S30.E06: The Claws Are Out!

[Hyral]

Quote

The race continues in Prague, Czechia.

[Pachamama]

On 1/25/2018 at 9:23 AM, Hyral said:

 

01.25.2018

THE STAKES ARE HIGH WHEN TEAMS FACE THE DOUBLE U-TURN AND RACERS STRUGGLE TO NAVIGATE THE STREETS OF PRAGUE WHILE DELIVERING KEGS TO A LOCAL PARTY, ON “THE AMAZING RACE,” WEDNESDAY, JAN. 31

[weightyghost]

Aw boo, I was hoping after all of Phil's weird ~anything can happen talk that it would be a non-elim since I loved them (at least moreso than half the teams left). They handled the U-Turn with no complaints. 

Listen lady whose name I still haven't bothered to learn. You want to mooch off another contestant during a roadblock, don't get pissy when they make sure they leave before you do. NO FRIENDS IN RACING. (and I didn't even like Cody/Jessica on BB but racccccccce)

[Browncoat]

I am sad to see Well Strung go.  They did an amazing job with the comeback, assuming I can believe the editing showing me that they and Big Brother were both looking for the pit stop at the same time.  I've never watched Big Brother, so I have no preconceived notion about this team, but I'm ready for them to be out.   Which means they'll probably win.

Prague is beautiful.  The greeter?  Not so much.

Just now, weightyghost said:

Aw boo, I was hoping after all of Phil's weird ~anything can happen talk that it would be a non-elim since I loved them (at least moreso than half the teams left).

I hoped it would be a double leg if not a non-elim.

[PoultryDancer]

It's so stupid to put the u-turn before the dang detour. Make the team earn its use. The violinists rocked the quiz detour faster than anybody, yet are still screwed because they have the slowest cab out of the airport. And now Phil keeps teasing some big twist coming, which I won't spoil here since preview discussion isn't allowed. When will the designers realize that the race in its original form is the best version? Disheartening. 

[Lamb18]

Cool--they are booking their own flights!! I always like it when teams are on different flights. I hoped there would be some airport drama, but any drama was around the double U-turn.

Goodness, that beer task is going to take a while! Glad to see Team Extreme doing well. The firefighters chose a smart way to do the oral exam. I like their attitude, they found a way to make it work. (Unlike another team that immediately gave up.) Evan said the claws are going to come out (re the U-turn), but it looks like her claws are coming out with Henry. I hope he doesn't have to ask her permission to tie his shoes. She seems to be a micromanager.

Hurray firefighters, Eric and Daniel! I'm glad this challenge didn't slow them down too much. Smart of skiers to keep their cab. I thought the racers were going to bathe in beer, too, then get the clue!

Oh here come the telephones!! This is going to be so fun! I wonder if any of the teams will recognize this challenge. So race car drivers are turning into a bickering couple! I so hope the lifeguards are eliminated. Brittany is so whiney! Now she wishes they did the other one. Wasn't it her idea to switch in the first place?

What are they complaining about?? Jessica gave them the answer!! She could have just walked out and not said anything at all after she showed the judges her answer. Race car drivers were barely there and didn't have to work for hardly any words. I suppose it was devious to say a wrong word and not show the answer beforehand, but then, she was just protecting her team. Not like she left them hanging, all she did was leave before they did. By the way this challenge wasn't as fun to watch as it was in Season 15.  I don't know if it was too many teams working together or a different guy stamping the forms . . .

So they play the party boat music at the end instead of Dvorak. Ha!

[mojoween]

It’s no secret that I do not like Jessica and Cody one bit.  But fuck’s sake Conor and Brittany.  How DARE Jessica try to make sure she is leading...a RACE.

Phil not saying “expect the unexpected” to Cody and Jessica was supremely disappointing.

I will always hate having an elimination on a u-turn leg.

[InDueTime]

Yay, Team Extreme!

Well, I was wrong about the Head to Head replacing the U-Turn this season. 

The mystery Detours were good, but I can't believe three teams at the beer task got lost for so long and didn't think to ask a local. I wished they would have revealed what all 8 questions at the Copernicus task. That may be just me being curious, though.

