This week’s episode of The Amazing Race certainly was not one of the most dynamic legs we’ve ever seen, but it was definitely one of the angriest.

Check out some of the quotes from this week:

Brent: Ladies get their way.  Bitches don’t.
Carol : They U-Turned us because you’re prettier than she is”
Brandi: She’s on You Tube for a reason.
Carol: Get a good long shot of that bitchy mug

Well!  Certainly sounds like somebody is pissing off some players on the race. 

As it turns out, this was a battle that had been brewing since the very beginning of the race when Carol and Brandi insulted Caite for her colossal public embarrassment during the Miss Teen USA pageant in 2007.  Brent and Caite (rightly) took umbrage with the humiliation from Carol and Brandi and have had a vendetta against them ever since.

From the beginning Caite has talked frequently about how much she wanted to U-Turn “the lesbians” as Carol and Brandi have been labeled on the race and this week they finally had the chance to do it.  The first time there was a U-Turn, Michael and Louie nailed Steve and Allie before Brent and Caite even had a chance to exact revenge.  Not that they would have been able to, anyway – that was back during their arguing days when they floundered in the back of the pack with Jordan and Jeff.

The current iteration of Brent and Caite is a force to be reckoned with!  Don’t believe it?  While it might be hard to considering some of their earlier performances, Brent and Caite have been very effective the last few legs.  Were it not for Dan and Jordan taking the Fast Forward (more on that later) Brent and Caite would have won this leg of the race, easily. 

For the dating models, they could not have picked a better leg to be out in front of the pack.  They were the first team to the U-Turn and penalized Carol and Brandi with more enthusiasm than any team has done before. 

Most teams are contrite after putting another team’s picture up and often say something into the camera along the lines of “I’m sorry [Player X and Player Z], but you’re too dangerous not to.”  Brent and Caite?  A big fat “eat it, Carol and Brandi” in to the camera upon putting their picture up there.  No debate, no words of sympathy, just giant smiles.

I’m certainly not a Brent and Caite fan, but I do feel the move was warranted on a number of levels.  Whether their portrayal was fair or not, Carol and Brandi did not seem to be having a good time on the race.  Most of their interactions with other teams seemed professional at best and often was bitchy or manipulative.  Here’s the easiest way to put it: if Jet and Cord don’t like you (and they didn’t after interacting with them in the third leg of the race) you’re probably not a nice person.

The thing I don’t get, however, is Carol and Brandi complaining that Brent and Caite’s move was dumb because they’re not a threat to win the race.  Really, they’re not?  They’ve finished in the upper half of almost every leg.  They were more of a threat to win than Brent and Caite and I probably would have put them in third place, just behind Louie and Michael in terms of favorites to win the race.  U-Turning Carol and Brandi was smart for any team on the race.

One team that identified that immediately was Louie and Michael.  What an incredibly sneaky and very brilliant move to feed Brent and Caite’s fire (and trying to stoke Dan and Jordan’s) for U-Turning Carol and Brandi.  I even liked the way that CBS sold the move, by not telling us what their motive was during the bus ride with the younger teams until later in the episode when Louie and Michael revealed their master plan in a confessional.  By keeping the heat on Carol and Brandi, it would stay off of them.  Quite the Cirie-esque Survivor move from the police officers.

For the majority of this race, Jet and Cord have been my favorite team, far and away.  Simply put, I’m not sure I’ve ever met, encountered or seen two nicer people.  They’re real, down to earth and super nice – hard not to root for.  While they’re still my man-crush, Dan and Jordan are now running a close second after their emotional leg this week.

First off, I appreciate it when teams are diligent about reading everything on a clue and being rewarded for not rushing.  Dan and Jordan had exactly that happen to them at the beginning of this race and reaped the rewards ten-fold.  The clue instructed them to search the outside of the theater grounds.  While two teams rushed inside, they calmly found The Amazing Race Asia’s Allan Wu and thus had first crack at the Fast Forward.

What a great scene with Dan and Jordan on the observation wheel.  We may have been treated to the quote of the season from Jordan while watching his brother maneuver across the observation wheel while 541 feet in the air.  Jordan: I could have run this race with anyone else, it never would have been the experience I'm having with my brother.

Maybe this gets to me because I share a wonderful relationship with my brother and can relate to such emotions.  What I take away from it, however, is that Dan and Jordan are running the race for the right reasons – the experience.  Sure, they realize there’s $1M at the end if they finish first, but from the beginning they’ve maintained a great attitude about the race and with each other. 

Their approach to almost every situation has been very light, resulting in Jordan providing us with the bulk of the best quotes of the season.  You simply have to appreciate a team that is able to run the race and in the process enjoy every minute and gain a larger appreciation for their partner.  It’s certainly more enjoyable to watch than Carol and Brandi complain their way through the entire race.

What we’ll be watching for next week:

1. With Carol and Brandi out, who will become the object of the remaining team’s hatred?
2. Louie and Michael dodged a bullet this week courtesy of Carol and Brandi’s U-Turn.  Are they slipping back into their pre-Europe days?
3. Brent and Caite appear to be gaining steam.  Can they challenge the three all-male teams remaining?
4. There’s so many likeable teams – who’s your favorite?
5. Who’s the favorite to win The Amazing Race?