Last week, Jessica Simpson, sporting a pretty prominent baby bump, dropped by to take challenge winners Conda and Kim on a shopping spree and plug her new show Fashion Star, which premiered immediately afterward. Since this meant that the show was shortened to ninety minutes, not much else of consequence happened other than the weigh-in, which saw former Olympic weightlifter Emily get the boot. Eight contestants remain.
This week’s excuse du jour: “I can’t lose weight on vacation.” Well, I don’t know just how common an excuse that is, since so few people can afford to actually TAKE vacations these days, but whatever, the show has a perfect excuse of its own to take the contestants and send them off to sunny Hawaii for an impromptu vacation. Of course, if I know Bob and Dolvett, they’ll get to spend very little time sightseeing, and they can pretty much cancel any luau plans they might have.
So we segue immediately to a picturesque beach in the Aloha State, where the contestants – clad in flowery shirts – watch the trainers kayak their way onto the beach with them. I thought maybe Bob and Dolvett would put them to work immediately, but they did give them a few hours to enjoy themselves (to the strains of the Go-Go’s “Vacation”), which was cool. Bob rightly pointed out that “vacation week” tends to sport the lowers numbers on the scale, so that’s something to watch out for later.
One thing I was NOT expecting was that the gang would get some surfing lessons from none other than Bethany Hamilton, whose story was told in last year’s film Soul Surfer, starring Annasophia Robb. When she was 13, Bethany lost her left arm to a shark, but that didn’t stop her from getting right back on the board. Truly an inspirational film, you should check it out. To see the real Bethany on this show is just amazing. We learned during this episode that Dolvett has a few fears of his own, the ocean being at the top of his list.
A lot of focus was spent on Kim, who has seen her two strongest allies, Cassandra and Emily, go home in the last two weeks. She felt as if she had a target on her back, even from Conda, her apparently former partner in evil. Whereas early in the season Kim was all fire and venom, she’s a lot more reserved now, though no less determined to win.
Mark made a genuine class move when he approached Kim on the beach and told him he had her back, and that he would rather go to the end with her than with some unnamed people who have been putting in less effort. (Don’t know who he means, but I assume it’s Megan and/or Kimmy. Buddy has had medical restrictions because of stress fractures in his feet, so I’m sure Mark doesn’t hold that against him.)
I forgot to mention earlier, Christine won a one-pound advantage for winning this week’s challenge, which was a quiz about the nutrional value (or lack thereof) of some Hawaiian food. There was also an Immunity Challenge involving a Hawaiian twist on hide-and-seek and a humongous hill, in which victory went to Conda. Here’s how the weigh-in went:
Kim - lost 5 pounds (-81 total), -2.84%, now stands at 183.
Jeremy - lost 7 pounds (-122 total), -2.56%, now stands at 267.
Christine - lost 3 (+1) pounds (-66 total), -2.25%, now stands at 174.
Buddy - lost 6 pounds (-128 total), -2.14%, now stands at 275.
Mark - lost 4 pounds (-91 total), -1.96%, now stands at 200.
Conda - lost 4 pounds (-77 total), -1.81%, now stands at 217.
Below the Yellow Line:
Megan - lost 3 pounds (-64 total), -1.52%, now stands at 195.
Kimmy - lost 2 pounds (-58 total), -1.23%, now stands at 161.
Well, that’s bad luck… mother and daughter falling together below the Yellow Line. I mentioned earlier that this duo seems to be putting in less effort than the rest, and it showed this week. This now means that Conda and Jeremy are now the only team of two that is still intact.
Kudos. To Kim, for being the highest percentage loser this week despite having the odds stacked against her. To Buddy, for overcoming his injuries yet again to remain above the Yellow Line. And to Mark, for being a class guy, who will undoubtedly drop below 200 next week. I have to say, if Kim had been like this from the start, I would have liked her a lot more. The way Conda just completely disregarded their former alliance just reinforces why she does not deserve to win (and it’s unlikely to happen, given that she’s in sixth place out of seven now).
Elimination. The weigh-in and elimination took place outdoors, at historical Pearl Harbor, on board the U.S.S. Missouri (the last battleship the U.S. ever built, according to Alison). No time was given for either Kimmy or Megan to plead their case, but I would imagine that if there had been, Kimmy would have done what all parents on this show do, and that is volunteer to go home to keep their child there. So Kimmy was unanimously sent home. No surprise.
Standings. It’s a four-horse race right now. Kim actually passes Buddy for the lead, having now lost 32.14% so far this season. Right behind her is Buddy at 31.76%, Jeremy at 31.36%, and Mark at 31.27%. However, I will reiterate that Kim and Mark have only a few pounds left to lose before their weight reaches “normal” status, whereas Buddy and Jeremy are still only about 2/3 of the way there.
Update: Since leaving the game, Kimmy has lost an additional seven pounds, putting her at 154 and only four pounds away from her goal weight of 150. She now volunteers at a place that teaches horsemanship to people with disabilities, and we even got to see her take a carriage ride with her husband Tom, where they shared a smooch in the shadow of the Gateway Arch. Awwww.
Next week: The contestants are offered cold hard cash for every pound they lose. Damn, I wish someone would make ME that offer.
