Episode 1 spoilers I will admit, the group I watch with all started laughing when the Snack Zone music started playing, but we quickly sobered up when we saw the text overlay.
Episode 1 spoilers
I will admit, the group I watch with all started laughing when the Snack Zone music started playing, but we quickly sobered up when we saw the text overlay.
Quasi-Spoiler from Episode 1's Layover podcast It is less clear than it ought to be in the episode, but on the podcast Tom makes a point of saying that he was fine for the rest of the trip and has...
Quasi-Spoiler from Episode 1's Layover podcast
It is less clear than it ought to be in the episode, but on the podcast Tom makes a point of saying that he was fine for the rest of the trip and has made a full recovery. The only change that ends up being made is that no one runs for the rest of the season.
Click to expand spoiler. I've historically been prone to fainting (low blood pressure) and the kind of weather they were in made me dizzy just to watch. I know southern Japan has a reputation for...
Click to expand spoiler.
I've historically been prone to fainting (low blood pressure) and the kind of weather they were in made me dizzy just to watch. I know southern Japan has a reputation for being really hot in the warm months and judging by the humidity on display, it must have felt really oppressive... I'm glad to know that Tom was OK and that they made that choice.
I really enjoyed this first episode, more than the last few seasons’ for some reason. Maybe the longer length had to do with it, or maybe I just really like the format of this game
I really enjoyed this first episode, more than the last few seasons’ for some reason. Maybe the longer length had to do with it, or maybe I just really like the format of this game
I really enjoyed it too, however... Spoiler I'm a bit worried that this may end up being super one-sided based on how poorly the scavenger hunt challenges went for Tom and Adam. But hopefully they...
I really enjoyed it too, however...
Spoiler
I'm a bit worried that this may end up being super one-sided based on how poorly the scavenger hunt challenges went for Tom and Adam. But hopefully they can make up some of their lost ground in the next episode. :P
Spoiler Given how much of a marketing push there was for this season, including putting the first episode in theaters, I want to say that they wouldn’t have done that for a blowout of a season,...
Spoiler
Given how much of a marketing push there was for this season, including putting the first episode in theaters, I want to say that they wouldn’t have done that for a blowout of a season, and it comes down to the wire, but things definitely aren’t going too well for those two so far
I always love it when the game is designed to show more of the country it takes place in. This one is especially "slow" with the mandated breaks in each prefecture, but probably not as boring for...
I always love it when the game is designed to show more of the country it takes place in. This one is especially "slow" with the mandated breaks in each prefecture, but probably not as boring for the players as hide and seek (when they're required to stay put), so that's a win/win.
I don't think the recent seasons have been all bad, although a few of them were definitely on the weaker side... I quite liked Taiwan and England H&S. South Korea was probably a miss, as was Stateside Scramble (almost entirely due to bad RNG, the formula is generally fine...)
I agree, I also don't think the recent seasons are all misses. Hide and seek is almost always good, and I concur that Stateside Scramble was a victim of bad RNG. However, this season's format...
I agree, I also don't think the recent seasons are all misses. Hide and seek is almost always good, and I concur that Stateside Scramble was a victim of bad RNG. However, this season's format really appeals to me from the start for some reason, and while it's possible this will be a weaker season if Sam and Ben keep destroying the other two the way they have been, I'm looking forward to watching the rest of it
Feels like Tom and Adam are dialed into being quite competitive this season. I prefer watching Ben and Sam, at least right now. This show is at its best when it’s a mix of appreciating the...
Feels like Tom and Adam are dialed into being quite competitive this season. I prefer watching Ben and Sam, at least right now. This show is at its best when it’s a mix of appreciating the experiences and engaging with the game. I guess the race does change the dynamics, though.
Edit with SpoilersOh no, I just got to the Medical Production Pause! That’s tragic; I feel quite bad that Tom was pushing himself so. I’m hoping that their adventures are a bit more relaxed here on out, for their sake!
Tom + Adam could draw 15 cards if they catch a fish in Ehime. Honestly I think they’ve over-estimated the difficulty. Some fish just really want to get caught.
Tom + Adam could draw 15 cards if they catch a fish in Ehime. Honestly I think they’ve over-estimated the difficulty. Some fish just really want to get caught.
Episode 1 spoilers It's the longest episode they've put out... by a whole 4 seconds! The next longest is the finale of Shengen Showdown, which features, of all people, Tom Scott. I agree that it...
Episode 1 spoilers
It's the longest episode they've put out... by a whole 4 seconds! The next longest is the finale of Shengen Showdown, which features, of all people, Tom Scott.
I agree that it was likely this long to have the whole story arc of the scavenger hunt. I think the only other point where it could be cut is after they complete the Suikawari challenge because it's the first time that team makes any meaningful progress, but stretching it out to the end of the scavenger hunt makes for better storytelling.
Click to expand spoiler. Didn't they also say it was the longest Jet Lag season? If so then there just might be enough to show that they felt the need to not cut too early...
Click to expand spoiler.
