S31.E05: I'm a Bird, I'm a Plane, I'm on The Amazing Race! / S31.E06: Who Wants a Rolex

[ByaNose]

33 minutes ago, Fukui San said:

Why didn't the teams have to alternate racers in the Head to Head? They did last season. Also it didn't seem to matter whether the drums were in order sizewise.  A stack could be Medium-Little-Big and it still counted.

I'm glad Floyd's drum major superpower served him well in the silent disco Roadblock.

Rachel's so weepy and overemotional and Elissa is relatively levelheaded. And yet Rachel is the one tasked with doing the must-have Head to Head? Odd.

Colin & Christie have morphed into S6 Kris and Jon over the years. Uncomplicated smiley positive people. It's fascinating.

Janelle could have been lost in the market for 10 hours, and yet would have had let's say a 30/70 chance at winning the Head to Head since previous experience was definitely an advantage. Nobody lost twice in a row, did they?

It doesn't look like anyone lost their 2nd time. One you knew the order system it was an easy win. At one point Janelle said it was at least an hour in the market. Who knows how long she was really there and how long Rachel & Elissa were there waiting for them at the Head to Head. Even then Elissa was still yelling at Rachel what order/color to put the drums in. Rachel was so spent (and, annoyling crying) that she still needed Elissa's help to win the Head to Head.

[Tryangle]

Happy that Tyler and Korey were able to take a positive experience after initial apprehension.

The Head-to-Head, yeah count me in with those who feel it's not a great task to have right before the pit stop.

They should bring back Intersection if anything. Let some of these teams co-operate a bit.

[blackwing]

2 hours ago, Haleth said:

The blondes were pretty clueless.  (No pun intended.)  First just dumping the dino eggs in a random pot, then running around endlessly (and bothering merchants) looking for a Rolex.

The head to head was useless since they finished in the order they all arrived.  Phil's play by play voiceover was too much like Probst and the puzzle was definitely Survivoresque.  However, since the final two teams were the annoying BB teams, either one losing was fine.

2 hours ago, SomeTameGazelle said:

Were any other teams still there [with Janelle]?

Yes, I'm pretty sure Rachel and her sister were still there.  When they finished and left I believe one of them said "love you" or something like that to Janelle's partner.

Janelle was so clueless... didn't the clue itself say something about how they would have to cook something?  Then they had to go to some guy and get a list of ingredients.  None of the other teams seemed to have trouble with this understanding.

I agree that the Head to Head should have been at a different place during the leg.  It just seems really poor to have it right before the Pit Stop.  I actually quite enjoyed Phil's announcing.  Just like when he announced the cheese race in Belgium some seasons back.  He is informative without being obtrusive.  He's like a tennis or golf commentator and he is the polar opposite of Jeff Probst. 

Jeff always makes everything about him.  He's blustery and overly excited and loves to criticise those that he thinks are sucking.  If Jeff were to have announced this head to head we certainly would have heard comments like "And RACHEL just can NOT figure out what to do with the blue drum!  LEO is just FLYING by her while she sits there FROZEN!  LEO wins!  Sending RACHEL to await the next team to arrive!!!!"  and "FLOYD CANNOT get the drum on the pole!  He just can NOT make it happen!  What a DISASTER for Floyd!  As BECCA looks on and angrily berates him!!!!"  Jeff sucks.  Phil rocks.

Edited May 23, 2019 by blackwing

[Squirrely]

When someone on the race is wandering around, aimlessly searching for something, as the BB blonde was for a Rolex, does anyone else start asking, "What's a candle-uh-bruh? Are you a candle-uh-bruh?"

My daughter watches with me and groans, because she knows when I'm about to say it aloud! Hehe

[momlyd]

I had forgotten about the candle uh bruh!! Who said that? 

[Halting Hex]

8 hours ago, Miles said:

You know [T/K] were promted by producers to talk about it in very general terms and that's were Korey said, "yeah having seen them last season, bla bla bla"

Yes, I know it was production manipulation;  I wasn't "blaming" Korey or anything like that.   My issue was with the (misleading) message, not the messengers. Sorry if I was unclear.

8 hours ago, Miles said:

I kinda think Becca might play for the same sex team, but then, these [anti-gay] laws usually don't effect lesbians.

I can't say I'm thrilled with the idea of lesbian-erasure, due to "all she really needs is a good man" thinking…but it beats life in prison, I'm sure.

3 hours ago, Haleth said:

Floyd is gay?

