Originally Posted By Shadow wolf Since I missed yesterday's episode, can anyone fill me in on who was last and what exactly is the new twist for the NE? (It's good hearing the Goth couple is aware of their bickering, looking at the ad for it I was praying they would not end up like the "I hate you" couple.)
Originally Posted By x Pirate_Princess x Ok, so the Grandpa/Grandson did the Fast Forward and came in first. They had to get a small "FF" tattooed on their arms. Kinda cute! LOL The goths came in last. Their NE penalty is a "Speed Bump." They will have to complete one extra task that no one else will have to do. I can kind of see the advantages of this over the previous penalty. If they can get it completed and come in any other place than last, then they're good. Instead of coming in second and having to wait 30 minutes, potentially being eliminated.
Originally Posted By trekkeruss The interesting twist to the Speed Bump is that Phil said it could come at any time, without warning.
Originally Posted By seanyoda Looking back, I enjoyed the episode. Yes, we had bunching, but at least it all didn't happen at the bus stop. It was fun to see TK & Rachel and Nicolas & Donald "sweat" as they were the only team members on their respective buses. According to a travel website, the bus ride from Dubrovnik to Split is 4 and half hours (which is quite some time to sweat in the race). Still, everyone got the same ferry across the Adriatic to Ancona. According to the ferry company time tables, the ferry ride should have been 4 and a half hours as well. When Vyxsin later mentioned that she hadn't slept for 30 hours, it made me wonder if they even tried to sleep during either the bus or the ferry ride. They sure as heck didn't get much time to sleep getting from Ancona to Empoli. Here's the route most of the racers were given: <a href="http://tinyurl.com/ywmcyp" target="_blank">http://tinyurl.com/ywmcyp</a> Here's the route Nate and Jen took: <a href="http://tinyurl.com/23zxlh" target="_blank">http://tinyurl.com/23zxlh</a> Here's as best as I can guess, the route that TK and Rachel took: <a href="http://tinyurl.com/yr6r7p" target="_blank">http://tinyurl.com/yr6r7p</a> I enjoyed seeing the racers get messages from their families via the sponsored text messaging device. For what it's worth, Google maps says that the fastest route from Ancona to Empoli is through Bologna (and I laughed when Nicholas spelled out B-O-L-O-G-N-A), though obviously Google maps doesn't consider construction obstacles. This portion of the race brought up three essential rules: 1. Prior to racing, you should practice driving a stick shift to the point where you are comfortable doing so. 2. During the race, at the first hint of being lost, ask directions. 3. Always know where your clue is. OK, back to the race. At the airfield the teams are offered the option of going for the Fast Forward. While Phil told us that it was the only Fast Forward, I wonder if the teams knew that, because, if I knew that there was only one Fast Forward, and I had yet to win a leg, I would have gone for it. Oh well, Nicholas and Donald go for it and each get an FF tattoo for their trouble, and the leg win, and a trip to the Yucatan Peninsula. Meanwhile, I can't believe TK and Rachel's string of bad luck ... first they leave the clue behind at the cafe in Ancola, then TK has a horrible time spotting the word "VINCI" from the sky (allowing everyone to pass them), and finally, they have a flat tire. Still, despite all of their troubles, they never sniped at each other. The ultra-lite challenge was fun to watch. I probably would have been distracted by the scenery at first before getting to the task. Still, when conducting a search from the air, the first thing is to look for landmarks in your search area so you can remember where you've looked. The river would have been an obvious starting point. On to Vinci. And how many people, upon seeing the flag team, had flashbacks to the Festival of Fools? While there is no such word as "vexillate", the Latin word for flag is "vexillum." Given that "invention" was near to the clue, I probably would have at least looked at it before moving on to "tradition". I throught it was interesting that 4 of the 5 teams parked at the bottom of the hill instead of at the top, and yet, the team who drove to the top, Kynt & Vyxsin, got lost driving back down to the bottom, and then blow their engine. That their replacement car was waiting for them after getting past the flag task gives us some hint as to how far from the piazza they were when their car broke down. So, in the end, Nicholas & Donald finish first, Nate & Jen finish second and Ron & Christina finish third. The psych out finish was whether or not the flat tire experienced by TK & Rachel was enough to slow them and put them behind Kynt & Vyxsin. I didn't think it would be, and was correct. I didn't want to see the Goths go home, and fortunately, they aren't. While they face an extra task at some point in the next leg (the "speed bump"), they're still in the race. Next week, it looks like they're going to India.
