*** OFFICIAL Amazing Race 37 Thread - Season of Surprises Edition *** (3 Viewers)

[Nemesis]

Self-driving: people signed up to play season 37 & they didn't know how to read a map

Holden & Han - one can read a map & the other can't. Guess which one is driving & which is navigator?

Jonathan (Grumpy) & Ana - doing well, until the slightest adversity & negative Nancy came out to play in the hay. Parked in a ditch, His fault, but probably going to blame her. Brett/Mark helped for a little bit. Locals came out to help but didn't work, but a tow cable did.

It's about time TAR Production had a self-driving leg. They need a couple more of them for every season, to be honest.

Han/Holden: I noticed the same thing. She can't read a map......My only guess is that she also can't drive a manual transmission too, so he had to do the driving.

I read somewhere else that Grumpy & Ana have a podcast. Where they explain a lot of behind scenes info.
Apparently, Grumpy was recently diagnosed as being Neurodivergent (autistic) as a 42 yo adult.

 

[Riffraff]

Apparently, Grumpy was recently diagnosed as being Neurodivergent (autistic) as a 42 yo adult.

He definitely fixates/ruminates and mutters to himself without looking at her (or anyone, including the cameraperson). In his own little world/mind state.

 

[bryhamm]

At the beginning of the season it looked like Nick & Mike would be a contender. 2 young fit guys. But they continued to make terrible decisions. Like throwing huge handfuls of hay instead of sifting through them carefully. Even with a 3hr advantage they still got eliminated. Han & Holden continue to surprise.

Nick/Mike: I said it in a comment on the 1st episode. They deserved to get eliminated....bad decision after bad decision.

• Couldn't navigate to the challenge, so they are late (not the only pair to struggle with navigation)
• ALWAYS DO THE MATH! Teams should always keep track of the # of Teams & how many Yellow Challenge cards are still in the Box when you get to it. They should have known that someone was still behind them.
• Being 1 kg of wood short cost them dearly as they wouldn't have been U-Turned had they delivered the correct kg of wood.
• At the Haystack challenge, you have to expect that the bracelet isn't going to be sitting in the top 1/3 of the haystack. If it were me, i would have taken those wooden sticks & taken the top 1/3 off the top & walked it 20 ft away from the rest of the stack (& then go thru it on the ground with your hands like a dog digs in the grass). Then, continue creating chunks of hay away from the center (like a wheel & spoke pattern ) & going thru them. Nick/Mike created such a mine field of hay everywhere that they couldn't tell how to start their search again.

You can't check the box until AFTER you have made your U-Turn decision. That's why the mom and daughter felt bad, then U-Turned the guys, then saw that there was 3 more cards after them. They didn't know there were that many teams.

 

[northern exposure]

Ep 7 - Bulgaria pt1

Reset - all on the same flight.
Double U-Turn this leg. Wonder if the Gamers get targeted like other leaders were.

Self-driving - first accident in the parking lot

Get this: people signed up to play - season 37 - (not 1) of Amazing Race and they - didn't - google how to read a map or ask a friend how. Whodathunkit?
Siblings Holden and Han - one can read a map and the other can't. Guess which one is driving and which is navigator?
Gamers Carson / Jack are the first to get lost, first place to not... hours behind - should have played a game requiring maps. But not the only ones to get lost.

Parents Jonathan and Ana were doing well, until the slightest adversity and negative Nancy came out to play in the hay. Won't miss him when they are eliminated.

U-Turn: Under-edited thus far Nurse Anesthetists Alyssa/Josiah reach it first and chose to leave bloodless - no nomination.
Ditto for Grumpy and his wife, who had parked in a ditch, d'oh! His fault, but probably going to blame her anyways. Most left them, Brett/Mark helped for a little bit. Locals came out to help - branches and whatnot to create traction. Very cool, but didn't work, but a tow cable did.
Vegas Brett/Mark also chose not to get blood on their hands. Lots playing a scared game.
Mom/Daughter Melinda/Erika barely 20 seconds ahead - had to throw Brothers Mike/Nick into the U-turn to save lead. Smart move.
Mike/Nick U-turn Han/Holden who were minutes behind. They didn't look to see that the Gamers were still an option. They chuck clumps instead of sifting the hay.
Han/Holden (my favorites at the moment) always seem positive, even in adversity. "Never back down, never quit!"
And finally hours later - from 3 hours behind - Gamers show up to see Mike/Nick frustrated. Switch up to wood and they are weaklings - it's a battle.

