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spiderbraidsEp 5:
- We're still on Bali, as the first stop is a monkey forest, and the teams will end up essentially even again... (For the repeat at least, local broadcaster put an ad break after the opening, which normally doesn't happen) Nick(/Mike) is wearing cool glasses (his words) to protect his eyes today, and my mom noted a scary statue at the start of the monkey forest, but enough about that... Apparently, this week's surprise is a Double U-Turn vote (I'm guessing at the monkey forest), where Johnathan/Ana and Scott/Lori have been saddled with both carrying and stacking coconuts and putting pieces of coral on a wire frame for helping rehab the coral, where as I joined in on the original broadcast, Scott/Lori have already done the coconuts, but are struggling with the coral, since it demands them to use specific pieces in a specific pattern or something; whatever, this is pushing them down the order quickly
- Also I'm joining in, Johnathan/Ana have already done the coral (briefly caught them struggling similarly to Scott/Lori in the repeat the next day) and are trying to carry coconuts on a bike, while Nick/Mike are struggling with stacking 60 coconuts in two boxes, and they find themselves having to take deep breaths for this task, while Han/Holden make a funny comment about being one with the coconuts (and there's censorship on Bao Han's low-cut shirt LOL)
- Carson/Jack have made it to the Roadblock called "Who wants to meet their match?" Bali is the surfing Mecca of Asia, so contestants will take a board with a decal on it, then swim out to sea between two marked buoys to find someone with the board with a matching decal... Jack grew up with the ocean (his words), so he's taking this RB, albeit lying down on the board and paddling since he's sore, but there's a potential snag since he think he needs to look for an orange board as well... as Brett/Mark are next to look for their match :-) While Nick/Mike and Erika/Melinda are next to get the coconut task done, Scott/Lori are still going at the coral, with Scott comparing Lori to a surgical assistant in the ER as they hit 7 rejected goes, prompting Lori to say "I hate coral" LOL.
- Here's another weird thing from TAR's local broadcaster: they've already aired Bad Boys: Ride or Die since late last year... now they're airing its predecessor Bad Boys For Life and billing it as a premiere... HUH. Anyways, Jo/Ana have the coconuts they need, and Nick/Mike are in 6th place... Carson/Jack and Brett/Mark are hanging out at the beach, and they quip that it's a little g@y beach hanging-out... except one of the words got muted out, and I'm guessing it's local broadcaster doing it
- First to get find their match is Brett/Mark, and head off to Taksu Art Stage on Nua Dusa beach for the pitstop :-) Jack finally understands what he's looking for and soon finds his match, but is slow getting back, as Alyssa/Josiah are next to take on the task, as Josiah reveals in confessional that he learned to swim from being thrown in the ocean in Guanaja (he's been wearing a shirt emblazoned with that word on it for the first few legs, which a quick Google reveals to be an island off the coast of Honduras)
- The pitstop at the stage has contestants greeted with dancers in mass (!) as Brett/Mark claim first and will get $5k each after the race, and they call this leg "super special" :-) Carson/Jack take one positive from their 2nd place: No one voted them to the U-Turn :-) Josiah is next to get his match, and he quips that he and his match are "surf brothers" :-) Next to take on the task is Pops(/Jeff), but let's focus on Jo/Ana for now, as Johnathan has a headache, and notes that he's reached his limit of sun and heat exposure (ow!) so has to sit down and take a nice long drink before continuing ("I'll go when I'm ready")
- After a whole segment or so, Scott/Lori finally get the coral right, and will have to place the coral wireframe under water past the orange buoys first before they get their clue in 9th, while Anna complains to Johnathan about him complaining: "You say that every time you watch the show" LOL. Jeff calls Pops "Superman" as he finds his match in 4th, while Han/Holden are arriving and Bao Han's taking the RB for the team, as it's a needle in haystack with surfing (the one thing that keeps Han sane :-) ) They quip "Good vibes only, we're on the beach" :-) Han manages to find a match right as a sizeable wave comes up, so ends up surfing it standing up returning to the beach :-) Aly/Jo "got our mojo back" finishing the leg in 3rd
- Nick's eye is hurt, so Mike's doing the RB, but Mike is slow, and it's an exhausting task, though after a quick cut to Pops/Jeff getting a 4th place, Mike has found the board to get the clue in 6th... Melinda/Erika's turn, and daughter Erika is doing it because mom is too tired... and after a quick cutaway to Han/Holden getting greeted in 5th, Erika manages to find her match on the first board she encounters (!) And after Nick/Mike briefly lost on the way to the pitstop, mom/daughter move up from 7th to 6th, much to their surprise :-) Nick/Mike are still okay with 7th, since that's still an improvement of 1 place, and they even think of it as lucky #7 :-) (Spoiler: It'll cease to be lucky for them by the end of this post)
