S30.E03: It's Gonna Be a Fragrant Day

[green]

2 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

For me, it's the Violinists/Team Well Strung that are the invisible ones. I keep seeing them pop up onscreen and going "who are they?" For me, I only remember the Lifeguards because of the premiere of Lucas talking about proposing to Brittany on the race, and their code word "pineapple". Violinists kind of blend together for me with the Competitive Eaters. I wouldn't be able to point out which team is which on first glance, despite the fact that they don't really look alike at all, but because I just haven't been paying attention.

I wouldn't call them invisible per se but more like what I bolded in your comment.  Except I add the Indy drivers to this mess and have three teams I can't really tell apart until one of them starts talking about auto racing or violins or gross eating competitions or they get their "handle" subtitled on screen. 

For example I had no idea whatsoever which one of them ran past the entrance to the pitstop this leg until they finally got to the mat.  First I thought it was Indy then I thought violin boys because I had managed to totally forget about the gross eaters for a minute there.  Then when I saw it was gross eaters I got all sad they weren't eliminated this leg.  Glad the NBAers do get to run the next leg because I like them but would have loved to see gross eater guys gone.  That is when I can remember they are even there, heh.

Question for you all.  Did they say it is a two hour episode of TAR on next week?  I missed the previews and am NOT talking about them at all but heard from someone they thought they heard they said next week was one of the two hour (two legs) shows.  Is that true?  Is it 8 to 10 PM eastern/pacific so DVRs can be set right?

Edited January 18, 2018 by green

[Lady Calypso]

2 minutes ago, green said:

Question for you all.  Did they say it is a two hour episode of TAR on next week?  I missed the previews and am NOT talking about them at all but heard from someone they thought they heard they said next week was one of the two hour (two legs) shows.  Is that true?  Is it 8 to 10 PM eastern/pacific so DVRs can be set right?

Yes, it is two hours next week. 

[Rachel RSL]

I don't find Cody & Jessica nearly as hateful on TAR as they were on BB but that's probably because they have very limited interactions with the other teams so there's not a lot of time for them to be assholes. Still, it makes me roll my eyes whenever they mention that they've been together ever since Big Brother ended. This show started filming 3 days after BB ended so it's really nothing to brag about. Plus, there was that comment from Jessica about how people said they wouldn't last in "real life" but here they are in "real life" and it's great. Uh, no Jessica....you're still on a reality show.  Real life is when the two of you go back to your jobs and your families and deal with everyday issues, that's the "real life" people were talking about.  In any case, they don't look like they're going anywhere anytime soon so I have made my peace with the fact that they're here to ruin this season of TAR for me. It is what it is.

I still don't have any favourites but I do find myself pulling for Team Yale. The former NBA players always seem kind of cranky but I still enjoy them. There don't seem to be any really hateful teams this season so far which is nice.

[iMonrey]

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Cedric & Shawn made the last mistake and came in last, but got spared and lived to make more overt basketball references. If Phil had decided to drop the hammer anyway, I wouldn't have blamed him. Cedric had three heart attacks. And he ran the Roadblock with his backpack on. Why?!? If he's a fan, or if he really did see the other 29 seasons (whole or in part), wouldn't he have left the bag with Shawn? That shirt cannot be laundered. The only remedy for that is flame . . . and the sweat would just snuff it out.

I was disappointed they weren't Philiminated. I tend not to care for pro athletes or former pro athlete teams anyway, but this guy is the oldest competitor this season and he's not even 50? And he's already had three heart attacks? Geez. Plus, I get that the fish dock probably smelled pretty awful but if it actually makes you barf - wow. These guys just aren't suited to this race.

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I shall never tire of hearing Phil's pronunciation of "massaaage at the spaaa."

I know! To me it always sounds like "spar."

[mojoween]

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HOWEVER, I am trying to approach them on TAR with a clean slate and so far, they've been fine. (Cody's acceptable as long as he isn't interacting with other humans.)

Heh.  I’m not.  They had their chance and blew it.  I choose to believe the way they are when they forget about the cameras is the way they are.

One thing I have learned is that eating dozens of hot dogs in ten minutes or whatever for several years (along with all the other garbage Joey’s shoved in his maw at other times) may not make you overweight, but it also doesn’t make you fit.  You can be not fat and in poor health at the same time.  His constant sweating, more than the other racers, concerns me for him.