Yes.   The unanswered question is whether it's only in the "happy" sense, or if other, less Uganda-approved meanings of the word factor in, as well. 

4 hours ago, Writing Wrongs said:

No TAR for me due to weather coverage. Did anybody go home?

First leg was non-elim; Rachel and Elissa finished last, due to Rachel's decision to switch Detours (logical on the information she had, but the other Detour had a couple of hidden tricks to it…), but survived.

Janelle and Britney were eliminated in the second leg; they fell behind due to transportation issues and further behind when Janelle misunderstood the Roadblock clue.  (While Brit watched, helpless to do anything about it.)  The final head-to-head gave them a chance against the Reillys, but this was a case where the "practice round" really helped teams out;  every losing team won their second attempt, going up against "newbie" competition.  Lots of hugging and crying…and not only from Rachel, for once.

3 hours ago, milner said:

So Rachel sobs on the mat that she wants to raise her daughter to be a strong independent woman and she does that by sobbing whining and complaining. Excellent role model. 

I don't think it's unheard of for parents to hope their children succeed where the parent has fallen short.  I might think she'd want to model less-emotional behavior knowing that little Adora (yes, that really is her name) will be watching here…but then it's nothing the girl hasn't seen already, I suppose.

Edited May 23, 2019 by Halting Hex

[blackwing]

23 minutes ago, Halting Hex said:

I don't think it's unheard of for parents to hope their children succeed where the parent has fallen short.  I might think she'd want to model less-emotional behavior knowing that little Adora (yes, that really is her name) will be watching here…but then it's nothing the girl hasn't seen already, I suppose.

She had a good message that she wants her daughter to be a strong independent woman.  However, in between her sobbing fits, Rachel really should have said... "I want to show to my daughter that she can be a strong independent woman... just like her Aunt Elissa."  Elissa really was great at attempting to shut down Rachel's sad sack negativity.  Elissa knew they were in last but at no point did she cry about it or refuse to give up hope.  She was very positive and kept saying they could make up the time.  Elissa should be the role model for being strong and independent.  

Rachel seems to really think that she herself by appearing on the Race is a prime example of being a strong independent woman, which.... no.  She depended heavily on her husband in her first two appearances and leaned on him when she repeatedly broke down crying.  This edition... not much better.  Anytime anything doesn't go well she just falls apart, like with the water wheel.

I do think she has a good heart... I'm just tired of watching her mood swings and I wouldn't mind if she went home soon.  That said, I find her entertaining in an inexplicable train wreck sort of way.  She is infinitely more interesting than Nicole and Victor, who are just boring as hell.  Yes, there is something to be said about being quietly competent, but these two are a complete blank slate almost completely devoid of any personality whatsoever.

[spanana]

3 minutes ago, blackwing said:

I do think she has a good heart... I'm just tired of watching her mood swings and I wouldn't mind if she went home soon.  That said, I find her entertaining in an inexplicable train wreck sort of way.  She is infinitely more interesting than Nicole and Victor, who are just boring as hell.  Yes, there is something to be said about being quietly competent, but these two are a complete blank slate almost completely devoid of any personality whatsoever.

I don't hate Rachel and she makes for good tv, though if I knew her in real life she would probably drain all my energy.  However I think there is a difference between "void of any personality whatsoever" and not being given a ton of screen time because nothing super crazy or dramatic happened with them.  If Nicole/Victor stay on as the teams whittle down, they will of course get more screen time and it does seem like there is potentially some drama that involves them next week, or at least Nicole.  Maybe.  Editing can be deceiving.

No, I don't think Nicole/Victor are the most exciting racers or the biggest personalities but they are also on a race right now with some very big DRAMATIC personalities.  Team Fun.  Rachel, etc.  What is going to happen, IMO, particular in the early part of the race, is screen time is going to go towards those being super dramatic, have personalities larger than life, and those that are struggling and are at risk of going home.  To date on the race, they haven't fallen in any of those categories, so they haven't been super featured.  I guarantee we would have seen a lot more of them on tasks if they were running in last or close to last to set up a narrative arc of them being eliminated.  And since they haven't run a leg in first either, they haven't gotten that sort of winners edit that Tyler/Korey got last night, at least for that episode.  They've so far just gotten the quietly competent racers who are always somewhere near the front of the pack or at worst middle edit.

[JerseyGirl]

I'm so over this show.  So upset that the Reilly sisters were not eliminated and super sorry to see Janelle and Britney leave.