Whoa, 102 year old gramama. Yogurt does a body good!

Alyssa/Josiah win the leg and Morocco trip.
Mike/Nick should have U-Turned the Gamers... and are eliminated. Cameraperson zoomed in on the hay bracelet multiple times - they spread the piles far and wide. 7 hours? Host had to go find them at the haystacks.

I have to give Carson & Jack credit. Usually when a team that's been front running encounters their 1st dose of adversity, the snarking and snapping at each other comes out.
These two kept working and motivated each other. Kudos to them.

 

[James Bond]

READ YOUR CLUE. Even though the final few teams were fairly close, we all knew that Melinda & Erika were going to get a penalty for taking the cabs. I'm not sure if each time would have added an additional penalty or how much time they would have received. It was probably a bit easier on them since they finished last anyway. Good recovery by Carson & Jack. It looks like it will be a good final three this time. Except for the quarreling siblings, every team is really strong.

On to Italy and pizza.

 

[Nemesis]

Good recovery by Carson & Jack. It looks like it will be a good final three this time. Except for the quarreling siblings, every team is really strong

Couple of thoughts on the 4/23 Bulgaria episode:

• Hot Coals Express Pass: A small out of the way drive that drops them from 1st to 2nd. Challenge difficulty: 1/10....it literally took 60 seconds to complete.
• Priest throwing cross in the river: Challenge difficulty 0/10
• Find the Klek: Difficulty: 2/10.......it seemed like Carson & Jack benefitted from the cameraman standing beside it as they start to walk away. I'm sure they would have found it in no time, but that was a little too obvious
  
  
• Mrs. Nemesis turns to me & says "well, after seeing the 2 Bulgaria episodes, I can cross it off my travel list. Nothing really interesting there "

 

[Mr. Mojo]

I loved Carson and Jack randomly running into the log weigher on the bus. I don't think that's ever happened on AR.

 

[Riffraff]

Ep 8 - Bulgaria pt2

Express Pass available - valid through leg 10. Nurse Anesthetists Alyssa/Josiah do it quickly. Burnt feet and burnt 40 minutes of lead time.
Ouch: Alyssa/Josiah student loans are $400,000. But as CRNAs they will make that back pretty quickly (ave salary is about $200k, new CRNAs lower end obviously).

Han (last time was navigator but couldn't read a map, thought maybe couldn't drive) is driving today. /dunno

Well, that had to be the easiest task {hyperbole} ever - just wade in a lake and pick up a cross in the water. That's it.

Mother/Daughter Melinda/Erika got lost driving - went off the edge of their map? Room for Gamers Carson / Jack to make up time - you know, if they don't get lost too - again.

Really liked the Kleck Shop part. Door was actually marked twice: Graffiti AR37 and the Amazing Race colors sticker at the top.

Parents Jonathan/Ana did well to hide the cypher from Alyssa/Josiah. Good karma to tell them to flip it over. D'uh!
Crazy: Holden/Han, Melinda/Erika, and late arrivals Carson/Jack all at the cypher together - tied for last place.

Vegas Mark/Brett got the traditional dancing routine on the first try - nice victory this leg.

Rule #1 of Amazing Race: Read the f'ing clue thoroughly! (do NOT use taxis) "Maybe someone will make a bigger mistake than us." Melinda/Erika say to the cameraperson in the taxi - LOL Wonder if the cameraperson kept a straight face or not. Next taxi ride: "I've gotten really good about reading my clue." LMAO. 4 taxis and still arrived last. Made them re-read the clue at the pit stop - cracked me up.

Well deserved elimination.
5 teams remain

 

[bcat01]

I loved Carson and Jack randomly running into the log weigher on the bus. I don't think that's ever happened on AR.

This was amazing. What are the odds.

 

[stbugs]

Good recovery by Carson & Jack. It looks like it will be a good final three this time. Except for the quarreling siblings, every team is really strong

Couple of thoughts on the 4/23 Bulgaria episode:

• Hot Coals Express Pass: A small out of the way drive that drops them from 1st to 2nd. Challenge difficulty: 1/10....it literally took 60 seconds to complete.
• Priest throwing cross in the river: Challenge difficulty 0/10
• Find the Klek: Difficulty: 2/10.......it seemed like Carson & Jack benefitted from the cameraman standing beside it as they start to walk away. I'm sure they would have found it in no time, but that was a little too obvious
  
  
• Mrs. Nemesis turns to me & says "well, after seeing the 2 Bulgaria episodes, I can cross it off my travel list. Nothing really interesting there "

Some of the challenges this season have been way too easy. I still didn’t like the circle up/vote double U-turn episode because the challenges weren’t really enough to separate the teams after bringing all teams together for the U-turn. It was so obvious that the live U-turned teams would finish last/second to last.

