S29: Vanck & Ashton

[Vyk]

Hi.  I have limited people skills, and I lack tolerance and patience with most people.

Sounds like a powder keg in the making.

[hendersonrocks]

Their interactions thus far are making me actively uncomfortable. 

[Stardancer Supreme]

Yep. I think he chose her purely on looks.  Their chemistry is horrible.

[Nidratime]

Quote

Yep. I think he chose her purely on looks.

If things continue with them in the same vein, he will have learned a valuable lesson.

[Wandering Snark]

This was really the only team that had a "Give me the strentgh to not choke out my partner on the first leg of the Race." Moment. She's going to need some kind of calming mantra to get through any distance with him.

He was clearly the real "prize" of the group. Lucky her.

[scrb]

She wanted some big and strong guy and didn't get it.

You would hope his brains would come into play but he couldn't shoot the bow and arrow and was babbling suggestions when she was trying to shoot.

[Vyk]

Yeah.  They're toast.  They'll self-destruct sooner or later entirely thanks to Vanck.

[Merneith]

5 hours ago, Nidratime said:

If things continue with them in the same vein, he will have learned a valuable lesson.

Well, he needs a few valuable lessons, but I suspect that they would have to come from Professor Tire Iron before he paid attention.

[blackwing]

I find myself a bit curious about his name.  His last name is Zhu so he is Chinese.  "Vanck" doesn't sound like a Chinese name, at least not to my knowledge.

I wonder if his parents intended to name him "Vance" and misspelled the name on the birth certificate application.  Or if someone who processed it couldn't read the handwriting.  It's not unheard of.   I worked with a woman named Janita who told me her name was supposed to be Juanita and her parents spelled it wrong.  And I knew a woman named Dustchin whose parents wanted to name her Dustin (they either didn't know or didn't care that it is generally a boy's name, the TAR beauty queen notwithstanding) and badly mangled it.

Maybe they wanted a "manly" sounding name and asked for advice and misunderstood.  I knew a kid whose parents were immigrants and asked the nurse what the most popular name in America was.  His first name was Smith.

[jackjill89]

On 3/31/2017 at 4:02 AM, Vyk said:

Yeah.  They're toast.  They'll self-destruct sooner or later entirely thanks to Vanck.

I don't think anything could be completely one person's fault. I'm sure there's someone that he would work well with. She's just not it. That's not all on him. (...and no, I'm not related to him or a fan of his, just pointing out that it always takes two)

[Blissfool]

6 hours ago, blackwing said:

I find myself a bit curious about his name.  His last name is Zhu so he is Chinese.  "Vanck" doesn't sound like a Chinese name, at least not to my knowledge.

I wonder if his parents intended to name him "Vance" and misspelled the name on the birth certificate application.  Or if someone who processed it couldn't read the handwriting.  It's not unheard of.   I worked with a woman named Janita who told me her name was supposed to be Juanita and her parents spelled it wrong.  And I knew a woman named Dustchin whose parents wanted to name her Dustin (they either didn't know or didn't care that it is generally a boy's name, the TAR beauty queen notwithstanding) and badly mangled it.

Maybe they wanted a "manly" sounding name and asked for advice and misunderstood.  I knew a kid whose parents were immigrants and asked the nurse what the most popular name in America was.  His first name was Smith.

Being a teacher, I wonder the same thing with each batch of new students. 

Anyway, I will have to pay closer attention to Ashton next episode because she came off way older to me. I thought she was 35+.

[pamplemousse]

I think they both suck and will be to blame for their partnership (I hesitate to call it that) imploding. He picked her for her looks and she disliked him instantly because he didn't look like what she wanted in a partner. He's bossy and weird, she complains constantly but doesn't stand up to him.

They're my favorite pair to watch because they're hilariously bad and deserve each other. I'm actually shocked they didn't finish lower -- maybe they'll be one of those pairs that oddly ends up placing better on every leg than they should given how poorly they work together.

ETA: Maybe Vanck named himself. It may not even be his legal name but the one he chooses to go by. It sounds like something he picked up from an anime or manga and thought it sounded cool (no shade, honestly).

Edited April 3, 2017 by pamplemousse

[jhlipton]

Vanck seems to be a surname from Bohemia and Prussia:http://www.ancestry.com/name-origin?surname=vanck

I have no clue if that means anything at all.
 

