Discussion:
TAR S30 ep5: "The Claws Are Out" (spoilers)
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Questor
2018-02-01 06:08:19 UTC
Permalink
Warning: contains spoilers

My minimalist summary.

All teams are pre-booked on one of two flights to Prague; the first expected
to arrive at 10am and the second at 11am. Teams Musicians, Big Brother,
and Indy Racers are on the second flight.

In Prague, under the watchful gaze of Antonín Dvorák, teams directly encounter a
double U-turn and then the Detour. Without any additional information, they
must choose between "This" and "That." "This" is a beer-themed task where teams
must first re-stack a three-level pyramid of empty beer kegs to reveal a full
one, then pour a perfect glass of beer, and finally use a handtruck to deliver a
keg of beer to a nearby party boat. "That" requires teams to listen to a pair
of lectures about Copernican theory (pro and con) and pass an eight-question
oral test.

After a stop in a beer spa, racers head to the roadblock. It's the Kafka task
seen in season 15 with a room full of ringing phones, forms, and bureaucrats.
Instead of getting five letters to spell "FRANZ," they must collect eight words
and correctly assemble them into the Kafka quote, "The meaning of life is that
it stops."

At the pit stop, we are shown Phil warning each team of unexpected surprises.

finish order:

1. Pro skiers
2. Twin EMTs
3. Yalies
4. Indy Racers
5. Lifeguards
6. Big Brother

7. Musicians -- eliminated


Next week: two hours, a double U-turn, Zimbabwe, and a first-ever partner swap
Questor
2018-02-02 06:06:38 UTC
Permalink
Post by Questor
Warning: contains spoilers
My minimalist summary.
All teams are pre-booked on one of two flights to Prague; the first expected
to arrive at 10am and the second at 11am. Teams Musicians, Big Brother,
and Indy Racers are on the second flight.
In Prague, under the watchful gaze of Antonín Dvorák, teams directly encounter a
double U-turn and then the Detour. Without any additional information, they
must choose between "This" and "That." "This" is a beer-themed task where teams
must first re-stack a three-level pyramid of empty beer kegs to reveal a full
one, then pour a perfect glass of beer, and finally use a handtruck to deliver a
keg of beer to a nearby party boat. "That" requires teams to listen to a pair
of lectures about Copernican theory (pro and con) and pass an eight-question
oral test.
The two flights divide the racers into clearly separated groups at first. But
the Lifeguards try "That" before bailing, then apparently have a lot of trouble
finding the party boat. (Was it the first time the split-screen with a map
indicating a team's location and direction the has been used? It was effective
in showing how lost they were.) They fall behind as teams in the second group
catch up.

Only Conor from the Indy Racers is shown sampling the beer. ("One for the
road," he says appropriately.)

Did anyone else notice the EMTs performance on "That?" To their credit, they
stick it out and surprisingly finish the Detour first. But they adopted the
tactic of only getting one answer per cycle of lecture to quiz, instead of
trying to absorb more of the data presented and perhaps answering more
than one new question each time. Also, we are shown them successfully passing
the quiz after nine attempts -- but question number eight is, "Is the Earth flat
or round?" They had to go back to the lecture to get the answer for that??
(Yes, probably they goofed twice on one of the earlier questions.)
Post by Questor
After a stop in a beer spa, racers head to the roadblock.
Bathing in beer? Yuck.
Post by Questor
It's the Kafka task
seen in season 15 with a room full of ringing phones, forms, and bureaucrats.
Instead of getting five letters to spell "FRANZ," they must collect eight words
and correctly assemble them into the Kafka quote, "The meaning of life is that
it stops."
I guess there was some drama regarding teams working together and then getting
sandbagged by team Big Brother, but it didn't register as a big deal with me.
It must be comforting when racing in a foreign country, with everything in a
unknown language, when one team encounters another team (and their camera crew).
It's something familiar amid a sea of strangeness. Ultimately teams have to
stand on their own in order to win, and so in my opinion they should be working
toward that goal as the race progresses. This means not working with other
teams and not helping other teams. One thing I'll credit team Big Brother with
is that they seem to understand this cutthroat nature of being on a reality
television show.
Post by Questor
At the pit stop, we are shown Phil warning each team of unexpected surprises.
This was overkill in itself... and I expected that when the last team checked
in, we would get that speech again, followed by "... and you're still racing --
here's the new twist." Now we know what he was refering to, but I think the
producers spoiled what should have been a big surprise in the preview.
Post by Questor
1. Pro skiers
2. Twin EMTs
3. Yalies
4. Indy Racers
5. Lifeguards
6. Big Brother
The Lifeguards return to their lackluster performance and slip four places. The
EMTs manage to hang near the top, but I still think they are a weak team and
won't make it to the end. After a good start, team Big Brother seems to be
struggling. As always, we don't know the timeline, but it looks like the
Musicians almost caught up with Big Brother despite their U-turn.
Post by Questor
7. Musicians -- eliminated
After two eliminations, I really thought (and hoped) this might be a
non-elimination leg. Sorry to see the Musicians go.
Post by Questor
Next week: two hours, a double U-turn, Zimbabwe, and a first-ever partner swap
Gee, way to spoil a big twist. The accepted way to set it up is:

Phil voice-over: "Next week in a very special two-hour episode, racers head to
Zimbabwe, where they face another double U-turn and the biggest surprise twist
ever in Amazing Race history!"

Cut to: astonished reaction of racers' faces as they exclaim: "No way!" "Oh
my God!" "This is crazy!" etc.
Loren Pechtel
2018-02-03 20:52:16 UTC
Permalink
Post by Questor
I guess there was some drama regarding teams working together and then getting
sandbagged by team Big Brother, but it didn't register as a big deal with me.
It must be comforting when racing in a foreign country, with everything in a
unknown language, when one team encounters another team (and their camera crew).
It's something familiar amid a sea of strangeness. Ultimately teams have to
stand on their own in order to win, and so in my opinion they should be working
toward that goal as the race progresses. This means not working with other
teams and not helping other teams. One thing I'll credit team Big Brother with
is that they seem to understand this cutthroat nature of being on a reality
television show.
Actually, working together can make sense if you're in the middle of
the pack. In that case it doesn't matter if your temporary partners
get ahead of you, but it does help both you and your partners avoid
being overtaken by those behind you.
Brian Smith
2018-02-05 03:45:24 UTC
Permalink
Post by Loren Pechtel
Post by Questor
I guess there was some drama regarding teams working together and then getting
sandbagged by team Big Brother, but it didn't register as a big deal with me.
It must be comforting when racing in a foreign country, with everything in a
unknown language, when one team encounters another team (and their camera crew).
It's something familiar amid a sea of strangeness. Ultimately teams have to
stand on their own in order to win, and so in my opinion they should be working
toward that goal as the race progresses. This means not working with other
teams and not helping other teams. One thing I'll credit team Big Brother with
is that they seem to understand this cutthroat nature of being on a reality
television show.
Actually, working together can make sense if you're in the middle of
the pack. In that case it doesn't matter if your temporary partners
get ahead of you, but it does help both you and your partners avoid
being overtaken by those behind you.
It made sense for Evan to work with one of the twins as they trust each other and were near the front of the pack. It made no sense for Brittany to think that Jess was going to give her the answer before Jess herself got the clue. Way too risky of a move for Jess to make and it would have been dumb.

