Hello everyone. Ciao, stai bene? TAR returns to Italy once again for this latest episode of TAR, we know that TAR is very fond of Italy indeed. Whilst this is the tenth time TAR US has visited Italy, it is their first visit to the beautiful city of Naples. We finally get a non-elimination leg which saved Han & Holden and there's a lot we can talk about in this leg, but first, we shall look at the average ranking statistics as we now have a little bit of movement after Jonathan & Ana's win in Naples.
Average ranking after leg 9 in Naples
- Carson & Jack 2.88
- Jonathan & Ana 3
- Alyssa & Josiah 3.11
- Brett & Mark 3.66
- Han & Holden 5.77 (saved by the NEL in Naples)
We see Jonathan & Ana climb back to second place in the rankings after their win in Naples and somehow, despite having a rather poor performance in Naples, Carson & Jack are still statistically the strongest team at this point but really, the top four teams are so close and equally matched that the only thing we can infer from the statistics at this stage is that Han & Holden are lucky to be still around and it is clear that they would really struggle to keep up with the top four. It is nice to see a non-elimination leg at last as this was the first time we had seen it this season, I do like Han & Holden but I'm wondering if this would simply keep them in the race for just one more leg and they will be eliminated in the next leg?
Was this the right time for a non-elimination leg?
Whilst there was a part of me that was relieved to have seen Han & Holden spared elimination in Naples, I also realize that it would be almost inevitable that they will be eliminated in the next leg. I think a NEL would be more interesting when there are a lot more teams earlier in the season, so the NEL could have saved a stronger team who had the potential to go all the way. However, if the NEL saved the weakest team left this late in the season, then it is hardly going change the outcome of the finals. There is a right and wrong time to schedule the NEL. Schedule it way too early in the season like in the first or second leg, then you are saving a very weak team - you don't want that because it is pointless to save a weak team at that stage as we don't enjoy watching weak teams struggle in the process. I'm sorry if this sounds harsh but every season, there will be some weak teams which you know will be eliminated within the first few legs and that's just inevitable. But is it wrong to schedule it as late as the 9th leg? It depends on the circumstances - imagine if a much stronger team like Scott & Lori had survived till the 9th leg instead of Han & Holden and we had five equally strong teams run this leg in Naples, then yes having the NEL now might keep a team with a real chance of winning the season in contention. However, we started this leg with four very strong teams and one team significantly weaker than the others (and that's not me being judgmental, I'm only using the statistics) and thus I felt that the timing was unfortunate at best, the producers make all these decisions in advance and they couldn't have predicted which teams would end up running this leg in Naples. Personally, I would've liked the NEL to have been around legs 5/6, not 9.
We had a hard reset at Naples airport.
All the teams were on the same flights from Sofia to Naples, there are two airlines which do the Sofia to Naples route: Wizzair and Ryanair. The interior of the plane they were on looked like a Ryanair plane. This reset benefitted Carson & Jack and Han & Holden who were at the back of the pack after that last leg in Sofia - it was rather mean of them to set the teams off from Sofia in the middle of the night, when they were all just going to wait together at the airport for the same flight in the morning, they could have at least allowed the teams a little more sleep in their hotel rooms instead of making them arrive so early at the airport, only to spend quite a few hours waiting at the departures hall at Sofia airport.
I was going to complain about their trip to Castel Sant'Elmo.
The teams started with a very simple task in Naples - they were driven from the airport to the Montesanto funicular station and had to take a funicular railway up to the castle Sant'Elmo. All the teams ended up on the same funicular on the way up to the castle but got split up at the castle trying to find the "capitano" with the clue, that led to two teams: Jonathan & Ana and Han & Holden getting the clue first and opening up a gap between them and the three other teams, only to throw that lead away when they got lost in the confusing streets of central Naples. Oh we like that kind of drama and that was all completely organic and it was not like the producers had a hand in trying to cook up that kind of drama.
Is it really that easy to get lost in central Naples?
No I don't think so, central Naples really isn't that big but then again, when I'm in Italy, I always ask for directions since I speak Italian reasonably well; the worst thing to do in this situation is to go into blind panic mode. Some of the teams were running around like headless chickens without verifying in they were going in the right direction and it just left me shaking my head, more haste, less speed. Ironically, despite the fact that the teams were pretty much confined to central Naples and had taxis to take them to further destinations (they didn't even have to use public transport, unlike the previous leg in Sofia), navigation still played a big part in determining the results in this leg as many teams struggled to find their way around Naples. The locals are usually very friendly, even if there will be a bit of a language barrier in Italy.
Do the locals speak English in Naples?
