Anybody else start snorting like a third grader when Charla said something like, “God please take it all down”
And what was with some of the lingering Camera shots. They focused ominously for a while on the girl’s backpacks left on the bench, like something bad was going to happen. Did anything actually happen, cause I went to the bathroom, but don’t think I missed much time?
I can’t totally blame the Guidos for that comment about Charla in the armor. I have to admit that I had movie titles running through my head when she was doing the Roadblock: “Time Bandits”, “Lord of the Rings”…
Oh, and I have to say, the Polish did not really come off as very nice in this ep…
More time ticks, departing the mat for leg 8:
Dustin & Candice - 10:54 PM, 1 PM bus
Oswald & Danny - 1:06 AM, 1 PM bus
Uchenna & Joyce - 2:26 AM, 1 PM bus
Charla & Mirna - 4:50 AM, 5 PM bus
Eric & Danielle - 1:50 PM, 5 PM bus
Joe & Bill - 3:32 PM, 5 PM bus
I was very impressed that the producers and all teams treated the visit to Auchwitz with appropriate solemnity. Me, I would’ve pulled a booklet out of my bag and recited the prayer for the dead, followed by Mourner’s Kaddish… probably in English so the viewers could understand it. And I probably would’ve broken down halfway through it, at that.
Not that they did it during the backpacks on the bench shot, but they completely overdid the little discordant musical cue that they use when a team screws something up. For a while there, they used that seemingly every 30 seconds.
I did love the juxtaposition of Bill and Joe talking about how they had a leg up in the smarts category on Danielle and Eric with the shot of the bus ticket dispenser and Bill and Joe in the background asking where the bus ticket dispenser was.
Yes, some of us are still stuck with old technology.
Someone has to spoil me! My DVR stopped 15 minutes before the end. Somehow it missed that it was a 2-hour ep. They were in the middle of the sausagefest when it stopped. One Guido had finished. What happened next?
StG
I think you have that reversed. It’s Mirna who needs the sharp object to the throat. Or a blunt object. Really, any object that will make her lose the goddamn phony accents. God I hate her. It’s incredible how she managed to make the unfriendly Polich people all about Charla’s being short. “Maybe they’ve never seen a little person before.” Yeah, that’s it. Or maybe it’s that they’ve never seen a screaming harridan wandering the streets jabbering in fake accents.
Of all the time compression stunts in the ep the only one that really struck me as in situ shenanigans was the Intersection. The charter buses seemed like oddball scheduling as usual but the Intersection on this leg really struck me as an enforced gap-closing measure done after the fact.
The ep had a number of moments that seemed like they were going to be ironic but weren’t. Uchenna and Joyce, who many believe benefitted last time from producer intervention to make a flight, miss a flight, but it ends up not meaning anything. Charla, who took every eating challenge last time by agreement with her partner, has the most trouble with the eating challenge, but it ends up not meaning anything.
The various sauage-eaters finished at roughly the same time. The four teams barreled out into the night, un-Intersected, and made their separate ways to Pit Stop Castle. Mirna and Charla got into a screaming fight with the cab driver they hired to lead them because he wanted too much money. There was much wailing and gnashing of teeth, and Mirna behaved abominably as well. Finally the cabbie agreed to lead them there for $50.
At Pit Stop Castle, Roadblock: “Who feels like a knight in shining armor?” One team member had to dress in traditional medieval armor and lead a horse 1/2 mile to a stable boy. Once they handed the horse off they would run to the mat. One of the interchangeable blondes took it, they finished, Team #3. Charla, Bill and Eric took the Roadblock for their respective teams, leavin in that order IIRC. Charla has much trouble leading her horse but they managed to get it there to finish 4th. Guido finished 5th and started the penalty but Eric and Danielle finished shortly thereafter and Guido was Philiminated. Many sweet words from the Guidos about how much they love each other, the end.
Seven hours at a travel agent? You’d think if there was an earlier flight, they’d have found it before then. (I know the flight some of them took had just become available, but I wouldn’t have blamed anyone for leaving and just waiting at the airport.)
I must have blinked at the wrong time. Charla was leading the horse in circles (I think it was broken), and then poof they’re at the mat.
This leg bodes well for Dustin and Kandace. They caught the best flight out of Africa and aced the piano Detour. They had a bit of bad luck being third at the Intersection. They wanted to team up with the Guidos (which would have been smart, they were the fastest eaters as it turned out), and were the first to notice they were supposed to drive themselves to the castle. Good racing.
As a fan of the BQ’s, I have to say that I HATE the Intersection challenges. It just seems really unfair to make one team wait for another team that’s hours behind them to catch up just so they can do a task all together that really either team could do separately. And I was a little surprised when the BQ’s pushed for the eating challenge. A team of 4 women isn’t likely to do that well in an eating challenge against a team with 3 guys and 1 woman. Maybe they figured it would be quieter since Charla and Mirna would be stuffing their faces. Looked like they actually had fun with it though, what with Mirna’s loud belching and the BQ holding Charla’s hair while Charla induced herself to vomit with the handle of a knife. :o It was funny hearing the BQ’s commenting on the Charla/Mirna relationship.
I also think it’s really unfair for TWO teams to get to use the Fast Forward. It should be one team only. F*CKing Intersections!
Oh, and speaking of Race rules I don’t like, have they mentioned anything about Yields at all during this Race?
Not always. In a situation where teams aren’t so far apart, I’ve seen teams race to the Fast Forward and even a couple teams wait in hope the first team wouldn’t finish it. I’ve also seen teams race to the Fast Forward only to have one arrive and get started and the other have to leave and do a regular set of tasks.
