Web Exclusive: "Biggest Loser" Recap

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Last night's "Biggest Loser" challenge again tried to remedy my major criticism of the show: many contestants aren't ready to live in the real world.

The players had to carry a flag as close to a mile as they could estimate. The prize? A night out in Hollywood. Now, if I had been in this challenge, I would have thrown it. After Jen was automatically eliminated last week (probably because she chose getting a massage over working out with her trainer), I wouldn't have wanted any sort of luxurious temptation. She and Courtney seemed to know what they were doing in the grocery store and working out, but the scale didn't reflect that. Is that a look into the future of some of these contestants?

The challenge was still a pretty interesting idea—as people who have been really hitting the treadmill, do they know how long a mile is? Turns out, they did, but not in the way I would have thought. I expected the players to think about what their mile time was and try to run it. Instead, they did the math and counted about how many steps it would take.

The black team—Jay, Hannah, and Rulon—won! Too bad the losers had to clean the house and the gym. Gross. I've seen how much those men sweat.

While the black team had dinner at the Geisha House, Jay tried to hook up Hannah with a creepy guy who came over to the table to toast them. I think Hannah is so pretty and looking great. I mean, the woman has lost 80 pounds! She could have more confidence in that fact, and I was glad to see she did not care for this smarmy L.A. dude. Smooth, Jay— awesome that you have such low standards for Hannah.

It was great to see contestants, like last week in Ojai, making choices outside the ranch. Jillian was angry about the prize for a reason—many of the Biggest Losers aren't ready to face all the temptations of dining out yet. Rulon has been especially troubled by food, sneaking bags of chips and candy into his room for a "reward." After 13 weeks on the ranch, I'm baffled as to how he still has such an unhealthy relationship to food. He seemed to listen to Jillian, though, and his diet change really showed on the scale. I liked this moment because it seemed honest and beyond the idea of reality TV.

Which brings me to my next, two-fold point.

One: Courtney, why do you think Brett will lose his job if you are eliminated? He's one of the new trainers. He just gets a longer break between seasons now. What a weird way to think about it. Dude is still going to get paid.

Two: I continue to like Jillian and Bob so much better than Brett and Cara. They help each other's teams. They keep working through the psychological messes these people have made of their weight problems. Brett and Cara talk about "winning," as in a weigh in, a lot more than "losing, " as in weight. As Courtney stepped on the scale and only lost a pound, I wasn't surprised. Maybe she has been having trouble, but if Bob had trained her instead of Brett, I think she might have done better. And Cara? I don't think doing firefighter exercises get as much of a burn as sprints. Nice try, I guess.

Courtney eventually did go home, as did Brett now that the red team is no more. Did anyone else love that they finally embraced that Marcy and Courtney own a Dairy Queen? They've been calling it an ice cream place and blurring the logo forever. Gotta love that Courtney was trying to get frozen yogurt on the menu as if DQ's ice cream isn't iced milk, too.

Final thoughts:

1. Irene lost 6 pounds? How is that healthy for a girl nearing 160? How is that even possible?

2. I've starting skipping Allison's babble between contestants weighing in. I can't stand to look at her waxen face as she pretends to be concerned.

3. When in the world is the makeover episode? Austin needs to cut off that mop!