TAR S30 ep4: "Gotta Put Your Sole Into It" (spoilers)

Post by Questor
Warning: contains spoilers
The minimalist summary.
This two-hour episode was predictably structured as two regular episodes aired
back-to-back.
Teams hop back across the Mediterranean to Nice, France, then drive to
Saint-Tropez. Everybody's on the same plane -- it's another bunching point!
Cedric apologizes for yelling at TAR participants on the TV for 29 years.

We don't know if everyone had to take the same flight or not. That's what we thought in either the first or second episode but that wasn't the case in reality according to Jen.

Post by Questor
At the roadblock in Saint-Tropez, one team member must pilot an Optimist
sailboat to two buoys to collect the clue halves. While it's possible to
complete the task by paddling, discovering how to tack into the wind is the key
to finishing quickly. It's here that the NBA stars must complete their speed
bump of stacking fifteen of the boats into a rack.

The sailboat challenge proved to be difficult as I thought it would. I just finished watching the episode and if my short-term memory is good Kristi was the only one who did that challenge with relatively no problems. Poor Evan had a ton of problems and even chipped her tooth. Luckily for her it happened in an area that probably has a ton of good dentists and they were able to get her tooth repaired during the pit stop.

Post by Questor
Next is the detour, where teams choose between "Bread" -- roll dough for 50
bagettes, and "Tread" -- assemble a pair of sandals.
Finally, it's the infamous head-to-head challange. This time teams compete in a
simplified version of pétanque.
1. Indy Racers
2. Big Brother
3. Pro skiers [arrived first but lost twice]
4. Eaters
5. Musicians [arrived fourth but lost twice]
6. Yalies
7. Twin EMTs
8. Lifeguards [arrived sixth but lost thrice]
9 NBA stars -- eliminated

Good thing for Brittany they didn't get eliminated.

The first place prize money for the racers was double what Jody got when they won a leg. Another case of BVM showing his hatred for crossover teams.

Post by Questor
The producers then make teams get up in the middle of the night to drive over a
hundred miles to Les Baux. There they find the location of their next clue
doesn't open until 8:30am. Surprise! It's a bunching point.

The producers didn't make them get up in the middle of the night. That's when the pit stop time ended. If they had wanted to sleep in they could have but that would have allowed teams that finished later to catch up. In this case it wouldn't have mattered but they didn't know that.

Post by Questor
Amidst a tableaux of medieval siege warfare, teams tackle the roadblock. One
team member assembles a trebuchet while their partner waits, confined in a
pillory. Disappointingly, we don't see how well their finished products work.

They probably all worked the same so I'm kind of glad they skipped that part.

Post by Questor
The detour is a choice between "Full of bull" and "Colorfull." The first task
is to find three different colored ribbons distributed among one hundred bull
replicas located around a French stadium. The second was to open a puzzle case
based on a Van Gogh painting. Only the Eaters chose the puzzle.

And they got eliminated for that choice. Considering that they were at the bull task to begin with I don't understand why they didn't do it.

Post by Questor
Navigating the roads of France seemed to prove more difficult for many teams
than finding their way through the alleys of Tangier.
1. Lifeguards [at the mat Lucas proposes; Brittney accepts]
2. Pro skiers
3. Twin EMTs
4. Yalies
5. Indy Racers
6. Big Brother
7. Musicians
8. Eaters -- eliminated

We'll never know the answer to this but I'd like to know if Lucas would have proposed then if they had not won that leg and got the honeymoon vacation trip.

Jess appeared to be getting a bit cocky that leg given she didn't do all that much. She better deliver when she has to do the tasks.

Even though they didn't win either leg I thought the skiers put in the best overall performance. I've been impressed by them, especially Kristi. I thought the twins were the weakest team overall again. They've been lucky so far but the bad teams are nearly all gone. If Lucas and Brit can stay focused I think the twins are screwed.

Post by Questor
Next week: Prague, a double U-turn, and the Kafka roadblock.

And another preview that hints that Jess screwed over other teams. Will it be true this time? Based on Cody's comment in the preview it probably will be.

--
Brian

Questor

2018-01-29 07:34:25 UTC

We don't know if everyone had to take the same flight or not. That's what we
thought in either the first or second episode but that wasn't the case in
reality according to Jen.

I don't think we were shown them all on the same flight; it was a comment made
by one of the racers. Nonetheless, it certainly appeared to be bunching point.

Post by Questor
Finally, it's the infamous head-to-head challange. This time teams compete in a
simplified version of pétanque.

What did people think of this head-to-head? Was it unfair? Is the placement of
the H2H -- right before the pitstop -- still undesirable?

The producers didn't make them get up in the middle of the night. That's when
the pit stop time ended. If they had wanted to sleep in they could have
but that would have allowed teams that finished later to catch up. In this
case it wouldn't have mattered but they didn't know that.

Yes, that's when the pit stop time ended -- but the pétanque head-to-head and
subsequent check-ins were in the afternoon. If pit stops are usually 24 hours,
then they should have left in daylight. So the producers obviously chose to
have the pit stop be 36 (or 12??) hours instead, thus my comment.

And they got eliminated for that choice.

They were also shown having a lot of trouble navigating. As usual, we don't
know the timeline, so it's not clear that it was the detour choice cost them the
leg or their trouble with directions.

Post by Brian Smith
We'll never know the answer to this but I'd like to know if Lucas would have
proposed then if they had not won that leg and got the honeymoon vacation
trip.

There seems to be a lot of volatility in the finishes. A team that is near the
top one leg drops near the bottom in the next, and vice versa. Lucas was indeed
fortunate, especially in winning the leg. However my assessment is that they
are one of the weaker teams and my guess is they will be one of the next three
eliminated (along with the EMTs).

