It's a new rule they instituted beginning with the last season of the Amazing Race. The last team to check in in a non-elimination leg must surrender all their money and will not be given any money to start off the next leg. Teams in the past with this handicap simply resorted to begging for money from natives and tourists. I don't recall this handicap putting any team at a real disadvantage...yet.
Thanks guys, I went searching for the answer and couldn't find it anywhere. One of the things I did find (and I can't remember which site this was on) was that each team's camera crew carries an emergency cash supply with them and that apparently in past seasons it had been dipped into quite often. So, I wonder how much "begging" they'll make them do for the camera before they hand them a few bucks to get by.
The money shortage is handled by the emergency money, but that's not to be used on these legs now. Once they take away your money - you don't get the emergency fund money either. --- Old people: I wish they were gone. They suck, and as was pointed out - they make a lot of wrong choices. --- I'd love to do this race - "Two acquaintances from website" could be our moniker. I'm seriously thinking about finding a partner. A guy who can eat anything, is fit, and speaks a language other than Spanish.
Are you serious? How the hell in Senegal, as an obvious westerner with much nicer clothes than everyone else and don't speak a lick of French, are you supposed to beg for cab fare from locals? Hell, that one cab driver got stiffed for $10 and wouldn't leave that team alone. I would think that's going to be really difficult. In Sweden or someplace, they might have a chance. But not in Senegal.
The pit stop is at a tourist site, so there are probably foreigners with some cash there. I don't know how popular that place is, though. It's kind of a lame punishment though. They beg, and then the race is on as normal. Some other punishment, like making them both do the next Roadblock, might be more interesting. I don't think he got stiffed. He said $30 when they got in the car, and then wanted $40 at the end of the trip. Cabs in underdeveloped countries usually don't have meters, so you negotiate a fare at the start of the ride.
Colin from TAR 5. Flo from TAR 3. Sue from the first season of Survivor. Puck from The Real World San Francisco. (yeah, an old-school reference) Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie. Omarosa from the first season of The Apprentice. I have to wonder if the disgust spawned by any of the above on reality TV - even the very loathed Omarosa - can come close to matching the pure hate TAR watchers must have right now for Jonathan on TAR 6. Victoria is no angel. She has her flaws, sure. But she deserves a lot better than that whiny arse for a husband. True, maybe she should have just left the bag, but GEEZ! He should've just been happy they came in second. Jonathan may come off uber-competitive, but he's all bluster. He seems to be threatening his wife constantly, and blaming her for everything that's going wrong. That has to be the first time a team has come in second on a leg within the race and one of the racers is crying because she's just been berated in public. And then Phil has to awkwardly tell Jonathan to have a talk with his wife. Oh yeah, and Kendra's comments on leaving Senegal I thought were a bit rude. Yeah, I'm sure much of Dakar must smell like a toilet. Yes, it IS a third world country with a lot of poverty. But when she followed those comments with the line "... and they keep breeding," my liberal eyes just rolled up back in my head. Racist a little, ya think? I was sorry to see the old couple get eliminated, but I kinda felt it was inevitable.
That should have been Game Over on the spot for Jonathan. Reality show villians can be entertaining, but domestic violence is not entertainment.
This is just my opinion, but I think that shove Jonathan gave her was borderline spousal abuse. And for what? Because they came in 2nd? Now I know why some people are horrified at the thought of that dude having kids.
I think Phil and CBS need to step in and say "Dude, you need help. This will not be allowed to continue - I'm sorry, you are out the race".
Borderline?! Fvck that, it WAS spousal abuse. I could see how uncomfortable how Phil looked when it happened. If I ever see Johnathan on the street, I will punch him in the throat, then in the balls. I despise this guy.
WOW. I honestly didn't think they'd let him them continue. Until that point, I had really enjoyed the episode. I think Bolo is my favorite TAR character ever. Eating the raw sausage? Eww. Also, the scene with the father and daughter in the Bierhaus was pretty fuuny......Man, that's some good beer. Hold on, I'm going to get my pack.
Last week I said that maybe Jonathan wasn't as bad as I thought because he gave out candy to the little kids in Senegal. I am such an idiot. He is just as assy as ever. He was just taking a little break. I usually like reality show villains,(Colin and Christie were my favorite team last year) but Jonathan is just too much. Even if he doesn't come in last next week he should still be eliminated. Freddy and Kendra are my favorite team this year, but she needs to cool it with the "ghetto Africa" comments.
I was about 50/50 that he was actually going to say that. You could tell Phil was holding back from what he really wanted to say. Colin from TAR5 had his moments (though I was rooting for him and Christie), but Jonathan seems to genuinely dislike Victoria. Then again, seeing as how he "owns a Ferrari", there is probably a bit more to that relationship.
I'm still amazed that people who think that way will actually sign up for a reality program that involves going to developing nations. It's not as though they don't know what they're getting into. Then they act *shocked* when there is poverty around them.
You guys already hit on all the points I wanted to mention. Jonathan is pond scum. I am ashamed to be the same species as him. Dropping your bag, and then running ahead while your wife carries your bag? Note how Freddy was carrying Kendra's bag so they could finish as a team. Jonathan is pond scum. How did the old folks fall so far behind? They were all on the same flight to Berlin, presumably they all got off the airplane at the same time, went right to the taxi stand to go to the train station, and yet Don and Mary Jean were way way behind by the time they got to the train station and couldn't catch up. Even when Lori and Bolo got completely lost on the way to the park, they couldn't catch up. At least the other teams were able to chip in and supply them with cash so they didn't have to go begging from the Senegalese. The contestants can be broken down into the competent and incompetent, and the incompetent are getting weeded out. Teams like Adam and Rebecca and Lori and Bolo seem to be stumbling through each leg and have been lucky to get this far. Gus and Hera have flashes of competence but aren't very competitive for the most part. The younger four couples (Freddy/Kendra, Kris/Jon, Hayden/Aaron and Jonathan/Victoria) seem to be head and shoulders above the rest. Good detour in this leg. If I had been doing this race, I would still be staring at the clue, saying "beer or brats? beer or brats? I like beer, but I like brats too..."
Old couple didn't read the clue and wandered around Berlin for 2 hours. The other teams found the clue right away, some jumping out of the cab and back in if I recall.
Yeah, incompetence in action. They must have missed the part in the clue where it said to look for the BIG FREAKING STATUE WITH BROKEN CHAINS.
And when he gave the old couple $20 to help them out, I also began to think that Jonathan was really not too bad. Well, that line of thinking did not last long at all. Wow, what a low-class a--hole. I miss Colin.
Good episode and great points by all. Poor Victoria, Jonathan is so abusive. The fact that he never apologized after the outburst at the finish was inexcusible. Also his not waiting for her and allowing her to carry his backpack is horrible. He needs to go.
It's funny how he seems to be really nice to everyone except his wife. It makes for entertaining tv, so I don't think he should go. I'm actually hoping he makes it to the last couple shows. We have all the late 20's/early 30's good looking athletic couples who have absolutely nothing to say, so watching Jon is entertaining compared to that. It's fun to have villians. That's why I'm rooting for North Korea to make it to the World Cup.
I hope one of the guys steps up and says something. I also hope Victoria says "That's it, you are an ass - I'm out". I know she didn't divorce him yet, but I hope its in the works.