I just can't watch the Reilly sisters anymore.  They are unbearable to watch.

[Rinaldo]

1 hour ago, blackwing said:

I actually quite enjoyed Phil's announcing. 

I did too, but as it continued, I realized that there had to be little edited-out interludes in the process, as we kept jumping between Phil close to the Head to Head, announcing its progress:

• team wins
• [team stays in place, gathering its belongings, while Phil hauls ass down the pier to the pit stop]
• team runs to pit stop where Phil waits, and says its piece
• [Phil dashes back to site of Head to Head, catches his breath]
• next Head to Head, announced by Phil

[Runningwild]

9 hours ago, GaT said:

I  thought the choice of countries was very strange. Not only does Uganda have the problem with the LGBTQ community, but Dubai is known for arresting women when they report they've been raped. Why would the show put the racers & crew in that kind of danger.

I also find it interesting that TAR seems to go to a lot of mosques where they have to dress up like Muslims, who also have a big problem with LGBTQs. 

[hendersonrocks]

Quote

I also find it interesting that TAR seems to go to a lot of mosques where they have to dress up like Muslims, who also have a big problem with LGBTQs.

Gonna have to firmly disagree with you on this take. 

They are not dressing up like Muslims, they are putting on clothing that is considered respectful given the setting. I've been in mosques as a non-Muslim; I just cover my head and ensure that I have on long sleeves, skirt, etc. and it's not at all the same thing as dressing up or wearing a costume.

And just as if not more importantly, no, not all Muslims have a problem with LGBTQ+ people.

[spanana]

43 minutes ago, Runningwild said:

I also find it interesting that TAR seems to go to a lot of mosques where they have to dress up like Muslims, who also have a big problem with LGBTQs. 

A lot of Christians have problems with LGBTQ relationships as well, so the only way that works is if they are never going to go near a religious building ever again.  That is way too broad a stroke.  Not all Muslims have issues with people being LGBTQ the same way not all Christians have issues with people being LGBTQ. 

Heck, look at our lawmakers in the US working every day to try and ban LGBTQ people from having equal rights.  Should they also not travel in the US?  This is a country where one state tried to ban a PBS cartoon from airing, or did, because one of the side characters was gay and got married.  That was last week.  A cartoon was marked as being inappropriate for showing a happy gay man (animal?) get married.

I understand talk about Uganda because there is a big difference between LGBTQ people being put to death versus living without equal rights, but I'm not going to pretend that the US is a bastion of gay rights and acceptance either.  Or that other organized religions are any more understanding than the Muslim religion.

I also don't think they have to dress up like Muslims.  They are dressing to show respect to a culture outside of their own by wearing appropriate attire.  It isn't dress up. 

Edited May 23, 2019 by spanana

[displayname]

I loved the emotional music they were playing while Rachel was having yet another breakdown in the taxi, and then it abruptly ended with Elissa saying "Rach, please stop."😂😂

Edited May 23, 2019 by displayname

[dgpolo]

50 minutes ago, Rinaldo said:

[team stays in place, gathering its belongings, while Phil hauls ass down the pier to the pit stop]

lol! I had had that thought too, that Phil needed to run to the pit stop then back again and that the teams at the HtH would have to wait for him, though they would have to wait for the baskets to be reset also.

[biakbiak]

3 hours ago, blackwing said:

Yes, I'm pretty sure Rachel and her sister were still there.  When they finished and left I believe one of them said "love you" or something like that to Janelle's partner.

Most of the teams were there they arrived right after Colin finished who was in third at that point. They weren’t even the last to arrive they got there in 7th place before R/E who had to then do a speed bump.

Edited May 23, 2019 by biakbiak

[dgpolo]

4 minutes ago, displayname said:

I loved the emotional music they were playing while Rachel was having yet another breakdown in the taxi, and then it abruptly ended with Elissa saying "Rach, please stop."

My fave was when she said something like, "Rach, really?"

[displayname]

2 minutes ago, dgpolo said:

My fave was when she said something like, "Rach, really?"

"It touches your heart, and I just *sniffle* -" "Rach? Seriously." 😂

[blackwing]

14 minutes ago, spanana said:

I also don't think they have to dress up like Muslims.  They are dressing to show respect to a culture outside of their own by wearing appropriate attire.  It isn't dress up. 

I think the thing that I found interesting was that all the men wore the white smock that is characteristic of Muslim dress.  But it seemed to me that the women just had a head scarf wrapped around their heads, or did they also have a smock/dress and I just didn't notice?  I could have sworn I saw the Reillys' neon green tops when they were giving the guy the number of steps.