[HawaiiTVGuy]

On 3/30/2017 at 5:37 PM, Stardancer Supreme said:

Yep. I think he chose her purely on looks.  Their chemistry is horrible.

Sigh, if that was his reason, he would have been better off with Jenn.  Either way, his best choice was going for a stronger male in order to help with the physical tasks.  IMO, this team has no hope at being a functional team unless they really talk things out during the Pitstops.

Vanck is an odd name in general, wonder if his family is cantonese and it was a random romanization of his cantonese name.

[Merneith]

Credit where it's due - Vanck & Ashton really delivered this week.

[Lady Calypso]

I was very surprised at the quick turnaround with this team. I thought they would for sure implode sooner rather than later. But it seems like Ashton's got over her initial shock of not having an Alpha Male partner. Their team still needs work, but they're singing much different tunes this week. It probably helped that Vanck wasn't as awkward and wasn't spouting mathematical solutions every five minutes. I love that she said that she was happy with her partner immediately after Phil asked, seemingly with no hesitation. They worked better this week and now I kind of want to see them get farther than I did last week. 

Plus, they shoved it in #TheBoys' faces with beating them. Good on you guys. 

[Vyk]

I agree quite strongly with @Lady Calypso.  They seem to have found their groove with each other at least a bit more this week.  And they showed themselves to actually have honor and scruples by being willing to honor the (admittedly lame) "coin flip" deal.  Because of that, they seemed to reap the benefits, not getting delayed or held back by anything, doing their Detour correctly, and actually spotting the marked cyclist first, as well as Ashton's quick, accurate work at the Roadblock.

If they'd just grabbed a cab rather than go on foot to the Pit Stop, they probably might've won the leg.  But at least they beat the team who broke their deal.

[Vyk]

They continue racing a pretty strong race.  They were a tad slow with the Build It Detour, but still seemed to get it done at a good clip.  Vanck was also very impressive at the Roadblock, getting the help of the guys in the market to give him a hand.

Third place was well-deserved.  But Ashton needs to not let this feud brewing with Matt & Redmond overtake her focus if she wants to win this race with Vanck.  Good luck, you two!

[Hera]

She was far nicer to him in episode 1 than I would have been. If I had been Ashton with the bow and arrow and had to listen to him try to coach me, I would have said, "Given how terrible your attempt at this was, why the hell should I listen to your advice on how to do it?" and then tried to run the remaining legs of the race with a partner who refused to speak to me.

I think their (really, her) rivalry with Matt and Redmond is probably good for the team: it keeps their dislike focussed on racers who aren't their teammate.

[scrb]

Does she really think she'd have pounded out that label better than he did?

[Vyk]

7 hours ago, scrb said:

Does she really think she'd have pounded out that label better than he did?

You mean ladle?

Yeah, so Ashton is annoying me now.  But still, she and Vanck are nonetheless running a good race in spite of their dysfunction.  While it was a slight struggle, they finished the Knock Detour in a decent amount of time.  Then, despite some misgivings, Vanck seemed to do a fine job on the Roadblock and finished it on his first try.  Because of his slowness there, they dropped to sixth, but given the end result of this leg, that isn't bad at all.

Even with all of Ashton's nattering, I was surprised that she and Vanck still did such a nice job on the leg.  Ashton rocked out the Roadblock, and she and Vanck navigated their way through the Trolls Detour splendidly.  And then, using their car instead of doing everything on foot also seemed to help them out and saved their legs.  Chose the right way to head up the mountain to reach the Pit Stop and got a well-deserved fourth-place finish.

[Chyna]

Vanck can be a little annoying and forgetting the pack was a dumb mistake, but I have a feeling that Ashton would be berating any partner who was performing less than perfectly. 

[ByaNose]

6 hours ago, Chyna said:

Vanck can be a little annoying and forgetting the pack was a dumb mistake, but I have a feeling that Ashton would be berating any partner who was performing less than perfectly. 

Why is Vanck responsible for Ashton fanny pack? Don't they each have one? Is their just one for the team? I thought she was just being her normal biotch self but I wasn't sure who really was in the wrong there. 

[holly4755]

Ashton said on one video (don't remember which one but it is in the media thread) that she gave her jacket and other stuff to Vank, but then she took off her fanny pack and left it on the table - Vanck was supposed to notice and be responsible for it. 

