Amazing Race 10/29 - "I Wonder if This is Going to Make My Fingers Pickle"

Cafe Society
21

I live in the south, too, albeit it a more “refined” area than I think David and Mary are from. Her descriptions of their little town don’t sound far off the mark of what men HERE expected just a few generations ago. There are still men who feel women belong barefoot and in the kitchen. I don’t think she is being harsh intentionally, I wonder if she isn’t overcompensating to save face on national TV. It’s not that she wants to bully, but rather hold her own with him.

I could be completely wrong though.

22

Because of the football delay I end up seeing the episodes split up so I didn’t notice there was no Roadblock. It’s usually Leg 1 that’s without a Roadblock but we had one this season. Sometimes a Roadblock is edited out but again it’s usually from Leg 1.

David and Mary need to go. They’ve been the beneficiaries of Hippie-level good fortune and, while I still like them more than I dislike them I’m tired of them. Deciding that they were going to wait for the rest of their alliance teams was a terrible decision and, as someone noted upthread, switching from Salt to Sea was horrifyingly stupid. The *lyns and the *wins both have the right idea, help when it’s feasible but leave the alliance in the dust when it’s not working. The alliance was not working for this Leg and everyone but David and Mary realized it.

I’m ready for the *lyns to go and I’m ready for the BQs to go. I’m just tired of the noise. And I’m really ready for Rob and Kimberly to go. Although they’ve cooked up a somewhat effective strategy for handling Killer Fatigue, at least based on their results. Have a huge meltdown/blowup partway into the Leg and then pull it together to finish in the dead center of the pack. It’ll be interesting to see if they can continue to hold up under the weight of their own pettiness.

So by default I guess I’m rooting for Team Heroin, although while I’m still loving the Race my enthusiasm for the racers is fading fast. Oh wait, I guess I still like the *wins well enough so I guess I’ll root for them except they need to abandon the alliance and RACE!

Another new twist next week: The “Intersection.” Possibly taking the place of the Yield? Which depending on just what the Intersection entails, may be a welcome change, since rarely did anyone use the Yield particularly effectively and rarely did the Yield decide anything. I’ve thought before that forcing multiple teams to work together would be interesting but the mechanics of it always struck me as artificial, like you’d have to engineer yet another bunch point. Maybe the remaining six teams will get divided into three sets of two teams and both of the last place finishing teams will go? Although how that could work with David and Mary potentially sitting out a 30 minute penalty…

23

I think you’re right. But, I also still think it has something to do with Dave reminding her of her mundane life back home. Where as, everything else is part of this big adventure she’s on.

I’m not usually a violent or hostile person, but I want to kick that Bama bitch in the teeth. How can you be so self absorbed, that you don’t realize the very thing your bitching and moaning about the BQ’s doing, is the same thing you’ve benifitted from ( thanks to the Chos), throughout the whole race.

Not to be confused with, Rob acusing Kimberly of “losing it”, mere moments after he threw a temper tantrum in the middle of traffic. Because, that was funny. :stuck_out_tongue:

24

The altercation at the airport between Bama and the boys was just stupid. What difference did it make who got their tickets first since they were both on the same flight? I just think that this far into the race the teams are tired, stressed and probably suffering from low blood sugar or dehydration. When do they eat anyway?

When they announced the roadblocks I immediately picked the sea option. Everytime it seems that you have to find an object by digging or sifting thru something it takes forever and it’s exhausting and tempers are right on the edge. Plus it seems it would be really hot and drying sucking the moisture from your body.

Don’t exactly like the BQ’s but you have to admit they ran an excellent race this week. It seems that the model guys (don’t know their nicknames) get really lost every week and only miss being in last place by sheer luck (some other team was just a lot worse). I hope that after Kentucky goes they’re right behind.

25

Rule number 1 for TAR: never, ever pick the chance-based Detour. Its siren song of simplicity masks heartbreak. And yet five of six teams did just that.