In past seasons of TAR I definitely remember the women putting on head scarves (I clearly remember Margarita putting on a scarf of her own volition during TAR classic) in Muslim countries but I don't recall the men ever having to put anything on.  This is the first season I remember where the men had to put on the smock.  Someone with a better memory can chime in if the men have in the past?

[Wouldofshouldof]

I knew there were 2 episodes tonight, but I accidentally watched them in the wrong order.  So after watching Uganda, I almost decided to skip Dubai.  I'm glad I didn't, as it was very entertaining.  I LOL'ed every time Rachel opened her mouth in the cab.

[proserpina65]

Omg, I was actually rooting for Colin to win the first head-to-head last night - what has happened to me? lol

Seriously, though, he and Christie have become one of my favorite teams.  I would never have imagined that happening back in Season 5.

And damn it, we were almost saved from Rachael twice last night.  Why, dog, why?

Edited to note that I would've chosen the dinosaur detour because I'd have been afraid of having to bungee jump off that building.  And would've had a blast - that task looked like a lot of fun, especially with the costumes.

I don't think I've ever seen so many soccer jerseys in one place as I saw in the market in Uganda.  (Well, outside of an actual match.)  I spotted Man U, Chelsea and Arsenal, but there were others.

I still don't much like Tyler, but I did have sympathy for him in Uganda, so while I wanted C&C to finish first, I was alright with him and Corey winning that leg.

Edited May 23, 2019 by proserpina65

[spanana]

16 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

Omg, I was actually rooting for Colin to win the first head-to-head last night - what has happened to me? lol

Seriously, though, he and Christie have become one of my favorite teams.  I would never have imagined that happening back in Season 5.

I think I was rooting for them finish first too, but editing wise I was pretty sure Tyler/Korey would be victorious.  Just the editing was so Tyler/Korey heavy with talking about Uganda and how they were worried about their experiences there and etc.  Which is valid.  I certainly wouldn't tell two openly gay men how to feel about that.  But editing seemed to be going on this big arc from them being worried and fearful to them being pleasantly surprised to how nice and welcoming everyone was to them on top of kicking ass and having a great race day.  The arc just screamed they would win.

I did wonder why they even showed the head to head when it didn't alter anything, yet they cut out the earlier head to head from a couple of shows ago, presumably for the same reason. Maybe they just didn't have enough other interesting footage.  As someone else said though, if we must have a head to head I'd rather it be a puzzle type of thing than a sheer dumb luck or pure athletic skill thing. 

[iMonrey]

Missed most of these because of weather coverage, but the head-to-head made the finish mat awkward. So, after each head-to-head match, Phil had to walk out onto that pier or whatever and "greet" the winner, then walk back to the area where the next head-to-head match was. That's just a lot of weird staging.

Quote

 I’m like, well, yeah, it’s not like they have “I AM GAY” stamped on their foreheads

Well, they kind of do. I mean, they are internet personalities, and Uganda does have the internet. And TV.  It's not outside the realm of possibility people would recognize them, especially with the camera crew drawing attention to them.

BTW, are Tyler and Korey a couple now? I swear I heard Korey call Tyler "babe" during the head-to-head.

Quote

Team Hokey Garbage, I mean "Fun", continues to bore the crap out of me.  Of course they have more custom-designed props to pull out at the finish line.  Of course they do.  Just go away, already.  I'm almost starting to prefer the Afghanimals, honestly.  Almost.

Yeah, for me it's the rapping. A lot of people complain about Tyler "mugging" for the camera but he's not making up rap songs and doing skits with props. Good grief.

Zen Colin is boring. The only real entertainment factor he brought to the show was his intensity. Now he's just sort of blah. 

I can't believe how long Victor's hair has gotten.

[Hera]

14 hours ago, BK1978 said:

I guess that is the difference between a sibling and a spouse.  A sibling has no problem telling you to shut up while a spouse has to dance around it.

This is why I think sibling teams always have an advantage over couples on the race—fighting (and the threat of a fight) is much lower-stakes for siblings because those relationships can handle dynamics that are unhealthy for romantic couples. I think it's because you can't pick your sibling, but you do pick your partner. So if your sibling is dismissive of you abilities, insensitive to your feelings, or whatever (and I'm specifically talking about behaviors that don't qualify as abusive here), you'll be annoyed and hurt, but you're still going to be siblings. If your romantic partner does the same, you might well end the relationship over it.

