The Biggest Loser 2, Episode 4: Feeling Lucky?

Welcome to Week Four of The Biggest Loser 2, the series that pits two teams of overweight contestants in a competitive struggle to lose weight and, in the process, regain control of their lives. Challenges and temptations bar their way to a nice prize.

Last week, Suzy yielded to temptation as all contestants learned how hard it is to lose weight on take-out and restaurant food in “Food Gone Week.” The weekly competition of racing along a train lead to a pair of ambulance rides, and at the end, lone wolf Nick was eliminated.

The question of the week is: can the women find some degree of unity on their team?

As a reference, these are the contestants in this year’s show:

THE WOMEN (Blue Team, coach Bob):

• Andrea, the soccer mom
• Jen, the med student
• Ryan, the preacher’s daughter
• Shannon, the diva
• Suzanne, the bride to be
• Suzy, the single girl

THE MEN (Red Team, coach Jillian):

• Jeff, the doctor
• Mark, the cop
• Matt, the ex-athlete leader
• Pete, the devoted husband
• Seth, the new dad

Eliminated, in order:

1. Reuben, the single guy
2. Kathryn, the loner attorney
3. Nick, the disruptive comedian

As the show opens to the strains of “Proud” by Heather Small, we learn the contestants have lost 386 pounds so far. Way to go, gang!

We begin with series host Carolyn Rhea coming up to where the teams are assembled. The clothes she has on are god-awful, accentuating her bosom and her hips unnaturally. The skirt looks like she was rejected as the fourth Dutch girl from this week’s tulip challenge on The Apprentice.

Getting past that, her news is that everyone’s going to Las Vegas. As usual, Suzy is nervous. This time it’s because she doesn’t eat properly on vacation. Well, that has to be the “old Suzy,” not the “new Suzy,” or your team will yell at you! Preacher’s daughter Ryan is a bit overwhelmed by the prospect of being in “Sin City.”

Apparently they’re staying at The Aladdin, so unfortunately anything I learned recapping Caesars 24/7 is not going to help me much. Carolyn tells them they’ll be dining at Planet Hollywood and that their rooms are on the 50th floor. She concludes, “Usually those rooms are reserved for the biggest winners, but tonight they’re reserved for The Biggest Losers!” Everybody is really excited by this.

The scene shifts to dinner at Planet Hollywood. The trainers are not present. Most everyone is behaving themselves, eating vegetables and green salads. Matt pretended it was his birthday to get a free cake. Funnily enough, the cake is about a tablespoon big, barely enough to support the single candle. When asked to make a wish, Matt says, “I wish it was my birthday!” And when asked if he’s going to share his cake, he says, “No!” and quickly pops the one bite of cake into his mouth. All laugh.

After dinner, there’s time for a little gambling. Suzanne calls herself “Lady Luck.” And sure enough, she hits a slot machine for a $1,626.41 jackpot. Nice! Matt says he normally wouldn’t go to Vegas because he tends to do things to the extreme. And, true to his prediction, he’s losing.

Trainers Bob and Jillian are telling their teams about workouts you can do in your hotel room. Both insist that being away from home is not an excuse to skip your workout. Ab crunches, push-ups, bicycle leg-circles and mountain climbers are involved.

It’s Temptation time. The competitors are brought into the High Stakes room, where there are lots of chips on a pair of blackjack tables. A dealer shows them a special deck of cards, with monetary amounts on them ranging from one to $5,000. The catch is, to get a card you have to agree to work without your trainer until the next weigh-in. “So… who’s in?” she asks.

It turns out that several of our group has yet to discover that one ought not yield to Temptations on this show. After the Red Team decides that they won’t hold it against anyone who wants to play, Matt further agrees to train anyone on his team who plays.

So who plays? Jen, Suzanne and Shannon for the Blue Team, and Seth and Mark for the men. Ryan is upset in a confessional that anyone from her team played, she sees it as an insult to trainer Bob. Well, yes, it is!

The five players all get to pick a money card, but it stays face down initially. Then, each is turned over, one at a time. Seth is playing for $1,000, and Mark is playing for $2,500. Shannon also has a $1,000 card, and Suzanne, $2,500. Finally, Jen shows a $1,000 card as well. In a cameo, Andrea admits, “I was so jealous, I could spit nails.”

And now for the twist. They have the option of playing one round of “Hi-Low,” to double (or lose) their money. Either way, the trainer is gone for these five this week.

Both guys decide not to take the risk. Jen, too. But Suzanne and Shannon are in!

The game begins. The card to beat is the eight of spades. I’m sure that was set up, no way was an ace or a deuce coming out. Shannon decides to bet her card is higher – and it is, it’s a jack! She celebrates with an ear-piercing scream that was heard by dogs as far away as Phoenix.

It’s Suzanne’s turn now. She picks lower, and “Lady Luck” also wins, she has the four of clubs! Again, sonic messages are sent to the hounds of Arizona. That’s a nice sum of $5,000 for Suzanne, while Shannon won a tidy $2,000.