorly with the task, even to the point of tears (Scott really should've done it instead).  But Becca helped her to repay her.  Even Redmond did, though he largely did so for another chance at needling her.  (Dick.)  Nonetheless, she finished, and they remained in the race.

Very lucky, though, that Shamir & Sara severely imploded.

Then, they lucked out a second time in a row.  Scott did well on another heights-based Roadblock, and they seemed to work well enough together and with London & Logan to finish the Trolls Detour.  But of course, I have to say that Brooke calling Ashton "irritating" made me say, "I wouldn't talk about irritating if I were you."  And naturally, the whining comes back yet again while climbing the mountain to the Pit Stop.

Lucky that Liz & Michael had their accident and then drove the wrong way to find the Pit Stop, or they'd have finished last.

[Chyna]

Brooke is whiny on the level of Flo. The only thing that might save them is the fact that Scott seems to be figuring out how to manage and placate her. On the other hand, Flo was able to avoid most Roadblocks because it was before the 50/50 rule was in place, and Brooke won't be able to do that, so she may crash and burn regardless of Scott's best efforts.

Kudos again to Scott for overcoming his fear of heights.

[aradia22]

This might be like when I was one of the few who actually liked Hailey and Blair, but for right now, Brooke and Scott amuse me. The only thing that put me off was their dislike of Ashton and Vanck. But otherwise, they seem like bickering siblings. Sure, she complains a lot but it seems like Scott can handle it. I'll only start turning on them when it seems like Scott is having a meltdown of his own. Do I think her behavior is good or admirable? No. But he seems to have figured out how to take the constant complaining without shutting down and becoming resentful by teasing her. He deals with just having to carry everything (including most of the tasks). And he seems to understand that she needs to be constantly babied and given positive reinforcement to do anything and he's willing to provide it so she'll continue racing.

How many more heights-based challenges is Scott going to have to do? I don't know if they've mentioned it but I don't think Brooke has a fear of heights. Why doesn't she do one instead of shouting "encouragement" from the ground?

[ByaNose]

Eventually, Brooke is going to have to do a task and not cry. Is that possible? It seems like everything is a challenge for her. Maybe, she was a recruit and never saw the show. Maybe, she thought she signed up for The Bachelor.

[Nalan]

First of all, Brooke, being a cliquish high-schooler on the race is not something of which to be proud.  That goes for you, too, Scott.  Scott botched the Roadblock once, but they're lucky the social game is so effective with this crop of teams, because they were able to get Becca & Floyd and Liz & Michael to do their dirty work in U-Turning Vanck & Ashton and also block them from U-Turning someone else.  But then, Brooke whines her way through another task, even though she still manages to keep going while doing it (the exact opposite of Flo).  They completed Grab a Hold after quite a few struggles and finish fifth.

Decent job, but they're still near the back.

[Nalan]

Honestly, with all of their struggles, it's amazing they avoided last on this leg.  They struggled, it seemed, with finding the Detour clue thanks to London & Logan's lie.  Then, they struggled with the Sing It Detour.  And then, Brooke has a near-total meltdown just over finding a water taxi.  She redeemed herself just slightly with actually passing London and Liz at the Roadblock, but still, she just seems like such a drain on the team.

Fourth place was all right, but it's hard to see them lasting much longer.

[Chyna]

My favorite exchange of the whole episode:

Scott: I hope Brooke can just be patient and not freak out...

Joey: It's been nice knowing ya.

Ha!

[Snappy]

Brooke is the personification of "downer". She just drags, and drags, and drags everyone else down with her whining and crying. If it hadn't been for the other teams helping her, they'd have gone home because she couldn't make that strainer. I would have found it really entertaining if Scott just pushed her into the canal and walked away when she was complaining about the water taxi.

[Rachel RSL]

My favourite Brooke moment was when she got upset because they wanted a water taxi and they found a subway line instead. A subway. In Venice. *facepalm*

[HawaiiTVGuy]

Greatest feat by Brooke, convincing the other teams that Ashton and Vanck were bringing down the race experience for the others, and not her.

