S30.E02: You're The Best French-Fry Ever!

[Geenee]

Quote

The race continues in

Spoiler

Belgium

.

 

[dizzyd]

The head to head elimination was a nice twist and fun with Phil's running commentary. Poor team Yale though, glad they made it in the end. That diamond detour looked too complicated for me. I like team skiers. Team BB are much more palatable so far on TAR, but I still remember the ugliness of the house, just can't bring myself to root for them. I can't believe the goat yogans didn't switch after the 1st head to head. 

[RockShrimp]

WORST. TWIST. EVER.

 

I am livid. The team that came in THIRD ended up in 8th? I hated the Goat Yoga girls but it's bullshit that they went home. It defeats the entire purpose of the rest of the leg to have that stupid obstacle course.

AND the stupid fry costumes made it impossible to tell who was who because it's still too early to tell them apart. ARGH. 

eta: It also gives a huge disadvantage to the less physical teams, who ALREADY tend to be disadvantaged. I hope they don't do this frequently or I may have to give up on this show after 30 seasons. 

Edited January 11, 2018 by RockShrimp

[Eolivet]

Guys, if you were going to do an arbitrary twist, why didn't you just make them build fire against each other instead?

Edited January 11, 2018 by Eolivet

[Browncoat]

I don't think I'm a fan of this head-to-head thing.  It's a terrible way to lose.  I get that technically a footrace to the mat is a head-to-head, but this is different. I am mostly glad that goat yoga lost the head-to-head in the end.  They should have been out last week. 

At least it wasn't a fry-eating head-to-head.

Edited January 11, 2018 by Browncoat

[InDueTime]

It was quite the team shuffle this episode. 

Rope ladders make me nervous. There would be no way I could do the Roadblock. 

"Pineapple" safe word? Huh? You just can't tell the other person to relax or something?

The Head to Head is am interesting concept. I wonder if there will be more this season. If so, I wonder if it will replace the U-Turn.

I was hoping that Team Slam Dunk would've come in first, but good job on bouncing back. Good job on Team Extreme on flying through the Detour.

Well, there goes Team Goat Yoga. I figured the Firefighters would have the edge at the end.

Edited January 11, 2018 by InDueTime
Spacing and spelling.

[Haleth]

I think the episode title should have been "[racer] lost his frites!"  Poor Henry and Evan, having jto run over and over. I just knew the goats would come in last. So long, goat ladies!

Too bad they didn't get to make chocolates. (Picturing Lucy and Ethel.). That would have been more fun to watch than climbing up a crane. 

The head to head didn't bother me. How often do racers have to compete against a local and have to keep at it until they win?  What's the difference?

Edited January 11, 2018 by Haleth

[Lamb18]

I suppose the skier had Brennivin on an empty stomach, was probably dehydrated anyway, then had to run for the mat. Poor woman, having to puke into the water on camera.

Chocolate!! And hurray! Teams said what their per diem is! Since they were showing the travel agency and bus tickets, I was hoping someone would massively mess up, but no, it looks like everyone made it on the plane  Sarah looks like she'd like to go home right now as she stands next to April.

I thought this was a rope climb, but it's a rope ladder. Still . . . Go Jessica!  Oh, goodness a math challenge (diamonds). If you're unsure of your math skills then the printing press would be the one to choose. It's been so long since I've seen the show I forgot there were two options in a detour. Diamonds would be cool, just to see them, but I don't know about doing the calculations on the fly.

Cody is pretty smart. He figured out the position of the typeface right away. So are the skiers, using the mirror. Oops, I guess Cody's not that smart after all! Use the rulers!

Hurray! French fries costumes! Interesting, the French fry race is actually the pitstop, too. I thought this was a fun challenge, at least to watch. Congratulations, Cody and Jessica! How funny, the fire fighters printing the typeface on their arms. I want a frite costume. I like Phil as announcer of the race. Tough on Henry and Evan - I'm glad they finally won a race. Nice to go out wearing a French fry costume.

But I thought there was going to be chocolate in this episode.

[tiredofwork]

In my opinion, this may have been the Jump The Shark episode of AR..  The entire 1/2 of the show is a fucking stupid ass french fry race.  In fact the entire episode was just lame.. Climb a crane, print shit out or price diamonds..., really????

