S31.E03: Here Fishy, Fishy, Fishy

[Whimsy]

Quote

Teams travel to Vietnam where they must master synchronized dancing, karaoke singing, and fishing for prawns.

Original airdate 5/1/2019

[InDueTime]

Good job, Becca and Floyd!

It was a good shuffling of teams tonight. I don't know why anyone thought catching prawns would be faster than dancing. I looked away for a moment; how did that wedding almost-crash happen?

I was expecting the NEL to to appear next episode, for some reason.

[bmoore4026]

Yay!  Leo and Jamal didn't come in first.  Kick their asses, Becca and Jamal!  Kick their asses!

Not going to lie, but I thought Chris and Bret were cute trying to dance.  Thankfully, they haven't been eliminated yet, so more hijinks are bound to ensue.

I wonder how much longer before Janelle and Britney and Rachel and Elissa try to claw each others faces off?

Now I want Tyley and Corey to have a Youtube show where they fish with other Youtube stars.  I'd watch that everyday.

Edited May 2, 2019 by bmoore4026

[LadyChatts]

That was a fun leg.  I loved the karaoke and the dancing (anytime Rachel melts down is a good time).  I feel like there's a good Colin twin and an evil Colin twin, the latter of whom ran the race 15 years ago.  I just can't get over how different the man is!  It's great seeing him and Christie really enjoy themselves, and not be super competitive (I'll probably be eating those words soon).  I still find Leo/Jaamal annoying, and don't see why they feel the need to lie all the time.  I also would think that if they want you to practice (even for karaoke), there's a reason.  If it wasn't a NEL I was going to be disappointed they survived.  I even find Corinne to be a more mellow version of herself compared to her Survivor reputation.  Eliza is still annoying as ever.  

I can see what people are saying about Chris/Bret.  I'm disappointed they didn't get more screen time during their initial Survivor run.  They seem like some fun guys.  I'm glad they are still in it.  

Edited May 2, 2019 by LadyChatts

[Lamb18]

My sister in law lives in Ho Chi Minh City so it was cool to see the city where she lives. I was kind of looking for her in the crowd, but I didn't see her.

I'm liking Tyler and Korey better now, they just make me laugh.  Afghanimals are getting way more annoying. The gratuitous lying and misdirection is just unnecessary and it's building ill will. They should team with Ron from Survivor and compare notes on how best to fool someone.

Hurrah for Becca and Floyd for going from worst to first! They had challenges that played to their strengths.  

I would have done the fishing task. I am two left feet when it comes to dancing.

[TheRabbi]

Highly entertaining episode. I'm always up for a good dancing challenge, and I'm a fan of the EDM genre. 

Lot of teams shuffling order tonight which makes it interesting. Clever tactic by Leo to get right to the performance. 

Didn't take long for season 20 Rachel to show up. I was actually quite amused with it all, since she was so sure she was the one in the right.

Happy that Chris and Bret are still in. They seem like fun guys.

[Browncoat]

I'm surprisingly glad we didn't lose the Afghanimals!  But it wouldn't have hurt my feelings in the slightest if it had been an elimination leg and we lost those two guys, whoever they are.

This leg seemed to be tailor-made for Becca and Floyd -- they just killed it!  And I was impressed that Colin and Christie didn't have a breakdown with either the dancing or the karaoke.

I probably would have chosen to catch prawns, which, incidentally, Tyler and Korey, are NOT fish!  So by calling "here, fishy fishy fishy", you probably scared them all away. 

[Lantern7]

This week on The Amazing Race: prawn fishing, glow-in-the-dark dancing, karaoke. Survivor? Standing between planks in a painful manner.

This leg was made for Becca & Floyd . .  high-energy dancing and karaoke. I think the Fun-o-Meters exploded in their packs. Especially Floyd . . . he looked so happy. Meanwhile, Chris & Bret initially chose the dancing Detour, and they immediately got the disappointment sound effect. Older guys dancing, followed by one of them rapping? Not a recipe for success. Thankfully, they got the non-elimination that CBS execs probably wanted Rupert & Mrs. Rupert Laura to get last week. As far as Survivor teams in this race, better them staying than Corrine & Eliza. Or fuck it, dump Corrine and replace her with Rupert. He wouldn't be anywhere near as bitchy.

