I think it was absolutely no coincidence that the FF was eating gross food while the first challenge began with eating something yummy.
I watched the scene in the Frankfurt airport a few times - it sounds like they made reservations on the flights, but didn’t actually buy the tickets. So when they got to the gate, they didn’t have a purchased ticket, and weren’t permitted to purchase one right then & there. So they had to go back to the ticketing agents in Frankfurt and buy a ticket for the second flight.
I was annoyed by Ryan’s whining about the U-turn and friendship, especially when you remember they were the ones who asked Amy & Daniel where the Pit Stop was, and then took first place from them (and the chance at 2 mil) back in the first episode.
I don’t think the non-bunching was on purpose. The producers can’t control how many empty seats there are on any particular flight. And there seemed to be plenty of room on the Rome flight that the twins took, but they were the only ones ballsy enough to take that risk. It could have been a disaster if they’d missed that tight connection, but in the end they got there first.
Is it just my spotty memory, or do Fast Forwards usually consist of eating something gross and/or a lot of something and/or in a limited amount of time? The last few FFs I remember all seem to be food related.
I *think *what happened (and I’m really unsure here) was that Ryan & Abbie bought tickets for three individual flights: one from Moscow to Frankfort, and two from Frankfort to Amsterdam, and they didn’t “hook up” the Moscow-Frankfort leg to the first Frankfort-Amsterdam leg to make a complete trip. So when they checked in for the first leg of the flight, from Moscow to Frankfort, they were *not *automatically checked in for the second leg, like they would normally be if they had just booked a flight all the way through.
You have check in something like 45 minutes before the flight leaves (not sure if this is a security thing or an airline thing), and since Ryan & Abbie hadn’t actually checked in, they weren’t allowed on the plane.
So kinda beignets, then? Or as the Dutch would call them, bijnjeets? 
Last season had 2 Fast Forwards, neither of which was food related. First one was to land a Radio controlled helicopter on your partner’s head, second was to stack an ungodly amount of hay.
That was an excellent task.
Well, if you count collecting rats outside restaurants, then stepping into a gutter of previously-enjoyed-then-digested-then-excreted nourishment as being “food related”, I’d agree with you.
Hay IS food! :rolleyes:
The best was the guy whom was an Army helicpoter pilot bitching his wife out. She didn’t want to do it because of the difficulty and he was like “yeah because I would bring no real world experience to the table”. :smack:
The guy was a total d-bag and was awful towards his wife, but I actually agreed with him that one time.
MtM
I don’t have the episode recorded, so maybe someone can double check this, but I believe the airport WAS a bunching point. The first teams arrived in the evening and had to wait all the way until the next morning to fly out. If I recall correctly, James and Jaymes were something like 14 hours ahead of the Beekman boys. You can only bunch so much in one leg. Another bunching point next week should just about close the gap.
I’ve always been a longtime Survivor fan, so to watch all the drama and hand-wringing about friendships and such got quite a few eye rolls from me. Yeah, I know, a race is a bit different from a game designed around backstabbing, but still - IT’S A COMPETITION. So I won’t miss the farmers when they get eliminated, and I’m happy to see Abbie and Ryan gone.
I always thought the rule that you could (ineffectually) U-Turn a team already ahead of you was pretty stupid (since it often led to unintentionally wasting the U-Turn) so I was kinda glad to see it used offensively for once.
Anyone else enjoy one of the Chippendales pontificating to one of his fellow Racers, subtlety engaging in a little bit of showing off his vast geographical knowledge?
“Hey, we’re going to Holland!!! It’s the capitol of Amsterdam!!!”
I just enjoy the Chippendales period, they are some fine looking looking young men and should take thier shirts off every episode.
It sounded like the Twins took the biggest airport gamble on this leg, but theirs paid off.
I didn’t like Trey & Lexi on this leg. Her voice, for one thing. But there was something in their attitude when they got to the U-Turn and saw that Jaymes & James had followed through on the scheme to shaft Abbie & Ryan. They acted as though they should be immune from any gamesmanship. Basically, the Chippenmunks could have screwed Abbie & Ryan (which they did) or the Farmers, or Trey & Lexi, or to do whatever they hell they felt was best for them. It’s hard to explain; T&R’s attitude seemed to be that screwing another team was just part of the game, but if J&J had backed out of the plan they would have taken it personally.
I don’t like the idea of conspiring to turn the Double U-Turn into a single by deliberately wasting the second turn. And for that matter, I’m not sure that Abbie & Ryan were still the big threat that had to be taken out. Ryan looked like the only one who didn’t make it across the pole just on his first try.
There’s probably some sort of rule against it, but I thought it would have been sensible for Abby and Ryan, once they saw the FF, to offer the Farmers a share of the $2 million, should they win it, for throwing the leg. The Farmers should know they have no chance of winning, and that A&R have at least some chance. I think one or two hundred Gs would be reasonable.
But it’s for the best that we already know who the final three teams are. They can start jockeying for position a leg early.
Was the herring salted?
Chippies saved Texas’ butt at the airport. “No, it’s not France!”
I was soooo hoping we’d be treated to the sight of a team landing in Paris and wandering around looking for the clue.
(I might have made the same mistake, btw – it looks like Netherlands and France have the same flag, just flipped. I wouldn’t have bet my life on which one has red on top.
Um, France has the three color bars set vertically, Holland horizontally.
(The herring didn’t look salted but did seem to have chopped onions. Yummy, but I wouldn’t want to have to eat them that fast.)