Biggest Loser 5: Couples, Episode 13 –The Episode that Takes the Cake!

Roger and Jay come into the kitchen to find Bob reviewing their food diaries. He’s very happy… because this is really a commercial. You can’t possibly care, so let’s move along.

It’s last-chance workout time. Jillian moans, “Just for once, let these girls have some small taste of victory.” I recall her singing a different tune last season when the shoe was on the other foot. Irony means more than “similar to the 26th element on the Periodic Table!”

Bob has decided that to foster teamwork, all four will do exactly the same last-chance workout. In one cameo, Dan’s confidence over their prospects of victory is bald-face cockiness when he says “The Blue Team is going to remain four strong. We’re not going anywhere. Whoever gets in our way, whoever tries to stop us, then they have to go.”

Jillian does a promo for drinking water. No, not designer bottle water, just tap water. Besides stifling hunger, it is important in flushing out lactic acids and prevents dehydration.

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. The trainers are not around this time. First, Jay has to declare his decision – and he’s decided to spend the cash to gain a pound. The vacation for his wife will just have to come out of existing funds.

Here’s how the big board read after all results are posted.

Congrats to Ali for setting the new pre-finale mark for female weight loss at 85 pounds. The previous best was Isabeau from last season, who had lost 81 pounds.

As the weigh-in completes, Alison notes that the women took the top two spots in the weigh-in. Mark and Dan are below the yellow line and up for elimination. It’s the first time for Dan, and the first time for Mark as an individual. As usual, they have an hour before voting.

The ladies are quietly enjoying their moment. No one yells, “Pride!”

The guys are all weepy, especially Dan. Jay ought to be weeping the most, as he burned $10,000 for a pass he didn’t need!

Some calculations of mine… if Jay had kept the cash, his loss percentage would have been 2.43%, which would have kept him safe. Of course, he couldn’t be sure how things were going to transpire. Still, that’s got to hurt a little… or, more than a little!

Dan drops in on the ladies to see what’s up and weep for them. Trust me, they know… they’ve been down this trail a couple of times themselves. Kelly tells us Dan’s a good kid, but Ali knows he’s a threat to win. Sometimes this season’s voting has been emotional, but I can’t imagine there’s any doubt about this one.

Jay says that this time, he’s not writing his brother’s name down, no matter what. As an unsolicited refresher, we get a rerun of some of the crying so heavily featured the week Mark went home. Spare me!

It’s time to vote. Ali’s up first, and votes against the obvious threat of Dan. Kelly’s next, and she goes the same way. Roger makes it unanimous, although even if he didn’t, Jay would certainly have sealed Dan’s fate.

Some tearful hugs, one last (I hope) “Pride!” chant, and then Dan is gone. On video, Dan says he came here as a kid with his mom. Now, he’s experienced a lot and can accomplish anything he wants.

Arriving home the next day, Dan is greeted by family and friends. Mom Jackie says she can see how much he matured in the time after she left at the ranch. I’m guessing that excludes the tattoo!

Jackie next tells us that after two weeks at home, Dan moved to L.A. to further his musical career! We also learn that Dan has now lost a total of 125 pounds from his first day at the ranch.

My Opinion: They made the right choice. Dan was a threat. Plus, once entertaining, he was getting cocky, feeling they couldn’t lose and it was okay to eat during the challenge.

Meanwhile, the women showed they are still fighting hard. Can they do it again? There are a few players in the game who don’t have a lot of big numbers left in them, I think, and the final four might contain a surprise or two.

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.

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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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