Maybe it's editing, Roadblock didn't phase the racers as it did the last time.

We're back to the Brittany/Jessica "feud" again. Sigh.

Minor sniping between teammates aside, a good episode.

Prior to this episode, I had no strong opinions about Trevor and Chris. However, after powering through so well at the tasks, I was hoping they could stay in the race. Good effort.

[Haleth]

Dang it. I know Cody and Jessica did nothing wrong by u turning a team or by withholding one word, but something about them rubs me the wrong way and I wish they had been eliminated instead of the violinists. 

[Lady Calypso]

A relatively tame leg, but it seemed more time consuming than physically tiring. 

I did feel bad for Team Well Strung, but they did pretty good at the lecture task, and it seemed like they did well on the beer detour. But yeah, time screwed them up, especially since so many teams were bunched up. 

Yeah, ok, fine. I'll jump on board the Dislike Brittany train. She pretty much ticked me off several times. Yes, Brittany, Jessica did give you the wrong information. I know you're ticked off from the last time she "betrayed" you, but my god, this is a race. Of course Jessica wasn't going to just hand you the information. I think it became tougher for Jessica since all three were at the Roadblock and Brittany and Alex were clearly exchanging information. Also, I guess it didn't help either, since they got to the mat first. Jessica had every right to give them the wrong word, and she also had every right to just walk out. It's a shame that Jessica likely felt pressured because Alex and Brittany were barely a foot away from her. It would have been logical for Jessica to say "sorry, but this is a race" as she's running out. Plus, Cody/Jessica likely would have gotten fourth, and maybe Team Well Strung would have run into both teams, giving them a semblance of a chance. 

I'm thrilled for Team Extreme winning. They did well, especially Kristi at the roadblock. She didn't have to work with anyone at all, and she earned it. Not that I think Daniel and Evan were wrong in teaming up. I know there are certain situations where teaming up is actually a good idea, and this was one of them. Unlike last season, where everyone helped everyone at all costs, and out of fear that they'd be targeted if they didn't, this season has a lot more balance with racing and genuinely helping. Plus, the Firefighters and the Yalies were still at the front of the pack and didn't want to meet up with the second flight teams, so it wasn't a bad strategy to cover as much ground as possible with another team. 

Some minor snipping between teams, especially Henry/Evan, but it didn't seem to impact them all that much. 

I loved the telephone task. It was actually nice and challenging, but definitely not impossible. 

Good on the Firefighters for finally conquering their issues with navigation with not really needing to navigate. That helped them not get nearly last place. They got second! 

[PaperTree]

"The meaning of life is that it stops"

I love Kafka and that challenge.

I have to rewatch for the BB "treachery".  I thought Jess gave them the correct info on the way out and lovebird Brittney was too dumb to realize it.  I'm hoping they destroy each other.

Using the U Turn when on the second flight was good strategy.  They would have been last otherwise.

Violinists showed their smarts at the lecture challenge.  Sad to see them go.

Skiiers continue to be impressive.

Alex and One n can go away any time.

Still love Henry and Evan.  But that nose thing! (I sound like an old fart)

That beer spa looks like one of those things that sounds really cool in a fantasy, but in real life; not so much :)

[mojoween]

Hey did you know Brittany and Lucas have been together for nine years? I can’t believe it didn’t come up before now.

It amuses me that when the firefighters got to the gentlemen bathing in beer the chyron said “Evan and Henry.”

And oy, back to the “Hen Hen Hen” again.

Edited February 1, 2018 by mojoween

[Lady Calypso]

4 minutes ago, PaperTree said:

I have to rewatch for the BB "treachery".  I thought Jess gave them the correct info on the way out and lovebird Brittney was too dumb to realize it.  I'm hoping they destroy each other.

If I remember this correctly, Brittany knows that Jessica gave them the right word...but her issue was that she dared to lie in the first place. I was flipping between channels at the time, but I don't think we were shown Jessica lying to them as they were picking up the phones. Or they did show it; either way, Brittany dared to be pissy that Jessica didn't tell them the right word before they went to check in with the guy.

[Artsda]

With how close the end came, Cody and Jess were right to u-turn.