Originally Posted By avromark <- Dilegently recording and watching. At least my least favourite team (just because of ONE of the members) is gone. Seems to be less TAR excitement here each and every race though...
Originally Posted By gottaluvdavillains Tonight was so wrong... Kynt and Vixen are true fair players - not whiners Nate and Jen(like when they came in second to the bro/sis team and she was whining because they never win - that was them wasn't it?) I am so tired of her whining and crying her way through everything!! The Dad needs to lighten up and not be so bossy - once he did that it was easy to see his daughter was good at the task. My new team is TK and Rachel (since the Goths are gone) - they are just so nice and mellow Gramps is funny - but I think he is wearing out...too bad because I think they are a great team!!
Originally Posted By x Pirate_Princess x I was so hoping they would U-Turn Nate and Jen. Before that commercial, I got all excited! Big time goof on their part. I'm liking TK and Rachel, too. And the Grandpa/Grandson team.
Originally Posted By gadzuux Yeah - the goths are gone because they misplayed the u-turn. And they were ahead of nate and gen throughout the detour and delivering the gas canisters. Both jen and kynt made major goofs with the receipt handling, but unfortunately for the goths, jen caught her error early. I'm sorry to see them go too. I suppose I can 'adopt' TK and rachel now that the goths are out, but both of them are total numbskulls. They're good natured though, and they're being stressed like never before and handling it reasonably well. Nate and Jen deserve each other. Do you notice how nate is forever slicking his hair and eyebrows? He's every bit as vain as kynt about his looks. Jen is obnoxious with her attitude, but if nate had an ounce of sense he wouldn't provoke her the way he does. So he deserves whatever he gets. The bad part is we have to watch it. I can't believe they've made it this far, and every week I hope that they lose. Winning would be unthinkable. "Dad" seems like a total fool too, only he's mean about it. I feel sorry for his daughter because she really and sincerely wants to foster a good relationship with him. She's bright and capable and he just hurts her and destroys her spirit every show. And because of that I don't want them to win. I like the kid and his grandpa. And again, who knew they would make it this far? The grandfather was much crankier and more difficult in the early shows, but has gotten much better - maybe due to fatigue. As things stand now, I'm hoping they win.
Originally Posted By trekkeruss <<I can't believe they've made it this far>> It seems to be an unwritten rule or something, that an obnoxious pair makes it really far into the race. <<"Dad" seems like a total fool too, only he's mean about it>> He so much wants to be right all the time, to the point of arguing with the man who is judging their poster hanging. It's very frustrating to watch.
Originally Posted By seanyoda That was ... disappointing. Unfortunately, Kynt & Vyxsin made too many mistakes (actually, it was Kynt who made the mistakes) to finish 4th -- not U turning Nate and Jen, not getting proper directions for the propane delivery, not getting the receipts for the deliveries; All of those contributed to their elimination. My disappointment with the end asside, I enjoyed the challenges this week. The "find the advertisement" was a great start in India to direct them to the next clue. Paste 'Em and Thread 'Em were a good set of tasks. I would have gone with Paste 'Em myself, but I liked how Rachel stepped up and used her training as a florist to complete the Thread 'Em. As for the folks who chose Paste 'Em, Ron's impatience slowed them down again. If Christina had put up the first panel, it wouldn't have been too high that they would need a step. And when Christina put that box down, I had that feeling you get when you're watching traffic, and you can tell that there's going to be an accident; Sure enough, we get a smashed box. Of course, Ron could have looked at the box to make sure that it would have been sturdy. The Speed Bump was a fun appropriate task for the Goths; I liked how they had the attitude that they could use the forced relaxation. Furthermore, I laughed out loud when Kynt said how he (and he felt, the instructors) enjoyed watching Vyxsin perform the Yoga poses. I enjoyed the propane delivery road block in that it reminded us of the rules: Always read the directions on the clue AND Unless you know where you are going, get someone to take you there. As for the finish, I'm happy that TK and Rachel took first place. They've been a good team from the get-go but have had bad luck; It looks like their luck has turned. They've won a great prize too; St. Martin and St. Barts have beautiful beaches and are terrific places to relax. Nick & Don have been making a lot of progress. They (as well as Ron & Christina) made the smart move to do some research and reserve tickets *before* dashing to the airport. As for Ron and Christina, I've already commented on how Ron needs to be more patient. At least, after the Paste 'Em task, he acknowledged that when Christina took charge, things went much smoother. The less said about Nate and Jen, the better. I really wanted them to be eliminated. Next week -- looks like they're not staying in India. Rats! I was hoping they'd have to take the train from Mumbai to Chennai (which was formerly known as Madras).