Edited January 18, 2018 by mojoween

[spanana]

56 minutes ago, watch2much said:

this was Paul's tactics, not Cody's and Jessica's.  Cody was belittled for his service, was taunted that he was lying about having a daughter, etc.  Plus, he and Jessica were hardly "on top" for very long. he tried to get Paul out the first week and failed and that was essentially the end of his reign.  and though Cody did say some inappropriate comments, they weren't as bad as contestants have said in the past.  Cody actually ended up with favorite houseguest as show of distaste for Paul and his crew.

I'm glad Cody and Jessica are doing well.

I'd also like to add that unless I'm mistaken, Cody also 1) Went to the Ferguson protests not to protest, but basically just see if her could survive (which WTF).  Newsflash Cody, you're white and not protesting anything so you will survive.  He also came out of the BB house and made a bunch of transphobic comments and then doubled down on them.  I don't follow him or Jessica so I have no idea if he ever apologized on the latter or what, but I hate watching people make him into some sort of good guy or hero.  I didn't like anybody else on Big Brother last season either, but I'm not going to pretend he and Jessica weren't also vile.  It's partially why I can't get into this season of Amazing Race at all.  They may be coming off well here, but I don't even want to look at them, nor do I want them painted as heroes.

[dlyn]

37 minutes ago, Rachel RSL said:

Plus, there was that comment from Jessica about how people said they wouldn't last in "real life" but here they are in "real life" and it's great. Uh, no Jessica....you're still on a reality show.  Real life is when the two of you go back to your jobs and your families and deal with everyday issues, that's the "real life" people were talking about.  In any case, they don't look like they're going anywhere anytime soon so I have made my peace with the fact that they're here to ruin this season of TAR for me. It is what it is.

To be fair, she said “the outside world.” The Amazing Race definitely isn’t real life, but it is the outside world. 

 

I wasn’t really a fan of Cody/Jessica, though I vastly preferred them to Paul and his cult followers, but I think they’re set up to do well here. They don’t really argue. Cody doesn’t get rattled. They’re both in good shape and neither is unintelligent. Barring u-turns, I think they’re in the race for the long haul.  

[Rachel RSL]

32 minutes ago, dlyn said:

To be fair, she said “the outside world.” The Amazing Race definitely isn’t real life, but it is the outside world. 

Semantics, it means exactly the same thing.

[Michichick]

1 minute ago, Rachel RSL said:

Semantics, it means exactly the same thing.

Not to me, it doesn't. YMMV, obviously.

[survivinmt]

Wow! That episode left me exhausted! Just imaging running through those narrow passages and up and down steps was wearying. How did the camera-men do it? They must be in EXCELLENT shape. I keep telling my 21 year old son he needs to apply for that job. Or testing challenges for Survivor.

I was glad to see the Indy drivers do so well. Glad no one is yelling at each other - yet. It is obvious, because when Brittany was yelling at Jessica it was very noticeable. I just cringe thinking of "Twinnie! Twinnie!" "Brando-o-o-o-n" "M - a - o - o - a -m" Yeesh.

Still think that it would behoove racers to have a preset "phrase" to respond to other racers wanting help. For instance, "Trying to win a race!" I just think that trying to keep my mouth shut when people were asking me for help would be hard, even if I wasn't interested in helping them. But telling people on the first leg - "Hey, I will be yelling, 'Trying to win a race!' if you ask for my help. Doesn't mean I don't like you or anything - just that I'm trying to beat you." Could avoid a lot of hard feelings.

[ProfCrash]

58 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

I was disappointed they weren't Philiminated. I tend not to care for pro athletes or former pro athlete teams anyway, but this guy is the oldest competitor this season and he's not even 50? And he's already had three heart attacks? Geez. Plus, I get that the fish dock probably smelled pretty awful but if it actually makes you barf - wow. These guys just aren't suited to this race.