- Now it's just Jo/Ana and Scott/Lori, and the parents have boogie boarded quite a bit :-) Anna reveals that she and Jo lost a baby last year as he struggles with the RB because of his headache... as local broadcaster continues to act weird by running a single station ID, then returning to the show immediately (surprisingly, skipping an ad break is NOT the unusual part for the local broadcaster here; what's unusual is them running a quick ID in place of the ad break, and that it's the last break... over here, the show has often concealed this weird behavior by randomly fading to black between scenes midway through the first segment to make the ad breaks correspond to the original segment breaks, but there have been some cases where they have actually taken a mid-segment ad break, and skipped the intended break, which is almost always the first break)
- Somehow, Johnathan finds his match before Scott does, but Jo rests a lot between his paddles getting back to the beach, though still gets his clue before Scott, and after Johnathan puts his shoes on, Jo/Ana manage to get to the pitstop in 8th... Jo says of his struggles that it's "Not how I envisioned my race going", but at least they still beat Scott/Lori out... As Phil Keoghan officially eliminates the parents, he talks about how this is a lesson in how you move forward from here, as they talk about how they got targeted and stuff, and they feel they had more to show (to which I say, at least they got 5 legs, unlike some other teams eliminated in Indonesia who only got 2) The show ends with one last weird moment from the broadcaster, as it fades out Scott/Lori's exit and fades up the Bruckheimer credit, as if there's supposed to be a break there (a la a few seasons ago)
Ep 6:
- On the way to the airport to ride to Dubai, Pops/Jeff have a confessional about growing in a dangerous city and taking TAR as an opportunity to do extravagant things, Mel/Erika are grateful for the double U-Turn as they brag that they're the only girl team left, and Han/Holden think they're heading out of Asia... until they realize that the Middle East is still Asia LOL. (And again with the ad break after the prologue) Anyways, let's skip to where I came in on the original broadcast, and that's contestants making a cake/dessert display, and it's a lot... Last to finish the task (though labeled 7th, we'll see why in a moment): Pops/Jeff, after needing to redo a long cake and putting a white flower on a cupcake :-\
- Carson/Jack are looking for a Fast Forward plaque (yep, the return of another old favorite :-)) by diving around a big aquarium, and in confessional they quip that they could've spent hours diving, rather than just until they found the plaque on a pool table, so they can ride a luxury car to the Museum of the Future :-) Everyone else gets a Roadblock (a second, as it were) called "Who's ready to ride a wave?" Phil Keoghan reveals that hydrofoils have been around for over a hundred years, and now there's a new twist with e-foils, which can go 30 mph... Anyways, start at buoy one, get on your feet by buoy two, stay upright until buoy three :-)
- Carson/Jack hope for first, but they're still cool if they finish otherwise, though they're hoping for a sweaty manual labor detour... "Just kidding" LOL. Back at the RB, contestants learn an important safety tip for riding e-foils: Jump to the side when falling off :-) Aly/Jo learned to surf in California using beat-up foam floaties (they don't surf well, though you'd expect it to be good enough for task) while Ana quips about Johnathan taking on the RB: "Time to watch Terminator do a challenge" :-) And of course Bao Han's doing this task :-)
- Carson/Jack are 1st at Museum of the Future, getting an Alaska cruise from Expedia (Vancouver! Ketchikan! Juneau! Skagway! Kenai! Balcony room! Spa! Fine dining! Live Entertainment!) They note that this throws the idea of them slipping under the radar out of the window... Back to the RB, and no surprise, Bao Han gets it done on the first go :-) as other contestants re-explain the rules of the task with helpful graphics... Jon Collins would be proud :-)
- Phil Keoghan claims that without fail, every time TAR comes to Dubai, there's something new, in this case the Museum of the Future... Anyways, contestants have to cab to the Mall of Emirates metro station and ride there :-) Anyways, Jeff's doing the task since he's only done two RBs to Pops' 4, and Pops says in confessional that Jeff prefers gym, as Jeff finds he forgot to remove his shoes before starting the task LOL. Meanwhile, next to pass the RB in that order are Mark, Erika (also on her first attempt!) and Johnathan, leaving just Nick and Jeff to duke it out for survival (and just you wait to see how it pays off :-))
- Holden in the cab to the camera: "America, do you like my sunglasses?" (Bao Han says they're his mom's LOL.) Anyways, contestants shall buy metro tickets at a marked kiosk, and also are not allowed to run in the stations... Jeff is good on the 2nd attempt while Nick has to practice again, and he wants to (in his words) "Get it done just to get it done"... which he does on attempt 3, and Mike quips that he "looks like he's in Baywatch right now" LOL. Whatever, it's just a formality of them getting to the mat before elim right?... Well, it turns out Pops/Jeff are only now just getting a cab, and Nick/Mike get a cab soon after, and "need to pass them now more than ever" (their words!)
- While Brett/Mark are getting tickets at the marked kiosk, Erika/Mel show up and quip that Brett/Mark always get the fast taxis, since they were earlier shown stuck at a traffic light for a while :-) Over with the last two teams, Pops/Jeff mistake the correct platform for the wrong one just long enough for a train that just came in to leave (apparently, they saw a sign with "4" on it and thought that was the platform number, instead it's how long until the next train), and in those 4 minutes, Nick/Mike make it to the platform as well putting them on the same train (!)
