Amazing Race this week: it just keeps getting better and better

I hope I'm not spoiling anything for those of you who haven't watched last night's episode yet (*coughChriscough*), but last night was the traditional "to-be-continued" episode, wherein we race feverishly to find Phil only to have no one Philiminated from the race. And I have to say that I thought last night's leg (or half-leg, as the case may be) was one of the best we've seen in quite a while. Lots of drama (Will Wanda drown? Will the Pinks lose their passports? Will the Geezers be eliminated?), and lots of good field-leveling (Moscow drivers don't know their own city! Pick a bus - any bus - because you're all on the same flight!). Plus, of course, the whole it-ain't-over-yet twist.

Where to start with the comments? Get a cup of coffee and a muffin; this is going to take a while.

Team Hippy: Our favourite hippy-dippies got off to a solid start, and seemed to make the most of their bunching time by dangling off of cars and scaring their competitors with their radically matching shirts. Team Hippy gets my thumb's-up award for cultural sensitivity in Moscow: not only did they recognize that the Monastery was not a place to act like fools (like most of their competitors later did), but they actually paused prior to opening the envelope to just look around and appreciate the beauty of the place. They were also down with the whole spasibo everywhere they went, thus making excellent use of their language skills (unlike the Chickitas and their el trunk faux pas!). It was a bit unsettling to see them fall so far off the pace when their driver couldn't find the trolley park, but they compensated well at the doll thing and interacted with the locals like the loveable goofs they are. Not unlike Cate, come to think of it.

Team Nerd: A bit of a lack-lustre performance from the nerds. I like that she was the one to do the diving challenge, and didn't make a federal case out of it as so many did. I question their decision to team up with Ho-Jo, who had no real advantage to offer them, other than a keen insight into the Russian national character: they smoke and drink a lot. Sheesh! Here's hoping they get back on track and rack up a bit more positive editing, and we can go back to loving Jessica's team as though it was our own.

Lake and puddle: You know it's going to be a long race when your team starts off by taking the wrong turn. The ONLY team to get lost in Brazil, and the only team to feel that standing on their car is the way to navigate unfamiliar terrain. Lake is really underwhelming me on a lot of levels. He didn't want to go to Russia (apparently, he's opposed to cold places?), and he's less than pleasant to Victoria. Er... whatever her name is. The longer Lake is in the game, the more he reminds me of another evil team... Oh, and she's also got the whole 'maybe I'm I victim, or maybe I'm just as much of an ass as he is' vibe going on. On his suggestion that she perform the task, her first thought is: 'what if I have to get naked' (yeah, because we see a lot of nudity on this show), followed by 'you wouldn't want to wear a bikini in front of the Russians, would you?' Sheesh...get over yourself!

Yo, Ray: I have to admit, I'm starting to be a little impressed by Ryan's team. Perhaps they just needed a little time to click, or perhaps everyone was so underwhelmingly portrayed here that they really had a chance to shine. In any case, snaps to Yo for taking a dive when she barely dog-paddles. I'm sure she didn't make any friends with the guys who had to wait until she gathered her testicular fortitude to make the plunge, but still, it was a real feel-good moment. And when she snapped back at Lake when he complained about how much of a pain it was to follow her to the cruddy detour, I had to cheer. Quietly, because I was busily appreciating all the culture that was messin' with Ray's head.

Pinks: Did anyone else get creeped out at the mere thought of the Pinks getting up close and personal with the Chuckleheads? *shudder* These are 4 people who should not be, like, procreating together, you dig? I missed last week's groping, but was thoroughly disturbed to see it spill over to this week's leg. Whatever happened to not using their bodies to get ahead? Oh, wait. They forgot to decide to use their *brains* to get ahead, by blowing a decent lead to return to grab the bag that contained the missing passports and cash. Maybe I'm being cynical and culturally insensitive here, but was I the only one surprised that that stuff was still laying on the bench in the change room? Wouldn't you suspect that a goodie bag like that would've disappeared in a heartbeat? Or do we think that a producer was tasked to sit around and watch it until the Pinks returned? Leah hangs in there...barely!

Chuckleheads: The longer these guys are on, the more they annoy me. Not really sure why, they just do. They've done fairly well by not, uh, over-thinking anything, so perhaps they'll be around for awhile. Beyond that, I got nothing to add for these dudes. Except that they're Mick's team. Go Mick!

Team Geezer: First of all, what is the deal with Barry's shoulder hair? The man's a freakin' missing link! It was encouraging to see the geezers move from dead last (last to leave the mat, last to complete the first task, last bus) to running second at one point. Of course, they hadn't as yet negotiated the nesting dolls, which slowed them up a bit, but still! Almost a whole episode where they didn't gripe about how they were in last place! It was like a freakin' miracle! Of course, then we had to endure Barry's flailing legs as he attempted to dive - what exactly was that, anyway? Overall, a good showing by the geritol squad, and Chris hangs in for another week.

Chickitas: When Chickita Jr. hinted that Mamacita was a bit dramatic, she wasn't freakin' kidding! Now, I totally get that whole fear of water thing - lots of people are terrified of water, and I don't mock that (fear of something that could kill you is a good survival instinct, right?), but when faced with a challenge that clearly involves water, is it the smartest thing in the world to, like, VOLUNTEER to do it, and then have a conniption fit when actually faced with the task? I wonder why no one suggested she hop out of the pool and jump in from the side, where her momentum might have taken her to the required depth. Or that she try to grab the clue with her feet, so she wouldn't have to get her face in the water. Or, you know, SOMETHING more useful than the folks standing around clapping (although, God love 'em, it had to have been endlessly entertaining to watch). Still, she finally accomplished it, and they made credible headway on the trolley scrubbing thing before the episode ended (or DID it...?). Liz's team survives to emote another day.

Ho-Jo: She irks me. Not to the degree of some previous blank-gazed blondes on this show, but she's up there. HoJo (or Heather's team, for those playing along at home) did not really stand out for me in this episode, other than as an a bit of deadweight keeping Team Nerd from soaring. Still, I'm sure we'll see something interesting from them in future installments. Or, you know, not.

No eliminations this time around, so nothing changes from last week. We need to get rid of a few teams so that this doesn't take me so long to put together...