[LilaFowler]

Brooke is lucky that she has Scott for a partner. His snarky and easygoing personality is the best antidote to her drama queen antics. I can't imagine how she would be if she'd been paired with anyone else.

[Fukui San]

Scott is a proud graduate of the Jim Halpert school of playing to the camera. 

[scowl]

On 4/23/2017 at 6:40 AM, Chyna said:

Brooke is whiny on the level of Flo.

At times I could understand Flo. She was scared of heights but early in the season she decided to try to climb down a cliff or something to conquer her fear. It didn't work so she freaked out and started screaming. I thought she was at least trying, before she completely gave up near the end of the season.

Brooke doesn't seem to try at all. She doubts herself out loud before she even starts things. 

[scrb]

She took help from Mike in the ladle challenge and now they U-turn Mike and Liz?

Bad karma, not that they're really a threat to win the race.

[biakbiak]

1 minute ago, scrb said:

She took help from Mike in the ladle challenge and now they U-turn Mike and Liz?

Bad karma, not that they're really a threat to win the race.

To be fair nearly everyone helped Brooke in the ladle challenge.

[TudorQueen]

Ok, cheerful lady who jokes about how stepping in donkey poop might be good luck and actually nails the tasks given her, who are you and what have you done with Brooke?

[Nalan]

I think being in the front and not getting too lost is why Brooke was so tolerable, almost likable, this week.  Only thing with which I found fault is U-Turning Liz & Michael.  They already had the Speed Bump, so why pile on that much?  I can see doing that to an alpha-male or alpha-couple team, but not one with two people as out of shape as they are.  They also had a slight problem with the For the Bride Detour, but Brooke seemed to do well and not panic at the Roadblock.  But then, they lost their way to the Pit Stop and ended up in third.

Still a solid finish, and I think it's their highest thus far.  But Liz & Michael were right about them -- they do seem to take from other teams more than they give.  It's amazing the other teams haven't called them out on it yet.

[backformore]

Ugh.   She won't shut up about "I needed you to hold the ladder!"  Over and over, she won't let go of it.  Then when Scott finally says "It's you're f***ing fault we didn't get the ladder, she says "It's always my fault!  you're so abusive!"  Wow.

Boy, would I like to see her reaction when she's watching the episode on TV. 

[Nalan]

Honestly, the way this first leg went for them, they'd better be feeling very lucky not have finished last.  Scott whines his way through another heights-based Roadblock, Brooke barely misses their chance at nabbing the last ladder for the Bamboo Climb Detour, and she blames Scott for not holding the ladder for her as they're forced into the Window Design Detour.

And Brooke whines her way through that task, too, as the pieces of the mannequins prove way too tough for her to carry.  And worse still, Brooke melts down over their cab driver taking them to the wrong park for the Pit Stop.

They lucked out majorly that Tara & Joey didn't read the clue and take their third and last mannequin with them.  Otherwise, they'd have been Speed Bumped.  Although based on what happened on the next leg, they probably would've been fine.

Honestly, Scott is the one to thank for their highest finish thus far on the second leg.  They got on the second bus to Ninh Binh, and they fell far behind due to Brooke's ineffectiveness with riding her bike.  Scott passed up some teams, though, with his timely completion of the Roadblock, and he rowed their boat very well with his feet.  All this combined to give them second place.

Good job . . . to Scott.

[ByaNose]

Brooke starts whining even before a task starts. She is the worst. I think she is out floing Flo. OMG! Does she ever shut up? Yes, when they hit the mat and they aren't last. All of the sudden, Brooke is happy as a clam and high fiving Scott and the other racers. Seriously! She is so vile that I put her on mute. I give Scott credit for dealing with her throughout the race. If he wasn't such a camera mugger I like him better. I hate that he's looking into the camera. That said, if they should win Brooke should give her $500,000 to Scott. If it wasn't for him she still be making a ladle. Simply awful!

