In the first incident, it looked to me like they were running for the clue box at the hair salon at the same time, and she basically ran up behind him and into him, and she put her hand on his back to brake, thereby touching him. Throwing the elbow up was totally unnecessary by him.

Later on, on the mat, I thought Margie went totally overboard, bringing up the whole, "You're black...you should know what it feels like.". Cheese and rice.

And yes, while Kisha and Jen were smiling, I think it was more of a nervous reaction to a stressful situation (kind of like when you are under tension and feel as though you are going to laugh in an inappropriate situation...like a funeral for an example).

That's how I saw it go down.

I totally agree... I think they both overreacted, but Mom and Luke were way out of control... Yes Keisha and Jen should not of been smiling, it was insensitive, but it was not out of control like the black comment and mommy's outrage and luke's storming off... And the only intended violence that seemed to appear was the clear elbow Luke gave...

I thought they were both running to the clue box at full tilt and she wasn't able to brake quickly enough so she bumped into him and put her hand on his back in a reflexive "catch yourself" kind of movement. He threw the elbow. Adrenalin was high. I thought they were doing the nervous laughter/smiling at the end. I kind of want to watch that part again. I happen to have a son who has a hard time not laughing when he's in trouble, and I know how infuriating it is to be yelling at him and have him smiling or laughing, but I also understand that it's how he reacts to being in trouble. I don't think Mom was going from 0-60 at that point, it had been brewing all day with repeated interactions and fuming while in the cab.

This leg of the race was so incredibly close among the first three teams. Wow!

I'm so glad the cheater men are gone but the girls with the dancing almost lost that huge lead. I'd guess that unless someone makes a huge error, the top three tonight will be the final three. The girls mess up too often but have managed to stay in it because others mess up worse.

I do think everything got blown out of proportion, but I do have to come to Luke and Margie's defense on a couple of points.

Simple fact: Luke is deaf. I don't think Keisha (Jen?) meant to run into him at the first clue box, but Luke's elbow was an instinctive reaction for someone who cannot hear and is wary of being attacked from behind.

Keisha and Jen could do nothing but complain about what happened in the cab to the next clue. In my opinion, they were hoping/looking for something to happen the next time they ran into Margie and Luke.

Luke should have let it go when they reached the check in. But, he was angry and wanted to make his case known. As Margie said, all his life, people have made fun of him when he signs. When Margie saw the girls laughing, I don't blame her for her first reaction being that someone was making fun of her child. I think most mothers would react the same way.

I did have to laugh a little at Victor and Tammy literally caught in the middle. Victor looked like he wanted to be anyplace else in the world, but standing between two fighting teams.

^^^ My thoughts exactly.

And our time will come, NA. Our time will come.

If I was Victor or Tammy, I'd be pissed that the two girls had the nerve to check in before me after they all basically did NOTHING at the detour but ride my coat tails.

I agree, but it's a combination of whoever can use their wits AND run the fastest. They got outrun, plain and simple.

He should have said to the calligrapher (in Chinese): "Stamp us, and then give us a head-start before you stamp the other teams. If we lose, our parents will (LOL) cry themselves to death back in America".
-----
Okay everybody...you can rewatch the discussion at the mat here and then we can discuss / analyze:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aimCmQ3YyIo
I'm not sure where the 'laughing' part is? Is it at the 2:10 or 2:12 mark?

To me, Luke put his butt out at the first clue box (kinda like "boxing out", as one would do in Basketball) and to me, this is proof that he was WELL AWARE that she was there, deaf or not. So I don't really buy the whole, "it was an instinctive reaction to being taken by surprise because he couldn't hear her coming because he is deaf" excuse.

I agree, he knew she was there, and to me it looked like she put her hand on his back to stop her momentum from pushing him down.

They were both scrambling for the same thing, and at the second box, it was his momentum that pushed her into the box, nearly knocking her over. (btw, good save - she's got good balance, I would have landed on my face, on the box!).

I also agree that the "laughter" was more of the nervous, "this is awkward" type. My kid does that too, and I sometimes want to "Wipe that smile right off his face!!" Haha (child abuse JK;)) He can't help it! It is what he does in a tense situation!

I think lots of people do, either reflexively or (as I think one of the sisters may have said) on purpose to either diffuse the situation or keep cool themselves while the other side gets hotter.

Frankly, the whole thing reminded me of a basketball game where things are getting a little rough. Call a time out and let everyone chill a minute.

ETA: Here is what Phil had to say about it. He says he thinks the laughter was nervous. But I swear, I think there were one or two times, before and after, when one or both of the sisters said they would smile to make the other person madder, meaning it was on purpose, though not with the intent of making fun of his deafness.

But I love Phil just for saying this about Jaime and the choreography competition: "Yelling at someone who doesn't understand your language when you're in their country -- are you serious?"

I'm trying to remember if, during other extended legs in other seasons, the clue actually said "pit stop" before they received another clue or if the leg just seemed to go on forever?

The swimming challenge would have been my best one so far. MC and nittany: my words of wisdom when you dominate the race, don't ever choose the challenge where someone has to judge whether you are doing it well enough. It always takes longer to please someone else than to just endure whatever the other task is, except, maybe, with calligraphy. It messed up the mean pretty girls with choreography and it messed up Tammy and Victor and Jen and Kisha this week. Both teams would be much further ahead if they had done the swimming first.

I wasn't surprised by the "To Be Continued" because of the timing of episodes left.

When Victor and Tammy started talking about how bad it would be for them to be eliminated in China, my first thought was: You guys are toast.

