Dia duit and hello! This is going to be a shorter post than usual because I am flying off to Turin in the morning and I still have to finish packing. This is only the second visit by TAR to Ireland, having last visited Ireland way back in TAR S12 E1, when they went to the Western coastal region around Shannon. Thus this makes it TAR's first visit to Dublin, a city I have visited many times before as I am married to an Irishman and we have some family in Ireland. But first, let's take a quick look at the average ranking statistics after the 11th leg in Dublin and how that sets us up for a very exciting finale.
Average rankings after leg 11 in Dublin, Ireland
- Greg & John = 2.9
- Rob & Corey = 3.18
- Steve & Anna Leigh = 4.09 (eliminated in Dublin)
- Joel & Garrett = 4.54
I'm absolutely delighted to see Rob & Corey finally win a leg and they did it in style, Greg & John were not ever in a position to try to vie for first place in this leg though they are still statistically the strongest team and the favourites to win in the final. Rob & Corey took an early lead after the Riverdance roadblock and were unstoppable for the rest of the leg. For the doubters who wondered if Corey could dance well after he struggled with the roadblock in leg 5 in Jaipur, he definitely silenced all his critiques. That was a really difficult dance challenge. To see Phil finally get to sign "you are team number 1" to Rob, I was crying - I had flashbacks to when Phil first got to sign that to Margie & Luke back in season S14 E1. I have made it clear from the start, Rob & Corey are one of my favourite teams from this season because Rob is deaf and he is competing against other teams who can hear. He is at a disadvantage no matter how you look at it and that's why I really want Rob & Corey to win - I really love what he is doing for the representation of deaf people in reality TV.
What went wrong for Steve & Anna Leigh?
Ironically, whilst I had correctly predicted last week that they would be eliminated, I thought it might have been Steve's inability to complete the complex Riverdance roadblock that would let them down but he actually managed to finish that roadblock before Joel. Both Steve & Joel struggled with that challenge but Steve emerged the better dancer of the two. However, it was navigation that let them down again. I had a check on Google Maps, Croke Park is approximately 3.2 km (2 miles) away from Gaiety theatre but given that they had to drive through central Dublin, the driving route is about 5.6 km (3.5 miles) which really isn't that far even if you factor in the traffic. However, Joel & Garrett managed to leave the theatre after Steve & Anna Leigh but complete the next roadblock at Croke Park before Steve & Anna Leigh even got there. That made me wonder, how did Steve & Anna Leigh manage to get so hopelessly lost driving to a destination a short distance away? They are in a city where English is the main language so they could have easily stopped and asked for directions if they were not able to locate their destination on the map. By the time they made it to Croke Park, Joel & Garrett were already leaving and at that point, their game was over. They were also the last to make it to Forty Foot, so it is clear that it was navigation that let them down in Dublin. Actually, Greg & John were the last to make it to the Gaiety Theatre from Forty Foot, so they had some navigation issues as well despite having a map and some directions too.
How Irish is Riverdance?
Irish dancing has been around for centuries but it was Riverdance show that made it popular outside Ireland in 1995. It started originally as a short interval act during the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest (see the video embedded below) but it was so incredibly popular that it was turned into a full length musical-style theatre show that has been staged all over the world. The theme to Riverdance is instantly recognizable by most people, even if you haven't already seen the show.
Just how hard was this Riverdance roadblock?
It was one of the hardest dance challenges in this season and what a lot of people (including some of the racers) don't understand is that a dance challenge is the ultimate memory challenge. It is vastly different from when you get down on the dancefloor and can do whatever you like - in a challenge like the one in this episode, you have to follow exactly what the instructor tells you to do in order to perform the routine well enough to pass. That means remembering a very long sequence of steps and the people who have an advantage in this situation are those who have done loads of dance lessons before and have the experience of a dance instructor giving a huge volume of complex and detailed instructions. I have felt totally overwhelmed in a dance lesson before, when my brain fills as if it just can't cope with memorizing that much. That's why I felt sorry for both Steve & Joel at that roadblock, because I know I would have struggled with that as well. Actually, this isn't that different from the other challenge the teams had to do at the Toner's pub where they had to memorize a section of James Joyce's Ulysses - this is a different kind of performance but it is still a difficult memory test.
Is Dublin a bilingual city?
Not really, I'm sure some of you would have noticed the bilingual road signs in Dublin - there are two official languages of Ireland: Irish and English. Even though Irish is a compulsory subject in all Irish schools, English still dominates all aspects of everyday life in Ireland. There are also plenty of people from other countries living and working in Dublin, thus English is henceforth the default language used as a lingua franca for everyone to understand each other. 2% of the population of the entire Ireland use Irish language on a daily basis, so whilst the government is making an effort to try to sustain the language and not let it die a natural death, English is still the dominant language, especially in Dublin. Ireland was colonized for a long time by the English who totally wiped out Irish language and culture to a large degree, many aspects of the local culture ae being revived today but the Irish language is barely clinging onto survival today I'm afraid.
What is hurling?
Hurling is a traditional Irish game that is not very well known outside Ireland. Heck, I live in London where there is a massive Irish community here and I don't think I've ever seen any hurling matches here in London. It just isn't that popular outside Ireland. Nonetheless, according to Wikipedia, it is played around the world where the Irish diaspora can be found, from Australia to North America to Argentina to South Africa. I do like the way this episode has introduced some aspects of Irish culture to the viewers, given how there are large numbers of Irish-Americans watching this show. Sure they would be more familiar with James Joyce and Riverdance, but hurling is a lesser know aspect of Irish culture.
What do you think of Joel & Garrett making it to the grand final?
I am somewhat surprised to see Joel & Garrett there to be honest. Obviously, Greg & John as well as Rob & Corey are very strong teams, but statistically, Joel & Garrett have been weaker than some of these other teams and have had also some erratic performances. I would have expected Todd & Ashlie to be in the final three or even Steve & Anna Leigh.
Who will win TAR S35?
The teams will fly to Seattle for the final leg and statistically, it is very clear that Greg & John are the favourites to win and will probably win. However, the results in this leg have proven to us all that when Rob & Corey get their act together, they can definitely defeat Greg & John. I'm sorry but I don't think Joel & Garrett stand a chance against these two teams - back in Stockholm, they only won because both of these teams got hopelessly lost together. The chances of that happening again back in America is very low and though I think Joel & Garrett are a fun team to watch, it will probably be Greg & John in first place, with Rob & Corey second. I hope that prediction is wrong of course, I would much rather Rob & Corey win this season (oh yes I am shamelessly playing favourites) but you can't argue with the statistics - Greg & John have really dominated this season and are the strongest team going into the finale. I would genuinely be shocked if they don't win this season. In Seattle, the three teams will encounter a Scramble in the final leg - that means they will get a clue with all the tasks to be completed in that leg right at the beginning, the teams can then perform those tasks in any order they like. This was last seen in TAR S34 E1 in Munich which was just one season ago. This will be interesting because if the teams split up and complete the tasks in a different order, they will have no idea how far ahead or behind they are until they get towards the very end. Okay, so that's it from me on this very rushed post. I'm looking forward to watching the finals after I get back from Italy next week. Please leave a comment below and many thanks for reading.
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