S30.E11: It’s Just a Million Dollars, No Pressure (1) S30.E12: It’s Just a Million Dollars, No Pressure (2)

[sashayshante]

12 minutes ago, missyb said:

Good interview with Jess and Cody:

 

https://parade.com/648294/mikebloom/the-amazing-race-30-cody-nickson-and-jessica-graf-go-from-evicted-to-victorious/

[EDITOR’S NOTE: At this point, Jessica has to step away from our interview, so the rest carries on between myself and Cody.]

 

I wonder if her publicist pulled her out of the interview because she was coming off like a petty smug asshole.  Jessica has no humility.  Even after she wins a million dollars she's STILL taking shots at Brittany and making fun of her. Meanwhile, in Brittany's interview, she totally plays down the drama. 

[SomeTameGazelle]

1 hour ago, missyb said:

Good interview with Jess and Cody:

 

https://parade.com/648294/mikebloom/the-amazing-race-30-cody-nickson-and-jessica-graf-go-from-evicted-to-victorious/

Quote

 It all came down to one simple test, and I am proud to say that I beat a Yale graduate in a written test.

This sounds like she considers the plane puzzle a "written test". ?

[TV Anonymous]

13 hours ago, Miles said:

This one had really good numbers, way better than the last ones. So there will be a next season. Let's just hope that they don't take the wrong lessons from this one. The good numbers had all to do with the better timeslot and nothing else.

Or maybe because this time around they have no show to compete with because of the Olympics? For the last 2 weeks I think this show and several shows on CW are the only ones having new episodes. For those not interested in mogul, big air or team pursuit, this show may be the last resort.

[Miles]

9 hours ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

I thInk they borrow cab drivers’ phones or peoples’ on public transport or in airports a lot but we’re not shown it because it’s not terribly relevant or interesting.  Here it was.  They had to shout up from boats and only two teams had to do it.   I enjoyed knowing that part happened.  That pre-planning could’ve won it for the skiers.   

I don't think it was more relevant here than at any other point in the race. Shouting up from the boats also wasn't the only time we were shown googling stuff. Team extreme googled the number beforehand and afterwards all teams googled what the fortune cookie factory might be.

 

9 hours ago, mertensia said:

And they've mentioned in various seasons looking at guidebooks in airports, asking seatmates, etc.

Yeah, but I was specifically talking about smartphone usage and wondering why we don't see it. If the racers don't think people outside the US have as many smartphones or if the editors want to show us a more simple world outside the US. I suspect the later.

 

3 hours ago, TV Anonymous said:

Or maybe because this time around they have no show to compete with because of the Olympics? For the last 2 weeks I think this show and several shows on CW are the only ones having new episodes. For those not interested in mogul, big air or team pursuit, this show may be the last resort.

They had great numbers before the olympics. The premier episode numbers were amazing, compared to recent seasons.

[mmal]

From Jen's blog:

Did you know people were intentionally trying to give you wrong directions?

We didn’t know at the time, but when the race ended, we learned that there were quite a few Big Brother fans out there trying to mislead Kristi and I. Jess and Cody’s fan base protect them like it is their life’s duty. When they were tracking us around the world, a lot of their fans would gripe about how much they disliked us (simply because we kept doing decently and seemed to be sticking around). In both Hong Kong and San Francisco people attempted to give us wrong directions. Fortunately, Kristi and I have enough common sense to realize that what they were telling us didn’t make any sense with what we were trying to solve and where we were trying to go.

Crap like this is why I've never liked "celebrity" teams on the race.

There are just too many lackeys out there.

[fishcakes]

Quote

Did you know people were intentionally trying to give you wrong directions?

We didn’t know at the time, but when the race ended, we learned that there were quite a few Big Brother fans out there trying to mislead Kristi and I. Jess and Cody’s fan base protect them like it is their life’s duty. When they were tracking us around the world, a lot of their fans would gripe about how much they disliked us (simply because we kept doing decently and seemed to be sticking around). In both Hong Kong and San Francisco people attempted to give us wrong directions. Fortunately, Kristi and I have enough common sense to realize that what they were telling us didn’t make any sense with what we were trying to solve and where we were trying to go.

I don't understand this. Is she saying that Cody and Jessica's fans were tracking them during the race and giving them wrong directions? How is that even possible?

[ProfCrash]

12 minutes ago, fishcakes said:

I don't understand this. Is she saying that Cody and Jessica's fans were tracking them during the race and giving them wrong directions? How is that even possible?

They were. It was all  over the place. Hoenstly, the only thing that wasunknown was what place Cody and Jessica finished but their fans from the show were showing all sorts of photos from all of the countries and events. People were bragging about trying tos crew up other teams. 

[sashayshante]

2 minutes ago, fishcakes said:

I don't understand this. Is she saying that Cody and Jessica's fans were tracking them during the race and giving them wrong directions? How is that even possible?

Their fans were tracking them (J/C) then reporting back to Twitter. Fans were seeing them in airports or on various legs and would take pictures or Tweet that there was a Jody sighting here or there. It's how people knew they made final three.  Their fans are mostly immature teenagers and isolated middle-aged adults.

[fishcakes]

3 minutes ago, ProfCrash said:

They were. It was all  over the place. Hoenstly, the only thing that wasunknown was what place Cody and Jessica finished but their fans from the show were showing all sorts of photos from all of the countries and events. People were bragging about trying tos crew up other teams. 

Wow, that's crazy. I knew that the show always has some of the teams eliminated closer to the end ghost-racing to try to throw off inadvertent spoilers, but I figured that was people just randomly seeing the TAR fannypacks and camera crews and posting photos on social media. Fans actually tracking racers is kind of sad and overinvested.

[sashayshante]

Sad and over invested is the perfect way to describe Jody fans. They talk like they're actually friends with them. It's creepy.

[Netfoot]

19 minutes ago, fishcakes said:

Fans actually tracking racers is kind of sad and overinvested.

And a bloody good reason not to have racers that have fans!

[ProfCrash]

21 minutes ago, fishcakes said:

Wow, that's crazy. I knew that the show always has some of the teams eliminated closer to the end ghost-racing to try to throw off inadvertent spoilers, but I figured that was people just randomly seeing the TAR fannypacks and camera crews and posting photos on social media. Fans actually tracking racers is kind of sad and overinvested.

It happens every season. The spoilers are filled with pictures, videos and are very detailed. Many times there are discussions of specific tasks. This year was a bit more focused on one specific team but I can’t say that the season was more htouroughly spoiled. Let’s not forget that there was a team that lost it’s passports before leaaving LA only to have someone post on social media and met them at the airport with their passports. 

So, yes the Jody fans were very enthusiastic but the level of spoilage was pretty much the same as it has been the last bunch of seasons. TAR fans have always been enthusiastic and it is not hard for people to spoil things. 

