Honestly, this leg was pretty predictable. Sometimes on the race fancy editing can only mask so much. This leg was pretty directions / navigation heavy and teams seemed to slot into where they fit into their navigation skills pretty well. When I realized it was a navigation leg in the south of France, the order kind of writes itself. In the end a decent enough episode, albeit predictable.
1st - Marcus and Michael - These two have shown before that they can navigate very well. So I wasn't suprised by this. Honestly though I do think that there will come a time that a challenge will end their race. They either excel at something or get frazzled when they can't figure it out instantly and I think there will be a challenge like that to end their race. For now though another solid leg. (5th to 1st)
2nd - Emily and Molly - These two are another team with great navigation skills and teamwork. I am still worried that her leg injury being brought up again is just a prelude to it costing them down the line but given this leg was mainly done in the car they did very well. (6th to 2nd)
3rd - Derek and Claire - Honestly this was the only team that I think the challenges mattered this leg. The navigation was okay but I'm happy Claire spoke up to do the minigame side of the detour. It was right up their wheelhouse... that ball maze thing is very CBS (Survivor, Big Brother etc.) and so I'm not surprised they aced those types of games. Solid leg. (4th to 3rd)
4th - Luis and Michelle - Nothing really of interest. Solid during most of the leg. A little weaker on navigation but nothing dire. (1st to 4th)
5th - Quinton and Mattie - Driving is not their strong suit. Neither is navigation. Given that this leg was basically just these two components getting 5th isn't surprising. They did about as well as expected. (3rd to 5th)
6th - Aubrey and David - Honestly I lost a lot of respect for how Aubrey treated David. It was obvious that she was insecure about her navigational skills but taking it out on him verbally isn't going to make you any less lost. They may have survived this leg but teamwork and communication are critical in the race and if they can't pull it together they are done. I predicted a meltdown and it happened... (2nd to 6th)
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7th - Glenda and Lumumba - Honestly I have seen the race enough times to know that if the two racers are never seen physically interacting with another team then they are a long way behind. They tried to make it somewhat competitive in the edit but after that car accident it was pretty obvious they were dead in the water. This is why non-elimination legs are so critical in my opinion because they already started behind and after what happened with the car it was super obvious that they would be eliminated either way. I honestly thought they would be there at the end and it is sad to see them go given that they were such amazing racers and people. :/
I think my predictions are still Molly/Emily or Aubrey/David to go next. I think the leg injury could ruin them in a specific challenge (especially a road block) but if not I think Aubrey and David will just self-destruct. #TAR34
This was a really disappointing leg for many reasons. Just from an editing perspective the elimination of Abby and Will was absolutely shocking. I do think how other versions handled Covid incidents was dumb from a viewer perspective. But to see them being eliminated in that way really sucks. I honestly thought that they were a sleeper pick in the edit... but maybe it was just because production didn't want to put too much time into a team that would ultimately be unceremoniously eliminated.
