Placeholder!
According to the previews, one team quits the race AND there is the Double U-Turn.
I don’t particularly care for Double U-Turns this early in the race. I think there’s more strategic reason to have them when the numbers have been already winnowed down. But maybe that’s just me :shrug:
I feel like the team who gets U-turned first shouldn’t get to u-turn anyone unless they complete the second task.
I had to laugh at the hockey guys in the beginning, saying they had a target on them because they were doing so well in the challenges. 
They were second to last!!
Team mullet is just…not very smart. 
I was thinking the very same thing.
Huh, I didn’t see that coming at all. So, if a team quits, for whatever reason, the team that comes in last isn’t eliminated? I haven’t seen every season. Has this happened before?
Sometimes I think Phil is just being mean.
Chuck and Wynonna apparently think Joey and Megan U-turned them. That could turn out to be interesting.
Joey and Meghan did U-turn Chuck and Wynonna.
StG
Right, Joey and Meghan were U-turned, and they then U-turned Chuck and Wynona.
:smack: Somehow I missed that it was them.
Right? You should only get to u-turn someone when you are ready to move beyond that point.
I guess it makes sense that Team Tears counted as the eliminated team since they bypassed all the tasks and voluntarily eliminated themselves.
That Vietnamese song cracked me up.
The tune was very catchy.
As further proof that the TWOPpers will look for anything to get offended about in a TV show, there are a bunch of people on the thread for this episode over there all up in arms. “I didn’t appreciate having an ad for Communism on an American network TV show!” They were also all upset about the B-52 park, saying that it disrespected American Vietnam veterans and apparently feel that every time TAR goes to Vietnam they need to do some kind of meaningful memorial to the American losses in the Vietnam War like they did with the Hanoi Hilton in the second(?) season.
I don’t recall anything like that happening before, but it makes sense. If a team sacrifices itself, there’s the elimination right there.
[QUOTE=lorene;16106953 That Vietnamese song cracked me up.[/QUOTE]
It was a rather catchy tune, but when the lyrics were on the screen, I did a double take as in “People are going to be up in arms over this…”
I suspect that the normal response if a team wanted to withdraw would be “well, go ahead. Sit right over there until you’re the last team to arrive and voila.”
But in this case they had a person needing medical attention (and if the doctor said surgery should happen within 7 days they’d already blown through 4 of them I think) so they probably said something like “Phil has already left for Vietnam and we want mat video so get to Vietname and then go straight to the mat and we’ll get you on the first plane to an American doctor and consider you team #8.”
I also really don’t like the U-Turned team being able to do it before they complete their tasks but it has always been that way. I guess they probably allow it because it guarantees that the second U Turn will be used, which is the whole point of having it.
Had Wynonna done a Road Block yet? Seems to me she hasn’t and this was a non-physical one. They’re going to be screwed if they survive into the second half and then she has to do them all.
She did the sand castle one in the first ep, but she was forced into that because they had two RBs and the team member who didn’t do the first one had to do the second.
Wynona did the sand castle building one back in the first leg, but only because Chuck did the jumping out of the airplane part. The clue specifically stated the other partner had to do the second half of the challenge. I don’t remember if that was a Roadblock or a Detour.
ETA: Or, what **jayjay **said.
Team Wal-Mart ain’t making it to the second half.
I had the same thought. Then I started wondering how the heck they ended up second to last because they seem to do well in challenges. Am I misremembering, or were they second to last only because of losing the taxi lottery?
This occurred to me again at the end of this episode when they were the second team to get the “go to the pit stop” clue and yet didn’t actually make it to the mat until 4th or 5th. Did their cab get lost again?
Is there any challenge they have done poorly at? Their worst showing that I can remember was tonight’s Communism love song deal. But I could easily be forgetting some.
Taxi Assessment:
Stuck in the Desert and Officially Detained - or, Philiminated with extreme prejudice.