I have an intolerance to fish and shellfish. I was tested as an adult and came back as not allergic but as a kid they called it an allergy. I didn't get hives or swell up but I end up in the bathroom with nausea and diarrhea when I ate fish. It has gotten better as an adult, I can eat fish safely now and some shellfish, but if I eat too much shell fish I will have an upset stomach. The smell of fish can cause me to retch. I avoid the fish section of the local Asian Markets we like to go to because the smell causes me a problem. I can promise you that I would have had a huge problem on that dock. It is a psychological thing, my mind associates fish/shell fish with vomit and the smell triggers that past physical response. I get that it is a psychological response but it is still there and there is little I can do to control it. I tend to see something like that and be sympathetic because I have no idea what his past experiences have been. It could be a race weakness, there is no way in hell I would eat a ton of fish or shell fish on the race because of the possible physical effect on me, but we would have to accept that.

I am far more concerned by the three heart attacks. That is just yikes.

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He also came out of the BB house and made a bunch of transphobic comments and then doubled down on them.  I don't follow him or Jessica so I have no idea if he ever apologized on the latter or what, but I hate watching people make him into some sort of good guy or hero. 

Very few people who supported Cody during Big Brother think that he is a saint or an angel. Most people think he played a crappy game and said some crappy things. At the same time, he didn't get rattled by the harassment that was throwing his way by Paul and his minions, which was impressive.

There are those who see Cody as a hero because of his time in uniform. He volunteered to serve his country and served in a war in order to honor that commitment. Agree or disagree over what he is fighting for, Cody did not have a say in those issues. He enlisted, was trained and went were he was told to go. He did his job and risked his life. That makes him a hero in many peoples eyes.

He made those comments early on in the feeds. Jessica called him on it. He said something stupid, Jessica called him on that and he shut up. Later Jessica flat out told him that she had a good number of gay friends, I don't know if she specified trans friends or not, and that he would have to accept them and be kind to them or he could not be with her. She was unequivocal in calling him on his intolerant and bullshit statements. He fully understands that she is not going to change who she hangs with if he is with her and that he will be spending time with all of her friends. It remains unclear how much of what he said was insensitive crap that a large number of people in the country uses and how much of it was what he actually believed. Either way, it was wrong for him to say it and Jessica was right on calling him out for saying it. I tend to lean to the insensitive crap that he was repeating more then what he really believes because he is still with Jessica, knowing who her friends are, and he didn't repeat the idiocy at any time on the feeds. He was wrong to say it, just as the Cowboy idiot was wrong to make the comment about raping someone's wife, but I don't believe that Cowboy dude was going to rape any one or that Cody really hates transgender people. Both were hit hard for the comments and hopefully, they have both learned from their idiocy.  Believe it or not, people can be good people even if they say some stupid stuff.

The world, and the people living in it, are not black and white, good or bad. Everyone has their character flaws. Some of those flaws are larger then others. The good news is that people can grow and change. Cody has his flaws but he has a lot of good aspects as well. I have no problem with how he was portrayed on Big Brother, I don't think he was shown to be a hero or a good player and I don't think he was vilified. I don't have a problem with how he is being portrayed on the Amazing Race. He has had some really good points and he has made his mistakes (first pit stop ignoring Jessica).

I would note that both Arabic speakers explained how they knew it, for Cody it was his time in Iraq for Evan it was living abroad in Marrakesh (I think that is what she said) because it is not a commonly known language.  I think it is impressive that both of them learned what they learned and retained it. Cody knew more then just basic military terms, he was asking about fish at the port.

[CaioF]

Very hard and tricky leg. Alot room for mistakes, so having that in considreration I think its unfair this be a NEL. There is probably a easier leg comming ahead, with some twist or whatever that will be set for elimination, so, on that I´m not happy with.

And I´m still rooting for Kristi and Jen. They keep killing every task and recover quickly from things like a cab driving them to dead last. If they can be more cautiouness on navegation, they will be a hard team to beat. Actually, producers are clearly giving them, Big Brother (we gonna start every leg with one of them comparing TAR with BB?) and in some less degree Yale team more camera time.. Lets see in the future (sometimes highlighted teams goes down somewhere before the end while a team with less camera team squease in the final 3 and sometimes even win so..).

Edited January 18, 2018 by CaioF

[Charlesman]

17 hours ago, kris4n6 said:

I thought for sure that Cedric and Shawn and the food competition guys were going to get penalties for calling out to their teammates when they were trying to find the start of the roadblock again.

