3/27 Show Discussion Thread **Spoilers**

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Originally Posted by karalott

If TAR was tanking in the ratings, I could see CBS either pulling it or doing that option. But it's not; it seems to be getting about average ratings as always :shrug All those Emmy's must have provided some security for TAR, too. I guess we'll find out. I didn't hear anything in the preview about the next episode, except it'll be in 2 weeks.

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CBS is announcing today that they are renewing TAR for cycle 19. :up

These challenges can last for hours, the redhairs mentioned last week that the dinosaur challlenge lasted 4 hours. I get frustrated when I can't find my car in the parking garage. I can't imagine not having a hissy fit doing what Luke did. I also think he never realized that smelling the tea for a fruity scent would have made the task easier. Mallory and the Cowboys seem to be the only teams that realized that.

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Originally Posted by KeepItReal

Not the biggest Luke fan, but man, I really felt for him this leg of the race. Was so nice of the Indian men to give support to Luke at the end of the task. Also very kind of the GT's to take the time to encourage L&M.

What the heck was up with K&J and that bottle of Snapple? If it wasn't for the guy that the younger sister snapped at they would have continued hugging that bottle until they were eliminated.Zev-the meltdown begins. I don't recall seeing many of his sensory issues last go around but looks like next week the noise becomes an issue for him. Will be interested to see how many of the issues he will be able to tolerate and bounce back from.

Loved the part when Kent was being all formal by dropping to one knee and presenting the tea ingredients and the GT comes right behind him and says "here ya go homie". The GTs crack me up!

ETA- I heard no mention of a finale in two weeks. I only heard them say that they return in two weeks.

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I think they were afraid that the bottle had to stay intact. It was funny though:lol

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Originally Posted by teatime

All of them knew the ingredients of the tea because they had to present a mango and papaya to start. Ron realized early that sniffing the tea first would be smart and even said "this one smells like mango" before bringing it up front. Eventually 2-3 others figured it out.

Teams so often get caught up in the rush, rush it's a race mentality that they don't take a moment to think things out logically or pay attention to details even something so basic as double checking the clue.

Ron was surprisingly low keyed this episode. Not so Luke. Being deaf entails a lot of frustration because of the difficulty of communicating in many situations. At 25 one would hope he had learned how to handle frustration.

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Ron and Christina had the advantage of speaking the Chinese language and had the smarts to ask before drinking the tea in China what it's made of - mango and papaya. Mango has a very distinct smell and taste so smelling it like Ron did before drinking it was a smart thing to do. But unless you eat mango or papaya, it will be very tough to do the taste test. Maybe Luke has not eaten or smelled a mango before? Who knows.....I can definitely sympathize with him but he does need to man it up.

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Originally Posted by NCLurker

I have to admit, I thought the same thing. He's 20 something and I know being a deaf-mute cannot be easy, but he is emotionally way younger than his years. I grew up with someone with these same challenges and she was more mature than the average person her age. Just. don't. get. it.

Also, I do think Zev's autism seems to have been even more obvious this time around. I so admire Justin for the way he deals with Zev. He amazes me.

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I totally agree on both points. This isn't the first time Luke has fallen to pieces and reacted to situations like a boy instead of the 25 year old man that he is. Margie has also jumped in to defend him on occasions, when he should be perfectly capable of defending himself. Any grown woman considering a relationship with Luke would have to be seriously scared of his mom. :lol

I adore Zev and Justin. I understand that Zev is weird and odd and such to some people, but that is Zev... he is who he is. Any true friendship can be difficult to maintain, but CHOOSING to be friends with someone with Aspergers and the challenges that can come with it takes a special kind of person. And not only does Justin (and Zev) seem to handle those challenges well, they really treat each other with respect and have a great sense of humour that's similar. Justin doesn't appear to just tolerate Zev's Asperger's, he seems to enjoy those things that make Zev unique. I love it.
Justin amazes me too. :)

Justin is awesome-whomever raised him did a wonderful job. Kudos to them!

Many people seem to be giving Luke a tough time over his "emotional breakdown". As someone who has dealt with the deaf community before, many within the deaf community tend to be VERY emotional. Part of it stems from the use of sign language. Sign language involves much more then just signing the words, facial clues and emotions are used to inflect things in the signs.

I am not sure whether Luke grew up with the deaf community (i.e. went to a deaf school or college) but most people that I have come into contact with that do are very emotional.

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Originally Posted by spockwhat

I totally agree on both points. This isn't the first time Luke has fallen to pieces and reacted to situations like a boy instead of the 25 year old man that he is. Margie has also jumped in to defend him on occasions, when he should be perfectly capable of defending himself. Any grown woman considering a relationship with Luke would have to be seriously scared of his mom. :lol

I adore Zev and Justin. I understand that Zev is weird and odd and such to some people, but that is Zev... he is who he is. Any true friendship can be difficult to maintain, but CHOOSING to be friends with someone with Aspergers and the challenges that can come with it takes a special kind of person. And not only does Justin (and Zev) seem to handle those challenges well, they really treat each other with respect and have a great sense of humour that's similar. Justin doesn't appear to just tolerate Zev's Asperger's, he seems to enjoy those things that make Zev unique. I love it.
Justin amazes me too. :)

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The biggest problem I see with Luke is when he gets weepy/whiny he just stands there and does not keep working on the challenge. He is his own worst enemy. I think they said when they were first on that he doesn't read lips. Why not? I respect the deaf community, but in Luke's case wouldn't the small amount of independence he would gain be worth a little separation from Mommy?

And I agree Zev and Justin's friendship is a great message to us all to embrace our differences.

The killer about the show not being on next weekend is that there is NO basketball next Sunday, since the championship is being played next Monday!!! The show would start on time. Stupid CMAs!!!

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Originally Posted by captain

I may be in the minority here, but I am glad to see Luke/Margie gone. Luke is such a whiney baby. Watching him, I get the idea when things do not go his way he throws a temper tantrum and mommy fixes it. It was not a difficult (physical) task, like the ones Margie always does. What the heck was he bawling like a baby about? Sorry, but glad he is gone.

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I am with you. I posted, earlier, that Luke was the world's biggest sissy. I am super-tired of him. I, too, think his mother has probably hurt him, in the long run. Good riddance.

I don't know Luke's background information, like if he is an only child and was born deaf, but he does seem to get extemely emotional when he becomes frustrated. It is also apparent that he blames himself when he fails at a task - to the point of beating himself up - and just can't stand the thought that he has let his mother down. Luke also stated how important running the race with his mother was to him, which I think only adds to his emotional outbursts.

I have to admit that I let all those "tantrums" - for lack of a better word - affect how I viewed Luke before last night. But I really did feel sorry for him and just hope that in real life he is more able to reign in that "emotional" side of himself. I imagine that it is a fine line that a parent has to walk in order to raise a child with disabilities and at the same time enable them to be self-sufficient and emotionally stable. It must be hard on both Luke and his mother trying to find that balance.

I also loved how those men at the tea-tasting challenge in India showed such compassion toward Luke and hugged him when he finally finished the task. That was priceless.