1. TAR5 - Colin & Christie 2. TAR2 - Oswald & Danny 3. TAR1 - Kevin & Drew 4. TAR3 - Teri & Ian 5. TAR9 - BJ & Tyler 6. TAR13 - Nick & Starr 7. TAR12 - Ron & Christina 8. TAR7 - Rob & Amber 9. TAR11 - Oswald & Danny 10. TAR14 - Mel & Mike 11. TAR16 - Dan & Jordan 12. TAR6 - Gus & Hera 13. TAR15 - Zev & Justin 14. TAR10 - Dustin & Kandice 15. TAR8 - Paolo Family 16. TAR4 - Jon & Al
Blitzed through this one real quick. I tend to do that with the seasons I don't enjoy very much. 16 is in a weird spot, and it suffers from a problem that a lot of my lower-tier seasons have - there's no one in the cast that I really liked. Which isn't to say the cast is outright wretched like season 4, most of them are -fine- but I didn't find myself attached to anyone in particular. It was difficult to pick a favorite. I eventually settled on Dan & Jordan because I liked their relationship, I think they raced fairly smart, and they didn't have any real ugly moments, minus maybe Dan in the cab in Shanghai. It actually surprised me when I looked up stats at the end of the season and saw that statistically they are the worst winners to date - I had forgotten they were a bit slower those first few legs. I liked Steve & Allie too, and considered them but they ended up being a little too forgettable. Maybe if they had made it a few legs farther. Also, much like the Globetrotters, I think Jet & Cord are fine in their first season here. I'd go as far as to say that I did like them, but the way they were edited was...ugh. Maybe it's just being nitpicky, but the fact that they get their own musical theme, and the editors really go out of their way to make sure you like them is a bit much. Louie & Michael were decent enough too.
And then Brent & Caite and Carol & Brandy. Caite is awful. I don't care about how smart or not she is, but she's a terrible spoiler brat for most of the season, and the huge chip on her shoulder is beyond annoying. They literally only ever showed that one clip in the airport of them being told Carol & Brandy said something, and that turned into "they keep saying mean things all the time." I don't hate Brent - he's kind of a dope - but whatever. Caite suuuucks though. Carol & Brandy is a similar situation. I didn't mind Carol a ton, and even though there wasn't actually much friction between them and Brent & Caite early on, the pettiness after the U-Turn and the way Brandy talked about Caite is extremely off-putting. Yes, Caite is not particularly smart, but be better. Even at the finish line...it's just ugh.
The route was pretty unexciting aside from the Seychelles leg. The back half was definitely better than the first half though, though the final memory task was joke. But at least it was sort of a memory task, which makes it a bit better than counting a million dollars in poker chips. Maybe. Anyway, I don't think this season was great, but I at least had ~feelings~ about it, which makes it a bit better than 15 in my book, which just exists. Honestly I think 15 should drop below 6 too, looking back on it, so I guess I'll do that.
Very excited to rewatch 17. I fond memories of this one, and it has my all-time favorite team out of the seasons I've seen.