Matthew & Daniel and Idries & Jamil and John & Jessica - (already eliminated)
David & Connor (down from “Flat Tire”) - On the one hand, it is completely unsurprising that David & Connor are eliminated. On the other, it did surprise me that they just threw in the towel at the beginning of the episode without at least trying to give it a go. I suppose it must be a specific medical reason, but the logic of doing exactly two legs escapes me: if Dave’s injury is critical, get it fixed right away. If it’s not, keep racing. Trying to finely gauge how long to delay treatment before it becomesa huge issue seems foolish to me.
Flat Tire - or, not likely to get anywhere soon.
Chuck & Wynona (holding steady) - Statistic one: Chuck has done five Roadblocks to Wynona’s one, while all the other remaining teams have split their roadblocks evenly between team members. This includes the roadblock from this week, which Wynona inexplicably turned down because she might have to run. While I still appreciate Wynona’s gumption in running the Race essentially without complaint simply because Chuck really wanted to do it, it would be nice if she showed just a little more enthusiasm than that. Because, you know, Race, running, competing, that sort of thing. Statistic two: This is the third leg in a row that Chuck & Wynona have placed last or second-to-last. So maybe Wynona’s lask of enthusiasm will soon be rewarded.
Stopping for Gas - or, not broken-down, exactly, but not a good sign.
Max & Katie (holding steady) - Oddly, this is the second week in a row that the top three teams each have posted their best-ever finish (if you count David & Connor’s non-Express-Pass-using first place finish last week as topping their Express-Pass-using first place finish the week before). That includes Max & Katie, who come in second this week after a third the week before. I’m tempted to move this team up after their second top-three finish, but I hesitate because of their lagging during the first three legs. And, truth be told, I also hesitate because Max & Katie seem like they’re way more impressed with themselves than they have any reason to be. But perhaps I’m wrong about them? In any case, I’ll wait and see what they do next week.
“Rapido! Por Favor?” - or, making meaningless ineffectual comments from the back seat, but in no immediate danger.
Caroline & Jen (holding steady) - Caroline & Jen have been pretty consistently in the middle-to-rear of the pack, and remain that way this episode, beating only the two U-Turned teams. Most teams figured out the chess task without too much trouble, but Caroline & Jen were starting to get overwhelmed before finally figuring it out. I think fatigue may be starting to affect this team; I’m leaving them ranked here for now, but we’ll see how they do next week.
Mona & Beth (holding steady) - A good week for Mona & Beth, who have their best finish yet in third place, just barely behind Max & Katie. I’m still unreasonably bullish on the derby girls, so I’m hoping this is the episode where they start cranking it up.
In the Passing Lane - or, ahead of the pack, but not quite comfortably.
Joey & Meghan (holding steady) - Like Caroline & Jen, Joey & Meghan have been pretty consistently in the middle of the pack. However, they were near the front on this leg, until the U-Turn, and it looked like they were far enough ahead that the still would have beaten Chuck & Wynona without using the U-Turn themselves. But they still immediately and strategically used the U-Turn, and hit the mat well out of last place.
Pam & Winnie (holding steady) - Pam & Winnie are suddenly looking like the team to beat. I’m a little suspicious of their stamina over the long haul, but they don’t seem to have had a problem yet, and they’re looking like the smartest of the remaining teams.
Anthony & Bates (holding steady) - Even though Anthony & Bates finished in the middle this week, after a pretty poor showing last week, they still have the best average finish placement (barely ahead of Pam & Winnie). And their poor showing has been due in large part to the luck of the cabbie draw. I expect them to start placing in the top three again quite soon.
Cruisin’ with Earl - or, drivin’ on the shoulder, takin’ shortcuts, and generally kickin’ butt.
No one yet.
Seriously? That’s…dumb. It’s Vietnam’s culture; TAR is just visiting. When I used to read TWOP, people seemed pretty spot-on about calling TAR contestants out when they were being Ugly Americans, so that surprises me. Do they think we’re all going to get brainwashed and become Communists?