[Fukui San]

From Jen's blog and interview, I'm very surprised that the solution to the final challenge involved having the "wrong" wings inserted. That is they all needed to use two left wings and no right wings. Only with the configuration with the wing on backward was it correct, seemingly. That is very bad puzzle design when your instructions to the racers are that the planes have to be assembled correctly. It's almost like a trap for logical people in favor of people who just throw crap against the wall to see what sticks. I've no reason to doubt her assertion. She isn't saying that it was only hers, she said all of the completed planes were like that so there was no advantage.

Oh, and Jen provides an after the fact drawing of the various plane parts! I wish it were bigger, but I think it answers a question for me in that I think there are unique symbols and only some of them have duplicates, with two different objects representing a leg. That makes it harder than if they're all duplicates.

[SomeTameGazelle]

12 minutes ago, ProfCrash said:

It happens every season. The spoilers are filled with pictures, videos and are very detailed. Many times there are discussions of specific tasks. This year was a bit more focused on one specific team but I can’t say that the season was more htouroughly spoiled. Let’s not forget that there was a team that lost it’s passports before leaaving LA only to have someone post on social media and met them at the airport with their passports. 

So, yes the Jody fans were very enthusiastic but the level of spoilage was pretty much the same as it has been the last bunch of seasons. TAR fans have always been enthusiastic and it is not hard for people to spoil things. 

Spoilers are one thing; fans actively looking for opportunities to give one team an advantage over another is another thing, if it actually happened. There are certainly posts on Twitter that seem to be urging people to "help Jody" with the race.

[biakbiak]

Thats absolutely ridiculous about Jody fans intentionally misleading other teams.

Edited February 26, 2018 by biakbiak

[green]

12 hours ago, Miles said:

I don't think it was more relevant here than at any other point in the race. Shouting up from the boats also wasn't the only time we were shown googling stuff. Team extreme googled the number beforehand and afterwards all teams googled what the fortune cookie factory might be.

Yeah, but I was specifically talking about smartphone usage and wondering why we don't see it. If the racers don't think people outside the US have as many smartphones or if the editors want to show us a more simple world outside the US. I suspect the later.

They had great numbers before the olympics. The premier episode numbers were amazing, compared to recent seasons.

We see it all the time.  Before smartphones racers were borrowing flip phones from their cabbies.  First use of a borrowed cell phone was Rob & Brennen in one of the last legs of Season 1.  In the first league of Season 2 all the teams were borrowing phones from their cabbies. No internet access then but I remember Tara on that first leg calling up someone they met on the plane to Brazil to ask directions from the woman.

With smartphones they have always been clips of racers asking for help from cabbies and passer-bys.   I do thing that with smartphones they have to ask the person with the smartphone to do the work of going online as opposed to flip phones earlier that Racers were always borrowing from people and using themselves.  I remember one team need to have some guy look up Scandinavian flags online one season because that team was so clueless ass to not to know what the flags of Sweden and Norway looked like, haha..

 

9 hours ago, fishcakes said:

Wow, that's crazy. I knew that the show always has some of the teams eliminated closer to the end ghost-racing to try to throw off inadvertent spoilers, but I figured that was people just randomly seeing the TAR fannypacks and camera crews and posting photos on social media. Fans actually tracking racers is kind of sad and overinvested.

That one reality forum usually has the entire race spoiled each and every season going way way back.  They basically have a detective squad with people reporting in throughout the world to them.  I hear they only spoil up to the final three now and don't spoil the actual winner though. 

After the race I read the spoiler thread here and indeed they had the race pretty well figured out with only a few miscues that were corrected quickly up to the final three but didn't post the winner.  The result was individuals not with that site posted a couple of wrong "spoilers" without the good vetting that site provides and got things wrong.  I think they had Yale win with Skiers second and Cody & Jessica third.  Managed to get wrong all three spots.

8 hours ago, SomeTameGazelle said:

Spoilers are one thing; fans actively looking for opportunities to give one team an advantage over another is another thing, if it actually happened. There are certainly posts on Twitter that seem to be urging people to "help Jody" with the race.

It happened as far back as TAR7 when Survivor fans started spotting Rob & Amber along the race course.  They weren't organized like fans are today back then but they definitely went out of their way to help them when spotted.  TAR and Survivor are shown in so many countries that fans around the world see those American versions of those shows so know these guys.

In fact when TAR All-Stars went to Malaysia a Malaysian fan from there got word through a friend of a friend that was involved in helping to set up one of the sites that the Racers were doing a task at.  He posted his experience on Survivor Sucks' TAR Forum.  He said he and his family (wife and couple of kids) went out to the site to see the Racers as they came by and cheered them on.  They and others could overhear the racers reading aloud their clues into the camera as they were required to do back then so the Malaysian fans gathered knew where they were going next and sprinted off to the sites of the two roadblocks.  He and his family made it to one and ended up helping Mirna in the bicycle/newspaper roadblock and can be seen with some of the other fans running along beside her bike there on the TV broadcast.  His only regret is that he missed the Chas' Danny so he could help him too.

I'm fine with something like that cropping up from time to time because it is so cool and a fun thing and it doesn't happen on every leg and because he wanted to help ALL the teams.  (Fortunately he missed Eric & Danielle).  But trying to sabotage a team?  Just no.

[Netfoot]

48 minutes ago, green said:

I remember one team need to have some guy look up Scandinavian flags online one season because that team was so clueless ass to not to know what the flags of Sweden and Norway looked like, haha..

I don't know Norway, but Sweden is blue/yellow with the letters IKEA on it, right?

49 minutes ago, green said:

It happened as far back as TAR7 when Survivor fans started spotting Rob & Amber along the race course.  They weren't organized like fans are today back then but they definitely went out of their way to help them when spotted.

True, but I've never before seen racers engaged in a challenge, surrounded by a ring of cellphone-wielding fans, filming their progress from 18" away.

With those fans now deliberately hindering the progress of other racers, how far will it go?  When will they deliberately block other teams, snatch their clues away, or beat them up and run off with their stuff?

[ProfCrash]

58 minutes ago, Netfoot said:

I don't know Norway, but Sweden is blue/yellow with the letters IKEA on it, right?

True, but I've never before seen racers engaged in a challenge, surrounded by a ring of cellphone-wielding fans, filming their progress from 18" away.

With those fans now deliberately hindering the progress of other racers, how far will it go?  When will they deliberately block other teams, snatch their clues away, or beat them up and run off with their stuff?

There have been reports in the past that people gave racers bad directions intentionally, heck people have posted about doing it because they thought it was funny. I am going to assume that people trying to steal racers stuff would be dealt with as a legal manner and the team would be awarded time to make up for the time spent with police and the like. W know from past shows that times have been adjusted for production actions/problems that happen outside the racers control. I don't remember specifics but we have seen the order of release differ from the check in order and would learn later that time had been given back to racers for some unnamed production fouled up.