1st - Luis and Michelle - Another big dance challenge which they dominated. They did well in the detour and then did well in the cart building. Still pretty consistent. (1st to 1st)
2nd - Aubrey and David - This just came down to a really strong performance in the roadblock. I still don't have that much faith in them because they get frazzled easily. It will be interesting to see them back driving themselves in Europe. (8th to 2nd)
3rd - Quinton and Mattie - Another strong performance. This team has stayed consistently in the top half for these last few legs. It will be interesting to see if they can ride this momentum moving forward. (6th to 3rd)
4th - Derek and Claire - I'm not really sure what was going on with these two at the alphabet challenge. In the end though they did fine. I am happy that they are in the 2nd group to leave in the next round (2nd to 4th)
5th - Marcus and Michael - Talk about botching a roadblock. It seemed that he was worried that the judging would be specific like the motorbike but this was just building a cart. I thought that these two would win the leg easily. In the end that threw them into the bottom 3 leaving in France.. crazy. (3rd to 5th)
6th - Emily and Molly - I don't even think that they did anything inherently badly. They were just slow at the roadblock I guess. I am worried though that they brought up her leg again. They have downward momentum and that is never a good thing. (5th to 6th)
7th - Glenda and Lumumba - This was the perfect example of a bad detour choice. Against the three dance teams they screwed themselves. And that energy was bought into the roadblock. I am happy that they get a second chance. They do have the big deficit though... It is only 45mins though? That sounds a lot sure if they are fighting for first.. but realistically they are just trying to survive and so the third group are leaving just 15mins before them which is definitely recoverable.. (7th to 7th)
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8th - Abby and Will - Sad way to go :/
I honestly think that the twins are in trouble next leg. As much as I think Aubrey and David are still on the verge of a big meltdown.. I think Emily and Molly are slowly being lost in the shuffle and if they can't bounce back they are toast... #TAR34
Overall to be completely honest this leg seemed a little boring. It seemed like they managed to get the rights to go to Jordan and just said 'we need to show off Petra' and that's kinda all the leg was. I'm assuming that the next leg will also be in Jordan given the promo so at least we will get to see a bit more of the Kingdom. The pre-leg segment was kinda fun. It was nice seeing them going to the new starting point. I think the challenges themselves were pretty weak. The metal detector challenge was okay and at the detour I don't like it when they repeat challenges. There was a slide puzzle on the first leg and another one on this leg. Just seems like lazy race writing. At least make the puzzle type different. In terms of the results it seemed to go to plan...
1st - Luis and Michelle - Really strong performance. The travelling from the Roadblock to Petra seemed super weird though. It felt like some people took forever but some teams seemed to teleport there. I think it was just because there was no time seeing the teams actually driving to Petra which made it a little jarring. They won the puzzle off and so congrats on the win. (4th to 1st)
2nd - Derek and Claire - Honestly this was really surprising. They definitely teleported. I am convinced. Derek smoked the detour and then all of a sudden they were one of the first teams at the route info at Petra. Close in the slide puzzle. All in all solid as usual. (7th to 2nd)
3rd - Marcus and Michael - Another solid enough leg. They kept their lead and just picked the bad detour. Not much you can do about that. (2nd to 3rd)
4th - Abby and Will - Another leg with no Abby and Will. Their edit is definitely giving INV or at least UTR. Another strong middle of the road leg. (3rd to 4th)
5th - Emily and Molly - Not much to report on the girls besides her leg injury. It is always scary when a team has an injury - especially a leg injury. I am worried about how prevalent it was in the leg. It suggests it will come into effect in the next few legs - definitely worrisome. (1st to 5th)
6th - Quintin and Mattie - I really am enjoying this team. Another team that is a little lost in the edit because they have been middle of the road so much but solid leg I guess. (5th to 6th)
7th - Glenda and Lumumba - Definitely a favourite of mine. They are just a really fun couple and given how much screen time that they have had I have a feeling that they will make the final. I thought earlier that they may have a meltdown level leg but now after 5 rounds, I think that they will just make the finale. (8th to 7th)
8th - Aubrey and David - Really strange performance. How do you mess up a slide puzzle that badly. I definitely think they are in a downward trajectory and given that they are doing another leg in Jordan (aka no flight) they could be at risk. (6th to 8th)
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9th - Linton and Sharik - I really lost all respect for her at the end of last leg so I am pretty apathetic to their elimination. I predicted their elimination.
I am worried hearing a team get Covid because I HATED how the Australian and Canadian versions treated Covid. Letting teams skip legs and coming back in just doesn't vibe with me. I think assuming all things are equal I think Aubrey and David will fall behind and won't be able to catch up... #TAR34
Given that this was a mega leg it made sense to group this together. For the most part I feel like it was pretty interesting. I think the outcome was what I think I wanted two episodes ago but after that leg it totally changed. Very strange.