 

 

I thought this for a second at the time, but a quick rewind showed it was kind of deceptive editing. At least for the Eaters. Tim was yelling out "Joey" (who was sitting and waiting), and Joey jumped up but didn't say anything. Some of Tim's calling out was looped over the footage of Joey, though, and then Tim immediately turned around and said something else, like, "you're over here." Don't remember exactly. But, Joey wasn't shown or heard to be speaking at all, it just was edited in a way that suggested it. So, no penalty.

 

Also, I'll echo I'm impressively surprised that we had two teams that spoke Arabic. Plus a bunch of others seemed passable in French and Spanish. With the tight finish, well, I continue to be optimistic that this could be one of the best seasons in years. 

Edited January 18, 2018 by Charlesman

[Rachel RSL]

33 minutes ago, Michichick said:

Not to me, it doesn't. YMMV, obviously.

I guess what I mean is that when people said they didn't think Cody & Jessica would last in the real world/outside world/real life/whatever you want to call it, nobody knew that J & C were going to immediately go on another reality show. So those people were referring to their normal everyday lives, not being on camera for another reality show. So , regardless of what phrase you want to use, when Jessica implied that they proved everybody wrong, no, they really didn't because that's not what people were referring to at all. 

Edited January 18, 2018 by Rachel RSL

[Lantern7]

5 hours ago, blackwing said:

I don't watch Big Brother so I have no pre-conceived ideas about them, and so far I like them.  They are competent and don't argue.  If you're going to criticise Cody for doing his job and being a marine, does that mean you have an objection to all military people on reality shows?  Ben from Survivor, the POW Ron on TAR, I think Dave of Rachel and Dave was a soldier, etc.  They probably all killed people too.

I could have phrased that a lot better. In my mind, the Big Brother casting department brings in a lot of nutters. Perhaps nothing but. And there was a time -- back in 2001 --- when a contestant got ejected for holding a knife to a woman's throat. I think that might be the most extreme case, but I don't keep up with BB controversies. I saw that Cody spent a lot of time in the military, there is a part of me that is thankful for his service. But mostly, my brain goes, "Shit, a Big Brother contestant that can fire a weapon and once had the authority to do so?" That's a bit scary, even if Cody is "better" than the average BB contestant. Also, I tend to see a lot of people on reality television which I consider "Section 8," regardless of being in the armed forces . . . like Philip Shepherd (two seasons of Survivor, bad mix of clueless and arrogant) and Abram Boise (longtime Challenge veteran, whom I believe to murder drifters and hobos on a semi-regular basis).

ETA: Ah, spit. Sorry about that, @Whimsy.

Edited January 18, 2018 by Lantern7

[Whimsy]

Hey guys.  This is not a Big Brother thread.  Let's not rehash Cody & Jessica's time on BB here.  If you do want to talk a little bit more about Cody on BB, take it to his specific thread.

[mojoween]

One thing I thought was weird was the teams who did the shopping detour appeared to be dragging uncovered, raw chicken through the streets.  That can’t be sanitary.

[lexington11]

18 hours ago, InDueTime said:

Congrats on Henry and Evan for winning this leg.

Wow, with Extreme last week and Slam Dunk today, I hope we're not shown someone vomiting every episode. 

The tasks seemed more challenging this episode.

I liked the gnome Roadblock and the gnome outfits. However, it did look grueling. I was afraid that Cedric was about to pass out. That part about three heart attacks was concerning.

I looked away for a moment; did Jessica take Brittany's gnome to play dirty or so that she wouldn't drop it while on the phone? Never let that gnome out of your sight during the leg, people.

I'm glad it was a NEL and Team Slam Dunk was spared, for now.

Didn't seem to me like Jessica was purposely trying to play dirty with Brittany, so I'm guessing she was just trying to help Brittany while she was on the phone. And really, you can't fault Jessica for just leaving Brittany's gnome there when she already knew that she and Cody would be one of the last teams to leave the roadblock. It's not like she purposely ran off with both gnomes in an attempt to sabotage Brittany. And I'm not even a Jessica stan from BB, so don't think that I'm trying to rationalize her actions.