[mtlchick]

The winner of the Frite race is the cameraman that leapt over a few ropes while filming.  That's dedication.   Also, Heney didn't die at the end of it. Good GOD that fall look painful! 

Decent detour options though the printing was the easier choice by far.  On the fence about Head to Head.  It's devious to the point I like it, but not something I would want to see often.  It rewarded teams that could run faster while handling a dolly, and that punished teams that worked well getting close to the end. 

Mmm...Frites.  Now I'm hungry.  

[displayname]

I have a twist too!

 

NO MORE TWISTS.

[Lady Calypso]

Damn. After the first episode, my first thought when Sarah told the cameras that she wanted April to race again because she didn't drop any bags the first time, I just thought it was her way of passing the blame to April when they lost. Also, Sarah, you guys got there and only competed against two people. You have no idea how the other teams did. 

Man, I felt so bad for Evan and Henry when they had to compete 7 times. It was clearly not their competition. But I love that they seemed to stay optimistic and they didn't edit in any fighting. They both seemed to be very, very supportive of each other, and I liked Evan's line about just needing to win one in order to continue racing. That's a good way of looking at it. 

The leg was fairly easy; it was just the Head to Head competition that took up half the episode. Also, whichever of Shawn/Cedric to say that this was the Head to Head wasn't done on any TAR. Well, no. Other versions have done it. Maybe correct it to first American TAR time.

Phil sounds like he's having fun this season. He gets to commentate and he's gotten to have a lot more chatter with the greeters. 

I think the Head to Head is rough because whoever wins is already at the mat. As much as I enjoyed Phil getting to actually participate in a competition by commentating, I think it's rough if it's a competition a team can't do. And the last team to get there only gets one chance, or the second last team, which sucks. 

[TheRabbi]

Not my favorite episode. They had to devote half the episode to the head to head challenge, which takes away from more interesting things (like seeing more Belgium). I was happy the firefighters got to stay in at the end, since I've had enough of the goat yoga gals (at least the mean bossy one). And poor Henry and Evan. If they had gone out, that would have been some real BS. 

Side note: through 2 episodes, we've already seen more cameras and production people on air than possibly 29 seasons of the show. Between the starting line, the photo finish leg 1, and cameras visible everywhere at the last challenge leg 2. I actually kind of like it, feels more authentic. 

Edited January 11, 2018 by TheRabbi

[notcreative enough]

I felt just awful for team Yale having to go over and over again. Don't know why the other goat lady didn't switch off maybe she was just over the whole thing.

Glad the close counted after that fell off the ladder. It wasn't that one guys fault the wind blew it off. 

Don't really know why Phil said something about the twins getting a second chance. Was it because the switched detours? They could have taken 4 extra hours and it would have all come down to the fry race.

Loved the eater guy (Joe?) telling his partner that he responds well to being yelled at. 

Edited January 11, 2018 by notcreative enough

[mojoween]

I am so not here for ten weeks of “my girlfriend is amazing” “Jess is so fearless” “she is so awesome.”  Just, shut your FACE, Cody.

You spent three months in a house where no one liked each other because you were a miserable git who everyone hated.  Because you were miserable.  From the beginning.

I hate that stupid race at the end.  Cedric and Shawn were legit FIRST, dammit.

Phil sounds like he’s a little in love with Cody and Jessica and I hate it.

Redemption?  REDEMPTION?  You brought it on YOURSELVES, Jessica.  You did it.  Once Paul was there, yeah it sucked about his safety, but everything after that was on YOU.    Your behavior was on YOU.

Sorry.  But I just cannot with them.

[PaperTree]

Goodbye goat yoga.  Enjoy your next adventure.  I would have preferred the creepy twins eliminated, but I don't think they will last.

I didn't like that pit-stop challenge.  It's set up so the weakest man can still beat the weakest woman (not on your team).  Being a nerd, I like Evan and Henry but they are probably doomed.

BB, Violin dudes, racers, skiers, NBA are all strong teams.

Brittany is starting to grate on me, but I strangely sort of like everybody,

Oops! not the eaters "How dare you not be impressed by my french fry gulping prowess!!".  The Ugly American, on full display :(

[sinycalone]

I'm still not quite sure why April ran the frite race twice?  I thought they had to alternate.