- We intercut between the last two teams, and the rest of the finishes: Han/Holden in 2nd (best so far), Aly/Jo in 3rd (joining them on the mat and portmanteauing Han and monster to call them "Hanster" :-)), Brett/Mark in 4th, Jo/Ana 5th joined by Mel/Erika in 6th... Meanwhile Nick/Mike take an inhaler breath as the train pulls into the station, and they're pretty much running to find the right exit, where in another important moment, Nick/Mike come across a door and think that's the exit, and Pops/Jeff run to it, which it turns out to be locked, so both teams race from that same spot to the mat, and not surprisingly, Nick/Mike edge Pops/Jeff, joining Jo/Ana and Mel/Erika on the mat for a very lucky 7th place (their words!) In their elimination, Jeff notes that he's always called his father Superman (see last week)... and today, he got to see him fly, since he jumped out a plane in the first RB :-)
Ep 7:
- This week, we're in Bulgaria, and as I'm tuning in, Nick/Mike are carrying logs, wherein one of them is carrying them in a wheelbarrow and another on a backpack, and Nick needs to take a few puffs from his inhaler, which he compares to Popeye and his spinach LOL. They're transporting a total of 200kg of logs for one side of the Detour, and they're intending to only need two loads (all the other teams will end up using 3) Meanwhile, Alyssa is milking a sheep, as part of a Roadblock, as Josiah quips that they do this a lot in Philly, except that instead of a sheep it's a keg, and instead of milk it's beer LOL. Once she's done, she takes it over to the 102 year old farm owner (!) and I assume her granddaughter for adjudication, and once she has enough (on the first go), she gets to eat some fresh Bulgarian yogurt :-)
- Aly/Jo get the pitstop clue after yogurt, and it's relatively early in a (Fast Forward-less) episode to reveal the pitstop, but they're heading to a town called Elin Pelin, named after a poet :-) Meanwhile on the other side of the Detour, Erika and Mel are taking apart haystacks to find a small bracelet (my actual note: Lena/Kristy intensifies) Han/Holden are doing logs, and Bao Han's forearms want to d!e LOL. Meanwhile Carson/Jack are driving in a very distant last place after getting lost, so we get to see more of the tasks contestants do on this leg, starting with them carrying apples to a costume party, whereupon they get the next clue from hair monster thingies, to which they'll later quip: "Nothing like a hair dance to get you going" :-)
- Brett/Mark arrive at the RB, which is titled "Who's ready to fill 'er up?" They're thinking it involves gas, or filling a hole, and the one who ends up doing it never wanted to touch an udder in his life LOL, and while he's milking, he's not sure which gender the sheep is, though quips "You're a girl to me" LOL. After their 2nd load of logs, Nick/Mike are one kilo short, and although all the other teams will need more (on the order og 50-60 kilos) for their 3rd load, the fact that they need one in the first place will be pivotal shortly, as they talk in confessional about "focusing on what you can control and forgetting the rest" and deliver that last kilo of logs and get a clue to a church, warning that there's a Double U-Turn ahead... Over with Mel/Erika at the other side of the Detour, there's concern they might have missed the bracelet ("that would be unfortunate")... and then Mel finds the bracelet, yay :-)
- It turns out that they literally found the bracelet not very far behind Nick/Mike finishing their logs, and they were heading down the road away from the church when they saw Mel/Erika running towards the church... Mel/Erika intend to U-Turn Nick/Mike since they're the only team they know are behind them, and obviously Nick/Mike want to beat Mel/Erika to U-Turn them, and it's going to be a close race since mom has bad knees, and Nick/Mike are tired from carrying the logs... Mel/Erika get to the church first and U-Turn Nick/Mike, and then when picking up the next clue, they notice there are three teams left, so they apologize to Nick/Mike as they show up... Nick/Mike end up U-Turning Han/Holden, and then tell them about the U-Turn as they pass before heading off to do the hay
- Brett/Mark somehow are not having problems milking despite never having wanted to touch an udder in their lives, and after the yogurt, they're in 2nd, and they call it their favorite moment of the race, as the old lady says in subtitle "Yogurt is extra" :-) Next to milk is Ana (quote: "I'm a milkmaid!") and she decides to call her sheep "Maggie" :-) Alyssa/Josiah are first in Elin Pelin, and get a trip to Marrakesh, Morocco (Private tour! Balloon ride! Berber breakfast! Desert tour!) noting that they got their first win in the first self-drive leg of the season :-) Speaking of self-drive Carson/Jack quip about their situation: "I wouldn't say we're lost, but we are not found" LOL.
- Ana gets enough milk from Maggie to pass the mark and get yogurt and a clue, as the old lady brags in subtitles "Only in Bulgaria do we have such milk" :-) Han/Holden and Nick/Mike are going through the hay, and H/H want to "be one with the hay" LOL. Carson/Jack are arriving at a library, where they search through shelves and find the clue sticking out between two books, which turns out to be the clue pickup for the Detour... and they want to do the hay task? They justify going with the needle in the haystack task by saying that it could take hours or just 30 seconds :-\ Nick/Mike are done dismantling the stacks and haven't found the bracelet, whereas Han/Holden do find it and get their clue in 5th, while over in Elin Pelin, Brett/Mark and Jo/Ana check in in 2nd and 3rd :-)
- While Erika/Mel are lost on way to milking and thinking it's karma for U-Turning the wrong team, Holden does the RB for the team, but the real action is back with Nick/Mike at the Detour, where it's getting hotter and they're beginning to consider taking the penalty, and more importantly, Carson/Jack are just arriving, and realizing there's still people there, though at first they're thinking it's copium... Meanwhile, local broadcaster seems to be having issues with the last break lately: two weeks ago in Bali they just ran a single ID, then skipped the break altogether in Dubai, and this week they ran a single movie promo before returning to the show, with Nick/Mike spotting Carson/Jack and thinking it doesn't make sense... and turns out the feeling is mutual to Carson/Jack since Nick/Mike were three hours ahead