[ByaNose]

2 hours ago, holly4755 said:

Ashton said on one video (don't remember which one but it is in the media thread) that she gave her jacket and other stuff to Vank, but then she took off her fanny pack and left it on the table - Vanck was supposed to notice and be responsible for it. 

Well, that explains it. And, if Ashton said that it must be true. LOL!!! He had his jacket on and fanny pack. I'm not sure why she would think he would be carrying everything. Of course, there is so much confusion and rushing going on it was an honest mistake for the both of them. I'll give her a pass for blaming him.

[aradia22]

I am baffled by the consensus that apparently Ashton wanted to find a physically impressive, handsome guy to date. Also, this is me but I always have more sympathy for the girl who is constantly being called a bitch (which is a word I try to avoid using as much as possible) and other derogatory, misogynistic words. I don't think either of them are that awful to each other and I think she has a lot of valid reasons to be annoyed with him. I don't see this sweet, hapless nerd when I look at him. I see this guy who is indecisive and yet wants to take the lead and keeps second-guessing and nagging her. He wants to take the lead on detours and do the roadblocks but not because he has any greater aptitude and is constantly critical of her navigation abilities. It seems like she's fairly capable but he doesn't trust her and he doesn't apologize when he's wrong. 

They seem like a poor match who are succeeding in spite of it. I'm surprised at all the vitriol as other teams have been far more annoying to me. Normally, I go with what the other racers think to get around editing and figure out what people are really like but I think that might be difficult this season because Redmond hates them (mostly Ashton) and apparently 

Quote

Brooke thinks Redmond likes her

which explains why Brooke and Scott also dislike them.

[Bryce Lynch]

16 hours ago, ByaNose said:

Well, that explains it. And, if Ashton said that it must be true. LOL!!! He had his jacket on and fanny pack. I'm not sure why she would think he would be carrying everything. Of course, there is so much confusion and rushing going on it was an honest mistake for the both of them. I'll give her a pass for blaming him.

Ashton blaming poor Vanck for her fanny pack getting lost, reminded me of Biff Tannen blaming George McFly for lending him a car with a "blind spot" and causing him to have an accident.  Ashton is Buffy Tannen.  

Edited April 24, 2017 by Bryce Lynch

[scrb]

Maybe if Ashton gave him a little sugar, he'd be attentive about such things.

She could totally make him pliant with a few smiles.

[Hera]

4 hours ago, aradia22 said:

I am baffled by the consensus that apparently Ashton wanted to find a physically impressive, handsome guy to date.

She definitely said she wanted someone taller and stronger than she is to race with, but I agree that it's unfair to assume that she went on the show to look for a boyfriend in the first place. And Vanck, for his part, explicitly wanted a "pretty girl" as his partner for any challenges that would involve selling things.

I think the real problem is that Vanck wants to be certain about what they're doing before they do it, while Ashton wants to try things on the fly and see if they work. Both are valid racing strategies—the first one can be slower, but can also allow a team to gain time on the others by making fewer mistakes or doing tasks more efficiently, while the seconds gains you time on straight-forward tasks and works well until you make a bad mistake or run out of ideas for things to try. I strongly suspect that if she and Vanck were better aligned in their racing philosophies, she would have quickly gotten over the disappointment of not having a big, strong man as her partner and they'd be real contenders in this race—look how far they've gotten despite not liking each other very much. As it is, other teams would probably be wise to U-turn them because forcing them to spend extra time together increases their likelihood of a race-ending meltdown.

[ByaNose]

They are both stubborn in their own way. They aren't really wrong either. I think the race just heightens everything and emotions run high. I just get a mean girl vibe Ashton when gets angry and yells at Vanck. That said, the approach that Vanck is using (waiting till the bitter end for directions & such) would annoy me when I want to Go! Go! Go!. She is definitely getting the worst edit of the two and it looks like the racers don't care for her either. 

[chaifan]

My dislike of Ashton comes from her inability to let things drop.  Vanck does something wrong and she has to keep on digging and digging.  We've seen it in a few scenes, and more in the extra clips.  I think someone with a different personality would say "enough already, shut up about it", but that's not Vanck.  I don't think he's perfect or blameless, but any mistake is harped on over and over and over.  And, yes, they are both playing right into stereotypes - Ashton the mean girl and Vanck the nerdy Asian.  That isn't helping any of this.

[scrb]

She's also holding a grudge against the guys that she U-turned.

