S29.E11: As Easy As Stacking Cups

[backformore]

3 minutes ago, AftermathTV said:

Tara and Joey sure are on a high horse about what children and teenagers do. This is why your generation is down in the dumps, Mom and Dad. Even when you're that old you should be learning new things instead of being set in your ways. Tara was barely even trying to learn the controls.

Yes, Tara had an attitude about people who play video games, didn't she?  It's just a fun diversion, get over yourself.   It's like if TAR had you do a dancing task, and you said "I can't stand dancing, it's such a waste of time."  Shut up, you signed up for this race, do the task.  If you have trouble it's because you're not good at video games, there's no shame in that.  it's not because video games are bad, or the gamer is a "bastard." 

[NeverLate]

21 minutes ago, LittleIggy said:

I agree about Joey. The gamer is not supposed to throw the game. Geeze!

Not sorry "the Boys" are gone. Redmond's sexist statements at the beginning put them on my sh*t list.

I like Tara and Joey, I think he was maybe sat there for three hours and out it all came. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt ( even though I really didnt like it) at least every leg we didnt have him screaming at Tara, or I can't, I can't, so just about everyone stopped to help . I'm looking at you Brooke. If she wasn't with Scott, she'd have been left by the side of the road! 

[Lady Calypso]

41 minutes ago, blackwing said:

 The only thing I didn't like was when Logan said the kim chi tasted like soggy cabbage in Cajun spice   Way to be open to other cultures, dude.

I don't actually fault him for this. He tried it, he didn't like it, he said why he didn't like it. He could have pulled a Brooke and complained and whined about the food before making a big deal about eating it and then complaining some more. He just said that he didn't like it, in contrast to others saying that they did. I might have said the exact same thing. Different tastes for different people. 

35 minutes ago, backformore said:

I hate that Brooke had some experience with cup-stacking, and Scott knew the video game.  Yes, it's a coincidence, I'm sure, but I hate that they had that advantage.  I really don't want Brooke and Scott to win.  But I don't really like any of the teams at this point.

Didn't Brooke say that the experience her had essentially was only that her cousin played it during family events? Not that Brooke herself did? So, I wouldn't call it an advantage, per say. Unless she started to brag about how she used to beat her cousin at cup stacking, then I don't really know why Brooke was claiming that she would be so good at it. 

Although, maybe I misheard what Brooke said here. If anyone could correct me, please do. 

[backformore]

1 minute ago, Lady Calypso said:

Although, maybe I misheard what Brooke said here. If anyone could correct me, please do. 

I thought she said her cousin had shown her how to do it.

[NeverLate]

4 minutes ago, backformore said:

I thought she said her cousin had shown her how to do it.

I thought that's what she said, she didn't look like a rookie, that's for sure.

Those little kids fascinated us, so fast! Omg,..

[holly4755]

personally I was all in on how London was just banging keys and having fun. She was also nice to her opponent who might have just been charmed enough by her to let her win.  I think that Tara's opponent was trying to let her win, he could not see anything and was probably going by sound. It seemed like he could not believe he kept winning.  Matt really was way off thinking he would just sit down and win, he had to know about professional gamers.  even amatuer ones, heh. I play jigsaw on-line. (you don't lose pieces that way and it can take me 2 or 3 hours to do a challenge, when i look up the winners, they all do it in like 12 minutes,. I can not imagine anyway for that to happen, I don't think I could even move all the pieces in 12 minutes, it is like 400+ pieces. 

tara and joey are worn out, I think they are about done with it, I think they will take the 125K and be glad in the next leg.  They are jsut barely scraping by. 

I wonder how far behind the train set them up? we know the taxi set them back at least 1/2 hour. 

[Vicky8675309]

The train would have been faster if they hadn't missed their connecting train. However the taxi driver going the wrong way really pushed it over the edge.

[GaT]

Tara & Brooke both annoyed the hell out of me. I'm not  gamer either, but I think I could do better than Tara who started whining about how she wasn't a gamer as soon as she sat down & just kept it up the whole time. Her "poor me" attitude made me want to slap her & Joey saying that the kid should give her a break was complete bullshit.

The other person who annoyed me was Brooke. Just because she's still there.

[Irlandesa]

1 hour ago, enlightenedbum said:

They lost because they made a poor choice to go for the train instead of the taxi.  That's a better reason than a lot of eliminations on this show. 

Exactly.  When they're given a choice of transportation, that becomes part of the game. They have to decide which is faster.  They have to guess what other people will choose.  They probably have to hope that at least one other team behind them chooses the same method they did so even if it's the slower choice, there's still someone who stays behind them. 

I don't think the leg was designed that poorly but rather, Matthew and Redmond getting a bad taxi after all that is kind of a sucky way to go.  Sucky, but legitimate.

1 hour ago, blackwing said:

At this point, I am rooting for anyone except Tara and Joey.  I loathe them.  They are so sanctimonious, hypocritical, and entitled.