- Carson/Jack see Nick/Mike dealing with the hay and they call it "Living a life I did not want to live" and wisely quickly switch to logs (even Nick/Mike agree that it's a smart move) Holden finishing milking and asks "Where's your 102 year old mother?" LOL, and apparently feels like pooping after eating the yogurt LOLx2. Mel/Erika finally get to the milking RB, and mommy Mel's doing it... After milking the required half-liter, she gets the yogurt, and is surprised at the mother being 102, before getting the pitstop clue and promising to read the map this time LOL. Han/Holden are 4th in Elin Pelin, while back at the logs, Carson/Jack compare themselves to Sam and Frodo, then Hunchback of Notre Dame carrying the logs on a backpack
- Nick/Mike are laughing (in the sense of so as to not cry) at the notion of how they'll be recalling this incident... The camera points down to the hay-covered ground, and it can barely see bracelet just under the top layer to the point they have to circle it in the video, that's how hard it is to find the thing... Carson/Jack finish the logs to put themselves ahead of Nick/Mike, and all Nick/Mike can think is that they only needed one more piece (kilo, more precisely) of wood in their 2nd load to avoid getting stuck with this task in the first place... Speaking of, over in Elin Pelin, Phil Keoghan tells Mel/Erika that without the Double U-Turn "I doubt you'd be here in 5th", while at the church, Carson/Jack are surprised to see that they weren't U-Turned, and although they're not religious, they call it a "sign of God", as they quip in the car "What a turn of events"
- Cut straight to Carson milking, then arriving at the pitstop in 6th, which is treated just like an elimination montage, except they're not the ones getting eliminated; that would be Nick/Mike getting the Lena/Kristy memorial Philimination to put them out of their misery (Phil Keoghan's words), to which they say "Oh boy, the Philiminator", as well as a quip saying "Big city kids are not suited for the farm", to which Phil appreciates they still had their sense of humor about it, before reckoning (apparently correctly) that they spent 6 hours on the task... They then launch into highlights what they enjoyed on their trip: The plane jump and camel ride in Dubai (both of which will have been in the first half-or-so), and the ATV in Bali (and as they're saying these, scenes of those tasks are shown superimposed over the background :-)) Phil says "What a way to end this" as Nick/Mike end with a confessional talking about their brotherly bonds
Ep 8
- Still in Bulgaria, but this time, we're in the capital Sofia... On the rerun, I managed to catch a brief glimpse of a scene of Aly/Jo picking up a clue for a library task (more anon) from some sort of hidden stall, hidden behind a non-descript set of short doors marked entirely by a stylised graffiti saying AR37, and commenting it looked like a speakeasy :-) Let's just skip straight to later: As Aly/Jo pick up a clue in a statue garden at the Museum of Socialist Art to head to the Central Miltary Club, Brett/Mark arrive at said club, and find a Roadblock: "Who wants to step back in time?" and correctly suss it's some sort of routine: Learn the traditional "Horo" dance :-) It's a quick step that's not much different than the Ireland Riverdance task from a few years ago... It's a perfect challenge for Mark, and he gets to do it in full costume :-) (Brett would've also loved the costumes himself)
- At the back are Mel/Erika and Han/Holden at a library, and Carson/Jack show up at the cluebox, revealing that they're here to translate a passage from Cyrillic (Russian letters) to English... If they were using actual Cyrillic, that would be a cakewalk for me LOL, but appears that they're using some sort of wheel to figure it out, and Carson/Jack say in confessional that Mel/Erika and Han/Holden looked like they had seen a ghost when they showed up :-) Anyways, they compare this task to solving puzzles in Dungeons and Dragons, which of course is their hobby :-) The teams have been provided with some sort of wheel to translate the passage, and Carson/Jack find out there are English words on the bottom side, allowing them to do the decoding :-) This leads to Han/Holden also discovering the English words undeneath, and a bunch of whispering at each other in the library, with Carson/Jack and Han/Holden deciding to help each other and try to get Mel/Erika out, and the mother-daughter aren't making a good case for themselves as their latest submission is just random letters of gibberish LOL.
- After Jo/Ana's clue pick up at the statue garden, back to the dancing: Mark gets it on the first go (as a Vegas entertainer, of course he would) and Brett makes a quip about someone being ready for their close up... As they get the clue for the pitstop at St Alex Nevsky Cathedral, Mark promises to bring the formal training back to Vegas LOL. Next up are Aly/Jo, and Josiah is dancing for the team, since he grew up in the Rio Grande Valley, where he's been to lots of quinceanearas and done lots of dancing ("But nothing like this") Library: Han/Holden are pretending not to be close to finishing yet in front of Mel/Erika, but they soon submit the correct answer, a passage from the Bible, and decide to wait until Carson/Jack get it, though Carson/Jack do warn them not to tell Mel/Erika... But Han/Holden tell them the first couple words anyway, in the name of honest game play (their words)
- After a failed dancing attempt by Josiah, Jo/Ana show up and Ana decides to do it since she loves dancing and has done salsa classes, learning from everyone around her, LOL. Back at the library, Mel/Erika finally get the job done, and say "You think the people who know the bible should know this" and find themselves frustrated that a Bible quote looks to knock them out... While Ana is having hard time at dancing, Brett/Mark arrive at the cathedral and get $7500 each :-)
- Carson/Jack and Han/Holden are on foot looking for the statue garden cluebox, and after Carson/Jack note a red pre-socialist star, the contestants decide to ask for directions... Carson/Jack end up finding the statue garden cluebox first, then take the metro, and while they're on the metro they compare themselves to Frodo/Sam again, recalling the story of Lord of the Rings, and thinking that's how they have to finish :-) After clue pickup by Han/Holden and getting to the club, Jack and Holden will be performing the RB :-)