OK but since those guys survived, she just put a target on their backs the next time there's a U-turn, not just from those guys but other teams use the fact that she U-turned as an excuse to U-turn them.

[HawaiiTVGuy]

Yeah, it seems like the way this is working is both Ashton and Vanck get pissed about stuff but then just leave it be, unlike how Liv and Michael just kept spiraling.

[Merneith]

I was really hard on Vanck in the first episode, but I give the two of them a lot of credit for developing a good working relationship. I like their team a lot, now, more than anyone other than Tara & Joey.

[TudorQueen]

Actually sad to see them go, since they found a good working rhythm and even a bit of mutual respect. I also disliked the way everyone else closed ranks and "othered" them.  They weren't one of my favorite teams, and I doubt they'd have won, but...

[Nalan]

It sucks for them that it had to end for them this way -- with the race turning into high school, basically.  They may have been annoying, but that's the least of why you should U-Turn someone.  Still, they could've avoided it if Vanck hadn't botched the Roadblock and they'd gotten an earlier release time as a result.  Losing their way to the U-Turn made it worse for them.  But worst of all was that the leg after the ferry was relatively easy in terms of tasks, which made it difficult to catch back up for a U-Turned team.  And since they were the only one to get U-Turned, it was pretty much over for them.

I appreciated that they worked so well together in spite of being such an odd pairing.  And Vanck was sweet to Ashton when she was starting to tear up knowing they might not have been able to catch back up.  Goodbye, you two.  At least you have a possible friendship for life.

It was very interesting to find out that Vanck was the disliked one and the reason for the U-Turn, though, and that the other teams had had little to no problems with Ashton.

[HawaiiTVGuy]

20 minutes ago, Nalan said:

It sucks for them that it had to end for them this way -- with the race turning into high school, basically.  They may have been annoying, but that's the least of why you should U-Turn someone.  Still, they could've avoided it if Vanck hadn't botched the Roadblock and they'd gotten an earlier release time as a result.  Losing their way to the U-Turn made it worse for them.  But worst of all was that the leg after the ferry was relatively easy in terms of tasks, which made it difficult to catch back up for a U-Turned team.  And since they were the only one to get U-Turned, it was pretty much over for them.

I appreciated that they worked so well together in spite of being such an odd pairing.  And Vanck was sweet to Ashton when she was starting to tear up knowing they might not have been able to catch back up.  Goodbye, you two.  At least you have a possible friendship for life.

It was very interesting to find out that Vanck was the disliked one and the reason for the U-Turn, though, and that the other teams had had little to no problems with Ashton.

Yeah I don't get it, I know in the previous episode talking heads, Brooke and Scott were kind of ripping into Ashton in the talking heads.  Then the weird scene at the mat when Brooke was "speaking for the group" and trying to explain how Vanck and Ashton were pretty much "uncool" and then Mike said something specific "like Vanck" and Brooke nervously laughed.  I couldn't tell if they were pretending it wasn't Ashton, or that Brooke had been talking shit about Vanck (and not like anyone else agreed).  Makes me think that Brooke has history as the "mean girl" and needs to be the center of attention (notice all the times she needs to pull off the damsel in distress routine) and of course par for the course is to ostracize the nerd.

[holly4755]

I agree, I never like the "othering" of people in this race.  I know U-turns are not happy times, but double u-turns ought to be double.  I realize this is nto the first time that has been done,. It's all fun and games until you are the othered. 

[Rachel RSL]

4 hours ago, HawaiiTVGuy said:

At least you have a possible friendship for life.

No way in hell are these two going to be friends for life. By the time they were eliminated, Ashton seems like she had managed to work her way up to tolerating Vanck but no more than that. I don't know why people feel the other teams are horrible bullies for making sure they got U-Turned - that is absolutely nothing compared to the way Ashton has treated Vanck for the entire race.

[ByaNose]

According, to Ashton's twitter she didn't understand all of the hate towards them. Of course, she was so awful to Vanck how would she realize that to begin with.

[holly4755]

but oddly enough from some video I posted in the media thread, there was more hatred for Vanck.  he was always reading books and thought he knew so much more than others - that was a communication problem, they obviously have no tolerance for people who are different, That could be hos someone perceived me. I am shy  off line and tend to read everything available to me rather than talk to people. I tend not to look them in the eyes because of a visual problem I have, I look at noses instead. etc. I have had people tell me that I look too superior, when it is just not having anything to say. It could be years of having to sell myself and looking like i know what I am doing has led me to having a superior look, I don't know, If you are bad at telling jokes, and don't like to say trite things like how'sthe weather up there, you could be judged as stand offish by the ignorant. 

