4/24 Show Discussion **Spoilers**

[Tilden]

Since other teams amongst those remaining are doing generally better than the Cowboys, but not causing the others to want to push them to the back, I'm going to assume that the remaining competitors get the same bad vibe from the Cowboys that I do. I can't explain it, but I find there to be something intangibly unpleasant about them.

Of course, they could be editing it out, but the only thing we've heard any other team say about the Cowboys that could be considered objectionable is that they're very good at coming from behind. They certainly haven't gotten the whining/crabby/mean to locals edit that K/V have gotten.

But as I said, it doesn't really matter to me what team is being ganged up on--I don't like that they have the option of handing out the answer to what are essentially mental tasks to each other but can't help each other in physical tasks. Either they should be able to help whomever they want whenever they want or they shouldn't be able to help each other complete tasks at all, and given that it's a race, I'd prefer the latter. Sharing information about flights or directions is one thing; just giving someone an answer because you like them or want them to finish ahead of someone you think is more competition for you just smacks of cheating. Unlike Survivor, AR is actually supposed to have some rules regarding how tasks are completed--if you're told to walk, you can't use a cab, for instance, because that's considered cheating. Seems to me just being given an answer is cheating too. I don't think Jen knew the right answer at all. I think she just overheard it and asked Justin to verify it, which he stupidly did--and then the answer was simply passed to the Globetrotters and Ken. Could be that the Cowboys have done something others have considered mean-spirited, but for the other competitors to act mean-spiritedly in return doesn't make them any better than the Cowboys.

[fijibeachbum]

The GTs are missing two tags. Kent and Vyxyn have already used their U-Turn, so whether it gets used remains to be seen.

[Rattus]

Of course, they could be editing it out, but the only thing we've heard any other team say about the Cowboys that could be considered objectionable is that they're very good at coming from behind. They certainly haven't gotten the whining/crabby/mean to locals edit that K/V have gotten.

No, but I get an unpleasant vibe off of them that I find far more objectionable than any whiny crabbiness. Honestly, I find it so rank and almost palpable that I am just as surprised this go 'round as I was the last time they ran that they have such a devoted fanbase. And I really can't object to the whiny crabbiness since I have, myself, indulged in whining or crabbiness when I've been tired on the road.

ETA: Yay! I know I'm alone in this, but yay!

[fijibeachbum]

The GTs u-turn the cowboys. And it's happy trails...

[Tilden]

Crap. No matter who loses this time--and it looks like it's going to be the Cowboys--the race loses a really strong team of competitors.

Okay, if Jett and Cord were one of their favorite teams ever, why did they join in the pack mentality to give away the answer to other teams and not them? I don't blame the Globetrotters for u-turning the Cowboys to survive, but I find it really hard to believe that they actually liked them all that much when they did their best to help make sure they remained as far behind as possible.

Phil looked ticked at the final mat, especially when Jett took the blame for the loss, when he had no idea that other teams were just given the answer. I'm willing to bet that next season there will be a rule about not sharing answers to challenges. If they hadn't shared answers, where would the K/J be, considering their rider lost her map (I'm sorry, but for the life of me, I can never remember who is who on that team, because they both seem to have pretty much the exact same personality and look a bit alike, probably because they're sisters)? Ken had gotten lost too, so he might have had to repeat the course as well. It's just stupid that some teams should have to complete the task according to the rules and others are given the answers with no penalty being attached, when other forms of cheating are penalized.

[JohnnyK]

Sad to see the Cowboys go. But rather them than FT/BE, I guess.

[fijibeachbum]

I'm sure the Cowboys are disappointed to learn that they were eliminated due to "clue and answer sharing." Perhaps since this year's crop of teams is so openly helpful, they will institute a rule. However, I'd like to see if the teams regret doing so as they are eliminated in the next few weeks. Just takes some of the fun and skill out of the game.

[Arielflies]

The Cowboys have been excluded from clue/answer sharing since the first/second episode. I do feel bad for them because of this...but they always get in trouble when navigation is involved, so I'm not surprised that they didn't make the final three.

[pretlitdev]

I'm pretty sure the reason why the other teams wanted the cowboys out was not because they are unlikeable, but because they do have the ability to catch up and even pass other teams-like they did in their season when they went from last to first and just a few legs ago when Cord beat Ron.

I agree with whoever said next season they need to ban answer sharing-that was just ridiculous. The only ones who did the task completely on their own were Jet and Justin. Wonder how many others would have had to go back and try again if they didn't cheat?

[Tilden]

I'm sure the Cowboys are disappointed to learn that they were eliminated due to "clue and answer sharing." Perhaps since this year's crop of teams is so openly helpful, they will institute a rule. However, I'd like to see if the teams regret doing so as they are eliminated in the next few weeks. Just takes some of the fun and skill out of the game.

I actually don't care that much whether they regret it or not, because either way, as you pointed out, it takes some of the fun and skill out of the game, and the possibility of sharing answers should be eliminated for that reason. It's possible Justin originally thought he was simply verifying an answer for another contestant, but after that, they were simply passing the answer on to others who had no idea what the answer was yet.

The ability to pass on answers just has all kinds of bad potential for the show as a whole. It sets up the possibility of alliances unfairly pulling each other through tasks, and worse, it sets up the possibility of someone turning on someone else, even perhaps someone in their alliance they've decided they want to get rid of, by handing off a wrong answer and backstabbing them. The AR has always been pretty much free of that sort of behavior, with a rare exception here or there, and if they don't stop it now, it's likely to get worse. Survivor already exists. AR doesn't need to turn into a traveling version of Survivor.

I have no problem with teams keeping information to themselves if they've figured out what they think is a better route or they've gotten an answer that another team hasn't yet gotten. But just passing on answers so that only some teams have to complete the task that's been given them honestly is just wrong. It would have served them right if the BE/FT, J/K,and K/M had all incurred a penalty for not actually completing the task as assigned and if J/Z incurred a penalty for passing on an answer in the first place. Fully half the teams tonight had the answer simply handed to them on that first task. That's just wrong--and it would be wrong no matter which teams had been involved.