My favorite moment in the episode was at the end when the final three were getting their talking head moments about the race up to the point and their chances in the finale.  The editors were nice with Lolo and fair with Scott and Brooke.  They were vicious, yet accurate, with Joey by following his "we don't fight, we don't complain" comment by showing footage of the two of them doing just that. Loved it!

Quote

 The only thing I didn't like was when Logan said the kim chi tasted like soggy cabbage in Cajun spice   Way to be open to other cultures, dude.

I didn't have a problem with that.  A palate is a palate. And even the most adventurous eaters hate certain things. 

[JunebugWA]

I can totally relate to Tara. I probably would be there for 3 days and still not winning. My eye-hand coordination is just not that good. My husband is a gamer who tried for 15 years to teach me but he finally gave up. I feel bad for her but I know enough about gaming to know it is not a good idea to switch characters constantly. 

So glad the boys are gone. Redmond just rubbed me the wrong way, although I like Matt. Also not happy that Brooke is in the final. 

Edited May 26, 2017 by JunebugWA

[Nalan]

Just the end result of this leg made this a great episode for me.  I enjoyed both Roadblocks and the kimchi task very much.  And to know that the results came down to transportation?  Even better.

So the teams:

Brooke & Scott: 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 . . .

London & Logan: This was pretty much a near-perfect leg for them.  Logan turned out to be the fastest of the Roadblocks to nail the cup-stacking Roadblock, and they did very well at the kimchi task.  London, while she was stymied by the video games, gave a great effort to get out of it in just twenty-one rounds.  In the end, taking the stairs rather than the elevator kept them from a win they would've deserved.  Good job, you two.  I think they can probably win next week, but they're going to have to make very few mistakes to do so, and also move from task to task very quickly.

Tara & Joey: Everything on this leg went very smoothly for them right up until Tara's Roadblock.  Joey nailed the cup-stacking Roadblock, and he and Tara made their kimchi with very little fuss.  But Tara very nearly lost it for them at her Roadblock.  Picking different characters was bad enough, but seemingly not even trying to learn the technique till it was nearly too late was the other.  But she finally did manage to finish it, and she and Joey took a well-earned third-place finish on this leg.  I think they're the strongest team heading into the final leg.  But if they wanna win, they'll need to pay better attention to detail and not get frustrated when things go wrong for them.

Matt & Redmond: Honestly, this was the elimination I'd been waiting for since, like, leg two.  And boy, am I glad that they not only finally got the boot, but that they got it from their own errors and pulled a first-to-last, to boot!  Taking the subway was just a stupid decision, and one that put them behind.  Then, they don't double-check the location for the first Roadblock until their driver reveals he's heading for the wrong university.  Next, Redmond struggles with the Roadblock in question.  And Matt picks a strong, but slow character for his own Roadblock and pretty much opens things up for Tara to get out of there first.  They did do the kimchi task well enough, which gave them a fighting chance, but it wasn't to be, and good for it.  I'm so glad these douchebags are off my screen and won't be taking home jack.  Later, boys!

On to the finale.  And I don't care what "entitlement" Tara & Joey showed (which I don't agree with for a second).  They're my first choice to win.  After them, it's a two-team pileup between Brooke & Scott and London & Logan.  Neither has impressed me all that much, so a win from either one might turn out to be "meh" for me.  But we'll see next week!

[NeverLate]

Quote

On to the finale.  And I don't care what "entitlement" Tara & Joey showed (which I don't agree with for a second).  They're my first choice to win.  After them, it's a two-team pileup between Brooke & Scott and London & Logan.  Neither has impressed me all that much, so a win from either one might turn out to be "meh" for me.  But we'll see next week!

Same here..:) 

[RealReality]

It was so great to finally hear Brooke say she could do something instead of her constant cries of "I can't!"

[Brynnjk]

The second part of this episode is beyond boring.  I don't want to watch video games.  I want to see the racers struggling with tasks in a beautiful country somewhere that allows me to see the country.    I did not enjoy that episode much at all.  

Kudos to Team LoLo for having a good leg.  I really do feel that London nailed the way to handle the ep.  Just keep smashing away at the controls.  

This does lead to a more competitive Final 3 however.  Team Boys are very strong and very fast and would have been hard to beat in the final leg.  I have no idea who is going to win this now but boy does it echo TAR S3.  The doublement twins went out on the same leg and had been crushing it all along.  Flo and Zach made the finals (Brooke and Scott), the likeable team -Bald snark - how I love them still (London and Logan) and the older team Ian and Terri (Tara and Joey).  And they even had the Shrimp Trap ep from that season.  Really, really echos S3 and now I'm worried Brooke and Scott are going to win. 

[Miles]

Last week I said I was rooting for Tara & Joey to win. At that point I could still overlook their "everything is everybody else's fault"-mentality, but their comments during the gaming task this week were rather dispicable. Fuck them. How is gaming in any shape or form a less worthy task for the race than anything else? I mean there is legit e-sports now. That actually puts it above most TAR-tasks competition- wise.