- After clue pick up at the statues, Mel/Erika are still looking for a cab despite busy street, as they quip that "Bulgaria is not our place" but also comment that "Phil has not told us anything yet"... This will be important later, but anyways, Aly/Jo finish 2nd, and quip that "If it wasn't challenging, it wouldn't be a TAR", followed by Jo/Ana getting another podium finish in 3rd :-) Mel/Erika finally arrive at the club and Mel takes the task for the team, calling it just like Greek dancing
- With Carson/Jack in 4th, Phil Keoghan "was not sure if it was going to be your day", but calls their finish "One of the greatest comeback stories in TAR history" :-) Han/Holden finish in 5th, and it wasn't a good day, especially with learning the Bulgarian dance, which Holden calls Bulgarian-style cardio, LOL. Mel/Erika already arrive in last, and before elimination, Phil Keoghan even points out they misread the clue, since they weren't supposed to take a taxi to the club, and if I had a nickel everytime a mother-child team got eliminated after taking a cab, I'd have two nickels, but at least in Mel/Erika's case, they were already out without the penalty anyway :-\ Anyways, their exit interview talks about how they've spent more time together than they've had in years since they live in different states and never had the typical mother/child relationship growing up, and Erika thinks she'll handle phone calls differently going forward :-)
- We're still on Bali, as the first stop is a monkey forest, and the teams will end up essentially even again... (For the repeat at least, local broadcaster put an ad break after the opening, which normally doesn't happen) Nick(/Mike) is wearing cool glasses (his words) to protect his eyes today, and my mom noted a scary statue at the start of the monkey forest, but enough about that... Apparently, this week's surprise is a Double U-Turn vote (I'm guessing at the monkey forest), where Johnathan/Ana and Scott/Lori have been saddled with both carrying and stacking coconuts and putting pieces of coral on a wire frame for helping rehab the coral, where as I joined in on the original broadcast, Scott/Lori have already done the coconuts, but are struggling with the coral, since it demands them to use specific pieces in a specific pattern or something; whatever, this is pushing them down the order quickly
- Also I'm joining in, Johnathan/Ana have already done the coral (briefly caught them struggling similarly to Scott/Lori in the repeat the next day) and are trying to carry coconuts on a bike, while Nick/Mike are struggling with stacking 60 coconuts in two boxes, and they find themselves having to take deep breaths for this task, while Han/Holden make a funny comment about being one with the coconuts (and there's censorship on Bao Han's low-cut shirt LOL)
- Carson/Jack have made it to the Roadblock called "Who wants to meet their match?" Bali is the surfing Mecca of Asia, so contestants will take a board with a decal on it, then swim out to sea between two marked buoys to find someone with the board with a matching decal... Jack grew up with the ocean (his words), so he's taking this RB, albeit lying down on the board and paddling since he's sore, but there's a potential snag since he think he needs to look for an orange board as well... as Brett/Mark are next to look for their match :-) While Nick/Mike and Erika/Melinda are next to get the coconut task done, Scott/Lori are still going at the coral, with Scott comparing Lori to a surgical assistant in the ER as they hit 7 rejected goes, prompting Lori to say "I hate coral" LOL.
- Here's another weird thing from TAR's local broadcaster: they've already aired Bad Boys: Ride or Die since late last year... now they're airing its predecessor Bad Boys For Life and billing it as a premiere... HUH. Anyways, Jo/Ana have the coconuts they need, and Nick/Mike are in 6th place... Carson/Jack and Brett/Mark are hanging out at the beach, and they quip that it's a little g@y beach hanging-out... except one of the words got muted out, and I'm guessing it's local broadcaster doing it
- First to get find their match is Brett/Mark, and head off to Taksu Art Stage on Nua Dusa beach for the pitstop :-) Jack finally understands what he's looking for and soon finds his match, but is slow getting back, as Alyssa/Josiah are next to take on the task, as Josiah reveals in confessional that he learned to swim from being thrown in the ocean in Guanaja (he's been wearing a shirt emblazoned with that word on it for the first few legs, which a quick Google reveals to be an island off the coast of Honduras)
- The pitstop at the stage has contestants greeted with dancers in mass (!) as Brett/Mark claim first and will get $5k each after the race, and they call this leg "super special" :-) Carson/Jack take one positive from their 2nd place: No one voted them to the U-Turn :-) Josiah is next to get his match, and he quips that he and his match are "surf brothers" :-) Next to take on the task is Pops(/Jeff), but let's focus on Jo/Ana for now, as Johnathan has a headache, and notes that he's reached his limit of sun and heat exposure (ow!) so has to sit down and take a nice long drink before continuing ("I'll go when I'm ready")
- After a whole segment or so, Scott/Lori finally get the coral right, and will have to place the coral wireframe under water past the orange buoys first before they get their clue in 9th, while Anna complains to Johnathan about him complaining: "You say that every time you watch the show" LOL. Jeff calls Pops "Superman" as he finds his match in 4th, while Han/Holden are arriving and Bao Han's taking the RB for the team, as it's a needle in haystack with surfing (the one thing that keeps Han sane :-) ) They quip "Good vibes only, we're on the beach" :-) Han manages to find a match right as a sizeable wave comes up, so ends up surfing it standing up returning to the beach :-) Aly/Jo "got our mojo back" finishing the leg in 3rd