Edited May 19, 2017 by ByaNose

[Novel8]

I love Scotts comment each time Brooke whines..."she's pregnant again."

[LilaFowler]

I wonder if she's embarrassed watching her behavior right now?

[ByaNose]

12 minutes ago, LilaFowler said:

I wonder if she's embarrassed watching her behavior right now?

Probably not. She'll chalk it up to being tired, dehydrated & bad editing. She really is horrible to watch.

[chaifan]

5 hours ago, ByaNose said:

I give Scott credit for dealing with her throughout the race. If he wasn't such a camera mugger I like him better. I hate that he's looking into the camera.

I posted this in the episode thread, but I sometimes get the impression that Scott isn't so much mugging or commenting to the cameras, but rather to the cameramen, as they are the only other ones who see what he's dealing with in the moment.  Yeah, he "mugs" every now and again (the flirty comment on the restaurant trolley, for example).  But when you've got someone like Brooke to deal with I can't imagine having no reaction or not reacting towards the only other 2 people around, even if they are holding cameras.  I think he'd have the same reaction if cameras weren't there.

Also, did anyone else notice during the preview at the beginning of the 2nd episode that they showed the ladder incident, and Logan was NOT holding London's ladder like Brooke insisted he was. 

[ByaNose]

1 hour ago, chaifan said:

I posted this in the episode thread, but I sometimes get the impression that Scott isn't so much mugging or commenting to the cameras, but rather to the cameramen, as they are the only other ones who see what he's dealing with in the moment.  Yeah, he "mugs" every now and again (the flirty comment on the restaurant trolley, for example).  But when you've got someone like Brooke to deal with I can't imagine having no reaction or not reacting towards the only other 2 people around, even if they are holding cameras.  I think he'd have the same reaction if cameras weren't there.

Also, did anyone else notice during the preview at the beginning of the 2nd episode that they showed the ladder incident, and Logan was NOT holding London's ladder like Brooke insisted he was. 

No but I did see shirtless Logan along with Matt & Redmond. Yup! If Logan had kept his shirt off during the race he might have gotten more air time. He doesn't need to speak and just stand there. Adonis! LOL!!!!

[Nalan]

So they finally nail their first win, and even I'll admit that it was well-deserved.  Brooke kept her cool to master her Roadblock, they both kept calm at the kimchi-making task, and Scott finally managed to beat his Roadblock after twenty rounds.  Well done.

Do I think they'll win next week?  I don't think their edit has supported that, but who knows?  If Eric & Danielle and Dana & Matt could win with the edits their teams had . . .

[Jersey Guy 87]

Isn't there a rule against swapping in your (non-evil) twin late in the race?  Other than a minor blowup during the kimchi task this wasn't the Brooke who has been annoying everyone all season.  She was psyched to do the cup stacking challenge, she didn't get flustered when she didn't do it perfectly the first time.  She cheered on Scott during the video games, she seemed to be having fun.  Clearly this is not Brooke but some doppelganger.

[QuinnM]

2 hours ago, Jersey Guy 87 said:

Clearly this is not Brooke but some doppelganger.

I think that these two deserve some real credit for being adults.  She is who she is.  He is who he is.  They have the stamina, talent etc to do this.  But he needed to accept this drama queen and she needed to work on being part of team.  And the two of them did that.  Scott in the taxi talking about how Brooke was working on her patience and reassuring her that they were still in front of the boys.  They could have imploded and gone home weeks ago.  They are still there because they figured out how to race with the one they got.  So I would be okay with them winning.

[ByaNose]

17 minutes ago, QuinnM said:

I think that these two deserve some real credit for being adults.  She is who she is.  He is who he is.  They have the stamina, talent etc to do this.  But he needed to accept this drama queen and she needed to work on being part of team.  And the two of them did that.  Scott in the taxi talking about how Brooke was working on her patience and reassuring her that they were still in front of the boys.  They could have imploded and gone home weeks ago.  They are still there because they figured out how to race with the one they got.  So I would be okay with them winning.

