Amazing Race 20

[JanetMegan]

So I was baffled at the choice of the Army Wife (sorry forget name) to be the one to stack the hay. I'll hauled hay. It's heavy and hard to work with. He kept tossing them down on her. I actually thought the Guidos would kill it and leave the Army folks in the dust so I was shocked she finished first. They seem fairly non-compatible so I was surprised they finished first and then congrats to them on the cars. I'm still not a huge fan of the fighting though.

[The Hitchhiking Ghost]

So I was baffled at the choice of the Army Wife (sorry forget name) to be the one to stack the hay. I'll hauled hay. It's heavy and hard to work with. He kept tossing them down on her. I actually thought the Guidos would kill it and leave the Army folks in the dust so I was shocked she finished first. They seem fairly non-compatible so I was surprised they finished first and then congrats to them on the cars. I'm still not a huge fan of the fighting though.

I was a little surprised by their choice too. I think they thought the more difficult part would be to toss them down then to stack, but I've bailed hay when I was a kid on my uncles farm, and that's difficult stuff to do.

I think the key was the approach to the task. Joey/Danny arrived within minute or two of Rachel and Dave. I think Dave had maybe a 4 or 5 bale head start. They key was to create the base, a row of 10, 3 deep and 5 high. The hardest part for Rachel would be the height. It looked like Rachel did the right thing by forming her 10X3 base first then did the stacking, and then by the time she got to the top layer, Dave could throw it almost to the right location, which saved them a lot of time. Where as Joey seemed to just randomly start stacking and Danny was throwing everything to the ground. The jersey boys should have smoked them, but I think it was purely a case of efficiency beating brawn.

I don't know if you noticed, but the FF clue stated that only three teams would be allowed to do the FF challenge.

This is the kind of FF challenge that I love, you have to earn it, by actually competing for it and not simply being the first team to show up. Their is risk reward, like when Terrance and Sara(?) lost out on the gross food challenge to Nick and Starr, or Mojo and the Frat boys fighting it out on the breaking the plate challenges. I hate it when the first team shows up, climbs a pole and simply gets it.

The rest of the episode was a little boring, the submersion roadblock was pretty much nothing as each person did it without difficulty, despite all the hype and the last ditch editing to make it appear that Danny/Joey had a chance was pretty lame.

Funniest part of the episode, and one of the best so far this season had to be Ralph and Vanessa looking for a hidden clue in the carpet shop when there was at least 3 of them in plain view right in front of their faces. I like them, hope they make final 3 and would be a bit of a guilty pleasure if they won.

Can't wait (unfortunately two weeks away due to the CMA's) for the catfight between Vanessa and BB Rachel.

Still hoping for an Art and JJ win, but the better they do the more worried I get (see Tommy/Andy last season).

Should be do for another non-elimination soon.

[PirateLover]

I think the Federal Agents should've come clean to the border patrol guys when they called them out. Now, they are seen as untrustworthy. I get why they created that charade to begin with-so that people would underestimate them-but I don't agree with it. I was really hoping Vanessa and Ralph would get eliminated. Rachel sure is annoying but Vanessa always manages to kick it up a notch in meanness. And come on, she can't ride a bike standing up?

[The Hitchhiking Ghost]

I think the Federal Agents should've come clean to the border patrol guys when they called them out. Now, they are seen as untrustworthy. I get why they created that charade to begin with-so that people would underestimate them-

Let us review our checklist:
-run at the middle to end of pack, check
-take over 200 attempts to hit a target with a gnome, check
-whine that there isn't a man on their team to set up their tent, check
-shoot self in the leg, check
-saved from elimination twice, once in Bavaria (by the cousins) and now Tanzania, check

I'm beginning to think that their deception about their jobs was more to save their agency from embarrassment than it was to keep the target off their backs. So far they've done nothing to warrant "the deception".

I know many don't like them, but I love Art & JJ, I hope they find someway to make it to final 3. Dave and Rachel, I've pretty much had about all I can stand from them. They've been very lucky, they have performed poorly as a team, but have been rewarded with top finishes.

It will be interesting to see what happens next week. Two subplots seem to be going on. First the double u-turn. It would appear that Brenchel get uturned but not possible to tell if any of the other teams get uturned. Then there is the blowup that JJ has against team Rachel/Dave. I don't think Art & JJ were uturned, it kind of looked like JJ was sitting out a roadblock that Art might have been doing and was ranting about Dave and Rachel. Maybe D/R agreed to work with the boys then bolted the minute they finished? Hard to say.

I'd like to see Nary/Jamie eliminated, but because of their speedbump no team will probably think to uturn them and whoever does get uturned will probably save them.

Its interesting to see the team dynamics flaring up. We really haven't had that in a long time, not to this extent anyway, and it really could come to a boil with uturns pending.

