PRE-SHOW

Okay, it’s taken me a bit longer to do this recap than I originally promised.  How dare life interfere with my blogging?! :0)

I’ve only been watching The Biggest Loser regularly since Season 3.  (Yes, the only season without Jillian!  I caught up quickly so by the Season 4 premiere, I had a pretty good idea who was on that motorcycle.) And as far as I can remember,  there have been two basic constants throughout the show:  The Week 2 Curse and Weekly Elimination.

WEEK 2

Safe to say that viewers, players and trainers have grown to detest Week 2.  Traditionally, contestants pull double-digit weight loss numbers during Week 1…only to lose single digits, zero weight or in fact gain pounds during Week 2.  So bad enough to have that hanging over their heads.   Week 2 starts with a flashback to what happened after Alexandra was eliminated.  Alison Sweeney tells the team that if they can collectively lose 150 pounds, NO ONE goes home this week.  If they fall short, two people go home.  (Aside from a few Couples episodes, I think Pam and Brian were the only double elimination during Season 3)

Initially, the players are optimistic.  Plus Coach Mo gives them a great pep talk back at the ranch and Julio thanks the group for keeping him for another week.  Then reality starts to sink in.  Tracey is still in the hospital and if she gets out, she’s definitely limited in terms of exercise.  That leaves 15 players, meaning an average of 10 lbs each.  Bob and Jillian are immediately cautious when they hear about the challenge.  My heart sank as I saw all the pictures of previous players losing little or no weight…or worse gaining, like LT did in Season 6.   So the trainers decide to meet the challenge head on by giving everyone critical pointers on the eating front, then beating the crap out of the players in the gym.  They split the group.

Personally, I think one of the reasons that Jillian has always had the winning advantage is that she truly has mastered not only their metabolismsbut also what she calls the universal truth calculation:  calories in vs. calories out.  She explains the ins and outs of what they need to put in their body, when and how much.

Meanwhile, the other group head to the gym with Bob.  Lots of anxiety and stress as they start the workout.  Shay voices what a lot of the others, even the trainers, are noticing.  Julio seems to be slacking off and he doesn’t do himself any favors.  At this point, he should be showing an attitude of gratitude for even being there another week!

Coach Mo gets a chance to visit Tracey, the other part of the Purple Team,  in the hospital.  He is exactly the calming, joyful presence she needed to see.  It’s a little scary to be reminded of what happened during that first day on the beach.  And poor Tracey – she wasn’t sure if she was actually going to join the game again.   But, she gets the clearance to head back to the ranch and put on that purple shirt.  Nice to see her beaming from ear to ear.

CHALLENGE 1

Alison announces that there’s a way to lower the 150 lb number that needs to be lost.  Pop quiz time!  But seriously, who can concentrate when the teacher is none other than Aussie chef Curtis Stone?!  The accent.  The blonde hair and twinkly eyes.  But I digress.  Curtis gives the group a nutritional tutorial on portion control,hidden calories in sugar and usually healthy foods like salad; then if the group answers 5 out of 8 questions correctly, they only have to lose 135 pounds.   I thought the best part of this segment, aside from Curtis, was Sean professing his undying love for soda.  He was drinking 2 liters each day!  Seeing that amount translated into actual sugar was a bit startling.  Yick.

CHALLENGE 2

The team ends up getting the 15 lb advantage, so Alison introduces the next challenge. 20 lbs at stake! Abby made me laugh when she says they KNOW they’re getting wet.   And she was right!  The challenge involved more teamwork, water and a whole lot of balance.  The group had to to cross a baseball diamond-style array of planks over water, with each plank getting narrower.  First plank = 5 lbs off the weight to lose.  Second plank = another 5 lbs.  Third plank = phone calls home!!!  Fourth plank or home base = 10lbs.   Once someone falls, the challenge is over for everyone.

Can you imagine the stress?  No one wants to be that first person in the water.  Clumsy by nature, I can’t picture myself making it past the first plank.   Everyone’s freaking out, but the group hangs together and makes it past the third beam.   They are overjoyed knowing they’ll be able to call home!   Coach Mo reminds them that they’re still not done…10 lbs are still at stake.   Energy still high, the team makes it over the fourth plank.   Only 115 lbs to lose for the week!

REWARD

Emotionally, I find this season to be a constant tug on my heartstrings.  And we’re only in Week 2!  The BL fans on Twitter completely lost it during the family phone calls.  The players are crying, the fans are crying.  Everyone needs Kleenex.  Badly.  Especially when Abby tells her parents she climbed a mountain with two little butterflies alongside her.  These contestants collectively have more pain than we’ve really seen in previous seasons.   They’ve already cried enough tears on the ranch to last a lifetime.

LAST CHANCE WORKOUT

Jillian and Bob pull out all the stops for the last chance workout.  Jillian challenges Rudy to a tug-o-war and can barely keep her footing.  Bob tells us that it’s him and Jillian vs. all of the players, and he jumps in to help Jillian.  Rudy’s blue shirt is drenched, but he emerges victorious against the trainers.  As Jillian says, beating them up  at the gym is a truth serum.  Everything comes out.  Shay dissolves in tears and tells Bob that she hasn’t been happy for 30 years.  3 DECADES!!!  Bob assures her that he’ll help her find her happiness.  He also reminds her not to let the chaos take over.

WEIGH-IN

Finally…time for the weigh-in!  115 is not as hard as 150 but the trainers both think it’s a really difficult goal for week 2.   Pink Team starts.  Rebecca loses 6 and Amanda loses 4…second week in a row.   She’s not thrilled.  Purple Team pulls AMAZING numbers, 10 for Tracey and 9 for Coach Mo, who pulled a 19 all by himself in the first week.  The almost double digits continue with Antoine and Sean.  Red Team loses 19 lbs too!  Green Team Allen and Abby kick it up a notch by losing 22 lbs.  Liz and Danny also lose 22 lbs for the Brown Team.  Holy crap!  Week 3 might end up being the new cursed week if the numbers continue.   Blue team weighs in – Rudy takes off 14 lbs while Dina loses 8.

Next up is Julio!  Everyone’s wondering what his number will be.   The producers are really driving the story this season with clever editing.  The last pre-commercial shot is Antoine mouthing, “shiiiiiii…”  We come back – what a fakeout.  Julio sheds 19 lbs as the sole remaining member of the Black Team!

So the entire team is safe.  With only the Orange Team left to weigh in, the contestants shoot for making the original goal of 150 lbs.   Daniel loses 7 and Shay, an amazing16 lbs, clearly telling Week 2 where to shove it.  :0)

WRAP UP

Summary – a successful obliteration of the Week 2 curse and everyone stays on the ranch!  More strong editing from producers, continuing the emotional rollercoaster and keeping us guessing on the contestants.  Looking ahead, I hope we see more of Liz next week.  She’s the only player I feel we don’t really know all that well.  Of course, I have to ask.  Is that deliberate on the part of the producers?!  Maybe she’s the sleeper, just like Helen on Season 7.

NEXT WEEK ON THE BIGGEST LOSER

Crazy begins anew on Week 3.  The players can choose to train by themselves or with the trainers, with the potential outcome being control of the weigh in.  I can hear Jillian and Bob swearing from here!