Last week, the final five contestants had to bear down and try to lose just enough weight to make it to the vaunted Final Four. Jay, having avoided elimination the previous week, got on the stick and posted an impressive nine-pound loss, cementing his spot in the semifinals, but will need a similarly good number this week to avoid falling below the Yellow Line with one of the three remaining women. For yes, in a shocker, Austin, despite all of his best efforts, posted only a one-pound loss and was sent home.
Two more episodes to go. Tonight, the two people above the Yellow Line will be in the Finals automatically, while the two below it will be subject to America’s vote. And this particular vote, however it turns out, will be hard to call. Irene is the leader as it stands, but she has been rather blasé about the game at various points this season. Jay, as I said, is the only man left (as well as the only person left over 40), so he could have a whole block of voters on his side. And then there are sisters Hannah and Olivia, who are doggedly determined to be the first team in the show’s long history to comprise two-thirds of the finalists. Barring both members of the Purple team going below the Yellow Line, will America be more inclined to make that happen, or make it not happen?
One thing’s for sure: if Jay can stay focused this week, he should be a lock. Going into this week, he’s still got at least 40 pounds to lose to be classified as “normal”, a status that Irene, Olivia and Hannah have already reached. All three women have surprised me by their ability to keep losing weight despite being at or near their ideal weight, but it has to end sometime.
At the end of a season, there a lot of flashbacks to Week One, many split-screen before-and-after images of the contestants, and narrative voiceovers about how they’ve all transformed from overweight people with broken souls to strong, healthy, psychologically sound individuals. I’m just mentioning this now so we can get it out of the way and I don’t have to keep mentioning it. Obviously, they all are very happy about their new bodies, their new lease on life, their newfound strength, etc., so for the purposes of this recap, we can take this as read.
After some rejoicing and a lot of introspection by the finalists, they join Bob and Jillian in the gym, who also take note of who remain after this, the longest season yet: one team of two, one whose partner was eliminated in Week One, and one who was himself eliminated and was brought back. Then they begin the first of many workouts this week, each determined to leave their destiny in their own hands and not America’s. Bob starts by focusing on Olivia, who he is amazed was able to have more mental stamina and toughness than guys like Justin or Q or Rulon. And it’s true: she was in the middle of the pack for months. She had bad weeks, yes, but when she did, other people had worse weeks. But in the last four weeks, she’s kicked it into high gear. She’s actually dropped more weight (19 pounds) than she did in the previous six (18 pounds). That is impressive, folks. At the beginning of the season, I certainly wouldn’t have pegged her – or any of the other finalists, for that matter – for the Final Four.
There will be a hellacious physical challenge later in the show, but first off, the group is given a cooking challenge by Alison: to make the best-tasting turkey burger they can, and the prize for doing so is $5,000 from Jenny-O. The winner also gets to pick one person in their lives to be the recipient of a two-week stay at the Biggest Loser Resort at Fitness Ridge. Wow, that is really great. And who will be judging the quality of their turkey burgers? No, not world-class chefs like Curtis Stone, but the most finicky palates in existence: kids. About 50 of them, it looks like. Yeah, kids will not lie when you put something in front of them that they don’t like, will they?
Olivia creatively uses Greek Yogurt and green food coloring to make a condiment that looks like green slime to top her burger. Perhaps not surprisingly, it doesn’t look that appetizing, and the kids don’t like the taste either. Jay cuts a small chunk out of the center of his patties and fashions them so that, with cheese and ketchup coming out of it, it resembles a volcano. It goes over pretty well. Both Hannah and Irene decide to go simple so as not to freak out the kids, giving them a basic burger with cheese. In the end, Jay narrowly edges out Hannah for the win. Apart from the five G’s, he’s very excited at the prospect of sending his wife to Fitness Ridge.
Challenge. The final challenge is the patented “Putting the Weight Back On” challenge that they do every season. This one takes place on a very nice-looking golf course, and I can already guess why: they are going to run the entire course, dropping each week’s weigh-in weight loss on each of the eighteen greens. (And no, it’s not one of those courses that’s all par-threes). Joining Alison in overseeing the event just happens to be Patrick House, last season’s winner, who still looks great. The prize for this challenge a fully-furnished at-home gym valued at $15,000, provided by Cybex. Wow.
So the contestants pick up their assigned golf bags, the weights of which take the form of eighteen golf flags. All of them gasp at having to carry all the weight in their arms that they once carried on their bodies. With Jillian’s motivational screams ringing in their ears, the three ladies take an early lead. Olivia runs into trouble early when the weight causes her back to spasm. Jay is 53 years old, and his knees are having difficulty bearing the weight as well. Hannah eventually broadens her lead, though a determined Irene runs to catch up. It’s a long challenge, full of flashbacks and inspirational music and cutaways, and finally, Hannah plants her 18th flag, crosses the finish line and wins. Great job, Hannah. Irene, Olivia and Jay do finish, and thus ends their symbolic journey. Alison then announces that because they’ve all had such great seasons, all four of them win their very own Cybex arc-trainer. Sweet.