[PirateLover]

Let us review our checklist:
-run at the middle to end of pack, check
-take over 200 attempts to hit a target with a gnome, check
-whine that there isn't a man on their team to set up their tent, check
-shoot self in the leg, check
-saved from elimination twice, once in Bavaria (by the cousins) and now Tanzania, check

I'm beginning to think that their deception about their jobs was more to save their agency from embarrassment than it was to keep the target off their backs. So far they've done nothing to warrant "the deception".

Oh, I totally agree that they are NOT a strong team. It just seems so silly to lie about it, especially when you've been exposed. So now not only are you a weak team, but you're also liars. To add to your list, how about stopping to gaze at the elephants? Yes, it's a once in a lifetime experience BUT you are also in a race and you have no idea that you are 100% sure to get eliminated. Strange things happen... another team's driver goes the wrong way, or they get a flat tire, etc.

[MNNHFLTX]

To add to your list, how about stopping to gaze at the elephants? Yes, it's a once in a lifetime experience BUT you are also in a race and you have no idea that you are 100% sure to get eliminated. Strange things happen... another team's driver goes the wrong way, or they get a flat tire, etc.

I see your point, but in a way I kind of liked that moment. So often I wonder how much of the amazing scenery/culture teams fail to appreciate because they're so busy trying to complete a task. It was nice to see them taking it all in, since they felt very sure they were last team (I think the passing of time is one of the hardest things to gauge on the show, due to the editing).

I am firmly in the "I hope Art and JJ go home soon" camp at this point and even my husband is a convert. Nary and Jamie should have fessed up when they were confronted by them, but they are still so unbelievably arrogant at times, and I don't think they are as good as they think they are. I wouldn't mind if Vanessa left the race either, she has a mean streak in her a mile wide.

I so want to like Dave and Rachel because I admire his service in the military (and her service as an army wife) but yowser, they are toxic together. And yes, they have been very lucky.

Strangely enough, I think Mark and Bopper have a chance of making it to the end, simply because I think they might sneak by the other teams when they're all busy sniping at each other. And they seem fairly competent at a lot of tasks. (if they don't get lost!)

[The Hitchhiking Ghost]

I am firmly in the "I hope Art and JJ go home soon" camp at this point and even my husband is a convert. Nary and Jamie should have fessed up when they were confronted by them, but they are still so unbelievably arrogant at times, and I don't think they are as good as they think they are. I wouldn't mind if Vanessa left the race either, she has a mean streak in her a mile wide.

I so want to like Dave and Rachel because I admire his service in the military (and her service as an army wife) but yowser, they are toxic together. And yes, they have been very lucky.

Strangely enough, I think Mark and Bopper have a chance of making it to the end, simply because I think they might sneak by the other teams when they're all busy sniping at each other. And they seem fairly competent at a lot of tasks. (if they don't get lost!)

I know I'm in the minority in liking Art & JJ, but they work well together, generally play smart and have been very consistent. The so called arrogance and cockiness that is always attributed to them generally, if not always, comes in the form of confessional. I don't know if I've ever seen them display that directly to other teams. I thought they were hilarious last night. I could see Nary/Jamie trying to pull a "who can help us poor teachers?" card and now Art & JJ put some doubt in everyone's minds about them.

I can't get behind Dave & Rachel, not just because of their childish bickering, but Dave just makes poor, selfish and arrogant choices. Again last night, I'm Mr Military, so obviously we are going to do the marksmanship detour task, absolutely no consideration if his partner can do the task, it's in his perceived wheelhouse, so we are doing it. I think he's still mad Rachel wouldn't let him fly the helicopters. He seems to make every decision (including use of the Express Pass) based on what he thinks is best for him and what he can do, not what THEY can do. So much so that now Rachel finds fault in everything he seems to say. Not a good recipe for winning.

I agree, Mark and Bopper, if they avoid the big mistakes or if there isn't too big a mental challenge, can just keep chugging along, under the radar, and I can very easily see them slide into final 3.

Ralph and Vanessa are sort of a guilty pleasure, they shouldn't be in the Race at this point, they just keep getting just lucky enough to avoid elimination. I like that Vanessa is there to be a thorn in Rachel's side.

[laprana]

I don't want to root for Art and JJ, but I have to by default since they are the team I was randomly given in the pool I am in! But, I really don't like them. They're too full of themselves and stir the pot too much, even though last night one of them said they were going to stay out of those kinds of things. They were starting a lot of them last night! I really dislike Rachel and Dave (can't stand listening to their constant bickering) and Vanessa and Ralph (she's just plain evil). Brenden and Rachel are annoying for sure, but I get a kick out of watching their meltdowns just because I watched them on Big Brother. I do really like Mark and Bopper and if Art and JJ get knocked out of the race at some point (and I lose my chance at winning any $$ ) then I'll be rooting for Mark and Bopper! They just seem to have a good time everywhere they go and don't get too worked up over anything. And they're fun to listen to!