Like I said--it was smart racing. By the Cha Chas and the BQs. It just doesn't seem quite fair somehow.

I can't believe Danny and Oswald stuck with that cab driver for so long.

That whole yield thing was - eh. I'm kind of surprised it's allowed, anyway. Could you pay off another team to tank on a task? Trading off goodwill and favors and stuff is one thing. The cash seems iffier.

I hate when yields and FFs coincide with a NEL. What's the point, you know?

I'm getting enormously tired of hearing reality TV contestants talk about people "stabbing them in the back." It's a million dollars, or whatever the prize is. I'd yield my mother if I thought it would help me win (although I would share the winnings with her).

I don't understand why everyone hates the BQs. I like them more this time around than last, although I didn't hate them then either. They're smart, they're polite, they're good-natured, and they're obviously competitive and willing to do the work. They're not mean-spirited and obnoxious. What's to hate? It seems a bit like a Jonathan-in-the-clock-tower moment.

I think all the Yield legs so far have been nonelims, with maybe one exception. It's never been mentioned as deliberate, but it's been irritating me since they first introduced the Yield (because it makes them so pointless as strategy tools, and is pretty obvious that they only exist to create interpersonal drama for TV).

As for what happened tonight, I didn't mind the initial exchange of the Yield for money, but the lying about it afterwards by EVERYONE was really lame. And of course I wish it had been Mirna they Yielded instead.

I'm getting enormously tired of hearing reality TV contestants talk about people "stabbing them in the back." It's a million dollars, or whatever the prize is. I'd yield my mother if I thought it would help me win (although I would share the winnings with her).

Totally! What's more, the teams who complain about it are generally the teams who do the MOST back-stabbing and manipulating, only they're not as good at is as the people they love to bitch about.

And I like the BQs too. I'm disappointed in them lying to Eric & Danielle (they could have just said nothing), but overall they've been really good racers.

As for what happened tonight, I didn't mind the initial exchange of the Yield for money, but the lying about it afterwards by EVERYONE was really lame. And of course I wish it had been Mirna they Yielded instead.

Agreed. Also, the BQs did deliberate about doing it, and who to yield -- it wasn't a vindictive thing at all. In fact, I know that if I'd been them I would have yielded Mirna and Charla, simply because I detest Mirna, but the BQs were right -- E/D are the stronger team. They came from way behind to finish third (but really second, without the penalty).

What's more, the teams who complain about it are generally the teams who do the MOST back-stabbing and manipulating, only they're not as good at is as the people they love to bitch about.

Survivor's the worst, I guess because they have to form alliances, and end up forming friendships, too. But honestly, after all these seasons, does every contestant really go on a show like this thinking, "I will TOTALLY be the exception, and everyone I deem a friend will gladly give up their chance to win the game, just so my delicate baby [howler monkey] feelings don't get hurt?"

It's funny to me that on shows like Top Chef and Project Runway everyone seems much more cutthroat and also up front about it from the beginning. Maybe because of the level of skill involved, and the passion for what they're doing? None of the folks on those shows seem to feel making friends is anything but a pleasant bonus.

It's funny to me that on shows like Top Chef and Project Runway everyone seems much more cutthroat and also up front about it from the beginning.

maybe because winning those shows doesn't have anything to do with strategy or sneakiness or working the other players. I mean, no one's trying to steal sequins at Mood.

OK, I'm extremely embarrassed to be the one to bring this up, but anyone else watching Flavor of Love Girls: Charm School? I've kind of gotten addicted.

I'm getting a bit puzzled as to what they're considering the standards for judging. In some ways, it's how well they master the tasks, but in other ways, it's how cutthroat they can be.

Also, I've never seen The Bachelor, but I'm finding Andrew Firestone's ability to judge women horribly suspect. (Unless that whole part was fixed ahead of time, which is entirely likely.)

I thought about it, even recorded the first episode, but I was so embarrassed for the girls that I couldn't even watch it.

Yeah, I was never able to watch more than a few minutes of Flavor of Love before having to turn it off. I caught the first episode of Charm School when I was sick, and kind of got hooked. There are a few scenes in the second episode that are kind of painful to watch -- kind of reminding me of that scene in My Fair Lady when they're at the racetrack, and she's learned the right way to pronounce things, but hasn't learned the mores of "appropriate conversation" yet. I can almost never get through that scene.

maybe because winning those shows doesn't have anything to do with strategy or sneakiness or working the other players. I mean, no one's trying to steal sequins at Mood.

I dunno, though. Wasn't there all the stuff with someone turning off peoples' burners in Top Chef?

Anyway.

TAR: I hated this whole leg. I hated that Oz & Danny ran themselves out of money. I hated that they didn't talk it over with anyone earlier so that they could have gotten Charla & Mirna's offer. I hated that they sold the yield. I hated that they kept getting lost by the cabdriver and never changed it up. I hated that they didn't figure out where they were going. If they had lost this leg, they'd have deserved to.

I don't blame Eric & Dani one bit for being furious. They were already marked for elimination and they had the yield? It's amazing that they made it at all. Not that it mattered, being non-elim. Which was stupid.

Oh, I loved the jumping off a building. That rocked. But everything else sucked.

I was all, mmm, noodles, until Charla was freaking standing on the table. I actually felt bad for Mirna with the driving and the panic. I couldn't have driven that, either. But that's why I don't enter competitions like this. Well, that and I have my dignity, but still.