Didn't they also say it was the longest Jet Lag season? If so then there just might be enough to show that they felt the need to not cut too early...
See, I think he's an excellent foil to Ben and Adam. He's so visibly smart and yet fails so consistently against the combo of anxiety and chill that are BADAM. I do think it was right to change...
See, I think he's an excellent foil to Ben and Adam. He's so visibly smart and yet fails so consistently against the combo of anxiety and chill that are BADAM. I do think it was right to change things up this season, but I think that Sam has his place in the ecosystem.
Yeah, Sam is the calm, cool and collected foil to Ben and Adam's chaotic way of play. Ben in particular is maximum chaos and despite the fact that I normally root for Sam, I love when Ben goes out...
Yeah, Sam is the calm, cool and collected foil to Ben and Adam's chaotic way of play. Ben in particular is maximum chaos and despite the fact that I normally root for Sam, I love when Ben goes out solo in a Tag or Hide and Seek season because you never know what you are going to get from that loveable goofball.
I like Sam, but I kind of agree. I feel like the other participants appreciate the travel, experience, and beauty more compared to Sam. Sam is usually hyper competitive and focused on game mechanics.
I like Sam, but I kind of agree. I feel like the other participants appreciate the travel, experience, and beauty more compared to Sam. Sam is usually hyper competitive and focused on game mechanics.
spoilersEvery time I see one of the Jet Laggers try to catch a fish, I am utterly baffled at just how bad they are. You'd think over the years they would have tried to at least obtain the bare...
spoilersEvery time I see one of the Jet Laggers try to catch a fish, I am utterly baffled at just how bad they are. You'd think over the years they would have tried to at least obtain the bare minimum knowledge about how to catch a fish, but they keep trying to wade out into the water with a landing net!
ep 2 spoilers If one of the regulars went off and studied the secret arts of being mildly competent at fishing, they'd probably have to stop writing challenges around it. It's mostly there as a...
ep 2 spoilers
If one of the regulars went off and studied the secret arts of being mildly competent at fishing, they'd probably have to stop writing challenges around it. It's mostly there as a running joke, which I did find quite funny in this instance.
Maybe I'd find it more frustrating and less funny if I myself had any real competency at fishing beyond knowing that shouting whenever a fish got close was probably counter-productive.
Episode 2 spoilers Hey, at least Adam bought a rod this time, and even recognised that the fish we're going for his rather than Tom's net. Maybe the net could work as long as they stay quiet and...
Episode 2 spoilers
Hey, at least Adam bought a rod this time, and even recognised that the fish we're going for his rather than Tom's net. Maybe the net could work as long as they stay quiet and don't move at all, even in anticipation. It doesn't take much movement in the water to spook a fish.
Hopefully both teams vote to remove the challenge in the next rest period, considering both teams have now attempted and failed it.
One of the best Jet Lag moments of all time. Tom was out there for only a few seconds. As soon as I saw a white guy in the background I knew it would happen.
One of the best Jet Lag moments of all time. Tom was out there for only a few seconds. As soon as I saw a white guy in the background I knew it would happen.
Episode 2 spoilers My watch party couldn't believe it. We all went crazy as soon as it happened. Adam and Tom had an incredibly rough ending to the previous day with the fishing, so to immediately...
Episode 2 spoilers
My watch party couldn't believe it. We all went crazy as soon as it happened. Adam and Tom had an incredibly rough ending to the previous day with the fishing, so to immediately complete a 5 card challenge at the start of the next day was amazing luck. I can't wait to see what Sam and Ben have to say when they get told about it.
Click to expand spoiler. It's incredible luck and the timing was great (I cackled for a whole minute), but let's face it, Tom is very recognizable. He'd been recognized before even on Jet Lag, and...
Click to expand spoiler.
It's incredible luck and the timing was great (I cackled for a whole minute), but let's face it, Tom is very recognizable. He'd been recognized before even on Jet Lag, and he's wearing his trademark red wine colored shirt. I wonder if they'll just say "yeah that checks out"!
Episode 2 spoilers I get that, and Tom was absolutely the right person for them to pick. We paused as the challenge card was being read out so there was enough time to read the card and for all of...
Episode 2 spoilers
I get that, and Tom was absolutely the right person for them to pick.
We paused as the challenge card was being read out so there was enough time to read the card and for all of us to discuss. One point that was brought up was that it's unknown how much of Tom's internet fame would carry over to a Japanese audience. That turned out not to matter in this instance, since it was a tourist who happened to be at the same station that recognised him instead.
Yeah it's super close! The teams have pulled quite a few cards to unlock or travel through their opponents territory, so I'm suspecting it was an intentional choice to have stronger catchup...
Yeah it's super close! The teams have pulled quite a few cards to unlock or travel through their opponents territory, so I'm suspecting it was an intentional choice to have stronger catchup mechanics than previously. Also the challenges tending towards not being 'failable' so much as introducing time penalties before repeat attempts probably lends itself towards more even progress and less chance a team crashes out and falls irrevocably behind.