Jess gave the other 2 the right answer in a race and they still are bitter over it? She should have ran out without giving them anything. 

[vousviou]

I was hoping they had to take a beer bath before getting the next clue.

I'm glad the exam made sure people had to say the earth is round. I just wish Cedric and Shawn could have answered that to show there are round earth NBA players, unlike Kyrie Irving.

I'm really pleased by the amount of self navigation on foot that there has been this season. Between this leg and Tangiers, there have been some sections that have really challenged racers, and I vastly prefer that to taxi rides. Even self driving can lack some self-determination, since being in the wrong lane in traffic and missing an exit can sometimes really throw a team for a loop.

This is the least annoying group of racers in a long time. I'm not fans of all of them, but nobody seems like a whiny mess. Maybe just a bit whiny. Even the Big Brother duo lacks the preening you get from a lot of reality TV types, and while they're probably the most scheming of anyone on the show, they're barely scheming at all.

[sinycalone]

Quote

  I thought Jess gave them the correct info on the way out and lovebird Brittney was too dumb to realize it. 

I did, too.  Didn't really matter that much either way....cost them about 2 minutes.  I don't think Alex particularly cared....but Brittany certainly did.

[gibasi]

Well I seemed to misunderstand the drama with the words. I thought Jessica, Brittany and Indy guy were working together. If they gave her words she didn’t have and she gave them an incorrect word then I think that is wrong. If however she didn’t get any words from them and told them one wrong word? I am okay with that.  

so which was it?

Edited February 1, 2018 by gibasi
Typos

[Lantern7]

I read that the finale is in three weeks. I have mixed feelings . . . this season doesn't feel as "offbeat" as last year, but I feel that it could be better without a few bells and whistles. Making teams earn the right to U-Turn would have been nice as well. That's why you got a "like" from me @PoultryDancer.

And shit, we could've been out one pair of reality TV assholes. Sadly, Cody & Jessica survive, while Well Strung finally snaps. Like a string? Meh. Meanwhile, Kristi & Jen are still setting the bar, and the Firefighters are starting to perk up. And Evan didn't crack another tooth this leg . . .  so that's good. On the other hand, I am convinced Brittany will skip shouting "PINEAPPLE!" and proceed to choke out Lucas.

Not a fan of the "This"/"That" Detour. Also, how weird am I for wanting to take the lecture task? I'm not against heavy lifting . . . I'm just more suited to try and absorb stuff from dueling lecturers. And that task didn't have teams forced to listen to the whole thing before getting tested.

Are beer baths a thing in the U.S.? That looks like fun. So thankful the gentlemen were wearing swim trunks, and I'm sure the Racers agree with me.

Ah, the Nathaniel "Big Easy" Lofton Memorial Roadblock! I wonder if teams had to fill out the minutia that was demanded in TAR15, as well as trying to piece together the quote. That's a big of a nightmare task. I mean, not as potentially horrifying as watching Mark and Krista slowly deteriorate in their respective seasons, but the phones ringing would have had me cringing.

Off to Speculation!

[vousviou]

18 minutes ago, InDueTime said:

 I wished they would have revealed what all 8 questions at the Copernicus task. That may be just me being curious, though.

I'm pretty sure they covered them all. Off the top of my head I can remember seven -- What was the year Copernicus's theory was published, what is the law regarding the disappearance of a distant object, how far did Cop say the Sun was, what did he say was the second farthest planet, how far away can you see a lighthouse, something something, and is the Earth round or flat?

[Haleth]

2 minutes ago, gibasi said:

Well I seemed to misunderstand the drama with the words. I thought Jessica, Brittanyand Indy guy were working together. If they gave her words she didn’t have and she gave them an incorrect word then I think that is wrong. If however she didn’t get any words from them and told them one wrong word? I am okay with that.  

Sowhich was it?

I looked to me like Jessica was the only one who had all the words and had told Brittney and Alex "that" instead of "life."  She waited till she got her clue to tell them what the correct word was. So they really didn't lose any time other than scribbling out the wrong word and writing the correct one in.

