Also enjoyed ep 1.
I had really low expectations for this format, but I enjoyed the first episode a lot. The beginning of the episode where they had to do a task and then pick partners was quite good.
Vanck and Ashton are comedy gold. I hope they stay in it for a while.
I loved the footage from the Capsize-Cam during the canoe racing task.
The schoolyard pick made for some interesting teams. I enjoyed the premiere and laughed quite a bit.
I’m ok that they “stacked the deck” for this season with fit younger people. I agree that’s it’s probably for easier matching up. The first episode grabbed me hook, line and sinker!
I agree with YouDon’tSay on favorites - Dude and Olive, Denver couple, snowboarder and amputee. I would have liked to see the long haired couple last another week - well, him more than her - he seemed kind of a hoot.
Also loved that Phil drove the one couple to LAX. 
GO PHIL!
I loved the first episode also. I laughed a lot when the teams were capsizing their canoes all over the place.
Sorry to see the girls go. I liked how they became fast friends despite getting paired up by default. It was just their bad luck to get the last flight.
Boy, that Shamir is a whiner, huh? Phil plainly thinks he’s a jerk and the previews for next week seem to confirm it. I feel sorry for his partner.
I don’t hold out much hope for that team. Other teams have gotten closer and are figuring out their strengths and weaknesses and how to work together. That team not so much.
It was an interesting episode, largely because of the opportunity to see the developing dynamics of the teams. The tasks were fairly simple. The drama with Shamir was ridiculous. I know that TAR likes to present certain teams in a particular light but this guy didn’t even make editing necessary. And his behavior at the mat? Embarrassing. I, too, feel sorry for his teammate. At least if you enter TAR with a jerk as someone you know, you understand what you’re in for but to be matched with a jerk, where there’s nothing you can do about it has got to be very frustrating.
Nice to see Liz and Michael coming in first! Vanck and Ashton are cute. Yay for Scott overcoming his fear of heights. And I still love Becca and Floyd.
I thought it was hilarious how whiny he was complaining about the itty bitty cuts and bruises he had from the drum task. I had no idea it was foreshadowing something so much better.
clearly Phil and Production do not like this guy and will go out of their way to give him as bad an edit as they can.
oh and breaking that window? not cool. someone on street level could have gotten seriously injured from broken glass if it shattered a little more.
Really, you all are just going to dump on Shamir and let Brooke off the hook??? She has not stopped whining from Day 1, and was absolutely intolerable in this episode. Props to Scott for rappelling down the side of the high rise - despite being so terrified that he was reduced to tears - but if it was a choice of that or staying on the ground with whiny Brooke, he clearly picked the only viable option. (And let’s not even talk about what would have happened if he’d suggested that she do the window washing!)
Shamir and Brooke deserve each other . . . how about a special roadblock where the first successful team member gets the option of selecting a new teammate?
I get a feeling there’s going to be an opportunity for teams to swap out a partner. So bummed to see the women go this week. I really liked them. Onward!
I’ve wondered, too, if there will be a switch of partners at some point. That would really shake things up!
Brooke is as big a PITA as Shamir, I agree. Ugh.
Agree with all of the above. Brooke was annoying. Shamir at the mat…Phil seemed stunned at his awful behavior. You made it to the mat - when YOU were the one who might have put your team in jeopardy- how about a little humble pie?!
Switching partners would/could be a nightmare!
I guess they could switch everyone out, but I hope they don’t. What’s so enjoyable about this is watching the teams evolve (or devolve, as the case may be). If they switch out all the teams . . . well, at that point we’re just watching a different version of Survivor, but it won’t be TAR anymore.
Crazy episode. Hats off to the boys who really plowed through both tasks. Boy is Shamir annoying!! Everything is always someone else’s fault. I really, really like Liz and Mike. Interesting how fast “Team Fun” lost her temper when the passport got lost. They were extremely lucky not to be eliminated. Sad to see Seth and Olive go. I was hoping for a non-elimination leg.
Ditto. So relieved that Team Fun survived their screw-up . . . but really wish Seth and Olive could have stayed in the race. Meanwhile, Shamir survives to see another day . . . 
And it looks like next week’s episode is going to be a repeat of “Whining with Brooke” . . . %-(
Am I just getting old and grumpy, or are certain members of this season’s teams a lot more annoying than usual?
@dodgersmom There are always a couple of annoying ones…my least favorite contestant ever was Flo (who had an amazing partner and was probably the least deserving winner ever). Here’s hoping Shamir and Brooke are eliminated soon.
Luke was right up there on the annoying scale for me, especially after his first season.
I enjoyed the episode but was sorry to see Seth and Olive go. It seems early to have a double U-turn, doesn’t it? I think the ‘boys’ are obnoxious, especially Redmond. They aren’t winning any friends with the way they’re acting and the choices they make while racing. And bravo to Liz and Mike, especially funny since some here were predicting they wouldn’t be around long because he was ‘old’ and unfit.
There are several likeable teams and Shamir and Brooke seem to be the ones to hate this season. Too bad they aren’t teammates.
The “bros” seem like a couple of bullies, ridiculing and mocking the team that U-turned them. They seem like the kids in HS who would terrorize the nerdy kids.