I've been pretty impressed by the deck design overall, it felt like there are a bunch of fun tactical ways to combo multiple cards together to make them more valuable than the sum of their parts or do something a bit unexpected.
Overall I'm enjoying the season a lot, and switching up the teams is a fun change. Even if I'm getting a lot of second-hand stress from Tom winding himself up so tight.
Episode 4 spoilers It's amazing how close this race is at this point. I mean, here they are in Kyoto where I'm sure they'll have a lovely evening of not talking to each other because they need...
Episode 4 spoilers
It's amazing how close this race is at this point. I mean, here they are in Kyoto where I'm sure they'll have a lovely evening of not talking to each other because they need alone time off-camera.
I wonder how the closeness is going to change as they take the different routes. Ben and Sam obviously have their mega move that gets them to the Tokyo metro area, but they still need to make their way through a few prefectures and will generally have slower non-shinkansen trains. Tom and Adam will have ok speed trains, but they'll be less frequent so they'll need to be good at challenges to not be waiting around for expresses.
Click to expand spoiler. I'm a bit concerned with the recent decisions by the Tom and Adam team. I hope they don't hesitate to burn their cards to keep from wasting too much time on a bad...
Click to expand spoiler.
I'm a bit concerned with the recent decisions by the Tom and Adam team. I hope they don't hesitate to burn their cards to keep from wasting too much time on a bad challenge board if they have to, otherwise I feel like they are currently set to fall behind again.
I believe they filmed for 7 days, not 5. Still, Episode 4 spoilers Day 3 started with Tom being recognised which was the end of episode 2, and ended with them meeting up in Kyoto at the end of...
I believe they filmed for 7 days, not 5. Still,
Episode 4 spoilers
Day 3 started with Tom being recognised which was the end of episode 2, and ended with them meeting up in Kyoto at the end of episode 4. Two whole episodes worth of good footage for a single real-life day.
Ep. 5 comments This remains less unbalanced than I feared it might become. I think the biggest risk (of unbalance) is that Tom and Adam might not have doable challenges after the scenic beauty and...
Ep. 5 comments
This remains less unbalanced than I feared it might become. I think the biggest risk (of unbalance) is that Tom and Adam might not have doable challenges after the scenic beauty and might get stuck, since Sam and Ben won't be doing any challenges, which means they won't be generating any more challenges for a while. I wouldn't trust my own luck in a single draw (for the challenge in this case).
I'm really enjoying the locations being visited. The parks, castles and temples seem to be overrepresented in a good way, and we're even getting some nice vistas.
Yeah it was a rough time to get not much in the way of workable challenges from both the new day and then the shuffle card. I guess you could make the argument that they've been planning a riskier...
Yeah it was a rough time to get not much in the way of workable challenges from both the new day and then the shuffle card.
I guess you could make the argument that they've been planning a riskier route and potentially not giving quite enough value to card pulls which could help mitigate that risk, but at the end of the day there's a lot of luck involved.
I guess Ben and Sam will shoot ahead fairly quickly with their gambit and will then need to start churning through challenges at an accelerated rate to keep progressing around the more tightly packed Tokyo prefectures, so hopefully nobody gets stuck with a terrible challenge board for too long.
It is still being made! It's a good season too, I think. I wasn't a huge fan of Scott in the previous series he was in, but I think he's dialed in more to the vibe this season. It felt a bit like...
It is still being made! It's a good season too, I think. I wasn't a huge fan of Scott in the previous series he was in, but I think he's dialed in more to the vibe this season. It felt a bit like Brian - I wasn't his biggest fan his first time in, but then his second season I thought he knocked it out of the park and gelled so well.
Click to expand spoiler. That early episode made me groan out loud. Adam and Tom have no easy challenges and get a steal. They've realized their opponents were making a play involving speeding...
Click to expand spoiler.
That early episode made me groan out loud.
Adam and Tom have no easy challenges and get a steal. They've realized their opponents were making a play involving speeding through multiple prefectures. So what do they do? Obviously they steal to try to get a skip and disrupt their opponents' playHoard the steal and take a one way trip to the mountains one hour away of course...
It's exactly what I previously wrote I was afraid would happen!
Episode 6 spoilers Definitely not their proudest moment (though not as bad as throwing away a skip that's valid for the next prefecture). Adam and Tom ended up doing 3 mind meld challenges in a...
Episode 6 spoilers
Definitely not their proudest moment (though not as bad as throwing away a skip that's valid for the next prefecture).
Adam and Tom ended up doing 3 mind meld challenges in a row between last episode and this. It was a bit shaky with the convenience store, but they got it in the end. This one felt a lot easier to strategise around, which I think Adam knew by rejecting the first spot Tom picked. The spot they ended up going for had far fewer things to pick from.
On the podcast Ben said he still wears the hat he bought from the baseball game. Apparently there was some sort of collab going on between the team and Nintendo which is why there were Pokémon on them.
Sam spent so long skipping those stones. I think it was harder because they were throwing from higher above the water. I'm slightly upset that Adam and Tom didn't scoop them here, but they should be able to do the ghost platform challenge here, right? I believe they were the only ones to leave at that station.