[Lamb18]

12 minutes ago, PaperTree said:

I thought Jess gave them the correct info on the way out and lovebird Brittney was too dumb to realize it.  I'm hoping they destroy each other

She did. She also gave Brittany five words when they first started working together. What I think Jessica did is give a wrong word among the other words she gave them so she could figure it out first. But if she hadn't given them the answer, how long would they still have been there? Brittany would have been weeping and whining, saying she can't do it!

5 minutes ago, gibasi said:

Well I seemed to misunderstand the drama with the words. I thought Jessica, Brittanyand Indy guy were working together. If they gave her words she didn’t have and she gave them an incorrect word then I think that is wrong. If however she didn’t get any words from them and told them one wrong word? I am okay with that.  

Sowhich was it?

She did give them words, one of them was a wrong one.

[gibasi]

Thanks Haleth!  Not a big deal then at all. 

[chaifan]

I was very much hoping, and sort of expecting, the "test" to be something like "what color was Professor X wearing"?  Meaning the test was whether you could sit through the lecture with enough confidence that you'd pass the test.

[ByaNose]

It was kind of an uneventful episode. You knew how it was going to end. It seems like Phil was even vamping it up at the Pit Stop like he was stretching out the episode to fill up time........“Its only been 6 legs” “Expect the unexpected” “There’s been two head to heads”. I never got a feeling for the violinists. They were hardly ever shown and even their elimination was short and sweet. 

[RedheadZombie]

37 minutes ago, weightyghost said:

Aw boo, I was hoping after all of Phil's weird ~anything can happen talk that it would be a non-elim since I loved them (at least moreso than half the teams left). They handled the U-Turn with no complaints. 

Listen lady whose name I still haven't bothered to learn. You want to mooch off another contestant during a roadblock, don't get pissy when they make sure they leave before you do. NO FRIENDS IN RACING. (and I didn't even like Cody/Jessica on BB but racccccccce)

Seriously.  Lifeguard lady seems to be a dim bulb, laughing about ditching school to go to the beach.  She runs off without her gnome and it's Jessica's fault.  She can't figure out the words, yet resents Jessica giving her the correct answer two seconds after Jessica got it right.  Plus, lifeguard lady made Jessica share all of her words before mentioning even one.  That alone deserved one wrong answer, which briefly delayed her.  She'd still be answering those phone today if she were on her own.

[chaifan]

I liked the lifeguards in the beginning, but am tiring of them.  But even with that, I get Brittany's beef with Jessica.  They agreed to share information, and Brittany shared what words she knew.  Jessica purposely held back one word.  I understand the strategy, but I feel that if you make an agreement to share info, you share all info.  So sort of playing dirty pool on that one.  But then, it is a race, and anyone who expects professional reality stars to play fair is delusional.

[ByaNose]

10 minutes ago, RedheadZombie said:

Seriously.  Lifeguard lady seems to be a dim bulb, laughing about ditching school to go to the beach.  She runs off without her gnome and it's Jessica's fault.  She can't figure out the words, yet resents Jessica giving her the correct answer two seconds after Jessica got it right.  Plus, lifeguard lady made Jessica share all of her words before mentioning even one.  That alone deserved one wrong answer, which briefly delayed her.  She'd still be answering those phone today if she were on her own.

And, yet Jessica & Cody were the last team from that group to arrive at the Pit Stop. Some people call that karma. I call it Reality TV. LOL!!!!

Edited February 1, 2018 by ByaNose

[RedheadZombie]

44 minutes ago, Lamb18 said:

Cool--they are booking their own flights!! I always like it when teams are on different flights. I hoped there would be some airport drama, but any drama was around the double U-turn.

Goodness, that beer task is going to take a while! Glad to see Team Extreme doing well. The firefighters chose a smart way to do the oral exam. I like their attitude, they found a way to make it work. (Unlike another team that immediately gave up.) Evan said the claws are going to come out (re the U-turn), but it looks like her claws are coming out with Henry. I hope he doesn't have to ask her permission to tie his shoes. She seems to be a micromanager.

Hurray firefighters, Eric and Daniel! I'm glad this challenge didn't slow them down too much. Smart of skiers to keep their cab. I thought the racers were going to bathe in beer, too, then get the clue!