We will have to agree to disagree. LOL!! I still can't stand her. She is all rainbows and unicorns when everything is going her way. When she was crying and all hysterical at the ladel task she lost me. That said, I think they are going to win. They've gotten the Flo and Zach edit which makes me think they are winning.

[AWu1977]

39 minutes ago, ByaNose said:

That said, I think they are going to win. They've gotten the Flo and Zach edit which makes me think they are winning.

In as much as I don't like it, I now admit that maybe Scott and Brooke were the ones who won this race. The fact that the show is now giving us this edit that Brooke is this positive, smiley, happy girl all of a sudden, it seems like they want to show that she is someone we could like. In this episode, I don't recall her whining and screeching (no "I can't do it!!!!!" ), she tackled her roadblock like a champ and she was all cheerful and supportive of Scott during his. Everybody here knows she can't just change that much in a single episode. She must have been doing the same bad things like before, but the producers have edited them out of the latest show we just watched. The formely consistently strong team---Team Mom and Dad---is now being edited as hypocritical, entitled jerks, whereas Team LoLo was never given a story arc to begin with (also, they have never shown to be strong in tasks except this last leg) so a lot of people still have a hard time even remembering their names. I hope if Team Scott does win, they would win convincingly, not just because the other teams experienced bad luck (ie had a bad taxi driver who got them lost) or they made stupid mistakes (do not read the clue).

[holly4755]

people do change over the few weeks of the race, but in this case, I think this leg was one where Brooke could not be Brooke. 

the cups, she had seen it done by a cousin and surely she is better than this cousin, I think it was probably someone younger than her and she might have played along with them, so after saying that how could she complain,

She did whine  and act hostile to Scott at the Kimchi. Although she did not complain about eating it. 

all she had to do for the gaming portion was sit there, if she had to be on the stage, the whines would not have stopped. 

[ByaNose]

I agree that they did their usual bickerson self at Kimchi. I think everyone else was like, STFU!. LOL!! They were in the background when I think Tara & Joey were doing it and I almost couldn't hear them because Brooke & Scott were shouting at each other. All in all, she did a lot better this leg. She was a lot happier too because she knew how well she did. Just as she has all season. <sarcasm> LOL!!!

[HawaiiTVGuy]

I think the key is the lack of physicality in this leg.  Everytime she is crying out she can't do it, it is when they are doing something physical.  You notice that she is completely spent at time when there is a race to the clue boxes.  Of course, she probably had a great flight out to Seoul, I hear Korean Airlines has one of the best economy class seats around.

[fib]

On 5/26/2017 at 11:20 AM, AWu1977 said:

he fact that the show is now giving us this edit that Brooke is this positive, smiley, happy girl all of a sudden, it seems like they want to show that she is someone we could like. In this episode, I don't recall her whining and screeching (no "I can't do it!!!!!" ), she tackled her roadblock like a champ and she was all cheerful and supportive of Scott during his.

I don't agree - I think she had the easiest leg of her race last leg (where Scott did the shrimp trap challenge and the feet rowing), and not much running or physicality this leg after a long flight to rest. I think she will be obnoxious again in a hurry on the last leg, with all the inherent stress: when its not a race not to finish last anymore, its a race to be first.  I think she will find a new level of obnoxious for the final leg.  Poor Scott - he is an amazing racer, and really deserved a partner who could carry her own weight, or at least the weight of her own pack. 

[ByaNose]

She was more positive in the least episode because she knew she could do it. That had the little spat preparing the food but she was over the moon on the mat coming in first place. I wonder if this is the redemption arch (1 episode....LOL) for her because she (they) is the winner?! They either will fight like crazy from the stress or excel in the final leg. If they can keep it together they will probably win. If not, I think Tara & Joey will win. I would love LoLo to win but they were barely on the whole season. I really don't want Brooke & Scott to win but I'm resigned to the fact they probably will. Ugh!!