Amazing Race 3/13 "This Is The Most Stupid Day Ever." *spoilers*

Cafe Society
1

Ron is officially the world’s oldest 5 year old. “I’m hungry. I’m tired. Can I have some candy? Why do we have to get on a bus? Let me just leave my stuff laying around everywhere.”

Kent and Vyxin may be running the worst leg of all time. Driving hours the wrong way, missing a required flight (penalty?), AND losing the Amazing Fanny Pack? Has anyone ever missed a pre-planned flight before?

I’m worried about Zev and Justin, but Justin is staying remarkably upbeat about the whole thing.

I wonder if they’re eschewing non-elim legs for two part legs instead. Which I think is a lot better for All-Stars. If you wanna survive in last place, we’re gonna make you work for it.

2

Hoo, boy…there were equal parts awesome and WTF? this episode.

Vixxszyinn, nervous breakdowns aren’t supposed to happen every 30 minutes. Please take a valium.

I felt bad for the poor clue guy at the charms task…he was probably just happy his day was over when he gave Vix the clue.

Daddy needs a babysitter. It looked like he reverted to his childhood the second he crossed the border into China. And way to go not even noticing that your daughter FELL OUT OF THE SHUTTLE!

I KNEW there was going to be an Hours of Operation bunch to decrease the time differences. Ron & Christina got kind of screwed on that and Kent & Vyx got handed a gold-plated redemption ticket, even missing the first bus.

Justin had an interesting point…are K&V going to get dinged for taking a different flight than they were instructed to?

Another double leg? Interesting. Have we ever seen two TBC legs in one season before?

In previews:

Another double u-turn? :stuck_out_tongue:

3

JINX! We simulposted, so I reported mine and asked to have it deleted.

Or, apparently, merged. :slight_smile:

4

I’m liking these “You’re still racing!” instances – hell yeah, you gotta work for it this time :wink:

I didn’t really watch Season 12…were Kent and Vyx just as directionally-challenged then as they are now? I’m also wondering if they’ll be dinged for missing the flight.

Ron, don’t you notice when you daughter falls out of the bus???

I love how goofily clueless the Globetrotters are. “Horse!” “Goat!” “I’m a dragon!” :head desk:

Kudos to Zev for not going into major meltdown…for a while there I was afraid he would :eek:

5

Yeah, he was right on the cusp, you could tell. Poor guy. The frustration tolerance thing just wasn’t there.

Vyxxxzin…whoa. Whoa whoa whoa. I hope they get eliminated just because the constant bad luck and flipping out is getting painful.

Q about the “Keep racing!” legs—Phil did say that that was the pit stop. So, pit stop doesn’t always mean rest?

6

I kind of think tonight exemplified one of the reasons I don’t like Ron (besides the put-downs on Christina). He constantly runs hot and cold as far as the race itself goes. One moment he’s absolutely flipping his lid over the extra time it’s going to take because they got on the wrong type of bus, the next he’s just strolling through the market stopping at food stalls and munching the candy they’re supposed to be making for the task. It’s like he has MPD, with one alter being an ubercompetitor and the other being someone who doesn’t give a crap about the race. And they switch off on a two-hour schedule.

7

OK, dumb question maybe, but how did the guy at the prayer wheel know what everyone’s zodiac signs were? (And Globetrotters: how do you not know what your own zodiac sign is? Haven’t you ever eaten at a chinese restaurant before?)

8

If anyone has EVER had reason to kick the ass (verbally) of their partner for a series of incredibly stupid mistakes and all-around piss-poor effort, it was Kent, as Vyxsin was a useless, self-pitying, good for nothing Race partner today, clearly feeling sorry for herself the entire mollyfocking episode. But not ol’ Kent, who was 110% supportive and indeed actually quite stoic, never giving into the temptation to chew his crybaby girlfriend a new one, which she had coming to her in spades.

No, instead it was Zev and Ron who acted like whiny little bitches (full disclosure, I have never liked Zev, at all, since the first time I watched him. I know that puts me in the extreme minority here) both of whom need a good olde fashioned boot up the ass.

Finally, flat out, Margie and Ron just do not have the physical stamina for the Amazing Race, but I just hope that Ron eventually goes out on his fucking knees, crying like a spoiled little child, raging and weeping for all his disgraced ancestors to see. (I feel so badly for Christina, who seems to deserve so much better in a father)

9

I didn’t know my Chinese zodiac sign (I do now)…and the reason? Why would I care? What my Chinese Sign is is about as important to me as what a random guy in St. Louis had for lunch today.

As to the race…Yeah, the leg run by Kent and Vyxsin is perhaps the worst leg run by any team…and to think…with two U-turns, they may actually have a chance to not be eliminated too. Crazy. I do like that they’ve done multiple double legs.

10

I have eaten at several Mom/Pop chinese restaurants. I have no idea what chinese Zodiac sign is. Until now, I just looked it up. I am an OX.