I liked the balance of the physical (climbing the rope ladder) against the mental (diamonds or printing).  Not sure I could have climbed that ladder, though.  The printing was definitely easier -- once they figured out reversing the letters, etc.  "

The head-to-head was fun, especially with Phil's doing the play-by-play....but not sure I'd like it as a permanent feature.

[mishap]

I did not like that twist at all.  Not entertaining, and did not seem in the spirit of the race.    It looked to me, like on a few of the races, that one racer might have sabotaged the other .  But maybe it was just too hard to control, to avoid running into each other.  

I'm not sad at who went home though.    I would have been sad if Evan and Henry had been eliminated though.  

[Rinaldo]

I haaated this episode -- specifically the Frites Race. I promised myself years ago I would never say "jump the shark" but I may have to use it for this TAR leg and what it did for the concept of merit determining finishing order.

17 minutes ago, Haleth said:

The head to head didn't bother me. How often do racers have to compete against a local and have to keep at it until they win?  What's the difference?

All the difference in the world. When you lose to a local, they don't get to finish the race ahead of you. You could lose to a local 6 times and still (depending on how the leg was organized) finish first. In this case, each loss pushed the loser down another number in the finishing order. It's just really poorly thought through. It's like it was designed to make sure Henry and Evan were eliminated (fortunately they squeaked through). Yuck.

7 minutes ago, sinycalone said:

I'm still not quite sure why April ran the frite race twice?  I thought they had to alternate.

?? Not at all. They had the option of alternating, if they chose. I believe the first team used the same racer twice too.

Edited January 11, 2018 by Rinaldo

[Lady Calypso]

8 minutes ago, PaperTree said:

Brittany is starting to grate on me, but I strangely sort of like everybody,

I gotta admit, though, I love that her and Lucas thought of a code word to use if either of them were taking it too far. I hope it's a strategy that works.

7 minutes ago, sinycalone said:

I'm still not quite sure why April ran the frite race twice?  I thought they had to alternate.

They had the option to switch. But Sarah told the cameras that she wanted April to race again because she did so well for the first one. Or, in my opinion, *insert bullshit reason here in order to hang it over April's head the rest of their lives when they lost*

[milner]

On some challenges a team can opt to sit out by taking a time penalty, I guess it would have been impossible to have such an option in the pommes frite race.  (unless you got a two or so hour penalty and if all teams finished before your time was out you were out)

[sinycalone]

Quote

They had the option to switch. But Sarah told the cameras that she wanted April to race again because she did so well for the first one. Or, in my opinion, *insert bullshit reason here in order to hang it over April's head the rest of their lives when they lost*

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the clarification...and I agree with your interpretation of Sarah's comments.

[Wandering Snark]

12 minutes ago, Lady Calypso said:

Sarah told the cameras that she wanted April to race again because she did so well for the first one. Or, in my opinion, *insert bullshit reason here in order to hang it over April's head the rest of their lives when they lost*

Exactly... we know how those two are.

I thought the head to head simply punished teams that didn't pick up the task, much like people that can't understand the dance steps they are supposed to learn and can lead toward big swings of placements of teams that in a different task would have sailed through. I wouldn't want to see it often but I don't think it was any less "fair" than other tasks that gave an advantage to people with a particular set of skills.

That diamond challenge would have literally made my head explode. Kudos to those who dealt with that sea of numbers. I'm amazed anyone got that right.

The printing was tricky as well. Again, sets of skills.

And add that I am with mojoween on this one, still hating team BB.

 

ETA: I believe it's been four hours to sit out a task in the past? It I'm sure was enough time to not really consider it.

Edited January 11, 2018 by Wandering Snark

[Lady Calypso]

1 minute ago, Wandering Snark said:

I thought the head to head simply punished teams that didn't pick up the task, much like people that can't understand the dance steps they are supposed to learn and can lead toward big swings of placements of teams that in a different task would have sailed through. I wouldn't want to see it often but I don't think it was any less "fair" than other tasks that gave an advantage to people with a particular set of skills.

I think what would make it better would be allowing the pit stop to also not be right there. At least, if there's a further race to the pit stop, it gives a team like Henry/Evan a chance to catch up. 

[ElleryAnne]

Add me to those who disliked the head-to-head race at the end.  It probably isn't a lot of time lost, but it still seems unfair that the first team to arrive can't even officially continue their task to get to the mat until another team arrives.  