[seacliffsal]

Something I found really interesting (and perhaps telling for future physical challenges) is that both Cedric and Brittany who had JUST run the roadblock had to do most of the pulling for the food delivery task.  Not only that, but their partners, who both sat at the shop for the entire length of the roadblock, were much more winded and tired than Cedric and Brittany.  Both Cedric and Brittany were continually encouraging their partners to get the job done.  Therefore, I wonder how those teams will do when the other partners have to take on more physical tasks.

As for the kittens and cats at the fish task, my heart always breaks for the dogs and cats we see during the Amazing Race as they are primarily street animals without a home or consistent food.  So many times the dogs will "take" to a team only to be left behind as the teams go on to their new destinations.  It just makes me sad.

[sugarbaker design]

42 minutes ago, mojoween said:

One thing I thought was weird was the teams who did the shopping detour appeared to be dragging uncovered, raw chicken through the streets.  That can’t be sanitary.

Was I the only one who upon hearing the listed items for the roadblock [Vegetables, chickens...] initially thought they meant live chickens?!

[spanana]

Took my comment on Cody and his post BB transphobic comments to his thread.

Edited January 18, 2018 by spanana

[Vixenstud]

Heh.  Well, Conor and Alex, guess the 'Wizards' flew right by your asses to win first place, eh?  Never liked them after that comment so they can suck it.

Not a fan of Kristi and Jen either, they annoy the hell out of me.  My faves are Cedric and Shawn/Jessica and Jody/Henry and Evan.

I agree about the food pulling, I would think dirt or whatever could jump on that fresh chicken as it was being dragged in the street like that.

Brittany, ALWAYS focus!  Jessica may have put the gnome down but you should have paid enough attention to get it before leaving....IMO Jessica did not do anything wrong.

Damn, three heart attacks, Cedric?  And you're 48?  From what I remember on Sanford and Son, by the third heart attack you usually die. 

Edited January 18, 2018 by Vixenstud

[mertensia]

I was half-expecting everyone at the Pit Stop to be presented with their own Moroccan kitty, which would be waiting for them at the Finish Line.

That racing looked brutal -up steep staircases, up hills, trying to find places. 

[Vixenstud]

I was screaming at the kitties, I loves me some cats.....poor things though, they belong in a safe and warm home.

[NeverLate]

4 hours ago, watch2much said:

this was Paul's tactics, not Cody's and Jessica's.  Cody was belittled for his service, was taunted that he was lying about having a daughter, etc.  Plus, he and Jessica were hardly "on top" for very long. he tried to get Paul out the first week and failed and that was essentially the end of his reign.  and though Cody did say some inappropriate comments, they weren't as bad as contestants have said in the past.  Cody actually ended up with favorite houseguest as show of distaste for Paul and his crew.

I'm glad Cody and Jessica are doing well.

I'm thrilled they are. I just hope Paul is watching :)

[piequinn35]

That was a crazy ep, there was a time that the nba team was first place then they finished last, good thing it was a NEL.

I like this season so far & we don't hear a screeching "I can't doooo it!"

[Jobiska]

Coming from a punny family, my mild like for the firefighters actually increased with their dopey "Orange you glad you..." and "I'd never have gnome it!"

[ByaNose]

Next week is 2 hours. I doubt they would do DE again so close, right? So 2 teams will be going out back to back? That will leave 7 Teams left. Man! That’s practically half the show. LOL!!!! I’m just hoping the head the head isn’t the cause for one of the eliminations. I want the head to had to be in the middle of the race and not the exact cause of an elimination.  The show has filled my Reality fix for the winter. I don’t watch The Bachelor so having the Amazing Race even in a shortened season has been great. That said, while I love the cast I don’t have a favorite. Which is odd to me because usually I have a favorite. They all seem pretty likable, too. Is something wrong with me? Don’t answer that. LOL!!!!

[blackwing]

4 hours ago, Vixenstud said:

Heh.  Well, Conor and Alex, guess the 'Wizards' flew right by your asses to win first place, eh?  Never liked them after that comment so they can suck it.

I don't see what's so offensive about their comment.  They called them wizards.  This indicates to me that they think they are smart and they were impressed with them.  Evan herself was pleased that they called them wizards.  Alex is an Indy 500 champion and he called two otherwise-nobodies from Yale "wizards".  It's not like he called them "nerds".  