11

I hate Ron so very much. As long as deaf kid and mommy act like grown-ups, if Ron goes, there won’t be anyone I hate on this race. Maybe he’ll die.*

It sucked that the bunch point was such a totally fixed bunch point—there was no bonus at all for being first. If they’d been able to book their next leg in advance or something, that would have helped.

The yak challenge would have been a lot more interesting if they didn’t have a sherpa(?) helping them.

I dunno–they’re in China and essentially bull-riding. Talk about throwing a bone to two teams.

Bad move giving the “search” job to Luke who had two, three meltdowns from that kind of task last time around. He got it, but it was an unlikely choice.

I like Gary and Whatshername-the daughter. She’s hyper but having fun and he’s laid back and seems to enjoy her being hyper.

I like Zev/Justin–they have a “normal” friendly relationship–they give each other a hard time, but like each other and are genuinely supportive.

Man, Vyxen was having bad killer-fatigue. And it’s still early in the race.

I wish they’d give more screen time to the sisters.

The cowboys are much, MUCH more like what I remember this time around. Maybe the last few episodes convinced them that they needed to get their asses in gear.

At least Christina’s fighting back: she’s a lot less annoying this time around when she’s not being a doormat. Lord–he’s going down in history alongside Flo, Wil (of Wil&Tara) and Jonathan for totally abusive psycho loon.

And yeah, Kent/Vixyn had probably the worst leg ever this time around.

  • :wink: Kidding!!!
12

Altitude exhaustion + double leg + 1 disaster prone team == great TV. :smiley:

I’m a Tiger, which is easy to remember because I’m a Leo in the other Zodiac and I just remember I’m a kitty either way. :slight_smile:

Oddly, the corner of China that they are in right now was the area that an earthquake a couple of days before Japan’s Big One. Look out where-ever’s next on the itinerary.

13

Also…shout out for the cute dog at the candy place… :smiley:

14

Yeah, I noted somebody walking a doggie EXACTLY like that one near Central Park today!

Nice episode, although I got tired just watching it and I can only imagine what it’s like to drag yourself to Phil and be told “You’re still racing!” I hope Ron let out a whole bunch of Chinese expletives that made the greeter giggle. I like it when people happen to speak the language of the country they’re in.

Poor Kent and Vyxxin. She totally fell apart and he had the patience of a black and pink saint.

Oh yeah, Ron was annoying this go-around but here’s my Christina impression: “Daddy! Daddy! No, Daddy! Xie xie! Daddy! Xie xie! This way, Daddy! Daddy!”

Looks to me like they’re staying in China next week.

15

They’re mixing it up to keep the racers/us on our toes. You could always tell the two-part legs because the clue wouldn’t say Pit Stop, they would say something like “Meet Phil at the mat.” Sort of like how they used to always say “The last person to check in WILL be eliminated,” so as soon as you heard “MAY be eliminated” you knew it was a non-elim. I do think this season is the first time that they’ve started giving prizes to the first place teams on these legs.

Also, I couldn’t tell if that prayer wheel actually spun, but I would’ve had a hard time not spinning it and saying “I want the kniiiife. Pleeease.”

16

There was some serious editing during that episode. They said that the mountain was at “nearly three miles” altitude ( I think they had a graphic that claimed just under 15,000 feet) and Margie from Colorado was complaining about the lack of oxygen. At that altitude, 99% of people would have the same reaction.

That said, the challenge they did next was in the midst of tall trees. There are no tall trees at that kind of altitude - in fact, there are no trees at all at that altitude. They were at no more than 10,000 feet, probably less.

17

It looked to me like most of the times they guesses they said it to the guy and then both they and the guy looked to somebody else and then the guy would say no. I would guess a producer was standing off camera indicating whether to say yes or no.

Liked the episode overall. But did they wait a full 24 hours in Japan after the last pit stop and then immediately get dumped into waiting 9-10 more for the flight? It is a sign of way too much bunching when another team can miss a flight, wait 8 hours for the next one, have to wait an extra 6 or 7 after landing and still end up at the tail end of the other teams.

Good thing there was so much confusion by a couple of teams or it could have been the most boring episode ever.

18

A leg this bad requires a new level in the Power Rankings, something even below “stuck in the desert”. May I suggest “international incident”.

Are you broken?

19

Some searching shows that Spruce Meadow where they did the Road Block with the zodiac signs is at 10,500 feet elevation (3,200 meters). Lijiang is at 7,800 feet (2,400 meters).

The trams do go as high as 14,700 feet (4,500 meters) but that one is apparently to Glacier Park on Jade Dragon Mountain, where the racers did not go.

20

How about “Driving around in circles”?

Kent has the patience of Job. I think it must have been the combination of travelling/probable time changes/no sleep that finally got to Vyx.