[chaifan]

I'm another one who really didn't like the head to head race.  I don't like the general concept, taking away from the "first at the mat wins".  But it also took way too much time out of the episode.  And, I thought Phil's "commentary" was stupid and annoying.

Also, am I the only one who completely misunderstood the preview from last week, and the directions in this episode?  When they said "you can switch partners" I thought we were looking at a switch of partners between teams.  Was that intentionally misleading, or am I just daft?

[howiveaddict]

2 minutes ago, chaifan said:

I'm another one who really didn't like the head to head race.  I don't like the general concept, taking away from the "first at the mat wins".  But it also took way too much time out of the episode.  And, I thought Phil's "commentary" was stupid and annoying.

Also, am I the only one who completely misunderstood the preview from last week, and the directions in this episode?  When they said "you can switch partners" I thought we were looking at a switch of partners between teams.  Was that intentionally misleading, or am I just daft?

I love Phil, but his race commentary reminded me too much of Jeff Probst. Of course, Phil was being nice and Jeff would be making fun of the losers.

[displayname]

LOL at Phil being a football commentator at the "twist".

[Lady Calypso]

4 minutes ago, chaifan said:

Also, am I the only one who completely misunderstood the preview from last week, and the directions in this episode?  When they said "you can switch partners" I thought we were looking at a switch of partners between teams.  Was that intentionally misleading, or am I just daft?

That preview was for the whole season, not just for this episode, so there are things that will appear later on.

[mojoween]

Henry and Evan seem sweet enough, but boy howdy did I hear enough “Come on Hen” “You got this Hen” “Slow and steady Hen” “Slow and steady Evan!”

First off Hen is a terrible nickname for Henry.  Second, slow and steady is not the way to run that particular race when you keep getting passed on the inside by guys zooming by you.

[RockShrimp]

16 minutes ago, Lady Calypso said:

I think what would make it better would be allowing the pit stop to also not be right there. At least, if there's a further race to the pit stop, it gives a team like Henry/Evan a chance to catch up. 

Yeah. Put it at the beginning of the leg to prevent bunching maybe that wouldn’t be so annoying. 

[Pfj99]

I'm not a fan of this particular head to head.  Whether it was intentional or not, racers did crash into each other or blocked each other.  So it was too much like bumper cars for my taste.

[ByaNose]

Were they trying save money by doing that stupid head to head? Was this a budget issue? I know that Survivor is permanently in Fiji but this head to head so cheap and borrrring. Even, the finish mat was two inches from the finish line. Thank god there wasn’t a foot race to the finish mat. LOL!!!!! I’m glad AR is back but don’t ever do that stupid head to head again. At least, let there be a real race after it’s done before getting eliminated.  

[North of Eden]

I was so happy to have Cody and Jess surprise me last week by being on the show as I was completly unspoiled. It's great to have a team to solidly root for. They, Cody in particular, made BIG BROTHER return to past glory this summer. I do worry about the stress the race is likely to take on their young relationship but hopefully nothing serious will arise. 

As for the rest...there is so much to snark on I don't know where to begin.

How bout with Phil...was he dropped form the credits already? What happened Jeff Probst complain that he doesn't even get to appear in the credits of reality TV's gold standard SURVIVOR? Ironic if Phil got bumped on the episode where he argualbly had the most screen time ever! And so did the cameramen by the way! Hell even the TAR drone got to make a cameo appearance.

No Sarah your team did not give it your all. APRIL gave it her all! While you stood there all refreshed while your tired partner was forced to run again. What a twerp. And "Goat Yoga" if that truly is a thing then the fall of civilization can't be far behind.

"Pineapple?" Seriously? Did this team wander in from a failed CBS sitcom pilot?

If the producers were hoping the Basketball players would be the Second Coming of Flight Time and Big Easy these charisma free characters had to be a let down.

However the producers I am certain had to be delighted that the race they set out probably played out exactly as they hoped with one team forced to compete ad nauseam.  I knew their only chance was to go up  against a team that didn't have an Alpha Male in it.

Watching people appariase diamonds was not something I waited all week for. Can we please bring back a classic only seen twice? My all time favorite was the million locks that had to be opened by Hayden in season 6 that redoced her to tears. Its only been seen one time since that epic first time.

