An interesting leg.
The Master Mix or Mix Master was just the opposite of what I thought would be the harder task.
Also, was this the first time Luke talked about being gay?
I believe this is the first time the show has acknowledged that, yes.
Luke was almost out of control at the task.
The bamboo tramp looked fun!
Hey! That’s no way to talk about those ladies!
That drink task looked brutal. I did think it was funny that Margie referred to Rachel as a crybaby. Have you looked at your son, lady? Interesting that they had a task that Luke couldn’t do because of his deafness. The two of them had only the drink option.
Which may explain why this was a non-elem leg.
Is there a reason Margie mentioned Luke’s being gay?
Rachel seemed warm and caring, which shocked me. I’m still pulling for the cowboys, though, and I don’t think I could have done either of those tasks.
What are y’all talking about?!?!?
TAR = The Amazing Race.
I thought is was incredibly unfair and very un-Amazing Race-like for them to have a detour option that one of the teams could not do.
I’m really disappointed.
True. Even tho it was a non-elem leg, if Luke and his mom had come in last they would be at the disadvantage that Rachel and Brenden are now in.
Luke has always had problems when he gets frustrated.
I was hoping Brenchel were gone, but unfortunately not.
If both teams had taken the time penalty instead of finishing the tasks, that would have put them both in last place. So if it hadn’t been a non-elimination leg, would both teams have been eliminated? (I can dream. :D) Or would it be a matter of who could get to Phil first to start the penalty?
Agreed. Stupid decision
Start of episode: Wait, Dave popped his Achilles last time and they couldn’t finish the race? I’m sure glad they reminded me of it FOR THE ONE BILLIONTH TIME.
Yeah, I imagine they were thinking to both just leave right then and there and continue to the end, whoever reached the mat first would win (but would eat the time penalty).
I had to laugh at Margie’s comment about Rachel being the biggest crybaby in the world when she has her own son to take that role. Then again, Rachel immediately went from helpful to pouty as soon as Margie and Luke finished the task ahead of them. “It’s not fair!”
Taxi Assessment:
Stuck in the Desert and Officially Detained - or, Philiminated with extreme prejudice.
Natalie & Nadiya and [del]Bopper[/del] Mallory & Mark and Joey & Meghan (already eliminated)
Flat Tire - or, not likely to get anywhere soon.
Caroline & Jennifer (holding steady) - Caroline & Jennifer actually land in fourth place this leg, and actually did it on the strength of their own talents, beating out all the other teams on the trailing two flights. Of course (their protestations aside), having a music-related Detour option is right in their wheelhouse, so they got a little lucky ths leg. Still, they took advantage of that luck, and although I still think they’re the weakest team left, they looked pretty good on this leg.
Stopping for Gas - or, not broken-down, exactly, but not a good sign.
Brendon & Rachel (down from “Passing”) - This is the second leg in a row that Brendon & Rachel have finished in eighth place (after finishing first and second), and although last week’s finish cascaded from a bad taxi ride to the airport, this one is all on Roadblock performance. It looked like Brendon & Rachel got to the mat well behind all the other teams, except possibly Margie & Luke: with a lagging starting time next week, plus a Speed Bump to complete, Brendon & Rachel need to start praying for a bunching point early in the leg and a major mistake by another team.
“Rapido! Por Favor?” - or, making meaningless ineffectual comments from the back seat, but in no immediate danger.
John & Jessica (holding steady) - Ooo, Jessica’s feet look awful. I think that’s someting that might look worse than it is, especially if you wait a couple days, but if she’s got to do a lot more running or jumping in the next couple days, that might really hurt this team. They’ve been something of a non-factor so far this season, and a disadvantage like this might tip them right out of the competition.
Margie & Luke (holding steady) - I thought from the beginning that the DJ mixing Detour option looked way easier than the drink mixing option, and I’m surprised as many teams chose (and stuck with) the drinks as did. Particularly Brendon & Rachel and Margie & Luke, who all had a heck of a time getting the drinks right. And then, in Margie & Luke’s case, I remembered: yeeeeah, Luke’s not going to do so well in the “listening” part of the DJ task. That inability to switch might have played a part in Luke’s mini-meltdown. And, I might add, although I’m not totally going to give Luke a pass on said mini-meltdown, I can relate to the frustration: I have, for example, spent 45 minutes trying to get a little fiddly retainer clip in place on my car headlight, a procedure that ought to take 15 seconds. And yeah, dropping the screwdriver on the ground in disgust and stepping away to regroup for three minutes was part of the whole process. 
In the Passing Lane - or, ahead of the pack, but not quite comfortably.
Flight Time & Big Easy (holding steady) - Flight Time & Big Easy have just been masters this season at staying comfortably out of contention for elimination, but coming nowhere near first place. In general, a strategy of “not losing” is an excellent one, but I hadn’t expected the Globetrotters to adopt it. Which, of course, leads to the question: are they adopting that strategy, or are they just the sixth best team on the Race this season? I expect them to step up their game, but they need to do it soon.
Leo & Jamal (up from “Rapido!”) - I’ll tentatively move Leo & Jamal up a notch this week, as they’re looking like about the third or fourth best team this season. We might be in for an all-male final three unless John & Jessica or Margie & Luke can kick it into gear.
Cruisin’ with Earl - or, drivin’ on the shoulder, takin’ shortcuts, and generally kickin’ butt.
Dave & Connor (holding steady) - And a second place this week for Dave & Connor, which gives them a first, a second, a third, and a fourth place finish over the first four legs. Highly consistent, and very promising.
Jet & Cord (holding steady) - Yikes! Cord had a heck of a time with the Detour, which I would not have expected from someone who’s used to riding bulls, and presumably timing the jumps thereof. Luckily, it looked like that set them back maybe all of twenty minutes or so, and they made the exact same flight they would have had Cord got it in one. After that, they were just a little quicker than the competition, and notched up their second win and third top-three finish.
I was surprised he didn’t go into full-blown meltdown like he did when he attempted that memory game with the surfboards a few seasons ago. Margie automatically told him to stop it, and he did to an extent. Except when he broke the glasses, though. But credit to Margie for making him clean it up.
Last week, after the 900 millionth time of them explaining that, I remembered why they weren’t a huge favorite of mine the first time they played even though they totally appeal to what I generally root for in reality shows. (Competence in dopey physical challenges.)
We both had cancer, back when he had cancer and then I had cancer, and the cancer that we both had was cancerous, and we didn’t cancer know cancer if cancer we’d cancer live cancer…
That was them, right?
I thought it was funny that Rachel wanted to do the drinks task because she used to be a bartender. And yet Brendon seemed to be the one doing all the pouring.
I wondered if Rachel talked Margie and Luke into not taking the time penalty because she thought they (Brenchel) could eventually beat them. So when Margie and Luke finish first, out comes the “It’s not fair!”
Also, panty hose? Really?
Seriously. It’s typical Rachel anti-practicality. With all the physical things they do on a typical leg of this show, those would have looked like hell by the time they checked in no matter what.
Are the tasks planned out before or after casting takes place? I wonder if they even take into account whether or not a team member has a disability that would limit their choices.