Oh here come the telephones!! This is going to be so fun! I wonder if any of the teams will recognize this challenge. So race car drivers are turning into a bickering couple! I so hope the lifeguards are eliminated. Brittany is so whiney! Now she wishes they did the other one. Wasn't it her idea to switch in the first place?

What are they complaining about?? Jessica gave them the answer!! She could have just walked out and not said anything at all after she showed the judges her answer. Race car drivers were barely there and didn't have to work for hardly any words. I suppose it was devious to say a wrong word and not show the answer beforehand, but then, she was just protecting her team. Not like she left them hanging, all she did was leave before they did. By the way this challenge wasn't as fun to watch as it was in Season 15.  I don't know if it was too many teams working together or a different guy stamping the forms . . .

So they play the party boat music at the end instead of Dvorak. Ha!

I really liked the firefighters tonight and they're on my short list of favorites.  I'm sure some thought this blue collar team would be intimidated by the lecture and/or the telephone task, yet they calmly went about their work without panic.  It shows they're probably pretty good at their high stress jobs.

28 minutes ago, vousviou said:

I was hoping they had to take a beer bath before getting the next clue.

I'm glad the exam made sure people had to say the earth is round. I just wish Cedric and Shawn could have answered that to show there are round earth NBA players, unlike Kyrie Irving.

I'm really pleased by the amount of self navigation on foot that there has been this season. Between this leg and Tangiers, there have been some sections that have really challenged racers, and I vastly prefer that to taxi rides. Even self driving can lack some self-determination, since being in the wrong lane in traffic and missing an exit can sometimes really throw a team for a loop.

This is the least annoying group of racers in a long time. I'm not fans of all of them, but nobody seems like a whiny mess. Maybe just a bit whiny. Even the Big Brother duo lacks the preening you get from a lot of reality TV types, and while they're probably the most scheming of anyone on the show, they're barely scheming at all.

I agree.  I didn't really dislike any team until tonight.  No nasty bickering, overt drama queens, begging for their turned in task to be approved, or mauling of the judges.

[Rinaldo]

13 minutes ago, chaifan said:

I get Brittany's beef with Jessica.  They agreed to share information, and Brittany shared what words she knew.  Jessica purposely held back one word.  I understand the strategy, but I feel that if you make an agreement to share info, you share all info.  So sort of playing dirty pool on that one.  

But Jessica then told them the correct word before she left the room. The only disadvantage the other two suffered was having to rewrite one word on their forms, and get them approved -- a matter of maybe 30 seconds. 

[Pepper the Cat]

Well crap. My fav team is gone.

Team Big Brother, you are dead to me.

i wad hoping so hard for a non - elimination round. 

[backformore]

Doesn't it seem like some tasks are too easy this season? Maybe it's me, but it seems the local judges are no longer just saying No, without explanation. One example is the beer task. At least one team was told that the beer required a two finger foam head, after doing it wrong the first time. It seems to me that this is a change this season. I wonder if all teams are given the extra help.

Edited February 1, 2018 by backformore

[PaperTree]

1 minute ago, backformore said:

Doesn't it seem like some tasks are too easy this season? Maybe it's me, but it seems the local judges are no longer just saying No, without explanation. One example is the beer task. At least one team was told that the beer required a two inch foam head, after doing it wrong the first time. It seems to me that this is a change this season. I wonder if all teams are given the extra help.

Good point.  In other tasks, they have had to go back to the picture and figure out what was wrong.  

Maybe the judge just wanted to knock off early  :)

[ByaNose]

8 minutes ago, backformore said:

Doesn't it seem like some tasks are too easy this season? Maybe it's me, but it seems the local judges are no longer just saying No, without explanation. One example is the beer task. At least one team was told that the beer required a two finger foam head, after doing it wrong the first time. It seems to me that this is a change this season. I wonder if all teams are given the extra help.

Yeah, between the picture and the judge basically telling the two finger rule it was kind of easy. It would have been a lot harder and more dramatic if they didn’t know what they were supposed to do.  