- Nick's eye is hurt, so Mike's doing the RB, but Mike is slow, and it's an exhausting task, though after a quick cut to Pops/Jeff getting a 4th place, Mike has found the board to get the clue in 6th... Melinda/Erika's turn, and daughter Erika is doing it because mom is too tired... and after a quick cutaway to Han/Holden getting greeted in 5th, Erika manages to find her match on the first board she encounters (!) And after Nick/Mike briefly lost on the way to the pitstop, mom/daughter move up from 7th to 6th, much to their surprise :-) Nick/Mike are still okay with 7th, since that's still an improvement of 1 place, and they even think of it as lucky #7 :-) (Spoiler: It'll cease to be lucky for them by the end of this post)
- Now it's just Jo/Ana and Scott/Lori, and the parents have boogie boarded quite a bit :-) Anna reveals that she and Jo lost a baby last year as he struggles with the RB because of his headache... as local broadcaster continues to act weird by running a single station ID, then returning to the show immediately (surprisingly, skipping an ad break is NOT the unusual part for the local broadcaster here; what's unusual is them running a quick ID in place of the ad break, and that it's the last break... over here, the show has often concealed this weird behavior by randomly fading to black between scenes midway through the first segment to make the ad breaks correspond to the original segment breaks, but there have been some cases where they have actually taken a mid-segment ad break, and skipped the intended break, which is almost always the first break)
- Somehow, Johnathan finds his match before Scott does, but Jo rests a lot between his paddles getting back to the beach, though still gets his clue before Scott, and after Johnathan puts his shoes on, Jo/Ana manage to get to the pitstop in 8th... Jo says of his struggles that it's "Not how I envisioned my race going", but at least they still beat Scott/Lori out... As Phil Keoghan officially eliminates the parents, he talks about how this is a lesson in how you move forward from here, as they talk about how they got targeted and stuff, and they feel they had more to show (to which I say, at least they got 5 legs, unlike some other teams eliminated in Indonesia who only got 2) The show ends with one last weird moment from the broadcaster, as it fades out Scott/Lori's exit and fades up the Bruckheimer credit, as if there's supposed to be a break there (a la a few seasons ago)
Ep 6:
- On the way to the airport to ride to Dubai, Pops/Jeff have a confessional about growing in a dangerous city and taking TAR as an opportunity to do extravagant things, Mel/Erika are grateful for the double U-Turn as they brag that they're the only girl team left, and Han/Holden think they're heading out of Asia... until they realize that the Middle East is still Asia LOL. (And again with the ad break after the prologue) Anyways, let's skip to where I came in on the original broadcast, and that's contestants making a cake/dessert display, and it's a lot... Last to finish the task (though labeled 7th, we'll see why in a moment): Pops/Jeff, after needing to redo a long cake and putting a white flower on a cupcake :-\
- Carson/Jack are looking for a Fast Forward plaque (yep, the return of another old favorite :-)) by diving around a big aquarium, and in confessional they quip that they could've spent hours diving, rather than just until they found the plaque on a pool table, so they can ride a luxury car to the Museum of the Future :-) Everyone else gets a Roadblock (a second, as it were) called "Who's ready to ride a wave?" Phil Keoghan reveals that hydrofoils have been around for over a hundred years, and now there's a new twist with e-foils, which can go 30 mph... Anyways, start at buoy one, get on your feet by buoy two, stay upright until buoy three :-)
- Carson/Jack hope for first, but they're still cool if they finish otherwise, though they're hoping for a sweaty manual labor detour... "Just kidding" LOL. Back at the RB, contestants learn an important safety tip for riding e-foils: Jump to the side when falling off :-) Aly/Jo learned to surf in California using beat-up foam floaties (they don't surf well, though you'd expect it to be good enough for task) while Ana quips about Johnathan taking on the RB: "Time to watch Terminator do a challenge" :-) And of course Bao Han's doing this task :-)
- Carson/Jack are 1st at Museum of the Future, getting an Alaska cruise from Expedia (Vancouver! Ketchikan! Juneau! Skagway! Kenai! Balcony room! Spa! Fine dining! Live Entertainment!) They note that this throws the idea of them slipping under the radar out of the window... Back to the RB, and no surprise, Bao Han gets it done on the first go :-) as other contestants re-explain the rules of the task with helpful graphics... Jon Collins would be proud :-)
- Phil Keoghan claims that without fail, every time TAR comes to Dubai, there's something new, in this case the Museum of the Future... Anyways, contestants have to cab to the Mall of Emirates metro station and ride there :-) Anyways, Jeff's doing the task since he's only done two RBs to Pops' 4, and Pops says in confessional that Jeff prefers gym, as Jeff finds he forgot to remove his shoes before starting the task LOL. Meanwhile, next to pass the RB in that order are Mark, Erika (also on her first attempt!) and Johnathan, leaving just Nick and Jeff to duke it out for survival (and just you wait to see how it pays off :-))
- Holden in the cab to the camera: "America, do you like my sunglasses?" (Bao Han says they're his mom's LOL.) Anyways, contestants shall buy metro tickets at a marked kiosk, and also are not allowed to run in the stations... Jeff is good on the 2nd attempt while Nick has to practice again, and he wants to (in his words) "Get it done just to get it done"... which he does on attempt 3, and Mike quips that he "looks like he's in Baywatch right now" LOL. Whatever, it's just a formality of them getting to the mat before elim right?... Well, it turns out Pops/Jeff are only now just getting a cab, and Nick/Mike get a cab soon after, and "need to pass them now more than ever" (their words!)
- While Brett/Mark are getting tickets at the marked kiosk, Erika/Mel show up and quip that Brett/Mark always get the fast taxis, since they were earlier shown stuck at a traffic light for a while :-) Over with the last two teams, Pops/Jeff mistake the correct platform for the wrong one just long enough for a train that just came in to leave (apparently, they saw a sign with "4" on it and thought that was the platform number, instead it's how long until the next train), and in those 4 minutes, Nick/Mike make it to the platform as well putting them on the same train (!)
