Last week, all of the contestants went home for a whopping eighteen days. No trainers, just friends and family, along with all the excuses and temptations that led to their weight predicaments. They were told that all they had to do to be safe was to lose 5% of their total body weight, and eight people actually managed this feat… but in a tragic turn of events, teenager Chism fell one pound short of achieving victory for the Black Team, and because he was the only player not to get immunity on his team, he was automatically sent home.
This week’s excuse du jour: “I can’t get out of my comfort zone.” Nearly everyone on both teams were taken out of their comfort zone this week, as they were informed right from the get-go that the two teams would be switching trainers for this week only. This threw all the contestants (except for Conda and Jeremy, who were switched by Daphne two weeks ago) for a loop. Then came the second twist: which ever team lost the weigh-in would have one of its members voted off by the winning team. Both of these twists are, I believe, firsts. (Also a first: having the two-hour episode bisected by separate programming. Like I care who is going to lose to Obama in the next general election.)
What makes this interesting is that for this episode, both Bob and Dolvett were training their set team’s opponents, and whichever trainer did the better job would find their regular group diminished by one player, because of their efforts. And with the teams knotted up at five apiece… Well, Bob and Dolvett are both professionals, so they went all-out in training each other’s teams this week, to their credit.
Some of the highlights of the bonding went from the sublime to the ridiculous: Bob talked a lot with Buddy, who spoke at length about the baby he lost six years ago due to numerous pre- and post-natal complications, which was both touching and cathartic. Then we went over to Dolvett, who took the ladies of the Black Team to a ballet studio for a workout of sorts, even going so far as to don a pair of gray tights. (Thank God the camera crew resisted the urge to do a close-up of his junk.)
There was also a challenge in which the contestants had to wallow in a huge mud-pit searching for barbell weights, for the benefit of having a two-pound advantage at the weigh-in. The Red Team won, but the advantage turned out not being a factor anyway, so I’ll spare you the details, except that sweet, pristine Alison got a big, muddy bear-hug from Kimmy afterwards. Just awesome.
After two weeks of ugly drama, I’m sorry to say it resurfaced slightly this week, and, naturally, Conda was to blame. With the total number of girls outnumbering the boys 7-3, some of the girls got it into their heads to try to form an “alliance” that would allow for an all-girl finale. Kim, Cassandra and Emily made the huge mistake of confiding in Conda, who immediately went and blabbed the entire plan to Buddy (not Jeremy). Now, I don’t blame Conda for this fiasco. Why would you try to convince someone to form an alliance against their loved one? Buddy points out the futility of this plan, and me thinks that one of those three ladies is going home tonight.
Here’s how the weigh-in went:
Red Team (Bob)
Jeremy - lost 7 pounds (-107 total), -2.42%, now stands at 282.
Kim - lost 4 pounds (-70 total), -2.15%, now stands at 182.
Buddy - lost 5 pounds (-114 total), -1.70%, now stands at 289.
Kimmy - lost 2 pounds (-52 total), -1.18%, now stands at 167.
Mark - lost 2 pounds (-78 total), -1.18%, now stands at 213.
Total - 20 pounds lost (-1.73%).
Black Team (Dolvett)
Emily - lost 4 pounds (-69 total), -2.01%, now stands at 195.
Cassandra - lost 3 pounds (-67 total), -1.71%, now stands at 172.
Conda - lost 3 pounds (-66 total), -1.30%, now stands at 228.
Christine - lost 1 pound (-56 total), -0.54%, now stands at 184.
Megan - lost 1 pound (-55 total), -0.49%, now stands at 204.
Total - 12 pounds lost (-1.21%).
Yuck. Yuck yuck yuckety yuck yuck. I mean, after last episode’s eighteen-day humongous numbers, there was bound to be a huge letdown, especially with the trainer switcheroo, but oy, those numbers suck.
Kudos. None, obviously.
Elimination. With the Black Team under the gun, I fully expected one of the two plotters, Emily or Cassandra, to go home. Emily had immunity as the highest-percentage loser this week, and with Cassandra far and away the biggest percentage of the season on the Black Team, she was the obvious choice. Which sucks, because I really liked her spunk. I wish it could have been Christine, who looks like she’s hit the wall in nearly every respect. So who’s my favorite girl left? Emily, I guess, though she lost a few points with her stupid girl-power plan and her subsequent defeatist attitude.
Standings. With Cassandra’s ousting, the top four losers are now all on the Red Team: Buddy leads with 28.29%, followed by Kim (27.78%), Jeremy (27.51%) and Mark (26.80%). Thing is, Kim and Mark have much less weight left to lose than Buddy and Jeremy, so unless Bob’s Girls can turn it around, those two will be tough to take down.
Update: Though Cassandra despaired a little that she didn’t think she would be able to stay the course at home, she was apparently able to right the ship despite her doubts. Her weight is now down to 149 pounds, a full ninety below where she started. She looks great, and her rejuvenated spirit has inspired her to move to New York to further her writing career. You go, girl!
Next week: the teams are disbanded, as the remaining contestants cope with competing as individuals. And Jessica Simpson drops by with some quasi-interesting news. Joy.
