Archive > The Amazing Race 16 Spoilers/Speculation
TAR16 Media Thread
RealityFreakWill:
Victor’s Amazing Race Blog: The Big Trust Question
On Sunday’s episode of The Amazing Race, the remaining seven teams started from a military base in Massiges, France, where they drove to Reims to search for a Joan of Arc statue, tackled a cave rappel roadblock at the Leclerk Briant Winery in Epernay, and chose between searching for grapes in a barren vineyard and stacking 680 champagne glasses fifteen levels high, before racing to the pit stop at the Office Regional Culturel de Champagne Ardenne in Epernay.
SPOILER ALERT: Louie and Michael came in first again. Carol and Brandy moved out of obscurity into second place, while Dan and Jordan almost made a move (and were the only team to successfully stack the glasses) before falling back to fourth. Jeff and Jordan needed to race a perfect leg, but could not make it happen and were eliminated. At least they showed gratitude and grace!
The word that kept coming to my mind as I watched was “trust.” First, don’t always trust your instincts — especially when you have no reason to think you’re right! Remember this rule: It is dangerous to assume, because it makes an “a–” out of “u” and “me.” Educators and Sunday school teachers around the world cringed as we realized 1 out of 7 Americans (i.e., Jordan and Caite) think Joan of Arc refers to Noah and his Ark. Fortunately, they are both teamed with people who knew better. Jet and Cord made a costly mistake when they assumed a champagne roadblock must be located in the city of Champagne and took off in the wrong direction.
What really separated the teams this leg was finding the detour location, Champagne Tattinger La Marquetterie. Teams who asked the local tourism office were all sent to the wrong city — Dan and Jordan, Steve and Allie, Jet and Cord, and Jeff and Jordan drive to the Tattinger store in Reims instead of the Tattinger La Marquetterie in Pierry. It would be easy to blame underpaid French tourism employees, but I blame the teams themselves. And so the second lesson — don’t always trust what people tell you. Put it this way: If you were walking down the street in the United States, stop two pretty girls, and ask Jordan and Caite where the nearest Joan of Arc statue was located, you’d end up on a wild-goose chase for Noah’s Ark. So why do teams suddenly trust whatever a random stranger in another country says? Having been there, I know how easy it is to get overexcited when you finally find one person who even pretends to know what you are talking about. I did it all the time. So teams jump as soon as they find someone who recognizes the word “Tattinger.” But a healthy dose of skepticism is needed — and teams should have made sure their sources also recognized the word “Marquetterie.” Teams would have either corrected the mistake or realized that the stranger really didn’t know what they were talking about.
I’m going to give this week’s award for biggest mistake to Jet and Cord, since they had to learn both of this week’s “trust” lessons. That said, I’m really worried about Brent and Caite. The detour highlighted the biggest issue facing their team — they no longer trust each other. As a result, they had a hard time listening to ideas or discussing rationally what decisions to make or how to accomplish the task at hand. If they do not work through those issues quickly, the next leg may be their last.
http://tvwatch.people.com/2010/03/22/victors-amazing-race-blog-the-big-trust-question/
RealityFreakWill:
TAR15 Sam McMillen blogs about TAR16 Ep 6:
The Amazing Race 16: McMillen's Moments, Episode 6
by Sam McMillen
The Amazing Race 15
This week on The Amazing Race, the teams stick around for another dose of French winter. It's freezing at the pit-start, so a warm and cozy Mercedes Benz is quite the treat once the leg starts. Teams leave from Veroun and head to Reims where they find the only outdoor statue of Joan of Arc. A woman playing a singing saw (YouTube it... pretty fascinating) gives them a cork with their next clue on the bottom. Teams go underground for the Roadblock and build upward for the Detour, getting lost every possible chance along the way. At the pit-stop, the teams are greeted by Phil and a French mime, making for a quiet, peaceful ending to a very disoriented leg.
WAIT... YOU GUYS ARE DETECTIVES?
The Race is famous for casting teams with unique but relatable qualities. How often these "titles" come out is up to the racers. Mike and Louie make the most references to their personal life this season. They discuss how their ability to withstand inconsistent sleeping patterns and filthy clothes stems from their days on the force. It's charming, don't get me wrong, but I doubt finding grapes in a vineyard and crack-cocaine in someone's rear-end are really THAT relatable. Dan and I always got a kick out of how Phil tried to relate our being gay with some of the challenges. "So how did being gay brothers help you guys navigate the route this leg?" Well Phil, I'm glad you asked. Reading street signs in Dubai is covered on the first day of gay training.
THE BIG CONFUSION
The obscure clues this week (the cork and the champagne bottle test tube) were definitely pretty tough, especially with the lack of English spoken by the locals. After the Roadblock, the teams must find La Maquetterie Taittanger. Little do they know, there is another Taittanger (not La Maquetterie) in Reims where they started this leg of the Race. The one they are looking for is in Pierry. The majority of the teams go to the wrong location first, so no one's game is completely destroyed by the misdirection. The navigation was so bad this week, I was having trouble keeping track of who was on track and who was somewhere in Swaziland. Jet and Cord were unlucky enough to go to the wrong city... twice. We had a lot of Oh My Gravies this week.