It's insane that over the course of one game day that Sam and Ben cleared 8 prefectures, 4 of them with skips. I know they have been planning for this, but it's still crazy to see.
Spoiler "Sam and Ben later learned these are Ginkgo Nuts which are toxic when eaten raw and must be thoroughly cooked before eating, but luckily Ben ate far less than the toxic quantity." is truly...
Spoiler
"Sam and Ben later learned these are Ginkgo Nuts which are toxic when eaten raw and must be thoroughly cooked before eating, but luckily Ben ate far less than the toxic quantity." is truly an all-timer of a caption.
Click to expand spoiler. A cliffhanger!!! How dare they? I thought they didn't do those anymore! This was a great episode. Lots of good feelings all around! Except when Ben was eating bad stuff, I...
Click to expand spoiler.
A cliffhanger!!! How dare they? I thought they didn't do those anymore!
This was a great episode. Lots of good feelings all around! Except when Ben was eating bad stuff, I guess. And I knew right away there were going to be dam puns.
It might also be the episode with the best sum of beautiful views in the season so far.
I have to say, once again, I would not have chosen the curse Adam and Tom did, but maybe they'll get lucky (they are not the lucky team though; generally Ben gets the luck). Curse of the Clingy Lover seems great for overtaking?
In general throughout this season I've noticed both teams don't seem very keen on using curses that affect the other team at all. Shinkansen cards, skips and deck-related strategies seem much stronger.
Yeah, they already 'apologized' for... ...the cliffhanger in the layover podcast xD: But yeah, that ending was absolutely wild. I kinda want to believe "Team Fight" makes a miracle-comeback and...
Yeah, they already 'apologized' for...
...the cliffhanger in the layover podcast xD:
Ben: And look, we formally apologize for this cliffhanger. It was to good to not do. We had – we had to do it.
Sam: Right, we get ooone –
Ben: We get one mean cliffhanger, and its before the finale, and its to good.
But yeah, that ending was absolutely wild. I kinda want to believe "Team Fight" makes a miracle-comeback and manages to win, but given how much content is left my feeling tells me that Sen&Bam won't lose their Shinkansen card prematurely.
spoils A&T do have the nicest views and super funny trains. Looks great to go to a random dam in Japan on those tiny local trains! I don't trust Sam at all to play fair, so he gets an exciting...
spoils
A&T do have the nicest views and super funny trains. Looks great to go to a random dam in Japan on those tiny local trains!
I don't trust Sam at all to play fair, so he gets an exciting show, 100% that they will _not_ draw the speedy train card.
I just don't trust this Sam guy, he's always talking about money, and I'm sure he'll do whatever gives him the most views (he's the owner of JetLag). And I feel justified after seeing the finale.
I just don't trust this Sam guy, he's always talking about money, and I'm sure he'll do whatever gives him the most views (he's the owner of JetLag).
I want to call out this magnificent pun from Tom on the Layover Light episode 7 spoilers (Talking about the tripod thing that Sam and Ben saw with the rail workers)
I want to call out this magnificent pun from Tom on the Layover
Light episode 7 spoilers
(Talking about the tripod thing that Sam and Ben saw with the rail workers)
[...] a theodolite measures angles and, uh, these days it's normally a laser thing for land surveying or something like that.
And you can tell the difference because a theodolite is on a tripod and a theodotite hangs down from the roof.
Finale is now on Youtube Click to expand spoiler. One thing that occurred to me: Adam and Tom's original plan at the beginning of the day was to get to a certain stop on the Wakkanai route in...
One thing that occurred to me: Adam and Tom's original plan at the beginning of the day was to get to a certain stop on the Wakkanai route in order to take an earlier train on the final day. Had they managed to do that (and it seems like they could have, given there were no apparent delays) without Ben and Sam realizing what they were doing, the Golden Carriage curse would have been forced to be used on the earlier 6am Wakkanai train the next day, allowing Adam and Tom to force the tie with the 9am train that Ben and Sam would've had to take.
Regardless, incredible season, arguably one of the best. Well played by all teams
Hmm from memory I think the Golden Carriage had a caveat that the team playing it had to stay at the station until the train left with them on it. I assume you probably couldn't have used it to...
Hmm from memory I think the Golden Carriage had a caveat that the team playing it had to stay at the station until the train left with them on it. I assume you probably couldn't have used it to block later access to a train you're unable to take yourself.
Unfortunately I think Adam and Tom's plan was up in smoke as soon as Sam and Ben had their magic mirror strat. Without the other team needing to stop to do a challenge they were never really going to get north of them. Sam and Ben can also think of the play of spending the remainder of their day getting closer to the goal, if it's a choice between that or doing nothing.
Agreed that this is one of their best seasons. Simple to understand rules, plenty of room for tactical play, beautiful locations and so close to even for so much of the game.
Click to expand spoiler. It's always a little disappointing when the competition is decided before the end is reached (which happens often!) but at least we have now learned that Ben's ridiculous...
