Cast Assessment: (From Faves to Hatest)
Faves:
Natalie & Nadiya: I loved them on TAR21, and since I knew of their boot from the spoilers, I just knew that this was gonna be a heartbreaking episode. And the start of this leg would have been a perfect season if NaNa only stayed in. They were hilarious through the leg, their fight with the Afghanimals were great too, them fighting with each other and being all "Nadiya, you fool!" were still as hilarious as TAR21, but sadly they were screwed over by a luck-based leg. From the leg design, it's just as horrible as TAR22's Switzerland. R.I.P. Twinnies. You will be missed
Brendon & Rachel: I have to admit I LOVE LOVE LOVE Rachel Reilly. From a quote on another site, "She is Reality TV Gold." I had high hopes from them from the start of the season and they DID NOT disappoint. They were obviously very excited to be back, they were obviously good friends with the Twinnies and Mallory/Mark, and them hugging Bopper is one of the most genuinely wonderful TAR moments I have ever seen. Not to match too their incredibly hyper/happy attitude, with Rachel Train Cheering, Rachel Cheering at the Roadblock, and Rachel just being Rachel except with an incredibly positive edit <3 With Na/Na gone, they are my official favorites of the season.
Jessica & John: They are still the weirdest casting decision ever made (The Express Pass Incident is just as memorable as the Shoe-Shining Incident by Rowan and Shane in TAR23 imo), but I was shocked at how much I liked them this episode. They were incredibly great this episode. They kept on laughing at themselves being idiots at being eliminated with an Express Pass, and Jessica now has more of a voice than John, which is GREAT, and assuming they keep this up, I'm gonna end up incredibly rooting for them.
Mallory & Mark: I love Mallory. She is one of my favorite TAR Team Members of all time. Her always positive and happy attitude is great to watch. You could legit throw her into the most disgusting task ever on TAR History and she would power through it with still her positive and happy attitude. Now Mark on the other hand, has always been the weaker of Bopper & Mark. Bopper was the over the top happy Mallory equivalent to an M/M, and Mark is pretty much like Gary. While Mallory was still very fun to watch, Mark was a bit mean to Mallory. And Mallory doesn't deserve mean-ness in her life. I still love them because of Mallory, but Mark puts them down quite a lot. A Mallory & Bopper would have been a LOT better.
Caroline & Jennifer: They are still the same as they were: a really really good F/F. They were pretty invisible this leg, but I still love them and they seem to be continuing their TAR 22 Bottomgoddessing behavior from the first legs
And they will be FIERCE next week for the Express Pass so I totally love that <3
Like:
Margie & Luke: From someone who loved them in TAR14 and hated them totally on TAR18, I am shocked that I like them this time around. They seem to be focusing more on Margie than Luke, and I LOVE that. They're also the threepeater that seems happy to be back, unlike the others. I loved them on episode one, and assuming they are their general TAR14 selves (minus finale), I'm gonna end up enjoying this team again.
Joey & Meghan: Having been a Meghan Camarena fan pre-TAR22, I was always gonna end up rooting for them. Again, the worst thing about them is their fans. They are still their general selves this episode, although they seem to be toned down quite a bit, with them getting as much screen time as their TAR22 first leg. I still like them, but I can't like a team if I don't see them a lot. They also seem like they were just going through the motions through the leg, but their Pit Stop happiness at not being last kinda remedied that. I still semi-like them though, because Meghan is one of my favorite YouTubers ever, and I hope she gets more of a prescence than Joey this time because Joey is also the second reason why many people hate them. (And why they can be polarizing.)
Leo & Jamal: Pre TAR23, I was hyping them up as an M/M Charla & Mirna. While I hated them on TAR23 up until Indonesia, where I ended up liking them, now they seem to be their general TAR23 Indonesia onwards personality and I am surprised to say I enjoyed them. While Leo is still kinda irritating, they are a great team now and they were much more fun to watch. Assuming they keep on improving, we might get the closest thing ever to an M/M Charla & Mirna EVER.
Semi-Dislike:
Dave & Connor: A LOT invisible this time around, which is nothing I could really judge them on. The presence of no "Cancer Talk" though was refreshing. Assuming they get more screen time in them being themselves and no more Cancer talk, I might end up liking them in the long run.
TOTALLY OMG WTH THEY NEED TO GO OMG EWWWWWWWW:
Flight Time & Big Easy: Not only are they a three-peater that's not memorable at all, they were incredibly invisible this episode. AND, for the time that they WERE shown, they seemed like they didn't even bother to Race. And ZOMG Big Easy got fat.
*down 10,000 places under the sea*
Jet & Cord: On last night's episode, they reminded me just how much I hate them. How "fans" call them "gentlemen" is an outrage and hate Natalie & Nadiya and Brenchel is disgusting. What WASN'T shown on the episode was a fan of their paroling them around and helping them everywhere. During the Canton Tower task, they were laughing at the teams who could not find the clue inside the bubbles, and that's where I simply got really mad. You don't act all "high and mighty" that you're "doing the Race on your own" where in fact, you received HELP. FROM SOMEONE. And you have the nerve to laugh at the teams who can't find the Race envelope, such as poor Margie & Luke and the others who struggled a bit before turning around. Seriously, the worst team ever out of the Three-peaters, and because of their three-peat, now the worst team EVER. Even worse than Art & JJ. The fact that they won Two Express Passes on a horrible luck-based leg is just the cherry on top of the horrible Jet & Cord tower that CBS places them on. "Most Beloved Team Ever". Puh-lease.