So yes, the Jody fans were organized and active this season but it is not that different then what we have seen in the past. The Race fans around the world actively look for teams when they are running. When they find out the teams are there, many look to find the tasks to take pictures or offer directions or just watch what is happening. And yes, people in the past have bragged about giving bad directions intentionally. Others have posted pictures and bragged about how they helped. It has been a thing for as long as the race has been run.

The fan intervention and spoilage is the explanation for the now public starts, people found out where the start was and showed up anyway so why not announce it early and stop trying to hide it? It is the reason for the end to be later at night and in more private locations. Do you really think that they choose the Hornet in the middle of the night because it was the most cost effective time to complete the challenge? I am sure they knew that the event would take several hours but with the Museum shutting down at  5 PM (checked the web site), I am sure that they could have tried to time things so that the teams were arriving earlier in the evening. Instead the events were timed to take place later in the night, probably to try and decrease traffic issues and hopefully spoiling anything. At the very least, there is no way anyone would be on the Hornet at the hour the teams would be there. Even then there are pictures of Extreme and Yale paying their cabs in the plane costumes at whatever hour in the morning.

So yeah, I think the Jody fans "interference" is a non-story. The one team who mentioned it finished in the top three every leg so the attempts clearly failed. I wouldn't be surprised if the teams figured it out quickly and started to be more careful with directions.

[Netfoot]

26 minutes ago, ProfCrash said:

I think the Jody fans "interference" is a non-story.

I wasn't saying that the fans interfered to any substantial degree. While there may have been some intervention by fans in the past (like the lost passport incident), I think that any actions were generally helpful and non-partisan. But I did say that I've never before seen fans and members of the Spoiler Army standing literally shoulder-to-shoulder with racers, filming with their cellphones, while challenges were being run.

I do believe that there is a real possibility that in the future, fans of stunt-cast "personality" teams might do something stupid -- to influence the success of their favourites, not by helping them, but by hindering the opposition.  It may sound extreme -- which of course it would be -- but it could get as bad as robbery or even assault.  

[ProfCrash]

27 minutes ago, Netfoot said:

I wasn't saying that the fans interfered to any substantial degree. While there may have been some intervention by fans in the past (like the lost passport incident), I think that any actions were generally helpful and non-partisan. But I did say that I've never before seen fans and members of the Spoiler Army standing literally shoulder-to-shoulder with racers, filming with their cellphones, while challenges were being run.

I do believe that there is a real possibility that in the future, fans of stunt-cast "personality" teams might do something stupid -- to influence the success of their favourites, not by helping them, but by hindering the opposition.  It may sound extreme -- which of course it would be -- but it could get as bad as robbery or even assault.  

Is it possible that a die hard fan of team X, in this case Jody, might try and attack another team to aid their team? I suppose. But that person or group has to decide that they want to commit a crime, on camera, with a good number of people around to interfere with said crime.

How many times have we seen female teams harassed in India? There was one team that flat out said they were worried about being hurt, and even had something thrown at them, when they were completing the bike delivery task. Yet, the Amazing Race continues to go to India because they love the cultural contrast and the type of tasks they can orchestrate in India. Various All women teams have commented, on air, that they know that they are going to struggle in India because of the attitude towards working with women. My point? There are far more real security concerns that the race needs to address then worry about overly exuberant fans. Indian trains are known for having problems with harassment, that is why there are women only compartments and busses.

The show has travelled to many a country that has found itself facing political/ethnic violence after the show has been there. It regularly travels through countries with well established violent extremist groups. Honestly, I am far more concerned about the safety on contestants based on the likelihood of a coup, political violence or a terrorist group deciding it wants to make a larger name for itself then I am a die hard fan of a particular team physically attacking another team.

Edited February 26, 2018 by ProfCrash

[Runningwild]

Yay!  So happy for Team BB! They were my favorite all along. Very loving and supportive of each other. Never argued or yelled at each other. I actually liked 3 of the 4 final teams and really 7 of the final 8 contestants. So glad Henry finally told her to be quiet. I could not take one more, “You can do it, Hen!”  Is that short for Henry or Hen-pecked?

[Netfoot]

2 hours ago, ProfCrash said:

How many times have we seen female teams harassed in India?

Quote

Honestly, I am far more concerned about the safety on contestants based on the likelihood of a coup, political violence or a terrorist group deciding it wants to make a larger name for itself then I am a die hard fan of a particular team physically attacking another team.

I agree with all that you have written.  I believe that fan-based interference is unlikely.  But five years ago, I would have said that fans coming up to racers during a challenge, and posing for selfies was also unlikely.  

There isn't much we can do about archaic attitudes in India, or political/ethnic disharmony in so many countries around the world.  But we can eliminate potential fan-based interference by the simple expediency of eliminating fans.

[blackwing]

If I were in charge I would say that Racers can borrow a phone to call an airport or travel agency.  But borrowing a phone to go on the internet or asking someone to look something up should be against the rules.  Hard to believe that when TAR started in 2001 that smart phones were not prevalent and that people had to get information the old fashioned way.   I remember teams being given a flag of Tunisia and they had to actually ask people about it instead of just googling.

Googling just takes away the puzzle element of the tasks.  It would have been better if teams were prohibited from asking anyone about Willie Mays.  There was a statue and a plaque with the answer!  They should have been forced to have found it on their own. 

It was also disappointing seeing them asking  people to solve that fortune cookie rebus puzzle.   I remember in TAR2 when Tara lost the clue but remembered something about seaplanes, she went to a bookstore in the airport and looked up a guidebook on Alaska to find a name she recognised.

I would ban the direct or indirect use of smart phones and I would ban the use of Ferns.  Make these teams work at it. 

[chaifan]

8 minutes ago, blackwing said:

I would ban the direct or indirect use of smart phones and I would ban the use of Ferns.  Make these teams work at it. 

Jen stated on one of her blog posts that Ferns have been semi-banned.  Locals can offer to navigate you to a spot, but racers can't ask them for help.  I wonder how long that has been a rule.

ETA:  Jen's response on her blog (question re: use of Ferns)

Yes, that [not being able to use Ferns] was a rule this year, not sure about previous seasons. There were some exceptions (like in Morocco, people could lead us if they offered, but we couldn’t ask to be led).

Edited February 26, 2018 by chaifan
adding quote from Jen's blog

[Netfoot]

12 minutes ago, chaifan said:

Jen stated on one of her blog posts that Ferns have been semi-banned.

What a shame!  I know I'll never get on the show, but always thought it would be nice to help out.

Team: "Can you tell me how to find the Circular Stone where Cows Bathe?"

Netfoot:  "Jump in!  I'll take you right there!  Uh... just call me Fern..."

Not that I ever expect TAR to come to this country, mind you.  And I understand they long ago banned from getting a lift from the public.  And now, Ferns are banned all together?  