WALMART PULLS THROUGH AGAIN
It's such a validating feeling when something you packed "just in case" actually saves your butt. For us, it was the $2 calculator we picked up at Wal-Mart. For Team Stallie this week, it was duct tape. During the leg, Steve rams their Mercedes into a curb, busting the bumper and causing the fender to be pressed against the tire (that's right, I know what a fender is). I totally recognized the look on Allie's face when the accident happens: "my dad's the worst driver in the world, and it will be the death of me". The team pulls over to check it out, only to find their fender in the shape of a snaggletooth. With no success from bending, pulling and twisting the broken piece, Steve remembers the duct tape his wife threw in his pack just before they left. The two maneuver the pieces into place, strap on some duct tape and are saved from elimination. From then on, they were really driving in style.
BAR AND BATMITZVAHS ALL AROUND
I think the funniest blip in this episode was Dan and Jordan talking about their crystal tower. I'll be the first to admit, it was quite the tower. Frankly, I'm impressed they were able to pull such a tough challenge off. Especially with the four single glasses stacked at the very top. Very "Empire State Building". This challenge gets my "cinematography award" with the shot of Jordan's face just behind the tower, watching as the champagne is poured. Give the camera guys an Emmy. Their tower building skills were enough to make me want to convert to Judaism, just so I could hire them for my Bar Mitzvah. Then again, I don't know if my runner-up winnings could afford their expensive services.
BRENT AND CAITE OOPS... AGAIN
In a secret scene for Episode 5, Brent and Caite discuss how they're great on the challenges but just can't seem to get the navigation part down. This week doesn't show much improvement. While searching for the Joan of Arc statue, Brent and Caite are shown just standing there, looking around aimlessly. Brent asks Caite if she wants to ask some locals passing by, and she says no. That one blew my mind (ALWAYS ASK THE LOCALS!). After the Roadblock, the team thinks they catch a break when they spot Carol and Brandy asking for directions. They follow the ladies to the pit-stop, only to realize they have once again skipped a clue. Not just a clue, the entire Detour. They're having a lot of trouble paying attention to detail, and they'll be the first to admit it. I'm very surprised they have avoided elimination with so many huge errors. Their race so far just proves how crucial the navigation aspect of the game is, and how much it helps to travel in packs. Maybe Caite can seek some spiritual guidance from Sir Joan of Arc.
CAROL'S SUPPORT
Brandy volunteers to do the Roadblock, only to find out it is yet again a heights challenge. She seems pretty pissed off at first (this is her third heights task - Carol's avoided them all), but puts her head down and gets the task done. As she is getting ready to enter the cave-o-bubbly, we hear Carol saying "you're gonna have so much fun!" Carol's motivation for such affirmation stuck out to me. While it looked like she was just trying to help her partner calm down, I think she was mostly just trying to keep her from transforming into Super Bitch. So far we've seen that Brandy and Carol can get a bit moody and have trouble recovering a good attitude once things go south. We all remember their G.I. Jane catastrophe of last episode. Don't get me wrong, I'm loving Team "The L Word"; but no one wants to be on a team with Cinderella when her horns come out. Dramafest Leg 6.... nicely avoided.
CONFIDENCE CAN KILL YOU
The most successful teams are the ones who can find a happy medium between playing it safe and taking a risk. Now that Joe's blatant arrogance is gone, a few teams have come out from behind his shadow as a little "cockier" than the other teams. First, Mike and Louie seem a little bit full of themselves. At the beginning of the leg, the detectives talk about how the other teams are "running around like chickens with their heads cut off" and the two are "just enjoying the amusement of these other teams". Be careful guys, that kind of confidence is the quickest way to overlook a HUGE, race-ending mistake. The second team exuding some extra ego is Brandy and Carol. When Caite and Brent follow them to the pit-stop, the ladies roll their eyes at the young couple's mistake, as if to say "ugh... stilly amateurs". The Detectives and Team L Word definitely have the most room to gloat based on their successful track records, but I really feel like their confidence will get the best of both of them.
JOE SCHMO
It seems everyone is quite pleased that Joe and Heidi are gone. In an extra clip, Mike and Louie talk about how the other teams were praising them for their bold U-Turn decision. Dan and Jordan even tell Phil they hoped the detectives got 1st again, probably for eliminating the one team they didn't like. Correction: the one GUY they didn't like - everyone was in love with Heidi. I think Joe's departure is going to mark a new attitude of friendship and alliance between some of the teams. In the end, I'm sure he's a great guy and is a wonderful father/husband when not on the race. For me, I'm just glad we don't have to hear about his knee anymore.