After three legs, it looks like the most consistent performers have been Colin & Christie (second, fourth, third). They've been fun to watch . . . not as much as Funstoppable or Tyler & Korey, but they seem to be into things. Fingers crossed they stay out of the drama.

Anybody find the video of the karaoke online anywhere?

Edited May 2, 2019 by Lantern7

[chaifan]

While it didn't work, I thought Leo's gambit of just going straight to the karaoke performance was a good move.  There was little to lose - he wasn't waiting in line, so the only time lost is that of the performance (2 minutes, maybe?).  But the potential of the reward - skipping in front of 4 or 5 teams - was huge.  And, he had a point - it's karaoke!  People do karaoke all the time without practicing.  Granted, not in a foreign language with a song they've never heard, but it wasn't that bad of an idea.  And, it was probably a total mind f*ck on all the other teams practicing. 

[Eolivet]

I thought it was cute that the two Survivor teams excelled at catching fish (prawns). It seemed like a fun little nod to Survivor, even if I'm sure it wasn't intentional.

A Big Brother alliance? Oh boy ...

[PaperTree]

I like Becca and Floyd winning the leg.

They are SO going to whack the Reilly sisters if they get the chance, after making all nicey, nicey.  Heh!

NEL was good since the Afghanimals would have survived anyway.

C & C still zen and looking strong.

That fishing thing was so strange.

[Runningwild]

Anyone else got that song stuck in their heads?

[ML89]

8 minutes ago, Runningwild said:

Anyone else got that song stuck in their heads?

The “Welcome to Vietnam” one, yes. I really want to know what the karaoke one is about!

27 times to get that dance is brutal. 

Go Team Fun! Floyd was so excited to dance in the light up costume.

I could stand almost everyone tonight although Afghanimals are working my last nerve. 

[PaperTree]

12 minutes ago, Runningwild said:

Anyone else got that song stuck in their heads?

Thankfully no, it's gone forever 🙂

[Quilt Fairy]

24 minutes ago, Lantern7 said:

After three legs, it looks like the most consistent performers have been Colin & Christie (second, fourth, third). They've been fun to watch . . . not as much as Funstoppable or Tyler & Korey, but they seem to be into things. Fingers crossed they stay out of the drama.

I've found them surprisingly bland.  If they didn't have a past history on the show, I wouldn't even pay attention to them.

[Rinaldo]

This seemed like the rare TAR dancing challenge in which the judge was decidedly strict, and stayed that way to the end. (Often in the past they've let a lot go, and gotten more and more permissive with the last-place teams.) 27 times? Ouch! But good for that last team for keeping going.

I liked Becca and Floyd from their first time around, and enjoyed seeing them zip through tasks that played to their strengths. Seeing Floyd positively explode with glee at learning that they'd be dancing in light-up costumes made me explode with glee in my turn. And he made the karaoke his own too. (So did Colin! Who'd'a thunk it?)

Edited May 2, 2019 by Rinaldo

[SHD]

I hope the light-up dance crew swapped in new people every once in awhile. If not, those dancers were performing that dance over 50 times in a row with no breaks.

[Halting Hex]

3 hours ago, LadyChatts said:

If it wasn't a NEL I was going to be disappointed [the Afghanimals] survived.

Exactly.  We were so close to losing the self-congratulatory pointless liars (27 dance attempts is what, 10 more failures than any other team?) and then, no, they wriggled off the hook, as it were.  So it's good to know that we didn't waste the bullet and just miss, I suppose; they were never in any danger, anyhow.  I can only hope that when these two catch a legitimate last, it sticks; having them get a second chance would be even more grating than I normally find them.

Poor Rachel has such a case of little-sister syndrome…and she's two years older than Elissa!  Still, it was amusing to see her enjoying Elissa being the one to screw up, for a change.  And her strategy of pursuing alliances bore fruit.

