The Amazing Race -- All-Purpose Thread

All I can say is READ YOUR DAMNED CLUES.

Also I want to go back to Italy. And eat some cheese.

No pool update this week due to the MEGA LEEEEEEEEEG. But feel free to drop your fearless predictions into who wins / who is eliminated next week.

 

I’ve been bored the last couple weeks. The challenges have been tedious and redundant and not fun to watch.

 

I know they're hamstrung by COVID precautions, but it's almost got a vibe of the family season, when they spent almost the whole season in the U.S.

It's just not the same without the airport sprints, or going from one vastly different culture to another in each episode.

 

I always feel bad for the teams that pick the ultra long "lecture then regurgitate the info" challenges. Especially when they are obscenely long. The cheese challenge looked 10x easier and faster and would not require me to feel like I was sitting back in sport finance class in grad school.

 

Way to go, Mattie, in acing the physiology test out of the lecture!

I said when everybody started that task that it was likely to be really tough, and it was for some teams. I was surprised a few of them did well with it, too, though. I thought it was going to be trouble, and some people might even bail on it.

I agree that the TAR charter plane kind of kills the competitiveness, it seems like.

 

Wow, I don't know which Racer I wanted to strangle more: Dom, for basically walking up to the chiseling task and not even trying before trying to give up, or Sharik, for just being like "I want to quit and go home. Send me home."

I think there was a lot of exhaustion at play with the crabbiness of the teams. I'm also glad to see Glenda and Lumumba pick it up and not get eliminated after a disastrous beginning of the leg.

Also go long-lost twinsies!! I love them.

Pool update:
Huggy - Marcus & Michael | 37
UNC Grad - Derek & Claire | 34
WolvEagle - Emily & Molly | 33
MRS TigerVols - Glenda & Lumumba | 24
MTM - Linton & Sharik | 20
TigerVols - Abby & Will | 19
WriteThinking - Quinton & Mattie | 18
Wenders - Luis & Michelle | 17
nietsroob17 - Aubrey & David | 11
*bumpy mcgee - Rich & Dom | 8
*tea and ease - Tim & Rex | 7
*Aastha & Nina | 1
* team has been eliminated

Now, someone bring me a charcuterie board.

 

I am SO glad to see those motivational speakers gone. If they were hoping to promote their motivational worthiness while on the show, they did a horrible job.

 

Sharik was incredibly annoying that I too, really wanted her gone. And I'm thinking maybe Phil did also. It seemed he was giving her many chances to re-think her decision to stay.

 

I felt bad for Rich and Dom when they came in last, though, behind Linton and whining Sharik, who really just wanted to go home. She only said she'd keep racing because her dad wanted to do so. She didn't. I predict they will be eliminated next week.

As Wenders said, she was probably exhausted and certainly wasn't showing her best self, but she really sounded terrible as a partner. Dom, on the other hand, sounded very appreciative of her partner when speaking about him during a pretty touching sign-off.

I, too, was happy to see Glenda and Lumumba rebound. They're generally positive and seem like an interesting couple whom I'd like to get to know.

 

Well, my prediction that Linton and Sharik would go home this week turn out to be correct. You could see it coming once they got left behind by the other teams at the metal-detecting task.

It was a well-played week by Glenda and Lumumba to switch from the camel care task to the sliding-puzzle challenge. I'd like to seem them have a big week one of these times.

I was with Marcus and Michael in thinking that the camel care would be less potentially time-consuming and was kind of surprised so many teams went for the puzzle instead. But, of course, I'm thinking that while sitting on my couch, watching them on TV, and, as Molly (or was it Emily?) said, the walking/physical challenge was going to be greater with the camel care, and yeah, I can see how the racers may have wanted less of that after an already long day in the Jordan desert.

 

I really appreciated Linton trying hard, knowing they were doomed.. and knowing Sharik was over it. I'm really enjoying these other teams just pushing. Yes? A lot less team drama it seems. Remember that time a boyfriend actually slapped his team mate? Oof. Should have been disqualified then and there.

 

When was that? I'm going to have to look that up! I, too, like it better when there's less drama, more straight-up, clean competitiveness and good sportsmanship, though.