So, as a special treat for the New Year and me luckily being on a break from work on a usually hectic Wednesday, I am going to rate this premiere in an analysis based on three qualities: race structure (tasks, navigation, locations), interpersonal relations (team interest assessment), and editing.
RACE STRUCTURE: Iceland... we haven't seen teams travel to this wonderful country since 2004 in season 6's premiere. Navigation haven, icebergs and glaciers, the random bag lady courtesy of Lori & Bolo, what else could a revamp bring along? This time around, we were akin to season 12's cliffside leg with a high-flying first task. Then, we were brought to an upfront natural landscape and trekked in the crosshatches of the rocky foregrounds where we were given a Roadblock that "proved" teams must be good with memory and attention to detail to avoid falling behind the pack. Afterward, the rural setting quickly swapped to the city where the production decided weightlifters were the best option to service teams a pair of rather peculiar questions about Icelandic slang dealing with omega-3 fish oil (Why?
) and Brennivin schnapps, which both team members were required to take a shot of before being sent off to find Phil standing at the marina or Reykjavik - ending the leg. Overall, the simple structure of the first leg mixed with underlying navigational obstacles stood out for me this leg and proved Iceland brought the race back to its beautifully gritty form once again. Although the random bag lady was replaced with Katrín Davíðsdóttir, I did enjoy the awe-inspiring scenery TAR showed tonight and was very excited to hear self-driving getting a desperately needed comeback after the program lost its Ford sponsorship.
RANKING: 4.35/5INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS: AKA what we know about the teams! This is where we have a major issue. Other than their line of work and personal life, we know close to nothing about their personalities other than they are all surprisingly reserved in what they wanted to share flowing out of their natural charm. Considering some of these teams have been very open to the public in their heydays (Cody & Jessica, Cedric & Shawn, Joey & Tim), I was disappointed to not figure anything of their personas. And this will play a role in my next section. It might be due to editing, but what makes any of these teams memorable will be how they interact with each other on a day to day basis and their surroundings. Saying "hurry, it's now or never" or "we're gonna have to book it" ain't cutting it. Otherwise, the moment of banter between Jessica, Alex, and Evan while awaiting their partners to finish the Roadblock has been the only sign of interpersonal relationships. I still remember Alex's comment calling Evan & Henry the "Yale wizards" and Jessica saying she couldn't believe Cody beat the Ivy League wizzes! I'm very worried to see how the team member swaps will work if this still persists. What's been lacking for the past several seasons is personality. Get the act together regardless if you gotta act. One positive thing, I really like the competitive casting this time around. They all seem to get along just fine even if some teams do have occasional tiffs.
RANKING: 1.9/5EDITING: I'm going to be quite honest. The editing in the last few minutes were golden. Applause for the closest first leg footrace since never with Cedric & Shawn nearly being goners too. However, like Cedric & Shawn, the editors messed up in the preceding 40 minutes. Navigation troubles were not shown as much which would have been valuable screentime to form a reason why these teams were slower than say Henry & Evan or Kristi & Jen. Racing struggles were substituted for "petty chat" either substances of teams' occupations (we get it already!) or personal life by including the unnecessary Pit Stop talk. The edit spent too much time focusing on their friendships and partnerships that it undermined the race aspect of THE AMAZING RACE. It didn't feel like much of a race until after Phil was shown at the Pit Stop. The music choices didn't help me get into the adrenaline and edge-of-your-seat feeling either. I want to be excited throughout, not just the final 7 minutes of oncoming placements.
We still didn't really have much of a reason to show April & Sarah fighting and what made them switch seats while driving to the canyon. It was drama with no backing. If it was put just to fill up time, it was very cringey and pathetic to watch. And how teams like Lucas & Brittany, the Yale wizards, Trevor & Chris, the goat yoga moms, and Dessie & Kayla were introduced AFTER the Washington Square Park starting line task really bothered me. It just seemed unfair to introduce them while traveling in a taxi to the airport while other teams like Cedric & Shawn, Kristi & Jen, and Cody & Jessica got clean welcomes.
RANKING: 2.35/5 (Dessie & Kay, Cedric & Shawn, and April & Sarah saved this ranking from dropping into the 1 digit)
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AVERAGED TOTAL: 2.87/5
For a leg taking place in Iceland, I'm a bit crestfallen.