Too bad the Acappella guys didn't last long enough to get the music challenge, because they'd have ruled it. But that's the nature of it when tasks are set up long in advance.

The babushka ladies were funny as hell, and so clearly enjoying themselves.

That was a terrific leg! Really well-planned challenges all around.

I was hoping we'd get to see the daddy/daughter team go (her voice makes my teeth hurt) but hey, nonelim's good too.

That's Gary and Mallory. Mallory has never had an unvoiced thought in her life, I'm convinced.

The Tattoos rose in my estimation again -- if only because the guy seems contrite about his Ghana meltdown. The other couple also seems to be making changes for the better. If this keeps up, my disbelief in people's goodness may have to change....

I'm surprised more teams didn't do what the Tattoos ended up doing at the music task; just concentrating on one piece at a time.

Or keep their own notes so that they know that Piano #3 is NOT doing Song #2.

They were all trying to rush through it... which if you don't have a classical-music-educated ear just isn't going to work.

I can see getting caught up in the rush, rush, rush when there were multiple teams in the room, running from piano to piano and being able to solve the challange. With all that going on, it is difficult to step back and come up with a different approach.

I'm glad they didn't self implode and were able to finish that task and work through the others. Will see how they do with next week's speed bump. They will probably have to sit in a massage chair and endure a 10 minute massage before they can continue on.

Maybe it will be that they have to get a tattoo....

It's amazing how much I don't hate any of the TAR teams that much. Yes, Mallory grates from time to time, but she and her dad have a great relationship and she generally seems to mean well. And yes, I would prefer to be rid of Chad and Stephanie, but in the annals of bad couple teams, they are nowhere close to Flo/Zach or Freddy/Kendra levels of bad. I've even grown to find the tattoo couple endearingly lunkheaded because those two kids are tryers if ever I've seen some. And he was the best sport ever in the babushka get up and piercings taking pictures with random Russian villagers. Good leg. Good teams. I'm enjoying this season a lot.

I'm very pleased with this season so far -- sorry for some of the early team dismissals, but that's always true. This season is unusual for the number of women making it this far -- there's only one all-male team left!?

TAR:

This season is unusual for the number of women making it this far -- there's only one all-male team left!?

Yeah, but it only started out with one alpha male team, who were promptly eliminated in the first leg. The other all male teams have had physicality weaknesses.

And yes, I would prefer to be rid of Chad and Stephanie, but in the annals of bad couple teams, they are nowhere close to Flo/Zach or Freddy/Kendra levels of bad. I've even grown to find the tattoo couple endearingly lunkheaded because those two kids are tryers if ever I've seen some.

Yeah, that's really true. I kinda adore the tattoo couple at this point.

This was a great leg. AND for the record, I would have totally ruled at that piano challenge. I do that, every day, with much worse players. Obviously not in that quantity, but definitely with similar levels of chaos. I could reach through that noise and pick out someone playing a wrong note. That is my mad lifeskilz that will never come in handy anywhere else, ever.

Also, the sheet music was in front of them. I'm pretty sure I could have recognized "Troika" off the bat.

Anyway, it's fun to have that skill in class, because your students don't think you're listening to them. And when they think they're impressed because you called them out from across the room for goofing around instead of playing the song they're supposed to, they are completely floored when you tell them which note it's supposed to be on the song they're working at the moment.