Originally Posted By x Pirate_Princess x Rule #1 when booking flights: Always ask for the one that arrives first, NOT the one that LEAVES first. The earliest flight does not always arrive first. Good leg. Ron impressed me with his attitude with Chris this week. Loved the new Survivor commercial, too!!
Originally Posted By x Pirate_Princess x And speaking of TAR, I was watching a Friends rerun, and a Lincoln commercial came on. In it was that chick from a few seasons ago who only had one leg! I was like, cool!
Originally Posted By gadzuux TK and rachel took themselves out of the running from the very first steps of this leg. They weren't even a part of the game and they don't deserve a second chance. But then the 'bickersons' don't deserve to be there either, yet there they are. Every week we hear from 'dad' about how he's a changed person and that he'll stop harrassing his daughter. This week showed a small improvement, but not much. I enjoyed the taxi-driver challenge, although it was really a hard one. I loved the expression on the daughter's face when she read the clue and realized what she had to do. It helped that she knew some japanese, and she was able to complete the task relatively quickly, with some luck thrown in. It got them first place. Gramps and the kid caught a break by having TK and rachel sooo far behind. It saved them big-time. I miss the goths more than I thought I would.
Originally Posted By gottaluvdavillains I knew this would be a non-elimination leg when Tk and Rachel arrived and were still doing all the tasks - if they were out of it being so far behind as in the past they would have been sent to the pit stop and eliminated. I do still like there attitude - they weren't crying or whining just going with the flow. Ron really stepped up this time and was more supportive and not criticle of Christine - nice to see him act like a father should be. I couldn't believe how rude Nate was to Jen - she was trying to tell him about the road block and instead of listening to her and being proud of her - finishing first - he just shut her down more or less telling her he wasn't interested it what she did or had to say!! Then of course they were off to the whine factory over the taxi's again - maybe if they tried talking nice to the cabbies they would get someone to take them where they need to go - I would say I don't know how to get somewhere if these people came up to me screaching and whining too.
Originally Posted By gottaluvdavillains 15 minutes in and I already want to smack Jen!! Did Chris and Dad go through imagration or are the others just wasting time...
Originally Posted By x Pirate_Princess x YAY!! I am so glad TK and Rachel are still in it!! Happy Birthday, jen...you can now GO HOME!
Originally Posted By gadzuux "You know jen - I really can't stand you". Most satisfying moment of the season. I'm more than just happy that they're gone, I'm relieved. I've spent so much energy wanting for nate and jen to be eliminated that now I'm not really sure who I'm rooting for in the finale. "Dad" is much improved over the past couple of weeks, but just as the daughter is becoming more conniving. The scene in the osaka airport where she tells the airline clerk (in japanese) to not sell tickets to the competing teams was underhanded. And the "team spirit" that she's crowing about amounts to him shutting up and doing as he's told. It seems to be an effective strategy since they've won the last two legs in a row. I was surprised 'dad' handled the detour as well as he did. He's an excitable type, and rocking on the car see-saw and driving underwater might have unglued him. He held it together but I don't think he liked it. TK and Rachel are showing grace under pressure, and that's to their credit. But they make a lot of mistakes along the way. It's to their advantage if the other teams think they're "coasting" through the race, but they seem troubled by it. I suppose they'd be my second choice for winners. But my winner vote goes to Nick and Don. They're not the sharpest tacks either, and have gotten this far through sheer pluck and determination. My last wish is that they'll do a two-hour finale.
Originally Posted By Lisann22 Ding Dong the Witch is dead. At this point - I don't care who wins I'm just so flippin' happy it isn't Nate and Jenn. Man, she's a piece of work.
Originally Posted By gottaluvdavillains Nope - I just looked on Yahoo - it's a one hour followed by repeats of cold case and shark!! Too bad... I hope tk and rachel win mainly because I haven't seen them be mean or coniving maybe they look like they are just floating along - but they are always nice to each other... I agree about the airline thing with Christine - if those were the last tickets or not - her behavior was just plane mean...and not showing good sportsmanship...And her little laugh about it made me think of Jen!! I know it's a game and alls fair in love and war - but be honest and if she thought it was okay to do that - then when asked about it by the evil jen - why did she deny it so quickly - it would have been better for her to just shrug her shoulders or say maybe, maybe not!!
