Danny, Danny, DANNY!!!

It was the finale of my dreams, except for two small little incidents.  The first occurred promptly at 7:59 and 58 seconds as the Boston NBC affiliate LOST THE FEED!!!  Thought I was going to have a heart attack.  Missed the beginning three minutes and the live Tweeters got me up to speed quickly.  The second snafu…we’ll get to that shortly.

AMERICA VOTES

Alison Sweeney looks unbelievably gorgeous in her red dress.  I am still awestruck that she didn’t lose the microphone in her cleavage, what with all the hugging going on!   As Amanda and Liz take the stage to hear how America voted, I was stunned by the resemblance between Amanda and Ali.  If Days of Our Lives needs Sami flashbacks that don’t fit with the storyline, they should definitely call Amanda.   Simply stunning.  Liz also looks great, but even with the weight loss, she’s still looking much older than 49.  Residual marriage stress?   America seconds it’s original choice:  Amanda wins the chance to weigh in for the grand prize!

AT HOME PRIZE RESULTS - $100,000

By order of elimination, the first four are Alexandra, Antoine, Sean and Julio.  Alexandra dances, saying how lucky she was to share the weight loss journey with Antoine, her boyfriend since they left the show.   Antoine is glowing with pride, accomplishment…and a secret!   Sean’’s life announces that he’s a proud papa for the third time, a daughter named Jillian!   Julio is swoonworthy.  Didn’t even recognize him with his new mustache.   Very dashing.

Bob and Jillian wow the crowd in their sleek sexy black outfits as the first four contestants change for weigh in.  Gorgeous, both of them.  I find myself wondering if Bob’s mohawk will return in Season 9.   Back to business – the first set of weigh in results:

• Alexandra – start 309 lbs, finish 218 lbs,  total % lost 29.45
• Antoine – start 367 lbs, finish 215 lbs, total % lost 41.42
• Sean- start 444 lbs, finish 289 lbs, total % lost 34.91
• Julio – start 407 lbs, finish 227, total % lost 44.2

Julio’s in the lead!  Coach Mo, Dina, Abby and Tracey stroll out.   Coach Mo looks svelte in his purple sweater.   If Alison surprises her with a bench, I’m  confident Dina could jump onto it.  She’s looking strong.  It is so good to see Abby smile in her sexy red dress!  Tracey is clearly in contention for the 100K but her words of strength don’t match her appearance.  She looks like a skeleton among the healthy glow of all the other players.  Has to stand out, even in the finale!

• Coach Mo – start 355 lbs, finish 263, total % lost 25.92
• Dina – start 253 lbs, finish 174, total % lost 31.23
• Abby – start 247 lbs, finish 147, total % lost 40.49 (an even 100 lbs, meeting her goal!)
• Tracey – start 250 lbs, finish 132, total % lost 47.23

Good god.  Second stumble of the night occurs.  A wave of nausea crashes over me.  Tracey has taken the lead from Julio!   No, no, NO!!!  Is she actually going to win the at home prize?!

Shay, Daniel, Rebecca, Allen and Liz are the final five to weigh in.  It’s been such a long journey for Shay as the heaviest player to date.  She knows her journey will continue well past the finale.  Daniel, rocking the v-neck, looking so handsome with his new muscles!  Dr. H tells the Orange Team that they did get their Second Chance.  With the pounds they lost, Shay gained 13 years of life, Daniel an astonishing 23!  Rebecca’s doing the previous incarnations of the Pink Team proud, flaunting arms that scream “SLEEVELESS!”  Not sure about the new blonde hair color though.  Loved that glossy dark brown.  Allen lives up to the hunky firefighter image – he looks awesome!

• Shay – start 476 lbs, finish 304, total % lost 36.12
• Daniel – start 312 lbs, finish 201, total % lost 35.58
• Rebecca – start 279 lbs, finish 140, total % lost 49.82 (she takes the lead from Tracey!!!)
• Allen – start 325 lbs, finish 209, total % lost 35.69
• Liz – start 267 lbs, finish 176, total % lost 34.08

And once again, karma come back to bite Tracey in the butt.  Rebecca scores the $100,000!

A collective cheer among the live Tweeters!  And Bob dishes out the first surprise of the night, inviting Shay to weigh in again at the Season 9 finale in May.   Jillian tells her that Subway is going to give her $1,000 dollars for every pound she loses.  That is AWESOME!  Finally, a product plug we can be proud of!

THE FINAL THREE GRAND PRIZE

The second surprise of the evening – Antoine whips out a ring and proposes to Alexandra, who is overwhelmed with shock!   And of course, she says yes!

Erin, who competed with Amanda to get on Season 8, returns with her at-home weight loss – 76 lbs!  Then it’s down to Amanda, Rudy and Danny.   It was so strange to see the thin contestants walk side by side down the stage with their heavier doppelgangers.   Actually, a little disturbing.  But I did like that the contestants got into it, especially Rudy who gave his alter-ego a nice little pat on the ass.

We’ve already seen Amanda, but Rudy and Danny…WOW!  The “big boys” look amazing.  Who knew how cute Rudy was?  Danny’s channeling a younger version of Judge Reinhold.  I’ve been a Danny girl since the first week, but seeing Rudy, I know it’s going to be close.  Very close.  No way Amanda’s even in the running.

Danny picks the order since he lost the most weight on the ranch.  And finally, what we’ve all been waiting for:

• Amanda – start 250 lbs, finish 163, total % lost 34.80
• Rudy – start 442 lbs, finish 208, total % lost 52.9 (gulp!)
  
• Danny – start 430 lbs, finish 191, total % lost 55.5

AND IT’S DANNY!!! What a finish!  Rudy’s a warrior, coming THAT close to snagging a cool $250K.    Season 4’s Hollie Self is back to interview Danny after the finale:

The Biggest Loser Season 9:  Couples III returns to NBC on January 5.   Can’t wait!