Tonight was again way too easy. The taxi cabs didn’t matter but I felt so bad for the mom. I have no idea why they are estranged but it sure seemed like it was the daughter based on her “when my mom gets annoying, I just hang up on her.” The mom seemed to try so hard to placate her daughter and seemed sweet. I felt bad for her having to listen to her daughter say that so casually.

 

[James Bond]

So the "surprise" for this leg was... it's a non-elimination leg. That was a bit of a disappointment for a supposed "surprise." It was quite an entertaining leg though. There was a lot of jockeying for positions and it seemed that every team was in first at one time or another. Very competitive.

Next week looks like a Head-to-Head challenge as the final task of the leg. Teams face off against other teams in the order they arrive at the challenge. The winning team gets to check in to the Pit Stop, while the losing team competes again. The team that loses the last Head-to-Head gets eliminated.

 

[Riffraff]

Ep 9 - Italy

Reset at the airport.
Agreed that everyone seemed to have a turn being in first. Teams teamed up to get around.

Grumpy actually smiled and supportive at the music stop.
Siblings fell behind, got lucky it's a Non-elimination leg

5 still in it

 

[Riffraff]

Ep 10 - France
Reset for flight/train via Germany.
Driving themselves. Vegas Mark/Brett got lost.

LOL - the airport and train count for racing through Germany - part of the answer in France.

Head2Head challenge. Winner moves on, loser waits and plays against the next to show up. Etc until last team is assessed a 10 minute wait. Boat water jousting in a canal. Makes for a time gap.

Cheese = the ultimate reset. I'd likely fail on it.
Grumpy is back in full force - just want to yell at him through the screen to shut the {bleep} up. Gotta be thousands of social media DMs to her after the show saying to leave the situation. Quite a lot of verbal abuse that they show. Sad, that might be what people remember from this season.
Siblings still yapping at each other - like brothers and sisters!
Lots got lost driving.

Cool stork preservation technique.

Nurse Anesthetists Alyssa/Josiah guaranteed to use the Express Pass to ensure finale. Waited waaaay too late to use it though, could have been first place. They left in maybe 4th place, but ended up in 2nd.

Vegas Mark/Brett were strong competitors but gonzo.

4 remain

 

[Nemesis]

https://geeksided.com/the-amazing-race-season-38-coming-much-sooner-than-expected

he Amazing Race season 37 is coming to a close but season 38 won’t be coming in 2026 as many had expected; it’ll be coming fall of 2025 !!

 

[DA RAIDERS]

This season is pretty meh. Sorry to see the Vegas boys go. D&D or the nurses. Please!

 

[jamny]

I can't take that one guy's whining. One of the worst contestants ever.

 

[bryhamm]

Ep 10 - France
Reset for flight/train via Germany.
Driving themselves. Vegas Mark/Brett got lost.

LOL - the airport and train count for racing through Germany - part of the answer in France.

Head2Head challenge. Winner moves on, loser waits and plays against the next to show up. Etc until last team is assessed a 10 minute wait. Boat water jousting in a canal. Makes for a time gap.

Cheese = the ultimate reset. I'd likely fail on it.
Grumpy is back in full force - just want to yell at him through the screen to shut the {bleep} up. Gotta be thousands of social media DMs to her after the show saying to leave the situation. Quite a lot of verbal abuse that they show. Sad, that might be what people remember from this season.
Siblings still yapping at each other - like brothers and sisters!
Lots got lost driving.

Cool stork preservation technique.

Nurse Anesthetists Alyssa/Josiah guaranteed to use the Express Pass to ensure finale. Waited waaaay too late to use it though, could have been first place. They left in maybe 4th place, but ended up in 2nd.

Vegas Mark/Brett were strong competitors but gonzo.

4 remain

It's been a while since I've despised someone as much. He is such an a_hole

 

[bryhamm]

And it was frustrating to watch the 2 with the express pass NOT use it right away. I get that he thought they would be able to do it, but to try 3-4 time and THEN decide to use it. Grr. She was right that they should have done it right away.

