(spoilers) In Sunday night’s “Amazing Race” finale, when Chris was struggling with the ice wall, I realized I was rooting for her and her dad, Ron, to win. Quite a surprise considering that in the beginning I declared him the most annoying “Race” contestant ever. But it was wonderful to watch him change, to realize that he was underestimating his daughter and being horrible to her and to curb that tendency and begin to respect her.

In any case, they did not win, but that was OK. All three teams in the finale were lovable in their own way, and I also appreciated how TK and Rachel, who took home the $1 million, respected each other and worked together throughout. That last puzzle was great! I’ve complained before when the final challenge was either too physical or too easy, and asking them to assemble items from the whole race was perfect; best final challenge since they had to arrange flags in order of the countries they’d visited. This one was even better, and there’s no way I could have done it.

That challenge was so perfect for the final three teams that you have to wonder if they made it up on the fly. Whenever I’ve asked, I’ve been told that all the challenges are planned and tested before the race begins, but still…. In any case, great “Race” and great finale. Just wish it weren’t over.