1st - Emily and Molly - I think that they are finally hitting their stride. I was really impressed at the motorcycle roadblock and then they just ran with the momentum from there. It was a leg that suited them in Florence and they excelled. (7th to 1st)
2nd - Marcus and Michael - I still don't like them too much but I think that they were solid again. Consistency is key on the race and I think that they will be strong competition for many legs. (1st to 2nd)
3rd - Abby and Will - I picked them as my sleeper pick and again solid in all respects. We barely saw them but I liked that they were independent. In the end they got ahead of a few teams because of it. Good energy too. (6th to 3rd)
4th - Luis and Michelle - Very solid this episode. Nothing too crazy. Definition of middle of the pack. (5th to 4th)
5th - Quintin and Mattie - Basically the same as Luis and Michelle... they ran the leg together after all. Good improvement. (10th to 5th)
6th - Aubrey and David - Middle of the pack. I think that 4th-6th were all pretty interchangeable this leg. All the dancers coming through middle of the road. (8th to 6th)
7th - Derek and Claire - I'm not sure why but I feel like it was a little shady what they did to Claire. The yodeling was one thing but the motorcycle was hard and they made it seem like she was stupid. But when Derek did the sculpture we barely saw him until he got the clue after most of the people had finished. Hopefully their attitude and spirits stay high and they can bounce back. (4th to 7th)
8th - Glenda and Lumumba - Wow this was a wobble and a half. I predicted it but I'm happy they made the mistake at the start of the super leg because they did really solidly at all the challenges. She made the point to remain positive and it really showed in their ability to claw it back. If they get back to level footing with a flight or something I think they will do well again. (2nd - 8th)
9th - Linton and Sharik - OH MY GOD. I have never seen someone deteriorate so quickly on the amazing race... at least not in a while. This was a Rachel level meltdown. Why was she so upset. Maybe she was just drained but seeing someone so adamant to quit really erked me. Especially with the other teams near the bottom fighting so hard to survive. I think their mentality will kill this team in a future leg. (3rd to 9th)
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10th - Rich and Dom - I can see now why some people really liked her now. I felt that it was a little fake but this leg I think it was the authenticity that shocked me. She was 100% herself and seeing her crying on the mat was heartbreaking. Especially since Sharik was so negative. I didnt expect much from this team but in the end it sucked to see them go.
I predict that Linton and Sharik will be the next to go... #TAR34
I think this episode was really interesting. I think it shows some clear weaknesses from some teams. I think it was fine. A team I didnt really care about left and so it still feels fine. I'm not sure how I feel about sending the teams out in waves. It kinda changes the 'every second matters' mentality to simply 'position matters' as if the pitstop is a sign up sheet for buses or something. Being 1st doesnt matter as much as being in the top 3 to get out in the 1st wave. I guess it does save time in the editing so I guess we get to see more race which is good.
1st - Marcus and Michael - I warmed up to these two a little bit. Still not my favourite team but still think they are a solid team. Strong and consistent. (6th to 1st)
2nd - Glenda and Lumumba - Most consistent and strong so far. Clean leg which shows that musical legs aren't going to sink them. Navigation solid too. As long as communication remains high I still think they are going pretty far. (2nd to 2nd)
3rd - Linton and Sharik - Another quietly strong team. Again didnt really remember them much. They seem to be pretty invisible in the edit. They are doing well though so maybe they just have one bad leg soon and are cut before making it far enough to be given a storyline. I guess we will see.. (4th to 3rd)
4th - Derek and Claire - These two had me STRESSED. Claire struggling at the yodeling had me worried but they have good communication and navigation and Dx really did well with the bells. It kinda worries me about Claire roadblocks in the future. Still I think that they were pretty good. (1st to 4th)
5th - Luis and Michelle - Of all the dancer couples they did the best this leg at the dancing but I think this was the second leg of bad navigation and if this leg didnt have as much dance and rhythm maybe they could have been in more trouble. They did well in the challenges though so we will see. (10th-5th)
6th - Abby and Will - Still my sleeper pick. Although them being childhood sweethearts makes me a little sick, they did pretty middle of the road this leg. Solid navigation, communication and challenge performance. I guess it will be more interesting on more demanding legs. Still hoping for the best though. (8th to 6th)
7th - Emily and Molly - I'm still hopeful for them to do well but this was a team that did way worse than I thought they would. I think them struggling at the challenges themselves was their biggest problem though and though that could be an issue they still had fine navigation and teamwork. I just dont want to lose the only remaining all girl team too soon. (5th to 7th)
