Another season is over. I hope you enjoyed the finale! I first want to thank the numerous contributors who helped liven up the thread. It was also nice to have visitors drop by!

To go back to the question that motivated this thread, we wanted to know if analyzing editing patterns could reveal the long term players. We knew that the racers’ strategy needed to be kept in mind and certainly this year, the two strongest teams were well above the others, even if the hippies got into a stretch of poor performances. We also found out, the hard way in my case (!), that editors can manipulate a team’s edit to make them look much better than they are, even if they finish only in third place . The final order escaped me, but which teams reached the final destination wasn’t a surprise.

What can we take for next season? First, that every season is edited differently with a different theme and a different story to tell. There are some keys to story-telling that should be kept in mind as a way to see the shape the story is taking after a few episodes.

1) Teams that tell us their game plan or talk about their attitude at the beginning of a leg but don’t come through during the leg won’t last long:
- Wanda and Desiree told us they had no more self-doubts at the start of leg 2 then proceeded to question themselves for 3 episodes before exiting.
- Lake and Michelle swore they wouldn’t make anymore mistakes!
- Monica told us she was strong mentally and then she kept falling apart.
- Fran and Barry said they learned from their mistakes yet repeated them.

2) Teams on a journey or with something to prove aren’t winners:
- Wanda and Desiree wanting to prove they could do it.
- The Nerds were in their own little world and wanted to prove they could make it on their own. They first found out they were doing fine on their own and then it all fell apart.
- Ray and Yolanda wanted to prove they could work together. I know, I should have paid more attention to this one!

3) Teams with a story that isn’t about winning, exit once the story is resolved:
-Fran and Barry were shown to be persevering against stronger, younger teams. Once they were seen by others as a team to contend with, they were ready for the end. Yolanda was the one to tell us on the tandem, “They are old, but they are gooood!”
-MoJo had a story of resilience and once they beat the dreaded Hippies to the mat, they had accomplished their role in the story. You might say that the Hippies also had resilience, escaping two non-elimination legs and barely beating Lake and Michelle in another. That is true, but resilience wasn’t the Hippies’ story. It was MoJo’s because she told us she should be seen as smarter and stronger than she appeared.

4) Teams that are repeatedly shown in a negative light WHEN IT COULD BE AVOIDED aren’t winners:
-Many of the Frat Boys’ behaviour could’ve been left off the screen.
-Joseph’s cursing and threatening the locals was meant to show his temper.
When the conflict appeared between MoJo and the Hippies, something that had to be shown, the stage was set. The eventual winners weren’t the only ones to blame.
-Lake and Michelle were difficult to show in a good light but the emphasis on their fights was a sure sign they wouldn’t last.

5) Teams shown as Tourists aren’t winners:
We had quite a few of these this year, from John and Scott, the Glamazons, the double D’s, Wanda and Desiree to Fran and Barry. Even the Frat Boys lacked focus at the start but did recover. Could someone win with the portrayal they were given at first? Maybe, but lets hope, next time, we have sufficiently strong teams that a team lacking focus cannot finish that well!

What about positives? The Hippies was a team that was widely commented upon, mainly positively, for their speed, their intelligence and their abilitties. Those comments came from Fran and Barry, The Frat Boys and Ray and Yolanda mainly. Most negative comments came from one source, MoJo, even if the Frats also had negatives to say. It wasn’t enough to convince me they would win but if you add it to the fact that they fitted best the theme of “The Race is Fun” and we knew they had a chance. Their over the top edit at the start which seemed one-dimensional, was changed into a more complete characterization when doubts and conflicts set in. We had noticed the race was first seen through their eyes so we could share their fun. Along with the Frat Boys, they were the favorites to win. We spend a lot of time looking for an underdog!

Speaking of fun, the scene of the race in the swan boats was hilarious! The search for the Lake Yamanaka sign was also more fun in the roller-coaster than climbing on top of a building.

The quotes that seemed so promising for Ray and Yolanda had me confused. I put too much importance on them. It is something to remember, it could help us see the teams going far but not necessarily who will win. The confidance and the positive attitudes the hippies always demonstrated were more important in a race were “FUN” is the key.

I hope you enjoyed the thread and that we can do this again in the fall!