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Biggest Loser Families: What to Do? “I’m Black; She’s Blue”
Episode 6 Recap by Donna Emery
October 23, 2008
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This week on the Biggest Loser, Neal (from two seasons ago) abdicated his throne as Most Underhanded Contestant. His place was taken by a trio of Blue Meanies: Vicky, Brady and Heba.
The episode began with somber music, as the Black Team sadly returned to the Ranch without Shellay. They all seemed sincerely sorry to have lost her. But none of them were as sad as her daughter, Amy, who is now on the opposite team. She was sad when she saw the Black team without her mom. Coleen hugged her and apologized for sending her mom home.
But her sadness soon turned to determination: “Mom wanted me to be on this show, and here I am. I am happy I came and that I’m still here. I couldn’t control the Black Team’s decision, and now I’ll win this for me and for my Mom.
When Jillian came into the room, she looked around and realized her team had truly struggled with the decision to send home Shellay. She realized it had been a tough decision for the team.
Coleen agreed: “it was tough. But, we knew we needed to keep Phillip, since he is a man and can help us get better results than just four girls who weigh about the same amount.”
Jillian nodded. She brought them quickly out of their funk and to the Bottom Line: “We need to be more competitive, so we can stay in the game. It’s not all about winning, but we don’t want to go back to that elimination room.”
Coleen went on to say they all want to be at the Ranch. She told Jillian she had set goals in the past, and not kept them. She wanted to be sure she kept the goal she’d set when she came to the Ranch.
Jillian turned to Phillip, and reminded him that his wife was now on the opposite team. She gently asked him if he wanted to be “the One Pound that sends Amy home.” He realized that he had to be willing to be that One Pound.
“If I want to be the Biggest Loser, I may have to be part of the reason my wife goes home.”
Jillian looked around, and was apparently satisfied with her team’s readiness to shift emotional gears. She rallied them and led them to the gym.
Bob had promised his team some “fun.” Purple’s Amy was still deluded enough to think this might mean shopping or perhaps an arcade. Instead, the team ended up at a place called “Absolutions”.
Inside, they saw Bob hanging from a silk trapeze. He told them he wanted them to experience “the free fall of life.” He explained that doing this exercise would be akin to learning to trust the flow of life. He went on to say that leaning into that free fall would help them learn about themselves.
The team began to get up on the silk ropes themselves. It was hard for all of them to twist their bodies and be limber enough to hang from the trapezes, but they all did it. Heba surprised herself with her agility and Red’s Amy said she felt her body differently. Purple’s Amy impressed Bob, and Brady realized that he was gaining strength.
After the silk trapezes, Bob led them to study self-defense. A formidable lady named Lisa talked to the ladies of the team about being serious about encountering their attackers. There was a person playing the part of the Opponent; dressed in padded equipment as he acted the part of an attacker. Red’s Amy tried to be fierce with her attacks, but Bob laughed and called her “the Perfect North Carolina lady.” Purple’s Amy turned very fierce, and Heba got so caught up in the spirit of self-defense that she spit on their opponent.
Jillian had chosen a different activity for her team. She had brought them to an outside location and told them she wanted them to do a Ropes Course. She told them it would show them they need to “stay focused on what matters.” Coleen took a look at the high wooden board that she realized she’d be expected to climb and shuddered with fear. She confessed her fear of heights.
Phillip was up first, and he got shakily to the top of the board. Jillian then encouraged him to jump forward and try to catch a hanging ring. He knew he’d have to take a leap of faith. Jillian cheered as he jumped, and though he missed the ring she still applauded his efforts.
Michelle climbed up, though she felt she was out of her comfort zone. She and Renee were told by Jillian to walk on a suspended log. Beginning from opposite sides, she and her Mom were told to meet in the middle. Jillian wanted them to see this as a metaphor for their current relationship. She clapped when both Pink Ladies got to the middle of the log.
Coleen was the last to climb and she remained frightened throughout the event. Jillian cheered her on. When Coleen wobbled on the top, she encouraged her to shout, “I control my body!” Crying, she stood and shakily jumped. When she landed on the ground she was tearful from both fear and pride.