I also don't like head-to-heads (or intersections, or even U-turns, really). It effectively yields teams until the one behind them turns up. If they're going to happen, I think they should happen at/immediately after a beginning-of-leg bunch, as a way of shuffling the order for the rest of the leg.

[dgpolo]

31 minutes ago, spanana said:

Just the editing was so Tyler/Korey heavy with talking about Uganda and how they were worried about their experiences there and etc.

I don't think they were that worried for their personal safety, I think the emotion was empathy for people who might face the death penalty for being who they are while they are (relatively) safe in the U.S.

[mikewho]

14 hours ago, Richness said:

I was also surprised by the number of times we saw the Amazing cameraman tonight. We saw one in the rolex challenge. Then we saw two in the bike/wood challenge. They usually do a much better job of not being seen. Even when they are seen, it's usually only a shadow or reflexion.

We've seen the cameramen in every season. I think it's just that most shots are so quick, you're paying attention to the racers, so miss the cameraman.

It was way back in season 3 (the one Flo and Zach won) when I first noticed it though. In Switzerland, I think. The teams were all running towards a fence, and a cameraman ran RIGHT through the crowd from left to right, but it was so quick, and I was paying attention to the teams, so it was easy to miss. I caught it on a re-watch.

Blah blah. I often pay attention to the racers' surroundings, and even though the shots are quick, there are often shots that include the cameramen.

[mikewho]

3 hours ago, momlyd said:

I had forgotten about the candle uh bruh!! Who said that?

Some team that I sure don't remember. I remember it happening, but I couldn't tell you who it was.

I'm sorry that Brit and Janelle were eliminated. I like them both. And I'll be honest, if I read a clue that said 'Rolex', I would've been looking for watches too.

But I'm glad Victor and Nicole are still there. I saw Victor's season on BB, and I saw one season of Nicole's. BB is a much different game (kind of a train wreck, to me), so I like seeing them in a different game, different atmosphere, different behaviors.

[Lola82]

I flove Floyd! His enthusiasm is infectious. The way he read the clue that he's going to a silent rave...I had to rewind it and watch him again. Just everything makes me happy, it's amazing. 

I just recently rewatched Season 5 so seeing Colin be so chill, loving and enjoying the experience makes me believe people can really change for the better.

In general, everyone this season seems to be really enjoying what they're doing. It's so fun to watch. I'm slogging through a rewatch of Season 6 and the cast is so miserable there (it includes the infamous Jonathon and Victoria).

Elissa and the editing in the cab were hilarious. "Don't give up, it's going to be ok Rachel" cut to "Ok, calm down Rachel" cut to "Can you just stop?!"  

[OldWiseOne]

17 hours ago, PaperTree said:

304 steps.  Never believe what you read on the internet. 🙂

I couldn't understand why they (or any of the other teams that needed more than 1 try) didn't count steps on the way down also.

1 hour ago, blackwing said:

I think the thing that I found interesting was that all the men wore the white smock that is characteristic of Muslim dress.  But it seemed to me that the women just had a head scarf wrapped around their heads, or did they also have a smock/dress and I just didn't notice?  I could have sworn I saw the Reillys' neon green tops when they were giving the guy the number of steps.

In past seasons of TAR I definitely remember the women putting on head scarves (I clearly remember Margarita putting on a scarf of her own volition during TAR classic) in Muslim countries but I don't recall the men ever having to put anything on.  This is the first season I remember where the men had to put on the smock.  Someone with a better memory can chime in if the men have in the past?

The women needed to have their arms and heads covered. Some of them were wearing long sleeve shirts (ie the Reillys) so only needed to add the head scarf to be properly covered. Others to wear the smock and scarf.

[Halting Hex]

5 hours ago, green said:

it wasn't too many decades ago you could include the US in that category and some states may still have anti-gay laws on the book.

Won't do them any good if they do; Lawrence v. Texas and Obergefell v. Hodges are federal cases.  Gay sex and gay marriage have been legal everywhere since 2003 and 2015, respectively.  Tyler and Korey have nothing to fear, back here.

(Unless there's an anti-camera-preening statute on the books somewhere, I suppose.)

[eel21788]

17 hours ago, Browncoat said:

I am glad that Tyler and Korey won the leg, and also that they had a positive experience in a place where things could so easily have gone pear-shaped for them.

I would have like to see them in a giant lip-lock on the mat.

