It’s been a few weeks since The Biggest Loser Season 15 Episode 10 when Hap and Matt were both eliminated, and we were left with a cliffhanger that one person will be returning to the house.
In a strange turn of events, the scheduling of this show is unlinke any other reality TV show that comes to my mind. Rather than doing two seasons on opposite ends of the winter break, they decided to do a single long season. I just hope the second part of the season picks up because the first part felt so rushed with the 1 hour time frame that it was hard to get into.
The good news is that The Voice does not return for several weeks, so at least for now NBC is forced to deliver 2 hour episodes again. It would be nice if they would just stop screwing around with this show and trying to kill it. It’s not like they have a lot of successes. Why mess up a show that has been successful for a decade when almost the entire rest of your lineup is a disaster?
Matt, Hap, Ruben, Fernanda, Craig, Bobby, and Holley will have a chance to win a spot back in the house. Unlike a couple of seasons ago when a bunch of whiners/quitters got all up in arms about this twist that happens every single season, everybody seems happy to see them. The player with the highest percentage of weight loss is the one who will be returning. At least we know they have not invented another excuse to let Ruben return again. I’m surprised there won’t be a singing contest.
Matt: 26.12%
Hap: 21.59%
Ruben: 377 pounds (-85, 18.40%)
Fernanda: 208 pounds (-42, 16.80%)
Holley: 277 pounds (-74, 21.08%)
Craig: 307 pounds (-78, 20.26%)
Bobby: 261 pounds (-97, 27.09%)
Bobby was just sent home last week, so he has not been on his own for very long, but he does manage to edge Matt out for the spot to return to the ranch. He’s not happy about the triathlon, seeing as he does not know how to swim.
Finally this week, there will be a yellow line, and the contestants will be forced to vote after months of being on easy street.
Jillian’s noticing something with Tanya. Every workout, she does great, right up until the very end when she deliberately sabotages herself.
Hap has learned to stop making excuses. Just because his job requires travel does not mean he has to gain weight. To help himself, he has bought a portable grill, allowing him to cook his own lean meats, rather than restaurant foods doused in fat and sauces.
They head to the beach for a challenge, which means lots of running in sand. The winner will receive $25,000 in home gym equipment. They must grab kettlebells out of the sand and bring 10 of them to the top of the hill. If they get the golden kettlebell, that is worth 5. The losing player will have a 1 pound disadvantage. Jay quickly takes the lead, and once he starts, it becomes clear this is going to be a fairly simple challenge for him to win. The kettlebells are all scattered in a line up the hill, so they can just grab the closest ones. Rachel is giving him a run for his money, but by the time anybody else even makes it there, he’s half way done, taking all the closest kettlebells in the process. Marie finds the golden kettlebell, which puts her in a tie with the leaders. Jay wins the challenge. Rachel and Marie are obviously next. They are followed by Chelsea, Jennifer, David, Tumi, and Bobby. Tanya places last and will have a disadvantage.
After this challenge that’s really a promotional opportunity for Planet Fitness, Abby from season 8 joins them to offer some words of encouragement but really to promote The Biggest Loser Resort. It’s hard to say whether she has kept the weight off because she never looked overly thin in the first place, but what she has done is to keep positive and has since found a new husband. She’s followed by a commercial for Subway and then another for Yoplait and another for Larabar. Holy product promotion. Granted, I eat at Subway all the time, and I learned about Larabar, which is indeed a good snack, from this show.
Rachel has been carrying a pair of jeans around with her everywhere she lives for 6 years. The size 8 pants fit her, down from her starting size of 20.
Marie is starting to think that perhaps she does want to win after all. This is a change of pace from her original goal of just losing enough weight to have a baby and gain it back again.
Matt has renewed his plans for a wedding. His jacket was originally a 60. His new jacket is a 48.
The yellow line looms over the weigh in.
Tanya: 198 pounds (-3, +1, 1.00%)
Bobby: 254 pounds (-7, 2.68%) – over 100 pounds lost
David: 270 pounds (-12, 4.26%)
Chelsea: 171 pounds (-6, 3.39%)
Rachel: 161 pounds (-6, 3.59%)
Jennifer: 189 pounds (-6, 3.08%)
Jay: 192 pounds (-4, 2.04%)
Marie: 183 pounds (-4, 2.14%)
Tumi: 221 pounds (-4, 1.78%)
Tumi and Tanya have fallen below the yellow line. Tanya is non-threatening, whereas Tumi can easily be viewed as a threat, since she’s one of the biggest females who could easily drop over 50% with enough effort. Presumably, they will vote along team lines, which means 2 votes each. That leaves Bob’s team of 4 to make the decision, which gives them a lot of power that would take the other two teams joining forces to beat.
The dynamic this season is different than usual. Everybody’s just been having fun at summer camp so far. Now they have to actually start playing the game, without any alliances or background of previous votes to cloud the situation.
Votes
Bobby: Tumi
David: Tumi
Jay: Tumi
Marie: Tumi
With 4 votes, Tumi is not The Biggest Loser. Surprisingly enough, even Marie did not vote for her own teammate, as she wants to get rid of the bigger threat.
From here, the remaining contestants are heading the Olympic Training Center in Park City, Utah. Bob provides a warning: that weigh in is going to suck.
Although we’re getting treated to 2 hour episodes now, it’s not going to last long. Turns out the finale is only 1 month away. Which brings me to the rant at the top of this post. Why bother, NBC? There is no way to describe this scheduling other than… weird. And they actually paid people to come up with it.
Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of The Biggest Loser Season 15 Episode 12, which airs Tuesday at 8/7c on NBC.