<sigh>

[chaifan]

I'm wondering if the no-Fern rule has to do more with making the Racers do more on their own, or production issues (not having to get releases signed, etc.). 

[Miles]

6 hours ago, green said:

We see it all the time.  Before smartphones racers were borrowing flip phones from their cabbies.  First use of a borrowed cell phone was Rob & Brennen in one of the last legs of Season 1.  In the first league of Season 2 all the teams were borrowing phones from their cabbies. No internet access then but I remember Tara on that first leg calling up someone they met on the plane to Brazil to ask directions from the woman.

We see it occasionally. Your examples are all from early seasons and you are right, we did see it much more often back then. People making calls to tourist information and trying to figure stuff out on the WAP-Internet. Which is why I am wondering why we barely see it anymore. If this leg is any indication a ton of it must be edited out. Do the editors want to show us a simpler world outside the US or do they not want to show how much information the racers have at their finger tips all the time, because everybody has a smartphone now?

Or are the clues just way too easy and straight foreward, apart from the final leg, because production budgets are tight and they can't risk racers getting lost too much, so there actually isn't as much googling, because it's not needed?

Or is it even a rule that you are not allowed to and it was only lifted for the final leg, just like the no-Fern-rule was partially lifted for some legs?

 

6 hours ago, green said:

With smartphones they have always been clips of racers asking for help from cabbies and passer-bys.   I do thing that with smartphones they have to ask the person with the smartphone to do the work of going online as opposed to flip phones earlier that Racers were always borrowing from people and using themselves.  I remember one team need to have some guy look up Scandinavian flags online one season because that team was so clueless ass to not to know what the flags of Sweden and Norway looked like, haha..

Literally this episode one team borrowed a smartphone and googled themselves. I think it was Yale, but can't quite remember.

Edited February 26, 2018 by Miles

[Netfoot]

57 minutes ago, Miles said:

Which is why I am wondering why we barely see it anymore.

Probably because i) it isn't a radically clever idea any more, and ii) it makes a bit of a mockery of the challenge

1 hour ago, chaifan said:

I'm wondering if the no-Fern rule has to do more with making the Racers do more on their own, or production issues (not having to get releases signed, etc.). 

There may also be concern for the safety of the team, if they drive off into the sunset with some stranger.

[green]

No more Ferns allowed?  Just cancel the show already because the original Fern was one of the highlights of TAR ever.  And one of the things I loved most about the Race.  I real longer interaction with someone along the way.  Just reason 63 of why TAR isn't what it used to be, sigh.

1 hour ago, Miles said:

We see it occasionally. Your examples are all from early seasons

 

We actually see it more these days I would say but I seem to have endless generalized memories of Racers always borrowing or asking help from people with smartphones.  But I just don't really have later TAR seasons memorized specific-wise anymore because to me TAR is just a shell of what it used to be and I pretty much can't even recall most teams except the very most memorable after TAR11 All Stars. 

In fact I never memorized the Skiers or Indy Car teams' individual names.  Unfortunately I'll remember Cody & Jessica because I hate them from back on BB though I can see forgetting Jessica's actual name sooner then later.  I didn't see any other BB seasons before this last one and the surprisingly (shock, everyone was shocked) good celebrity version that just finished minus the bitter jury ending except the very early ones stopping a few episodes into BB4.  That was the one Allison was on so Allison I remember since she helped me quit BB at that point (heh) and was the very first cross-over and I hated the cross-over stuff from the beginning. 

I'll probably remember Yale vaguely from this season -- but by that name only and not their real names -- because they were a more unique team than anyone else on the Race this year.  But skiers and race car drivers are just too common of a vaguely sports oriented team that they keep having on.  Only one of those I really remember are the Globetrotters who are one of the few post All Star teams I remember.

Long way around of saying I remember more smartphones in recent seasons then remember TAR teams by names so can't give you specifics, just vague "stills" memories of endless smartphones.

Well back to stuff really worth remembering as I have about 300+ ball players already well memorized for this year's dynasty baseball team leagues I'm in and now have to work on the middle relievers to find a few up and coming gems there.

Edited February 26, 2018 by green

[stillhere1900]

On 2/21/2018 at 9:02 PM, Suzysite said:

Yay for Cody and Jessica! Somewhere Paul from BB is punching his TV.

Yay!!!!!! for Cody. My 22 yr old son is a United States Marine: Active Duty

[smartymarty]

On 2/22/2018 at 1:26 PM, HurricaneVal said:

I...have an interesting theory.  I think Henry threw the final comp.  I think he knew if he and Evan won, they'd be stuck together for a long time.  I think he was done with her, and looking for a way out. 

It appears from the website interviews that they work for the same company in Los Angeles.

[Whimsy]

All posts that are about Big Brother solely will be removed. 

[ProfCrash]

18 hours ago, chaifan said:

Jen stated on one of her blog posts that Ferns have been semi-banned.  Locals can offer to navigate you to a spot, but racers can't ask them for help.  I wonder how long that has been a rule.

I am awful with remembering seasons and teams but I remember a while back that a team specifically said that they could not follow a taxi cab to the location when the cabbie offered to drive in front of the team. I vaguely recall it happening in South America somewhere. I did say I am awful with remembering specifics....

We saw Ferns helping people this season, so I suspect that it is very specific things like, you cannot pay a cab or ask someone to take you some place but you can ask for directions. I do wonder if they are not allowed to write down specific directions. Honestly, I would ask someone to call up directions on Google and write them down.

16 hours ago, Netfoot said:

There may also be concern for the safety of the team, if they drive off into the sunset with some stranger.

heheheh Well, the person would have to take the racers, the cameraman and the soundman. I suspect that it was more about getting the necessary waivers signed then anything.

I like that the Racers couldn't ask people to take them places or follow them. I have no problem with allowing the Racers to follow someone who volunteers but I think it is good that they cannot ask to follow. Asking for directions seems to be fine. In the past we have seen some teams ask for help only to have the local kids carry the goods and walk someone to the destination. I am also guessing that there are some countries were people do that and then expect a tip or some form of payment and it has caused some off camera problems.

[ProfCrash]

18 hours ago, Netfoot said:

There isn't much we can do about archaic attitudes in India, or political/ethnic disharmony in so many countries around the world.  But we can eliminate potential fan-based interference by the simple expediency of eliminating fans.

We can not send teams there. India provides great scenery and many of the people are wonderful but all female teams are at a huge disadvantage when they race in India because of the archaic attitudes. There was at least one all female team who struggled buying train tickets because the teller would not sell to women.  It is not only a safety issue, and that is huge, it is a competitive disadvantage.