Click to expand spoiler.
It's always a little disappointing when the competition is decided before the end is reached (which happens often!) but at least we have now learned that Ben's ridiculous good luck is more powerful than Sam's bad one.
Other than that, it was a great season! Maybe the best so far in my opinion.
Dunno, the pacing of... ...the final ten minutes of the episode was quite well edited in my opinion, so I don't really mind the 'early' conclusion. I found it much more frustrating how some veeery...
Dunno, the pacing of...
...the final ten minutes of the episode was quite well edited in my opinion, so I don't really mind the 'early' conclusion. I found it much more frustrating how some veeery lucky last-minute draws kinda decided this season on pure chance. After this much back-and-forth I really would've preferred a tie in this one.
Random chance is always a factor There was a 50/50 chance of Ben and Sam losing their Shinkansen card at the end of the prior episode, and if that had gone the other way the results would have...
Random chance is always a factor
There was a 50/50 chance of Ben and Sam losing their Shinkansen card at the end of the prior episode, and if that had gone the other way the results would have been entirely different. We just fixate on the piece of luck at the end.
I think the season relied too much on luck. Almost everything was governed by card draws rather than strategy. There were two instances I can remember when strategy was really involved.
I think the season relied too much on luck. Almost everything was governed by card draws rather than strategy. There were two instances I can remember when strategy was really involved.
Is choosing which challenges to face, selecting the cards from the choices they had, and making the best of their hand not strategy? Sam and Ben entirely bailing on the house of cards challenge to...
Is choosing which challenges to face, selecting the cards from the choices they had, and making the best of their hand not strategy? Sam and Ben entirely bailing on the house of cards challenge to try something else had nothing to do with the carss and still had big effects. Tom and Adam trying three different times to complete the same challenge was a strategy.
AdamTom made some bad choices, but played much better, and I think should have won. I trust the result of the last 2-card draw (though it was _very_ convenient), but the 50% draw result? The...
AdamTom made some bad choices, but played much better, and I think should have won. I trust the result of the last 2-card draw (though it was _very_ convenient), but the 50% draw result? The cliffhanger? I don't believe that at all. I think having to trust them there is the week part of this show.
Click to expand spoiler. Adam is typically the smartest (as displayed in this last episode), most skilled competitor, which is why I rarely cheer for him. It's much more fun to cheer for the...
Click to expand spoiler.
Adam is typically the smartest (as displayed in this last episode), most skilled competitor, which is why I rarely cheer for him. It's much more fun to cheer for the underdogs. It was fun to have a chance to support him this time! Also it was funny that his love for old buildings was his undoing...
Which 50% draw result? I think it's obvious that the bit at the end with the reveal was something they did for the edit. Most of what seems like too much of a coincidence though, is often due to excellent editing, since they don't need to strictly adhere to matching timing, chronological order, can cut things, etc.
> Which 50% draw result? The one where they had to discard one of their 2 cards, which was the cliffhanger after ep 7. If they had to discard the bullet train card they likely would not have won....
> Which 50% draw result?
The one where they had to discard one of their 2 cards, which was the cliffhanger after ep 7. If they had to discard the bullet train card they likely would not have won. Very convenient result, as it now happened.
I like how Adam often thinks way too much, which often does the opposite of actually helping.
I've only watched the beginning of episode 8 so far, but the first few minutes... ...went as I expected/feared. It would've really surprised me if they did a random draw, actually lost their...
I've only watched the beginning of episode 8 so far, but the first few minutes...
...went as I expected/feared. It would've really surprised me if they did a random draw, actually lost their Shinkansen card, and still made the penultimate episode end on that cliffhanger.
Ep.1 on Nebula
spoilers
i did not enjoy kicking it in the Medical Production Pause zone.Well, actually I laughed at it a lot, but I feel slightly bad about that.
Episode 1 spoilers
I will admit, the group I watch with all started laughing when the Snack Zone music started playing, but we quickly sobered up when we saw the text overlay.
Quasi-Spoiler from Episode 1's Layover podcast
It is less clear than it ought to be in the episode, but on the podcast Tom makes a point of saying that he was fine for the rest of the trip and has made a full recovery. The only change that ends up being made is that no one runs for the rest of the season.Click to expand spoiler.
I've historically been prone to fainting (low blood pressure) and the kind of weather they were in made me dizzy just to watch. I know southern Japan has a reputation for being really hot in the warm months and judging by the humidity on display, it must have felt really oppressive... I'm glad to know that Tom was OK and that they made that choice.
Episode 1 on YouTube
I really enjoyed this first episode, more than the last few seasons’ for some reason. Maybe the longer length had to do with it, or maybe I just really like the format of this game
I really enjoyed it too, however...