Also the comments about the player being on an ego trip. The race told him to give his best and he is playing blindfolded. It's not his fault that Tara sucks so hard. I'm actually pretty sure that he was giving her a break at the end, so their berating him worked, which sucks, especially for Matt and Redmond.

I didn't think I'd be so sad that Matt and Redmond would get eliminated, but considering the alternative... It sucks that they had bad taxi luck. Yeah their decision to take the subway wasn't the best, but they would have made it up, had their driver not taken them to the wrong university.

Brooke actually had fun this week, it seemed. o.O I think I might become religios in my old age, because that wa a straight up miracle.

At this point I wouldn't mind that much if Brook and Scott or LoLo won. Brook and Scott mostly for Scott, since he had to put up with a lot. Main thing is that mom and dad don't win. Fuck those guys. Seriously.

[Fake Jan Brady]

GOGO LOLO!

Phil, to Brooke and Scott at the mat: "If ever there was a time to finish first, it was this leg".

Next leg, Phil; that's the one to win.

[Bryce Lynch]

So, what has happened to Brooke, and who is this confident, calm, competent and positive woman they replaced her with?

[BusyOctober]

Brooke isn't fooling me with her relative calm and normal behavior this leg. She did wig out a little bit and I heard her whine her soon to be trade marked "I CAN'T DOOOO THIIIISSS!!!" at least once.  I can't stand her screeching, her hyper criticism, her flailing & wailing.  And Scott got on my nerves tonight screaming "Bitch!" every round of his game (yah, yah, gamers do that, trash talk, competitive sport blah blah blah). I just do not like the word, especially when it's said with such vehemence and anger.  But that's my own issue I guess.  

Tara & Joey are still my faves, despite the both of them showing signs of pouty entitlement these last 2 legs.  Tara had a bad case of Killer Fatigue in this leg IMO.  She was frustrated doing something she had never done before and everyone was getting past her.  Yes, that's true of every racer in almost every leg, but towards the end of AR, everything is magnified.  I'm too lazy to look up their ages but are "Team Mom & Dad" that much older than the rest of the "kids" in the race?  They don't look much older to me.  Or are they "Mom & Dad" because they do in fact have kids of their own?

LoLo - meh.  If they win I won't be upset.  Little drama, little personality, but I prefer them over Brooke & Scott any day of the week.

Bye Matt & Redmond.  I'm sure it will be a long time before either of them take a subway or train anywhere.

[teebax]

8 hours ago, Bryce Lynch said:

Worst leg design ever!  There was no opportunity to make up ground.

I despise Tara and Joey.  Joey was a total douchebag calling the gamer all types of names for having the audacity not to just let Tara beat him.  

This show deserves to be cancelled.  I am not watching the finale and won't watch next season if CBS is stupid enough to renew it.   

Why do you want the  show to be cancelled just because you don't like it? There are hundreds of other things to watch. If i don't like a show, I just watch something else. I've never understood the demand to have a show cancelled.

Anyway, I feel about gaming the way Tara does. It wasn't fun to watch on TV either. But I'm glad they made it to the finals. As long as the screeching whiner doesn't win, I'm fine. Anyone but Brooke, who is one of the nastiest racers I've seen on the show.

[Miles]

9 hours ago, enlightenedbum said:

Isn't the second rule of TAR (after read the fucking clue) that the train is always slower than a cab?  Have we ever seen a train be the faster option?

Yes we have seen a train be the faster option, but it almost never is. Locals will always tell you that the train is faster, but unless it's rush hour it never is. This looked like it was the very end of rush hour, so the taxis got through reasonably well and the train was quite a bit slower.

8 hours ago, sinycalone said:

I didn't see entitlement tonight...I saw someone frustrated because his partner was completely out of her element.  Should he have kept quiet....probably...but also hard to do.  And to be honest, we know the "pros" in these challenges usually do let the teams win after a point...normally before that point was reached tonight.

That hasn't been true in many seasons now. It used to be that way, but since pros get more and more severe handycaps nowadays they are supposed to give their best. At the end the guy was playing blind folded with a hand behind his back. What more advantage could they have given Tara? Should he have played blind folded with one foot?

7 hours ago, enlightenedbum said:

You'd be surprised what pro gamers can do blindfolded just with audio cues and having total mastery of the game.  That was not necessarily a gimme.

Yes and no. It's impressive what they can pull off, but it's still a severe handycap. You could jump over them and they wouldn't know where you are. At that point they can just flail around and hope to connect. It probably would have been the best strategy to jump around a bunch and spam hadoukens at that point.

Edited May 26, 2017 by Miles

[CrashTextDummie]

I enjoyed both roadblocks. There's something funny to me about watching racers struggle with literal child's play. Cup stacking was a pretty unique challenge in that it requires skills like concentration and coordination that are rarely highlighted on the Amazing Race. And while I understand that some people may not enjoy watching video game footage, I got a kick out of watching the pro players calmly manipulating their controllers (one-handed!) while the racers where sitting next to them furiously button-mashing.