- We intercut between the last two teams, and the rest of the finishes: Han/Holden in 2nd (best so far), Aly/Jo in 3rd (joining them on the mat and portmanteauing Han and monster to call them "Hanster" :-)), Brett/Mark in 4th, Jo/Ana 5th joined by Mel/Erika in 6th... Meanwhile Nick/Mike take an inhaler breath as the train pulls into the station, and they're pretty much running to find the right exit, where in another important moment, Nick/Mike come across a door and think that's the exit, and Pops/Jeff run to it, which it turns out to be locked, so both teams race from that same spot to the mat, and not surprisingly, Nick/Mike edge Pops/Jeff, joining Jo/Ana and Mel/Erika on the mat for a very lucky 7th place (their words!) In their elimination, Jeff notes that he's always called his father Superman (see last week)... and today, he got to see him fly, since he jumped out a plane in the first RB :-)
Ep 7:
- This week, we're in Bulgaria, and as I'm tuning in, Nick/Mike are carrying logs, wherein one of them is carrying them in a wheelbarrow and another on a backpack, and Nick needs to take a few puffs from his inhaler, which he compares to Popeye and his spinach LOL. They're transporting a total of 200kg of logs for one side of the Detour, and they're intending to only need two loads (all the other teams will end up using 3) Meanwhile, Alyssa is milking a sheep, as part of a Roadblock, as Josiah quips that they do this a lot in Philly, except that instead of a sheep it's a keg, and instead of milk it's beer LOL. Once she's done, she takes it over to the 102 year old farm owner (!) and I assume her granddaughter for adjudication, and once she has enough (on the first go), she gets to eat some fresh Bulgarian yogurt :-)
- Aly/Jo get the pitstop clue after yogurt, and it's relatively early in a (Fast Forward-less) episode to reveal the pitstop, but they're heading to a town called Elin Pelin, named after a poet :-) Meanwhile on the other side of the Detour, Erika and Mel are taking apart haystacks to find a small bracelet (my actual note: Lena/Kristy intensifies) Han/Holden are doing logs, and Bao Han's forearms want to d!e LOL. Meanwhile Carson/Jack are driving in a very distant last place after getting lost, so we get to see more of the tasks contestants do on this leg, starting with them carrying apples to a costume party, whereupon they get the next clue from hair monster thingies, to which they'll later quip: "Nothing like a hair dance to get you going" :-)
- Brett/Mark arrive at the RB, which is titled "Who's ready to fill 'er up?" They're thinking it involves gas, or filling a hole, and the one who ends up doing it never wanted to touch an udder in his life LOL, and while he's milking, he's not sure which gender the sheep is, though quips "You're a girl to me" LOL. After their 2nd load of logs, Nick/Mike are one kilo short, and although all the other teams will need more (on the order og 50-60 kilos) for their 3rd load, the fact that they need one in the first place will be pivotal shortly, as they talk in confessional about "focusing on what you can control and forgetting the rest" and deliver that last kilo of logs and get a clue to a church, warning that there's a Double U-Turn ahead... Over with Mel/Erika at the other side of the Detour, there's concern they might have missed the bracelet ("that would be unfortunate")... and then Mel finds the bracelet, yay :-)
- It turns out that they literally found the bracelet not very far behind Nick/Mike finishing their logs, and they were heading down the road away from the church when they saw Mel/Erika running towards the church... Mel/Erika intend to U-Turn Nick/Mike since they're the only team they know are behind them, and obviously Nick/Mike want to beat Mel/Erika to U-Turn them, and it's going to be a close race since mom has bad knees, and Nick/Mike are tired from carrying the logs... Mel/Erika get to the church first and U-Turn Nick/Mike, and then when picking up the next clue, they notice there are three teams left, so they apologize to Nick/Mike as they show up... Nick/Mike end up U-Turning Han/Holden, and then tell them about the U-Turn as they pass before heading off to do the hay
- Brett/Mark somehow are not having problems milking despite never having wanted to touch an udder in their lives, and after the yogurt, they're in 2nd, and they call it their favorite moment of the race, as the old lady says in subtitle "Yogurt is extra" :-) Next to milk is Ana (quote: "I'm a milkmaid!") and she decides to call her sheep "Maggie" :-) Alyssa/Josiah are first in Elin Pelin, and get a trip to Marrakesh, Morocco (Private tour! Balloon ride! Berber breakfast! Desert tour!) noting that they got their first win in the first self-drive leg of the season :-) Speaking of self-drive Carson/Jack quip about their situation: "I wouldn't say we're lost, but we are not found" LOL.
- Ana gets enough milk from Maggie to pass the mark and get yogurt and a clue, as the old lady brags in subtitles "Only in Bulgaria do we have such milk" :-) Han/Holden and Nick/Mike are going through the hay, and H/H want to "be one with the hay" LOL. Carson/Jack are arriving at a library, where they search through shelves and find the clue sticking out between two books, which turns out to be the clue pickup for the Detour... and they want to do the hay task? They justify going with the needle in the haystack task by saying that it could take hours or just 30 seconds :-\ Nick/Mike are done dismantling the stacks and haven't found the bracelet, whereas Han/Holden do find it and get their clue in 5th, while over in Elin Pelin, Brett/Mark and Jo/Ana check in in 2nd and 3rd :-)
- While Erika/Mel are lost on way to milking and thinking it's karma for U-Turning the wrong team, Holden does the RB for the team, but the real action is back with Nick/Mike at the Detour, where it's getting hotter and they're beginning to consider taking the penalty, and more importantly, Carson/Jack are just arriving, and realizing there's still people there, though at first they're thinking it's copium... Meanwhile, local broadcaster seems to be having issues with the last break lately: two weeks ago in Bali they just ran a single ID, then skipped the break altogether in Dubai, and this week they ran a single movie promo before returning to the show, with Nick/Mike spotting Carson/Jack and thinking it doesn't make sense... and turns out the feeling is mutual to Carson/Jack since Nick/Mike were three hours ahead
- Carson/Jack see Nick/Mike dealing with the hay and they call it "Living a life I did not want to live" and wisely quickly switch to logs (even Nick/Mike agree that it's a smart move) Holden finishing milking and asks "Where's your 102 year old mother?" LOL, and apparently feels like pooping after eating the yogurt LOLx2. Mel/Erika finally get to the milking RB, and mommy Mel's doing it... After milking the required half-liter, she gets the yogurt, and is surprised at the mother being 102, before getting the pitstop clue and promising to read the map this time LOL. Han/Holden are 4th in Elin Pelin, while back at the logs, Carson/Jack compare themselves to Sam and Frodo, then Hunchback of Notre Dame carrying the logs on a backpack