Yes, to some degree, especially with younger Italians under the age of 30. English is the default second language in Italy, so as you could see in the shots at Naples airport for example, the signs for the exit would be in two languages, English and Italian: exit and uscita. Josiah was trying to speak Spanish and Han was trying to speak French with the locals but these languages are not mutually intelligible with Italian. In fact, most Italians start learning English as a second language in primary school, though the quality of teaching does vary depending on the school. So if you're in a reputable high school in a big city like Rome, Milan or Turin, then you're going to learn English pretty well there. But if you're in a small village in the countryside, then good luck trying to find a decent English teacher there. Naples is the third largest city in Italy after Rome and Milan, thus you are probably going to be able to find English speakers there to help you fairly easily.
Stop flogging a dead horse, if it doesn't work, move on quickly.
I rolled my eyes in disbelief at the interaction that Han & Holden had with the Italian green grocer - they tried to get help from him with regards to the other items on the shopping list but to no avail. Perhaps the guy was either instructed not to speak English with the racers or maybe he really didn't speak any English at all. Instead of giving up and saying, "okay this clearly isn't working, let's not waste any more time here, let's go ask someone else instead", Han & Holden persisted, they wouldn't give up, they tried to ask him to use his phone and even spoke French with him, all to no avail. Come on guys. You're in the middle of Naples. it's not like you're going to have any difficulty finding someone else to ask for help. It is this kind of very irrational behaviour that keeps Han & Holden at the back of the pack, it is that lack of common sense.
Wait, how do you say thank you in Italian?
Some of the racers tried and mispronounced it. Many English speakers will see that it is spelt grazie and pronounce it as "grat-zi", which is what most racers on did on this leg. But the correct way to pronounce it would be "grat-zi-ye", as the i and the e at the end of grazie creates that "ye" sound. This is what happens when English speakers use English rules when trying to pronounce foreign languages. Let's take the words cutie and auntie in English as it also ends with "ie" - we would pronounce those word as "cue-ti" and "aun-ti" and that's why when you apply that same rule to the word grazie, the American racers mispronounced it. Anyway, English spelling and pronunciation can make little sense: take the words lie and pie which also end with "ie", they are actually pronounced "lai" and "pai" and do not rhyme with 'cutie' or 'auntie'.
Detour: mozzarella or mandolin?
It did look like the mozzarella detour was slightly faster as two teams got out of there before Jonathan & Ana finished their mandolin detour despite the fact that Jonathan & Ana seemed to have performed that detour really well. They key to performing the mozzarella detour well was not so much the shape of the knot but the weight of it which had to be between 250 to 300 grams. Some of the knots that the teams presented were less than tidy but as long as they met a minimum standard and was within the correct weight range, it was accepted. The mandolin task didn't look too complicated but it had so many small parts to put together, thus it would have suited teams who had good attention to detail and didn't mind spending a bit more time on a more straightforward task that may have taken just a bit more time.
Was the groceries task way too easy?
I always like interesting tasks that showcase a quirky aspect of the local culture and I'm surprised that Phil didn't mentioned this but when Italy was under lockdown during the pandemic, many Italians used this method to get their groceries delivered when they weren't allowed to leave the house. Whilst it is undoubtedly quirky and interesting, I note that the order of the teams didn't really change during this task at all as it was fairly straightforward, all the teams ended up getting the groceries from the same three places: the green grocer which supplied the vegetables, the butcher which supplied the sausages and the baker which supplied the bread. It was so straightforward that the teams left the task in the order that they had arrived in. One can only assume that those shops were fairly local so the teams weren't running all over Naples to try to find those items. I would have improved this task by making the list a bit longer and adding a few items that are going to be harder to find. So for example, on the list of groceries, they had to get five sausages but they didn't specify what kind of sausages, if it had to be of a specific size, eight or flavour. I would make such items on the list a lot more precise by specifying the kind of sausage, for example, a spicy Nduja sausage with chilli peppers. So you would then have a situation whereby the team thinks that they got all the items on the list, only to be told, no one of the items is wrong without telling them which one was the incorrect item (say if they got the wrong kind of sausage as they didn't pay enough attention to the details on the list), hence that would add even more complexity and drama to this task.
Jonathan & Ana chalk up their third win.
Credit where credit is due, they ran an excellent leg but it was really Ana who took their team over the finish line by nailing that pizza detour on her first attempt. Ana had actually worked at Domino's Pizza when she was a teenager so she had plenty of experience making pizzas whilst most of the other racers struggled with this task. Yes, sometimes you can just get lucky on TAR like that. I think Jonathan & Ana won because of a combination of two factors: firstly, they encountered two tasks which they had plenty of experience with (Jonathan plays the guitar and thus he was on familiar territory with the mandolin) and secondly, they managed to keep their cool on this leg and didn't argue. It wasn't a flawless leg though - they did get very lost (with Han & Holden) whilst looking for Pulcinella statue and fell to the back of the pack as a result. However, three teams did arrive at the pizza restaurant within moments of each other and it could have gone either way at that point but Ana rocked that detour. Now I don't want to start saying nice things about Jonathan's behaviour at this stage as I have seen the previews for next week's episode and yes, I know they will fight once again in the next leg so I am just going to park that aside for now and talk about Carson's meltdown at the pizzeria.