Hostess Allison Sweeney did a cute promotion for celebrating Halloween in a healthier way. She was dressed as a beautiful witch and had a cute little costumed boy with her. She suggested that, instead of candy or other sweet treats you might consider giving Play Doh.
After the unique exercise experiences for both teams, they all visited the show’s doctor. Dr. Huizenga wanted to give each of them an update to show how much healthier they were.
The Pink Team was up first. Dr. H. reminded Michelle that they’d first estimated her “true age” as 41. He told her she was now down to age 34. Michelle said this motivated her: ”I’ve gained 6 years in 6 weeks.” Mom Renee had gone from age 66 to age 44. She told the doctor she feels “better and younger.”
The Brown team made their visit and Brady was told that he’d gone from “true age” of 72 to age 43. Dr. H told Vicky that she’d lost 38 pounds of saturated fat and 2 pounds of muscle. She realized this is why she can now work out longer.
Purple’s Amy was told she’d changed her “true age” of 47 to age 34.
The Red Team had similar good news. Phillip was glad to learn he’d lost 47% of his body fat and had lost more fat than muscle. He joked that now he could see his toes. His wife Amy learned she’d lost 20% of her abdominal volume.
Coleen was told she’d changed from a “true age” of 55 to age 30. She was inspired, because she is now closer to her real age of 24. “I just want to live like a 24-year old.”
Heba was last to visit the doctor. He told her she’s lost 52% body fat – or 38 pounds of fat. She was thrilled; since she’d stayed on the show so she could be healthy enough to one day bear a child. She thinks now she is going “in the right direction.”
This week’s challenge was all about balance. The gang arrived at Universal Studios and saw a pool with two circular balance beams. On each beam was an arch, with a shining green light. Allison said that the changes they are making in their lives require “unwavering focus and one step at a time.” She told the teams they’d each have to walk in a circle on the balance beams. Each time that one member of the team passed through the arch the green laser light would give their teams a point. If any person fell in the water, they’d be out of the game. The only way for a fallen player to return to the game would be if all members of both teams fell into the water. The first team to reach 25 points would win.
Allison further revealed that the prize would be videos from home. Renee was excited to think of this. She said she needed to see her husband. Heba wanted to see her dad. Vicky was less enthusiastic. She asked the team how badly they wanted to win this challenge. She admitted she wasn’t excited about it. She claimed the prize wasn’t worth the effort. She also said she’d compete in it, in order to help the team get that prize, but wasn’t thrilled about doing it.
Since the Blue team had one more player than the Black Team, Allison told them that one team member must sit out the challenge. They chose Red’s Amy, who had a knee injury.
Almost as soon as the challenge started, Purple Amy and Vicky went splashing into the water and were out of the game.
The Black Team started the game out with Phillip, whose focus was steady as he circled the balance beam. Heba was quickly eliminated before Phil had even had a chance to complete one circle, and Coleen was close behind her in the water. Phillip remained standing; joking that he was “one with the beam.” For the Blue Team, it was down to Brady, but he soon fell into the water.
Vicky spitefully said that it was OK with her that they were unable to participate in the challenge, because “now we can sit and watch them torture themselves for hours.” Her mean-spirited remarks distracted Phillip, who asked if they would please stop talking. Purple’s Amy realized that their heckling might be a way to plunge the other team into the water and allow them to get back into the game. Coleen was upset. “If the situation were reversed, we wouldn’t be standing here talking smack about the Blue Team.” Michelle, Renee and Phil soon finished their first laps, and began to circle the beam again.
After 15 rounds, Michelle lost her balance.
As Renee and Phillip kept circling the beam, Red’s Amy wanted to shout encouragement to her husband. Even though he is on the other team, she wanted to show her support. Heba angrily told her she forbade her to cheer for Phil. Phillip’s endurance began to wane, and he reported that he thought he could help himself by running. Instead, he was soon in the water.
That left Renee to save the challenge – and she did. Improbably, Renee completed the rest of the needed circuits by herself. Despite heckling and fatigue, she doggedly stayed on the beam and won the challenge for Black.
When Allison asked the Blues how they felt about losing the challenge, Vicky told her flatly that she hadn’t felt the challenge was worth trying for. “Seeing a video of my kids again just isn’t worth it for me. I am here to win $350,000 between me and Brady. If the prize was a 2 pound pass or immunity, I’d play. But this is a luxury, to me. I couldn’t take pride in winning a trivial challenge like this.”
