The Biggest Loser 3, Episode 4: Cry, Cry, Cry

After that cheerful segment, let’s visit one of our ghosts. “Ghosts” is my new term for the 36 contestants who are not at the ranch but still in the game. Upbeat, young (24) Chris from West Virginia may be exactly the right remedy for all this sadness and depression. He found it real hard to get started on his own program, but being the only male in an aerobics class helped. He’s doing very well now and has lost 56 pounds so far. You go, Chris! I think Chris could be a contender.

Oh, boy! This week, there’s a Temptation Challenge. Devil that I am, I love these! Series hostess Caroline Rhea must be in the gym, as instructions are all on signs. This time, individual tables with plates of good and bad food are set up. Contestants can eat the contents of any plate they choose. After finishing a plate, they put it on a central pile and when a buzzer goes off (time period unknown), the last plate set down identifies the winner. The winner gets a nebulous “free pass,” to be used at any future elimination.

I think the implementation of this free pass is very devious. I’m sure contestants assume it works like Survivor’s hidden immunity idol. You know what they say about “assume” in reality shows! I’m pretty sure the ambiguous nature was no accident. We learn you can share the pass with a friend… but must that happen before the vote, or can you just toss it across the Elimination table to a friend in need? And after it’s used, what then? A revote? Does the second-most voted go home, or do they call in the other team like it’s another tiebreaker? We’ll see how this plays out.

The contestants have one helpful aid in that each plate is clearly labeled with its caloric count. The first plate people eat is 18 calories of carrots. So far, so good… but you know it’s not going to be that easy. The key to this challenge is, of course, no one knows when it ends. Giving them rare kudos, I admit the three Red Team ladies play smart. They try to ensure they always have one of their plates on top. They profess they’ll share the prize if need be.

The Blue Team is also smart – they eat the healthy food, then sit back and watch the ensuing carnage. As time moves on, there are some countermeasures by Blue to try and drive up the impact what Red Team members are eating, but sure enough, Red Team’s Kai wins. Her fake surprise at winning is unconvincing. Kai’s teammate Wylie (who is NOT in a good position in the game) ate over 400 calories, highest of all, and it was for naught. Marty of the Blue Team knows they have to force that pass to be used ASAP.

The next morning, Kim meets with her team. In a voiceover, she confirms she intends to break down. She tells them, “Yesterday, we let everything out of control,” and, “You guys don’t know a lot about me.” Falling into the trap, Kai perkily responds, “Then tell us!” Taking the cue, Kim tells them she was a military brat who was not blessed with a skinny body and had to work hard. She says, “Guess what? I have body-image issues!” As God is my witness, I cannot identify those issues.

Kim weepily calls herself “the skinny little fitness Barbie” but tells her team she has the same things going on in her life that they do. Ken feels Kim opening up makes her more of a real person to him. Kai says, “I felt the most sincerity I’ve felt from Kim.” Nice work, Kim; they bought it.

Kim decides her team needs a reward, and that leads us to the kitchen to make low-cal chocolate. Gosh, I wish every time I quit in life I got chocolate, but whatever. Kim points out that a commercial candy bar has about the same calories and fat as a whole proper meal. She shows them an alternative and they make a healthy chocolate treat together. Ahh, the chocolate has engendered bliss in Red Team-land yet again. Good word, “engendered,” as one notes the three women stand together and apart from the men.

Series hostess Caroline Rhea welcomes the teams to the night’s most important challenge. She notes that the Red Team has won every challenge so far.

This time, it’s an endurance challenge and involves walking up a down escalator. The winning team will decide which member of the numerically superior Blue Team will sit out the weigh-in. Also, all members of the last team standing will split ten grand. Injured Brian can still not participate, so the teams compete five apiece.

All teams mount the escalators. Within the first two minutes, Red Team Ken drops out, shortly followed by teammate Erik, and then Melinda of the Blue Team. Red’s Wylie goes next to even up the numbers, then Kai and Bobby go out together to keep the numbers even. Red Team’s Heather becomes almost hysterical trying to hang on, and teammate Pam encourages her to hang tough. However, she drops out.

During Heather’s efforts, Blue Team’s Amy also checked out, and as we hit the nine-minute mark, only Marty (Blue) and Pam (Red) remain. Neither one is moving too smoothly at times, but both either have too much heart or too much stubbornness to quit. Marty decides he can drop back a little to fake Pam out into thinking he’s quitting, but a minute later that’s exactly what happens.

Winner Pam admits her body feels like Jell-o. Her team hugs her as eloquently as one can hug Jell-o. In a cameo, even her final opposition (Marty) recognizes how determined Pam was to win that free pass.

The trainers meet their teams after the challenge. Bob’s squad seems so relaxed he thinks they won, but nah… they’re still oh-fer. I fear losing sits a little too comfortably upon their shoulders. Meanwhile, Kim is elated to hear that her team has won again.

Now it’s time to get serious, as it’s the Last-Chance Workout. Everyone is working at such a fever pitch that I started sweating just watching them work out! Kim knows that her team needs to win to put the drama behind them. She’s aware they missed hours of workouts.

On the other side of the gym, Bobby jokes that he wants to push Bob off the side of a mountain! As they leave the gym, Bob asks Melinda, “Are you ready to get on the scale?” She says she wants to lose ten pounds. “Oof! That’s a big number for a little girl,” he warily responds.

Now the weigh-in begins. The Red Team decides that Marty’s weight loss will not be the one to count this week, and I’ve marked it with an asterisk in the following chart. The Red Team’s Ken is convinced that after making bad choices, they finally made the right choice in deciding on Marty.