--
Brian
Questor
2018-02-05 07:14:57 UTC
Permalink
Post by Loren Pechtel
Post by Questor
I guess there was some drama regarding teams working together and then getting
sandbagged by team Big Brother, but it didn't register as a big deal with me.
It must be comforting when racing in a foreign country, with everything in a
unknown language, when one team encounters another team (and their camera crew).
It's something familiar amid a sea of strangeness. Ultimately teams have to
stand on their own in order to win, and so in my opinion they should be working
toward that goal as the race progresses. This means not working with other
teams and not helping other teams. One thing I'll credit team Big Brother with
is that they seem to understand this cutthroat nature of being on a reality
television show.
Actually, working together can make sense if you're in the middle of
the pack. In that case it doesn't matter if your temporary partners
get ahead of you, but it does help both you and your partners avoid
being overtaken by those behind you.
Yes, perhaps. Last season, at least two or three teams helped the struggling
Brooke & Scott when it didn't seem to matter, especially during the "ladle"
task. B&S then later U-turned some of those same teams and they fell behind and
were eliminated. B&S finally ran a competent leg at the end and won. Is there
any doubt that every one of those teams regrets helping B&S with their tasks?
Loren Pechtel
2018-02-06 01:39:40 UTC
Permalink
Post by Questor
Post by Loren Pechtel
Actually, working together can make sense if you're in the middle of
the pack. In that case it doesn't matter if your temporary partners
get ahead of you, but it does help both you and your partners avoid
being overtaken by those behind you.
Yes, perhaps. Last season, at least two or three teams helped the struggling
Brooke & Scott when it didn't seem to matter, especially during the "ladle"
task. B&S then later U-turned some of those same teams and they fell behind and
were eliminated. B&S finally ran a competent leg at the end and won. Is there
any doubt that every one of those teams regrets helping B&S with their tasks?
I'm talking about working together--a mutually beneficial
relationship.

Brian Smith
2018-02-05 03:42:25 UTC
Permalink
Post by Questor
Post by Questor
Warning: contains spoilers
My minimalist summary.
All teams are pre-booked on one of two flights to Prague; the first expected
to arrive at 10am and the second at 11am. Teams Musicians, Big Brother,
and Indy Racers are on the second flight.
In Prague, under the watchful gaze of Antonín Dvorák, teams directly encounter a
double U-turn and then the Detour. Without any additional information, they
must choose between "This" and "That." "This" is a beer-themed task where teams
must first re-stack a three-level pyramid of empty beer kegs to reveal a full
one, then pour a perfect glass of beer, and finally use a handtruck to deliver a
keg of beer to a nearby party boat. "That" requires teams to listen to a pair
of lectures about Copernican theory (pro and con) and pass an eight-question
oral test.
The two flights divide the racers into clearly separated groups at first. But
the Lifeguards try "That" before bailing, then apparently have a lot of trouble
finding the party boat. (Was it the first time the split-screen with a map
indicating a team's location and direction the has been used? It was effective
in showing how lost they were.) They fall behind as teams in the second group
catch up.
Only Conor from the Indy Racers is shown sampling the beer. ("One for the
road," he says appropriately.)
Did anyone else notice the EMTs performance on "That?" To their credit, they
stick it out and surprisingly finish the Detour first. But they adopted the
tactic of only getting one answer per cycle of lecture to quiz, instead of
trying to absorb more of the data presented and perhaps answering more
than one new question each time. Also, we are shown them successfully passing
the quiz after nine attempts -- but question number eight is, "Is the Earth flat
or round?" They had to go back to the lecture to get the answer for that??
(Yes, probably they goofed twice on one of the earlier questions.)
Post by Questor
After a stop in a beer spa, racers head to the roadblock.
Bathing in beer? Yuck.
Post by Questor
It's the Kafka task
seen in season 15 with a room full of ringing phones, forms, and bureaucrats.
Instead of getting five letters to spell "FRANZ," they must collect eight words
and correctly assemble them into the Kafka quote, "The meaning of life is that
it stops."
I guess there was some drama regarding teams working together and then getting
sandbagged by team Big Brother, but it didn't register as a big deal with me.
It must be comforting when racing in a foreign country, with everything in a
unknown language, when one team encounters another team (and their camera crew).
It's something familiar amid a sea of strangeness. Ultimately teams have to
stand on their own in order to win, and so in my opinion they should be working
toward that goal as the race progresses. This means not working with other
teams and not helping other teams. One thing I'll credit team Big Brother with
is that they seem to understand this cutthroat nature of being on a reality
television show.
And BB is very cutthroat. Cody and Jess were under attack just about the entire time they were in the house and had little recourse to save themselves. It's not surprising at all that the took advantage of the U-turn to further themselves in the game.