[ML89]

I was sad to see Janelle and Britney go, and Rachel and Elissa still stay because wow, are the Reillys tiresome, I had blocked it from my mind.

Adding to the "put on clothes to visit" stories - I had on long sleeves and pants up at the monasteries in Greece, and had to put a skirt on over them to go in.

7 hours ago, OldWiseOne said:

couldn't understand why they (or any of the other teams that needed more than 1 try) didn't count steps on the way down also.

Yes! Me too. And someone even tweeted that at Phil last night. I could not figure that out. Although after seeing the Softball Coach Father and Daughter carrying a little clicker to keep count, I would bring one of those along. I'm terrible at keeping count.

Edited May 24, 2019 by ML89

[Runningwild]

2 hours ago, spanana said:

A lot of Christians have problems with LGBTQ relationships as well, so the only way that works is if they are never going to go near a religious building ever again.  That is way too broad a stroke.  Not all Muslims have issues with people being LGBTQ the same way not all Christians have issues with people being LGBTQ. 

Heck, look at our lawmakers in the US working every day to try and ban LGBTQ people from having equal rights.  Should they also not travel in the US?  This is a country where one state tried to ban a PBS cartoon from airing, or did, because one of the side characters was gay and got married.  That was last week.  A cartoon was marked as being inappropriate for showing a happy gay man (animal?) get married.

I understand talk about Uganda because there is a big difference between LGBTQ people being put to death versus living without equal rights, but I'm not going to pretend that the US is a bastion of gay rights and acceptance either.  Or that other organized religions are any more understanding than the Muslim religion.

I also don't think they have to dress up like Muslims.  They are dressing to show respect to a culture outside of their own by wearing appropriate attire.  It isn't dress up. 

Name ONE Christian nation where homosexuality is a crime punishable by death. I’d rather they didn’t go into any religious places unless they’re going to also go into churches, cathedrals, or synagogues. 

[meep.meep]

15 hours ago, Richness said:

I was also surprised by the number of times we saw the Amazing cameraman tonight. We saw one in the rolex challenge. Then we saw two in the bike/wood challenge. They usually do a much better job of not being seen. Even when they are seen, it's usually only a shadow or reflexion.

It's been really prevalent this season.  Lots of shots of the cameramen, and lots of people just blatantly talking to them.

2 hours ago, hendersonrocks said:

Gonna have to firmly disagree with you on this take. 

They are not dressing up like Muslims, they are putting on clothing that is considered respectful given the setting. I've been in mosques as a non-Muslim; I just cover my head and ensure that I have on long sleeves, skirt, etc. and it's not at all the same thing as dressing up or wearing a costume.

And just as if not more importantly, no, not all Muslims have a problem with LGBTQ+ people.

It's not that different from what we used to have to do when entering a church.  My mother carried a bunch of headscarves in her purse and we would have to put them on when we toured cathedrals in Europe.  It's respecting the culture.

[eel21788]

8 hours ago, sigmaforce86 said:

 Hello Colin!  Some episodes back I commented on how I was waiting for him to blow and had trouble believing his transformation and someone else pointed out it's been years and years so of course he's changed.  True but we weren't there to see it so for me it was here's hot head, blow his stack at the drop of a hat angry Colin on my screen, blink, new season, here's zen, calm, takes his lumps with a smile and moves on calm happy Colin.  Just could not reconcile it but last night I think he proved whatever he's done to work on himself between then and now has worked.  If he could keep his cool and not flip out during that wood stacking and all that bicycle wrangling he really has changed for the better. 

I highly suspect some type of medication is involved with his transformation.

[chaifan]

53 minutes ago, Runningwild said:

Name ONE Christian nation where homosexuality is a crime punishable by death. I’d rather they didn’t go into any religious places unless they’re going to also go into churches, cathedrals, or synagogues. 

Runningwild, Uganda IS a Christian nation.  It is the fundamentalist Christians, spurred on by some fundamentalist US religious groups/persons, that have fueled the anti-gay hate and prompted the current gay=death legislation. 

According to Wikipedia, Uganda is 84% Christian, 14% Muslim. 

ETA:  I also wanted to comment on the "dressing up as Muslim" comments from above.  The long robe for men isn't necessarily indicative of religion.  It has cultural & traditional ties, which in many countries are not tied with religion.  It is associated with Islam due to it's presence in many predominantly Muslim countries, like Morocco, but even there is more functional (protecting clothes from dust & sand) than religious. 