Spoiler
I'm a bit worried that this may end up being super one-sided based on how poorly the scavenger hunt challenges went for Tom and Adam. But hopefully they can make up some of their lost ground in the next episode. :P
Spoiler
Given how much of a marketing push there was for this season, including putting the first episode in theaters, I want to say that they wouldn’t have done that for a blowout of a season, and it comes down to the wire, but things definitely aren’t going too well for those two so far
Also welcome back cfabbro long time no see :)
Thanks. I'm not quite back yet, but I've been gradually dipping my toes back into the internet more often lately. :)
I always love it when the game is designed to show more of the country it takes place in. This one is especially "slow" with the mandated breaks in each prefecture, but probably not as boring for the players as hide and seek (when they're required to stay put), so that's a win/win.
I don't think the recent seasons have been all bad, although a few of them were definitely on the weaker side... I quite liked Taiwan and England H&S. South Korea was probably a miss, as was Stateside Scramble (almost entirely due to bad RNG, the formula is generally fine...)
I agree, I also don't think the recent seasons are all misses. Hide and seek is almost always good, and I concur that Stateside Scramble was a victim of bad RNG. However, this season's format really appeals to me from the start for some reason, and while it's possible this will be a weaker season if Sam and Ben keep destroying the other two the way they have been, I'm looking forward to watching the rest of it
Feels like Tom and Adam are dialed into being quite competitive this season. I prefer watching Ben and Sam, at least right now. This show is at its best when it’s a mix of appreciating the experiences and engaging with the game. I guess the race does change the dynamics, though.
Edit with Spoilers
Oh no, I just got to the Medical Production Pause! That’s tragic; I feel quite bad that Tom was pushing himself so. I’m hoping that their adventures are a bit more relaxed here on out, for their sake!Tom + Adam could draw 15 cards if they catch a fish in Ehime. Honestly I think they’ve over-estimated the difficulty. Some fish just really want to get caught.
It's draw 5 keep 1 three times. So, you'd end up with three good cards (probably), not 15.
It does sort of feel like they could just ride the Shinkansen for ages after a move like that!
Anyone else wishing that the episode was shorter than 80 min?
It was very long! But I guess it was the
Click to expand spoiler.
whole Saga of the Cursed Scavenger Hunt in one go, no cliffhangers.
Episode 1 spoilers
It's the longest episode they've put out... by a whole 4 seconds! The next longest is the finale of Shengen Showdown, which features, of all people, Tom Scott.
I agree that it was likely this long to have the whole story arc of the scavenger hunt. I think the only other point where it could be cut is after they complete the Suikawari challenge because it's the first time that team makes any meaningful progress, but stretching it out to the end of the scavenger hunt makes for better storytelling.
Click to expand spoiler.
Didn't they also say it was the longest Jet Lag season? If so then there just might be enough to show that they felt the need to not cut too early...
They showed the first ep in movie theaters in the UK, so maybe they wanted something worth the visit.
It'll prob never happen, but I wouldn't mind a season without Sam (the owner guy). Maybe two teams out of Adam, Ben, Michelle, and Tibees?
See, I think he's an excellent foil to Ben and Adam. He's so visibly smart and yet fails so consistently against the combo of anxiety and chill that are BADAM. I do think it was right to change things up this season, but I think that Sam has his place in the ecosystem.
Yeah, Sam is the calm, cool and collected foil to Ben and Adam's chaotic way of play. Ben in particular is maximum chaos and despite the fact that I normally root for Sam, I love when Ben goes out solo in a Tag or Hide and Seek season because you never know what you are going to get from that loveable goofball.
I like Sam, but I kind of agree. I feel like the other participants appreciate the travel, experience, and beauty more compared to Sam. Sam is usually hyper competitive and focused on game mechanics.
Ep. 2 on Nebula
Ep. 2 on YouTube
spoilers
Every time I see one of the Jet Laggers try to catch a fish, I am utterly baffled at just how bad they are. You'd think over the years they would have tried to at least obtain the bare minimum knowledge about how to catch a fish, but they keep trying to wade out into the water with a landing net!I just always laugh. They write the challenges!
ep 2 spoilers
If one of the regulars went off and studied the secret arts of being mildly competent at fishing, they'd probably have to stop writing challenges around it. It's mostly there as a running joke, which I did find quite funny in this instance. Maybe I'd find it more frustrating and less funny if I myself had any real competency at fishing beyond knowing that shouting whenever a fish got close was probably counter-productive.Episode 2 spoilers
Hey, at least Adam bought a rod this time, and even recognised that the fish we're going for his rather than Tom's net. Maybe the net could work as long as they stay quiet and don't move at all, even in anticipation. It doesn't take much movement in the water to spook a fish.
Hopefully both teams vote to remove the challenge in the next rest period, considering both teams have now attempted and failed it.
spoilers
A rod he cast a grand total of zero times. With Tom being just as befuddled by under water creatures it seems to transcend just Jet Lag.
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THAT ENDING!Episode 2 spoilers
My watch party couldn't believe it. We all went crazy as soon as it happened. Adam and Tom had an incredibly rough ending to the previous day with the fishing, so to immediately complete a 5 card challenge at the start of the next day was amazing luck. I can't wait to see what Sam and Ben have to say when they get told about it.
