PRIZE: Bragging rights, $250,000 and the title of AMAZING RACE AUSTRALIA!
START LOCATION: Seoul, South Korea
END LOCATION: Seoul, South Korea
Hello, Amazing Race fans! I’m here for another season which isn’t Canadian! If you haven’t followed my TAR blogs before I do things a little differently, looking at each team in the order they last placed. I am absolutely stoked Channel Ten decided to bring TARAU back, and just from the pro-diversity cast alone (this is how you cast!) I knew it was gonna be good. I also loved the premiere’s opening with Beau showing us the Final Pit Stop of the Race, a touch of difference goes a long way. I didn’t so much appreciate Beau’s excessive hugging at each Pit Stop though… Love, is this gonna be an ongoing thing? :/ I do enjoy his enthusiasm and excitement as host, but even then I can see why he can be a bit much. Phil Keoghan and Jon Monty have a distinct swagger in them, where Beau does not (yet). I only hope he improves throughout the series. The tasks have been a little “watered down” compared to other race versions (the flyboarding and drone soccer was cool), but we’ve only just begun; plenty of time to increase the heart rates! On to the teams!!
Team #1 – Tom & Tyler
ROADBLOCK 1: Who’s Ready for a River Dance? – Tyler
DETOUR 1: Stack ‘Em High
DETOUR 2: All Heart
PLACINGS (Ep 1-2): 1st, 1st (Avg 1.0)
When the footy guys were announced you could tell they were the team to beat! Not gonna sugar coat it, they’re just a bit generic casting for me; the sporty-white-male team. Fortunately, they are pretty funny and seem like cool guys (also, not knobs), so win for them! I expect them to keep dominating, and if the Vietnam ads don’t come true, make it to the end! I was a bit sad when they won the very first leg and there was no cash, no spah reward, no Phil… But they won $1000 for the second leg, so I’ll accept that. Remember when Virgin Australia was the CH7 sponsor and teams won like a bajillion points and platinum status?! Those were the days… I digress. WATCH THESE BOYS!!
Team #2 – Viv & Joey
ROADBLOCK 1: Who’s Ready for a River Dance? – Joey
DETOUR 1: Stack ‘Em High
DETOUR 2: All Thumbs
PLACINGS (Ep 1-2): 2nd, 2nd (Avg 2.0)
TEAM ASIA REPRESENT. Who would’ve thought this tiny dynamic duo would give the footy bros a run for their money?! Leading the pack after the Detour, they only failed to paddle their raft to the end where the boys eventually beat them. So far the siblings have proved they are in it to win it and their small stature ain’t getting in the way! I was pretty appalled by their maths skills though… Their parents would have been FILTHY watching that!! Well, mine would’ve. After two episodes they are my fave team by far, and not even Asian bias either!! I swear 😛
Team #3 – Hayley & Mikayla
ROADBLOCK 1: Who’s Ready for a River Dance? – Mikayla
DETOUR 1: Stack ‘Em High
DETOUR 2: All Heart
PLACINGS (Ep 1-2): 3rd, 3rd (Avg 3.0)
For a coupla small town country girls, HOW AWESOME ARE THEY DOING?! S2S are flying that flag high for strong all-female teams! They seem fun, adventurous and intelligent to boot (they know math, haha). They showed they have a good eye being the first team to spot the red and yellow flag from the tower, but they obviously weren’t aggressive enough with the footymates and tinyasians jumping ahead of them! Overall, I don’t really have much to say here, but to keep on doing what you’re doing girls! 🙂
Team #4 – Tim & Rod
ROADBLOCK 1: Who’s Ready for a River Dance? – Tim
DETOUR 1: Fold ‘Em Fast
DETOUR 2: All Heart
PLACINGS (Ep 1-2): 4th, 4th (Avg 4.0)
My gay babies!!! Of course, we needed some LGBTQ+ representation on the Race, and while I do prefer the female kind, I’ll take anything at this point; especially on Aussie TV! Tim and Rod have extra potential, and those flannies get me excited. As expected, the boys started off strong and I don’t see too much going wrong for them moving forward. *waves pompoms!!*
Team #5 – Jasmin & Jerome
ROADBLOCK 1: Who’s Ready for a River Dance? – Jasmin
DETOUR 1: Fold ‘Em Fast
DETOUR 2: All Heart
PLACINGS (Ep 1-2): 6th, 5th (Avg 5.5)
Umm, why has it taken this long to showcase an Indigenous Aussie couple on any reality TV show until now?! (Note, I’m only talking about the ones I’ve watched.) They are DEADLY indeed, already throwing the, Influencers (hate this word), under the bus to the other teams. Mwahaha. They seem like a pretty sweet couple and I hope they continue to do well. Most likely middle of the pack racers, nothing wrong with that, for now!
