There's not much of the this-is-freaking-annoying drama on The Biggest Loser this week: instead, we get the usual aww-shucks moments, thanks to the challenge.  Well, maybe we have to mention Tracey crying after the Blue Team returned minus Mo, who was eliminated last week.  Sure, he wanted to leave too, but I still think it's got deeper undertones.  Oh, the tears, Tracey.

The challenge, and this episode in general, was pretty straightforward.  Alison had the teams dig around the beach looking for four keys that will unlock the prize inside a treasure chest.  The Blue Team wins it easily, thanks to Allen and Rudy, who've been a lot of help.  The prize: tickets back home, so they can visit their families for a week.  The catch: they're still pretty much in the game, so they have to return to the ranch in time for the weigh-in and shed a couple of pounds.  Oh, and they don't get Bob and Jillian, too.  The Blues decided to pass the tickets to the Blacks.

And then, a virtual smackdown.  Bob tells those left at the ranch that they have to take every opportunity posed by not having the Blacks around--and lose more weight than those at home.  The only thing I think they did was to go to the Food Bank and help out: most of the episode really revolved around the Black Team and their emotional reunions.  Staying home is, according to Shay, a much bigger challenge than those keys.

Pretty much because there are a lot of temptations around--so lucky them for having last week's eating-out lessons.  You can notice that they're having a little struggle with keeping up with their ranch routines--Abby, for instance, still can't do workouts because of her stress fracture--and most importantly, their eating habits.  I mean, choosing healthier stuff at the grocery is easy if you know what you're looking for.  Watching your family eat the stuff you know isn't good for you is particularly frustrating, so I perfectly understand what Dina felt.  She had grilled chicken, and the rest?  All-out Mexican affair.

Jillian was still around to help the Blues, though, although only by phone, with friendly reminders on traveling and alcohol and, in the case of Amanda, some support for using the gym equipment.  The Blacks are causing some stares, good and bad, from the folks back home, but it's obviously far from over.  When they returned, Jillian bore down on them so hard during the last-chance workouts.

But it's Bob who won in the end, with the Blue Team losing the most weight this week.  The gamble did pay off.  The shocker came when the Blacks discover that Daniel has gained a pound, and it quickly made him a target.  But he convinced everyone that he's gaining some momentum, especially after a teary-eyed conversation with Jillian before the weigh-in, where he finally addressed his issues with his mother--how she wanted him to stop eating and how he misinterpreted it for something else--and thinks that he can work better now his emotional issues are set aside.

Dina, on the other hand, led efforts to kick Daniel out, claiming that he's already had his second chance.  Not everybody agreed, though, and she ended up going home.  No hard feelings, though.  She now weighs 188 pounds and has run a half-marathon.  Hope it wasn't mucked up by production.

Next week on The Biggest Loser, the contestants go head-to-head--and, well, things get messy.  And Curtis Stone returns, too. And Derek Jeter also drops by.  The scoreboard, then:

Abby: 204 pounds (-4)
Allen: 270 pounds (-8)
Amanda: 218 pounds (-6)
Daniel: 277 pounds (+1)
Danny: 357 pounds (-15) (immunity)
Dina: 218 pounds (-5) (eliminated)
Liz: 228 pounds (-4)
Rebecca: 232 pounds (-5)
Rudy: 355 pounds (-14)
Shay: 411 pounds (-5)
Tracey: 202 pounds (-4)





- Henrik Batallones, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
(Image courtesy of NBC)