We were obviously set up for this, as the producers knew the proposal occurred.
So we saw Lucas' confessional about his plans early in the season. I wonder
what would have happened if they had bounced around the bottom of the pack for a
couple of legs and then gotten eliminated.

Post by Brian Smith
Even though they didn't win either leg I thought the skiers put in the best
overall performance. I've been impressed by them, especially Kristi.

The skiers have been one of the most consistant teams, and I think they will be
one of the final three. If you want to talk about "winner's edits," we have
been getting a lot of hints about another all-woman team winning the race.

Brian Smith

2018-01-30 07:21:39 UTC

We don't know if everyone had to take the same flight or not. That's what we
thought in either the first or second episode but that wasn't the case in
reality according to Jen.

I don't think we were shown them all on the same flight; it was a comment made
by one of the racers. Nonetheless, it certainly appeared to be bunching point.

Post by Questor
Finally, it's the infamous head-to-head challange. This time teams compete in a
simplified version of pétanque.

What did people think of this head-to-head? Was it unfair? Is the placement of
the H2H -- right before the pitstop -- still undesirable?

The producers didn't make them get up in the middle of the night. That's when
the pit stop time ended. If they had wanted to sleep in they could have
but that would have allowed teams that finished later to catch up. In this
case it wouldn't have mattered but they didn't know that.

Pit stops are normally 12 hours long so nothing was out of the ordinary with the first teams leaving in the middle of the night. With the production schedule so tight I think they only do longer pit stops if they absolutely have to. This race was shot over 24 days and went to 21 cities which really doesn't leave much room for long stops when you factor in travel time.

And they got eliminated for that choice.

They were also shown having a lot of trouble navigating. As usual, we don't
know the timeline, so it's not clear that it was the detour choice cost them the
leg or their trouble with directions.

The edit sure made it seem like they were at the puzzle forever but who knows unless you ask them or listen to exit interviews which I haven't.

Post by Brian Smith
We'll never know the answer to this but I'd like to know if Lucas would have
proposed then if they had not won that leg and got the honeymoon vacation
trip.

I agree. On paper the twins should be a powerhouse team but they've been very disappointing.

Post by Questor
We were obviously set up for this, as the producers knew the proposal occurred.
So we saw Lucas' confessional about his plans early in the season. I wonder
what would have happened if they had bounced around the bottom of the pack for a
couple of legs and then gotten eliminated.

It was definitely a setup. TAR's done this before. If they hadn't won a leg I have a feeling that Lucas wouldn't have proposed on the race. He'll deny it of course so who knows what would have happened.

Post by Brian Smith
Even though they didn't win either leg I thought the skiers put in the best
overall performance. I've been impressed by them, especially Kristi.

I watched a number of bonus clips from this past week and they definitely come across as a strong team and a nice team. At the pit stop in Saint-Tropez they told Cody and Jess they would help them get to the main highway that they needed to use to get to the next destination because Kristi was familiar with the area. Cody was really thankful for the help but frickin' Jess was ready to stab them in the back as soon as they need to. Even though the skiers are very competitive they both said they have no problem helping other strong teams. I think they want to beat the best of the bunch. It would be easy for the producers to give them a great edit so I won't be surprised if they get one. Same goes for Henry and Evan. Super likable team. Jody's starting to remind me of how they were on BB. I still think they'll make it to the end but I can see them getting a much less favorable edit than the skiers.

As for F4 I'm going with the racers, Henry/Evan, Jody and the skiers. Twins and Lucas/Brittany don't have what it takes to make it to the end and the music dudes have been too inconsistent. F3 will be Jody, the skiers and whoever has the best luck between the racers and Henry/Evan.

One last point from the bonus clips. Jess had one knee all bandaged up and said she couldn't run. That might be why Cody did so much the last few legs. She didn't say in the clip what was wrong but it could impact them going forward if it's serious.

--
Brian

Questor

2018-01-30 20:37:29 UTC

Post by Brian Smith
Pit stops are normally 12 hours long so nothing was out of the ordinary with
the first teams leaving in the middle of the night.

Yes, I mis-remembered. Not sure how 24 hours got stuck in my head as the usual
length of a pit stop.

It was definitely a setup. TAR's done this before. If they hadn't won a leg
I have a feeling that Lucas wouldn't have proposed on the race. He'll deny
it of course so who knows what would have happened.

He'd better deny it if he knows what's good for his marriage! (grin)

Post by Brian Smith
As for F4 I'm going with the racers, Henry/Evan, Jody and the skiers. Twins
and Lucas/Brittany don't have what it takes to make it to the end and the
music dudes have been too inconsistent. F3 will be Jody, the skiers and who
ever has the best luck between the racers and Henry/Evan.

While those might be the four strongest teams, my guess is that at least one of
them won't make it to the final four. They'll be eliminated because of a big
mistake, a U-turn, or perhaps this season's new wrinkle, a head-to-head
challenge.

Brian Smith

2018-01-31 06:06:35 UTC

Post by Brian Smith
Pit stops are normally 12 hours long so nothing was out of the ordinary with
the first teams leaving in the middle of the night.

Yes, I mis-remembered. Not sure how 24 hours got stuck in my head as the usual
length of a pit stop.

It was definitely a setup. TAR's done this before. If they hadn't won a leg
I have a feeling that Lucas wouldn't have proposed on the race. He'll deny
it of course so who knows what would have happened.

He'd better deny it if he knows what's good for his marriage! (grin)

True!