[zibnchy]

Henry needs to run very far away from Evan. What exactly was he doing "wrong" with the beer? Then she has the balls to say "just ask first next time." Really? Run Henry. It will never get better. And you can do much much better.

My god, Britany and Alex even looked stupid sitting there. I wish they had gotten uturned because they would still be sitting there slack-jawed. I don't like them.

I just assumed a non-elim would save my favorite team. Sad now.

[North of Eden]

Things I learned tonight:

The Czech Republic is a land of lushes according to the stats Phil put out.

Beer is Green. Who knew?

Evan is Nag in sheep's clothing. Way too much henpecking of Henry tonight. Plus why does a beautiful woman like that have to diminish her looks with metallic boogers hanging from her nose? God, I hate nose rings.

Jess an Cody are every bit the strategic players they were on BIG BROTHER  though still, I wonder why they keep being near the back of the pack. I deleted the show so I don't know if Jess really mislead them or if it was a figment of Brittany's imagination like the travel gnome. (thumbs down to the editing on the flashback making it seem like Jess really was trying to sabotage with the gnome and that wasn't the case at all)

I still do not like teams helping each other at challenges.

Will not miss the violinists...kind of bland...kind of boring.

one thing I didn't learn tonight because I've heard it every single episode ...repeatedly is that Brit and her man have been together for nine years. Okay we've got it. Peace out.

[hendersonrocks]

I could not love the skiers more. They are fantastic racers and lovely humans. (I also get a kick out of Jen wearing a broken earring for a few legs now - I think she broke it in Morocco, maybe?)

The firefighters are also lovely, as are the violinists. I’ll miss them. I still like the Yalies a lot, but Evan needs to take it down a notch or three before adorable Henry is like yeah, no.

The remaining three teams? Meh.

[Kleav]

1 hour ago, vousviou said:

I'm pretty sure they covered them all. Off the top of my head I can remember seven -- What was the year Copernicus's theory was published, what is the law regarding the disappearance of a distant object, how far did Cop say the Sun was, what did he say was the second farthest planet, how far away can you see a lighthouse, something something, and is the Earth round or flat?

You would have done very well! Another question was "What was the name of the second professor?"

[DrScottie]

32 minutes ago, North of Eden said:

Evan is Nag in sheep's clothing. Way too much henpecking of Henry tonight. Plus why does a beautiful woman like that have to diminish her looks with metallic boogers hanging from her nose? God, I hate nose rings.

Henpecking, I see what you did there. :) You're right about nose rings. I don't mind the small stud on the side, but hers is for leading cattle by a rope.  

They would have won the leg if they picked THAT. It honestly seemed like a challenge designed for them (listen to a debate and take an exam afterwards) so I'm glad the detour clue didn't seem to specify what it actually was until you got there.  

Edited February 1, 2018 by DrScottie

[Silver Raven]

You know you're from Yale when you say "risk calculus".

Why were they doing a Copernicus exam when he was Polish, not Czech?

It would really be hard to sit through that lecture when you're already exhausted from KF.

Why is Evan being bitchy tonight?

No, using the U Turn is not a cowardly act.

I wonder how much those guys in the spas drank.

I love that they reused the Kafka task from before.

Yay for the firefighters.

Oh, shut up, Brittany.  It's a race.  Deal.

[Lukeysboat]

Nine years! Holy crap, can you believe how well a couple knows each other after NINE YEARS?! Why, it must be some kind of record, being together for nine whole years! ?

[NYCFree]

I both want to know, yet really, really don't want to know, why the water in the tiny spa tubs was so yellow.

[RedheadZombie]

I'm really enjoying a different team getting first place every episode.  There's nothing worse than a team that dominates the season, specially when it's a team I despise.

1 hour ago, PaperTree said:

Good point.  In other tasks, they have had to go back to the picture and figure out what was wrong.  

Maybe the judge just wanted to knock off early  :)

I noticed this with the sandal judge, too.  He very specifically told one couple that the edges needed to be flatter, then sighed with disgust and hand waved another couple away.

[Lady Calypso]

2 minutes ago, NYCFree said:

I both want to know, yet really, really don't want to know, why the water in the tiny spa tubs was so yellow.