Also I can forgive Tara and Joey for their behavior during the second roadblock. They clearly have a very negative opinion of video games, which I consider a generational thing and not really a character flaw. I understand the frustration of being so completely out of your element and if you've never played a video game, even the very basics aren't that easy to pick up. Also I didn't see Joey's trash talking as literal entitlement àlà "Tara is a mom so he should let her win" and more general trash talking as some people are wont to engage in when watching sports on the telly and being super behind one of the teams. That dude was literally the enemy in that situation and Joey was super into it so all is fair in my book!

Really happy with the final 3 and for once I don't think any of the teams are a shoe-in to win. The entire season has been really enjoyable to me and I'm looking forward to the finale.

[Fake Jan Brady]

56 minutes ago, BusyOctober said:

I'm too lazy to look up their ages but are "Team Mom & Dad" that much older than the rest of the "kids" in the race? 

Your comment made me curious enough to research.

Joey is 46, Tara is 38. There's hardly a generation gap between them and Brooke, who is [wait for it...] 36 and Scott, 34.

London and Logan are the babies of the finalists - both are 27.

[Miles]

5 minutes ago, cousin oliver said:

Joey is 46, Tara is 38.

I don't think there is a polite way to put this, but Tara looks quite a bit older than her actual age. I could have sworn she was in her late 40s. It looks like she and Joey are the same age.

Edited May 26, 2017 by Miles

[Vanderboom]

8 hours ago, Richness said:

Since I can't stand Brooke, even when she's fairly well behaved like tonight, I'm officially rooting for LoLo. Was it just me, or was Logan looking particularly sexy tonight? His guns were on prominent display thanks to the tank-top and bright lights of the cup stacking venue. I never really noticed him before until now.

It wasn't just you. There were also glimmers of personality tonight. I liked his good-natured teasing about Logan's gaming skills.

6 hours ago, JunebugWA said:

Redmond just rubbed me the wrong way, although I like Matt. Also not happy that Brooke is in the final. 

Same here. I'm worried that Brooke's getting a redemption edit, and I really don't want her to win, especially with her "I had faith in us" bullshit.

[sinycalone]

37 minutes ago, Miles said:

Yes we have seen a train be the faster option, but it almost never is. Locals will always tell you that the train is faster, but unless it's rush hour it never is. This looked like it was the very end of rush hour, so the taxis got through reasonably well and the train was quite a bit slower.

That hasn't been true in many seasons now. It used to be that way, but since pros get more and more severe handycaps nowadays they are supposed to give their best. At the end the guy was playing blind folded with a hand behind his back. What more advantage could they have given Tara? Should he have played blind folded with one foot?

Yes and no. It's impressive what they can pull off, but it's still a severe handycap. You could jump over them and they wouldn't know where you are. At that point they can just flail around and hope to connect. It probably would have been the best strategy to jump around a bunch and spam hadoukens at that point.

I thought we saw at least once instance of the pros letting the TAR teams win earlier this season....when they were rowing (boats vs archery).  They gave the TAR teams a bigger head start each time, then just held back so that the teams could win.  

In any case, I'm not into video games either -- but realize there is a whole world out there involved in them on a competitive level.  Just like I love baseball...but realize there are millions who don't - but I'm not offended by their lack of enthusiasm.

[blackwing]

1 hour ago, CrashTextDummie said:

Also I can forgive Tara and Joey for their behavior during the second roadblock. They clearly have a very negative opinion of video games, which I consider a generational thing and not really a character flaw. I understand the frustration of being so completely out of your element and if you've never played a video game, even the very basics aren't that easy to pick up. Also I didn't see Joey's trash talking as literal entitlement àlà "Tara is a mom so he should let her win" and more general trash talking as some people are wont to engage in when watching sports on the telly and being super behind one of the teams. That dude was literally the enemy in that situation and Joey was super into it so all is fair in my book!

As pointed out, Joey is 46.  Tara, although she easily looks mid-40s, is only 38.  Not much older than Brooke and Scott.  At this task, Tara and Joey acted like they are 65.  So what if she was out of her element?  If you go on TAR, expect to be challenged and put of your element.  I'm sure the Chippendales had zero experience with synchronised swimming, or Kisha and Jen with synchronised diving, or any of these teams with making kim chi.

Notwithstanding the fact that Joey should firmly have grown up in the age of Atari 2600 before it got the 2600 tag, and video arcades in standalone shops, Sears and grocery stores... why was his attitude so negative?  Oh boo hoo to Tara repeatedly saying she isn't a gamer.  London isn't either, and she just frantically button mashed.

Joey wasn't "trash talking".  I didn't see anything good natured or fun in his comments.  He was angry and pissed and frustrated.   He was literally kvetching that the player was nasty for beating up on a mom.  What does being a mom have to do with it?