Taxi Assessment

Stuck in the Desert and Officially Detained - or, Philiminated with extreme prejudice.
Bilal & Sa’eed and Vipul & Arti and Kellie & Jamie and Duke & Lauren and Tom & Terry and Peter & Sarah - Ha ha! You lost!

Flat Tire - or, not likely to get anywhere soon.
David & Mary - (holding steady) - Dead team walking.

Stopping for Gas - or, not broken-down, exactly, but not a good sign.
Lyn & Karlyn - (holding steady) - Another bottom-of-the-pack performance, but not exactly terrible. This team is probably the least physical of the remaining teams, and it showed in the swim task this episode. They could still possibly sneak into the final three, but I wouldn’t like their chances against Tyler & James or Dustin & Kandice.
Erwin & Godwin - (down from “Rapido!”) - From what I can see, Erwin & Godwin seem to be heading (and benefiting the least from) this little alliance with David & Mary and Lyn & Karlyn. Now, you could make an argument that this is a clever strategy on their part, either because they hope to pull weaker teams with them to the final three or hope to stick with a pair of teams they know they can beat in a footrace. However, neither strategy is all that good. First, sticking in a group means that all teams progress only as fast as the slowest team on any particular task; that only loses time and virtually guarantees a race for last place. Second, one wrong turn at the end and a footrace becomes irrelevent (as David & Mary showed this week). So as a strategy, this isn’t very clever. In Erwin & Godwin’s defense, it seems to me they’re doing what they’re doing not as part of some grand plan, but just because they like hanging with David & Mary and Lyn & Karlyn. Still, regardless of motive, it’s a loser’s strategy. Erwin & Godwin get downgraded this week.

"Rapido! Por Favor?" - or, making meaningless ineffectual comments from the back seat, but in no immediate danger.
Rob & Kimberly - (holding steady) - Temper, temper. Inter-team bickering may be the death of Rob & Kimberly yet. There’s only room for three teams in the final three (duh), and if (as seems likely) two of the back-pack drop out, that leaves Rob & Kimberly fighting for third against a team no longer loaded down with bad strategy.

In the Passing Lane - or, ahead of the pack, but not quite comfortably.
Tyler & James - (holding steady) - OK, I’m keeping this team at this level, based on their second-place finish. However, their performance this episode wasn’t really all that impressive. Their placing was solely due to their recognition that the salt was a loser task, and recognizing it before the other teams did. Getting lost right out of the (airport) gate wasn’t exactly a winning move, and fatigue is starting to stress the boys. This team is looking much less dominant that it did three weeks ago. Still, Tyler & James have shown some resilience, and they make good decisions most of the time.

Cruisin’ with Earl - or, drivin’ on the shoulder, takin’ shortcuts, and generally kickin’ butt.
Dustin & Kandice - (up from “Passing”) - The beauty queens are really hitting their stride, with a first following two seconds place finishes. A nearly flawless race this episode: out in front on the way to the ship, maintaining their lead to the Detour, and the only team not to pick the salt option. I still worry a bit that this team might get hammered with a physical Roadblock (TAR traditionally favoring male teams), but right now they’re looking good.

Next week: A new route marker! Yippee! Or not, actually. Not a fan of forcing teams to work together.

[sub]Props to Mullinator and his Raj Ratings.[/sub]

26

As Ginger said, she probably had a strap unbuckled/too loose. I’m surprised the production staff who provided the life jackets didn’t make sure they were on correctly. Safety gear, after all. Still, the shot of her with the jacket collar up around her hairline was teh funny, so I’m sure amusing millions of Americans balances out any additional risk on Mary’s part.

When the first team (David & Mary) booked that flight, I figured there was no way a roundabout journey through London was the quickest route. I’m honestly surprised that’s the best the teams could do.