Don't be too hard on yourself Carson!
Whilst this task is about cooking but the fact is most of us have never ever made a pizza before! It is just one of those things that we trust the professionals to make for us if we want a good pizza. It was a lucky coincidence for Ana that it was a task she had plenty of experience with but for the other racers, it was simply a matter of watching the demonstration carefully and following each step carefully, methodically until you can also produce a decent pizza. I love cooking, I cook all the time at home, I have experimented with everything from cakes to breads to tarts to pies to macaroons in my kitchen but I have never made a pizza like that before because I don't have a pizza oven. Thus this is just like any other task on TAR where you're expected to climb a steep learning curve with something that you've never done before and it helps to have a healthy dose of self-belief and confidence when trying something like that. Even if Carson isn't fond of cooking, he had quite a negative attitude going into this task and that wasn't helpful. But fortunately, they were never in any danger of elimination, as Han & Holden had already fallen so far behind in the mozzarella detour.
Was it right for Carson to have done this roadblock instead of Jack?
Firstly, as Jack explained, if he had done this roadblock, then he would have reached his maximum of six for the entire season and Carson would then have to do all the other roadblocks in the season. Secondly, given that most people would have never made a pizza in their lives before, I don't think Jack would have had much more of an advantage in this task as it boiled down to just watching the demonstration carefully and following it step by step. Finally, Han & Holden were so far behind then that they were not really under that much time pressure - it would have made little difference whether they finished 2nd or 4th in this leg as long as they were not last. So it was a strategic decision and the right one.
The moment I nearly jumped out of my chair.
Did you see how Alyssa struggled to slide her pizza off her spatula and attempted to reach into the pizza oven with her bare hands to fix the pizza, yikes! That oven is crazy hot, it gets up to 900 Fahrenheit (482 Celsius). She risked seriously burning her hand and the Italian chef supervising had to pull her back. Alyssa, yes I know you walked on hot coals to win that express pass back in Sofia, but don't try to do the same thing in Naples by reaching into that burning hot pizza oven!
Why were the teams provided with taxis in this leg though?
The teams were driven twice in this leg: firstly, from the airport to the funicular station, then from Piazzetta Olivella after the groceries shopping task to the pizza restaurant. Why didn't they make the teams use public transport in Naples? Public transport in Italy is very well organized, efficient and affordable. I have traveled all over Italy on their excellent public transport system. They trusted the teams to use public transport in Sofia, so why not Naples? It would have created more uncertainty and drama if some teams got lost whilst trying to navigate the city on public transport. You would drive the teams from one location to the next if it was unsafe for the teams to try to use public transport (if they were in a country like South Africa) or if public transport was non-existent on that route (if you were in a rural area). But this was Naples, there is such great public transport there, so why didn't the teams use public transport on this leg then?
Did we like this leg in Naples?
Overall, I think this was actually one of the better legs in this season thanks to the unpredictability factor as the teams kept getting lost in central Naple - that created the plenty of drama for the viewers. We got to see many of the local attractions, we got a taste of what central Naples is like, the local cuisine and culture were both featured and whilst it had room for improvement, so I think it was pretty okay, though I thought the use of taxis in this leg was totally unnecessary.
Who will win the next leg in Strasbourg? Who will be eliminated next?
In the next leg of the race, the teams travel onto Strasbourg in France, it is a city which I have visited during the pandemic! The teams will inevitably have a hard reset again as there is only one airline Easyjet that does the Naples to Strasbourg route so it is highly probable that all teams would end up on the same flight and that will benefit the teams at the back of the pack. I predict that Alyssa & Josiah will finally use their express pass to win this next leg. We see the teams jousting on boats in a river in the previews, but we don't really see the outcome of that task. The only clue we get of trouble brewing in this next leg is that clip of Jonathan & Ana arguing in the car over navigation. However, I also remember how Carson & Jack really struggled with navigation in Bulgaria, so I hope they would have learnt some lessons about asking for help when in doubt! However, the weakest team statistically is still Han & Holden and teams spared elimination after a NEL have to do a speed bump, an extra task that only they have to do before they can keep on racing so it is most likely that Han & Holden will be eliminated next. However, Han does speak French well and I hope that would give them some advantage in France as I would much rather see them stay in the race than Jonathan & Ana.
Are we nearly at the end of S37?
Yes, next week will be the tenth leg of the race, they will only have one more leg in Europe before returning to the US for the grand finale. So you will get to enjoy TAR for another three weeks before you have to start looking for something else to watch this summer, but as we get to the end of the season, I promise I will give you a list of other great programmes to check out this summer if you enjoyed TAR. I know some of you have a lot of very strong opinions about the controversial casting of S38, but we will touch upon that topic as we get closer to the end of S37. As always, many thanks for reading.
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