But lol that they ended up in 2nd regardless.

 

[stbugs]

And it was frustrating to watch the 2 with the express pass NOT use it right away. I get that he thought they would be able to do it, but to try 3-4 time and THEN decide to use it. Grr. She was right that they should have done it right away.

But lol that they ended up in 2nd regardless.

Damn, I have to pay attention more. I thought they didn’t use it. Nothing I can’t stand more than someone who gives up right away. That’s was an easy challenge because you knew when you were right so even if you missed the 7th, you knew the 3 that were left and just had to order them correctly. She was annoying me because she didn’t want to try. Either say right at the start we have to use it and don’t be spineless or actually try to finish it. 3 or 4 attempts and they were probably half done so memorizing only 4 left between two people is easy.

 

[bryhamm]

And it was frustrating to watch the 2 with the express pass NOT use it right away. I get that he thought they would be able to do it, but to try 3-4 time and THEN decide to use it. Grr. She was right that they should have done it right away.

But lol that they ended up in 2nd regardless.

Damn, I have to pay attention more. I thought they didn’t use it. Nothing I can’t stand more than someone who gives up right away. That’s was an easy challenge because you knew when you were right so even if you missed the 7th, you knew the 3 that were left and just had to order them correctly. She was annoying me because she didn’t want to try. Either say right at the start we have to use it and don’t be spineless or actually try to finish it. 3 or 4 attempts and they were probably half done so memorizing only 4 left between two people is easy.

They tried something like 3-4 times. 3 teams finished ahead of them. Then they decided to use it.

 

[stbugs]

And it was frustrating to watch the 2 with the express pass NOT use it right away. I get that he thought they would be able to do it, but to try 3-4 time and THEN decide to use it. Grr. She was right that they should have done it right away.

But lol that they ended up in 2nd regardless.

Damn, I have to pay attention more. I thought they didn’t use it. Nothing I can’t stand more than someone who gives up right away. That’s was an easy challenge because you knew when you were right so even if you missed the 7th, you knew the 3 that were left and just had to order them correctly. She was annoying me because she didn’t want to try. Either say right at the start we have to use it and don’t be spineless or actually try to finish it. 3 or 4 attempts and they were probably half done so memorizing only 4 left between two people is easy.

They tried something like 3-4 times. 3 teams finished ahead of them. Then they decided to use it.

So dumb. It really was an easy challenge. Some of the cheeses like Roquefort were visibly obvious and then the fact that you literally started from the same cheeses and were given confirmation if you were right and moved to the next cheese. Some challenges you just get a no and have no idea what’s right/wrong. Mathematically, this was so much easier and with 2 people memorizing, cake. I feel like the ******* was struggling and they finished on their 5th attempt. They definitely wasted the express pass and didn’t need to do so. That’s where teams fail like the brothers where the one gave up on the haystack and was just throwing bundles of hay. It just amazes me how people go on a show for a million and just give up making the tasks way harder. If your head is not in the game either memorize just 3 and make Josiah do the bulk of it or don’t be wishy washy and say we are using the pass, I can’t do this.

 

[northern exposure]

And it was frustrating to watch the 2 with the express pass NOT use it right away. I get that he thought they would be able to do it, but to try 3-4 time and THEN decide to use it. Grr. She was right that they should have done it right away.

But lol that they ended up in 2nd regardless.

It's that kind of second guessing (third guessing) your decisions that causes teams to be eliminated or to not finish 1st at the end.
As one of the teams said during the leg, the weaker teams have all been eliminated. There isn't time to debate your decisions.
I could be wrong, but I think it took Han and Holden over 10 attempts to get the cheeses correct.

 

[Mr. Mojo]

I can't believe that As*swipe and Ana caught up and may make the Final 3. Uggh.

 

[Riffraff]

Ep 11 - Portugal
Finale part 1
airport reset - have to fly from France back to Germany to catch a plane to Portugal. Didn't know France can't fly to Portugal direct (or through Spain).

Self-driving and the Amazing Race first: pick keys and then see if the car is automatic or stickshift.

Grumpy Grrrumpy Grrrrrrumpy
Exhausting: Always in the moment for anger. Never in the moment for soaking in anything else. Ana usually shown in a positive attitude.

Gamers got the their dream medieval cosplay and knighting. First try on archery too. Cool for them. First place well earned.
Siblings pulled into 2nd.

