Michel – I think you hit the nail on the head when you said that we are waiting for Mary’s and Sarah’s (and the ‘Bama Moms too) stories to finish before we see the winner emerge. FP – I’ve enjoyed reading your comments on Survivor and I’m glad you’re doing the same with TAR.

This was certainly a grueling leg where you needed a lot of upper body strength (Mary and David were lucky that she didn’t have to walk much). I also like that we are getting different teams winning each week.

I loved that their first clue was an auditory one. It was a neat twist and made them think on their feet. Lyn and Karlyn just took off, not knowing exactly where they were going. That isn’t great strategy. Dustin and Kandice also took off, but they got lucky that their cab driver knew where to take them. Tyler and James thought of having the cab driver listen, which several other teams copied. Erwin and Godwin just followed Tom and Terry. They lucked out since that didn’t work for Rob and Kim. This was all a moot point since the bus station was a bunching point, but it was interesting to see how the teams handled it. I want to comment on three teams –

Rob and Kim – I noticed a subtle shift in their edit this week. I can’t discount them as a final three team. Rob’s Ugly American act in the cab really turned me off, but Kim managed to stay calm and took control. She made an immediate decision to get out and get another cab. It took a few times, but it worked. Once she took over the oyster basket detour (although the way she did it wasn’t pretty), they finished it quickly. Rob was in the back of the boat supporting her and encouraging her (the first positive thing we’ve seen him do). They were also shown kissing and saying “I love you.” On the mat, Rob admitted that he knows he needs to chill. I wasn’t as turned off to him at the end as I was in the beginning. They commented at the beginning of the show that they need to figure out who’s in control; well they did that this leg and came in first. We’ll see if they can keep it up or if it was a one time thing.

Erwin and Godwin – They are not the best racers (we know that luck plays an intangible part for the winners), but they are getting a nice edit. Nice quote on their Asian American heritage and how they want people to see their sense of humor. Godwin’s “I’d like to give all my possessions to my brother” before he ascended the cliff). And good ole brotherly love, “the reason we’re turning is because you’re doing something wrong.” “Shut up.” Their personalities are being fleshed out a bit.

Dustin and Kandice – the more I think about this episode, the more it makes me nervous for them down the road. Losing the hat at the detour could have been a one time thing, but when you combine it with allowing the clue to disintegrate points out a major weakness for these two. The next time they make a mental error, there won’t be anyone behind them. Listening to the crickets was portrayed as silly, and they took off from the Garden depending on their cab driver. But they did have the quote, “we’re not out of the race, we’re going to run until we hit the mat” which could foreshadow something down the road. They could still luck out when they make a mistake.

I have nothing to add about Tyler and James that hasn’t already been said. They are the obvious front runners. Will we have a show down next week between Lyn and Karlyn and Peter and Sarah? Peter is an incredible athlete (he pulled them from 7th place to 2nd place during the detour) and you wouldn’t think that Lyn and Karlyn could compete with them. But Team ‘Bama showed a lot of antipathy towards them during the first episode without us seeing why. At the beginning of the race Phil commented on the best combination of “brains, brawn and teamwork” and we know Peter and Sarah’s teamwork is falling apart. (Side note, I think David and Mary are doing as well as they have because David is much stronger than we realized and Mary is much smarter and they are a good team together.)