I have no problem with removing countries from the list because the threat to teams is high. Women should not have to travel to places were they are likely to be sexually harassed and threatened. If a country has a large enough problem with sexual assault on public transportation that there exists women only lines, cars and busses then it should not be a place that the Race sends teams. If the country has a long running violent political insurgency, the Race should not send teams there. I spend a fair number of episodes each season worried that something is going to happen because I know that there are long active violent groups who are willing to attack the government, businesses and tourists. I assume that they pay for additional security for Racers and the Production team when they are in those countries, at least I hope that they do.

You would have to be a special type of crazy to choose to assault another team to protect a team that you know and like. The teams are being filmed, so your action will be documented. There are normally crowds of people around, many filming on their phones. I get that someone might try and give another team bad info in order to help their favorites but there have always been people who enjoyed giving bas info to Racers because they think it is funny.

[Netfoot]

13 minutes ago, ProfCrash said:

Quote

There may also be concern for the safety of the team, if they drive off into the sunset with some stranger.

heheheh Well, the person would have to take the racers, the cameraman and the soundman. I suspect that it was more about getting the necessary waivers signed then anything.

In my case, of course, the racers wouldn't want to ride in my vehicle anyway.  The least sensible team would recognise the danger of being overwhelmed by Buddy-Slobber.  

I have no problem with removing countries from the list because the threat to teams is high.

This is an option, and I am sure that this is considered in the layout of the route of every race.  But you can't refuse to visit every country where your choice of pronouns may not be respected.  

You can argue that this, being (originally) a travel-based show, racers must expect to deal with the problems expected by any other traveler.  With regard the minor, but still grossly annoying abuse of women in India, I don't argue this at all.  But rather than eliminate a huge chunk of global realestate from use in the race, perhaps other ways can be found to mitigate the problem?  Maybe including the train tickets in the clue envelope, rather than making racers cue up buy tickets and have their bums pinched?  

2 minutes ago, ProfCrash said:

You would have to be a special type of crazy to choose to assault another team to protect a team that you know and like.

But crazy people do exist.  And while they might not be quick to directly attack a racer, what about tripping someone up, snatching a fanny-pack and running off through the crowd?  I'm stretching the point, I know, but...

Edited February 27, 2018 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

9 minutes ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

Or have the camera/sound crew buy tickets, etc. in those countries, for all the teams?  I'm pretty ignorant on what occurs but wouldn't two women traveling in the company of a man or two who didn't appear to be hovering off in the background but more actively chaperoning them be left alone?

This is true. But I'm not sure that it is reasonable to expect the camera/sound crew to function as security guards.  Now, while I have considered the possibility of adding a security team to the camera/audio team that follows every racer, I can't say I like the idea.  Not only for practical purposes (like, how many people you can cram into a taxi), but because I honestly wonder if TAR should continue in the face of a global reality where harmless teams of racers are at risk, simply because they are traveling the countries of the world.  

But in certain instances, like the pre-bought train tickets in India, I think steps could be taken to ameliorate the issue.  If there are specifically dangerous places which (for reasons unknown) TPTB want the racers to go, a security detail could be provided at that spot, to ensure the teams proceed without incident.  I can't off-hand think of an example, but in the same way they provide safety boats and divers when the racers have to go in the water, perhaps a handful of burly 'bystanders' could be nonchalantly standing around, if the teams have to go through a rough neighborhood.

I think the times are a changin'.  In early seasons, teams were protected by anonymity.  Nobody knew who these people were, and they weren't being singled out as special or different in any way. Now, after 30 seasons, anyone spot pairs of people hurrying through town pursued by camera teams, and TAR will be the immediate suspect.  I think it gets worse when the people are "famous", either because they have already been on TV, or because they have a large YouTube following, etc.  For this reason, I'm not even too fond of All*Star seasons!  I believe that eliminating well-known teams would be a good thing, not only because it might reduce the degree of bystander interference/interaction, but because it would be a move in the direction of the original values of The Amazing Race, to wit:  Teams of ordinary people being exposed to the extraordinary, and in many cases showing us that they are really extraordinary people after all.

[ProfCrash]

I suspect that Jen was wrong and that there was something else wrong with her solution. I suspect that her final product was accepted even if it was wrong because the other teams had checked in, been interviews and everyone wanted to go home. No one else seemed to have that problem, their planes looked fine, which makes me think that Jen was off on a symbol or something along those lines.

The part that baffles me is that everyone seemed to think that they were missing something. I don't think that there were bogus clues on the plane parts, otherwise it would be easy for someone to remove one or two pieces. I do think that there was one combination that had something from each country without duplicates. So instead of worrying about what symbol was what, the teams should have focused on finishing with 12 unique symbols on the plane and not be worried about knowing what symbol was for what task/country/leg.

But it is easy to think that almost a week after the show aired, while taking a break at work, and drinking a cup of tea with my Kind bar snack.....

[methadonna]

On 2/22/2018 at 10:25 AM, Charlesman said:

After sleeping on it, I've come to agree that the sign task was completely impossible and the show really screwed it up and should have fixed it before it happened.

The Bull and the Fez were at least in TAR-colors. The arch was not. [...]The arch had the happy hour times listed on it... it

(After all devoting my entire life to the Olympics and CBB for the past few weeks, I finally just caught up on the past three episodes of TAR. Which was already seemed like a lot, and then I discovered they were all doubles: six hours of this within the last twelve? MY brain was jumbled by the end, so I know there’s no way to accurately imagine how much harder trying to solve a puzzle after 20 or 30 days of nearly break-free racing is than it may appear to me at home. 

 

Thank you for clearing up what threw ME about that task (and shows what a mess it was): besides the lack of parallelism among signs  I kept thinking the racers were missing something in assuming that the numbers of the leg the image represented were the numbers needed for the combo, and, even after hearing them use variations of 3,1,5, I STILL kept thinking it was wrong (and we just weren’t being shown the solution yet), and it was THAT sign that threw me: seeing the 7-9 on it made me think there were lots of seemingly relevant (image-wise) signs in the area but what the “solution” to determining which counted was noticing those that also had numbers, and then the combination would be those numbers, by order of leg. (I also thought there were six distinct numerals needed for the combo, not just the same three-numeral combo done twice). Thus, 7 and 9 would have been the first two digits, and then whatever numbers were listed with the image for the relative next leg, then the third. (Or, 7 for the first group of the three and 9 for the other, and so on). So, that may have been my misunderstanding or over complicating things, but it was a jacked-up challenge, regardless, in how easy it was to fail by following the spirit of it and, in conjunction, how much more easily once could succeed by not.

I don’t recall if there was something more explicit in the directions we heard (or it was in what we didn’t hear) that made it clear they were just trying to find out the corresponding leg numbers, or what determined their order when they had them. As apparently there was no rule that they’d be penalized for not having found the actual sign, it was clearly quicker to just run the combos. I’m surprised that the Doing Debate Has Taught Us To Use Logic and Reason Team of STFU* didn’t do that immediately, with Evan’s simultaneously mentally composing the TH of superfluous arrogant superiority* of how their experience led them to be able to weigh the pros and cons of putting in the time and physical energy into a crapshoot scavenger hunt versus investing their time into using their assets of such decision making and their knowledge of the math involved, which let them know not only the maximum amount of time it would require but the likelihood that they would excel at this determination more quickly than any of the other teams. 