So, after five months, it is time for the last last-chance workout. The last one involving Jillian Michaels, who is moving on and continuing to build her own empire (but I’m sure she’ll do something that involves screaming… honestly, can you guys picture her NOT doing that?). And finally, the group is joined by Brett and Cara, who are the heirs apparent to take her place. Cara works out Jay, while Brett rotates around. Bob heaps praise on Hannah, telling her that people like her are what make him love his job so much. Gotta love Gentle Bob.
And just like that, it’s time for the weigh-in, and we are only halfway through the two-hour episode. Since there won’t be an elimination tonight, that can only mean one thing, but I’ll save that announcement until after I give you this week’s numbers. I get a kick of how Alison says the live season finale will take place “one week from tonight”, when it’s a fact that this final weigh-in was actually filmed several months ago. Ah, the beauty of television. Anyway, here’s how it went:
Hannah - lost 4 pounds, -2.67%, now stands at 146 (-102 overall).
Olivia - lost 4 pounds, -2.61%, now stands at 149 (-112 overall).
Below the Yellow Line:
Irene - lost 3 pounds, -2.04%, now stands at 144 (-111 overall).
Jay - lost 4 pounds, -1.63%, now stands at 242 (-158 overall).
Kudos. To Hannah, for breaking the 100-pounds-lost mark in her final week at The Ranch; to Hannah and Olivia, for becoming the first sisters in Biggest Loser history to go wire-to-wire, as well as becoming the first Finalists ever to represent the color purple; and to all three girls, who will go home with a weight of less than 150 pounds.
Elimination/Standings. So America will decide whether it will be Irene or Jay who joins Olivia and Hannah in the Finals. At the moment, Irene still has the lead with 43.53% lost, just ahead of Olivia’s 42.91% and Hannah’s 41.13%, so if America chooses an all-female Final, Irene will probably not have to lose much more weight to guarantee victory. If, on the other hand, America votes for Jay, Irene will have a bead on winning the $100,000 at-home prize (though, to be fair, many of the eliminated contestants may give her a run for her money).
Jay has currently lost 39.5%, which means if Olivia’s and Hannah’s weight/percentage at the Finale ends up being the same as it is this week, Jay will only have to lose an additional 14 pounds at home in order to overtake both sisters, which is a very attainable goal, given that the finalists generally have around three months to do it… and Jay has pledged that his ultimate goal weight is 180. But even if Jay only loses about 25 pounds at home, Olivia and Hannah would actually have to drop into the “underweight” category in order to win. Wouldn’t THAT be something.
Alison and the trainers say their goodbyes to the contestants, and immediately we flash to 24 hours in the future, when they are all being whisked back home. One more time, here they are:
Olivia Ward, a 35-year-old New York City plastic surgery office manager and opera singer, takes a water taxi right by the Statue of Liberty, and is greeted on the dock by dozens of friends and family members. Her husband Ben, who has lost just as much weight as she has (and in the same amount of time), is there to greet her with a kiss and a bundle of pink roses. Awwww. She tells the assembled throng that she is a completely different person now, and can’t wait to re-introduce herself to all of them.
Irene Alvarado, a 26-year-old student, is taken in a limo to the rainy city of Portland, Oregon. At what I’m guessing is her college auditorium, she is greeted by dozens of friends and classmates (wearing “Viva Irene” T-shirts, which is awesome), as well as her mother and partner Ana. She says that for the very first time in her life, she feels “not broken”. Her smile is infectious.
Jay Jacobs, a 53-year-old entrepreneur, is also limo-ed to his home in West Orange, New Jersey. He can’t wait for his wife to see him now, the lightest he’s been in 30 years. When he steps into what appears to be a local high school’s basketball arena, he struts his stuff like a pro. His wife Kim and daughter Jen are amazed, and Kim said he looks like he did in college.
Hannah Curlee, a 32-year-old HR representative and ex-star collegiate athlete, is taken (in a limo as well) through her hometown of Nashville, TN, and deposited on what looks like the marble steps of a majestic-looking high-columned building (any Nashvillians out there who can tell me what it is?). She says that asking for help was the bravest thing she ever did, and encourages others to do the same.
The next day, all of them get DVDs, which they watch with their families. As I was expecting, it is a video message that they recorded for themselves in Week One, as well as some of the highlights of their time on the Ranch. Their old, fat selves remind them to never forget what they used to be, and images of themselves during Makeover week remind them of just how far they’ve come.
Last order of business: Irene and Jay make their pleas to America to vote them into the Finals. I honestly can’t call who has the best chance to win between them.
Next week: Another season comes to an end. All of the contestants return, and will vie either for the at-home prize or $250,000 and the coveted title of Biggest Loser.
