And then last night's episode was like a non-stop whoopfest. Despite their three-hour time deficit, TK and Rachel got a flight just a tiny bit later than the other teams -- yay! They caught up to Nick and Don and beat Nate and Jen -- awesome! Their speed bump could be finished super-fast -- right on! They got to the pit stop second -- WOOOOO! And along the way, the childlike giggling from Rachel at the Roadblock was irresistibly adorable.

Best of all, TK and Rachel's fantastic performance on the leg also helped to eliminate Nate and Jen -- OH HELL YES! Because the Nate and Jen-type team practically always gets into the finals; I'm thinking of Tara and Wil, and of Ron and Kelly -- nasty bitches whose intra-team scraps lead directly to their downfall (in Wil and Tara's case, with an assist from asthma). But Nate and Jen had to find themselves coming in after an old dude with a hernia, an even older dude, and another team whose mellowness they held in such vocal comtempt. And as awesome as that was, I certainly never expected it to get even better when Nate and Jen broke up at the pit stop. And not only that -- it kind of sounded like Jen didn't even want to share a cab to the airport.

In conclusion: it's the least objectionable finale in several seasons, but if TK and Rachel don't win, I will almost certainly take it worse than they do.