The Amazing Race - Season 38

[RedHead0186]

I wish they wouldn't allow them to use stranger's cellphones. The show might as well just give them one at this point.

I agree - it's one thing to ask for verbal directions, but these days, every team just goes to a local and asks for their phone to Google stuff. It goes against the spirit of the rules against technology.

I guess I don't mind so much. Yes, they can use phones to look up directions, but they still have to write the directions down/memorize them. When you actually have a cell phone, it'll give you turn-by-turn directions as you go and adjust if you get off course. With having to write down directions, the teams still have to be able to follow them and the directions are useless if they get off track.

It bothers me maybe a little, but really not that much.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I guess I don't mind so much. Yes, they can use phones to look up directions, but they still have to write the directions down/memorize them. When you actually have a cell phone, it'll give you turn-by-turn directions as you go and adjust if you get off course. With having to write down directions, the teams still have to be able to follow them and the directions are useless if they get off track.

It bothers me maybe a little, but really not that much.

The only thing I don't like is that since it's become increasingly done they don't really try to do much on their own before just immediately going to a random person on the street right after getting their task and have the person then look up everything on their phone.

I don't mind the phone part as much as I used to, people don't really have physical maps much anymore (I mean people out on the street) and people themselves increasingly rely on their phone for directions and where something is BUT since the teams just started immediately finding a random person so quickly after I think it ends up taking out a skillset that was present in older seasons. In some ways removes a leveling factor to the playing field when there was less reliance on it when teams spent more time actually figuring out more on their own where to go.

 

[Skywalker3]

I dont' watch Big Brother, so not familiar with any of the people. I'm enjoying this season fairly well. The challenges so far don't look all that involved/demanding, but still very interesting. I like that they're doing some smaller type things in all of the European cities.
Yeah, the teams working together is a lot more evident. I do like the team who have won twice, and I think that was great for them to let someone else win. There was one season where a team was always SO close, and another team kept winning every leg....
Hope it stays good like this. Any wrong turn/directions, or some needle in a haystack challenge, or someone judgy like singing, etc. could totally flip the leaderboard.

 

[Dug720]

Seeing who got out on the second episode means I can watch it now. I despised her on her season of Big Brother.

 

[emmabelle]

I felt so bad for Jas and Jag. So unfair about their transportation issues. I now want them to win.

 

[Music City Mama]

I can understand why Jag and Jas gave up their first place last week since like they said, they don't want to become more of a target by always coming in first, and it was a nice way to "repay" Natalie (especially on her birthday) and Stephanie for writing down directions for them for the next challenge after the beer one. If I recall, they came out while they were writing them, so they just followed them, but Natalie and Stephanie could have already been much further ahead if they hadn't stopped to do that.

I'm so glad Jag and Jas actually explained why they weren't being picked up -- it seemed like they were just saying things at first to have the audience read between the lines, but I wanted them to address it, and I'm glad they did when they had trouble getting picked up the second time. It needs to be called out. Jag won big brother two years ago ($750K) and I'm pretty sure he and his family have a lucrative business, so they probably don't need to win, but they are good players and very likeable.

For those of you who don't watch Big Brother, of those left, Taylor (of Taylor and Kyland) and Chelsie (of Chelsie and Jack) also won Big Brother's grand prize in recent years.

 

[LKing]

No language barriers so far. Everyone seems to be speaking English.

I believe whether they go into a gas station, into a hotel, store, or ask someone on the street, asking directions burns time because non cast members have to sign release paperwork before being filmed. I remember previous contestants talking about it burning a lot of time during the pandemic because the person they asked directions from had to have a COVID test and wait for results. Maybe I'm remembering the details wrong, but I recall that was why teams previously debated if they should stop and ask for directions. That doesn't seem to be the case with the BB cast.