[Archery]

Faced with a video game task I would (1) immediately start crying real tears, and (2) still be there (with my opponent standing on his head and playing the game with his toes).  I am not above waking my teenager up and making him come downstairs to show me how to get Batman over the pit of molten lava after having tried it (and killed Batman) 72 times. 

[Jersey Guy 87]

I'm older than Joey and I like playing video games.  The Atari 2600 came out when I was a kid, we played games on it for hours.  I know I can't come close to competing with professional gamers (and Street Fighter isn't necessarily my speed) but the idea that gaming is somehow alien to people of Tara and Joey's age makes no sense.  Tara just never played video games, plenty of people her age (like Scott) did and still do.  It's not generational at all.

[Nidratime]

I felt sorry for Tara. If you didn't grow up playing those games -- which I know I didn't -- it's not easy to learn in such a short time. Furthermore, she looked like someone who was trying to carefully aim and shoot, which a soldier might do and which apparently is not the way to go here.  I probably would've been even worse, since I don't have the greatest hand-eye coordination and I'm not the most dexterous person. So, I completely understood her frustration. (I can only imagine the fit Brooke would've pitched if she had had to do this task.)

[Bryce Lynch]

9 hours ago, F. M. said:

Poor Matt and Redmond I know they took the subway, but if the cab hadn't taken them to the wrong place, I think they would be in the F3. Gawd,I hate Brooke is still racing.!!!!

I didnt like the cups, but hell,  the gaming would have done me in. I'd of asked them to double blindfold the kid! 

Brooke's all smiles now, what a change...sigh.

The leg design has been pretty bad in many episodes this season.  Last week, they made the difficult, but doable leg the NEL and the really grueling one with the shrimp trap bikes, the  foot rowing and all the bike riding the elimination leg.  I thought is should have been the other way around.

This leg bunched everybody up (after Matt and Redmond had about a 2 hour advantage from the last leg) and then gave them a leg there was very little chance to make up time in the tasks.  It ended all being about non-self navigated travel.  M&R should have used whatever transportation method the rest of the teams were using, as they are strong in challenges.  Going off on their own was a big mistake for them. 

The kim chi (sp?) task was basically, do your first try, get some corrections from the judge and then finish it.  The cup task didn't seem to take all that long.  

The gaming task was pretty much set up so that you would get the clue after playing a certain number of games.  Nobody was going to beat the pros without a handicap, and only Matt somehow managed to beat a pro with his hand behind his back, but no blindfold.  I believe everyone else but Tara beat the blindfolded pro on the first try.

The smart move would have been to intentionally lose the early rounds as quickly as possible, so you could get to the blindfolded stage faster.  Playing well, and giving the pros a good fight was actually detrimental, which is another reason the leg was horribly designed.  

[Bryce Lynch]

34 minutes ago, Nidratime said:

I felt sorry for Tara. If you didn't grow up playing those games -- which I know I didn't -- it's not easy to learn in such a short time. Furthermore, she looked like someone who was trying to carefully aim and shoot, which a soldier might do and which apparently is not the way to go here.  I probably would've been even worse, since I don't have the greatest hand-eye coordination and I'm not the most dexterous person. So, I completely understood her frustration. (I can only imagine the fit Brooke would've pitched if she had had to do this task.)

I probably would have felt sorry for Tara, if Joey hadn't been berating her opponent for not letting her win, when he was blindfolded and playing with one hand. 

[Netfoot]

11 hours ago, Bryce Lynch said:

The sense of entitlement that both Tara and Joey have shown in the last few legs is sickening.  They are now my least favorite racers ever.

I dunno about ever, but I have certainly come to develop a strong dislike for Joey.  The sense of entitlement, and the distain he exhibits when ever something doesn't go his way!  Tara may be a poorer racer, but her attitude isn't as bad as his.

9 hours ago, enlightenedbum said:

So if you do much, much better at it, you're still only going to make up something like 5 minutes.

Given a dozen cups, how long do you think it would take you to get good enough to complete it in 7 seconds?  It could take me an hour or more!  Which would be an opportunity for someone with more dexterous hands to pull way ahead.

Well, here I am, looking at three teams I don't give a fig for.   The least offensive are London/Logan, but simply because they have been pretty much non-entities throughout the race.  Not sufficient for me to feel they deserve the win.  And the other two teams are both comprised of horrible people I wouldn't want to share a restaurant with, far less a table.

So, I guess I'm rooting for LoLo.  Not because I think they deserve to win, but because I think the other teams deserve to lose.  Hopefully they return via Alaska, and Tara/Joey and Brook/Scott both receive the Major Guido!

(Competitive cup-stacking.  Who knew?  Nice to see some of the kids exhibiting real enthusiasm over the... sport?)

[greyhorse]

One week of competent Brooke does not make up for a season of whiny helpless grade A beeyatch Brooke.

