I've finished TAR8, and I have a potentially nuclear take.
1. TAR5 - Colin & Christie 2. TAR2 - Oswald & Danny 3. TAR1 - Kevin & Drew 4. TAR7 - Rob & Amber 5. TAR3 - Teri & Ian 6. TAR6 - Gus & Hera 7. TAR8 - Paolo Family 8. TAR4 - Jon & Al
This season has a lot of issues, there's no real denying that. The cast is far too bloated and it's impossible to keep track of everyone. I still don't actually even know the names of all the Linzes. The route is boring, even though I understand the constraints somewhat. Children are terrible. The unbelievable awkwardness of the only black team on the season literally being named the Black Family. The list goes on. That being said, once the teams get out of the lame East Coast legs and we shed most of the children teams, I think it's actually not awful. When I was doing my ranking, I really struggle to thing of a single positive about season 4. Marion Paolo alone, aka the greatest racer in history, is more entertaining than anything on season 4. Honestly, the Kevin & Drew cameo in episode 1 is more exciting than almost anything in season 4. I don't think they should ever do another edition like this (and I'm sure they won't), but all things considered, it was better than I expected going in, seeing as how universally reviled it seems to be. I think the Linz Family are decent winners. They got a little too frat-bro-y for my tastes at times, but it felt like a reasonably satisfying win, even if a bit expected. For one, I knew they won ahead of time. And second, yeah obviously a team of young 20-something guys is going to be favored vs, teams with literally children and 50 year olds. And the Weavers losing was great. Holy cow did they suck. One of the worst teams so far in this rewatch. Rolly seemed okay-ish, but the holier than thou Jesus shit...my goodness. Miss me with that crap.
Back to normal seasons now. I know 9 is a little hit or miss from what I've heard. I caught the very end of the finale when it aired (final task to the finish line) but otherwise have haven't seen anything else.