Props to CBS though for getting Amanda Seyfried to play the role of the greeter.

Edited January 11, 2018 by North of Eden

[Uwbadgmad]

25 minutes ago, howiveaddict said:

I love Phil, but his race commentary reminded me too much of Jeff Probst. Of course, Phil was being nice and Jeff would be making fun of the losers.

I loved Phil’s commentary on the race and I thought it was funny and entertaining especially when he compared it to slalom skiing. I can’t stand Jeff’s commentary since it is so nerve wracking and must be so distracting to the contestants especially with him yelling so much.

I’m a big Cody and Jess fan so I’m glad they won. I’m enjoying a lot of the other contestants too. 

I too thought it was strange to have the finishing mat so close to the race!

Edited January 11, 2018 by Uwbadgmad

[Wandering Snark]

19 minutes ago, Pfj99 said:

I'm not a fan of this particular head to head.  Whether it was intentional or not, racers did crash into each other or blocked each other.  So it was too much like bumper cars for my taste.

Oh noes, do you have Bumper Car PTSD too?? I think there are more of you out there than people think!! (Bachelor reference btw)

Edited January 11, 2018 by Wandering Snark

[Lingo]

I thought the Head-to-Head Competition was an interesting concept. It's definitely not the worst twist they've ever had (that would be introducing teammates at the starting line and forcing them to pretend to be romantically interested in each other!). Not the best either (that would be ... um ... making the teams divide up their Roadblocks evenly I guess?). I disagree with the notion that it's not merit-based or not fair or that it makes the rest of the leg pointless. It is in fact very fair and merit-based from my point-of-view. You get to the end first, you get the most chances to win the HtH. If you get there last, you only get one shot. If you get there second-last, you get two shots, etc. Evan and Henry had to do it 7 times, but getting there so early meant they got 7 shots (and an 8th if they didn't beat the Goats). I guess the only way it fails in that regard is that the first team to arrive gets no advantage over the second. But other than that, it preserves the advantage of getting to a clue before other teams, which is a big check mark for me (I really hate bunching points that wipe out the efforts of what came before it).

That said, I would prefer a task that has more of a learning curve, so that a team that gets there first has even more of an advantage. That would make a re-occurrence of an Evan/Henry situation less likely. Although I wouldn't have hated it if a team I disliked got there in the front and got eliminated because they couldn't finish this one challenge. That happens all the time on the Race. And I would prefer a head-to-head that involved both teammates competing instead of just one, considering that elimination is at stake.

What I didn't like about it most are primarily two things: (1) it took too much time away from other parts of the episode, and (2) as a task, it was boring and goofy -- even deliberately so, by forcing them to wear the dumb costumes. It was basically just a dumb party game that had only a nominal connection to the culture surrounding it, and that really killed the mood for me. This should be a big deal because it's for elimination, but instead it just fell flat. In my mind I'm comparing it to other head-to-head competitions on other shows, although due to my limited viewing experience (I don't watch Big Brother or the Challenge for instance) I couldn't think of many. I think the best ones are Project Runway, where they occasionally force the Bottom Two to make a new dress in an hour. It's contrived but the challenge is directly relevant to the theme of the show, and it feels very dramatic. Survivor's fire-building challenges and other occasional head-to-head competitions (e.g. the Redemption Island challenges) are also pretty good too; they know how to build the challenges and edit the footage for maximum impact. This just doesn't compare. If this had been a true contest of significant skill, then maybe it would be a different story.

And you know, this show has seen its share of truly genuine, dramatic, virtual head-to-head competitions. Think back to Season 4, for instance, of Millie & Chuck versus Jon & Kelly in the bat cave. I'm sure you can think of other cases. So the show doesn't need this. But I'm willing to watch it play out for the rest of the season.

I could have used less of Phil's running commentary too. They're trying to make him do Jeff Probst's job here, and Phil just doesn't have the experience for it (although Probst often goes overboard as well). At one point after we'd already seen several head-to-heads, I heard Phil say something like, "The key here is to not drop any of your french fries." You don't say, Phil!

 

Speaking of Phil: Is it just me, or does he seem a lot more soft-spoken this season so far? He hasn't been shouting anything, he's just been talking at a normal conversational volume. I wonder if he was nursing a touch of laryngitis.