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It's incredible luck and the timing was great (I cackled for a whole minute), but let's face it, Tom is very recognizable. He'd been recognized before even on Jet Lag, and he's wearing his trademark red wine colored shirt. I wonder if they'll just say "yeah that checks out"!
Episode 2 spoilers
I get that, and Tom was absolutely the right person for them to pick.
We paused as the challenge card was being read out so there was enough time to read the card and for all of us to discuss. One point that was brought up was that it's unknown how much of Tom's internet fame would carry over to a Japanese audience. That turned out not to matter in this instance, since it was a tourist who happened to be at the same station that recognised him instead.
Ep. 3 on Nebula
Nebula has been malfunctioning today but I can access it at time of writing.
Ep. 3 on YouTube
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OK I just finished this episode. This is really going well for the viewers! They're truly neck and neck.
I've been pretty impressed by the deck design overall, it felt like there are a bunch of fun tactical ways to combo multiple cards together to make them more valuable than the sum of their parts or do something a bit unexpected.
Overall I'm enjoying the season a lot, and switching up the teams is a fun change. Even if I'm getting a lot of second-hand stress from Tom winding himself up so tight.
Ep. 4 on Nebula
Ep. 4 on YouTube
Episode 4 spoilers
It's amazing how close this race is at this point. I mean, here they are in Kyoto where I'm sure they'll have a lovely evening of not talking to each other because they need alone time off-camera.
I wonder how the closeness is going to change as they take the different routes. Ben and Sam obviously have their mega move that gets them to the Tokyo metro area, but they still need to make their way through a few prefectures and will generally have slower non-shinkansen trains. Tom and Adam will have ok speed trains, but they'll be less frequent so they'll need to be good at challenges to not be waiting around for expresses.
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I'm a bit concerned with the recent decisions by the Tom and Adam team. I hope they don't hesitate to burn their cards to keep from wasting too much time on a bad challenge board if they have to, otherwise I feel like they are currently set to fall behind again.
As they mentioned in the podcast: that's an insanely busy day for they. I could not do that for 5 days in a row in a foreign country :)
I believe they filmed for 7 days, not 5. Still,
Episode 4 spoilers
Day 3 started with Tom being recognised which was the end of episode 2, and ended with them meeting up in Kyoto at the end of episode 4. Two whole episodes worth of good footage for a single real-life day.
Ep. 5 on Nebula
Ep. 5 comments
This remains less unbalanced than I feared it might become. I think the biggest risk (of unbalance) is that Tom and Adam might not have doable challenges after the scenic beauty and might get stuck, since Sam and Ben won't be doing any challenges, which means they won't be generating any more challenges for a while. I wouldn't trust my own luck in a single draw (for the challenge in this case).
I'm really enjoying the locations being visited. The parks, castles and temples seem to be overrepresented in a good way, and we're even getting some nice vistas.
I guess Ben and Sam will shoot ahead fairly quickly with their gambit and will then need to start churning through challenges at an accelerated rate to keep progressing around the more tightly packed Tokyo prefectures, so hopefully nobody gets stuck with a terrible challenge board for too long.
Ep. 5 on YouTube
Thank you!
Haven't watched yet, but if seeing this in 2026 means that the show is still being made, I'm pumped.
It is still being made! It's a good season too, I think. I wasn't a huge fan of Scott in the previous series he was in, but I think he's dialed in more to the vibe this season. It felt a bit like Brian - I wasn't his biggest fan his first time in, but then his second season I thought he knocked it out of the park and gelled so well.
Which was the guy with the lisp who laid on the "Moe-y" cushion?
Ep. 6 on Nebula
As Tildes' biggest Sam hater - this episode is brutal!
No spoilers!
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That early episode made me groan out loud.
Adam and Tom have no easy challenges and get a steal. They've realized their opponents were making a play involving speeding through multiple prefectures. So what do they do?
Obviously they steal to try to get a skip and disrupt their opponents' playHoard the steal and take a one way trip to the mountains one hour away of course...It's exactly what I previously wrote I was afraid would happen!
Episode 6 spoilers
Definitely not their proudest moment (though not as bad as throwing away a skip that's valid for the next prefecture).
Adam and Tom ended up doing 3 mind meld challenges in a row between last episode and this. It was a bit shaky with the convenience store, but they got it in the end. This one felt a lot easier to strategise around, which I think Adam knew by rejecting the first spot Tom picked. The spot they ended up going for had far fewer things to pick from.
On the podcast Ben said he still wears the hat he bought from the baseball game. Apparently there was some sort of collab going on between the team and Nintendo which is why there were Pokémon on them.
Sam spent so long skipping those stones. I think it was harder because they were throwing from higher above the water. I'm slightly upset that Adam and Tom didn't scoop them here, but they should be able to do the ghost platform challenge here, right? I believe they were the only ones to leave at that station.
It's insane that over the course of one game day that Sam and Ben cleared 8 prefectures, 4 of them with skips. I know they have been planning for this, but it's still crazy to see.