Team #6 – Chris & Adrienne
ROADBLOCK 1: Who’s Ready for a River Dance? – Adrienne
DETOUR 1: Fold ‘Em Fast
DETOUR 2: All Heart
PLACINGS (Ep 1-2): 7th, 6th (Avg 6.5)
I honestly feel we were robbed of their screen time in the first week. They seem super interesting and funny! Adrienne is the first female fire-fighter in South Australia.. Can we get a HELLLYEAHH!? With the nuns gone, the couple are the only oldies left in the Race 🙁 At least we know they last at least until Africa (?) because they’re on the priceless camel ad! Hahaha. I’m rooting for them!
Team #7 – Sid & Ash
ROADBLOCK 1: Who’s Ready for a River Dance? – Ash
DETOUR 1: Fold ‘Em Fast
DETOUR 2: All Heart
PLACINGS (Ep 1-2): 9th, 7th (Avg 8.0)
Ugh, next! Kidding, not really. ATTENTION TO DETAIL, guys! They may have travelled the world and influenced (some) people through their socials, but this couple have already showed some flaws. Running down from the tower when the clue clearly stated up, not being able to find the clue hidden in front of them. I think it’s safe to say Sid and Ash will be the villains (Dave & Irina :O) of the series; someone’s gotta have that title! Their arrogance, or to them confidence, have already put some of the other teams off. As they continue to talk themselves up, it’ll be funny if they remain in the bottom half of the pack. Also, they stole a dumpling from the nuns (big lols), so they’re most definitely going to hell! :O One thing though, I appreciate they wanna play hard and will do anything to win. Show us what you’re made of, guys!
Team #8 – Rowah & Amani
ROADBLOCK 1: Who’s Ready for a River Dance? – Rowah
DETOUR 1: Stack ‘Em High
DETOUR 2: All Heart
PLACINGS (Ep 1-2): 8th, 8th (Avg 8.0)
Holy crap, did anyone else have to do a double take to figure out who was mum and daughter?! Rowah is actually hilarious and I think it’s fantastic they’ve been cast to break the stereotype of Muslim women! They are a strong duo, albeit a bit slow, so I’m worried how long they’ll last in the Race. Can we talk about Rowah in that cup stacking challenge; oh Muslim women DO have a sense of humour (being sarcastic here)! Love the hijabs, love this team!
Team #9 – Femi & Nick
ROADBLOCK 1: Who’s Ready for a River Dance? – Nick
DETOUR 1: Stack ‘Em High
DETOUR 2: All Heart
PLACINGS (Ep 1-2): 5th, 9th (Avg 7.0)
Eeek, I was hoping they’d go home over the Nuns… Oops 😛 They haven’t really left a mark for me (I know, I know, two episodes, so sue me! haha). I also don’t think we have seen much from them, so I can’t really judge properly. They had the biggest drop between legs from 5th to 9th, but it’s such early days it’s hard to make a proper call. Femi and Nick better watch their backs though, they only JUST beat the nuns for last place. At the moment they’re definitely looking like back of the pack racers :O Prove us wrong, boys!
Team #10 – Judy & Therese
ROADBLOCK 1: Who’s Ready for a River Dance? – Judy
DETOUR 1: Fold ‘Em Fast
DETOUR 2: All Thumbs
PLACINGS (Ep 1-2): 10th, 10th (Avg 10.0)
Nooooo. We lose one of the most interesting and endearing teams on the Race! How dare they make episode 2 an elimination leg! And they only lost coz they are slow and got outrun by Femi and Nick. Major sad face over here. 🙁 Judy and Therese brought some PG fun and humour, and I would’ve liked to seen them for at least a few more legs. In the first episode, the nuns were a bit hit and miss, especially with choosing the random postcard not knowing what they were looking for! Funny how as they prayed for guidance from God, they unknowingly led Alana and Niko down the wrong path. Hahaha. Even after #DumplingGate, they were so positive in coming last. Deep down I think we all knew they would be early boots, but c’mon a girl can dream! 😛 #TEAMNUNS
Team #11 – Alana & Niko
ROADBLOCK 1: Who’s Ready for a River Dance? – Alana (would’ve been)
DETOUR 1: Fold ‘Em Fast of Stack ‘Em High, who knows?! 🙁
PLACINGS (Ep 1): 11th (Avg 11.0)
If any team in the history of the Amazing Race can say they ran the WORST LEG EVER, it has to be Alana and Niko. Everything went wrong for them, from the dreaded “can’t find a cabbie” (not their fault), to “let’s just follow the team in front of us” (totes their fault). The saddest thing about the Gen Zedders was that they didn’t even get to start/try/complete a single Roadblock or Detour 🙁 I was wondering if they’d be able to even flyboard that late at night. I would love to know how far behind they were from the last team. Jaysus, that was horrible to watch. It truly was a rookie mistake copying the nuns and not double checking what postcard they grabbed. Sigh. One positive is they got to see A LOT of Seoul! Haha. The other is they’ll go down in history for this leg! Still proud of you fellow Adelaideans <3
Blog by Lynda Olson.
ALL IMAGES USED IN THIS ARTICLE ARE COPYRIGHT ENDEMOL SHINE AND CHANNEL TEN. THIS IS A PERSONAL BLOG AND ALL GIFS AND VIEWS ARE MY OWN.