Upthread someone said that Brittany wasn't blaming Jessica.  I think the annoying repeated "Jessica!  Jessica!   She took my gnome!" Goes against that theory.  I'm interested to see if anything is said next eppy.  I miss "Eat Sleep Mingle".   Without it we never would have gotten Millie the Mole's apoplectic look when the gay team announced they were gay, or most gloriously, the infamous "you threw my SPORTS BRA off the ledge!!!!"

The Detour choices were so lopsided that I wish we had seen the wording of the clue.  I wonder if the market teams thought the dancing sounded too hard.  At least one of the dancing teams thought they actually had to perform a dance to get the clue, so maybe they thought it would be a judged thing.  If so, I might have stayed away from it too.  There's been so many examples of tough dance judging on this show.

[Rachel RSL]

8 minutes ago, blackwing said:

 I miss "Eat Sleep Mingle".  

I was just thinking the same thing! GMTA. I know they like to get the reactions of the other teams when the non-eliminated team shows up at the beginning of each leg but I really miss when the teams would genuinely bond at the Pit Stop. (The sports bra....LMAO! I forgot about that.) I also miss when they actually had to sleep at the Pit Stop. (Which gave us classics like "Blake snuck into our tent and turned our alarm clock off.")

 

4 hours ago, Vixenstud said:

Well, Conor and Alex, guess the 'Wizards' flew right by your asses to win first place, eh?  Never liked them after that comment so they can suck it.

It didn't even occur to me that they meant it as an insult. I just assumed they called them wizards because they went to Yale so they're obviously smart. I took it as a good-natured comment about their intelligence..

[etagloh]

North Africa, we've missed you. Morocco in particular is a country that has delivered some of the best legs throughout the series -- it never gets dull in terms of task options, and the cities are challenges all by themselves -- but it's been hard (for obvious and sad reasons) for TPTB to go back in recent years. Cats at the wharf! Crazy back-alleys! Uphill both ways!

Strange that the Detour felt like a kind of afterthought after that extreme Road Block, which seemed designed to induce early Killer Fatigue (especially if you haul your backpack) and make everything that followed much harder than it would have been at the start. Definitely the kind of leg where you felt glad of a NEL because of how everybody made a few mistakes but nobody had a really terrible day. Also perhaps the first leg where two team members spoke enough Arabic for basic navigation, and a majority could do greetings? Anyway, I liked that a lot, and it was a reminder of how TAR at its best when the location is well-integrated into the tasks.

Still don't have a good sense of who'll prevail, but the Eaters are going to run out of luck sooner than later, I think: their navigation in this leg felt chronically bad.

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The bunching on the plane from Antwerp elimated the time delays from the head to head frites race.

It was actually a double bunch at the start, since they took the train back to Schiphol for the flight. All of the stuff after the credits and before the check-in was filmed in the main concourse there, near the escalators for the train station below.

[TudorQueen]

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Great episode. Language barriers, grueling physicality all day, fun challenges, and gnomes!! What else could you ask for

Camels.  I think that when it comes to TAR, the camels are always comedy gold. And sometimes their silent commentary on the Racers is spot on.

[etagloh]

Oh, yeah: they finally made a carry-the-gnome episode that didn't feel corny and forced because they put the gnomes on ziplines.

[Runningwild]

I have liked Cody and Jess since Big Brother. Happy they are doing so well and are so complimentary of each other. Good for them!  I hope Paul watches every episode. 

Edited January 20, 2018 by Runningwild
Proper tense is everything.

[chaifan]

A few rather disjointed thoughts...

If Evan & Henry had to wait 3 hours for the yoga goat girls for their frite race, and the yoga goat girls then had to wait 3 hours for the firefighters, that would put the firefighters 6 hours behind everyone.  I can't believe that there was only one flight option from Belgium to Tangiers that allowed everyone to rebunch at the airport with a 6 hour difference in starting times (during normal hours, the first team left around 7am).  Since TAR hasn't been showing the actual departure times for all teams this season, I think something's up with that.

I was surprised that the two racers who spoke Arabic - Evan and Cody - did not do the task of running around the medina when getting directions from locals could have been helpful. 

