The Biggest Loser, Episode 5: Tower of Power

It’s time for this week’s challenge. The teams file into the challenge venue and meet Caroline. They are on a stage, standing in front of a curtain. When the curtain is opened, there are tables loaded with food – breads, bagels, cakes, pastries, everything. The teams will have thirty minutes to build a “pile of temptation.” The team that makes the highest tower will win.

The kicker here is that they can’t use their hands. They have to use their mouths. This is totally cruel. Caroline tells them that this is “so worth it,” though, since the winning team will go to CompUSA where each person will have $5000 to use to buy whatever they want.

The game begins. Dave, who has a construction background, tries to convince them that the tower needs a strong foundation. You know, this is really senseless. I don’t even want to tell you how bad this challenge is.

Kelly Mac tries to organize her team but no one seems to want to listen. Meanwhile, Red team seems to have a much better plan, even though both piles are pretty close. Team Blue tries to finish off their tower by sticking a huge lollypop into a block of cheese. Time out is called, and we go to commercial.

Back from the commercial, Gary is trying to put the lollypop on the top of the pile but, alas, it doesn’t balance and, as it falls off, Maurice mourns the loss of his $5000 worth of electronic equipment. Team Red wins. As they celebrate, team Blue hangs its collective head in unison.

The Red team is “whisked away” in a limousine and driven to CompUSA where the CEO escorts them to a room. He tells them that there is one more surprise in store and invites them to sit back, relax, and watch the big screen TV. And the reward is… each of their families have recorded a video for them. They all react emotionally, as their families offer words of encouragement and love. We meet their wives and husbands, mothers and fathers, kids and cousins, and an assortment of others. What a nice reward.

Lisa thinks that this win has given the team a mental edge. Knowing that heir families are right there, supporting them is very important and certainly a boost to their spirits. No doubt, Team Blue is going to be even more disappointed when they hear about this.

Team Red returns from their outing, and Maurice is waiting on the porch. Sure enough, this additional reward was quite a blow. Maurice says he is happy for them, though. They share the news with the rest of the group. Ryan keeps talking about how he could have done better in the challenge, and this really sets Andrea off. They won, already. Why keep talking about it. Gary is irritated as well, saying that Ryan is rubbing this win in their faces and calling him an “ass.”

The next morning, Team Blue is having a pow-wow. Andrea expects “big numbers” from Mo at the weigh-in, and says he’s the only one she expects them from. Mo says that their all being together, getting healthy and losing weight is the real reward. Meanwhile, Ryan tells his group that this has been the best week so far, and he has really enjoyed getting to know the girls better. Dave says that Ryan’s transparency is obvious and wonders if the girls know what he is doing. Maybe Ryan really does like the girls better than he does Dave. I know I do.

It’s time for the weigh-in. Kelly tells us that Jillian gave them all mantras to chant. Lisa isn’t expecting to see anything big on the scale. The group files in to face Caroline in the weigh-in room. Dave is up first. He’s lost six pounds. What’s neat about this week’s weigh-in is that, not only does Caroline read their starting weight, a tape of them at their first weigh-in is show in contrast to how they look at this point.

Gary steps up and he’s down five pounds this week. Red team is ahead by one pound. Now for Lisa. She only lost two pounds. This really seems to upset her. Kelly Mac, who is noticeably slimmer, lost four pounds, for a total of 33 pounds. At the halfway point it’s 8 pounds Red, 9 pounds Blue.

Ryan takes off his shirt, but he’s only lost three pounds. He is disappointed too. Maurice is encouraged by this, and as he steps up, the group cheers him on. His loss this week, one pound. Wow. Ryan tells us this looks real good for the Red team. Kelly is next, and she is shocked to find that she didn’t lose a pound. Andrea puts her hands in her face, realizing that it’s all up to her. She has to have lost at least two pounds for her team to win. She is worried that she may have plateaued. All the pressure is on her… and we break for commercial.

Back from the break, we pick up where we left off, with Andrea standing on the scale. And her loss for the week is seven pounds for a total of 30. This makes her this week’s “biggest loser,” and secures victory for her team. Gary points out that the computer gift will make a nice parting gift for whoever is sent home from Team Red.