Starting the thread just to say, Brooke is completely insufferable. I can’t stand her constant complaining about how everything is the worst thing she has ever had to do.
The falcon was a nice touch.
So I guess this had to be the last leg they were allowed to use the Express Pass, right? Does that mean the Save is now done as well?
Di seem to recall it could be used up to final four.
Taxi Assessment:
Stuck in the Desert and Officially Detained - or, Philiminated with extreme prejudice.
Lisa & Michelle (#MiamiRealtors) and Dennis & Isabelle (#TheDatingCouple) & Michael & Scott (#TheFirefighters) & Keith & Whitney (#TeamNashville) and Shelley & Nici (#MomDaughter) - Already eliminated.
Tim & Te Jay (#CollegeSweethearts) (down from “Flat Tire”) - I expected Tim & Te Jay to have problems because of their Speed Bump, not that’s not really how it happened. With not one, but two, bunching opportunities early in the leg (plus the opportunity to pull ahead at the tray-carrying task), Tim & Te Jay were in the middle of the pack even after doing their Speed Bump. It was, quite frankly, sticking to the Flag Detour that did them in. But that, in a nutshell, is a glaring weakness of this team. Look at the other teams - every single one of them evaluated the Flag Detour and quickly discarded it. Only Tim & Te Jay grimly hung on until it was obvious it was too late.
Flat Tire - or, not likely to get anywhere soon.
No one.
Stopping for Gas - or, not broken-down, exactly, but not a good sign.
Brooke & Robbie (#TheWrestlers) (holding steady) - Brooke & Robbie kinda sorta came close to elimination, but really were depending on the eventual poor performance of Tim & Te Jay. Tim & Te Jay lose, Brooke & Robbie don’t, and they go on to the next episode. Still, the next team eliminated will likely be either Brooke & Robbie or Maya & Amy, so they aren’t really out of trouble.
“Rapido! Por Favor?” - or, making meaningless ineffectual comments from the back seat, but in no immediate danger.
Maya & Amy (#SweetScientists) (holding steady) - Maya & Amy got lucky that there was a bunching point after the tray-carrying task. After that, as usual, they kept themselves in the middle of the pack, in no real danger of Philimination, but in no real danger of making the top three, either. Still, with only five teams left, Maya & Amy have some chance of making the final three should one of the top teams stumble.
In the Passing Lane - or, ahead of the pack, but not quite comfortably.
Adam & Bethany (#SoulSurfers) (down from “Cruisin’”) - To be clear here, I’m downgrading Adam & Bethany not because they’re suddenly worse Racers, but only because they don’t have the comfort of an Express Pass now. They came in first on this leg, but really only because they used the Express Pass - without that, they’d have been probably third. So I think Adam & Bethany are about parallel with Kym & Alli. But (to be clear again), this season has a very bright separation between the have-and have-not teams. There have been eight legs so far, with 24 top-three finishes. Eighteen of this placements have gone to Adam & Bethany (5), Misti & Jim (6), and Kym & Alli (7), with only four going to Brooke & Robbie (1), Maya & Amy (1), and the now-eliminated Tim & Te Jay (2). I’ll be surprised (but, knowing how much luck plays a part in TAR, not very surprised) if the top three teams now don’t make it all the way to the final.
Kym & Alli (#TheCyclists) (holding steady) - Like Adam & Bethany, Kym & Alli are an elite team. They stayed in the lead most of the leg, only losing a step when they didn’t bail immediately on the Flag Detour. Still, they did bail, and wound up in the final three. Given the editing on this episode, I wonder if they’ll be the target of a U-Turn in a future episode.
Cruisin’ with Earl - or, drivin’ on the shoulder, takin’ shortcuts, and generally kickin’ butt.
Misti & Jim (#TheDentists) (holding steady) - Misti & Jim don’t have their Save, and I considered downgrading them like I did Adam & Bethany. However, Misti & Jim have come in first, first, and second in the last three legs, and would have had three firsts in a row had Adam & Bethany not used their go-straight-to-Pit-Stop Express Pass.
I’ve started calling the wrestlers “Team Dammit” because of the number of times one or the other mutters “Dammit!” Brooke really is an insufferable whiner.
Yes Brooke is the worst. I like the cyclists more and more every leg.
The final challenge has to be a memory challenge about sorting birds because I think there has been a bird at every pit stop.
To be fair to the team, though, Robbie is still amusing. I liked his “before you judge the armor, let me begin by saying how snappily you dress…” (or whatever it was). He’s obviously playing to the cameras, but in an endearing self-deprecating way. Agreed that Brooke is getting on my nerves, though.
Dang, I think you’re right.
I don’t think there was a bird at the Denmark Pit Stop.
Although there was a dog disguised as a Pony! (A Great Dane)
I first started appreciating this quality of his in the Danish sandwich task, when he embellished the descriptions and flirted with the stern waitress.
I kind of hate Brooke, but love Robbie. The only thing wrong with that man is his taste in women. And after the shirtless greased pole task (which was the occasion for much vulgar joke-making in this house), I can safely say that that is the ONLY thing wrong with him.
Greased Pole? No wonder Tim and TeJay kept trying and trying.
I have to admit that I’m slightly embarrassed to have been thinking that exact thing last night during the show.
I have to say, the greased pole task looks like it would be both frightening (running up the pole at an angle out over the water, with each step bringing you farther away from the water you’ll potentially hit in an awkward position) and painful (one bad slip and you could bash an ankle, shin, knee, head, or [for the guys], nuts). I can’t believe they all did it for as long as they did.
Are they allowed to ‘restart’ a task? For the greased pole task, shouldn’t they have had them reset the task and then take turns until someone gets the red one and then the other person just gets the yellow. Plus if it were me, I would spend the first many attempts trying to ‘wipe’ off as much gunk as I could to create an extra foothold that was less slippery.
I really question whether the pole challenge was even beatable. The red flag looked too far away to grab by lunging from the non-greased section (whereas the yellow ones were in range), and the grease looked so slippery that I don’t think anyone could avoid slipping. Definitely didn’t seem to be the sort of thing you could keep a step or two before falling. I don’t recall seeing any of the locals being able to keep a foothold and grab a red flag.
It seemed that a lot of them would slow down before hitting the grease, which I can understand, but I wondered if they could have got the red flag if they kept their speed up and let momentum carry them.
On the other hand, I too would be very concerned about falling and landing on my nuts. And yeah I don’t recall seeing any of the locals make it out that far either.
I was thinking the same thing, but it didn’t look easy. They had a board over the first part of the log, so you could run up that, but then there was a part of the log even before you got to the greased end. Running on a narrow, round, uphill log would probably tend to slow them down even before they got to the grease. Plus, they were all doing it barefoot, which would limit your top speed, too.
I’ve long thought that some TAR tasks get easier the more attempts you make. For things like dancing tasks, it seems like the judges lower their standards a little as the number of tries goes up. Same thing here, I thought the Racers should have been trying to clear the grease off to make later attempts easier. Plus, having the more-able Racer take the easier flag was gonna be a problem.
I think that it’s possible but definitely towards the more difficult end of the scale vs a task that has a trick to it or is something that you just need to work through.
I saw people in France doing pretty much the same thing a few months ago and they were able get that far up the log. The people doing it there would likely have grown up with the sport though.