You know, I originally thought David & Mary’s switch was a terrible decision, but now I’m not so sure. On the downside (as you say), switching tasks guaranteed they’d be trailing all the other teams. On the other hand, there were five teams searching for the clue in the salt at one point, and none of them found it. How long before David & Mary found the clue? Five minutes or five hours?

Their choice was between a) certainly being in last place by ten minutes at a time that might or might not have been near the end of the leg, or b) possibly being able to jump ahead of the other teams… or, more likely drop to hours behind. The poor decision was taking the salt choice in the first place, and though I think David & Mary might have been better off staying (since they did finish last, after all), their decision to bail wasn’t screamingly stupid.

I believe the producers have, in seasons past, dropped coverage of Roadblocks/Detours that didn’t offer much excitement or lead changes in favor of focusing on more interesting team drama. I suspect that’s what happened here. I’m curious, though, exactly when the possible Roadblock occured–before or after the Detour. The existance of a later Roadblock (and ability to make up time) may have factored into David & Mary’s decision to finally abandon the salt task.

27

You know, I really want to like Dustin & Kandace, but I can’t. Or Rob & Kimberley, or Tyler & James. Because, here’s the thing: if you know you’re better Racers than those other Teams, then shut up and raaaaaaace! God. If an alliance is not part of your strategy, then quit worrying about other alliances and just do what you have to. And shut up while you’re doing it.

This episode in particular highlights that there are two kinds of Teams on The Amazing Race (with occasional overlaps). There are Those Who Want To Win, and Those Who Want To WIIIIIIIIIIIIIN! I much prefer the former, even if it means they aren’t always they best Racers. The latter are too hypercompetitive and intense and nasty and that isn’t what I want the Race to be.

Which is why Dustin & Kandace disappoint me. They’re relatively smart and strong, and I would really like a team of women to finally win this Race, but … not them. I would actually prefer if Bama won over D&K. Because I know a lot of people like D&K, and I know that if the tables had been turned and it was Bama trying to buy another team’s tickets, there would have been a catfight.

28

They eat 9and sleep and mingle with the other teams) at the Pit Stops, and we’ve seen people grabbing food at various points in various legs when they have down time or are bunched. And of course they sometimes eat at Roadblocks.

To offer a slight bit of Bama defense, they don’t know that there will be tickets available for them, and to have four people (a team and their crew) jump the line might make the difference between getting that flight and not. In a case like this I doubt the producers would have allowed a team to fall so far behind as the bamas probably would have had the flight been full but still, helping Team Junkie jump the line was the tiniest bit sleazy. Note that everyone else was given a departure time of 8:00 but the Bamas got told 8:10. Whether that was really a later flight or not who knows but if it had been a later flight, ten minutes might have been huge.

29

NEVER TAKE THE NEEDLE IN A HAYSTACK DETOUR unless you are in last place and need a miracle. Mary is the only one who has ever watched a previous season, and she didn’t connect it (is that girl still out unrolling hay bales?) until they were in last (again). At that point David was right, stick with the search and pray. Kentucky now has to leave, they have outworn my patience. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, Mary, you DONT WAIT FOR ANOTHER TEAM ON THE PUSH TO THE WELCOME MAT. An alliance is all nice and all, but you gotta RACE sometimes.

I suppose the London connection was too boring to show. No drama.

I wasn’t too entertained with this leg. Too much driving around, getting lost. Drive here, get that, after the previous episodes this season it was kinda dull.

30

There’s supposed to be a picture on the CBS website (according to wikipedia) for this leg showing one of the BQs holding a Roadblock clue, but I can’t find it.I don’t mind them editing out a boring task with no impact on the Race, but it means we can’t track the Bowling Moms rule as we get to the final legs.

It sounded like a very long layover in London. They may have been on a later flight for the first leg, but still caught the same connecting flight to Mauritius.

31

Also according to Wikipedia, Sarah interviewed with someone that because of there being a Roadblock on the first leg a team member can do seven instead of six.