I don't know why Phil, and others, keep making references to Evan and Henry's lack of physicality.  Both look like they're fit, and they aren't 98 lb weaklings.  I know Henry had problems at the frite race, but that looked more like bad coordination combined with fatigue.  I think it just perpetuates the stereotype of the bookish nerdy kid that gets beat on and shoved in lockers, and doesn't add anything to this race.

I wish TAR would instruct racers to leave their packs in certain situations.  The racers doing the delivery detour did not need to have their packs on - they started and ended from the same point.  Considering it was already an uneven detour, way harder than the belly dance choice, and the heat, they should have been told they'd be returning to the same spot.  I would love to hear from Cedric if he purposely kept his pack on when all others left theirs.  Some racers kept their packs on for the fish task, which I also thought was weird and would tire them out much quicker. 

I don't watch BB, never have, so I don't know anything about Cody & Jessica.  I just don't like the new profession of "reality tv star" and people/pairs who jump from one show to another.  It's just got such a fame wh*re vibe to it, and I automatically dislike teams that come from other reality shows.  So they can go at anytime for me, just for that reason.

Of the remaining teams, I don't actively dislike any, but the firefighters and eaters could leave and I wouldn't even notice. 

[LittleIggy]

Those cats and kittens were so cute! I would have been tossing fish to them.

8 hours ago, seacliffsal said:

 

As for the kittens and cats at the fish task, my heart always breaks for the dogs and cats we see during the Amazing Race as they are primarily street animals without a home or consistent food.  So many times the dogs will "take" to a team only to be left behind as the teams go on to their new destinations.  It just makes me sad.

I think those cats get plenty to eat at the waterfront. 

[SVNBob]

Good to see that after 30 seasons of racing around the world, Taxicab Luck is still a thing.

[ProfCrash]

10 hours ago, blackwing said:

Upthread someone said that Brittany wasn't blaming Jessica.  I think the annoying repeated "Jessica!  Jessica!   She took my gnome!" Goes against that theory.  I'm interested to see if anything is said next eppy.  I miss "Eat Sleep Mingle".   Without it we never would have gotten Millie the Mole's apoplectic look when the gay team announced they were gay, or most gloriously, the infamous "you threw my SPORTS BRA off the ledge!!!!"

Brittany was originally questioning Jessica's motives and appeared to blame Jessica. That was followed by the comment that she hopes that it was not intentional and it might not have been intentional. I don't think Brittany got to fully believing that Jessica hadn't intentionally screwed her but I think Brittany doubted that Jessica had a plan to take Brittany's gnome, put it down and not tell Brittany to take the gnome when Brittany was leaving. At the very least, she was giving Jessica the benefit of the doubt, which appears to be appropriate given what we saw. Jessica helped Brittany by taking the gnome when Brittany was fumbling about. Jessica put the gnome down by Jessica's feet. Jessica chose not to call Brittany back when Jessica realized that Brittany had not taken the gnome with her.

[MyAimIsTrue]

On ‎1‎/‎17‎/‎2018 at 9:07 PM, PaperTree said:

Skiers did well to recover from their idiot cab driver.

I don't think it's fair to call a cab driver an idiot for not understanding a foreign language not widely spoken in his native country.

[ProfCrash]

Just now, MyAimIsTrue said:

I don't think it's fair to call a cab driver an idiot for not understanding a foreign language not widely spoken in his native country.

Agreed. The driver spoke his countries language and told them he did not speak English. The Skiers could have gotten out of the cab and found a different cab.

[Cocoabean]

1 hour ago, ProfCrash said:

Brittany was originally questioning Jessica's motives and appeared to blame Jessica. That was followed by the comment that she hopes that it was not intentional and it might not have been intentional. I don't think Brittany got to fully believing that Jessica hadn't intentionally screwed her but I think Brittany doubted that Jessica had a plan to take Brittany's gnome, put it down and not tell Brittany to take the gnome when Brittany was leaving. At the very least, she was giving Jessica the benefit of the doubt, which appears to be appropriate given what we saw. Jessica helped Brittany by taking the gnome when Brittany was fumbling about. Jessica put the gnome down by Jessica's feet. Jessica chose not to call Brittany back when Jessica realized that Brittany had not taken the gnome with her.