As for Jess sabotaging Ocean Spray as Cody calls them and the racers I didn't see it that way at all. She still helped them and she actually had given Brittany about half of the words before. Brittany seems to think that the other racers are obligated to help her. I hope they go soon as I'm getting tired of her entitled attitude.
Post by Questor
Post by Questor
At the pit stop, we are shown Phil warning each team of unexpected surprises.
This was overkill in itself... and I expected that when the last team checked
in, we would get that speech again, followed by "... and you're still racing --
here's the new twist." Now we know what he was refering to, but I think the
producers spoiled what should have been a big surprise in the preview.
Post by Questor
1. Pro skiers
2. Twin EMTs
3. Yalies
4. Indy Racers
5. Lifeguards
6. Big Brother
The Lifeguards return to their lackluster performance and slip four places. The
EMTs manage to hang near the top, but I still think they are a weak team and
won't make it to the end. After a good start, team Big Brother seems to be
struggling. As always, we don't know the timeline, but it looks like the
Musicians almost caught up with Big Brother despite their U-turn.
In one of bonus clips Phil essentially tells Jody that it was a good thing they U-turned the musicians because there wasn't much of a gap between them. Jess agreed with his assessment and said she was happy they did it. To me it sounds like they very well might have been eliminated if they hadn't used the U-turn.
Post by Questor
Post by Questor
7. Musicians -- eliminated
After two eliminations, I really thought (and hoped) this might be a
non-elimination leg. Sorry to see the Musicians go.
The last three weeks are all double episodes so the final NELs will somehow be built into them.
Post by Questor
Post by Questor
Next week: two hours, a double U-turn, Zimbabwe, and a first-ever partner swap
Phil voice-over: "Next week in a very special two-hour episode, racers head to
Zimbabwe, where they face another double U-turn and the biggest surprise twist
ever in Amazing Race history!"
Cut to: astonished reaction of racers' faces as they exclaim: "No way!" "Oh
my God!" "This is crazy!" etc.
The partner swap twist has been known about for awhile so maybe they decided it wasn't a huge surprise. What will be a surprise--at least to me--is when during the leg they do this. Way back didn't they once do a task where teams had to work with another team to advance in the leg? To me this sounds similar to that except for this time it's just one person from each team.

Have they been to Zimbabwe before? They would have been there during the last "days" of Mugabe's long disastrous reign. Maybe one of the tasks was to help to over throw him. lol

--
Brian
Brian Smith
2018-02-05 09:11:43 UTC
Permalink
Post by Questor
Post by Questor
Warning: contains spoilers
My minimalist summary.
All teams are pre-booked on one of two flights to Prague; the first expected
to arrive at 10am and the second at 11am. Teams Musicians, Big Brother,
and Indy Racers are on the second flight.
In Prague, under the watchful gaze of Antonín Dvorák, teams directly encounter a
double U-turn and then the Detour. Without any additional information, they
must choose between "This" and "That." "This" is a beer-themed task where teams
must first re-stack a three-level pyramid of empty beer kegs to reveal a full
one, then pour a perfect glass of beer, and finally use a handtruck to deliver a
keg of beer to a nearby party boat. "That" requires teams to listen to a pair
of lectures about Copernican theory (pro and con) and pass an eight-question
oral test.
The two flights divide the racers into clearly separated groups at first. But
the Lifeguards try "That" before bailing, then apparently have a lot of trouble
finding the party boat. (Was it the first time the split-screen with a map
indicating a team's location and direction the has been used? It was effective
in showing how lost they were.) They fall behind as teams in the second group
catch up.
It was the first time that I can recall that they used a split screen with a map. I also don't recall them ever telling us exactly how many minutes a team had spent up to that point trying to find a location. I liked both ideas and hope they keep using them but I doubt they will keep posting the times as that takes away from their "close finish" edits.

--
Brian
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