This has been a season with more than a few disappointments. Just to clarify, I don’t mean that the competition hasn’t been fierce, it has, but there have been quite a few characters that needed to stay on the Ranch until the end because 1) they desperately needed to, or 2) they were natural leaders who deserved a shot at the cash prize. Sadly, the fates failed to intercede on the behalf of people like Arthur, Marci and Justin, and last week, Courtney’s body was unable to get over the hump that has plagued her for the last month, and became the third consecutive member of Brett’s once-three-strong Red Team to leave, resulting in not only her departure but that of Brett as well, which is a real bummer. Nine contestants remain: the fully-intact Blue, Black and Green teams.
We rejoin the gang immediately after the departure of both Courtney and Brett. Their thunderstruck expressions, however, are immediately replaced by smiles after Alison tells them that for the next two weeks, they will “race down mountains, sail the high seas, swim through white-water rapids, and (literally) jump into (their) new life.” That’s right, they are all headed to New Zealand.
We then cut immediately to the group boarding the airplane, where the head flight attendant tells them that they’ll be flying coach (not cool, show), except for one person who will be upgraded to first class (even less cool, show), and that person is the one who guesses the closest number to the question: “how many feel tall is the Sky Tower in Auckland, New Zealand?” Don’t know about you, but this question has kept me up nights.
Turns out the correct answer is 1,076 feet, and the economy upgrade is won by Austin, who guessed 1,100 feet. Good for him. Then, after a few very picturesque aerial shots, we fast-cut again to the contestants, clad in their team colors, walking up to the top of a bluff that affords a 360-degree view of Auckland and the NZ countryside, which is awesome. (I’ve never been to NZ, but this view beats the one in California to a bloody pulp and steals its lunch money.)
Alison tells the assembled group that the nine of them have lost a combined 1,020 pounds in fourteen weeks (wow, that many?), and then elicits a story from Moses, whose father was apparently sent by his parents from his homeland of Tonga to NZ to further his education, a path that eventually led to his family relocating to the U.S. In the middle of the vast cityscape below them is the aforementioned Sky Tower, which Alison explains is the site of their “first adventure.” It looks to be the tallest building in town (in fact, it is described as “the tallest structure in the southern hemisphere”), and quite resembles Seattle’s Space Needle in a lot of ways.
Cara greets them just outside the building, and directs them to proceed to the top floor. And since elevators are for wusses, they have to ascend the 1,027 steps to get there. Fortunately, this is not a problem for them, because they are in much better shape now, and Hannah notes with some amusement that from now on she will be “one of those annoying people that always takes the stairs.” At the top, the view is of course spectacular, but Ken looks distinctly uncomfortable, owing to his deep-rooted phobia of heights.
Bob then greets the group and tells them that they will be exiting the building one of two ways: the “easy” way is to go back down the stairs, and the “hard” way is… well, being demonstrated by Jillian, who is harnessed to two vertical cables that control your descent. The people in charge of the mechanism have her pause just long enough to curse the clause in her contract that required her to do this, and then she plummets down to street level. Watching this, Ken has graduated from uncomfortable to positively queasy.
Bob still can’t get the grin off his face at his colleague’s freak-out. He makes the option available to all to do the plummet, but tells Jay, Rulon and Moses that they won’t be able to (Jay for his heart condition, the other two because they still exceed the maximum weight safety standard). Ken decides that overcoming his fear of heights is not on the menu today, and Bob doesn’t pressure him because he apparently has the same fear. However, Bob tells Ken that he’ll take the plunge if Ken does, and Ken actually changes his mind. Hannah and Olivia go first, and it proves to be a thrilling, cathartic experience for them. Austin has a lot of fun, and Kaylee and Irene just seem to be happy they survived.
Down below, it’s Jillian’s turn to grin at how much Bob must be freaking out while they prepare for their jump, confessing that Bob’s #1 fear (“besides aging”, snark) is heights. Bob exhales deeply and jumps off, and he lands intact, albeit with wobbly knees and his bowels thankfully un-evacuated. After a quick silent prayer to the gods of life insurance, Ken lets go, and is all exhilarated smiles when he lands. That’s just cool.
Later on, Bob takes a walk with Moses, who basically relays the same story to him that he related to Alison earlier. Moses says that he wishes he could tell his dad that he’s in the same city that involved a pivotal moment of his father’s life, and Bob makes yet another class move by taking his cell out of his pocket and handing it to Moses. The music swells as Moses phones his dad and tells him he loves him. Awww.
The group’s next “adventure” involves going sailing, and on not just any boat, but a sleek-looking racing yacht that was used in the America’s Cup. They are given a crash course in competitive yachting, and even get into a two-vessel regatta just for fun. (They win, but there’s no way of knowing just how serious the other boat was.)
It’s been a happy episode so far, but that all changes dramatically. While the Blue and Black Teams work out with their trainers in a city field, Ken takes Cara aside and tells her that he doesn’t think his results have been satisfactory enough, with regards to his injury and his diet, and hints that maybe Bob and Jillian have a little more expertise than she does in the field. Cara immediately gets defensive… and very loud. She screams that she’s been working with him since Day One, and that he’s doing fine, but if he wants to bail on her, go ahead. He replies that he wants someone who will “get in his face”, and she retorts that she’s more than happy to plant her foot up his rear. He still has his doubts, but is willing to give her the chance. I’ve liked Cara so far, and I’d probably take Ken’s wavering as a slap in the face, but her little tantrum skirted the line between trainer and drama queen. So while Austin and Kaylee work out with Bob and Jillian, Cara focuses solely on Ken, and she proceeds to do just what she says: kick his ass.