THIS AIN'T THE BIG BROTHER HOUSE
Despite the fact that I really enjoyed Jeff and Jordan's charming banter, it was definitely time for the newly dating couple to go. True, they made for good TV, but they've consistently struggled more than any other team. I now find myself surprised that Jordan never got lost going from the pool to the kitchen in the BB house. The team left the race with a good attitude, kind of giving off the "I'm so glad this is over" vibe as they chat with Phil for the last time. I think they were expecting the race to be a lot easier than it truly is, especially after their days of poolside drinking and relaxation in the BB house. The emotional drain may be equivalent between the two shows, but when you factor in the physical and mental exhaustion associated with TAR, it was too much for them. At least Jeff got to repel into a champagne cellar with Santa Claus.
I'm pretty excited about the remaining 6 teams. My final three picks are still in it (Steve/Allie, Dan/Jordan and Jet/Cord), and I'm still feeling pretty good about all of them. I think the confidence of the lesbians and the detectives will get the best of them, and let's be honest, Brent and Caite's lack of attention to detail isn't very promising. Next week is in gorgeous Seychelles, so I'm looking forward to a nice change in scenery. Ironically, this season's top six consists of three all male teams, two male/female teams and one all female team. Sound familiar?
http://www.realitywanted.com/newsitem/3073-the-amazing-race-16-mcmillens-moments-episode-6
apskip:
The above recap of leg 6 by Sam of AR15 ( the previous season) is in my opinion the finest piece of writing/reporting by any Amazing racer in all the seasons of the Amazing Race. I don't agree with all his points (although for most of them I do), but they are succinct adn crisp so each reader can develop his own point of view on them. BRAVO, Sam!
Thanks, RealityFreakWill, for discovereing the mother lode and brining it to RFF.
RealityFreakWill:
Victor’s Amazing Race Blog: Mistakes Make For Merry Mayhem!
We are halfway through The Amazing Race and the six remaining teams can smell “final three.”
On the seventh leg, the teams leave France on the same flight to the Seychelles Islands in the Indian Ocean. When they land on Mahe Island, they race to the Victoria Airport Heli-Pad and take helicopters one-by-one to La Digue Island. There, teams choose between Turtle Toddle (where they must lead 500 lb. sea tortoises to a finish line with bananas) and Ox Trot (where they must load hundreds of coconuts into a cart and drive it to a market). After a roadblock bottle-dive off the Cote d’Or, they must assemble a map that leads them to the pit stop on Praslin Island beach. The allure of the endgame means placements are shuffled as teams hustle.
This episode, Steve and Allie break Louie and Michael’s stranglehold on first place and claim that elusive victory. Dan and Jordan finally make their move successfully and prove they are a force to be reckoned with. But — spoiler alert — Jet and Cord lose an epic battle of mistakes with Carol and Brandy and fall to last place, but they are spared by a pre-determined non-elimination leg.
Now I love a leg filled with mistakes and this seventh leg did not disappoint: Steve and Allie lose their backpacks but are smart enough to have their passports on them. Brent and Caite lose a coconut and almost quit when they are sent back to complete the ox cart detour correctly. Carol and Brandy and Jet and Cord laugh at Brent and Caite’s stupidity and carelessness, then proceed to make the exact same mistake. While Jet and Cord recover quickly and leave Carol and Brandy in their dust, they lose their bottle at the road block and somehow forget they need a clue before they can run to the pit stop. They valiantly swim over 300 yards in the Indian Ocean to retrieve their bottle but inevitably fall to last place. Even so, I have nothing but admiration for a team that refuses to give up, stays supportive of each other, and is willing to swim across an ocean in the face of likely futility.
People are not perfect and mistakes are virtually guaranteed in high-stress situations. Every team starts even on the flight to the Seychelles, elevating tensions from the very beginning. And once the three “strong” teams (as Carol puts it) find themselves in the back, tensions are even further aggravated.
Going into our Race, Tammy and I knew we would make mistakes. The real task was making sure we could survive those mistakes. I have to applaud Steve and Allie for charging ahead despite leaving their backpacks behind and Jet and Cord for persevering after losing both coconuts and bottles. Given the fatigue, stress, and anxiety of the Race, I don’t fault any team for those lapses.
Rather, the week’s “biggest” mistake is one shared by Louie and Michael and Jet and Cord — getting their minds off the game when it comes to travel. When those teams go for food instead of checking in and getting seats in the front of the plane, they (and Carol and Brandy) wind up disembarking last and end up having to fight for their lives with an hour disadvantage. In that situation, any mistake presents a greater risk of elimination. I can empathize with Louie and Michael and Jet and Cord, though. After non-stop racing, you look for chances to let your guard down and take a break from the competition and food is always a welcome respite. But competitive racers need to be vigilant for every opportunity — otherwise other teams (Dan and Jordan and Brent and Caite) will pass you. A brief of moment of overconfidence left the three “strongest” teams (according to Carol) scrambling for survival.
http://tvwatch.people.com/2010/03/29/victors-amazing-race-blog-mistakes-make-for-merry-mayhem/
Caelestor:
Victor is very acute with this episode. I agree. :tup:
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