Has there ever been a season of TAR where the women outnumber the men at the end? 4 teams with 6 women and 2 men currently.

I have to say, I was ecstatic that the mean girl (sorry for the nice one, but she's attached to a witch) didn't win a leg!!

Gosh, did the timed jumping thing mess up Tammy and Victor or what?? They did pretty well in the swimming thing, bummer they didn't go there first!

My husband was saying that they should have just stepped off the diving board at the same time and gravity would have brought them down in sync. I wonder if they could have done that, instead of bouncing up?

Still dislike Luke and Margie, I really hope their snarkiness causes Karma to catch up.

As they said, Babye!

The diving task should've been so easy. I don't get why they all didn't practice it on land first. If they had just practiced the same approach, they should've bounced at the same time. Both of those teams are made up of pairs that are about the same size, so it should've been easier for them. As someone who used to be on dive team, that task was driving me nuts.

ETA: I think it would've been more fun if they had made them complete a certain dive, like an inward. Would've made for some great TV!

WAAAAYYYY back when I learned to dive, I was told to stand at the end of the end of the board then walk forward three steps. Turn, then one two three jump. Just watching the divers I would think they would have figured out some variation of the 3 steps then jump thing. :confused:

Finally got to watch it last night.No question! And especially with the diving -- it was obvious to me that would take forever.

Maybe. But the height was enought that disparities in weight could come into play. I think Tammy needed to be a hair ahead of Victor so that the weight thing would even out, but trying to coordinate that would be hard.

Jen and Kisha can leave now and can take their ugly American attitudes with them. So can Cara. Meanwhile, Luke and Margie, give what happened before a rest and concentrate on your own race. Holding on to grudges ain't pretty or helpful.

Funny how I didn't really like Tammy and Victor at the start of the race and now they're the only ones I really do like. (Margie and Luke, you've almost blown it with me.)

Ditto, ditto, ditto

And I like that Victor realizes how much they've grown as a team

My mom was very unsuccessful at getting details out of Cara and Jaime last weekend. She needs to work on her interrogation skills.

i don't think i would have taken that bathroom break with the race so close.

I thought the same thing when they kept talking about how badly she had to go. Run to the mat, get checked in and then run to the bathroom. The was the most expensive bathroom visit those two sisters have ever had.

DaffyKD

Memo to Team GC - wear Depends!

The only thing was that it appeared that neither of the last two teams spotted the mat. They knew that they would have to run around a bit, and you could tell when she got out of the car that she could barely walk! She was doing the GottaPee Dance and if they were truly going to have to dart around that huge place looking for the mat then I think sacrifcing the minute to pee in lieu of it slowing down their movements while searching for the mat was the better choice at the time.


And very funny SWTX!

Yeah, when you gotta go that bad, there's no holding it anymore, you gotta GO. I was thinking she'd be offered a contract for the bladder control medication with that commercial "Gotta go, gotta go, gotta go right now"

she took a drink after each bite.

i wonder if it would be considered disrespectful to pee in you pants in china, lol?

Yeah, I would of totally pissed my pants, and not gave it a second thought until I hit the mat...

what if one of the road blocks said to strip down to your underwear and run a mile in the cold? i think they did that this season, but no one was wearing depends fortunately.

Then I'd work out a sweet promotional deal with Depends!!!:)

I cannot believe that girl stopped to go to the bathroom!! Oh well, that was a million dollar potty break!

Now, I have to watch another week of that AWFUL girl who hates China because people don't speak English, and that WHINY kid and his enabler mother.

Please run fast and make good decisions Victor and Tammy!!

I thought I posted last night, but apparently I didn't submit.

LOL. No need to worry, though. Unlike certain contestants, I can keep everything under control.

You know, the possible jokes are endless. In the post I thought I submitted last night, I called it the million dollar pee.

Or pissing away a million dollars?

To pee or not to pee, that is the question.

Clearly the answer is not to pee. But with the outfit she had on, I doubt anyone would have noticed if she just let it go.

I was really hoping to be rid of Jaime and Cara.

May it be so!!

possible spoiler!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwjDD...layer_embedded

that is a very saddening spoiler... VERY!

I still want Margie and Luke, so it's all good for me. We'll see tonight!

Same here...and seriously, she was wearing a big ass blousy caftan thingy. No one would have noticed!

The most expensive mistake of her life. Sigh

I'm actually watching the finale as it airs, something new for me this season! I chime in on the side of she shoulda peed and run, who cares when there's a million $$ on the line? Someone ran in the freezing cold in a thong, you can't pee down your leg to get into the finale? Priorities. Don't worry, MC, I inherited my father's camel-like bladder. And if it came down to it, I would pee on the run. :)

I've not been a faithful follower of TAR, but I swear, if you two are ever a team, I will watch every. single. episode.

Seriously, y'all have to apply some day. I would almost feel sorry for your not-a-chance-in-hell competitors.

Yay! I loved that ending :)

Me too!! Yay Victor and Tammy, they deserved it!

Glad they won.

Margie and Luke are local here, so the news mentioned them. Apparently Luke is talking about wanting to go on other Reality TV shows already. :rolleyes:

^^^No one will like him on those, either.

Watched it last night. I was glad too. I just wish Jaime had come in 3rd. (Okay, Cara too, but only 'cause she was with Jaime.)

I have to admit -- I felt bad for Luke. He was doing an awesome job with the surfboards. I mean seriously, putting up #1 and then #8 without the ##2-7 reference points. I was really impressed. Too bad China gave him trouble. That would just have to be so discouraging.

One day, nittany, one day.