Amusing that all of the lawyers (Corinne/Eliza, and Chris) ended up doing the fishing;  I guess it's true that sharks like to eat the smaller fish…

Tyler annoyed me.  Even though we also saw Eliza and Bret letting their partners do most of the fishing, Tyler seemed far more into "sit and pout" mode than any other prospective angler.  Bleh.  Also, why did nobody trawl the line?  Was that prohibited, or did nobody think to do it?

Three legs and Colin and Christie haven't won one, yet?  Dude, enough with the namaste, already.  Get out there and kill!  Mellow Colin is so not what I'm here for.

Team "Fun" had a fine leg.  And yet, I still can't seem to care.  

And, truth be told, I'm only moderately more interested in Vic/Nic.  Although it was cute that the team with the initials "V/N" did well in Viet Nam, I suppose.

[GaT]

I love Team Fun.

[Miles]

Becca and Floyd being told "not enough power, more energy" and them being like "CHALLANGE ACCEPTED!" was an all time classic for me. I think they haven't been told to put more energy into something in a long long time. Probably only the opposite.

[MVFrostsMyPie]

I might be the only person who actively roots for the Afghanimals. The two biggest reasons being that 1) it's just nice to have people who look more like me (you know, brown and more likely to be pulled aside "randomly" in the airport security line....every single time I go to the airport) on TV, because all I have besides them is Shahs of Sunset. None of them are the best reps of course, but it feels a little nice, nonetheless, and, 2) Pablo the cat! LOL. 

I don't watch BB so I can't speak for that, but between this season of TAR and the current season of Survivor, CBS feels even more exceptionally white than usual. 

[mertensia]

I loved the happy, helpful onlookers at the prawn catching task.

I was really surprised more people didn't opt for prawn catching. You know any dancing is going to require precision. Of course, I have 2 left feet and have never learned dance moves well so I would have noped out of it so fast. I did love that Becca and Floyd were all "more energy? We can do that!! "

[Fake Jan Brady]

Floyd's growing excitement at the dancing task, especially when he discovered the suit LIT UP, made my night.

[plus his name is Floyd. How can you not love that?]

[biakbiak]

The Afghanimals never understand that they aren’t actually that good actors and usually waste a lot of time “pretending” to be lost so it breaks even. 

I have actually done the prawn catching thing and the it must have been stated that they couldn’t just rip out the hook because of the US audiences.

This episode brought to mine Bourdain  doing it on an episode of The Layover in Taipei! https://www.travelchannel.com/videos/city-shrimping-and-toilet-food-0195101

Edited May 2, 2019 by biakbiak

[Writing Wrongs]

Didn't they use to give them money before each leg? 

[mertensia]

39 minutes ago, Writing Wrongs said:

Didn't they use to give them money before each leg? 

I'm sure they still do, but most of the time there's no reason to show it.

[Haleth]

I can't tell you how thankful I am that we didn't have to watch Rupert sing and dance.  And thankfully Chris and Bret only tried once.  Ouch.

[ByaNose]

I thought Chris & Bret would be better then this. They haven't found their footing in the race at all. Now, they have a speed bump. They aren't usually that hard but they haven't been racing well either. I'm a little worried. It looks like Corrine & Eliza work well together and are getting the hang of it for a 4th place finish. I still don't want them to win though. Tyler & Cory had a bad day. I still don't like Tyler. Too much mugging for the camera. It seems like no one likes Elissa & Rachel. They are soooooooooo grating. I understand completely. Becca & Floyd are still cute and rocked the dancing.

[Bryce Lynch]

10 hours ago, InDueTime said:

Good job, Becca and Floyd!

It was a good shuffling of teams tonight. I don't know why anyone thought catching prawns would be faster than dancing. I looked away for a moment; how did that wedding almost-crash happen?

I was expecting the NEL to to appear next episode, for some reason.

Shrimpin' ain't easy.  But, I think some of the prawn catchers finished faster than the dancers.

I think it come down to whether or not you can dance.  If one or both partners can't dance, a dance task can go on forever. 