8th - Aubrey and David - Another pretty bad leg. I think their navigation is a big issue and later in the season it would have cost them. Also the fact that this was a dance heavy leg also helped them. I'm still not convinced with this team at all. (11th to 8th)
9th - Rich and Dom - Urgh. Maybe I'm just too dark or negative but this woman seems fake. It seems like she is acting obnoxiously happy. If she is really that happy good on her but it just seems like something is off with this team. Also they didn't read their clue which is TAR 101 so I don't see them making it far. (9th to 9th)
10th - Quinton and Mattie - These two started the leg on the worst possible foot. I would say bad navigation (which they did have) but I think it was also just bad clue reading. Why are they searching in Germany when it said in the clue it was Austria. I think though I was right about them being the best of the three dancer teams. I think if they all showed up at the same time these two would finish first. I still have confidence in them though because even from behind they had a good mental attitude and that is gold on the race. (3rd - 10th)
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11th - Tim and Rex - Kind of expected unfortunately. I think that the casting and the leg selection seemed a little shady though. This dude was obviously a stunt cast and I think making a leg so rhythmic so early in the season is obviously going to be one that they struggle at. I didn't like them much personally but I feel like CBS definitely lost viewers in future legs and I think that they could have milked his stunt casting for a few more legs.
I predict that the next leg Aubrey and David will be the next to go... #TAR34
I haven't done one of these for a show in a while but why not.
I was a bit apprehensive when I heard about no non-eliminations and this scramble twist but I actually think that the first leg was really enjoyable. I think the biggest problem TAR has had in recent years is monotony. I think this adds something unique and I think the cast itself is really fun which is important.
1st - Dx and Claire - I'm so happy that they got off to a good start. I loved them on BB and I think them getting out the gate strongly will give them a confidence boost. Hope that they will continue to do well in the season.
2nd - Glenda and Lumumba - I think this will be a team that will be a force during the challenges. They seem to have good synergy and I think overall they will go pretty far.
3rd - Quintin and Mattie - I don't really remember them much but you can never count out a team with dancers. If they are this competitive on a leg without dance/rhythm it will be interesting to see them on dance heavy legs. I think they will go far.
4th - Linton and Sharik - I dont really remember them much in the leg. Either for 2 reasons. 1, they go really far and will have other legs to be the focus... or 2 that they are an early boot.
5th - Emily and Molly - I feel that this team was prominent in the episode. I seem to remember them a lot and I think them doing solidly in the top half that they will be around for a while.
6th - Marcus and Michael - I really didnt like this team. Something about them turned me off. Despite that I'm sure they will do fine for a while.
7th - Tim and Rex - Urgh, I understand stunt casting to bring in people but football really. I didnt like this team but I think they will last a few legs and be eliminated early just due to physical limitations / age.
8th - Abby and Will - Surprisingly bad performance. I thought that they would have done a bit better. Obviously it is just the first leg but I thought that they would be a team to come out swinging. I guess time will tell.
9th - Rich and Dom - I think this will be a super polarizing team. I didnt really like Dom's energy and I think Rich is just a follower. I guess time will tell though.
10th - Luis and Michelle - I'm shocked that these two did so poorly to be honest. I thought that this team would sail through the leg. I think that the fact that Quintin and Mattie were the stronger performing ''dancer'' team also could bode badly for Luis and Michelle.
11th - Aubrey and David - Another dancer team that was my least favourite of the three. I think that they deserved to be at the bottom of the pack. I don't see them making it far.
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12th - Aastha and Nina - I'm really sad that these two are out. Not only did we lose a cute multicultural couple, but a gay couple at that. Not to mention that for some reason there were only TWO fem/fem teams cast for this race leaving the twins as the only pair of girls left. Sad to see them go.
In the end I think this season has high promise. It will be interesting to see how it plays out. My top three prediction is Dx/Claire, Abby/Will and Emily/Molly. I think that Glenda and Lumumba will be eliminated in a shocking way. Either just consistent high performances and a shockingly bad day... or they are targeted by a twist (U-turn etc).