 

I will say that I really liked the Detour: mental challenges, very detail-oriented, and at least a little bit related to the locale. Good stuff.

[GenerationX]

I thought both ends of the detour were interesting.  Low-key, yes, but definitely highlighting the host country.

I don't watch BB, so I'm unfamiliar with them.  However, they have to be better than the previous BB team ("Wahhhh, the Amazing Race is supposed to be fun and good!").

I was good with the race within the Race, even with the Probstian play-by-play.

Quoth the lifeguard, "Pineapple".

[ByaNose]

16 minutes ago, Uwbadgmad said:

I loved Phil’s commentary on the race and I thought it was funny and entertaining especially when he compared it to slalom skiing. I can’t stand Jeff’s commentary since it is so nerve wracking and must be so distracting to the contestants especially with him yelling so much.

I’m a big Cody and Jess fan so I’m glad they won. I’m enjoying a lot of the other contestants too. 

I too thought it was strange to have the finishing mat so close to the race!

Yeah, I said that up, too. At least, have the finishing mat away from the course for some suspense. I mean, it was literally right there. You could have tripped over it at the finish line. So uneventful.

[Maggie Mae]

 I would have liked the frites race more if there'd been one change. If you lost, you got to remove one sack of frites from your handcart in your next heat. Evan and Henry would have been wheeling around an empty handcart perhaps! Also, was there any reason you couldn't pull the cart behind you? 

 

This twist reminds me a bit of the 'crossroad' twist from many seasons back. A team would have to wait for another team to arrive and then one person from each team had to perform a task together. Once completed, both teams moved on. Anyone else remember it?

Edited January 11, 2018 by Maggie Mae

[Wandering Snark]

4 minutes ago, GenerationX said:

I was good with the race within the Race, even with the Probstian play-by-play.

But Phil really needed to ooh and ahh about the Alpha Males more and talk about the people in the back 'falling out of it' and tell them they 'better pick it up' etc.

[Jobiska]

I was impressed that so many teams came up with different ways of figuring out the backwards type.  The skiers held the sample up to the light (and I think got it on the first try?), the lifeguards used the mirror after their first try, and the firefighters were pressing their arms into the inked type from their failed attempts (didn't help them though, but it was inventive).  

The Guidos from season 1 interviewed somewhere that they pre-planned that if they found themselves getting testy with each other, one would say "Enough said" so that they knew to back off and not bicker on camera (which was one of the reasons I was a fan even then--no infighting).  That phrase is a little less...remarkable...than "Pineapple."  But still, good for the lifeguards.

Now that the Goat gals are gone, I like everyone (starting with a clean slate with Cody and Jessica as racers, not as BB'ers).  

Enjoyed the basketball player rambling on about seasoned salt for his fries.

[twilightzone]

Props to Henry and Evan for hanging in there and not freaking out. 

Edited January 11, 2018 by twilightzone

[Lingo]

54 minutes ago, Lady Calypso said:

I think what would make it better would be allowing the pit stop to also not be right there. At least, if there's a further race to the pit stop, it gives a team like Henry/Evan a chance to catch up. 

 

Why? Why would getting another clue, jumping in a car, and driving to another random location and beating some other team who just beat you at this head-to-head be any better? It's just one random task versus a different random task. What makes one better than the other?

I mean, we've already had plenty of episodes where a team who came in last at the last Task got to the pit stop not-last because some other team got lost on the way to the Pit Stop. Just last week for example, and maybe 20% of all episodes of all past seasons. We've seen it play out that way so many times. I don't mind having the last task be right at the pit stop for once (which we've also sort of seen before as well).

 

49 minutes ago, ElleryAnne said:

Add me to those who disliked the head-to-head race at the end.  It probably isn't a lot of time lost, but it still seems unfair that the first team to arrive can't even officially continue their task to get to the mat until another team arrives.  

That's a good point, and I hope they only use it in legs like this one, where there is unlikely to be much of a separation between teams. Or in cases where there's very likely to be bunching at the start of the next leg -- which, let's face it, is most legs these days.

 

21 minutes ago, Uwbadgmad said:

I too thought it was strange to have the finishing mat so close to the race!

The point of the head-to-head was that it was an elimination competition. To have the finish mat anywhere else would be missing the point.

