'The Biggest Loser': Synergy, surprises and shut up!
The Biggest Loser was full of surprises this week: Surprise bonuses, surprise guests, a surprising fall below the yellow line, and an even more surprising moment of righteous indignation from one of the players. Some of the surprises worked. Others? Well, that righteous indignation moment almost made me fling a book through my TV.
Surprise! Spoilers!
Jillian is pissy about Isabeau voting for Amy, despite the fact that Amy totally needed to get her butt kicked off that show. Blah blah strategy, blah blah no cushion, blah blah you need to listen to me at all times. Shut it, Jillian. Isabeau is unrepentant, and starts to get a little peevish that Jillian seems to be ignoring her during workouts. Jillian gets over it, but for a while, I want to smack her (and then run as far away as physically possible, because Jillian is a bad-ass who could break me.)
Kim walks into the Red room to find it empty, nothing but a "before" photo of Bryan on the bed. She's convinced Bryan got booted and her own hopes are dashed. Psyche! Bryan tackles her and gives her the news that they live to fight another day. Kim is thrilled.
The treat
I used to work for a huge company that had discovered the joy of synergy: "We've got all these different divisions, and hey, we can actually make them work together to <strike>make buckets of money</strike> serve our customers!" That whole synergy rigmarole kept running through my head when we found out what fabulous treat the remaining competitors would enjoy this week: They got to visit the set of Days of Our Lives, an NBC soap! (Yes, that's the show host Alison Sweeny is on.) Congratulations, NBC corporate overlords, on product-placing yourself. Well done.
Once I got over my synergy flashback, the treat was actually pretty cool -- everyone got makeovers and photo shoots, and they were surprised by a visit from a loved-one while they primped in the mirror. Everyone looked so amazing that I can't even pick out my favorite. It's a huge change seeing these folks dressed up, wearing flattering clothing and with their hair styled, compared to seeing them sweaty and disheveled in workout gear. Well done, everyone.
And yes, I'll admit it, I did get all teary-eyed watching friends and family get all teary-eyed at the competitors. My one quibble -- Hollie and Julie just saw their people last week. It kind of robs the moment of some of the emotional punch, doesn't it?
Another part of the treat: The photo shoots are a way for Prevention magazine to judge who should grace the cover of their magazine (on sale now, coincidentally enough.) Hollie and Isabeau both have great shoots, but the editors chose Kae for the cover.
The challenge
The competitors have to stay above the yellow line. No, literally -- they're climbing a rope that's slowly descending, and they have to remain higher than a big yellow bar to stay in the game. Bill and Kae take and early lead and never let go. Kae outlasts Bill -- holy crap, that woman is a machine! -- and wins $5,000 for a new wardrobe. Not bad.
The weigh-in
Isabeau went into the weigh-in nervous -- would her teammates still stand with her after she broke ranks last week? She was determined to stay above the yellow line so she wouldn't have to find out.
Hollie is down 8 pounds, or 3.77%.
Isabeau is down 7 pounds, or 2.9%.
Neil is down 8 pounds, or 2.57%
Bill is down 6 pounds, or 2.56%. He interviews that he's going to be pretty damn pissed if he gets sent below the yellow line by one one-hundredth of a pound.
Julie is down 4 pounds, or 2.22%
Bryan is down 6 pounds, or 2.17%
Kae is down 3 pounds, or 1.89%
Nicole is down 4 pounds, or 1.8%
Damn it! Kae is dooooomed!
The elimination
Oh, please, like you even need to ask. Kae has been kicking butt and taking names since she's gotten there. She's already lost more than 25% of her body weight. She's a machine, a ninja, an unstoppable force. Like anyone is going to let her stay?
But wait? Who is this voice extolling fairness and pride? Who is this person saying we need to compete with the best, keep the best competitors in so we can all rise to the top? Who stands against gamesmanship and stands up for honor, decency and the American way? Why Neil, of course! Neil, voice of reason, man of unimpeachable character, a fellow of spotless reputation whose motives have always been beyond question!
Um, yeah -- except that Neil was the guy who drank two gallons of water to fix a weigh-in, who conspired through alliances to bump off whole teams, and who is basically the most hated person in the game (now that Amy is gone). Neil, sweetie? Sorry, but stirring speeches don't mean much coming from you. Shut it.
Neil casts his vote for Nicole, but everyone else is playing the game and voting off this biggest threat. That means Kae gets booted. Awwww. Neil makes an ass out of himself by talking about how he's the best, and everyone else is going to have to come and get him. Shut it, again.
And let me tell you, I'm getting sick of the "Why I voted for X" speeches. "This was a very difficult decision," says bill. No, it wasn't. "The person I voted for is an inspiration, makes the sun rise and the stars shine. And that's why I had to off her."
My favorite? Alison told Kae she "embodies the spirit of the game." That's sweet -- now pack up and get gone!
Don't get me wrong -- despite her occasional moments of self-righteousness, Kae was my favorite person in the game. I think she's awesome, and I wish she could have stayed. But no one in their right mind who actually wants to win this thing would let her stay in. The minute she fell below the yellow line, she was doomed.
Kae showed up tonight for a live weigh-in with Alison, and she's tiny. She's lost 88 pounds! Go, Kae!
I honestly didn't know whether to punk or die of laugher when Neil gave his big speech about how the black team was trying to win by being lazy and picking off the strongest player.
I mean isn't that exactly what's he's been doing since day one? Guess now when he's gets voted off he can convince himself it was because he's was the biggest threat instead of the biggest jerk.
Dang it, I loved Kae!!
Neil was getting on my nerves too. Except for that one moment when he threatened to go over and slap that smirk off Jillian's face. At that moment I was like, "Go on ahead and do it, please!"
I don't know why people were being all ****y to Isabeau. She earned big points from me for voting of Amy.
So now. Who do I want to win? I guess its between "B" and Bill and Isabeau. Though...If the ultimate winner is not from Jillian's team, that will make me plenty happy.
By the way. I can't believe Hope is still on Days of our Lives. That woman must be on that show for 20 years now.
Neil's speech was a little self-righteous, but I can't stand the black team and Jillian so much now that I really didn't care. I hope Julie & Hollie are the next 2 to go. I really don't like them. I haven't liked Jillian since the beginning of the season when she started her 'it's the Black team against the world' mantra. I want to throw things at the TV everytime she starts that. I agree with the recapper...Shut it, Jillian. And Julie.
Kae was the best. Even after a nearly unanimous vote, she gave that awesome speech to everybody about how they've changed their lives and to keep up the good work. Man, Kae was cool.
I want Bryan, Isabeau or Nicole to win the whole shebang. Can we have a special vote next week where we vote off Neil AND Jillian. They deserve each other.
I can't stand Jillian. And the bad thing about that is I like the people on her team - although Julie's self-righteousness is getting to be a bit much. I didn't really care that much for Isabeau until she did the right thing last week. I hate that she had to be a sacrificial lamb of sorts, but she's a hero in my book for relieving us all of Amy.
I was actually just starting to like Neil a bit until his little speech last night. And, on the subject of Neil, I know they only showed her for like 45 seconds, but his girlfriend seems to good for him.
TOO good
(They need an editing tool here.)