Challenge. On top of another green hill, the contestants are informed by Alison that they will be doing another 5K, their third of the season. But this one will not involve a treadmill; rather, they will be running down a hill, wade through a creek-bed, and climb a rather imposing sand dune, just to get to the beach where the finish line is. The teams are required to stick together, and the team that wins will be taken by helicopter to a nearby island for a “scenic lunch.” A nagging hamstring injury (ouch) hampers Jay so much that the Black Team drops way behind. The Green and Blue Teams hit the huge sand dune together, and it’s a bee-yotch. It’s like a 50-degree angle, and the sand is wet, and it’s nearly impossible for your feet to get purchase. This proves too big an obstacle for Ken to overcome, but Moses is impressively game enough, and he and the Blue Team claim victory, which Moses dedicates to his father.
A scenic helicopter ride is nothing to sneeze at, so if you need further proof of just how closely-knit this entire group is, both Olivia and Irene decide almost immediately to give their seats on the helicopter up so that Kaylee can spend the whole day with Moses. That, folks, is true sportsmanship. The ride is a new experience for both of them, and while the duo drink in the scenery, Moses reflects on his journey, mentioning that he probably wouldn’t have been allowed on the helicopter because of his weight. Later, they sit down to lunch and raise their glasses in a toast “to Grampa”.
Well, there’s been a lot of tugging-at-the-heartstrings this episode, but with the always-dramatic weigh-in looming, the focus shifts to workouts. While everyone else takes one of Bob’s brutal yoga classes, Cara continues to get in Ken’s face, and Ken really seems to eat his words. Then comes the weigh-in, which is held outdoors this time. Here’s how it went:
Green Team (Cara):
Austin - lost 8 pounds, -3.04%, now stands at 255 (-141 overall).
Ken - lost 6 pounds, -2.37%, now stands at 247 (-130 overall).
Kaylee - gained 4 pounds, +2.38%, now stands at 172 (-61 overall).
Team Total: 10 pounds lost, -1.46%
Black Team (Jillian):
Hannah - lost 4 pounds, -2.38%, now stands at 164 (-84 overall).
Rulon - lost 7 pounds, -2.20%, now stands at 311 (-163 overall).
Jay - gained 2 pounds, +0.74%, now stands at 272 (-128 overall).
Team Total: 9 pounds lost, -1.19%
Blue Team (Bob):
Irene - lost 3 pounds, -1.83%, now stands at 161 (-94 overall).
Olivia - lost 2 pounds, -1.15%, now stands at 172 (-89 overall).
Moses - lost 0 pounds, -2.39%, now stands at 286 (-154 overall).
Team Total: 5 pounds lost, -0.80%
One of the things that Bob preached during this week’s workouts was that travel is something that makes weight loss very difficult, what with jet-lag and time differences and such, but it really hit his team the hardest this week. And while this might have been a soul-searching week for Moses and Kaylee, it was a horrendous week for them on the scale.
Kudos. To Austin and Ken, for having a spectacular week and propping up Kaylee, who once again is going in the wrong direction, and is now only two pounds less than she was five weeks ago; to Hannah and Rulon, for doing exactly the same for Jay, who was due for a bad week (though not necessarily this bad); and to Irene, who has lost at least three pounds in each of the last ELEVEN weigh-ins.
Elimination. So it’s between Moses and Olivia. Given that Olivia is so close to her ideal weight and has virtually no chance to win the prize, I expected her to be voted out. But Moses steps forward and volunteers to fall on his sword for Olivia, citing his love for everyone present. They don’t even bother with the ceremony involving the covered platters, which is nice as it would seem rather unnecessary, but the group does indeed honor Moses’ wishes and they send him home.
Standings. Irene continues to lead the field with 36.9% of her weight lost, and she now leads the rest of the pack by a comfortable margin. Austin is second with 35.6%, followed by Ken (34.5%), Rulon (34.4%) and Olivia (34.1%). It’s also worth noting that with her four pounds lost today, Hannah’s BMI (Body Mass Index) has dropped to 24.9, which officially classifies her as “normal”. Olivia is at 25.4, which means she is only a couple of pounds away from that milestone. Rulon’s BMI, happily, dropped below 40 for the first time, which gets him out of the Obese Class III ranking.
Update. Since returning home, Moses has dropped an additional 13 pounds, bringing his total to 167 since the season started, and is now a much-healthier 273 pounds. But he felt that he left New Zealand with unfinished business, and he has since returned there with his father Daniel. They visited the school his father attended, and not only that, since he now meets the weight requirements, Moses decides to go bungee jumping (not off the Sky Tower, but off a sufficiently high bridge). He vows to save that experience for a later date, when he can share it with his entire family.
Next week: the eight remaining contestants don their original colors, as all of the teams are dissolved in favor of individual competition. Oh, and Brett returns. Did you really ever doubt it?