 

*I spent a long time trying to believe that a lot of those interview responses were the result of very leading questions, esp as a team that is physically competent but not in the league of their competitors who can overcome that gap with intelligent and decisive reasoning makes them the type of team, theoretically, I WANT to route for. But, even discounting the obvious aspects of the “So how do you think your debate experience helped you to succeed in this leg” line of questioning to which they (Evan) were clearly replying, I still found nearly everything about her responses insufferable, and by the final six, I realized I only cared about their getting eliminated. (Even though it was clear, despite her great intellect, she couldn’t use a consistent verb tense when talking about doing well or not, exactly when she would or wouldn’t go on, so she those same self-indulgent THs left exactly zero suspense during the leg that they’d come in last but not be eliminated, I still literally and audibly booed at my TV. 

Which leads me to:

Quote

(All of the posts regarding the other three teams’ “cliquing up”) / whether Evan and Henry were excluded (and Jess was nasty by being disappointed by their making it to F3) / RACE!

I really didn’t see it this way. And, again, I typically would, and I’d typically route for the Evan/Henry-type team to win (or at least make it to final 3) to foil their plans. But, in this case, I think the other three teams just really enjoyed each other’s company (and, like the rare Survivor or B.B. alliance who actually agrees that, if they make it to F4 or F3 together, then they’ll battle it out, no totem pole or side deals within), they wanted to all get to that last leg and then fight it out, because they liked each other and also respected each other’s play: none of them would have been complacent with a “we’re just glad to have made it to the F3 and now we’re happy to see any of the three of us win” but rather “We want to battle it out with people we enjoy but who also challenge us, and we’ll fight our asses off to beat them in the end (but have respect for them if they can beat us, once we get over our disappointment).”

They just didn’t have that rapport with E&H, and I think that was more ofE/H’s doing than anyone setting out to exclude them, although I’m sure it was amplified by the simple fact of E/H’s seeming to be at a very different place in their lives than the other three: I’m not sure of the actual age gaps, but E/H seemed to be like kids fresh out of school, just starting their lives, who might have more formal education (or at least a focus on it and their success at it as a key to their foundation; I’m not sure about most of the others, but I think at least some may have at least the same level of education, but they’re either at a point in their lives where it’s not as defining or they focused on other things), and maybe ARE, by most metrics, “the smartest” ones, but they are just still too fresh to know what they don’t know yet.

Whether they’re just slightly younger or quite a bit than the other three, they really came across as simply at an age- or life-stage-difference that made them seem as, at best, younger siblings with too great an age gap to readily be peers, which didn't lead to their fitting in with the other three, but, with different personality types, that inandof itself needn’t exclude them (remembering the relationship Momily had with other teams): I think they weren’t the type to accept a role a group in which they might be the “younger ones whom everyone loves (and wants to protect because of that), because, even though it needn’t be (my friends were always much older than me, and I was no younger sibling type), they’d see it as being in the position of inferiority.

And, again, hopefully just because they don’t even yet know that they don’t know what they don’t know (follow? ;-) ), more than that they’re not willing to potentially feel like the ones with less power in a relationship with another team, they really see themselves as superior—despite the others’ accomplishments in their life sectors (ok, I can easily understand not recognizing Jessica’s being near the top of the field of hostesses as a comparable accomplishment, but...) the other five have already accomplished a lot in their respective arenas, but they’re ones that are decidedly more blue-class/physical, and I don't think these highly successful ... college extracurricular activity champs get that, once they really get into their careers, that won’t remain as more than a footnote on their resumes (even though I don’t disagree with the point of their THs that the skills developed from it will inform whatever else they do.

Otoh, I find it surprising that anyone so apparently successful at debate couldn’t even present a compelling, argument (that was left verbally unchallenged) that they weren’t extremely unlikable, self-entitled, immature young people who lacked the very worldliness, experience, and maturity to make them less ... them ... than they seemed to believe they had in spades.

 

I would never have thought so, both coming off of BB* and because for a long time I really wanted the skiers to win because I do think this race is, generally, more challenging for teams of two women to win and, while I’m not going to root for a F/F team JUST because they’re female (Goat Girls couldn’t get off my screen fast enough), I think it’s even harder for them to do well in EVERY leg (overall, things tend to balance out, so, (for anyone), as long as you’re not eliminated in a leg that’s heavy in your area of weakness, that can be mitigated), but these women were SO consistent with their top-3 finishes that, until the last two legs (where top-3 obvs isn’t so meaningful, and they were also struggling way more than they had been: if the field were 12 and not 4 when E/H got kept in an extra leg to ruin everything and after, I think they could have been much closer to the bottom: killer fatigue seemed to really strike them, while E/H seemed to be re-energized by their success after U-Turns and roadblocks), I’d have said they were the best racers overall. But, somehow, I found myself rooting (well, first, for a not-Evan win, but then) for Jess and Cody to pull it off. And now I feel dead inside. 

[smartymarty]

Spouse and I never, ever, heard anything disagreeable from Evan. Do not understand the hate. But to your point of:

1 hour ago, methadonna said:

the other three teams just really enjoyed each other’s company (and, like the rare Survivor or B.B. alliance who actually agrees that, if they make it to F4 or F3 together, then they’ll battle it out, no totem pole or side deals within), they wanted to all get to that last leg and then fight it out, because they liked each other and also respected each other’s play:

I get that. What turned me against BB though was their rude pouting when they discovered that E&H would be one of the final three. Right in E&H's faces. Yet Evan is the immature one? That's when I wanted E&H to beat BB. (I'd otherwise been rooting for Team Extreme. Thought with all of their 1, 2, 3 wins, they deserved it.)

[mojoween]

The one thing that bugged me about Indy/Skiers/BB vs. Yale was that it was SO reminiscent of jocks vs. nerds.  Yes, it was very apparent that Evan was shrill and could be off-putting, so of course everyone isn’t going to be her friend.  Still.  It really came across very middle-school cliquish “ha ha we’re cool and they aren’t.”

Now it did appear that Jessica was the one leading the charge on that, so it could have been a coincidence that the jocky teams were all banding together, but in appearances, it looked like the brainy kids were getting ganged up on.

It didn’t appear to affect Henry very much, and Evan seemed to take it as a challenge, so it was more of a bad look, than anything that actually affected the race.

[fishcakes]

22 minutes ago, mojoween said:

It didn’t appear to affect Henry very much, and Evan seemed to take it as a challenge, so it was more of a bad look, than anything that actually affected the race.