When Bob questioned the Blues about the challenge, Heba admitted that they hadn’t won. When Bob asked the score, he was shocked to find out it had been 20 to 0. “My team scored nothing. The other team wiped the floor with them.”
Heba pouted it had been hard to “do something like this, on the first try.” Bob shot back that it hadn’t been hard for the Black Team. When Vicky told Bob about her unwillingness to extend herself for the challenge, he angrily reminded her the prize isn’t the point. He told her the challenge “is about doing things you never thought you could do. It doesn’t matter whether the prize is immunity – or a stick of gum. You do your best; you give your best.”
Vicky remained unconvinced. “Bob tries,” she said. “But my goal is that money. Losing weight is OK, but I want that prize.”
Red’s Amy was upset. She regretted not being part of the team that actively participated and was disappointed in the attitude of their team.
When the Black Team went to see their video prizes, they realized the videos weren’t taped – they were live and interactive. Michelle was thrilled to see her dad and family.
Coleen got to say hi to her dad and see her boyfriend. Renee laughed warmly at her husband and dog, while Phillip got to see his in-laws with two of his sons. It was a really nice prize.
The Last Chance Workout had the contestants pumping and doing their best to stay in the game. Amy was concerned, because she sensed Vicky, Brady and Heba had formed an alliance. She said she knew she’d have to be the week’s Biggest Loser or help the Blues to win the weigh-in.
Vicky reminded us that she’s determined. “If something’s in my way, I’ll take it out.”
Bob watched his team with pride. He called out, “ I can smell the fat burning in here!”
Jill wanted to smell – or see – something else. She was determined to make someone puke. “If you’re not puking, you’re not working hard enough!” She gleefully asked her ladies, “Should I make Phillip puke?” She taunted him to take his hands off the treadmill.
Bob decided he wanted to push Brady to do his best. He set his task at 670 pounds on the treadmill. Brady knew that “every drop of sweat turns into a pound I can lose.”
Phil was still trying to resist Jillian’s leading. “I made the mistake of saying, ‘I can’t’ and incurred Jillian’s wrath. Finally, he told her he was going to throw up. Jillian didn’t believe him, but he went outside and puked.
Coleen was finding her own frustrations with Jillian. She said, “Jillian’s like this older sister, who you want to punch.” When she protested her fatigue or pain, Jillian said, “I don’t care.” “I know you don’t care!” shouted Coleen.
Phillip looked across the gym to the opposing team, and saw his wife. He shared that he’s inspired by her, but was concerned because he heard “sounds coming out of her I haven’t heard since childbirth.’ He was proud as she pushed up 450 pounds with her legs.
Heba concluded the workout by saying she’d worked hard… but was it enough?
After the workout, Vicky and Brady came secretly to Heba’s room. Brady whispered that he’d just been approached by Phillip, from the Black Team. Brady reported that Phil had begged for him to keep his wife in the game, if the Blue Team lost. He told Heba that Phil had said, “My wife needs to be here. You can send Heba home.”
Heba was furious. She vowed that Phillip had made a mistake. She said he has “hate in his heart.” She also sniped that Phillip should worry about his weight instead of his wife, since her estimation was that he wasn’t doing enough to win the game.
Brady took the conversation one step further. “Do you think Phil thought of this by himself?” Vicky nastily wondered if Heba thought Phil was smart enough to come up with the idea by himself. Heba concluded that Amy might have put him up to the stunt.
”She is a threat to the team,” Heba decided. “She’s sleeping with the enemy.”
As they approached the weigh in, Coleen knew they’d done all they could.
Vicky smirked as she walked in. “I am part of an alliance, so I know I am staying no matter which team wins.”
When Allison greeted them, she asked Phillip how it had felt to enjoy the video conference home without Amy. He revealed that he’d taken lots of notes as he’d watched, and he had been upset, but: “what can I do? I’m Black, she’s Blue.
The results of this week’s weigh in was as follows:
Black Team
Michelle was 209 and lost 7 pounds. She now weighs 202.
Renee was 232 and lost 7 pounds. She now weighs 225.
Phil was 278 and lost 6 pounds. He now weighs 272.
