Folks on the East Coast especially, be warned that football will almost definitely run over. So allow yourself some extra time on your recordings!
According to my listings, the episode is described as:
The teams are forced to navigate rough waters while racing through Vietnam; the leading team switches cab drivers again and again; one racer’s injury forces a team to stop for medical attention.
Papa T. and I had a long discussion yesterday of which team we think is most likely to get eliminated next. It’s probably too early for a non-elimination leg, but barring that we’d like to see Rob & Kimberly or Peter & Sarah go. We’ll probably actually see Tom & Terry or Mary & David go. We shall see.
This was an extremely physically demanding task; I give props to all teams for surviving it.
But even so, have none of these teams ever heard of tacking their boat across the wind? If you can’t make headway into the wind, you go at an angle to the wind. (Okay, Team Kentucky probably hasn’t, being landlocked coalminers. BTW, I loved their T shirts.)
I was hoping for a surprise to be at the start, with 7 money packets having the correct amount, and 1 packet coming up fatally short.
It’s early in the thread, so I’ll comment later on the various meltdowns in this episode.
And Frostillicus, I agree with you, in Western society I consider it a Bad Thing ™ for men to call each other “honey.” I would like for Team T[sup]2[/sup] to get eliminated largely for that reason.
That little smirk that’s frozen on Peter’s face as he lounges comfortably while Sarah is upset or struggling or even just talking to him makes me want to wipe it off with her running foot, preferably after it’s been honed to a razor-sharp edge. Could he be a bigger jerk? I find myself increasingly appalled at the way he treats her.
For some reason, T&T calling each other “honey” doesn’t bother me in the slightest. They are in a long-term relationship, after all.
The scenery this episode was particularly gorgeous. But I suspect few of the teams noticed it, they were so busy struggling with the truly evil design of the leg. Kudos to the race designers – this one was indeed amazing!
Ugh, my least two favorite teams are 1 and 2. At least the uber-annoying Tom and Terry were eliminated.
Just how old was the guy giving out the money? He looked like Methusela’s older brother. I, too, was hoping one of the envelopes had less money than the others.
Was the title quote in the show? I missed who said it.
I heard they hired someone from Survivor to help design the race this year. It looks like he earning his pay.
I liked that the detour choices were fairly even. Neither seemed to be obviously faster/easier/less demanding than the other. All in all a very demanding leg.
Should’ve figured. Who will take over the “title quote” duty after Mary & Dave are eliminated?
More thoughts:
The editors deserve another Emmy just for the cuts between Sarah struggling on the ascender to Peter lounging in the boat drinking a Coke.
I liked the auditory clue. Not quite up to the standards of season 1 clues, but still better than the “go here, idiot” clues of recent years. Very smart of the teams who had their cab drivers listen to the clue.
How does one make it into adulthood without knowing what a junk is?
What had me ready to throw things at the television was Peter telling her to be quiet while he was trying to row. I hope next time she’s climbing a frickin’ mountain, she tells him to shut his cakehole when he gets all “supportive.”
Rob and Kimberly … sigh Why do teams always seem to be surprised when the race makes them fight? Have they never watched the show?
I’m not terribly sorry to see Tom and Terry go, but there’s really nobody in this season that I truly hate. I’m even just indifferent to Rob and Kimberly. Love the Cho Brothers, though. That “Let’s Hug It Out” shirt cracked me up for no reason I can discern.
I can’t think of a single racer that I like. Maybe Sarah. One of the gay couple (the non-whiny boat-puller) and one of the moms are tough. The rest of them are either meh or awful. Dave and the Win brothers are OK, but nothing special yet.
This may be the least impressive group of contestants ever.
I’m not overly fond of the single moms from Alabama. They alternate between seeming really sincere and nice to being completely snarky about certain teams for no apparent reason.
I wasn’t sorry to see T & T go. Kentucky has grown on me, though I thought I would dislike them. I am honestly surprised that I don’t really have a team I harbor hatred toward. Rob and Kimberly seem to have very strange fights, and the more they show of Peter, the more icky I find him. I didn’t see what Sarah was talking about in earlier episodes…seeing things about Peter she didn’t like but now I anticipate that the end of the race will also be the end of their “recently dating” relationship.