Cliffhanger for elimination...
Nurses makes 3rd a challenge by losing their lead heading into the mural wall.
Parents were lost a lot and waaaaay back, but pulled ahead at the last stop - until Grumpy dropped and shattered a porcelain tile.
...End of episode

Finale part 2 remains

 

[Ministry of Pain]

I don't frequent this thread very often but Mrs and I have watched almost every season
It's an easy show for the two of us to watch together
Miami is the destination tonight for the Final teams, WooHoo!

-All that said, I have never wanted to punch thru the TV screen as hard and often as I have watching Johnathan behave most of the season but especially these last couple as he proves that all the hints of just how awful of a human being he is early in the season are now on full display

I keep hoping that Ana quits, the previews hint they are not for long and all of the follow up video for that team is only Johnathan and its pitch black. One time I thought maybe one of the producers might want to step in and say enough is enough, it's not fun watching that team

Johnathan makes me absolutely vomit projectiles at the screen every time he opens his mouth.
That guy needs his *** kicked, pure and simple. He would not act that way around a man or group of men but its OK for him to just berate his wife every step of the way
His behavior at the train station, kept waiting for her to signal to a producer to please help and she taps out with him.

Alyssa and Josiah are coming apart at the seems as well
Why the bleep did they hold that fast pass as long as they did and then not leverage it for an easy 1st place finish
Alyssa has that look like she has discovered that Josiah can't make a decision on what type of toilet paper to buy let alone which detour they need to choose

 

[stbugs]

I don’t know how the Alyssa and Josiah couldn’t find a parking spot and then seemingly drove completely out of town to get back when there were a thousand circles.

I hate Johnathan so much and I’d love nothing more than Ana quitting before the mat. She makes every excuse and he embarrasses her everywhere. How could anyone stay married to that *******?

 

[Ministry of Pain]

And it was frustrating to watch the 2 with the express pass NOT use it right away. I get that he thought they would be able to do it, but to try 3-4 time and THEN decide to use it. Grr. She was right that they should have done it right away.

But lol that they ended up in 2nd regardless.

The inability to use the fast pass to their advantage was frustrating to watch

 

[DA RAIDERS]

Phew! Man I hope she dumps that a hole

 

[Riffraff]

Ep 12 - Finale - Miami

Broken ceramic didn't stop Grumpy and Ana as they take over 3rd place from the Nurses and advance to the finale. Boooooo, he's so easy to root against him.
Nurses Alyssa and Josiah were good for the most part, but failed the usage of the pass though and it had a small part in costing them.
-----
Airline reset to tie them all up - $200 budget comes into play.
Only moments apart at the marina.
Scramble (complete in any order): sail a boat, soar via hydroflighting, and save a drowning victim. Solve the puzzle about all the places they've been.

SOOOOO glad Grumpy didn't get the money. He and Ana (won 2 legs?) . They were smart to have the airport print Miami maps ahead of the flight.

Siblings Holden / Han (0 legs won) had some perseverance despite the usual bro/sis squabbles. Got lucky with the non-elimination leg.

Congrats to the Gamers (5 legs won), so consistent all season - only finalists with no setbacks (U-Turns and whatnot) other than their own getting lost while driving.

 

[jamny]

So we didn't watch Part 1 until Thursday and when I went to watch it, Part 2 was recording and they showed a screenshot of Jonathan. Thanks youtube.tv for spoiling it by showing that him and Anna made it to the final 3.

I thought the gamers won business class seats for winning the leg? It looked like they were all in business.

I hate Jonathan as much as everyone seems to but after someone mentioned that he is autistic, you can kind of see why she puts up with him. Listening to an audiobook (Waking Up by Sam Harris), he mentioned that some people with autism don't grasp that other people have emotions and feelings too. I know nothing about autism and don't know if that's true but it goes towards how Anna really is a saint to try and communicate with him and to stay with him despite his d-bagness. Doesn't excuse his behavior but gives it some perspective for me at least. He probably shouldn't have done this or she probably never should have done it with him.

 

[bryhamm]

Just watched the 2 part finale. Was seriously bummed that Jonathan and Ana made it to the finals. But glad they didn't win. And he actually was very supportive of her after she struggled so much on the soar part.

And nothing against Han and Holden, but I'm glad the one team that benefitted from the non-elim leg did not win.

All in all a decent season with some very competitive teams.