Episode 6 is now on YouTube
Ep. 6 on YouTube
Episode 7 is now on Nebula
Spoiler
"Sam and Ben later learned these are Ginkgo Nuts which are toxic when eaten raw and must be thoroughly cooked before eating, but luckily Ben ate far less than the toxic quantity." is truly an all-timer of a caption.Episode 7 is now on YouTube
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A cliffhanger!!! How dare they? I thought they didn't do those anymore!
This was a great episode. Lots of good feelings all around! Except when Ben was eating bad stuff, I guess. And I knew right away there were going to be dam puns.
It might also be the episode with the best sum of beautiful views in the season so far.
I have to say, once again, I would not have chosen the curse Adam and Tom did, but maybe they'll get lucky (they are not the lucky team though; generally Ben gets the luck). Curse of the Clingy Lover seems great for overtaking?
In general throughout this season I've noticed both teams don't seem very keen on using curses that affect the other team at all. Shinkansen cards, skips and deck-related strategies seem much stronger.
Yeah, they already 'apologized' for...
...the cliffhanger in the layover podcast xD:
But yeah, that ending was absolutely wild. I kinda want to believe "Team Fight" makes a miracle-comeback and manages to win, but given how much content is left my feeling tells me that Sen&Bam won't lose their Shinkansen card prematurely.
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A&T do have the nicest views and super funny trains. Looks great to go to a random dam in Japan on those tiny local trains! I don't trust Sam at all to play fair, so he gets an exciting show, 100% that they will _not_ draw the speedy train card.What makes you so sure? Did something happen in the past to make such a claim worthwhile? Or is it just musing?
Honest question, I have no clue.
I just don't trust this Sam guy, he's always talking about money, and I'm sure he'll do whatever gives him the most views (he's the owner of JetLag).
I want to call out this magnificent pun from Tom on the Layover
Light episode 7 spoilers
(Talking about the tripod thing that Sam and Ben saw with the rail workers)
Episode 8 (finale) is now on Nebula
Finale is now on Youtube
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One thing that occurred to me: Adam and Tom's original plan at the beginning of the day was to get to a certain stop on the Wakkanai route in order to take an earlier train on the final day. Had they managed to do that (and it seems like they could have, given there were no apparent delays) without Ben and Sam realizing what they were doing, the Golden Carriage curse would have been forced to be used on the earlier 6am Wakkanai train the next day, allowing Adam and Tom to force the tie with the 9am train that Ben and Sam would've had to take.
Regardless, incredible season, arguably one of the best. Well played by all teams
Unfortunately I think Adam and Tom's plan was up in smoke as soon as Sam and Ben had their magic mirror strat. Without the other team needing to stop to do a challenge they were never really going to get north of them. Sam and Ben can also think of the play of spending the remainder of their day getting closer to the goal, if it's a choice between that or doing nothing.
Agreed that this is one of their best seasons. Simple to understand rules, plenty of room for tactical play, beautiful locations and so close to even for so much of the game.
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It's always a little disappointing when the competition is decided before the end is reached (which happens often!) but at least we have now learned that Ben's ridiculous good luck is more powerful than Sam's bad one.
Other than that, it was a great season! Maybe the best so far in my opinion.
Dunno, the pacing of...
...the final ten minutes of the episode was quite well edited in my opinion, so I don't really mind the 'early' conclusion. I found it much more frustrating how some veeery lucky last-minute draws kinda decided this season on pure chance. After this much back-and-forth I really would've preferred a tie in this one.
Random chance is always a factor
There was a 50/50 chance of Ben and Sam losing their Shinkansen card at the end of the prior episode, and if that had gone the other way the results would have been entirely different. We just fixate on the piece of luck at the end.
I think the season relied too much on luck. Almost everything was governed by card draws rather than strategy. There were two instances I can remember when strategy was really involved.
How do you think the formula might be improved?
Is choosing which challenges to face, selecting the cards from the choices they had, and making the best of their hand not strategy? Sam and Ben entirely bailing on the house of cards challenge to try something else had nothing to do with the carss and still had big effects. Tom and Adam trying three different times to complete the same challenge was a strategy.
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Adam is typically the smartest (as displayed in this last episode), most skilled competitor, which is why I rarely cheer for him. It's much more fun to cheer for the underdogs. It was fun to have a chance to support him this time! Also it was funny that his love for old buildings was his undoing...
Which 50% draw result? I think it's obvious that the bit at the end with the reveal was something they did for the edit. Most of what seems like too much of a coincidence though, is often due to excellent editing, since they don't need to strictly adhere to matching timing, chronological order, can cut things, etc.
The one where they had to discard one of their 2 cards, which was the cliffhanger after ep 7. If they had to discard the bullet train card they likely would not have won. Very convenient result, as it now happened.
I like how Adam often thinks way too much, which often does the opposite of actually helping.
I've only watched the beginning of episode 8 so far, but the first few minutes...
...went as I expected/feared. It would've really surprised me if they did a random draw, actually lost their Shinkansen card, and still made the penultimate episode end on that cliffhanger.