The best part about it is that while they were racing, Henry and Evan knew they weren't in with the in-crowd [cough], didn't really care, and figured it had just worked out that way naturally. But now that they've seen the episodes and see that being excluded was a bit more calculated on the part of the others, well, they don't care about that either. None of the other six were particularly mean or rude to Evan and Henry's faces, but they did get clique-y and giggly about how they were on the outs behind their backs, so it's hilarious to me that it mattered to Team Yale not at all.

[proserpina65]

UGH, no, just no, no, no!

Also, Henry, you better run before Evan sees that you had it correct and didn't ask for a check.

[blackwing]

22 hours ago, mojoween said:

The one thing that bugged me about Indy/Skiers/BB vs. Yale was that it was SO reminiscent of jocks vs. nerds.  Yes, it was very apparent that Evan was shrill and could be off-putting, so of course everyone isn’t going to be her friend.  Still.  It really came across very middle-school cliquish “ha ha we’re cool and they aren’t.”

Now it did appear that Jessica was the one leading the charge on that, so it could have been a coincidence that the jocky teams were all banding together, but in appearances, it looked like the brainy kids were getting ganged up on.

It didn’t appear to affect Henry very much, and Evan seemed to take it as a challenge, so it was more of a bad look, than anything that actually affected the race.

I didn't get a jocks vs. nerds vibe at all.  I do think that Jessica exuded the "popular" vibe but I didn't get that from Cody.  I think the skiers are too old to be part of that vibe (they look like they are in their early 40s, or at least the blonde one does).  Alex seems like he should have the snooty popular vibe (young, athletic, good looking, rich) but he came across as a down-to-earth, hard working, nice guy.  And Conor seems like too much of a lazy dilletante to be in the "popular" crowd.

I think maybe a spade is just a spade.  I think it simply is the fact that Evan isn't a very nice person.  She's bossy and controlling and off-putting.  From what I've seen on TV, I wouldn't want to be friends with her and hang out with her.  These people were around her a lot more, and they didn't want to be with her.  Why does it have to come down to "nerd exclusion"?

Alex and Conor were very complimentary of Yale in the beginning, they called them "wizards" and Evan was flattered by it.  As the race wore on, we saw on TV the way Evan talked to Henry and treated him like a second rate member of the team.  Evan is ultra competitive and controlling and it doesn't at all surprise me that others didn't like her.

I also don't see much evidence of "ganging up" on the "brainy kids".  If there really was ganging up, on one of the double U turns, the teams would have conspired to have Henry and Evan as the only team U Turned (first team U turns them, next team U Turns the first team).  That didn't happen.

I do have to wonder how much grief Evan gave Henry over the removed piece.  I also wonder why she didn't do the puzzle herself, since there are apparently no more restrictions ever since the season where the son did way more roadblocks than his old dad.

[Irishsecra]

Well I was actually happy that Jess and Cody won but would have been ok with any of the final 4.

I thought Jess and Cody raced well and I only felt the mean girl vibe with Brittany who I frankly did not like at all. She would have gotten on my last nerve.

i did watch them on Big Brother and was not a fan. Cody trashed his own game and Jessicas by association.That being said, I never doubted their love for each other as what they went thru in that house at the hands of Paul and his minions really tested that relationship.

i thought their mutual respect and trust in each other really shone through in the race.

by the way, I read an interview with Cody where he said that he intended to set aside part of his prize money for his daughters future. He actually said he hoped to help her start her own business someday.

[HawaiiTVGuy]

2 hours ago, blackwing said:

 

I also don't see much evidence of "ganging up" on the "brainy kids".  If there really was ganging up, on one of the double U turns, the teams would have conspired to have Henry and Evan as the only team U Turned (first team U turns them, next team U Turns the first team).  That didn't happen.

I do have to wonder how much grief Evan gave Henry over the removed piece.  I also wonder why she didn't do the puzzle herself, since there are apparently no more restrictions ever since the season where the son did way more roadblocks than his old dad.

It definitely was not as bad as Vanck and Ashton from last season.  Of course, Team Ocean Spray was the first to the 2* U and had a bigger axe to grind and did it first.  Team Indy had no real reason to do anything at that point except to save Team BB, and they decided to throw Team Yale under the bus instead of Team Extreme, a far bugger threat.  It probably wasn't a matter of "ganging" up but it was definitely a matter of playing favorites because if Team Indy was thinking rationally and as "competitors" they would have realized that sacrificing Team BB would have made the most sense because with Cody they were a strong team.

Not sure why there is much speculation about the grief between Evan and Henry.  All interviews have shown Evan having nothing but pride for Henry and an emphasis on how far behind they were but Henry pulled them to within a couple minutes of winning.  Also Evan has admitted to being self-aware that she can come off a certain way and specifically says how grateful she is that Henry has a patient personality.  I think there is a big difference between being snippy in the heat of battle and wanting to win and being a sore loser which is something Evan never exhibited.

[green]

8 hours ago, blackwing said:

I do have to wonder how much grief Evan gave Henry over the removed piece.  I also wonder why she didn't do the puzzle herself, since there are apparently no more restrictions ever since the season where the son did way more roadblocks than his old dad.

Yes there still are restrictions.  No member can perform more than 6 roadblocks someone said up thread.  Even if that isn't the exact rule we do know there is indeed restrictions.  No way would TAR ever go back to Season 5's almost all-male ll the time roadblocks that pretty much did in the Bowling Moms.  And if there were no restrictions this season then Jessica would not have done any because of "cyborg" Cody taking them all.

Edited March 1, 2018 by green

[HawaiiTVGuy]

13 hours ago, green said:

Yes there still are restrictions.  No member can perform more than 6 roadblocks someone said up thread.  Even if that isn't the exact rule we do know there is indeed restrictions.  No way would TAR ever go back to Season 5's almost all-male ll the time roadblocks that pretty much did in the Bowling Moms.  And if there were no restrictions this season then Jessica would not have done any because of "cyborg" Cody taking them all.

I think the rule was that the person who did not do the rappelling task had to take the puzzle.  I know that based on the interviews that it was widely believed this was the case so at least Kristi and Jen based their rappel decision based on the fact they wanted Jen on the last puzzle even though Kristi's arms were hurting from HK.  I think in an interview Henry and Evan said they agreed Henry should do the puzzle even though as Evan said at the rappelling roadblock, Henry would be better at it.  I don't know if they realized what was the task before choosing Evan for the RB.

[aradia22]

Lots of editing (like random audio clips over pretty boring footage) to create a specific narrative of BB vs. Yale and more generally, the other 3 teams vs. Yale. It's actually been nice to mostly have a season free of petty drama. I don't know why they're trying to force it now. 

I'm curious how good Henry's Mandarin is. I remember the language thing being an advantage in China in another season for the brother-sister team. 