- Nick/Mike are laughing (in the sense of so as to not cry) at the notion of how they'll be recalling this incident... The camera points down to the hay-covered ground, and it can barely see bracelet just under the top layer to the point they have to circle it in the video, that's how hard it is to find the thing... Carson/Jack finish the logs to put themselves ahead of Nick/Mike, and all Nick/Mike can think is that they only needed one more piece (kilo, more precisely) of wood in their 2nd load to avoid getting stuck with this task in the first place... Speaking of, over in Elin Pelin, Phil Keoghan tells Mel/Erika that without the Double U-Turn "I doubt you'd be here in 5th", while at the church, Carson/Jack are surprised to see that they weren't U-Turned, and although they're not religious, they call it a "sign of God", as they quip in the car "What a turn of events"
- Cut straight to Carson milking, then arriving at the pitstop in 6th, which is treated just like an elimination montage, except they're not the ones getting eliminated; that would be Nick/Mike getting the Lena/Kristy memorial Philimination to put them out of their misery (Phil Keoghan's words), to which they say "Oh boy, the Philiminator", as well as a quip saying "Big city kids are not suited for the farm", to which Phil appreciates they still had their sense of humor about it, before reckoning (apparently correctly) that they spent 6 hours on the task... They then launch into highlights what they enjoyed on their trip: The plane jump and camel ride in Dubai (both of which will have been in the first half-or-so), and the ATV in Bali (and as they're saying these, scenes of those tasks are shown superimposed over the background :-)) Phil says "What a way to end this" as Nick/Mike end with a confessional talking about their brotherly bonds
Ep 8
- Still in Bulgaria, but this time, we're in the capital Sofia... On the rerun, I managed to catch a brief glimpse of a scene of Aly/Jo picking up a clue for a library task (more anon) from some sort of hidden stall, hidden behind a non-descript set of short doors marked entirely by a stylised graffiti saying AR37, and commenting it looked like a speakeasy :-) Let's just skip straight to later: As Aly/Jo pick up a clue in a statue garden at the Museum of Socialist Art to head to the Central Miltary Club, Brett/Mark arrive at said club, and find a Roadblock: "Who wants to step back in time?" and correctly suss it's some sort of routine: Learn the traditional "Horo" dance :-) It's a quick step that's not much different than the Ireland Riverdance task from a few years ago... It's a perfect challenge for Mark, and he gets to do it in full costume :-) (Brett would've also loved the costumes himself)
- At the back are Mel/Erika and Han/Holden at a library, and Carson/Jack show up at the cluebox, revealing that they're here to translate a passage from Cyrillic (Russian letters) to English... If they were using actual Cyrillic, that would be a cakewalk for me LOL, but appears that they're using some sort of wheel to figure it out, and Carson/Jack say in confessional that Mel/Erika and Han/Holden looked like they had seen a ghost when they showed up :-) Anyways, they compare this task to solving puzzles in Dungeons and Dragons, which of course is their hobby :-) The teams have been provided with some sort of wheel to translate the passage, and Carson/Jack find out there are English words on the bottom side, allowing them to do the decoding :-) This leads to Han/Holden also discovering the English words undeneath, and a bunch of whispering at each other in the library, with Carson/Jack and Han/Holden deciding to help each other and try to get Mel/Erika out, and the mother-daughter aren't making a good case for themselves as their latest submission is just random letters of gibberish LOL.
- After Jo/Ana's clue pick up at the statue garden, back to the dancing: Mark gets it on the first go (as a Vegas entertainer, of course he would) and Brett makes a quip about someone being ready for their close up... As they get the clue for the pitstop at St Alex Nevsky Cathedral, Mark promises to bring the formal training back to Vegas LOL. Next up are Aly/Jo, and Josiah is dancing for the team, since he grew up in the Rio Grande Valley, where he's been to lots of quinceanearas and done lots of dancing ("But nothing like this") Library: Han/Holden are pretending not to be close to finishing yet in front of Mel/Erika, but they soon submit the correct answer, a passage from the Bible, and decide to wait until Carson/Jack get it, though Carson/Jack do warn them not to tell Mel/Erika... But Han/Holden tell them the first couple words anyway, in the name of honest game play (their words)
- After a failed dancing attempt by Josiah, Jo/Ana show up and Ana decides to do it since she loves dancing and has done salsa classes, learning from everyone around her, LOL. Back at the library, Mel/Erika finally get the job done, and say "You think the people who know the bible should know this" and find themselves frustrated that a Bible quote looks to knock them out... While Ana is having hard time at dancing, Brett/Mark arrive at the cathedral and get $7500 each :-)
- Carson/Jack and Han/Holden are on foot looking for the statue garden cluebox, and after Carson/Jack note a red pre-socialist star, the contestants decide to ask for directions... Carson/Jack end up finding the statue garden cluebox first, then take the metro, and while they're on the metro they compare themselves to Frodo/Sam again, recalling the story of Lord of the Rings, and thinking that's how they have to finish :-) After clue pickup by Han/Holden and getting to the club, Jack and Holden will be performing the RB :-)
- After clue pick up at the statues, Mel/Erika are still looking for a cab despite busy street, as they quip that "Bulgaria is not our place" but also comment that "Phil has not told us anything yet"... This will be important later, but anyways, Aly/Jo finish 2nd, and quip that "If it wasn't challenging, it wouldn't be a TAR", followed by Jo/Ana getting another podium finish in 3rd :-) Mel/Erika finally arrive at the club and Mel takes the task for the team, calling it just like Greek dancing
- With Carson/Jack in 4th, Phil Keoghan "was not sure if it was going to be your day", but calls their finish "One of the greatest comeback stories in TAR history" :-) Han/Holden finish in 5th, and it wasn't a good day, especially with learning the Bulgarian dance, which Holden calls Bulgarian-style cardio, LOL. Mel/Erika already arrive in last, and before elimination, Phil Keoghan even points out they misread the clue, since they weren't supposed to take a taxi to the club, and if I had a nickel everytime a mother-child team got eliminated after taking a cab, I'd have two nickels, but at least in Mel/Erika's case, they were already out without the penalty anyway :-\ Anyways, their exit interview talks about how they've spent more time together than they've had in years since they live in different states and never had the typical mother/child relationship growing up, and Erika thinks she'll handle phone calls differently going forward :-)