If you are not great dancers, it is probably good strategy to take the non-dance detour task, betting that at least one other team will struggle badly with the dancing.  

1 hour ago, Writing Wrongs said:

Didn't they use to give them money before each leg? 

They have rarely shown the amount of cash the teams receive for many seasons.  I think they only show it if it somehow become relevant, like if a team runs out of cash and can't afford a cab ride.  

[ByaNose]

Also, Nicole & Victor seem to be running their own race. They aren't getting involved with any of the drama and running really well. I could see them making it to the Top 4. It looks like he's carrying more of the load which is odd and it's only 2 episodes in. At least, that's the impression I'm getting. I like them much better then Jessica & Cody. I hated that they won their season on the race.

[Netfoot]

The rapidity with which Rachael fired back her "I'mNotThirtyFive!!" tells me she's got an issue there.  OK, Rachael, you're only 34½!

I'm really finding it difficult to find a single team to actually like.  The prancing and preening that seems to have taken over the race is not an improvement.

[truthaboutluv]

2 hours ago, ByaNose said:

Tyler & Cory had a bad day.

Tyler and Korey chose maybe not the fastest detour for them (although who knows how they would have done with choreography), Eliza and Corinne got done before them and they still finished in fourth place.

A place before Eliza and Corinne who left the detour well before them. I wouldn't say they had a bad day. The teams who got lost getting to the detour, then the ones who sucked at the dancing detour were the ones who really had a bad day. 

Quote

Tyler annoyed me.  Even though we also saw Eliza and Bret letting their partners do most of the fishing, Tyler seemed far more into "sit and pout" mode than any other prospective angler. 

I actually thought Tyler seemed way too unbothered and chill rather than pouting. He just sat there with his legs crossed, like he was just at a bar-b-que, while Korey was catching all the prawns. And he seemed so proud of his measly two.

That said, I still adore those two. I like their friendship and dynamic and I cannot remember their ever snapping at each other or getting mad at each other. They don't seem to be out to get other teams and I believed Tyler when he told Team Fun at the start that honestly they were just interested in running their own race and not gunning for anyone. 

Quote

Also, Nicole & Victor seem to be running their own race. They aren't getting involved with any of the drama and running really well. I could see them making it to the Top 4.

I like them too. Having never watched Big Brother, I don't really know much about them but they both seem like nice and mellow people. That said, anyone else get the sense that he seems more into her than she is into him?

Like I said, never watched Big Brother, so I may just not understand her personality. But he seems more jazzed at times, talking about how great it is for their relationship and she just stands there, noncommittal. And some of their kisses have looked slightly awkward. To be honest, the first episode, I couldn't tell if they were just friends running the race together or if they were dating. 

I have to say I cracked up when Bret and Chris did the dance challenge once and just peaced right on out as soon as the guy stopped them. To be honest, I thought that was incredibly stupid the second those two said they would do a dance challenge over the fishing option.

I mean I'm not trying to stereotype but come on, did these two big burly guys really think they'd have a better shot at dancing than fishing?

Edited May 2, 2019 by truthaboutluv

[proserpina65]

I enjoyed that episode.  The tasks were mostly fun (I totally would've done the dance and the karaoke), and most of the teams didn't annoy me.  Hell, I'm even starting to come around about Colin & Christie.  And I love that Becca & Floyd were able to use their particular set of skills to get so far ahead.

Oops, meant to add: having seen the episode of Top Gear where Jeremy, James & Richard travel by motorbike through Vietnam, I wasn't surprised by the scooter/motorbike traffic, but I would definitely not have wanted to try crossing those streets the way Becca & Floyd did.

[proserpina65]

12 hours ago, TheRabbi said:

Clever tactic by Leo to get right to the performance

Except that he screwed it up and had to go back to practice anyway.

[proserpina65]

12 hours ago, chaifan said:

Granted, not in a foreign language with a song they've never heard, but it wasn't that bad of an idea.

The foreign language made all the difference, especially when the words had to be correct.  Couldn't fake your way thought that.