[Irlandesa]

1 hour ago, RockShrimp said:

I am livid. The team that came in THIRD ended up in 8th? I hated the Goat Yoga girls but it's bullshit that they went home. It defeats the entire purpose of the rest of the leg to have that stupid obstacle course.

I'm not sure how it's any more defeatist than a U-Turn (which can automatically bump someone to the back of the race even though they earned a higher placement), a NEL or bunching at an airport or boat.  All of those things make whatever came before less important.

22 minutes ago, Lingo said:

That said, I would prefer a task that has more of a learning curve, so that a team that gets there first has even more of an advantage. That would make a re-occurrence of an Evan/Henry situation less likely. Although I wouldn't have hated it if a team I disliked got there in the front and got eliminated because they couldn't finish this one challenge. That happens all the time on the Race. And I would prefer a head-to-head that involved both teammates competing instead of just one, considering that elimination is at stake.

I agree with everything you said but especially this part.  An almost pure race was kind of boring.  I think an obstacle course or puzzle that you can get faster at the more you do it would be more interesting to me.  And probably a bit more fair since, in theory, a team would get stronger doing it more often rather than getting more tired. 

[Lingo]

18 minutes ago, Maggie Mae said:

 I would have liked the frites race more if there'd been one change. If you lost, you got to remove one sack of frites from your handcart in your next heat. Evan and Henry would have been wheeling around an empty handcart perhaps! Also, was there any reason you couldn't pull the cart behind you? 

 

This twist reminds me a bit of the 'crossroad' twist from many seasons back. A team would have to wait for another team to arrive and then one person from each team had to perform a task together. Once completed, both teams moved on. Anyone else remember it's?

I like that idea, although I think having an empty cart would give you too big of an advantage. One bag minimum, I'd say. And I imagine they could pull the cart, although I don't think that would have been any better--probably just as hard to steer, and you wouldn't see when you dropped a bag! (Or you'd be driving backwards, even worse.)

I was reminded of the old Intersection twist as well. That one was often bad because sometimes a team would have to wait a long time for another team to show up (I think for hours in one instance in Season 11!) -- which was really bad because those two teams are still competing with each other as well as the other teams. So the timing is key here. Which I think is another reason to have this thing at the end of the leg -- even if you have to wait, you don't have to keep competing with teams ahead of you after having lost time, because the mat is right there, and there's probably bunching on the next leg.

I wonder if they'll have one of these on a non-elimination leg??? Now that would be extremely irritating!

[Silver Raven]

So we're told at the very beginning of this episode that this is the most competitive season ever.  I guess we'll be the judges of that.

What's the "black death?"

Ugh, did they really have to all be on the same flight? Not to mention having to stand outside the building for it to open all at the same time? And then having to take turns at the crane?

"Like?" "Love."

The basketball guys keep having problems with their letters.  :)

And yet again more taking a number.

I love the suit on that guy running the fries race.

Phil as a race narrator is boring.

I was hoping the greeter would be Miss Belgium, like the greeter in the first leg was Miss Iceland, but she's very pretty, anyway.

I knew Henry could beat a goat yoga-ist, though he tried hard to lose it at the end.

I'm glad the goat yoga-ists are gone, though they weren't nearly as obnoxious this time.

[Lantern7]

I think the new twist sucks. Basically, good teams are put at risk if they can't hack it. I'm hoping that this isn't happening at every leg. Also, I like to think Bert & Elise saw the drama of the end of the first leg and took it as a sign not to do it again should CBS deem the show worthy of renewal. I can see why the Goat Gals bugged, but that didn't feel right.

Aside from the Frats in TAR11, has any team finished tenth in two straight legs?

Seriously, if CBS insisted on the show adopting a gimmick from its Canadian cousin and they pull the plug? I think Elise & Bert would be right in punching Les Moonves in the throat. And Phil isn't used to doing commentary. Why start now?

Funny that I saw a Detour where I wouldn't have that much trouble completing either task.

Really hoping the TARC twist isn't used in every episode.

[piequinn35]

I didn’t know Tyrion Lannister is a Chocolatier.

[Wandering Snark]

7 minutes ago, Silver Raven said:

What's the "black death?"

Ugh, did they really have to all be on the same flight?

The black death was the shot of alcohol one teammate had to do in the previous leg.

And they mentioned this was due to lack of flights.

Edited January 11, 2018 by Wandering Snark