I think Brittany had a natural reaction to her mistake. Blame the other person, or at least consider it. It cannot possibly be one's own fault! My DH is a master at this. She spoke her thoughts aloud, wondering if Jessica did it on purpose. 

When the day was done, I'd hope Brittany looked back on it and realized that it was her own mistake to not grab it; that Jessica had no obligation, and perhaps didn't even think about reminding her to take the gnome when she left. Then the producers gave it the "she did the underhanded deed" edit on an otherwise innocuous but frustrating event.

Edited January 19, 2018 by Cocoabean

[aemom]

The skiers remind me a lot so far of Nat and Kat.

Both teams just put their heads down and get stuff done and then move onto the next thing in a calm and collected manner.  No drama with these two. I hope that lasts.

[Bryce Lynch]

On 1/17/2018 at 9:00 PM, InDueTime said:

Congrats on Henry and Evan for winning this leg.

Wow, with Extreme last week and Slam Dunk today, I hope we're not shown someone vomiting every episode. 

The tasks seemed more challenging this episode.

I liked the gnome Roadblock and the gnome outfits. However, it did look grueling. I was afraid that Cedric was about to pass out. That part about three heart attacks was concerning.

I looked away for a moment; did Jessica take Brittany's gnome to play dirty or so that she wouldn't drop it while on the phone? Never let that gnome out of your sight during the leg, people.

I'm glad it was a NEL and Team Slam Dunk was spared, for now.

I don't think Jessica was playing dirty when she held the gnome.  I seemed like she was being helpful. 

[DEL901]

I gotta feel for everyone the teams encountered AFTER the fish challenge.  

[Bryce Lynch]

Was anyone else a little disappointed that none of the racers ran into Nicole and Azan dragging May around Morocco on a leash? :)

[amazingracefan]

48 minutes ago, Bryce Lynch said:

I don't think Jessica was playing dirty when she held the gnome.  I seemed like she was being helpful. 

I think it was very obviously just being helpful, it was a strange story they were trying to push there.  It was a strange edit as for a long period we didn't get to see  Jessica and Cody at all.  They probably got held back following teams earlier on, which isn't always a good idea.

 

Otherwise , Phil did a very obvious fakeout at the mat (where he delays saying it's a non elimination too long) which spoiled the end.

 

The detour looked very unbalanced to me (and another task about finding locations after we'd had one).  Tangiers was a good location but it didn't feel like the tasks rose to it.

[blackwing]

2 hours ago, AEMom said:

The skiers remind me a lot so far of Nat and Kat.

Both teams just put their heads down and get stuff done and then move onto the next thing in a calm and collected manner.  No drama with these two. I hope that lasts.

I really liked Nat and Kat, and I feel like they had way more personality than these two.  I don't even know which is which and I'd be hard pressed to pick them out in a crowd.  They have made so little impression on me, the only thing I remember is that the blonde one almost yakked after the Black Death.  They were practically invisible this episode.

[blackwing]

10 minutes ago, amazingracefan said:

The detour looked very unbalanced to me (and another task about finding locations after we'd had one).  Tangiers was a good location but it didn't feel like the tasks rose to it.

I loved the location and I think it presented a lot of challenges to the teams.  I really liked that the tasks were fairly difficult.  However, while the gnome task was great, I think it was a terrible presentation.   We saw the gnomes getting zip lines but then after that because of editing cuts, it was just racers saying "this is confusing, it's a maze, is it here, is it there" and then a cut to them climbing to the roof.  Then repeat for the second zip line.  Then repeat trying to get back to the start.   Would have made for a lot more interesting viewing if maybe they had shown us a overhead screenshot or map showing where they were in relation to the gnome and how to get where they needed to go.

[Netfoot]

51 minutes ago, amazingracefan said:

Phil did a very obvious fakeout...

It's a given.  If "You are the last team to arrive," isn't immediately followed by "and I'm afraid..." then it's a NEL.  

[amazingracefan]

29 minutes ago, Netfoot said:

It's a given.  If "You are the last team to arrive," isn't immediately followed by "and I'm afraid..." then it's a NEL.  

He didn't always do it like this though, even recently I thought they had moved away from this obvious delay fakeout to the more straightforward earlier.....  You are the last team to arrive, slight pause to show reaction, but this is a non elimination leg...