Late to the party but, when I saw Paris, France in the spoilers 2 years ago, I wasn't expecting that much. True enough, it did.
It felt like a replacement leg for me. The tasks were kind off-easy as compared to what Manaus, & Asuncion offered.
Looking for a match in a painting, playing carnival games and whipping cream & placing it on a pie.
A wasted opportunity. They could have replaced the leg in a different European country rather than France again *sigh*
The self-driving aspect of the leg saved the episode for me.
Gary loving art & art appreciation, went to museums, has art pieces at home, much to the surprise of DeAngelo. Very surprising for a 6'6 guy that's a football player. "You do not strike me as a Renaissance Man." That small exchange between the 2 was one of the highlights of the episode for me.
I thought Will & James would never recover from the driving-a-stick issue. I found it odd at first because they were superfans, they are the least team that I expect to make such an error. Amazing Race 101, learn to drive a stick.
While I do like Leo & Alana more than Will & James, the rudeness was unnecessary and uncalled for.
It reminded me the annoying Father/Son team, Dave & Connor from S.22 & S.24 where they were sour toward Brendon & Rachel. But then again, inter-team drama adds spice.
Michelle & Victoria are solid Racers, They were strong in terms of performance but the smallest of mistakes and errors contribute to their biggest downfall. In the Manaus leg, we saw them commit to a lot of errors, going down to the port instead of the market, missed bringing the listed items and missed the clue where they wandered around the route marker for 34 minutes which cost them 6th Place ending in 7th. I knew that these girls are bound to make another mistake in future and it did. Since Paris was a self-driving leg, I knew Michelle would drive as she works for BMW, you can't be a car saleswoman if you can't drive but I did not expect them to get lost for 6 hours and 30 minutes, could have been more.
Kaylynn & Haley pulling through despite the odds. Everything was not in their favor initially. Can't drive stick, Speedbump.
"Don't give up" attitude is strong with these ladies.
Hung & Chee making it back to front of the pack, this couple is not to be underestimated. Quiet racers. I cannot wait what these 2 has to offer more in the succeeding legs.
Overall a below average episode for me. 4/10
I found the episode painful to watch as the episode unfolded, you clearly knew who will be gone by the end of the episode.
I got flashbacks of the eliminations of Kym & Alli, Tanner & Josh, Marty & Hagan, Matt & Redmond, Alex & Conor.
It's a loss as I rooted for them. I wanted them to pull through...Ugh.
I still have Gary & DeAngelo and Hung & Chee to root for...