Edited May 23, 2019 by chaifan

[spanana]

1 hour ago, dgpolo said:

I don't think they were that worried for their personal safety, I think the emotion was empathy for people who might face the death penalty for being who they are while they are (relatively) safe in the U.S.

Yes, sorry.  I watched it fast, but either way they seemed surprised at the warmth they felt from people in Uganda.  I don't think they were worried in the sense that they would be punished for their sexuality, but maybe worried that people wouldn't be nice to them?  It just seemed like they wouldn't be so surprised at the warmth of the people they encountered unless they were expecting different treatment.  I didn't mean they were worried they would go to jail, or worse.

[Marvin]

Why were they all of a sudden concerned about gay rights in Uganda when nothing was said in Dubai where it is also illegal ?? Not to mention many of the other countries visited in the Amazing Race !! Also why was Bret not bothered ?

They need to keep politics out of TAR otherwise they would end up no-where !!

And damn - i was hoping Rachel would be out, but at least one of the fish lips teams went !!

[Marvin]

Also in regards to Becca and Floyd's sexuality - i am sure they said they are now dating each other at the start of the race !!

[dgpolo]

9 minutes ago, Marvin said:

They need to keep politics out of TAR otherwise they would end up no-where !!

Again, Korey was not expressing an opinion on politics, he was showing empathy for portion of the population the same way racers in the past have shown empathy for the poor of nations they have visited. India has brought out that empathy in a number of racers.

We don't know if Bret expressed any feeling that were not shown or any at all, some racers keep their feelings inside better than others. Korey is within his rights to express his.

Just now, Marvin said:

Also in regards to Becca and Floyd's sexuality - i am sure they said they are now dating each other at the start of the race !!

They were joking.

[spanana]

20 minutes ago, Marvin said:

Why were they all of a sudden concerned about gay rights in Uganda when nothing was said in Dubai where it is also illegal ?? Not to mention many of the other countries visited in the Amazing Race !! Also why was Bret not bothered ?

They need to keep politics out of TAR otherwise they would end up no-where !!

And damn - i was hoping Rachel would be out, but at least one of the fish lips teams went !!

Nobody knows if Bret was bothered.  Just because the show didn't show Bret talking about it doesn't mean he didn't talk about it.  That just wasn't his edited storyline here.  Keep in mind the show is very edited to show what it wants to show.

Also keeping politics out of it? I think it's completely fair for openly LGBTQ people to express concern about going to a country where being gay is openly punishable, perhaps to the point of death.  If fighting for the right not to be punished for your sexual orientation is too political for viewers, then what isn't?  There is this uncomfortable vibe that they should be expected to shut up because it makes some of the poor audience uncomfortable.

It's also impossible to know if any of them did express discomfort about Dubai since the race is heavily edited.

Edited May 23, 2019 by spanana

[AZChristian]

When it was down to the sisters vs the moms in the head-to-head, I was concerned that they would have to extend the show by ANOTHER hour, as I wasn't sure any of the four of them could have EVER figured out the puzzle.

[seacliffsal]

During Rachel's cry fest in the cab about being eliminated (which, no), she stated that she wanted to be on the race at least two more times.  What?!?!  She really does intend to make her living by being "reality royalty."  How many fans does she have that she's a draw and is invited on multiple reality shows?  She also seems pretty rehearsed with talking points she wants to make in order to get invited back ("it just touches your heart...").

Of course, I have to add that Tyler and his partner stated that they ran a pretty flawless leg.  Well, except for the fact that they had to count steps a second time because they trusted info off of the internet and didn't count the steps the first time (so, no, not nearly flawless...).

And, I just loved the dinosaur park. The visual from behind the teams that were running around was hilarious!  Special shout-out to whomever came up with that task!  

[TheRabbi]

I really don't care for the head to head in general. Not only do I dislike the concept of it, but it also creates huge editing decisions. They had to get in the travel, the stair climb, the RB, the detour, and the head to head all in a quick episode, which is why it can feel very rushed. They hardly showed the detour at all. I'm glad they cut out the head to head in the Vietnam episode. Also, this particular one was pointless as every single team got it on their second try. There was some actual team placement shuffling at the Vietnam one. 

Can I please get one Colin semi-meltdown before the season is over? I don't recognize this guy! 

Edited May 23, 2019 by TheRabbi

[Marvin]

1 hour ago, spanana said:

Nobody knows if Bret was bothered.  Just because the show didn't show Bret talking about it doesn't mean he didn't talk about it.  That just wasn't his edited storyline here.  Keep in mind the show is very edited to show what it wants to show.