[chaifan]

Kudos to the editors who didn't waste time on airport drama when there was a flight bunch.  There was a lot to pack in on this episode, so I'm glad they used the air time for the challenges instead.  I hope they keep that trend going if there are future bunches, especially airport/transit ones.

[mookster]

Are they ever going to be on separate flights? Kind of takes the fun out of it.  Like Becca and Floyd (more Floyd) and am getting tired of Tyler's camera-mugging. Nicole and Victor seem decent. Still can't stand Rachel and her sister. Aside from R's screeching. I find myself looking at their injected lips all the time. Kind of like the Afghanimals but their "acting" is getting tiresome too. When I heard Phil say "may," I knew it was a non-elim, and when the two guys showed up last, my 14-year-old said "okay, so they go home next week."

That said, I would have failed at all the tasks - can't dance, hate touching fish and too introverted to sing in public. Which is why you will never see me on AR!

[Corgi-ears]

What the hell, Bret? A gay man who can't dance, can't sing karaoke?! It's almost like stereotypes have little to no predictive power.

Then again:

I see you, boo.

[Miles]

16 minutes ago, mookster said:

When I heard Phil say "may," I knew it was a non-elim, and when the two guys showed up last, my 14-year-old said "okay, so they go home next week." 

Phil always says "may", unless it's perfectly clear it can't be a non-elim like final 4 to three.

The third episode is often non-elim, but that's really the only clue you had until the last team stepped on the mat.

[Stardancer Supreme]

2 hours ago, truthaboutluv said:

I like them too. Having never watched Big Brother, I don't really know much about them but they both seem like nice and mellow people. That said, anyone else get the sense that he seems more into her than she is into him?

Like I said, never watched Big Brother, so I may just not understand her personality. But he seems more jazzed at times, talking about how great it is for their relationship and she just stands there, noncommittal. And some of their kisses have looked slightly awkward. To be honest, the first episode, I couldn't tell if they were just friends running the race together or if they were dating. 

You're not the only one. It seems that Victor has chased after her during their Big Brother stint and afterwards she allowed herself to be caught.  She is real closed off to someone she supposedly loves. On a vain note, did Nicole bring a hairbrush with her? Her hair looks really bad! 

[Rinaldo]

Yes, Phil invariably says "may" unless (A) there's no doubt anyway, like the final narrowing down to 3, (B) the TAR masterminds want to create maximum stakes on the very first leg, so it's announced that someone's definitely going (and that doesn't happen on every race; there have been plenty of first-leg eliminations with "may").

[HurricaneVal]

Hooo boy, I'm figuring the Reilly sisters will implode before the end of this.  But the question is, will they implode before Colin and Christie lose their zen?  That may be the race within the race...  I did notice some more aggressive postures from C&C last night, I think they're starting to get caught up in it all.  It is only a matter of time before they revert to hysteria and screaming.

I'm glad Becca's epic eyeroll after the Reilly sisters claimed they weren't drama-mamas didn't impair her ability to learn the dance sequence.  It would have been terrible if worry about her ocular condition blemished Floyd's most excellent joy at dancing enthusiastically on stage in neon glow-in-the-dark costumes.  And wowza, Rachel's immediate snap back about how she wasn't 35 was a bit frightening, and gives us a big, big clue to her inner workings.  Not that we couldn't have surmised those inner workings from her outer manifestations of her fear of aging.

I'm still rooting for Team Fun, Tyler and Corey, Victor and Nicole, and Pablo, minus the Afghanimals.

[HelenCrump]

3 hours ago, truthaboutluv said:

That said, I still adore those two. I like their friendship and dynamic and I cannot remember their ever snapping at each other or getting mad at each other. They don't seem to be out to get other teams and I believed Tyler when he told Team Fun at the start that honestly they were just interested in running their own race and not gunning for anyone. 

I really enjoyed this episode.  All the challenges were interesting -- I also would have done the dance and karaoke challenges.   

My favorites this season are Team Fun (although I didn't like them during their original TAR season), Nicole and Victor, and Tyler and Korey.  I like what truthaboutluv wrote about T&K above.

