I watched it online last night also. Had to keep restarting it and figuring out where it had stopped, but I wanted to see it bad enough that I kept going until I saw the whole thing. Must fix DVR!

Jamie and Cara definitely still grate on me. Liking the Globetrotters, Zev and Justin, and Gary and Mallory. Just wish Mallory would stop praying to God, Jesus and various Saints so much.

I was able to watch it a little later in the day. I'm blaming weather on the earlier glitches.

I forgot about Zev and Justin! I love them so much!

I found it kind of interesting how some teams were just giving answers to other teams. I found myself questioning whether they should have received some sort of penalty for not actually completing the task themselves. I know in some cases, there have been penalties for that kind of thing. It made me wonder how they decide whether the task actually has to be completed by that team or not.

Finally got around to watching last night:

Zev and Justin are so very much my favorites. I liked Mike & Mel their first time around, but they are so obviously out of their league on an all-star season. Mallory is one of those people who should be annoying, but she's just too cute. HATE HATE HATE the redheads.

I think giving away answers is pretty dumb, but when I saw the flags, I thought there were so many that the front teams would be very wise to work together.

It looks like Amanda and Kris are destined to go out quickly, which is too bad. I wouldn't mind seeing the cowboys go home first.

I think Amanda and Chris are far enough ahead -- and presumably with the race continuing after the pit stop, there is no equalizer ahead* -- that they'll be okay. The Cowboys on the other hand . . . .

And while I think working together on breaking the code was a great idea, I just don't get giving the answer away.

* Watch me be wrong about this.

The Cowboys are very likeable. I don't think they're that dumb, either. I'd bet $$$ that this is all scripted and someone else will be going home. Maybe they'll come in last, get eliminated...but come back after homie and his dad leave the game because he's too old and frail to continue. I don't know.

I'm glad that they're changing things around a bit and making challenges harder (so far). I mean, I'm a frequent flyer and I didn't even know QANTAS stood for THAT. I remember reading after the first All-Star season that Phil didn't want to ever do another All-Star season. At least they're spicing things up a bit.

At this point, I'm for anyone but Margie & Luke, the stupid Redheads, and the Goths.

MC - Amanda & Kris have their own "equalizer" in that they have to complete both detours as a penalty for getting the correct plane last in their first challenge to get plane tickets to Australia (that's where they went, right? My brain is currently fried!) Depending on the difficulty of the detours, that may completely knock them out.

And unfortunately it did. But by "equalizer," I meant something that puts everyone basically in equal place. Usually, it's a flight (because there is only one available, so everyone is on it) or a task at a limited hours of service location, where everyone has the chance to catch up before the place opens.

But catching up to last night, I was glad to see Mike and Mel go, though I also would have been happy to see Jaime and Cara say "bye." I like Mike and Mel, but they didn't need to do this again. It was painful to watch them.

Meanwhile, I'm ticked at Phil for giving the Globetrotters a penalty just because Ron and Christine were upset. (I wouldn't have minded if they had left either.) Sure, maybe the Globetrotters should have returned the fanny pack to them, but unless it's in the rules that they had to -- and we saw no indication that it is -- they shouldn't get a penalty.

Yep!

I think it was clear that the Globetrotters picked up Christine's bag by mistake. And I have to say, it didn't cost Annoying Dad and his daughter too much time -- they seemed to be pretty close behind the GTs.

If it's the rule, it's the rule and a penalty is appropriate. But I'm not sure that they got the penalty for violating a rule. If what they did really violated the rules, Phil would have known about it before the GTs arrived, because the cameramen saw it happen. Phil would have said something along the lines of what he has always said in the past: "You are the fourth team to arrive. However, you interfered with another team's personal belongings, which is against the rules, and so you have incurred a 30-minute penalty. You'll need to sit over there, and I can check you in when 30 minutes have passed." Then we would watch while they waited.

But that's not what happened. What happened was that Phil checked the GTs in. Then, when Annoying Dad and his daughter complained, Phil said: "I can see that you're really upset," followed by "I'm going to give Flight Time and Big Easy a 30-minute penalty." It sounded a lot like "You complained and are upset, so I'm hitting them with a penalty," not "what they did violated the rules so they incurred a penalty."

But yeah, it probably just boils down to my increasing dislike for Annoying Dad and his daughter.

I know her personally (though not that well), and she seems SO different on the show. I don't know if it's editing, or if she acts differently with her dad, or what.

Justin: We're a team. (goes to put his arm around Zev)
Zev: Don't touch me.

Yup. That was my favorite part of the last episode.

If he's anything like what we see on the show, I could easily see how her dad could bring it out in her.

Okay, I just caught up last night. Christina casually mentioned that she is engaged to Azaria from her season. Why did the producers not let those two race together? I think that would have been a FIERCE team.

Apparently this Sunday's episode will be dedicated to the victims of the Japan disaster.

Host Phil Keoghan Tweeted: "This weeks episode is absolutely dedicated to those in Japan. I'm shooting a PSA now for donations."

I saw that on a board today and thought it was strange, but then I thought.. how many cities have they been to that haven't had natural disasters afterward? More, lots more. They go so many places and many of them are prone to natural disasters. (on the Pacific Rim of Fire)

The Goths are now growing on me because of the great way they've handled their problems.