International legs - So far Season 4 of TAR AUS has been completely international and will continue to do so in many subsequent legs. And even though the six legs have been in just one continent, it's a big continent and the differences between the countries and the cultures has been quite significant. I love how the first legs are/were in countries where there are potential issues with language, with taxis, with directions, with culture shock, with the environment. No matter the cast (and this one is pretty good), that makes for great TV and can also even out some of the situation with teams who may be more physical than others. Also, the way they visited the countries was also interesting. It might have been more easier logistics-wise to hit Mongolia after South Korea because those countries are close. But to hit Vietnam after South Korea and then go to Mongolia makes the racing more difficult. Teams had to fly south to Vietnam and then fly back north to Mongolia. That's gotta be draining. So kudos for not taking the easy way. Week Three is all about Mongolia and it's a great yet rare country for a TAR to visit. I only recall the US version going there once before (though I could be wrong). The mix of desert, altitude and urban traffic made for some fun racing.
Tasks - Overall, the tasks in this season focuses a lot on the physical and that helps certain teams. Though a few needle in the haystack tasks and difficult traffic did break things up for certain teams who were finishing up at the top in previous legs. Overall, I'm finding there is a higher difficulty level in these tasks than I've seen in a certain local race. Heck, even tasks one thinks will be easy, such as a blessing in a yurt that had the drink a bowl of fermented milk that made it more difficult than one expected. Also, because of the international focus, majority of the tasks have some type of connect to the area, the culture, the landscape, the people and their lives. And this is what I want from a season of TAR, tasks that not just connect with the location but also ones that force teams to struggle, consider quitting or push them to their breaking point. Though I hope no one gets hurt like what happened to Chris. That seemed like a hard fall and I hope he's much better. Not a grea thing to happen but I'm sure that kind of event was unexpected. Nobody wants anyone to get hurt while doing a task. But you can't have it so it seems like a walk in the park; it's not supposed to be easy. So great marks on the task selection, though I would like some more mental tasks rather than a focus on physical ones.
Old school feel - Maybe it's the first TAR by this production team but this Season feels a lot like the early seasons of TAR. The editing was a bit sketchy in the first episodes but it's getting better. I also like how production doesn't mind if teams are hours and hours behind. I've noticed a tendency of past seasons of other races that I've watched in which teams are kept relatively close. Or tasks are kept to a certain area , all to keep better control over where teams are. Of course, if a race doesn't travel internationally, then it's easier to do that. I'm sure it's better for production logistics, especially when teams are on an international leg, but the old school feel makes for better TV. And that's what we're after, right?
So while I don't get into specifics of the season, I'm sad the nuns are gone, as well as Chris and Adrienne, and Rowah and Amani. The other two eliminated teams were okay but I've seen these type of teams before so they are not entirely missed. Though it's a bit disappointing that Hayley and Mikayla had bad luck with needle in the haystack tasks. Still, that's part of the race and so it goes.