Coleen was 187 and lost 8 pounds. She now weighs 179.
This is a total of 29 pounds, or 3.2%.
Allison told the Blues they’d have to lose more than 36 pounds.
Blue Team
Amy (purple team) was 199 and lost 6 pounds. She now weighs 193
Vicky was 211 and lost 6 pounds. She now weighs 205.
Brady was 286 and lost 3 pounds. He now weighs 283.
Amy (red team) was 193 and lost 2 pounds. She now weighs 191.
Heba was 258 and lost 5 pounds. She now weighs 253.
This is a total of 35 pounds, or 2.96%.
The Black Team won!
Although Vicky and Brady glowed with satisfaction when Brady’s small number flashed on the screen, Red’s Amy was visibly upset. Her team came forward and gave her a group hug. In a few moments, her husband Phillip left the ranks of the Black Team and also gave her a hug. “Don’t you worry about it,” he soothed her. “You’ll do it next week.”
Bob also encouraged her. “Your effort has been fantastic. Every day, you’ve run and given your best. You always have an optimistic attitude.”
He didn’t have similar encouragement for Brady. Instead, he said, “my face dropped on to the floor. Are Vicky and Brady up to a game?”
At the Ranch, Amy tried to plead her case with the Terrible Trio. Purple Amy was nowhere in sight. Amy confessed that she knew she was a target, because her low weight loss made her a target. Heba argued that it isn’t her weight loss. “It’s your husband. He’s on the other team. He wants me to go home and I am sick of him” Amy protested that she’s not Phil. “I’m playing for me.” But her words fell on deaf ears. When Heba asked Amy what she’d do if she were in her situation, she swiftly replied she’d send Brady home. “He’s had three weeks of low weight loss. I am of value to this team because we need someone to lift us up.”
Amy knew that the game played a large part in elimination choices. “But it’s not fair when it’s based on popularity and schemes.” She told Vicky, “Since Day One there has been an alliance between the three of you. My work in the gym means nothing to you.”
Brady denied the alliance, though Vicky qualified it by saying the alliance had not existed “since day one.”
Heba pretended to consider her options after the discussion. She suddenly began to consider Purple Amy a threat – which she undoubtedly is – and to remember Brady’s recent poor performances.
But, in the elimination room, the results were predictable. Allison warned them that every decision they make will help determine the winner.
Vicky said she’d voted in order to weaken the opposite team. She voted for Red Amy.
Brady revealed he had chosen for strategic reasons. He reminded everyone that a very important member of the other team had a strong tie to Red Amy, and that eliminating Amy would weaken Phil - so he voted for her.
Purple Amy was tearful. She said she’s the “new kid,” and was upset that just as she’d been getting to know everyone, she had to say goodbye. She said her choice was strictly because of numbers, and voted for Brady.
Red Amy was also tearful. She repeated her alliance theory and said that just as weakening the bond between Shellay and Purple Amy might have been part of the strength of the other team, she figured that breaking up an alliance would help their team. She also voted for Brady.
Heba cast the deciding vote. She remembered how she’d felt when she “decided” to send her husband Ed home, and wanted to do whatever she could to protect herself. She voted for Red Amy, and so she was eliminated.
Amy was sad, but said she knew that losing her wouldn’t weaken him; it would strengthen him. She got up and left without anyone hugging her. She said she’s now worried for her team.
When she came to the show, Amy couldn’t walk for 5 minutes; now she was able to stay on a treadmill for hours. She said she was the kind of person whose “glass is half full.” She vowed that the game wasn’t over, for her.
The transformation video showed a touching episode of a much skinnier Amy on horseback, with her son Rhett. She says life is now better than she ever thought it could be. She looks and sounds wonderful. She has gone from a size 20 dress to a size 8.
Next week’s preview predicts a very large weight loss. It’s probably Brady, bouncing back from his low weight loss this week. Want to know my theory on why he lost so little? Read my scoreboard and commentary.
Who’s your favorite this season? Write me at mrsed4ever@yahoo.com and let me know!
Donna is a nurse and teacher, and a mother of 5. She lives in Pennsylvania and is admittedly addicted to many reality shows. You can reach her at mrsed4ever@yahoo.com.
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