I do like that some of the challenges are a little more challenging than before. I do still miss season one’s clues, where the racers actually had to figure things out.
The Cho brothers tonight really cemented my love for them – it’s because they are so enjoying themselves on the race. Other folks are as well, Mary in particular, whereas the Alabama moms are just getting through with gritted teeth and apparently a remarkable lack of enjoyment of the experience they’re getting to undergo. The Cho brothers, though, are really taking in the experience – stopping to think about where they are (the Hanoi Hilton), stopping to appreciate the beauty around them (tonight). It would really be a shame to go to all those gorgeous places and not even notice them – that’s the one thing I don’t like about the race, the teams have to rush through places that under normal circumstances nobody in their right mind would be able to ignore.
I have to confess I was quite taken aback at the beauty of Vietnam we saw tonight – my memories are of the Vietnam War, in living black & white on our TV screen every evening. All we ever saw was destruction; I don’t know why, even with the Race going to Vietnam before, it took till tonight for me to realize that it’s a truly beautiful country.
But she actually called him a scrawny li’l ol’ gorgeous thing! Now we just need for Phil to remove his shirt so we can judge for ourselves…
Another strong ep and another reshuffling of the teams. It makes me all warm inside when all of the teams are in the mix instead of there being one or two standouts with the rest struggling to stay not-last. And it’s so refreshing that there’s such a great likelihood that I’ll be happy for whichever team finally wins. Excellent casting this season, in terms of diversity, racing skills and personalities.
Was Sarah’s deciding to take the Roadblock the dumbest Roadblock decision ever? I’m trying to think of one that rivals it and I’m hard-pressed. Not that she doesn’t deserve mad props for everything she’s achieved on the Race thus far, including starting to figure out that her boyfriend is a prat, but when the Roadblock clue is specifically asking who has strong arms and legs then the one-legged gal probably isn’t the best choice. Although she did handle the climb well, but still, terrible initial decision.
Bit of a hoyay! moment for the models tonight, but they counterbalanced it with their “he’s looking for dong” jokes. Overcompensating for something that happened on the streets of Junkietown? I wonder…
Was I the only one who was giggling like a schoolgirl every time someone mentioned doing something with their junk?
I fear for Team Pageant. History is against them as an all-girl team and that combined with tonights RTFC error doesn’t bode well for their continued success. They started off fairly strong but they seem to be fading as the Race progresses. They may likely be the next to go.
Oh my god, yes. Ze irony, she eez bitter and she burns!
Could not disagree more and I suspect that you’re somehow watching a different show than the rest of us.
Oh, and can I just say that Mary may be one of the coolest Racers ever? Not only is she completely destroying expectations in the area of toughness and cultural background stereotypes, but she’s obviously taking the time to learn a little something about the places she’s visiting. She’s spoken some Chinese in China and some Vietnamese in Vietnam, meaning she either learned some phrases before the Race or she’s picking them up along the way by talking to people.
Word to the “junk” mention, Otto. Between that, and the continuous mention of “Vietnamese dong” the 12 year old inside me was quite thoroughly entertained.
It’s in character. She seems determined to show that her prosthesis not only doesn’t limit her in any way but actually makes her superior in some way to the four-limbed. Peter is enabling her, looking for any opportunity he can to yell encouragement, as apparently an amputee-wannabe himself. That decision made as much sense, within minds shaped by their own neuroses about disabilities, as the decision not to have him carry her to the mat last time even though she was stumbling and falling across the mud berms.
They’re not in the race to win it as much as they are to prove a point to themselves about disabilities. Rarely do you see 2 neurotics match each other so closely. I think they’re in it for the long haul. But leave me out of it, please.
Did any of these people know how to row? Any of them at all?
C’mon, who here could encounter dong for the first time and *not * make some similar kind of joke about it?
“Take your junk to the Pitstop. The rest of your bodies too. Use that boat.”
History is even more against them as an all-*dumb * team.
They’re my favorites thus far, but you may be right. I’ll forgive them for the boat mix-up at the end (Killer Fatigue and all), but listening to the crickets to see if they were going to chirp out a clue is a little hard to justify.
Yet none of you posted in my thread 
I’ll forgive them for the boat mix-up at the end (Killer Fatigue and all), but listening to the crickets to see if they were going to chirp out a clue is a little hard to justify. 