Rachel/Elissa and Corinne/Eliza cannot leave my TV screen fast enough.   I hope they have an epic showdown that slows them down/eliminates them. SOON.

Edited May 2, 2019 by HelenCrump

[biakbiak]

3 hours ago, Netfoot said:

The rapidity with which Rachael fired back her "I'mNotThirtyFive!!" tells me she's got an issue there.  OK, Rachael, you're only 34½!

What I got out of it was much like last week her sister is a total asshole who likes to push buttons when she is upset during the challenge. All Rachael did was quietly sit down and try to regroup while they had to wait for the other teams to go and her sister who appeared to be the one screwing up the routine used her age and told her to put on her big girl panties even though there was nothing for Rachael to do at that point. I actually can’t stand Rachael but her sister seems to be even worse.

[ImpinAintEasy]

It’s Team Fun and The Afghanimals or bust for me. I love those two teams. I’m unapologetic in my love of Leo and Jamal. They’ve always been really good at this game and I would love to see them finally win. So they joke around and troll the other contestants? That’s one of the things I love about them. And it does sometimes work. 

[survivinmt]

I am having a really tough time liking any team. I like individuals - Korey, Victor, ok with Eliza and Chris. But their partners are bleh. Keep forgetting about the BB all-girl team - Britney and Janelle? something like that. I am getting no read from them. Is it so hard to find someone on a plane to learn a few native phrases from? Yelling FAST FAST to a cab driver who obviously has no clue what you're talking about is just lazy in my opinion.

[lexington11]

16 hours ago, bmoore4026 said:

Yay!  Leo and Jamal didn't come in first.  Kick their asses, Becca and Jamal!  Kick their asses!

Not going to lie, but I thought Chris and Bret were cute trying to dance.  Thankfully, they haven't been eliminated yet, so more hijinks are bound to ensue.

I wonder how much longer before Janelle and Britney and Rachel and Elissa try to claw each others faces off?

Now I want Tyley and Corey to have a Youtube show where they fish with other Youtube stars.  I'd watch that everyday.

Britney and Rachel hated each other on their season of BB, so it won't be too long till that happens

[lexington11]

11 hours ago, MVFrostsMyPie said:

I might be the only person who actively roots for the Afghanimals. The two biggest reasons being that 1) it's just nice to have people who look more like me (you know, brown and more likely to be pulled aside "randomly" in the airport security line....every single time I go to the airport) on TV, because all I have besides them is Shahs of Sunset. None of them are the best reps of course, but it feels a little nice, nonetheless, and, 2) Pablo the cat! LOL. 

I don't watch BB so I can't speak for that, but between this season of TAR and the current season of Survivor, CBS feels even more exceptionally white than usual. 

No kidding...aside from the Afghanimals, Victor, and Floyd, this season doesn't have much minority representation

[Melina22]

4 hours ago, truthaboutluv said:

I like them too. Having never watched Big Brother, I don't really know much about them but they both seem like nice and mellow people. That said, anyone else get the sense that he seems more into her than she is into him?

I enjoyed both of them on BB, apart from Nicole's annoying voice, which really isn't her fault. Watching her on TAR, my thought (and this is pure speculation) is that Nicole has had Botox, and this has given her a somewhat expressionless face. I'm sure she really loves Victor, but she just always has this blank expression that makes her look like she's bored with him. 

Well, that's my theory. Feel free to borrow it. 😁

[lexington11]

1 hour ago, Stardancer Supreme said:

You're not the only one. It seems that Victor has chased after her during their Big Brother stint and afterwards she allowed herself to be caught.  She is real closed off to someone she supposedly loves. On a vain note, did Nicole bring a hairbrush with her? Her hair looks really bad! 

I think that's just how Nicole is, because even on her two BB stints, she seemed very self conscious and not at all into the camera mugging that everyone else on that show seems to love, and she's the first to admit that she suffers from serious anxiety and that the race was the first time she's been anywhere outside of the USA. When she and Victor are alone without cameras on them, like in their social media videos, she seems far more relaxed than she does on the show.