Also keeping politics out of it? I think it's completely fair for openly LGBTQ people to express concern about going to a country where being gay is openly punishable, perhaps to the point of death.  If fighting for the right not to be punished for your sexual orientation is too political for viewers, then what isn't?  There is this uncomfortable vibe that they should be expected to shut up because it makes some of the poor audience uncomfortable.

It's also impossible to know if any of them did express discomfort about Dubai since the race is heavily edited.

It just seemed too contrived to be genuine. Why now and why just Uganda ?  Especially since there was no concern shown when they visited Armenia, Georgia, Indonesia (none of which are very tolerant of homosexuality) in season 28 or the UAE this season and in 28 (where unlike Uganda they impose the death penalty for homosexuality ). Uganda found the bill proposing the death penalty un-constitutional and therefore did not pass it into law and are actually working towards being more accepting unlike the UAE and other arab countries.

What i meant by politics is that it seemed more like the shows producers had an anti-ugandan agenda that they were trying to promote which is bad for the Amazing Race since they need to be open and accepting of all the countries they visit and their respective cultures. This is the only episode that has been so judgemental towards a country they have visited. It seemed completely out of nature for the show. More so since they decided to visit a mosque in what is predominantly a Christian country ?

[chaifan]

57 minutes ago, seacliffsal said:

Of course, I have to add that Tyler and his partner stated that they ran a pretty flawless leg.  Well, except for the fact that they had to count steps a second time because they trusted info off of the internet and didn't count the steps the first time (so, no, not nearly flawless...).

To be fair, the information they found about the # of stairs wasn't necessarily incorrect, it just wasn't the information the task asked for.  The had total # of stairs.  The challenge was to count stairs inbetween two specific markers.  And, it was pretty smart of them to be doing some research while in the airport/on the plane, and then to remember that rather random # later on.  Having to go back up and down 272 steps isn't a really big deal in the whole scheme of things.

As for people who were asking why racers didn't count steps on the way down, how do we know they didn't?  They still had to come back up to report it, so we wouldn't know either way.

Edited May 23, 2019 by chaifan

[TVbitch]

Colin is blowing my mind with his zen... and his righteous dance moves. At first, I was hoping for an Colin 1.0 outburst, but now I think that would be disappointing (and very upsetting for Christie). He obviously put in some massive effort to change his perspective and good on him.

I hope they win, with Team Fun and Tyler/Corey rounding out top 3.

The Tavelocity ad with Phil never gets old.  

[eel21788]

2 hours ago, seacliffsal said:

During Rachel's cry fest in the cab about being eliminated (which, no), she stated that she wanted to be on the race at least two more times.  What?!?!  She really does intend to make her living by being "reality royalty."  How many fans does she have that she's a draw and is invited on multiple reality shows? 

It think it has more to do with having a good agent than having a good fan base. For example, Farrah Abraham and Mama June keep getting themselves booked on shows that they really have no qualifications for. Farrah even appeared on a couples' counseling show when she was single. Mama June's "brand" of "from not to hot" is pretty much delusional. Other Teen Mom and TLC rejects don't find anywhere near the opportunities these two have. I'm reasonably sure it isn't because they have huge fan bases who are petitioning to see them on every show imaginable. They just somehow lucked into good representation.

[OldWiseOne]

1 hour ago, chaifan said:

As for people who were asking why racers didn't count steps on the way down, how do we know they didn't?  They still had to come back up to report it, so we wouldn't know either way.

They might have, but the ones that were shown on the way back down weren't counting them they were talking to each other about having screwed up.

[Fake Jan Brady]

3 hours ago, seacliffsal said:

During Rachel's cry fest in the cab about being eliminated (which, no), she stated that she wanted to be on the race at least two more times.  What?!?!  She really does intend to make her living by being "reality royalty."  How many fans does she have that she's a draw and is invited on multiple reality shows?  She also seems pretty rehearsed with talking points she wants to make in order to get invited back ("it just touches your heart...").

I hate to defend Rachel [shudder] but she said "maybe it took me two more seasons to enjoy it" referring to her "it's supposed to be fun" quote from her first TAR season.

5 hours ago, Halting Hex said:

Won't do them any good if they do; Lawrence v. Texas and Obergefell v. Hodges are federal cases.  Gay sex and gay marriage have been legal everywhere since 2003 and 2015, respectively.  Tyler and Korey have nothing to fear, back here.

Have you seen the Supreme Court lately..?