The taxi drama felt weird to me because I'm so used to nighttime starts meaning you just hang out until morning. I guess it depends on the location of the leg. Hong Kong is pretty active at night.

I was going to say... that's a pretty easy speed bump. But then Phil said they had to light 40 of them. 

Indy were so grumpy at the photo kiosk. I get that it's a race but the task is going to take the same amount of time for everyone. You're still ahead. It's not like the next team is going to get a different guy who goes faster. There's only one guy working the kiosk. Calm yourselves.

Detour... I don't care how bad you are at memory and pronunciation. I would take the restaurant challenge. Crabs are vicious little things and the fake rain didn't seem fun at all (though I'm not sure it was that heavy... it seemed more like a misting). Also, I felt like with 4 teams left they should have restricted the number of teams who could do the detour more. Maybe keep it to 2 teams. 

Yeah, I can see where Evan's chipper attitude would grate. After watching the whole season, I find it to be this fake thing she turns on so I see why people aren't that receptive to it. 

I continue to be rooting for Cody and Jen and Henry who are generally positive and race well. 

I liked that they seemed to be useful tasks in the detour. That's always nice. I feel like they could actually use those crabs. Not sure about the restaurant. You know, food safety and it might have been cold too. 

LOL. OK, rage art seems like fun and I love that Phil said it would be good for them at this stressful part of the race. It was also fun to see him giving it his best shot.

Ooh, I liked the briefcase challenge. That felt like a final leg thing. And it was nice to have unique combinations to avoid teams helping each other. 

I have no idea what Kristi was doing that the smashing challenge hurt her so much when the others managed it. I didn't see where all the clues were hidden but I think you'd be OK just smashing screens, etc. and not focusing on smashing all the equipment. It seemed like she was making it too hard on herself. She seemed to be having a little meltdown in general. It's good that she finally went to read the clue.

It seemed like the teams were getting very confused on what counted as a sign. I did think it should have been obvious... like they should have all looked the same so you'd know when you saw one and not think a random spa was a reference to something. Or at least have yellow and red. I personally was unclear on how the teams were getting clues to figure out their individual combinations. Was it like... there are only 3 things that are actually signs and each team just has to try those same numbers in every order until it works? That's more lame than my initial thought that they'd have different clues. 

Still bothered by how Evan talks to Henry. I don't even mean just with telling Indy to go back up the street. I mean in general. It was all over this episode when she's not giving supportive words of encouragement from the sidelines. When they're "alone" to some degree (obvious I know the camera guy and/or the driver is there, etc.) she's... not great.

Jesus Christ. Big Brother took the long way around to open the briefcase but I guess whatever works.

I rolled my eyes a little at Cody and Jessica's reaction at the mat. They're a little cliquish but they're also not stupid. I have to think they recognize that Indy and to a lesser extent the Skiers will be easier to beat than Henry and Evan. Especially since the final leg usually has a memory challenge. 

Oh my God. It was so frustrating watching the remaining two teams ignoring the locals/tourists in the area trying to help them with the WSP arch sign. I felt a little insulted as a New Yorker to see everyone keep assuming it was a clue for France. 

[biakbiak]

22 minutes ago, aradia22 said:

I'm curious how good Henry's Mandarin is. I remember the language thing being an advantage in China in another season for the brother-sister team. 

Tammy and Victor were in Guilin and Beijing where most people speak Mandarin, whereas this season they were in Hong Kong where Cantonese not Mandarin is what  is primarily spoken. Not saying it wasn't an advamtage but not the same as Tammy and Victor or Ron and Christina who also spoke Mandarin and went to Taiwan.

[aradia22]

Damn, China Airlines. That was fancy first class.

I was excited for San Francisco. It's tough to get around the city if you don't know where you're going so there was potential for an interesting final leg. 

I wonder how much xenophobic stuff Cody has said that they've edited out. They've kept some of it in but I get the feeling they have more of it that they could have used for an Ugly American edit.

Cody twisted his ankle AGAIN? When did he do it the first time?

First of all... these dummies. How did no one look at the statue? They get to America and suddenly it's all asking people on phones. Secondly, HOW did they run to the pier without knowing the right number? GAH! Race smarter, not harder.

I feel like when Evan gets frustrated she just wants to take it out on Henry. It's KF but it's also how she's been throughout the entire race, just amplified. 

Roadblock. Sigh, more climbing and falling? They must have expected more people with a fear of heights.

I was hoping Cody wasn't further injuring himself. I couldn't tell. I mean, he could do a lot with his arms but apparently you had to use your legs according to Kristi. But you can use your legs without aggravating a sprained ankle. 

I thought fortune cookies immediately when I saw the clue. How did that look like cheese? How does cheese produce crumbs? Weirdos. XD

Jesus, 102 perfect cookies? I got stressed thinking about it. You need to do it when they're hot and you need to work fast. 

Why did Kristi not use the gloves?

Ooh, I think Henry and Evan had a green tea/matcha flavored cookie. Now I want fortune cookies.

I was surprised Jess was so bad at making the cookies.

Why do BB have the worst taxi luck? I feel like they're always running around looking for taxis.

This was a terrible time for Cody to sprain his ankle, though he seemed to be running OK when they got there? I don't know. I know it's a million dollars but I don't want anyone to die during this. I know no one dies from a sprained ankle but you get what I mean. It's not as fun to watch when racers are suffering. Like a heights challenge is all mental because they're not going to let them do something legitimately dangerous.

Even with running around the battleship it didn't seem like their was a task this leg that really let anyone pull that far ahead. I don't think anyone was that thrown by the memory task once they figured it out. But doubling the pieces seemed to mess with their heads a little and when you're already stressed it can be hard to focus and think clearly. I do think some of the icons were a little tricky. I would have picked phone not magnifying glass for that task with all the phones. It was a little hard to watch because I couldn't tell what they were getting right or wrong. I wish the editors had put a list of all the countries and the icons on the screen when they did the check instead of just correct/incorrect. Or maybe highlighted which pieces needed to be swapped. It made the "checks" tense but the task was not interesting to watch. Also I felt kind of bad for the judge. I feel like they were bugging him a lot. 

Evan was really annoying. Supportive words of encouragement, indeed. I loved Henry's response. "I got it. Could you just be quiet for a second? Thanks." I'm sorry, after Well Strung I will never be able to watch TAR the same way again. 

I did like that it came down to the puzzle and it was entirely fair in that sense. 

OK, kudos to the editors for showing us that Henry had it right, and then switched a piece. I would have appreciated more of that. 

All credit to Big Brother. They ran a pretty solid race and they had their strengths and weaknesses. She was a little floppy the last few legs but Jessica does pull it out when it comes to puzzles and she won them the race. I'm not thrilled (because I liked one person on each remaining team more than I liked one team as a whole) but it was a good season. I'm happy with this result. 

I hope next season brings more strong teams who generally don't have stupid fights and generally solid tasks.