It's because it was beer. 

[Jaye]

Quote

3 minutes ago, NYCFree said:

I both want to know, yet really, really don't want to know, why the water in the tiny spa tubs was so yellow.

 

Because it was beer, not water.

[blackwing]

Brittany can leave any time.  I was really hoping she would get eliminated.  Can't stand anything about her.  That said, I do think Jessica behaved poorly at the roadblock.  They agreed to work together and find the words together.   Jessica heard the word "life" but told her it was something else, because she wanted to ensure that she was the first of the three to leave.  That's poor.  She did give them the correct word but only after she was leaving.  Not a way to win friends.

Evan came across really poorly to me as well.  She is bossy and controlling.  Meanwhile, Henry is a doormat.  All he says was that "Evan wins a lot of arguments".  There's a difference between persuasively convincing someone (as in a debate) and just being bossy.  

My favorite of the remaining racers is Alex.  He seems like he has a good attitude about everything and he is saddled with a useless partner.  Like Couch Sleeper said, "Alex is good at everything".   Couch Sleeper is not and it's obvious.  

Too bad about the male couple, they got through the lecture really quickly and seemed to do well on both the beer and the phones.  With a double U turn I was thinking maybe we'd get a TBC or non-elim.

[TVbitch]

So bummed to lose the violinists who despite catching up after being the only team double U-turned still had ZERO chance of staying in the race cuz all but one other team did not do the road block on their own. Poor design made that kind of collusion a no-brainer but it still infuriates me! 

Edited February 1, 2018 by TVbitch

[lexington11]

Brittany and her whining...enough already. There's a reason this show is called Amazing RACE, so get used to the fact that it's each team for themselves. And she should also be grateful that Jessica at least gave her the correct word on her way out, instead of running out without saying a word. And no, using the U-Turn to buy yourself some extra time when you're on the last flight isn't cowardly, it's called being smart enough to not want to be the team that gets Philminated. Can we please lose her next leg?

[Wandering Snark]

I agree with everyone on the Evan sliding into disfavor due to her actions p.o.v. I also agree that the nose ring is somehow discordant on her. Maybe since she started without it in?? But I've seen the cracks forming in happy-go-lucky nerd Evan past few weeks. She was really browbeating him tonight, not a good look. At first I thought all her kissing his cheek was a case of her being more into him than he was in her. Something seemed off though and in retrospect I think it's kind of slyly trying to keep him pacified/under her thumb. When someone shows that much care for you how can you possibly go against them? When she turns into a bitch when he doesn't do the right thing/check in with her first your only real response is the classic: "Yes dear. You're right. I'm sorry." He's got a lifetime of that coming if he doesn't put the clamps on that shit. Yes she's pretty and smart but she's also condescending and 'superior'.

Anyhow, only other note is I hate that this is becoming The Amazing Twist Filled Big Brother Race.

Edited February 1, 2018 by Wandering Snark

[Corgi-ears]

Underrated joke of the week: violinist, when one of the spa men pulls out a clue from underwater, "Where did that clue come from?!"

[green]

Well I assume this was a shocker to the Irish that the Czechs out beer them.  And people in Iceland that traditionally lead the world in percentage of alcoholics per population.

Team Yale missed the easiest detour of the race for them because it was a mystery this or that one.  I was impressed but not surprised by the firefighters doing really well at it and the violin team making mincemeat of it was pretty impressive.  OTOH the lifeguard guy constantly knocking his head against the desk looked like he never opened a book in his life.

My favorite three teams came in in the top three slots so no complaints there though I'd love to see the firefighters win one leg.  They would probably appreciate one of those trips abroad more than most of the other teams.  And they have been my favorites since leg one.  But you are looking at a powerhouse in the skiers.  Hope they survive any future u-turn targeting or other crappy surprises because a good team like that deserves to at the very least make the final three.

So close to getting rid of Cody.  Damn.  I never really could tell the violin guys from the eaters and the Indy racers so won't really miss them per se but I so wanted them to come back from that u-turn and take out the team that targeted them and free me from Cody forever.  Especially since they seemed to have raced their best leg in this episode.