This is a placeholder thread – I haven’t seen one started, so here we go!
From the CBS website:
** An Olympic task leaves racers gasping for breath. Animosity grows as two teams continue to hold a grudge against each other. One racer is paralyzed with fear-after coming this far, will they choose to go home? A Chinese foot massage puts racers through more pain than pleasure.**
I’m waiting to see what Luke and Jen (or was it Kisha?) are going to do next…
Thank god they mentioned that the racers wouldn’t have to beat the world record. 
Luckily, they don’t even have to do any specific strokes. And it’s been years since I swam that far, but I remember it being hard. Especially if those suits constrict breathing they way they appear to.
And who’d have thought landing in the water at the same time could be so hard?
I would, actually. Even knowing about Galileo so you have the principle down you still have to coordinate it.
Me: “Geez, editors. Stop playing up the cramp. We know it won’t change anything…”
I wasn’t expecting that.
That was almost mean. But I love the double legs. Probably because it’s mean.
So we have two teams this week just running down The Great Big Racist Checklist of Asian Stereotypes, one team that’s still holding a grudge against another, and one team that actually seems to be having fun just running the race without drama.
I know who I’m rooting for. It’s kind of unexciting when it’s the odds-on favorite, but still…
How many TAR rules do we have so far? There’s “read the clue”, “it’s a race”, and “know how to drive a stick shift”. I propose a new one:
Know how to freakin’ swim!
I knew something was up when we didn’t see a greeter at the Amazing Mat. A double leg is fine, but this one is a gift to Kisha & Jen, even moreso if there’s a bunching point next ep. A team that has a meltdown like that should suffer the consequences.
Remember the Ox-Bro incident was also a non-elimination leg. It happens.
The basic rules are:
The list of required / recommended skills is pretty long. “Drive stick” and “conquer your fear” are at the top of them.
It was fleeting, but which team said (of the Chinese cab drivers) “They all look the same to me?”
Was that Jamie and Cara?
While I dont like ANY of the remaining teams (though I do think both Margie and Tammy generally seem like good people; its Luke and Victor who put me off), I cant stand the thought of Jamie and Cara winning a million bucks…
It was Kiesha and Jen who said that.
Given how many times this season that a team gets to the pit stop and have incurred a penalty, I was sure that Cara and Jaime had incurred something that I forgot.
I’m looking forward to next week’sFear Factor-esque trip to what looks like Wangfujing Street.
Gleefully mean
And the announcement couldn’t have happened to a better team.
Yes, Jaime and Cara, I’m looking at you.
Overall, though, something bothered me about this episode, and I’m not sure exactly why. It wasn’t the Kisha/Jen meltdown at the pool or the fact that hardly anyone save Luke knew how to swim, or Victor’s leg cramp…or anything else that happened…I just don’t know 
Maybe how they were playing up magical Asian foot massages?
It looks, from the previews, that the Travelocity Gnome is back, too.
No, it wasn’t that either, although I did wonder about their “playing it up”. I’ve had foot massages similar to the type they had, and I don’t ever remember it being that painful. Then again, too, I’ve spent most of my working life standing, so maybe I’ve developed thicker skin figuratively and literally :shrug:
It’s more of an overall thing. Other people have mentioned it in passing in previous threads as in maybe TAR is getting a little tired and/or not feeling enough of a connection with this season’s teams to root for anyone in particular. That could very well be it. For some reason it particularly struck me during this episode.
Lord, I hate Lukedipus and Jocasta–the snarking after the swimming was tacky and the mini-hissyfit at the airport was just sad (as was the behind-the-back “They were soooooo mean to my perfect little angel” crap in the waiting area). They really are both bitches.
The sisters? They made a couple of pathetic comments (“they all look alike”) but I give everyone ONE freebie episode where they’re dicks–the reds have had 4 or 5. And they treated each other well during the freak-out (which I don’t get, but…) so that earns them a point or two back.
The reds…for what little it’s worth, they ran a solid race.
Tammy and Victor are smugly overconfident (like every over-educated* sibling team that’s ever been on the race) and not nearly as good as they think they are. Plus, I really hope his balls drop soon and his voice stops being that of a pre-teen castrato that can sterilize frogs at 200 paces.
I wouldn’t be totally unhappy if the Brother/Sister team or Kisha/Whatshername won. But I also wouldn’t be totally unhappy if all four remaining teams got eliminated at the same time and the season canceled. What a bunch of total lusers.
The surprise double-leg is always fun for killer-fatigue and meltdowns. I’m looking forward to next week just for the drama.
And again, what kind of stupid, lame-ass tasks are they getting? “Get a foot massage and drink some tea”? What’s with the passive bullshit tasks? How could a team possibly hope to make up time there unless another team wussed out? The swimming/jumping thing was active, but booooooring. Swimming sucks to watch on TV. C’mon TAR—I don’t want to believe you jumped the shark.
*You know what I mean-no real world experience despite law degrees or whatever.
I’m pretty sure it was Keisha / Jen who said, “they all look alike.” That along with the “stupid look”, comment earlier, made them leap to the top of the Asshole list for me.
I don’t know why the diving board task was so difficult. Stand on the edge of the diving board, and on the count of three, walk off. Don’t Jump. You will both fall to the water at the same rate.