Matt and Red took a huge gamble on the train and they lost.  It doesn't say how much time they lost with the train and the missed connection, but that was pretty much the ballgame right there.  I think if they had to do it again, they would stick with the pack since they could probably have beaten the other teams at any of those challenges.

There was such a stark contrast between London and Tara at the video game challenge.  London looks like she is having fun, has a great attitude, and is mashing buttons like she doesn't know what she's doing (since she doesn't).  Tara has a sour look on her face, looks like she is pushing one button every 15 seconds (and anybody who has played Street Fighter knows for a beginner that is terrible strategy) and we get treated to her whining and complaining the whole time.

I did think the Street Fighter roadblock was inherently unfair, as anybody who has played knows you need to know all the combo moves in order to get the big attacks (who doesn't remember writing down things like "Up Down A B AB Right Right" and taking it with them to the arcade so you could shout it out to your brother while he was playing?  So these guys never had a chance.  The only way you can win is when they are blindfolded, which is what happened.  By then, you should have figured out how to jump, throw fireballs, etc.  Then I would just throw fireballs and jump or duck when they did the same.

Stacking cups...who knew it was such a thing.  I think Redmond and definitely Brooke mentioned something about doing it before at a party.  Makes me want to get out my red Solo cups today and try it.

Hoping London and Logan get the win!

[Pepper Mostly]

Sigh. I'm not rooting for anyone. I fast forwarded through most of the episode. This season has become a chore to watch! No one is entertaining or likeable. Its shrieking, complaining, petty spite and whinging. The depth given to the show by the existing relationship of the players is gone. I'm just glad Matt and Redmond were eliminated. I was resigned to yet another "we're just a pair of douche bros" team; lord knows there have been plenty of those over the years. But they really ratcheted up the nasty, with spiteful, personal jabs at the other teams. They completely lost me when they mocked Scott's real and crippling fear of heights. "oh, he's going to cry so hard!" Redmond laughs. What a horrible thing to say. But I don't care who wins. I have a small preference for Tara and Joey since Joey's a Boston guy and I'm from Boston. But why do the people from Boston who get picked for these shows always have to be ill mannered louts? Gah. Good bye, Amazing Race. It was fun while it lasted.

[Eolivet]

Has anyone else pointed out the irony of the bro-iest leg maybe ever of the Amazing Race -- cup-stacking and video games -- eliminates the bro team? I love irony.

While he didn't do it this leg, Scott has been getting on my last nerve with the way he usurps Phil on the mat. "We're team number two," "We're not last, we're team number four." Like, that's Phil's only job, dude -- get over yourself. And I'm not spoiled, but if he says they won because they made alliances or had a good social game, I'm going to throw something. Go away, Survivor reject. At least Brooke knows what show she signed up for (despite its level of difficulty for her).

Wonder how Team Fun would've fared with the video games...

Edited May 26, 2017 by Eolivet

[alannaofdoom]

3 hours ago, Miles said:

What more advantage could they have given Tara? Should he have played blind folded with one foot?

"For this round, you will grip the joystick between your teeth..."

[TheRabbi]

1 hour ago, Bryce Lynch said:

The smart move would have been to intentionally lose the early rounds as quickly as possible, so you could get to the blindfolded stage faster.  Playing well, and giving the pros a good fight was actually detrimental, which is another reason the leg was horribly designed.  

Was it ever explained to the teams that handicaps would eventually be given though? I remember someone saying after a time or two getting crushed "How am I ever going to do this?", as opposed to "Well, 8 more rounds and I get an advantage." 

I thought this was a good episode. As some others have mentioned, having no skill at gaming is really no different than someone being born with '2 left feet' and no coordination trying to complete a dancing task. You practice, get a little better, and eventually do enough to barely pass. Tara's incessant whining and 'I'm too busy doing this in real life to put up with this' was very annoying. Probably rooting for Lolo at this point, mainly because I don't want the others to win. Not a great setup for the finale.

[Bryce Lynch]

37 minutes ago, Eolivet said:

Has anyone else pointed out the irony of the bro-iest leg maybe ever of the Amazing Race -- cup-stacking and video games -- eliminates the bro team? I love irony.

While he didn't do it this leg, Scott has been getting on my last nerve with the way he usurps Phil on the mat. "We're team number two," "We're not last, we're team number four." Like, that's Phil's only job, dude -- get over yourself. And I'm not spoiled, but if he says they won because they made alliances or had a good social game, I'm going to throw something. Go away, Survivor reject. At least Brooke knows what show she signed up for (despite its level of difficulty for her).

Wonder how Team Fun would've fared with the video games...

They made a somewhat obscure gaming reference in naming their donkey "Speedy McSpeederton" (which is an achievement trophy in a game called Borderlands).  So, I would imagine at least one member of Team Fun is , as my son would put it, a MLG (major league gamer).  