I mean sure, in this particular case, it didn’t make a difference, but there have been legs and wins where ten minutes made all the difference. Wil and Tara would likely have won if they had another ten minutes on the other team (although maybe not the way they assed around). Was it Freddy and Kendra who won in large part because a team was less than a minute behind and then got stuck behind a train during the final footrace? And Team We’reNotGay last season might have pulled it out (heh) if they’d had ten more minutes to fiddle with their flagpoles (heh).

32

So, what does everyone think the “intersection” thing is all about?

33

“An intersection is a task which requires cooperation between two teams to perform. Teams who work well together may finish quickly. Teams who don’t… MAY find themselves falling far behind.”

[/Phil]

34

Here’s a pic of the clue being opened by the BQs at CBS.com

35

It took me a bit, but I finally figured it out. The roadblock must have been at the post office they went to. The picture shows the BQs still wet and in their lifejackets, which means that the roadblock came immediately after the “swim to the boat” task. Since they repeatedly had the racers talking about going to the post office at Whatever Novaye while still on the pier, there must have been a Roadblock task at that post office that they didn’t show.

36

That would explain how everyone managed to grow shirts while driving. Seriously, that bugged me, like everyone stopped in the middle of the race to don outfits.

37

I think the Roadblock must have been at the marina. The teams swim out to that boat, get the clue and swim back. <snip> The teams open the clue, and it’s the Roadblock. One team member completes the task, and gets the next clue. <snip> Teams open the clue and go to the post office.

Take out the bits between the snips, and that’s what we saw.

Now the Machievellian twist. That whole thing with “swim back to shore before you open this clue,” was that done on purpose to make it easier to edit out the Roadblock later?

Did anyone else notice any potential rules infractions on this episode that the producers might have missed? When they got the Detour clue, it was something like “drive to the salt works or walk to the water and take a boat to the island”, and then we saw the BQs getting in their car. And on the island, they had to get the sail and attach it to the mast of their boat, but when one of the teams (the models, maybe) got back, I saw the sail just lying in the bottom of their boat. Do they only make a big deal of the strict reading of the clues when they catch it, and are the producers slipping a bit?

38

How about the one BQ’s comment to Phil upon winning the moped?
He said they could go together and take dates and one of them (sorry, I still can’t tell them apart) batted her eyes and coyly said, "How about I take you, Phil?)
:smiley:

And I still can’t believe Mary and David are still in it. I’m amazed the the 'Wins waited for the 'Bamas and M&D after the boat-swim thing. Dammit, it’s a Race! Go! GO!
I like David, but Mary just seems nasty. I know I say it every week, but she grates on my nerves. She’s a shrew.

39

Right, I know that. I thought she was asking, “What country is Mauritius in?” and the answer came back, “England” because the guy thought she was asking what country is London in.

Never mind.

40

Naw, she was asking what country London was in, because she misheard it and thought he said “India.”

Apparently there was no roadblock on this leg but photos don’t lie. Personally I think teams were told to open their clues on shore so they wouldn’t know if they had to do a physical task right away.

zut I have to disagree with your rankings. Tyler and James can’t navigate their way out of a paper bag. They are quick at moving out of airports, fast at doing tasks, but they are completely hopeless at driving from point A to point B. They’re the team that will spend the final episode going to the mountains when they’re supposed to be heading to the sea.
Kim and Rob bitch and bicker and throw tantrums, but they’re surprisingly competent.

The truly astounding thing is that at this point in the race, every team except 'Bama has hit the mat in first place. I think the Chos are capable of being in the top three, but they’re in the grips of a stupid philosophy, and are likely to go out with a whimper in two weeks as Bama somehow manages to limp to a next-to-last place finish. Odds are Kentucky will be gone next week, barring a miraculous bit of mismaneuvering by the Junkies.

But it’s between Kim and Rob and the Beauty Queens for the Million.