Not true. Joyce and Uchenna theoretically made the best decision in going to a different place to make their arrangements. While the blondies got them off the phone with the other agency, that was probably a good thing since the teams that stayed there weren’t able to get earlier tickets. Despite not getting on their first flight, J&U still got there earlier than the last bunch. It’s not just ‘aiports’ but the strategy around getting flights that counts.
This leg made the previous non-elim pointless. There was no way for the Guidos to shake their teammates after the intersection, and they were guaranteed to be on the second bus, so therefore wouldn’t be able to go for the Fast Forward. Poor design.
Eric did redeem himself (temporarily and only a very small way) with his perfectly timed “Ladies and gentlemen, Miss California” immediately after Dustin (or Kandace…whichever) puked on the floor…
These eat till you puke ‘challenges’ are not challenges. Gorging yourself on food doesn’t require strategy or strength or intellect. It’s just stupid.
Horribly planned leg - there was no way for the MFE team to make a 30 minute lead in this leg. They couldn’t have done it by better racing, there was no task that allowed that.
I also don’t get why the BQs thought eating would be faster. How hard could making bagels be?
Well, the Intersection turned out to be almost like a Yield. Uchenna & Joyce or Danny & Oswald could have decided to wait for the Beauty Queens and teamed up with them instead, effectively Yielding the other team, and for four hours instead of thirty minutes. (They’d have been foolish to risk it, though; Dustin & Kandace could have picked whichever team they wanted, stranding the other.)
I think the legs are planned far enough in advance that they couldn’t have known that. The Amazing Producers may have figured on the flight to Warsaw being a Bunching Point. After that, if the Guidos get on the first bus, and are one of the first two at the Intersection, they’re home free.
Also, finding your way to a castle in a small town, in a strange country, in the fog, in the middle of the night, without getting lost, is no gimme.
I thought it was horribly tacky of the producers to design this leg with a solemn visit to Auschwitz, followed by a task that had 8 people eating so much sausage that some of them had to vomit in order to cram it all down. That, to me, is so illustrative of why so many countries think that Americans are disrespectful pigs.
Lots of airport drama in this double episode, and all the teams are caught up again. This is why there’s bunching–picking off trailing teams one at a time when there’s 16 hours between teams isn’t exactly exciting.
Taxi Assessment
Stuck in the Desert and Officially Detained - or, Philiminated with extreme prejudice.
John Vito & Jill and Kevin & Drew and David & Mary and Rob & Amber and Teri & Ian - Who?
Joe & Bill - (down from “Rapido!”) - A valiant attempt on the producer’s part to pull Joe & Bill and Eric & Danielle back into contention what with the bunching and all. But not enough of an effort to make it a race. There just weren’t enough time-consuming tasks to compensate for a 30-minute penalty, and the Intersection tied Joe & Bill to another slower team. Unless another team made a major mistake, Joe & Bill were gone. This far into the race–the All-Star race, no less–you can’t really count on a major oopsie from another team. The few minor mistakes were made mostly by… Joe & Bill. No one goofed majorly, so Joe & Bill are gone.
Flat Tire - or, not likely to get anywhere soon.
Stopping for Gas - or, not broken-down, exactly, but not a good sign.
Charla & Mirna - (up from “Flat Tire”) - Damn, they’ve stepped up their racing of late, with a pair of firsts and a respectable showing in these two legs. Despite the drama, they always seem to be in the thick of the hunt. However, now that the five remaining teams are nearly caught up–and the trailing three are essentially tied–Charla & Mirna look like the weakest team. They’re clearly behind in brawn, and their piano-tuning fiasco (sure that takes skill, but who expects to tune a piano by not paying attention to the demo and just randomly doing shit?) makes me wonder about their brains, too.
"Rapido! Por Favor?" - or, making meaningless ineffectual comments from the back seat, but in no immediate danger.
Eric & Danielle - (down from “Passing Lane”) - Danielle’s near worthlessness is starting to hurt this team, both in direct task performance and in intra-team dynamics. They are caught up now, yes, but I can’t see this team performing that well now that Killer Fatigue is starting to take its toll.
In the Passing Lane - or, ahead of the pack, but not quite comfortably.
as a disaster just waiting to happen, but if they can keep focused they could easily win it all.
Uchenna & Joyce - (up from “Flat Tire”) - Solid racing this entire episode, ending up with a first place finish at the end. This team doesn’t quite strike me as the up to the level of the teams ranked higher, but they’re definitely in it.
Cruisin’ with Earl - or, drivin’ on the shoulder, takin’ shortcuts, and generally kickin’ butt.
Danny & Oswald - (holding steady) - A second and a first in the two legs this ep make Danny & Oswald look near unstoppable. Sure, one finish was the result of a FF, and they had some piano trouble, but they’ve been cruising for some time now. If they don’t make a disastrous error, they’re a lock for final three.
Dustin & Kandice - (up from “Rapido!”) - A first place in the first leg, and the leading team behind the FF pair in the second leg. Great piano-tuning Detour and demonstrated skill in choking down a sausage. Only a lost taxi driver prevented this from being a near-perfect double leg for Dustin & Kandice. That deserves a bump in the ratings. Now, if they keep enough focus to avoid doing something else that’s really stupid…
[sub]Props to Mullinator and his Raj Ratings.[/sub]
Oh boy - this just reminded me of my favorite quote from the entire episode. One of this braintrust, at the piano tuning challenge, said: “Maybe they’re all loose. Why don’t we just tighten them all?”
I so very much wanted to see that.
I also thought it was funny that they basically wanted to the guy to keep playing…like it would somehow magically tune itself. snork…idiots.