38 minutes ago, Eolivet said:

Has anyone else pointed out the irony of the bro-iest leg maybe ever of the Amazing Race -- cup-stacking and video games -- eliminates the bro team? I love irony.

While he didn't do it this leg, Scott has been getting on my last nerve with the way he usurps Phil on the mat. "We're team number two," "We're not last, we're team number four." Like, that's Phil's only job, dude -- get over yourself. And I'm not spoiled, but if he says they won because they made alliances or had a good social game, I'm going to throw something. Go away, Survivor reject. At least Brooke knows what show she signed up for (despite its level of difficulty for her).

Wonder how Team Fun would've fared with the video games...

For dealing with Brooke, whining, berating him and screaming "I CAAAAAAN'T DO IT!!!!"for the entire race, I give Scott a free pass for anything up to aggravated assault.

Edited May 26, 2017 by Bryce Lynch

[Miles]

1 hour ago, Bryce Lynch said:

The smart move would have been to intentionally lose the early rounds as quickly as possible, so you could get to the blindfolded stage faster.  Playing well, and giving the pros a good fight was actually detrimental, which is another reason the leg was horribly designed.  

That's what I usually think, especially at the rowing task earlier this season. Just conserve your energy for the first 1-2 times since you likely won't beat the pros anyway. Here I'm not so sure. It doesn't cost you energy to play out the round, only time and you get a lot of practice in that you likely desperatly need.

3 hours ago, sinycalone said:

I thought we saw at least once instance of the pros letting the TAR teams win earlier this season....when they were rowing (boats vs archery).  They gave the TAR teams a bigger head start each time, then just held back so that the teams could win.  

It looked that way at first, but then Matt and Redmonds actually beat them first try. I think the simple truth is that the pros got tired after a while.

1 hour ago, Bryce Lynch said:

I probably would have felt sorry for Tara, if Joey hadn't been berating her opponent for not letting her win, when he was blindfolded and playing with one hand. 

Not me. Her comments weren't much better. Like "I didn't come half way around the world to lose to a videogame". In a tone of voice that suggested video games were beneath her and she thought gamers weren't as good as her. I doubt she would have said something like that had it been soccer or baseball, or hell, riding a bike full of crab traps.

58 minutes ago, greyhorse said:

I did think the Street Fighter roadblock was inherently unfair, as anybody who has played knows you need to know all the combo moves in order to get the big attacks (who doesn't remember writing down things like "Up Down A B AB Right Right" and taking it with them to the arcade so you could shout it out to your brother while he was playing?  So these guys never had a chance.  The only way you can win is when they are blindfolded, which is what happened.  By then, you should have figured out how to jump, throw fireballs, etc.  Then I would just throw fireballs and jump or duck when they did the same.

Then every roadblock and detour on the race are inherently unfair. The rock climbing task this season was inherently unfair because Becca is a rock climbing instructor and so climbs every day as part of her job, the height tasks are inherently unfair since Tara is a Paratrooper, etc.

Edited May 26, 2017 by Miles

[greyhorse]

11 minutes ago, Miles said:

Then every roadblock and detour on the race are inherently unfair. The rock climbing task this season was inherently unfair because Becca is a rock climbing instructor and so climbs every day as part of her job, the height tasks are inherently unfair since Tara is a Paratrooper, etc.

Unfair to all the racers is what I mean.  There's no way they can be expected to beat world class gaming champions.  Just like any of the roadblocks where they have to score a goal on a professional soccer player, etc.  Until the racers get some type of advantage, it's pretty darn near impossible.  Although as mentioned, the pros did lose to Matt and Redmond on the first try during a physical task.  Not sure how much physicality there is in gaming, although they will probably consider themselves athletes the same way a race car driver considers himself an athlete.  There was pretty much no way to beat the kids until round 21 when they had to play blindfolded.

Did each team compete simultaneously?  Or was it watch Tara fail, then watch London fail, then Scott, etc.?  Seemed like the crowd was only focused on one racer at a time.  If they had to go 20+ rounds, then they certainly were there a long time.

[Miles]

I mean yeah most of these "you'll get an advantage every few tries"-tasks are pretty much impossible, unless you are for some reason really good at the thing. So it's not unfair. All of the racers are on the same level and it makes for good TV to see them struggle a bit.

Also Matt did beat his oponent at the "one hand behind his back"-stage, so it was possible to beat the pro gamers before the blindfold-stage.

Edited May 26, 2017 by Miles

[Bryce Lynch]

4 minutes ago, greyhorse said:

Unfair to all the racers is what I mean.  There's no way they can be expected to beat world class gaming champions.  Just like any of the roadblocks where they have to score a goal on a professional soccer player, etc.  Until the racers get some type of advantage, it's pretty darn near impossible.  Although as mentioned, the pros did lose to Matt and Redmond on the first try during a physical task.  Not sure how much physicality there is in gaming, although they will probably consider themselves athletes the same way a race car driver considers himself an athlete.  There was pretty much no way to beat the kids until round 21 when they had to play blindfolded.

