Biggest Loser 5: Couples, Episode 11 – The Smoking Gunn

After ten minutes, the incline and speed of the treadmills is increased, and again at the forty minute mark. Almost right after that, Kelly falls into the pool. Nice splash! Roger is right behind her, and Dan bails too. At 45 minutes, Brittany also bails out, leaving Ali to battle the brothers.

Just under the one-hour mark, Jay jumps in and the two who were returned to the game are left. Ali goes in shortly after the one-hour point, and Mark wins the trip! Mark apologizes to the others for being so competitive, and Roger shakes his head. Roger thinks Mark is a changed man, and not for the better. Roger thinks Mark worries too much what others think and wants Mark to just be the old, unapologetically competitive Mark.

The topic comes up again the next day when Bob comes to take them to the gym. Mark remembers that his competitiveness got him in trouble with some of the others, but Roger says he’s tired of hearing Mark apologize. Mark snaps back at Roger that he has the right to play the game any way he wants, and this time, he doesn’t want to be as “out in front” as he was before. Bob executes an awkward segue to get them into the gym for last-chance workouts.

Jillian’s squad is there, too. Kelly comments that there have been several distractions this week, and none have worked out as much as usual. Both teams are working hard, but Mark is still upset over the argument with Roger and is having difficulty maintaining his focus.

We’ve reached the point in the show when Alison meets the teams in front of the big faux scale to announce the weigh-in results. Here’s how the weigh-in goes. This week, I’m listing results as the summary board appears after all seven results are announced.

Congrats to Mark for meeting the century barrier (losing 100 pounds), and to both Dan and Kelly for dropping below the 200-pound mark. Impressive!

Had Brittany lost one more pound, she would have escaped the elimination process. I hope that extra salt didn’t spoil her game, but it well may have.

As the weigh-in completes, Alison summarizes that Brittany and Jay are up for elimination. As usual, they have an hour before voting. Brittany is sure she’s toast, and she and Jillian exchange a teary farewell hug. With that, the trainers are sent home. As usual, Alison informs the contestants they have an hour to talk before voting.

In the kitchen, Roger asks Kelly how she will vote and she says she cannot vote against Brittany. When the discussion continues, Kelly blows up, accusing the guys of ganging up on her and Roger of rolling his eyes at her. She walks off, angry.

Ali and Brittany are discussing things back in their room. Ali tells us that she and Brittany are in the process of starting an alliance. She doesn’t want to play “Black versus Blue,” but she wants to see a woman win.

Back in the dorm, Brittany knows how Mark will vote and doesn’t feel she has a relationship with Roger, so talking to Dan is her only hope. She does so, and although it comes from desperation, she raises decent points. Later, Dan tells us he knows Brittany isn’t a threat to him, but Jay has that potential. He says that at this point, no one’s battling to save their life any more and now it’s just about the money.

It’s time to vote. Roger votes for Brittany, no surprise there. When Dan votes the same way, the result is sealed. Ali votes for Brittany also, and that’s enough. In post-elimination video, Brittany tells us that she is excited about life again. The hardest thing for her was saying goodbye to Jillian, but she’s looking forward to starting her new life.

Arriving home the next day, Brittany is greeted by her parents. She admits she’s glad to be home and shows us some of her target outfits for the weeks ahead. In more current video (three weeks later), we find out that Brittany now weighs 159 pounds, a nice loss of 62 pounds from her first day at the ranch. She went skydiving, and loved it!

My Opinion: I know that part of the whole effort in getting these people back on track in their lives involves them feeling good about themselves, but there’s so much more to it than a new haircut. There’s enough shows dedicated to that already, and it isn’t necessary for this one to take such a detailed trip down that path.

Join me here next week for a recap of all the latest action, sprinkled with my own reactions and opinions. Let me know what you think about it all at the eAddress below.

More at home with popcorn than push-ups, Brian can be reached at uncle_bto@rogers.com. He’d like to hear your opinions and promises to respond to all serious email!

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