Michel, Great Job.

I apologize in advance for the long post but this was a very interesting episode and I am doing my best to be more verbose than Michel. The players appear to be grouping together from both an ability to run the race and their editing.

The Leaders: The Hippies and the Frat boys.

These teams are so tied together right now at almost an exclusion to of all of the other team. I did notice some subtle differences in the editing. My impression was that BJ & T were portrayed more positively at both the Detour and Road Block.

At the Detour when carrying the fish

E&J: Oh my God it is puking on me.

But in contrast;

BJ&T: It actually feels good after a little while, kinda like an ice-pack.

Then later, at the detour:

J: You forgot your paddle, where do I get my paddle.
E: Jeremy what are you doing
J: I’m running into people.
E: Hurry up get on the that damn boat, its taking forever.

And later;

E: Let’s hurry up you have to score you pansy.

In contrast, the hippies score almost immediately. Both teams are having fun in the Race, but the Hippies continue to appear to be having more fun.

Our Stories

Fran & Berry: There was a great deal of focus on F&B this episode. They were never in any real danger of being eliminated but the editing created a large amount of suspense regarding their story.

Berry on getting lost.

I’m really not happy.
Get me outta here.
We’re just totally screwed.
This is a disaster
This is a total disaster.
We really made a mistake, just awful.

During the entire time Fran was very supportive of Berry and one they arrived at the Detour it was Berry.

Let’s have fun. Let’s sell fish.

Then after completion of the Detour

F: That was fun, that was way fun.

But, once again at the Roadblock.

F: What’s Berry doing?
B: I’m going the wrong way. I don’t know how to paddle.
F: I don’t know what he is doing.

F: He is pathetic.

Followed by Berry missing and Jo scoring. But, after Berry scores.

F: Yeah!, way to go.

Mojo had another huge episode. Others in the previous thread have insinuated the MoJo’s edit has been slow developing, while it may have been, it has been on us in full force in the last two episodes.

In contrast to the other teams MoJo were the only team to appear to have a problem with the fish detour and it was such a fun disaster . I would like to add that the ability to pronounce Jagino was very important this episode and MoJo failed at it throughout the entire scene. Michel did an exceptional job in analyzing their plight, so I will only repeat it.

It was MoJo’s episode more than anyone else’s. For the second time, Monica starts by telling us we should pay attention, that she has “a lot of strength…ambition…motivation and I am an asset to my team.” Joseph also notes “I am proud of Monica”. For the second time, the events didn’t quite prove them right.

Not that it mattered then, but was anyone surprised when Monica said 41 and Joseph said 40, that he immediately said “we’ll go with 41 then”? Will Joseph be right at some point but follow the wrong direction Monica points out? It stood out a bit as something that was useless to keep in but could foreshadow future dynamics in this team.

Their detour was painful to watch. Monica started by having fun, teasing passersby with the swordfish, then realizing “the fish is disgusting… is heavy” and that “this is ridiculous”. Later sitting down, almost giving up, saying “It’s the worst thing I’ve ever done”. The camera focusing on her tears seemed too much. I don’t think that if we were meant to cheer for these underdogs, they would be shown so miserably. Their pain could’ve been abbreviated. I don’t see winners portrayed that way. Especially Joseph saying “I’m gonna stab the locals in the head” and “I had to ask so many times that SOB if it was him”.

One additional quote from Monica:

Look at how cute and clean she is and I’ve got fish guts all over me.

Truly entertaining.

I am fairly convinced that our next two eliminations will be between F&B and MoJo. Prior to this episode I was leaning more towards MoJo as being the first to be eliminated but F&B’s poor showing at the Roadblock, especially when compared to MoJo’s gives me some cause. Poor F&B are sorely mismatched physically. But if the editing is indeed linear, F&B could last longer than MoJo, if only because their edited story has spiked a tad bit later.

I am guessing we are looking at a NEL next episode, if only because one of these stories needs a completion to its arc.

The Constant Edits

Lake & Michelle: I though their edit this episode was absolutely hilarious. Last week I began to get the impression that their edit was being manipulated. It continued this week. While they seem to go at it quite a bit, I get the impression that much of it is tongue and cheek. I am really beginning to like Michelle. While Lake is obviously being portrayed as jerk, Michelle appears to be able to handle him. .

Notice their exchange after the fish Detour.

L: We gotta drive to another town somewhere.
M: We do, that what it says.
L: Maybe in the middle of nowhere
M: Maybe, but we’ll get there.
M: You ready, to run a little bit?
Townsperson: Hello
L: Hola.
M: Not Hola.
L: I know I'm speaking Spanish just for the hell of it.

Plus this other nugget;

L: What is that right there?
M; A school bus.
L: Damn!!

That was just funny.

Ray & Yolanda. Like L&M, R&Y seem to have balance as a team. But, at the same time, they are anti L&M in that they consistently get along. Once again they trailed the field and once again we felt little danger for them. The battle between R&Y and D&L was almost an afterthought. In what would seem as the distinction between the two, R&Y in contrast to D&L were ready to ask for directions.

Two distant scenes stuck out for me in R&Y’s story. The first was Ray’s inability to get the locals help and the second was his flip in the canoe. This was obviously meant to show a certain amount of vulnerability regarding this team, but I am not sure if it is meant to be shown as a weakness. Regardless, it is vulnerability than we have not yet seen from BJ&T and E&J.

I would like to think that if R&Y were to be eliminated anytime soon we would see more development to their story. If they are to win it would be a great underdog story.