Thanks michel for hosting this thread. I always enjoy reading your posts for their analysis and insight.What did I learn this season? It’s about the stories and not necessarily the winners. Eric and Danielle won, but Dustin and Kandice got the best edit. They were spotlighted at the finish line with their closing comments as if they were the winners. Charla and Mirna were highlighted nicely at the end too. And then we had Eric mumbling about what a great girl Danielle is and an idiotic phone conversation with Jeremy. (I know it’s part of the story, but why did we have to see him again?!) Eric and Danielle received the obligatory dysfunctional couple edit; it just so happened that pulled together in time to win. This was Dustin and Kandice’s season and the winner doesn’t necessarily get the most attention (see Tyler and James). Mirna also had a funny quote that summed up their edit when she was talking to her taxi driver, “This is a crazy adventure and you’re part of it.”
I’m not sure that I agree with portraying Eric and Danielle so negatively. In an unspoiled season, Rob and Amber’s early victories, Danny and Oswald’s mid-season victories and the Blondes late season success would have thrown everyone off their scent anyways. They were underdogs all season, but perhaps Eric and Danielle never said anything noteworthy the editors could work with! However Eric and Danielle never said anything so dreadful that I thought “they’ll never be the winners” like I did with Rob and Kim and Lyn and Karlyn and Mirna and Charla. Eric and Danielle fought in the beginning and gave the editors fodder; it added to their underdog story. They did prove they could work together and worked out some kinks in their racing style. It seems the editors expect you to have short memories with poorly behaving teams, but their awful behavior must be part of their story. Eric and Danielle never spoke poorly of the locals or treated them badly.
I would prefer not to know a boot list and I tried to not make the editing fit the spoiler, however I did use that knowledge to see how the editing was used to construct the stories. There is a definite progression; Eric and Danielle had the most developed story throughout the season. Dustin and Kandice didn’t emerge until they started to win some legs and used the yield. Last season Tyler and James bubbled along just beneath the surface of the story, but we were always aware of them.
Miscellaneous thoughts: if a team has one vile member that gets all the attention (and then the more rational partner starts getting confessionals); they won’t win (Mirna, Karlyn). The producers use irony at times, but not always. For instance, Mirna and Charla were always good at making airplane reservations, but it served to get them to the end. It never became their downfall. With the money issues, you knew it was going to affect someone.
The show is showing signs of age; but I hope it’s back for another season. It’s still one of my favorites, and I love seeing sites from around the world.