TAR

Moscow! It's always fun when they go to a city you know well, and I lived in Moscow for a few years when I was little -- in Soviet times, as they say. Wasn't Novodevichy pretty? And St. Basil's Cathedral? Of course, they also showed some of the unrelenting grayness that I remember so well.

As for the race itself, BJ and Tyler are sort of growing on me. Their self-conscious "wackiness" is pretty tiresome, but they seem like nice people and you can't dispute that they're good racers. Joseph and Monica's teaming up with Dave and Lori makes me like them more.

I am still liking Ray and Yolanda and Wanda and Desiree. But, for future reference, when you're at a pool and the clue mentions taking a plunge, it might be a good idea to have the people who are not terrified of water do the task.

Danielle and Dani: on the one hand, it was pretty cool how they dealt with a pretty major setback with such equanimity; on the other hand, how do they not see that Eric and Jeremy are complete tools?

Fran and Berry: I prefer my old people spunky and upbeat, rather than crabby and pessimistic.

Lake and Michelle: hate, from the beginning of the episode to the end. Also, I cannot fathom why Michelle thought she would have to jump off the diving board naked. Does she not realize that she is on a TV show that airs during primetime?

Looking forward to tomorrow's episode!

ETA: I am pretty sure that the theater where the "scour" detour takes place is the same Dubrovka Theater that was seized by Chechen terrorists in 2002, which the Russian police gassed after a two-day siege, resulting in the deaths of more than 100 hostages. HBO did a truly disturbing documentary about this incident. I find it sort of creepy that they would use this as a location.