Did each team compete simultaneously?  Or was it watch Tara fail, then watch London fail, then Scott, etc.?  Seemed like the crowd was only focused on one racer at a time.  If they had to go 20+ rounds, then they certainly were there a long time.

I think beating the gaming pros, with no handicap, would be even more difficult than scoring a penalty kick on a pro goalie.  All it takes is one lucky kick to score the goal.  Beating the gamer pros requires a sustained effort of outplaying guys who spend their whole lives playing the games.  

1 minute ago, Miles said:

I mean yeah most of these "you'll get an advantage every so and so much tries"-tasks are pretty much impossible, unless you are for some reason really good at the thing. So it's not unfair. All of the racers are on the same level and it makes for good TV to see them struggle a bit.

Also Matt did beat his oponent at the one "hand behind his back"-stage, so it was possible to beat the pro gamers before the blindfold-stage.

I was amazed and impressed that Matt won prior to the blindfold stage.  Nobody else seemed to be even close...though to me it was impossible to tell how well the racers were doing until the fights were over, which was another thing I didn't like about the leg.  

[iMonrey]

I'm torn because I never like Redmond, and I'm glad they were Philiminated because it makes the Final Three more competitive. On the other hand, I don't want Tara and Joey - especially Joey - anywhere near the million bucks. He's an entitled dick and would be the worst winner I can think of in years.

Quote

Joey was whining like a little bitch, because Tara's opponent having one hand tied behind his back and being blindfolded wasn't enough.  He wanted the guy to just lose on purpose.

Exactly - it was LadderGate all over again. "Those guys are assholes because they won't step aside and let us win." He actually thinks everyone is supposed to be helping him win. Does he understand how races and games work? I'm sick of him bitching about people not letting him win! Tara wasn't that bad, and I really felt for her, but "I'm too busy fighting real enemies, in the army . . ." rubbed me the wrong way. And Joey sitting there bitching about some kid who wouldn't let Tara win made me want to punch him. God, he's awful.

Quote

And Scott got on my nerves tonight screaming "Bitch!" every round of his game

Heh. Don't ever watch Breaking Bad then.

Quote

Last game I played was Ms. PacMan back in the Dark Ages.

Galaga for me!

[proserpina65]

13 hours ago, Bryce Lynch said:

Worst leg design ever!  There was no opportunity to make up ground.

I despise Tara and Joey.  Joey was a total douchebag calling the gamer all types of names for having the audacity not to just let Tara beat him.  

This show deserves to be cancelled.  I am not watching the finale and won't watch next season if CBS is stupid enough to renew it.   

There was plenty of opportunity to make up ground.  Matt & Richmond did, in fact, catch up.  Had Tara not finally managed to mash enough buttons to win, Matt would've passed her.

[Tara Ariano]

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

 

The Amazing Race Does Some Seoul-Searching

In South Korea, teams learn a thing or two from the indoor kids when they stack cups and play a few rounds of Street Fighter.

[proserpina65]

13 hours ago, sinycalone said:

although she did bitch at the cup stacking and the restaurant, didn't she?)

Not at the cup stacking - she was unfailingly enthusiastic there.  But at the restaurant, yes, a bit.

[Bryce Lynch]

4 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

There was plenty of opportunity to make up ground.  Matt & Richmond did, in fact, catch up.  Had Tara not finally managed to mash enough buttons to win, Matt would've passed her.

Tara did more horribly than could reasonably be expected and Matt far better, and he still wasn't able to make up enough time.  

[LilaFowler]

The boys: the subway was a stupid decision. It's rare that taking alternate transportation pays off. I think even with the cab stuff they would have beaten Mom and Dad.

Tara and Joey turned into such whiners. I couldn't believe the stuff that Joey was saying about her pro gamer. What a couple of assholes. I hope they lose. In fact, I realized that I don't even really care who wins. Brooke and Scott: no words really need to be said. LoLo: so boring and average. Mom&Dad: showed their true colors, who cares.

[Packerbrewerbadger]

My daughter is 38 and to me, Tara seems closer to my age than hers ...... actually, I feel younger than Tara!

[Bryce Lynch]

32 minutes ago, LilaFowler said:

The boys: the subway was a stupid decision. It's rare that taking alternate transportation pays off. I think even with the cab stuff they would have beaten Mom and Dad.

Tara and Joey turned into such whiners. I couldn't believe the stuff that Joey was saying about her pro gamer. What a couple of assholes. I hope they lose. In fact, I realized that I don't even really care who wins. Brooke and Scott: no words really need to be said. LoLo: so boring and average. Mom&Dad: showed their true colors, who cares.

The boys' move was especially stupid, given how good they are at challenges.  If you are a weak challenge team, taking a risk on a different mode of transportation might make sense.  When you are a strong challenge team, you should stay with the herd and then beat them in the challenges. 

Edited May 26, 2017 by Bryce Lynch