[Rachel RSL]

58 minutes ago, holly4755 said:

he was always reading books and thought he knew so much more than others - that was a communication problem, they obviously have no tolerance for people who are different

Or it could be they have no tolerance for people who think they know so much more than others? 

[JaggedLilPill]

IMO, that's probably Vanck's way of trying to impress people. I think he genuinely struggles at making social connections. I think that's why I was so upset at what Brooke and Mike were saying at the mat.

I consider myself an oddball, I have anxiety. It's not always easy for me to connect with others. And if I don't feel like I'm fitting in, I become more withdrawn. I've also been accused of being stuck up for some reason.

Sigh.

Edited April 28, 2017 by JaggedLilPill

[NeverLate]

1 hour ago, JaggedLilPill said:

IMO, that's probably Vanck's way of trying to impress people. I think he genuinely struggles at making social connections. I think that's why I was so upset at what Brooke and Mike were saying at the mat.

I consider myself an oddball, I have anxiety. It's not always easy for me to connect with others. And if I don't feel like I'm fitting in, I become more withdrawn. I've also been accused of being stuck up for some reason.

Sigh.

I just think, there was a heck of a lot we didnt see. Especially as Phil mentioned the other teams to them on the mat. 

1 hour ago, JaggedLilPill said:

[HawaiiTVGuy]

1 hour ago, Rachel RSL said:

Or it could be they have no tolerance for people who think they know so much more than others? 

Or certain types of people don't like being reminded how dumb they are even if that isn't the intent. (ie bullies),

And @holly4755 posted a link to a mat interview that refutes the premise that Ashton and Vanck were universally aloof and made themselves superior to everyone else.  Team Lolo specifically picked them as the team they would help because Vanck and Ashton had been helpful and willing to share information.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ecvclTPtLA

[HawaiiTVGuy]

Aww...in the online clip, the hostess actually looks moved by their exit mat interview.

[Rachel RSL]

We'll have to agree to disagree. If almost every team on the Race wanted them gone because they don't like them, I'll go ahead and believe that they have more knowledge about the situation than we do. In any case, not wanting to be around someone you don't like doesn't make you a bully. (If anything, Ashton has been bullying Vanck all Race). Just my personal opinion.

Edited April 28, 2017 by Rachel RSL

[NeverLate]

19 minutes ago, Rachel RSL said:

We'll have to agree to disagree. If almost every team on the Race wanted them gone because they don't like them, I'll go ahead and believe that they have more knowledge about the situation than we do. In any case, not wanting to be around someone you don't like doesn't make you as bully. (If anything, Ashton has been bullying Vanck all Race). Just my personal opinion.

I agree, 100%

[JaggedLilPill]

4 hours ago, Fanny Mare said:

I just think, there was a heck of a lot we didnt see. Especially as Phil mentioned the other teams to them on the mat. 

That may be, but even so, the vitriol being spewed by Mike especially in the clip over in the media thread towards Vanck seems unwarranted and even cruel and unnecessary. 

And based on Scott's twitter replies, he claims he tried to stop the groupthink regarding the Ashton/Vanck u-turn and that he genuinely likes them both. So apparently not every one hates them.

It's fine to not want to be around certain people, but you can be diplomatic about it. Comparing people to "poor quality" meat knowing full well they'll see it when the show airs is not being diplomatic. It's being a shitty person.

Edited April 29, 2017 by JaggedLilPill

[pivot]

18 minutes ago, JaggedLilPill said:

That may be, but even so, the vitriol being spewed by Mike especially in the clip over in the media thread towards Vanck seems unwarranted and even cruel and unnecessary. 

And based on Scott's twitter replies, he claims he tried to stop the groupthink regarding the Ashton/Vanck u-turn and that he genuinely likes them both. So apparently not every one hates them.

It's fine to not want to be around certain people, but you can be diplomatic about it. Comparing people to "poor quality" meat knowing full well they'll see it when the show airs is not being diplomatic. It's being a shitty person.

Scott is lying. He was mocking Vanck at the Tram and was all over the U-Turn. He's trying to save face now that people saw his ugly side last night.